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!

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!

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 :)

Sunday Scoop!

Time for the Sunday Scoop!
I love it when my have to dos could be happy to dos :)

Check out other bloggers' scoops by clicking on the image below:

As this is the last Sunday Scoop before Christmas, have a wonderful Christmas! Hope you will have a very special time :)

Currently December

I am late joining the party!

Here is my currently for this month... all the way from the beautiful Kenyan coast:

Everything has an end... Tomorrow, we have to pack and go home. But for now, I get to spend one more day in this beautiful place, eating delicious food :)

I am really excited about joining my first giveaway! Michelle from Michelle Dupuis Education is hosting her first giveaway and I am offering one of my most recent resource:

There are 4 bundes: two K-2 bundles, one 3-6 bundle and one French bundle! Click on the image below to enter any of Michelle Dupuis' giveaways:)

And don't forget to check out other bloggers' currently posts by clicking on the image below:

Sunday Scoop!

♪ It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas ♫ ♫

I only have one more week of school and cannot wait for my very long 4 WEEK holiday break!!!

YES...4...WHOLE...WEEKS!!!

Christmas is the hottest time here in Kenya so this means beach holidays, warm weather and outdoor living!!! Although it doesn't look quite like that yet, but I'm hoping the rainy season will be over soon!

 

Anyway, I'm linking again with the Teaching Trio for this week's Sunday Scoop. Here's my scoop for this coming week:

 

 

I know...to dos could be worse! Don't forget to go back to check out what other bloggers are up to by clicking on the image below:

 

 

Have a wonderful week :D

Sunday Scoop!

It's already time to link up with the Teaching Trio for their fun Sunday Scoop! Here's what I'm up to today and this coming week:

Click on the image below to check out other bloggers' scoops:

Tech Thursday: How to Add a Floating Facebook Tab to your Blog!

Today I am linking with the fabulous Teaching Trio for their Technology Thursday linky!

I have just added a floating Facebook tab to my blog and thought some of you may want to know how to do this :)

1. Log into your blogger account

2. Go to Layout --> Add a Gadget (ensure you add a gadget to your right sidebar)

3. Select HTML/Javascript

4. Copy the following code, replacing the facebook address highlighted in pink with your own:

<script src="https://ajax.googleapis.com/ajax/libs/jquery/1.6.1/jquery.min.js" type="text/javascript">

</script> <script type="text/javascript"> //<!-- $(document).ready(function() {$(".floatinglikebox").hover(function() {$(this).stop().animate({right: "0"}, "medium");}, function() {$(this).stop().animate({right: "-250"}, "medium");}, 500);}); //--> </script> <style type="text/css"> .floatinglikebox{background: url("http:https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjizeK9c6R1Dt7JjAvoUipjzUPBMZVfiLhtbmc8VRNxSQdXTDDGiTFzR-QIsK2GpgHRymfE1UDYAme4TgS5kDxS9afWZUQkFQO8mq_cZUNLGTX9j1VFcj8PnoOjOjBjhojA1LIRTdnd-1o/s1600/floatingfb.png") no-repeat scroll left center transparent !important;display: block;float: right;height: 270px;padding: 0 5px 0 40px;width: 245px;z-index: 99999;position:fixed;right:-250px;top:10%;} .floatinglikebox div{border:none;position:relative;display:block;} .floatinglikebox span{bottom: 10px;font: 10px tahoma,verdana,arial,sans-serif;position: absolute;right: 6px;text-align: right;z-index: 99999;} .floatinglikebox span a{color: #808080;text-decoration:none;} .floatinglikebox span a:hover{text-decoration:underline;} </style><div class="floatinglikebox" style=""> <div> <iframe src="//www.facebook.com/plugins/likebox.php? href=https://www.facebook.com/mmegauthiersfrenchclass&amp;width=251&amp;height=270&amp;colorscheme=light&amp;show_faces=true&amp;border_color=%23cccccc&amp;stream=false&amp;header=false&amp;" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" style="border:none; overflow:hidden; width:251px; height:270px; background:#fff;" allowtransparency="true"> </iframe></div></div>

The standard tab comes with a blue background. However, you can create your own tab (41x136px), save your image on photobucket or similar and replace the above image link highlighted in blue with your own image link :)

Enjoy your floating facebook tab and don't forget to check out other bloggers' tech tips by clicking on the button below:

Sunday Scoop!

