Mrs. Thomas's 'OWL'standing 5th Grade: July 2014

Hiiii to all of you, my new friends, my new classroom family! I am so very excited to meet you and absolutely CANNOT wait to get to know you!!! This is your go-to site for all things in our classroom. Each day, I will post updates about our day in the classroom so you and your parents can feel as if they are a part of our day and any questions about subject matter, homework, or content can be answered through this useful tool. I have used this since 2010, but the last few years haven't been updated as periodically as before (sadly, I only had about 4-5 students at home with computers so it wasn't being utilized to the fullest potential as it had in years previous). Take a tour and become acquainted with how I "roll"- specifically focusing on the years 2010, 2011, and 2012 (starting in January 2011, specifically - you can find these in the archives on the right side from the toolbar). I like to post videos of our day, links to help sites, tips, and highlight homework in case you have any questions. At the bottom of these posts, you'll even find a poll so be sure you scroll down and vote- I can't wait to see our results! Also, scroll alllllll the way down to the bottom to see many links worthy of your viewing and perusing (and bookmarking, perhaps) as well as a place to "feed" some fish with your computer mouse (it's mindless fun, promise!).

Now, back to this post...
I thought you'd like to at least know a little bit about me so you can feel at ease with having the new gal on the block here at St. Mary as a part of your 5th grade school year life. Thus, I am giving you a few lists/ notes about me in bulleted form (and a few pictures too) so we can start to get acquainted!

here I am as a 5th grader on the left (the pumpkin!) and as a 6th grader in the pic on the right (I'm the French Maid, back middle)
I'll try and find my 5th grade yearbook picture...it's a BEAUT! (totally kidding- it's 100% embarrassing)

Basic Information-

Name: Mrs. Abby Thomas
Age: 30 (yikes!)
Birthday: January 6th
Marital Status: Married --> Husband: Brad
Children: 1 --> Jack (my heart!), age 2 (Born April 3, 2012)
From: Winchester, KY
College: Western Kentucky University (major: Elementary Education, minor: English)

Misc. Information-

Favorite Food(s): spicy food (especially jalapenos and Buffalo Wing sauce); seafood (any, but ESP. scallops, calamari, and king crab legs); feta and brie cheeses; brownies and cake balls
LEAST Favorite Food(s): I DETEST mayonnaise!!! (Seriously, the sight of it makes me vomit). mushrooms, eggplant, carrots, celery, and any meat from a can (to those I say, NOPE, NOPE NOPE!!!)
Favorite Music: broad genre 90s' music will ALWAYS have a special place in my heart (seriously, SiriusXM 90s on 9 is my JAM); ANY Classic Rock, (but ESP. The Rolling Stones, Pink Floyd, CSNY, CCR, Fleetwood Mac, the Beatles, Journey, REO Speedwagon, Boston); and Indie/ Folk Rock (the Avett Brothers, the Alabama Shakes, Old Crow Medicine Show, Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros)
What you'll find me watching: Grey's Anatomy, the Bachelor/ette, Survivor, Modern Family, Duck Dynasty, and constant reruns of Seinfeld (the greatest show of all time. Period.) and the Office
Favorite Sports Team: college-UK (sorry Louisvillians, I am diehard too! Sorry not sorry we've had to stick it to you in some high stakes b-ball games as of late! tee-hee); NFL- Indianapolis Colts (my in-laws are season ticket holders!)
Favorite Picture Books: Drummer Hoff; Stand Tall, Molly Lou Melon; Click, Clack, Moo; Rainbow Fish
Favorite Young Adult Chapter Books: Breathe by Clif McNish; Bud, Not Buddy; The Witches
Favorite Subjects to Teach: Reading and Math!
First Job: Lifeguard (I did this for 6 summers and will ALWAYS insist that this is the best job ever for a teenager and college age individual!)
Reasons I became a teacher: my parents AND grandparents all were; I have always LOVED working with children (I coached middle school cheerleading all through high school, taught preschool in college, first went to college to be a Pediatrician, and absolutely loved school when I was younger)
Favorite school years for me: 4th grade (this teacher is who I aspire to be- she was THE BEST!); 5th grade; 7th grade; and 12th grade
5th grade memories: playing Sonic the Hedgehog2 [click there for some fun!] on my Sega game system pretty much every. single. waking. hour; doing grammar work every single morning to start our day (Grammar control and identifying crimes [as Weird Al parodies] against it are pretty much my most favorite thing ever); becoming an aunt (my niece, Cathryn [whom I call, "Prissy"] is almost 20 and is starting her sophomore year at Murray State University this fall); end of the year dance and lock-in; earning a Presidential fitness award; being a Kindergarten big buddy; winning Districts and Regionals for the 2nd year in a row on our school's Academic Team; cheerleading for pee-wee football and basketball; being a part of D.A.R.E.; being an office worker and teacher mini-assistant; and feeling important as the oldest of the elementary level! It was such a fun year!!!
FUN and/ or Weird Trivia: I am TERRIFIED of vomit (seriously, even after having my own child, I still get squeamish and light-headed...and, if you feel the urge, RUN! If you puke, I puke and that equals one big smelly mess); I am incredibly into fashion; I can curl my tongue into a weird 'T' shape; I can walk on my hands for an abnormally long period of time; I have been friends with some of the people that were in my wedding since before elementary school; I could read when I was 3; I have had 4 surgeries on my knee and need a fifth; I was a competitive gymnast until I was 10; I was a cheerleader from ages 9 to 18 and was named the Most Valuable Cheerleader and captain of my varsity squad my senior year; I once dyed my hair dark, dark brown and my parents and husband begged me to dye it back blonde; I get annoyed with basic grammar mistakes (your/ you're, then/ than, its/ it's, over usage of apostrophes, etc.) in adults because I always say that my students know better and so should they!
Favorite fun sites to check out/ bookmark:

You're getting old (seriously, GO to this! It. is. so. so. cool.)
GeoGuessr
Incredibox
Ron Winter's Online Drums
Mr. Wolfe's Math;

IXL 5th grade Math;

Interactive sites for education

5th grade games - Funbrain

Smithsonian Museum

Satellite fly-bys (plug in your zip code!)

Solar System in 3D

Human Body Games

Cool Math
Akinator (the Web Genie)
Math

Ben's Guide to U.S. Government

Congress for Kids

Fact Monster World Geography

Figurative Language Baseball

Mr. Nussbaum's Sentence Surgeon

Mr. Nussbaum's Torture the Teacher

Extreme Sentence Surgeon

Fun 4 the Brain

Learning Games for Kids

ABCya!

Prongo games for fun

Knowledge Adventure

Fifth Grade Hands-on Activities
Retro SUPER NINTENDO GAMES online!!!
Chicken on a raft (pointless fun)
Nick Reboot (watch Nickelodeon on the internet just as I watched it on TV back in the day!)

I promise that these are so, soooo worth your while! Be ready to share which sites/ games are your favorite and what you enjoyed most! Most importantly, warm up those brains for back to school and well, HAVE SOME FUN (while practicing too)!