Currently June

Today, I'm linking up with Farley at Oh Boy 4th Grade to share with you my currently for this month:

 

Listening:

Kenya has been miserable and wet the past few weeks so hot cocoa, marshmallows & a nice fire are on the agenda in times like this!

Loving:

GOSH that took some time!!! Now I can look forward to the 100 report cards I have to write!!! I can't wait til this is all behind me and I can just enjoy the last 4 weeks of school... sigh for now!

Thinking:

Our aim when coming to Kenya was to get a chance to travel and discover new places. Bringing up our children in a multicultural environment has always been important to us and we feel so lucky that we get to carry on our adventure! We will be moving from Kenya... in less than 5 weeks! Where did the time go?!

 

We've accumulated so much over the last 5 years, there's a lot of sorting that needs to be done before the packing begins... Wish me luck!!!

Needing:

Honestly: THIS.IS.A.NEED! I am totally addicted to navy and my 4 year-old navy blazer is falling to pieces!!! Clothes are so expensive here and the choice is so limited that I have to wait another month until I get a new one while I'm in France :{

 

Summer lovin:

Before coming to Kenya, I used to take smooth roads, signs and lamp posts for granted. Now that I've discovered potholes and driving in complete darkness, trying to avoid bikes with no lights, sheep and sometimes even zebras(!), travelling on the smooth French motorway is a real treat!

I only get to shop for clothes twice a year (when I go to France, although that's about to change after we move!) so the Summer sales are an event not to be missed!

I'm also really looking forward to seeing my friends & family before we land in our new country in August!

 

If you want to know what other teachers are up to, click on the image below!

*FREEBIE* Common Mistakes in French Posters

There are some mistakes which, despite my numerous corrections, seem to always persist in students' work! I am currently preparing my students for their end of year exams and have designed a very simple set of 7 posters to help them eradicate these mistakes once and for all!

You can click on the image below to download these posters for FREE :)

*FREEBIE* French Clock Labels

I've just uploaded a new blog exclusive FREEBIE! It's a set of labels to decorate your classroom clock :)

You can download it by clicking on the image below:

For best results, ensure your printer's set so that the labels are printed on ledger or A3 sized paper.

I hope you like this freebie ;)

A Spring *FREEBIE*, a New French eBook & a Sale!!!

Spring is just around the corner and, to celebrate, I have a few things in store for you!

I am really excited to let you know that I've joined a group of dedicated French Teacher-Authors once again to put together a Spring eBook which contains lots of tips & links to 18 FREE Spring-themed products!!! I really hope this will give you plenty of ideas to start this new season with a smile :)

The eBook has just been released on the Profs et Soeurs TpT Store so you can go ahead and download your copy by clicking on the image below :)

My contribution is a sample from my brand new Pot de Printemps Writing Prompts in a Jar! You can download your sample directly from my store by clicking on the image below:

And one last thing from me!

To celebrate the launch of our Spring eBook, I am throwing a sale on 18th-19th February! My ENTIRE STORE is reduced and ALL my products are 20% off!!!

Have a great day!!!

Celebrate the Chinese New Year in French!

Celebrating the Chinese New Year is a great way to explore new vocabulary, whilst teaching children about another country, their customs, food and culture in general.

I have created three new Chinese New Year resources, which can also be purchased as a bundle!

Word Wall, Flashcards, Games & Sentence Builders:

This resource is perfect to introduce the Chinese New Year vocabulary in French and can also be used to create a bulletin board.

My students really like sentence builders. They're brilliant to put vocabulary into new contexts and help students build a wider bank of vocabulary.

Mini Book & Interactive Notebook Pages:

This resource allows students to combine the Chinese New Year vocabulary with vocabulary they might have already encountered, such as body parts, colours or animals.

Chinese Lantern Craftivity:

I had a lot of fun creating my first craftivity for my TpT store! The hard part was to create the different layers of the lantern... I started out using basic shapes, which I then edited using anchor points... and that takes some getting used to!

This craftivity is great for students to review their understanding of the Chinese New Year customs.

You can save over 20% by purchasing my bundle! Click on the image below to have a look :)

Sunday Scoop!

The first week back at work has gone SO quickly!!!

I'm (already?!) linking with the Teaching Trio for their Sunday Scoop! Here's what I'm up to:

Have to do:

■ Yep, I had to go to work this weekend! I taught children how to make breaded chicken, did lots of supervision and took part in an evening entertainment for the older students who created a tessellated piece of artwork which will be displayed in the dining hall! However, although the gorgeous weather and fun activities made it quite a pleasant working weekend, I can't wait until next weekend for some proper time off!

■ Some of my students have got exams at the start of the week; after that, they'll have individual appointments to take their speaking exams! It is probably the exam the children worry about the most. Something to do with them being on their own in a room with the teacher, trying to converse for 5 minutes in a foreign language and being recorded!

■ Well, the teacher's never ending chore...

Hope to do:

■ I've started a new product, but with a busy weekend, I've not managed to do as much as I would have liked... I hope I'll manage to finish it by the end of the week...

■ I really hope that all my grading will be done by Friday so that I can enjoy my weekend!

Happy to do:

I'm very happy to enjoy the little free time I'll have this evening and will be putting my feet up for a couple of hours!!!

To read other bloggers' scoops, simply click on the image below:

Have a great week!

Mini Winter Makeover & Classroom Theme by Lucy S.

Going back to work has been such a shock to the system!!! After finishing work at 9.15pm last night, I am most definitely enjoying today's half day :)

Over the holidays, I entered Michelle Dupuis' Birthday Giveaway and...

I won the French Bundle!!! Living in Kenya means that we can only order hard goods once a year, due to expensive shipping, so digital resources are incredibly useful! It was a real treat to receive all these new resources to use in the new year!!!

Part of the bundle was a Winner's Choice from Here's an Idea by Lucy S. and this is what I picked:

Click on the image below to view Lucy's Bold Stripes Classroom Theme :)

Lucy S is a perfectionist and all her resources are accurate, professional and always beautifully presented. You're bound to find something you love! But I'd been looking at her exquisite French Classroom Themes for a while so I knew exactly what I wanted from her store as soon as I found out I'd won! Her Bold Stripes theme is perfect for me as I teach classes of various ages. I teamed this theme with Amanda's gorgeous clipart to give my room a winter feel and the colors work really well together! Here are a few (not so professional!) photos:

Enjoy the rest of your week!

My New Year's Resolutions for 2015

I am linking up with Mrs D. from The Third Wheel for her New Year's Resolutions linky party. To be perfectly honest, I am not the best at keeping up with resolutions, but I feel I should at least try to start the year with some goals!

Home: Get a better home / work balance

Last year, my husband and I were very good at having some 'marriage time' at least once a week, making time for each other and go for a walk or a meal, or just sit and chat, with no children around. This academic year has not been so successful! So I think this will have to be our joint resolution!

Work: Update the French schemes of work & assessment plans

I've been the main French teacher at my school for over 4 years and a lot has changed, particularly in the way children are assessed. However, I haven't updated my plans for ages and now need to rewrite the long-term, short-term and assessment plans for most year groups! It's going to be a busy year!

Health: Get out more!

We are so lucky to live in a non-polluted, healthy environment and I need to appreciate it and spend more time outdoors! I definitely don't spend enough time outside :( The rainy season is now over, so I have no excuses to stay indoors now!

TpT: Create more regularly

I have created new products quite regularly lately and I am keen to try and keep this going! I recently uploaded product #21, which means my store now has 2 pages of products!!! I am really hoping that I can at least create one new product every month, and perhaps one or two products every school break, depending on how long the holidays are! I also have old products (some of which are currently inactive!) which need a little updating... Not to mention 10 years worth of Word document files which are hibernating on my hard drive, waiting for a well needed makeover...

Blog: Plan my blog posts!

I need to be more organised and start using a Blog/TpT planner to jot down ideas... I think I know how to spend some of my next TpT payout money ;) Michelle's HELLO Planner has been on my wishlist far too long... And it's currently half price :D

Sunday Scoop!

Time to link up with the Teaching Trio for this week's Sunday Scoop!

Have to:

■ It's been a lovely break, but I've actually had to work today as the children at our school are full boarders! I only had to be there for a couple of hours so it wasn't too bad, plus I managed to catch up with some jobs I needed to do so tomorrow should be an easier day!

■ I have almost finished my back wall display and just need to replace one section of it with more recent work from the kids, but I'm still waiting for some late finishers to hand in their posters! I also need to put back all the paper snowflakes on the windows... the cleaner had to take them down over the holiday break to clean the windows!

■ Yes, I still have exams to grade and will be doing that tonight :/

Hope to:

■ I hope I will have time to take some photos of my new displays so I can show you all what I've been up to for the last couple of days! Let's say it involved lots of laminating, cutting & stapling!

■ I have just acquired 2 new sets of clipart which I LOVE! I now need to start creating some new products for my TpT store! Expect some glitter!

Happy to:

■ Just like we would in France, we always try to celebrate Epiphany with a King Cake on the first Sunday of January. The French version is made of puff pastry and almond cream filling. Below is a picture of the remaining piece ;D

Don't forget to click on the image below to read other bloggers' scoops:

Have a great first week!!! And I almost forgot:

HAPPY NEW YEAR TO YOU ALL!!!

I HOPE YOU HAVE A FANTASTIC ONE :)