Here I am linking with the Teaching Trio for their Sunday Scoop. So here's my scoop for today and this coming week:

I cannot wait til next weekend to spend some quality time as a family! It will be our first weekend off in 3 weeks and it's my birthday :) I am looking forward to some lazy time by the pool, the best breakfast EVER and a bit of city life!

Don't forget to visit the Teaching Trio to see what other bloggers are up to this week (click on the image below!)

Tech Thursday: Birds Dessinés

I am linking again with the Teaching Trio for their weekly Technology Thursday linky.

Today, I am sharing a FREE website called Birds Dessinés where you can create bird comic strips like this one:

Ericiel Dubois

It is incredibly easy to use: simply drag the bird(s) you want to use, add speech bubbles and enter your text! Once you're done, you can download your comic as a picture.

Although it is a French website, you can create your bird comic strip in any language :)

Click on the image below to start creating your first bird comic strip:

 Thanks for reading and don't forget to check out other bloggers' tech tips by clicking on the button below:

Sunday Scoop!

Today, I am linking with the Teaching Trio for their Sunday Scoop. So here's my scoop for today and this coming week:

Don't forget to visit the Teaching Trio to see what other bloggers are up to this week (click on the image below!)

MYLO: A New Way to Learn Languages?

I am linking with the Teaching Trio for their Technology Thursday linky to share a FREE website to learn French, Spanish, German or Chinese.

 

 

This site is called MYLO and, although it is based on the British curriculum (the site was developed for UK's Department of Education), it is suitable for any young language learner. Tasks & activities are levelled from 1 being the easiest to 8 being the most challenging. The characters are cute geometric shapes:

 

The site has 2 main sections: I need the basics, which introduces vocabulary and provides plenty of practice, and I'd like a challenge, which gives children a fun project to work through such as designing a Football Kit or putting together a look for Paris Fashion Week :)

 

How it can be improved: I think it is a shame that the site does not provide any authentic materials apart from the audios. Although the graphics are cute, the characters could have been placed into more authentic looking settings... This said, I really like the I'd like a challenge section, which puts the language children have learnt into context.

Remember to check out other bloggers' posts by clicking on the button below:

 

Currently November

November... Really??!

I am linking for the first time with Farley's Currently linky!

Listening:

Since my older daughter got a keyboard for her birthday, she doesn't spend a day without practising! Not that I'm complaining of course!

Loving:

I'm loving my classroom so much that I'm spending way too much time in there! I have decided to write a separate blog post about it as I was going on for way too long!!!

Thinking:

Am I the only one who gets seriously depressed in November?!! I don't really like rain, mud, wind, cold, red noses or root vegetables!!! And as much as I love the autumnal colours (on photos), I don't enjoy this type of weather at all. Sorry to all the fall lovers! For me, there is only one thing to look forward to: my birthday!!!

My favourite season has to be late spring, I love blossoming cherry trees, birds singing, flowers and sunny days without it being too hot :)

Wanting:

I love creating products for my TpT store, but it takes me SO long to get something done and ready to sell. I have SO many clip arts waiting for resources to be created...

Needing:

I really need to spend less time marking and I've been looking for marking stickers. I have found these really cute, time-saving and FREE stickers on Twinkl and I'm so excited about using them!

Click on the image to go straight to the download page :)

 

All I need now is to buy the blank Avery speech bubble sticker sheets which they sell on their site. Twinkl currently only ships to the UK but I've got a colleague who's going there at Christmas and she's offered to bring the stickers back to Kenya for me!

 

Twinkl is such a cute website which has tons of resources, a lot of which are FREE. They also have a small French section :) Although they are UK based, they also have a smaller selection of products which they sell on their TpT store.

Reading:

I am supposed to be reading Le Cas Eduard Einstein by Laurent Seksik at the moment, but I've been reading blogs far too much lately. It's so much fun!

Thanks for reading and don't forget to check out other bloggers' currently posts! Click on the image below to join the linky!

Sunday Scoop & a New Product!

I am linking again with the Teaching Trio for their very popular Sunday Scoop. So here's what I'm up to this coming week:

Last week was so ridiculously busy, I'm glad to have a lighter week to look forward to :)

Have to do:

q I work for a full boarding school so weekends are just as busy as week days! Next weekend is my class's chapel service. My pupils need to choose a theme and create scripts, etc. Any brilliant ideas???

q Now that the exam marking and report writing are out of the way, I have to catch up on the book marking I have had to postpone all week :(

q I haven't slept much this week, so I really need to spend more time in bed. I'm just so much more efficient when I've had a good night sleep!

