Mrs. Banister's Blog: Five for Friday

Hey there, friends! Another Friday is here! I'm linking up with Kacey again for

I know it's been crickets around here lately, but it's been for a very good reason!

I've been trying to soak up every moment with these two wackadoodles. They are crazy! It's Spring Break this week, and this is quite literally the first time I've looked at my computer for more than approximately 30 seconds. I've had the best of intentions, but it's hard to get anything accomplished when you are needed every single second of the day. As I write this, there are Fruity Pebbles all over the floor from my darling daughter, and I'm completely okay with that. :)

As mentioned above, this week was Spring Break! It is always fantastic to be able to stay home with my babies, but it's exhausting at the same time! I tip my hat to stay at home mommas... I think I would love it, but man... It's exhausting!

We didn't do anything extraordinary. No Mickey. No water park. No beach. What we did do might not sound as fun, but it was perfect.

We had to take the kids to their well child visit on Tuesday. They both got great reports, but my little guy has to go to the eye doctor because they noticed some issues with his ability to track objects. We go Monday, so I'm anxious to see what they say.

My daughter and I went to see Cinderella this week. It was AMAZING. Definitely one we will buy when it comes out on DVD!

My little guy and I also had a special day. His choice? Visit Toys R Us and buy a Lego set. That's just what we did! His day was such a contrast to my daughter's. I loved having special time with both of them.

Today, we have made a vow to not get out of our PJs. Even though my daughter has changed her clothes no less than four times before noon, we are having a lazy last day of Spring Break.

It seems as if the time from Spring Break to the end of the year is the final leg of the race. We try our best to fit the rest of it in, as well as fit in content area topics that engage our students.

When we get back from break, we will be wrapping up our third grading period. I will finish up tracking my students' progress using EGSI.

If you don't have ESGI in your classroom, I strongly encourage you to check out all of the ways it can make your life easier. You can sign up for a FREE sixty day trial by clicking the link in my sidebar! If you love what you see, you can also purchase ESGI at a discounted price!

After the grading period is wrapped up, we will be studying life cycles! I will admit, it's one of my favorite units of study. There is so much you can teach about life cycles.

I plan on creating a research pack (with tech resources included!) in the next week. In our classroom, we study the life cycles of butterflies, ladybugs, frogs, chicks, flowers, fruits, vegetables, and this year, I am going to add worms to the mix!

Last year, I created some life cycle-themed math and literacy stations for my classroom. While the purpose of these really have little to do with the actual study of animals/plants, they do make things cute and relevant to the topic being studied. The station activities are great reinforcements of the basic skills and concepts your students will need for first grade!

FYI: I plan to update this pack very soon. I will be adding at least 3-4 activities/stations for both math and reading. You can get this pack NOW for just $2. The price will go up to $5 after I add more activities. Snag it now and redownload it when I've updated!

Back to the Fruity Pebbles on the floor...

So, I've been thinking lately... How in the world do you people do it all? How do you manage a household, manage a classroom, manage being a blogger, manage being a TPTer, and manage being AWESOME at all of it?!?! The more I thought about it, the more I thought,

"Hey... I kind of fit into that category, too."

Sure, there are hundreds of you out there who are doing it far better. And I want to hear from you. How do you do it? What do you do to keep yourselves organized?

Well, look no further... I have just what you need!