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Fit Teacher Gear Review - Samsung Gear Fit

So, I'm usually ALL about the cheapest possible way to work out. It's no secret that teacher's don't make that much, so each penny is precious. A lack of funds shouldn't be an excuse for not staying active. With that in mind, I tried to resist the "smart watch" craze as long as possible. Really, I did...

But, then the Samsung Gear Fit went on sale....then it was further reduced at Best Buy for being an open box. Basically it was calling my name.

Right out of the box, it's pretty tech-y looking, with a shiny screen that you can customize with different wallpapers.

Here's my Gear Fit on, with the multicolor wallpaper. You can change the 'timeout' of the screen, so it goes back to black in 15, 30 seconds or a minute - just like a cell phone.

I have a Samsung Note phone, so it was super easy to sync to my phone. You literally just turn on Bluetooth and they sync together. It is supposed to be as simple with Iphones and other brands as well, but I can't guarantee.

You do have to download an additional app - the Geat Fit Manager- in order to store and look up your stats. Now, here's the tricky part. The Gear Fit Manager syncs your Gear Fit (the watch), to another app - the S Health app. That's where you can actually pull up all your stats. So, there's all that to deal with, which is a little bit of a task. But I think it's worth it for everything you get.

The S Health app is where you go to access all your data that the GearFit collects, however, you can see recent data on your GearFit without ever going to your phone. 

Other devices, like the FitBit don't have screens, so you can't see your progress without acessing another device. 

I love being able to check at any time how many miles I've walked (P.S. I average 4 miles of walking just around the classroom!)

I used my GearFit on a treadmill to check for accuracy, and it was off by about .02 miles, during a run. That's not too much, and I'm sure it was affected by me holding a water bottle while running. 

You can also use the S Health app to keep track of your food intake, track your heart rate (taken from the GearFit sensor) and track your weight. The app is similar to most other health and fitness tracker apps, but I like that it's super easy to use and syncs with my Gear Fit so easily. 

Here's where it really gets awesome:
For  roughly the same price, the Gear Fit lets you sync your email, phone, texts, calendar and other alerts. This means, when I'm teaching, or just out and about, I can feel my watch vibrate and know if I have some sort of alert that needs attention. For phone calls, you can accept or reject the call from your watch. (VERY awesome when you forget to put your phone on vibrate during class, but it's somewhere at the bottom of your purse!)

I sync my Gear Fit with my calendar, and I  get a quick vibrating reminder if I have an IEP meeting that day, or something due, all without reaching for my phone, planner, or computer to double check. For multitasking teachers, it almost feels like having a personal assistant (or so I can dream!) I've had my Gear Fit for about 3 months and it's already saved me several times from an almost forgotten meeting!


Overall, I recommend that for busy fit teachers, if you're going to get a fitness tracker, the Gear Fit is the best bang for your buck. It's priced at the same price point as other fitness trackers, but with tons of practical features for those with hectic schedules. You can't beat the calendar, phone, and text notifications. Ironically, I feel less tethered to technology because of it. I'm not constantly checking emails, online calendars, planners, or other random checklists. I just check my watch!

Do you use a fitness tracker? If so, what kind, and how has it helped you?

Hello 2015!

And just like that, it's now 2015! I am back to the blogging world and one of my New Year's Resolutions is to stay on top of blogging. This is going to be a LOT easier now that I've joined forces with several other awesome teachers across the glob to create The Literacy Ladder, a blog where we talk about all things literacy -- my FAVORITE subject to teach!

To bring in the New Year in my classroom, I decided to whip up this printable, to have my students re-focus on their year-end goals and (hopefully!) get them back into 'school mode' after 2 weeks off on break. 

Click on the picture below to download this freebie for your own classroom!

ELA Curriculum - Off to Neverland!

Have you ever heard of Expeditionary Learning? If not, I'm sure you've heard of EngageNY....It's the latest curriculum craze, and a lot of Common Core states are adopting parts if not all of their curriculum.

Well, when I decided to make the jump to upper elementary, I decided I wanted to use Expeditionary Learning as our ELA curriculum. I got the OK and we haven't looked back since. I love, love, love it!
The way it has students go back into the text and really close read is amazing!!! We're on the Peter Pan unit right now and it's so fun. This week of testing has been such a bummer because we haven't gotten to have our daily 'trip to Neverland.' Did I mention I love this curriculum?

The only slight issue is that it's a jam packed curriculum that I try to squeeze into an hour block. So, I've made some PowerPoints to go along with the lessons. It's great for those kiddos who need to see things visually, and it helps me stay on point with my pacing.

I recently posted the first unit's PowerPoints on TpT and the feedback has been great so far!

I'd love to hear if any of you are using Expeditionary Learning curriculum and how it's going in your class. 

My First TpT Listing

I'm so excited to announce I've finally gotten the time to put together my first paid TeachersPayTeachers item! I've added several freebies and cheap little goodies, but this is my 'real' first piece that I put on sale.

It's a Guided Reading Binder set. It's a set of binder covers, data forms, running records, and lesson plan templates for those that run a Guided Reading Block. I have several different forms for lesson plans, running records, and in both color and black and white. Feel free to check it out here!


It goes great with the Dots on Turquoise classroom decor set. Can't wait to take pictures of my binder and show you how I use it in my classroom!

Our 4th grade team is starting Guided Reading next week. I will be working with our most struggling readers, along with an interventionist that will be pushing in to my classroom. I am looking forward to getting those small groups started, and breaking out the amazing task cards I purchased from Teaching With a Mountain View. I was so confused and nervous about how to run centers (or learning stations, as I call them for my older babies) in upper elementary until I stumbled upon her store and blog. Task cards are so cool to incorporate with any game - Task Card Jenga, anyone?? - and easy centers to set up and maintain. No more hunting down tiny laminated pieces for me!