Hope to do:

q I have neglected my family lately and haven't spoken to them much at all, so I'm hoping to call, skype or email my parents and sisters!

q I have stopped counting the numbers of hours I've spent on the computer these past two weeks, typing and checking reports. So I am looking forward to feeling human again and spend less time on iSAMS!

Happy to do:

I'm really happy that we'll have more quality time to spend as a family this week. We're loving this game called Pasha at the moment:

We bought it in France last Summer. It's a game where children play with or against the parents and it contains lots of challenges. The winner of the game becomes gets a family treat!

Don't forget to visit the Teaching Trio to see what other bloggers are up to this week (click on the image below!)

I have also just added a new product to my TpT Store! It's a really cute set of popcorn-themed punctuation posters to display in your classroom! Feel free to click on the images below to take a look :)

Enjoy the rest of your weekend!

Tech Thursday: Keep Your Desktop Organised!

Dear readers,

Today I am linking again with the Teaching Trio for their weekly Technology Thursday linky.

I am addicted to wallpaper organisers and am always looking out for pretty, feminine ones ;). A few months ago, I found this beautiful wallpaper organiser on the My Little Paris website, and I had to share it with you:

Click on the images to download :)

It is in French, but you can easily change the headers on any photo editor. For the font addicts out there, the font used is AMATIC and you can download it here :)

I also love this wallpaper for when I'm on holiday... or for those days when I wish I was on holiday ;)

Guess which wallpaper I am using right now?!

Feel free to comment below if you have found other wallpaper organisers you love :)

Thanks for reading and don't forget to check out other bloggers' tech tips by clicking on the button below:

Sunday Scoop!

Dear readers,

I am linking up again with the Teaching Trio for their Sunday Scoop. So let's take a peek at my week:

Have to do:

q Need I say more?!

q Last Friday, we noticed that our chest freezer accidently switched off as the plug  slightly pulled out of its socket. It had already started to thaw so EVERYTHING had to be taken out to be cooked immediately!!! Yes, all 10 kilos of meat!!! Needless to say that I have been cooking all weekend, on top of marking & grading my pupils' exams. Luckily, I LOVE cooking and it made a pretty good excuse to emerge from my pile of exam papers every now and then!

q Tomorrow, I have to go to attend our yearly French curriculum meeting for international schools in Kenya. I am not looking forward to the 6 hour journey on bumpy roads, but I love to spend time with other teachers and share ideas :)
 

Hope to do:

q The weather has been beautiful this weekend so we enjoyed a very nice Sunday lunch in the garden:)

 Who's eating the cherry tomatoes??!
 

With all the cooking I have been doing, we now have lots of yummy food waiting to be eaten :) so I'm hoping that we'll make the most of our second weekend off and enjoy another lunch al fresco!

q I want to add 'Pin it' and 'Scroll to the top' buttons to my blog so I'm hoping to do that this week. I have saved a few tutorials and just need to find some time to tick these items off my blog's to-do list!

 

Happy to do:

A couple of months ago, I left my computer cable plugged in overnight and the charger overheated... As I live in a remote part of Kenya, I haven't been able to buy a replacement, but one of my colleague's come to the rescue and is coming back tonight with my new cable!!! I can't wait to start using all the clip arts I have been purchasing and get a new TpT product done in the next few weeks :)

Thanks for reading! Visit the Teaching Trio to see what other bloggers are up to this week (click on the image below!)

TECH THURSDAY: HOW TO FIND ANY WEB FONT YOU LIKE

Dear readers,

Today I am linking with the wonderful Teaching Trio for their weekly linky called Technology Thursday. There is a different focus each week and this week, we are sharing great tech tips so keep reading!!!

As some of you might have noticed, I recently updated my blog design to make it look more personal. As well as the rather boring header, one of the things I didn't like about my original blog template was the title fonts, they were plain and very small...

I had used Whatfontis  and What the Font! successfully in the past to find a font I loved from a document or a picture, but I wasn't getting anywhere with finding the web font I wanted for my blog titles. Then I discovered Fount, a button which you simply drag onto your bookmarks bar and... voilà!!! All you need to do then is to click on the button every time you see a font you love and hover over the font with the mouse. A window will appear and tell you which font, size, weight & style are used on the page!!!

This button is compatible with Safari, Chrome, Firefox & IE8+.

Thanks for reading and don't forget to check out other bloggers' tech tips by clicking on the button below: