First Grade - California Style

Humph

2012-02-08T20:29:00.000-08:00

I have wanted to post over the last few days, but life has gotten in the way. We celebrated the 100th day and I have pictures, but not on my iPad. We celebrated groundhog day and made a cute groundhog picture. Again, I have pics, just not available.

Life manages to find a way to hit you again and again. But, it will eventually calm down. And hopefully everyone will get better and stay well for a long time! I'm hoping March will be a good month! Here's to hoping!

On the bright side, I got a new to me car (truck). We bought a new to us trailer for camping, so it was time to get a new truck. We had a truck, plus 2 cars. So, we will sell my car and our truck and now I get to drive the new truck! It's so big and beefy, yet it looks so nice! Now to get it trailer ready so we can go camping before the summer!

Until then, I will plug along, working to next weekend. A 4 day weekend!!!!! We have big plans to go to the fair and date festival (out in the desert) and then stay home. Before that, we will try to survive valentines day and all the fun that goes with that. Until next time!

Busy week...in review

2012-01-29T14:32:00.000-08:00

Well, here it is Sunday again and I didn't post once during the week. I have too much going on, and something had to give, so it might as well be blogging.

It was an incredibly busy and exhausting week, starting with Monday. Monday was a rainy, cold day for us. My kids were all hyped up with it being Chinese New Year. Mind you, they wouldn't have known it was Chinese New Year if I hadn't told them, but since we were doing stuff that day for it, they knew. I had never done anything for it before. And now I will plan it every year! It was a lot of fun. And very tiring. And it lasted all week long. Ugh! Here are some pics from Monday, as it was the only day I took my camera!

Cherry blossoms...not sure if this is really with Chinese New Year, but it looks cute up (note to self: don't put it on the yellow background!)

Chinese lanterns...these were up all week...the kids loved making them.

Eating Ramen noodles with chopsticks...the kids loved this! So cute! They all got a fortune cookie when they were done. They went around reading their fortunes, giggling and thinking they were all silly.

Our dragon masks. The kids got to color them and cut them out and then those that were lucky (who had time) got the string on them and could wear them home.

We also did a writing about having a pet dragon. They turned out so good, but I have no pictures and we aren't done yet! I am a bit behind with the gobzillion things we are trying to get done! And they made little fish kites, too!

Tomorrow is the 100th day of school. It's all downhill from here on out. Crazy! We will spend the morning doing our "regular" routine before going all 100th day crazy after recess. We will do a 3 way rotation between recess and lunch and then they are all mine after that. We will do some writing, some fun math projects and just make it a fun day. The kids are to bring in a project with 100 things on it. I am always impressed and disillusioned with what they bring in. Some are so thoughtfully planned out and others look like junk glued on in 30 seconds. But, it's the work of a 6 year old and their family!

We will also be doing some fun Groundhog activities on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. Wednesday we will graph our predictions about whether he will see his shadow or not. Here in So Cal, it's supposed to be clear and in the 70's so I know we will see the shadow! Thursday we will write about what really happened and then do some fun little things and then on Friday we will make a little paper groundhog popping out of the ground. I really love groundhog's day, though I am not sure why! It's just too cute!

Well, I have a bunch of stuff to do still. Blogging is fun, but time consuming. I am trying to be more planned and organized this month coming up. I normally am, but in January, I was in a funk, so planning and organizing and all that stuff went out the window. Not cool! Getting it back now, though, so that makes me feel good!

Have a great week! See ya next Sunday, if not sooner!

I guess I just post on the weekends!

2012-01-22T15:12:00.000-08:00

Wow! I haven't posted since Tuesday, but there hasn't been a lot to post about. The shortened week was a week from you know where. My kids were good, but it was a weird, stressful week. I am glad it's over! I am almost ready for this next week...I just hope it's a little more calm and stress free than this last week!

Tomorrow we will learn a little bit about Chinese New Year. I have never done anything with it before, but this year I am going to do something with it. I don't know why I decided to do this, but I gave myself the challenge to learn something new and do something different. I hope I do it a little justice, since I know nothing about it, other than what I have found in my teacher books. If I remember, I will take pics and show you all what we did. If nothing else, it will be a fun filled late morning/afternoon for me and my kids!

We have entered the world of long vowels. Most of my kids understand the magic e and are doing well with it. They "get it". I have a couple that are still struggling and it makes me sad that they don't get the extra help at home with it. But, if all kids got the help at home they needed, then we wouldn't have the heartaches we have. Anyway, we are going to be doing long o and long u this week. Long u is so hard as there aren't many true long u words. So, I am going to focus on long o this week and just focus on the long u words that are in our program. I made a word sortish thing to do whole group with my class. I am hoping they start to really see the difference between long and short vowel words! If you would like a copy, you may get it here!

We are reading one of my not-so-favorite stories this week. We are reading The Sleeping Pig. I like the story, but it isn't my fave. I haven't got into it in the past, which I think would have helped. Mind you, we have been using this series for 10 years now...I have my favorite stories and my not so favorite! Only 6 more years til we get a new reading series! Yeah, horrible. Welcome to California. Anyway, this week, we will do a sort between people words and animal words. It should be easy enough. If you would like a copy of this, you may get it here. We will also focus on our story comprehension skill of the story structure. I think the kids have this one down, but they don't always remember to do it when they are orally retelling a story (as required through the DRA testing). I ~~made this~~ repurposed it from the TE book for my kids to do later this week. It really goes along with the story, but it can be used for many stories. If you would like this, you may get it here.

In all our spare time this week, I hope we will talk about snowmen. They are so fun and cute and not part of our everyday lives. I found some cute art projects through Pinterest and blogging, but I don't know if I will have time for them all this week. I basically have 2 days this week for snowmen stuff - not the ideal situation, but I will try to make the best of it! Depending on what I decide for Friday, you may or may not see snowmen projects on Friday (or whenever I blog about it).

Well, I am still trying to unwind from last week. I hope that week does not repeat itself and I can get back into my regular routine. It is supposed to rain tomorrow and then be in the 80's by the end of the week. Can you say crazy? And crazy in all sense of the word - crazy behavior, crazy weather and crazy allergies. Yuck!

I am off to go for a walk and talk to myself for the next 30 minutes. Happy Sunday!

A quickie for the night

2012-01-17T19:30:00.000-08:00

Today was a great day! My kids were awesome, they loved the lesson activity we did, and it all seemed to fall into place. And they were even good all morning, despite the fact that my heater wasn't working and it was 55 degrees in the room until 10:30 ( even then it was only 62). It was a great day!

We did the contraction activity that I found at The First Grade Parade. My kids loved doing surgery on the words to make the contractions! I don't have any pictures, since I was too busy having fun to take pictures. But, if you do this, go to Dollar Tree for the bandaids. They are brightly colored and cheap!
I don't know how I will top that tomorrow...maybe something fun with penguins.

I am off to go watch Wheel of Fortune with my daughter. She's having a Monday kinda night, so time to snuggle on the couch and guess letters! Happy Tuesday!

Long Overdue post...and 2 freebies

2012-01-16T15:35:00.000-08:00

Alternately Titled: Thank Goodness for a 3-day weekend!

Wow! Last week did me in! I was so tired by Thursday morning. I am amazed I managed to make it to work on Friday. It was a long, first week back, but I was so glad to be back and see my kids. I missed them over vacation, but did not miss getting up early. But we are almost back in full swing with our routine and all the fun that goes into the school day!

It wasn't until Thursday that all my kids came back! One girl was sick and then just didn't want to come back to school. One of my boys said he was sick, but he doesn't like coming to school and Mom is OK with him being home, so he didn't show up til Thursday and he went home early on Friday. I would love to work 1 1/2 days some weeks! He is my lowest student and came back even lower, if that is possible. I have to get mom in to meet with her again (she came once then dropped off the radar) and start putting the bug in her ear about retention. I don't know if that is the answer for him, but he can't go on to second grade - he is way too low and has missed way too much school (he's missed 14 days out of 90 so far and has gone home early about 10 - 15 times, too). It's sad, really, but I can't do much when the school won't back me up on his attendance.

Anyway, my kids were very happy to be back. We "worked" a bit on writing some goals for the year. We talked about setting goals as things we need to practice more or things we want to do better. Each student (who was at school, anyway) wrote 3 goals and then made their own little party hats and faces to celebrate the new year, just a few days later! They turned out pretty cute and the kids thought it was the best thing ever, even if it took us 3 days to get them done!

With my focus group, we spent the week talking about snow. We read some stories, did some words with the -ow family, and did a reading comprehension activity. Then, it just so happened that on Friday morning, I saw this cute activity here from Tales of a Teacherista. So, we made little snowglobes and wrote about what we would do if we had a snow day. We haven't had many rain days, so a snow day is very far off the radar (though we did get our first rain in over a month last night!). The kids in my focus group loved this and thought it was so fun! I didn't break out the glitter this time, but they got to use silver paint for the snow. I will definitely do this one again, maybe even with my homeroom this year!

On Friday, I got a wild hair to move my room around a bit. I never liked the way it was, so I changed it. During the spelling test. With the kids watching me thinking I was nuts. Not my greatest teaching moment, but I felt so much better by the end of the day. I moved my teacher desk to the other side of the room along with my teacher book shelf and then my classroom library by the door. My desk was by the door and I didn't like it there. I don't sit at my desk during the day, but I do like to sit there after school and grade papers. I am not ready to completely get rid of my teacher desk yet as many have, but I may get there in the future if I can get my room cleaned and uber-organized. I have a lot of crap in my desk that needs to find a new home. With moving things around, I have made more work for myself at school, but I will be so happy when it's done. I have added a new area to display student work (or it will be added once it's all re-done) and I am now closer to the cabinet area that I can utilize for my stuff rather than just collecting junk. Again, it will be a long process, but I will be much happier being there rather than where it was.

This week in my focus group (which is our RTI time), we will talk and read and write about snowmen. We are also going to focus on compound words, too. I made a couple pages for my kids this week. The first worksheet is on compound words. The other page is a writing page we will be using later this week. We will also be "making" our own snowman later in the week to go with the writing.

As for the rest of the week with my class, I'm not totally sure what we are doing! We will continue learning about penguins, which will be the focus of our writing. Then on Friday we will be making our own little penguins. We are also moving on to 10's and 1's in math. I am hoping for a very easy math unit, but you never know! We have our major benchmark test in 3 weeks. I am worried about how some will do, but then I shouldn't really care. It's just another way for the kids to freak out and panic over something that really has no impact on them at this point in their 6 year old lives.

As for the next couple weeks, we will be busy, busy. Next Monday, we will celebrate Chinese New Year. I have never done this before, so I am looking for ideas to share with my kiddos. The Monday after we will be celebrating the 100th day of school (my favorite!) and then 3 days later will be Groundhog's Day (another favorite!). Who would have thought February would be here this quick? Yikes!

I have enjoyed having the extra day, even though I have done nothing. I need to get more done, but I am not motivated. I should be, but I'm not. I'm in a little slump/funk right now, so once I am out of that, I will be back to normal! Until then, I will enjoy being lazy and getting my workout in sometime later this evening! Happy Monday!

Made it!

2012-01-09T17:15:00.000-08:00

I made it through my first Monday back to work! I am tired, but it's more from lack of sleep than school. It's been a busy few days wrapping up vacation and it's catching up to me.

On Saturday, we went to the OC Marketplace (swap meet) to walk around and get some fruits and veggies. We ended up getting the fruit and veggies, some greek yummies, some bread and some books. Oh, and we also ended up buying a new spa. We had one, but we didn't love it. When we bought it, it was "new technology" where the water was heated by convection. It got warm, but nothing that we could sit in during the cooler months. This new one is a *real* spa - it has a real heater and real jets and lights! It was delivered last night...er, this morning really. They were supposed to be here between 6p-9p last night, then they called and said it would be after 9:30. They got here a little after 11:30 (as I was woken up by my dog barking) and they left at 12:30 or so. Hubby waited for them, not I! Poor hubby had to work all day yesterday to get it wired and then spent today finishing the wiring. He got it all done in time to go to some appointments tonight. He'll get to enjoy it tomorrow night!

Yesterday was crazy! I went to my WW meeting in the morning. Last week sucked so bad, so I was determined to be *good* this last week. It paid off with -5.4 pounds! I then had to go to Sam's Club to get food for lunch, came home and cleaned out the fridge and then finally got to lesson planning. I didn't do great plans, as I didn't have it in me to write out big, wonderful plans. My daughter came home from Disneyland and was wired for the night. It took forever to calm her down, but once she did, she was a goner!

I forget how dark it is in the morning. When I get up, there is no hint of sun. Made me sad, really. I am a sun person, not a night person. But, I was up and ready to go. Too bad my entire class didn't bother to be up and ready. I was missing 5 kids today! OK, 3 really, since 2 went home by 9:30. One looked like crap and said she was going to throw up (she was sick on Saturday with the stomach bug...it ain't gone!) and the other one said she had to go throw up in the bathroom. The nurse said she had a cough, so maybe she was spitting up phlem. I don't know, but they were gone, so that left me with 18. That seemed like so few kids! A couple years ago we only had 20, so 18 was nothing, but today it seemed like I was missing a bunch of kids. I hope they are back tomorrow - the high schools and middle schools were off today, so I am hoping they just hung out at home with siblings. Or didn't bother to pay attention to the 27 phone calls to let us know that school started today!

At least it's better than a few years ago. 6 or 7 years ago, in CA, they had May Day or something. Hispanic parents were encouraged to keep their children home, not go to work, the whole shebang. I think on that day, I had 5 kids in class, if that many. It was a wasted day as you couldn't teach much without having to reteach it the next day. I remember the Governor said the schools would get their ADA for that day, even though hardly anyone showed up.

I'd better go and get something done before laziness overwelms me! I can see that happening quickly tonight! Happy Monday!

One goal down...for this month anyway

2012-01-06T14:54:00.000-08:00

Oh my! Vacation is now coming to an end. By this time next week, I will be packing my little darlings up for a 3 day weekend. I am not looking forward to the alarm though on Monday morning. 5:15 will be here way too quickly.

On Wednesday, I ran to Target to buy some more laminating pages. I also bought this book:

Oh my word. Loved it! Yep...I started it a bit on Wednesday, read it last night while fighting the Nyquil and then finished it up today. I couldn't put it down. It was sad, happy and every other emotion you can think of. I have just started to read Kristin Hannah's books and I have like the 3 that I have read. I have a couple more in my book cabinet, but I don't know if I want to start a new one or wait for a bit since I have to go back to work. I did say I want to read one fun book a month, so that was it. Maybe I can store them up and carry them over? Nah, I'll just start a new book and read when I can.

I am off to finish laundry for the week, go get some frozen yogurt and hang out at home for the night!
Happy Friday!

Denial

2012-01-05T19:45:00.000-08:00

I am in denial about going to work next week. I haven't done anything really to get ready. I have stuff lmainated and cut out and ready, but that's it. As for actual teaching plans? Eh. I know what I will be doing on Sunday, though.

I was sitting outside getting sunburned today making bird feeder things with my daughter and I was thinking about what I want to do on Monday with my kids. I would really like to spend some time in the morning talking about goals for the new year, picking some goals and writing about them, but then I think of the language arts time for phonics and reading that would be gone. Dilemna time....If only we didn't have our focus group/RTI time in the middle of prime learning, I could get a lot more done and have a lot more leeway with my schedule. Grrrrr!

Tomorrow is the last day of vacation. I don't count the weekends cause I have them off anyway. Saturday we are going to spend the morning at the OC Marketplace (fancy word for swap meet) and then maybe head to IKEA or to the beach to watch the waves. Who knows! It's supposed to be chilly that day, like 66 or something! It was 87 here today...but we really do need the rain and snow. The weather guy said in maybe 15 days it will change. Hubby laughed and said he could guess the same things, too!

Well, I have nothing exciting. Happy Thursday!

A wasted day...or not

2012-01-04T15:11:00.000-08:00

Today has been a slightly wasted day, slightly loved day. I am still fighting this cold/allergy/make me unable to breathe and give me a headache thing. It doesn't want to go away. Grrrr. At least I am home and not working. But today was the laziest day by far. I took my daughter to school and drove to my school, hoping it would be open. But, it's not. I don't know how the custodians bet in all their days when they take more time off than we do. I came home and haven't done much since.

I did get a bunch of things laminated and cut for the next couple of weeks. That was a chore in itself. But I got it done, put into bags and they're all ready to go for Monday. Now I just need to plan for the next few weeks. Or at least Monday. I haven't wrapped my mind around the fact that we have to go to work. I have enjoyed being home. But, all good things must come to an end.

I have watched a lot of TV today. I watched Tori and Dean, the Biggest Loser and Parenthood. I also watched a couple episodes of Big Bang Theory and now have it on Dr. Oz. The guy he is talking to seems like a nut. I should watch something else. Or go for a walk. I took a short nap, too. My hubby's work phone I coming here today, so I am playing secretary girl. I was woken ip from the loveliest nap earlier and that was the end of it. Guess tonight will be an early to bed night.

I guess I should go outside and enjoy the sunshine. It's only 85* today. I am laying in bed with a blanket, but it's comfy cozy. I should go walk, decide what's for dinner and get my daughter off the TV. She has been alternating between the TV and building Legos. She's a very good girl when I am not feeling well. But, we do need to do something, so...Happy Wednesday!

This is why I work...and a freebie

2012-01-03T10:52:00.000-08:00

My daughter is at school right now. I don't like being home when she is at school. It seems wrong. I will be going to get her in a few minutes and then we are off to the airport to pick up our neighbor. It's too quiet when she is at school...I should be getting a lot done, but I am not. Hubby and I went out to breakfast today (McD's oatmeal is yummy!), ran to Dollar Tree and then Staples. Exciting times, huh?

When we go back to work next week, we will jump into the world of long vowels. A lot of my kids know how to read long vowel words, but they don't know why they are long vowel. We will cover that on Monday. I hope. I made a quick little word sort that my kids will be able to do next week in their centers. I already know there will be about 8 kids who will do it. The rest will play with it and then be done. They don't like the writing of things down part. Oh well. If you would like the word sort, you may get it here for free! Yeah, I have decided to give up on my TpT for now and just give it away. I figure I'm doing it anyway, might as well share!

I went through all the stuff I brought home, took it out of my bags and put it into a pile. I tried to write out a sketch of the month, but something's gonna have to give. There is too much fun I want to do (it's still learning, but not the big bad standards) and not enough time to do it all in. I still need to figure that all out. But for now, I will be off to the airport. It's about a 40 minute drive there are back. I hope lunch is in the plans for us! Happy Tuesday!

It's Monday...and a freebie!

2012-01-02T12:51:00.000-08:00

Today is my last Monday on vacation. I am going to enjoy the week I have ahead of me. I plan to clean up a lot of crap I have collected and plan for the next couple weeks of school. They will be a busy few weeks. I don't know how I will get it all in and I haven't even opened up the plan book to try. Too scared!

I enjoyed my morning being lazy watching the Rose Parade. I love doing that to start the year. I like the floats and the bands. The horses, not so much, but they seem to always pay closer attention to them. I planned to watch it on ABC (so I could listen to Josh Elliott from GMA), but they had commercials. WTH? Commercials during a live parade? Ridiculous. So, I watched it on our local channel that didn't do commercials. Don't really love the commentators, but they were OK this year. Anyway, I finally got up, took a shower and put on lazy clothes. That's as far as I have made it today. I am so sorry for those of you that had to go to work today...it seems criminal.

I did get one thing done today! I made a problem solving mini unit. I found the cutest graphics at Scrappin' Doodles and just had to make something to go with it. Too cute. I almost (not really!) wish I was back at work to use them. Next week will be here soon enough! ;) I was going to upload it to TpT, but it wouldn't work. I think it was a sign telling me to share. Many bloggers have been so generous and sharing their fabulousness. I will share my mediocrity with you all, too! I want my kids to get their brains thinking again, so I made this one a little simpler than normal. I know they will have vacation brain when we get back, but they have to do work, too! You can click here to download my little problem solving unit. If you do download, please leave me a little note that you did and tell me what you think!

I am going to try to make some problem solving units to last me through the end of January, but right now it's just a thought. I need to make some lunch for my daughter and I and then tackle some of the mess. Or go sit outside where it is a toasty 83*. I'm not a fan of winter heat, but it beats the snow any day! We will be cooling off to the 70's and 60's soon, and I figure it will rain when we have to go back to work. But for now, I will enjoy sitting on the couch with the windows open in January! Happy Monday to you all! If you went back today, I hope your day was fantastic! If you are still on vacation, continue to enjoy!

Day 1

2012-01-01T17:01:00.000-08:00

I am not very creative today in terms of coming up with a catchy title. I have been doing laundry, cleaning and just gone done working out. Yep, 1 day down, a lot more to go! Actually, it was just the next day in the workout cycle, so I kinda had to do it. And a crappy weigh in today is much more motivation! It wasn't what I was wanting, but it never is, really.

We managed to stay up til midnight last night. We watched the lsat 3 minutes in NY before the ball dropped. Kinda anti-climatic, really. Then I went to sleep. I had to be up early to hear that I had gained weight. Yeah, sucky start to the year. We stayed up and watched movies last night. We watched Our Idiot Brother and Horrible Bosses. Eh, not the greatest, but they did kill time. That and playing Fishdom in my iPad helped the time go quickly. Fishdom is kind of a dumb game, but it's so addicting! My hubby and I try to play it together. I had to laugh when he told me he just figured out the object of the game after playing it for a while. Too funny!

Fortunately for me, we have another week off. Most of the district around us are off for another week, but some do go back on Tuesday. My daughter, who is at a charter school, goes back on Tuesday. I am sad that she will be at school and I will be home. I want to be able to be with her. Luckily she is out at 11:30, so it's OK. It does suck that I have to get up and be presentable at 7:30 to take her to work. That's not so good. Good-bye pajama days, hello having to get dressed. :( I am hoping I can make time for myself while she is gone and get some stuff done for my kids as well as get some things organized. I have a ton of crap at home for school that I need to go through, but it just gets piled up higher and higher. My goal this week is to get it done, figure out what I need to take to school and then start taking in a bag of stuff each day once we go back. I also have a goal to get my room organized, but that will be a work in progress. I want to move things all around. I never liked it as it is, but I ran out of time before school started. I think if I just move a couple of things, I will like it better and it will be more functional. We'll see how it goes.

Well, time for folding more laundry. I am starting the new year off with a cold, so that's a big bummer. I haven't really been sick much this school year (knock on wood), but to get one now is a bad sign. I hope it's from our wacky weather (80's degrees in the middle of winter!!!!) and not the beginning of something that won't go away. Lots of water and vitamin C...hope it goes away! Happy New Year to all my bloggy friends!

Resolutions...or things I want to get done this next year

2011-12-30T18:00:00.000-08:00

Wow! I can't believe that 2011 is almost gone. It was quite a year, really, but I am not terribly sad to see it go. There were a lot of good things that happened this year, so I can't complain really. Hubby passed the bar, my daughter started Kindergarten and I finished all my classes forever. Or until I decide to learn something new! ;)

Come January, I am always excited for the new year. I always set lofty expectations for myself that I rarely accomplish. And then the following December (like now) I tell myself that this is the year I will do it. I am trying to set some loftier goals, but let's face it...that's not me! I always say I will lose weight. Thanks to Weight Watchers, I am on that freaking long ass journey. Who knew it would take me forever? I always say I will be more organized. What I should say is I will buy less crap and not have it in my house or classroom. Ha! If I don't buy it, I am printing it off from other fabulous bloggers and adding to my collection of files that I may or may not use in the future! But, at least I am trying! :)

This year, I have thought of a couple goals more school related. I feel like in the last couple years I have slacked off as a teacher. It's not from laziness, but from the fact that things have been so scripted and we have been told what to teach when, so a lot of the fun has been lost. I am slowly trying to bring back some things I used to do that my students have liked, plus trying new things. Sometimes I feel like I really suck at getting my kids excited about learning, but I am also comparing it to the classes that have more fun than learning, yet the kids "magically" are at grade level (but not really!). I have come to understand that I have a job to do (teach my kids), but that I need to bring some of the joy back to learning. I think I can do that with a little hard work and thinking a bit outside the box. Thanks to wonderful bloggers who share their creative abilities with us, I am able to provide my kids with some "fun" while they are still learning.

Another goal I have is to be more creative. After taking 3 art classes this summer, I feel I am a little better prepared to teach my kids art. It's been hard finding the time to fit it in, but we are slowly getting it done. I am planning to doing some more formal art lessons when we return and get them thinking more artsy...or as artsy as we can be! I know there are times when I am too rigid and by the book and making sure I follow my plans to a T, but I am going to try to go with the flow a bit more and see what happens. My husband would die laughing at this thought, but hey, it's the thought at this point that may make something happen!

Along those lines, I am going to try to be more creative and make more things I use in my class. I have tons of teacher resource books, but some of them aren't the greatest or they are boring. I'd rather make what my kids need. I love everything that Kristin has and I am loving everything that Heather has, too. I feel I am becoming a bit more creative by using their things. I don't have the creativeness in me like they do, nor do I have (or make) the time to sit at the computer. I don't buy clip art to use, nor do I want to. I am trying to get more, but I buy a couple, use them and then see all the cuter things everyone else has. But, I am going to try to see what I can do this year and make for me and my kids.

Sitting here tonight with another week of vacation ahead of me (go ahead, make nasty faces at me!!!!), I am thinking about all the things I want to do in my classroom that I can't get into yet. I never have liked the set up, so I think I may stay late one day and move it all around. Yep, craziness talking, but move things to make it better. Or at least get my desk away from the door. I hate it there and don't use it. I need it to be more teacher friendly and kid friendly. It may take me a month to get it done (our school will probably be closed all week, lucky us), but I want it to be done by February so I can feel more at ease with my room. I also need to organize things better. Since I had to move in in a hurry, things are shoved here and there and there isn't a lot of rhyme or reason as to where things are. That project may take me the rest of the year, but I can manage.

Well, my pizza is ready. Time to make a salad, sit down to eat dinner and start watching one of the 4 movies we got this weekend! Happy almost New Year to you all!

11 in 11...a linky party

2011-12-27T11:46:00.000-08:00

Kristin at A Teeny Tiny Teacher is hosting a linky party. I have never done one before, so what the heck! I can wait a little longer to get dressed for the day! It's not even noon...yet!

11. Favorite movie you watched

Well, like the rest of the world, my favorite movie was The Help! I read the book a year ago, and then counted down the days til it came to theaters. My hubby took me on a date to see it! He even thought it was a good movie. I now have it on DVD and have watched it twice! Love it!

10. Favorite TV series

I am too much of a couch potato to pick just one! I really need to do more with my life I guess, but after working all day, it's nice to come home and relax at night and stare blankly at the TV! But, to pick just one, I would have to say that's not possible. I will give you my top 3!

9. Favorite restaurant

We just discovered Jason's Deli. It's about 25 minutes away, but well worth it! It's kid friendly, relatively healthy and not too pricey. Plus, they have their food on a WW website, so I know how many points it is and I can judge if it's really worth it. And free ice cream? Hello!

8. Favorite new thing you tried

I hate to admit it, but I don't try many new things. I would have to say Weight Watchers, though. I finally hit the point where I needed to do something and was ready to do it. It's a slow process, but we are getting there!

7. Favorite gift you received

I don't have a favorite gift I received, but I did buy myself an iPad 2. My grandma had passed away and left the grandkids some money, so I bought it for myself. I was going to buy one anyway when I finished my classes, so I just bought it sooner!

6. Favorite thing you pinned

There are lots of things I pinned, but no favorite, really. I just like to look for ideas on things I may never do and then laugh really hard at the humor part!

5. Favorite blog post

I don't have a favorite post. My Walmart post got pretty heated!

4. Favorite accomplishment

I finally decided this was the year to finish my classes to move all the way over on the pay scale. I already had 2 master's degree's, but going to school out of state messed my units up a bit. I needed 15 units to be done forever, so I did all 15 in 4 months! It was a lot of razy work, but it's done!

3. Favorite picture

I don't know if I have a picture that is my favorite. My daughter's school picture is my fave right now, but I don't have it for all to see! Sorry! Some things are better left secret!

2. Favorite memory

This is easy! My hubby passed the bar in May! We were so nervous the day the results would be posted (6pm on a Friday night!). He tried to keep himself busy and even went to the neighbors house to keep occupied. It seems like so long ago now that he passed! We were jumping up and down, screaming, the whole shebang! Then his swearing in was pretty memorable, too! Nothing like being in a historic courthouse and not being in trouble with the law!

1. Goal for 2012

I have several goals for 2012. I will just list a couple!
a. Be more spontaneous at work. Sometimes we get off on a tangent and we are having such a good discussion, but then we always end up doing what was planned. Plans can be changed and there will always be another day to do the work!
b. Go back to the days of fun. We have become so rigid in teaching that the fun is gone. The kids need the fun. I am going to try to give that to my kids a little more, but still teach them what they need to know!
c. Give myself some more me time. I hate that it sounds so selfish, but I don't take time for me. I go to work, come home take care of my family and dinner and plan, but there is little time for me to enjoy being by myself. I need to do that more and take care of myself!

There is a nutshell of my 11 for 11! Enjoy!

The day after

2011-12-26T14:13:00.000-08:00

Well, it's the day after Christmas. I am tired, full and happy. I had a great Christmas with my family. I always build it up in my head to something big and grand and end up disappointed. But not this year. It was very nice and was what I was hoping for. Actually, it was a little better than what I was expecting, so that was extra nice!

Our day started with our family Christmas. My daughter spent an hour opening gifts. She did get a lot, but she took her time opening each gift, looking at it, analyzing it, thanking us for it and then moving on to the next gift. Her big gift was a camera. I had high hopes for the Hello Kitty camera that we got her, but it is cheaply made and the flash isn't working. We may have to take it back and get her a real camera. She loves taking pictures, so this way she can have her own camera. One day, when she is older, I want to get her a real camera. I don't know much about takingictures, other than I push the button and we have 5,000 pictures on memory sticks!

We had Christmas at our house this year. My parents and my in laws and my brother and sister in law came over. We had an Italian Christmas with penne, sausage and meatballs and lasagna. I made a veggie lasagna. I think it was really good. We had enough food for the military! Between the appetizers, dinner and dessert, we ate more than we should have. But it was worth it.

This week is back to reality. I have to get in gear in terms of losing weight. I have been a bad tracker with my food and have eaten whatever I want, not worrying about the consequences, like gaining weight. I have been pretty bummed aboutit this week, but that hasn't stopped me from shoving food down my pie hole. So tonight, I will break out the exercise equipment once again. I have 2 weeks before going back to work, so it's time to once again get serious and drop more wight. I was down 14 pounds, which isn't a lot, but it's better than having those 14 pounds still hanging around. I have a lot to go, so it's time toget serious. We are going to Florida in June, so I have a goal to look better for then. We'll see how it goes!

I still have 2 weeks left of vacation. I am very happy to have the extended break. My daughter goes back next Tuesday, so I have one more week with her. I want to be able to do things with her, but at the same time, I want to be able to stay home and enjoy the time at home without going out all over and spending money we don't have. Plus, it's going to be in the 70's all week long, so it will be nice to work outside, get my planters ready for winter (if it comes) and clean it up from the Enid of summer and fall. We'll see what we get done. Hopefully a trip to the Safari Park and the movies will cap our vacation!

I should go and try to put away all the stuff we bought today. Yeah, I am one of those who goes out the day after Christmas to get stuff for next year. I actually bought some little gifts for my kids next year and for my daughters class next year. 50% off and ahead of time...SOLD! We also got wrapping paper, boxes and assorted crap that we may or may not need. I still need to get more plastic tubs to store my christmas stuff in and get a tub or tubs for my daughters tree and ornaments. But that will be later this week when I take Christmas down. I may do it sooner than later...I feel like i need to start the new year clean and organized, so we will see. Happy Monday and a great continued vacation!

1 down, 2 to go

2011-12-23T16:51:00.000-08:00

Wow! I can't believe that my first week of vacation is over. And I am sad isn't tons of stuff to show for it. My house is cleaner than its been in weeks, my shopping and wrapping is done and there is now some baking to do. But, it has been nice to not be at work. I love mymkids, but this is a much needed break that I am happy to have every year.

Here is a brief recap of my first week of vacation:
Monday - cleaned my "art room". It is actually what should be the dining ro om, but I have no dining table or fancy china or any use for it, so I use it for my arts and crafts and school stuff. It was all piled high. Now it's a cleaner mess!

Tuesday- I took our neighbor to the airport and then my daughter and I went to breakfast, did some shopping and then came home and had lunch. I then proceeded to sleep on the couch on and off for the next 3 hours. I guess I needed it, but boy was I lazy!

Wednesday- kitchen cleaning day. Now, I could have just cleaned the counters and floors and been done, but no, I had to deep clean the whole thing. I even cleaned the inside of the cabinets, just for fun. I have to admit though, I took my time and had fun using my new shark mop. I thought it would be OK, but it's great! No more cleaning the floor on my hands and knees!

Thursday- my daughter and I went and did a little more shopping. We then met my hubby for lunch and then we came home and wrapped the last few gifts. We went out last night to see a friend of my hubby get sworn in as a lawyer, then we went to the Mission Inn to check out their Christmas light display. Many, many people had the same idea as we did. Crazy! We then went to dinner at our favorite deli (Jason's Deli...we have one in CA, I'm glad it's just 20 miles away!!!!). And then came home and got out of the wind. I am done with the wind in CA...too many days of Santa Ana winds and my hands are paying the price.

Friday- finished the cleaning and laundry. May get around to baking later with my daughter or we'll do it tomorrow. I want to get some cookies made and some cupcakes for Christmas day, along with getting the veggies ready for my veggie lasagna. We are doing Christmas with my Grannies tomorrow, since she has decided she isn't leaving her home anymore. So we will go ambush her there! And then I have to get ready for Sunday, as we are having it at ourmhouse! A bit scary since the last time was 5 years ago when my dauhter was 6 months old! But I am excited for it and glad that my daughter can be at home for the big day!

I am signing off til Monday at least. I wish you all a Merry Christmas and hope that everyone has a great time with family and friends and has a very relaxing break away from school.

I can get used to this

2011-12-19T19:34:00.000-08:00

Day 1 of no school was a good day. I didn't do anything too exciting, so don't be jealous. In fact, I cleaned and did laundry. Not the most exciting thing, but it feels good to get things cleaned and organized that have been left to sit and collect dust. And glitter. And paper scraps. But, it is getting cleaned and organized now. That's a very good thing about vacation!

I also played secretary girl for the hubby. He was gone almost all day with appts, so I got to answer the phone and all that fun stuff. It cut into the time of cleaning, but it helped him, so that was good. Tomorrow I get to take our neighbor to the airport, so I think I will do a little shopping after dropping her off. I will have my daughter with me, so we can have some time together. Too bad we have to leave at 7:30. So much for sleeping in!

I moved my school bag 3 times today. Once to move the table, once to vaccum the floor and once to put it back where it was to begin with. I don't even want to look in it til after Jan. 2. I figure I will enjoy the break now and then get serious about working once the holidays are over. If I am bored in the next week (hahahahaha) I will look at stuff, but, I don't see that happening. I have books to read, presents to wrap and sitting on my butt to do! That all takes precedence over school work! :)

Time to get back to something...I think since it's after 7:30, sitting on my butt reading or watching TV or having my daughter read to me will be the thing to do tonight. I am tired from cleaning today, but at least it's the good tired of I-got-something-done. Happy Monday!

Hello vacation!

2011-12-16T16:51:00.000-08:00

Vacation is here! I am so tired and so glad that vacation is here. Time to rest, relax and enjoy being with my family! Happy Friday!

'Twas the day before vacation...

2011-12-15T17:19:00.000-08:00

...and the kids were going nutty! Luckily mine have been pretty good, so it's OK. I think we are all ready for a nice break before we get into the meat and bones of our curriculum. We have a lot to do when we get back to get ready for second grade, but before that, we will have some fun.

This week, we have been doing more craftivities than real learning, but we are working on fine motor skills and following directions. Here is a look at what we have done this year for Christmas! Enjoy the walk through the classroom!

Our Christmas trees they did at home! I got the pattern from Kristin at A Teeny Tiny Teacher. My kids loved doing them at home. I hope the parents did, too. I love how they are all different.

Our Christmas light names. I saw this on Pinterest and had to do it. 2 others in my grade level copied my idea. Of course one teacher made it seem like it was her own original idea.

GIngerbread people...after our week of Gingerbread stories.

Poinsettias...we talked a little about Christmas in Mexico and made these last week. It's kind of ironic that over half my kids are from Mexico (or their parents are...the kids were all born here) and they had never seen a poinsettia before.

Oops...all our gingerbread people!

We wrote about one gift we wanted for Christmas and then we put it on a "gift" and wrapped it.

Our wreaths...they were not loving this project at all. They whined and complained the whole time. :(

My new favorite project...I saw this at Teacher Bits and Bobs. I did it with my intervention group (I have the highs!) and they loved it. So easy to make! And I am so mad at myself for never thinking of the magic oval or magic circle! What a fabulous way to do it. Check out their blog for more details! I will make sure I do this one every year!

I saw this somewhere last year and it's my new favorite tree. It's made of 10 hearts, turned upside down. Cut out, glue together and decorate. This was the best looking one. The rest didn't look like a tree at all. Kinda pathetic, really!

Tomorrow will be the last day. We have our assembly in the morning for Student of the Month and then we will be making the giant nutcracker. We did it last year and when I told the kids about it, they have been so excited! I got all the pieces cut for it this year (last year I did it as I went along!) so we will start it in the morning and finish by lunch. After lunch will be a movie and cookies and then they will leave at 1:55! I can't wait! I have some work to do after school, but I figure I can still be home by 3:30 and start my vacation!

Happy almost Friday!

So few days, yet so much time

2011-12-13T16:59:00.000-08:00

OK, there really isn't that much time, but sometimes the day just seems to drag on. Today was one of those days. My kids weren't feeling it with the wreath project, which led to a lot of whining and complaining and mess on the floor. Not good. I thought they would love the project over a math test. I guess I was wrong. I was working on their ornaments during the afternoon which took forever! We made the applesauce and cinnamon ornaments today. They were a huge mess. I forgot my bowl and spoon at home (along with the keys to my classroom!) so I had to use a small bowl and plastic spoon. Talk about a mess. But I got them done (and have a sore throat now from all the cinnamon) and they look cute. My classroom...not so much. It's a giant mess right now. I hope the custodian at least vacuum's up a little of the glitter I knocked onto the floor by accident, but then incorporated into my ornaments. Ugh...Today felt like a Monday!

Tomorrow we will be finishing up a million and one things and starting just one new project. If we get it all done, it will be a miracle. Oh and I still have DRA's to finish and progress reports to do. Yikes! And to top it off, I have 2 SST's on Thursday in the morning when I have been doing my DRA testing, so that kills that time. Guess I need to have the kids read at mach 4 tomorrow!

I have a gazillion things to do between now and Thursday night, so this will be short and sweet. I guess I should work out really quick, get some of my projects started and then see what comes next. I love the idea of vacation coming soon, but there is so much to do this week. I can make it...!

Freebie for a Sunday

2011-12-11T16:43:00.000-08:00

I don't know about you, but I can hardly wait til Friday at 1:56. That's when the bell will ring for the last time in 2011 and my kids will be on their way to a 3 week vacation! Don't get me wrong, I love my class this year, but this teacher is on major burnout and running on fumes. I am tired, fighting a cold and ready to spend some time at home with my family.

I have 5 days to keep the kids busy. For my focus group time, which is our intervention time, I have the high group. Mind you, it's just 3 of the 5 first grade classes that switch for this time (don't ask, it's a long story that still makes me angry) and it's only the English speakers (all the EL's are at ELD at this time), so I have 14 kids for 30 minutes. 9 of them are mine and the other 5 come from the other 2 classes. I am tired of finding things to do (it's a lot easier for me to work with the lows, but I was burned out from them) that are interesting and exciting and not boring to the kids. Last week we talked about the moom and they had fun!

This week, we will do some fun with reindeer activities. I sat down today and made up this mini unit about reindeer. I took it from the non fiction stand point. We will read some fiction stories and then compare with the non fiction information we will learn. I hope you can use it this week or next year, if you'd like! If you do download, please be kind and comment. Thanks!

Have a great week with your kiddos! Hope it's a great last week!

Half way through

2011-12-07T19:45:00.000-08:00

I am glad today is Wednesday. For us, we have minimum day. The kids leave early and we are able tom do what we want with our time. We can work, go home, whatever. For me, I stay and work. I'd rather have the time to get things ready, though i haven't gotten a lot done in a long time. I guess my motivation and energy aren't there. :(. It will be back come January!

Today was a good day. My kids were very conversational today and we were late getting things done, but it was fun to just talk and listen to their thought processes. I have to say, I love my kids and I have the best class of all. My kids are just great. Of course, there are those who make me bang my head on the wall, but they are still pretty lovable in their own way. I am I. The middle of assessments, so there is a lot of timei am one on one instead of reading with them like I should be. Next week will be all assessing in the morning with them doing busy work and some fun. I hate giving busy work, but sometimes we gotta do what we gotta do.

I came home today with the beginnings of a cold. I think it'll hit hard and fast. I was fine all day til I gotin my car to come home. :(. I took some meds, took a short nap and then hubby woke me up to go to dinner. We went to eat, and then had to run home to wait for our new couches to come! They are finally here after 3 weeks of waiting. And they brought the wrong couch, that they could have brought 3 weeks ago! At least we got the upgraded couch for no money. Hopefully they don't realize their error. But if they do, it comes from their pocket. They delivered it as is, so...Now I just have to wait for my heater to be fixed...2 more days. It's been in the 20's in the morning, so it's pretty frosty in my house. But, I know how to dress in layers and I like sleeping with lots of blankets, anyway!

Thank goodness the week is almost over. Tomorrow night I have to stay at school til 7:30 for art night. I like doing it, just not when I am tired and getting sick. Hopefully we have a good turn out and the kids hae fun. I think I am off to try out how the new couch works for laying down! :) Happy Wednesday!

Luckily Tuesday was better!

2011-12-07T07:25:00.000-08:00

Yes, it's true...Tuesday was better, even though I thought it was Wednesday when I woke up yesterday. Reality was a slight bummer. The day was pretty good, and my kid who hasntbdone much in a month or more did all his work. It took a lot of reminding him, moving his seat and reminding him of missing recess, but it got done. So, he got all his recess and his hand stamp. He was in heaven last night playing his video game.

Last night was a crazy night. We are finally getting our new couches today, so we had to take the old one out, clean the floor and then sit and wait. Before that, I had to fold the mountain of laundry that was on the couch and then get all the other crap off the couch. Oh, I had to make dinner, do dishes, get my daughter to bed........you get the idea. School work? Nah, it took a ride home with me and will ride back to school with me today. Maybe today.

It has been miserably cold here for us. Each morning has been well below freezing at my house. The other day it was 24. Today it's a warm 28. And I have morning duty this week. It's a bit warmer at 8:40, but it's still cold. And it's been chilly all week long, though we are supposed to be about 65 today, which is still chilly. I miss the 90 degrees of summer. That's why I live here. I like it being warm. Oh, and did I mention my heater went out at home? Yep. No heat and my house is freezing. I sleep with like 5 blankets (and imsleep well!) but I freeze getting ready, eating breakfast, all the things I do in the morning. Hopefully the heater guy will be here early and the couch guys will be here early and I can enjoy my night in a warm, comfy house!

I guess I should get ready for work. It's Wedensday, which is a short day, but still so much to do. Hopefully I am motivated enough to getnstuff done and not have to bring anything home. Happy Wednesday!

Sometimes Mondays just suck

2011-12-05T18:53:00.000-08:00

Ok, today didn't suck too bad, but it was a Monday. And I am exhausted. I am glad that it's over and tomorrow is a new day. It started off crappy and only went slightly uphill. Luckily the school day ended on a good note with a little fun!

I have a student who is probably ADD. He is very distracted all the time and barely pays attention to anything I say or do. He is too busy flipping his hair around (it's too long forma boy and always in his eyes), too busy rocking around and playing with things on the floor. There hasn't been one day where he has finished work on his own in the time allowed tHis whole year. I've talked to mom, but she wears me out. She behaves like she was a tweaked, but I think she is just very hyper. She makes excuses for her son as to why he doesn't do his work. she says she was the same way, so it's ok for him. She says he doesn't like school, he knows it already (he's one of my lowest) and he's bored. Well, do the work and you can have some fun. Today he missed all recess time and missed social studies since we were having fun and he got to go to the office. I was happy he missed the fun, but I doubt he even cared. sad, really. I feel bad for him, since his house must be chaotic. Mom says that they have no money, so they are all worried about that. It makes me sad that he is so out in left field that he can't and won't concentrate, try or care about his work. He is young, too, which doesn't help, but there are other young ones who are doing ok.

Speaking of young kids, our state is changing the cut off for birthdates for going into kinder. Right now, students have to be 5 by December 2. That's great and all, but we start in August. It's a long time til November or December when they are young. My lowest kids for the most part just turned 6 within the last 6 weeks. They were low in kinder and they are still low. Most are boys, too. Starting next year, the cutoff will be September 2. I wonder if it will make a difference? Anyone have an early cutoff for kinder? Can you see a difference?

Today we started our Christmas around the world. We learned a bit about the Netherlands. The kids loved making the little clog. I am hoping to get their pencils and stickers in them tomorrow morning, but imhave 3 places to be tomorrow before school and one of them isn't my classroom.:(. Maybe after recess!

Just 9 more days...I am counting down the hours! Hope everyone else had a great Monday. I am hoping for a great Tuesday!

Weekend Update...and a freebie!

2011-12-04T17:58:00.000-08:00

Wow! Where did the weekend go? I feel like I need another day or 2 off to recover from last week. It was a good week, but I am tired. I think the year, the weather and the stress and frustration are catching up to me, and I am not liking it at all. :( Kinda bumming today. But, the bright spot - only 2 more weeks til a nice 3 week vacation! :)

I am going to start my Christmas Around the World unit. I bought the unit from Rachelle at What the Teacher Wants and I love it. I am going to tweak it a bit to make it mine, but I like that a lot of the thinking has been done for me! It's funny how a lot of the activities are the same as what I have done in the past. Makes me feel good that I did something right, and glad that there is someone with more time and desire to put it all together. We are going to talk about the Netherlands, Germany and Mexico this week. I hope. That's the plan, anyway. We'll see how it turns out. If (and it's a big IF) I remember to take my camera, there will be pics. No promises, tho!

My students really enjoyed the Christmas tree problem solving last week. You can get it from Teachers Pay Teachers for just $1! What a deal! I also posted a new unit this week on Gingerbread cookies. This one has 5 mini lessons for math all using the cute little gingerbread cookies. Makes me hungry. You can pick it up at TpT as well. If you want to see how your kids will like it, here is a freebie page to share with them!

With having just 10 days left, it's crunch time for my poor kids. Progress reports go home next week, so testing needs to happen. I swear we just did report cards yesterday and it's time to assess again. It's so frustrating. And to top it off, when we get back, we have about 3 weeks til our next benchmark test and then it will be time to assess for report cards. Sometimes I just want to teach and not worry about assessing. I know where they are, I just want to teach and get them higher! Is that too much to ask for?
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Speaking of teaching, this has been driving me insane lately. Our second grade team is a bunch of whiners. In the 3 years now that I have been there and they have had my kids (and all of 1st grades kids, but mine are in there!), I hear nothing but whining and complaining about where the kids are. A day doesn't go by when they aren't talking about what the kids can't do. A week doesn't go by when I don't get asked about one of my kids and why I didn't retain them (um, that's not the answer to everything, ya know?!). I think all of us in 1st grade work really hard to get our kids to grade level, or as darn close as we can. I do, anyway. There are some kids who leave us in May (or June) and are just at grade level and then spend the summer doing nothing. Well, of course they will regress. That's where it's the job of the next teacher to work with them and get them moving again. We have been in school for 16 weeks now, and they are still complaining about where the kids are and how low they are. Um, here's a solution - work with them more! Now, before you all jump all over me and say they are doing their best, I will say, OK, maybe they are. But, humor me for a bit. Our second graders have an extra hour and a half of intervention for the kids who need it. That's 90 minutes that the kids are out of the room and in with the intervention teachers. There are about 95 kids in 2nd grade and about 30 or so go to intervention. Um, something it wrong. They send the kids they don't want in the rooms and hope for the best. That leaves about 18 kids per room after that. That would be a great time to do small group (but they don't really know what that is, I don't think). I would give my right arm to have less kids and be able to do small group more than I do, but it isn't happening in 1st grade (we are the forgotten grade who doesn't get a lot of anything - time, resources, etc).

It makes me sad for the kids to hear the teachers talking crap about them. It makes me mad when I know the teacher isn't working with the child to give them extra support so they aren't struggling. It frustrates me when kids in 2nd are being retained into 1st grade now in the year because they are too far behind and they haven't gotten any help in 2nd grade. And it pisses me off that they are allowed to do it and get away with whatever they want. I have a very hard time putting my kids into classes at the end of the year. There are only 4 teachers, so they have to go somewhere. And only one of them doesn't complain as much as the others. The other 3 are relentless and have nothing nice to say about any child they have in their class. My group last year was really good and they were pretty close to grade level, if they weren't there. But, to listen to the teachers, you'd think we gave them kids who drool all day and are menaces to society. Anyone else have that where they work? Please tell me I'm not alone? I hope I am alone and that all you have great grade levels who truly work with the kids and give them the best they have.

As for me, I have given myself a new challenge. I don't have any parent helpers in my class, nor do I have any aide time. It bothered me before, but now, I have decided to embrace it. My goal is to make sure my kids do very well without having all the extras that the others have. One teacher has 4 aides at one point in the day. 4 aides! I have decided that I am going to push my kids to be better, work harder and take more pride in their work. While my class is higher overall than the others, it doesn't mean that they are better (in fact, my group this year freaks when they are assessed, so our scores suck!), nor do I let them think they are better - I just make them work harder, which means we might not do as much fun and art and play as the other classes, but what we know and do in class speaks louder than the words from the one who always has to one up all of us.

Well, this has been a long, rambling post, but I feel a bit better. I will be so glad when break comes and I can destress for a bit! Here's to a great, although chilly, windy week ahead. I miss summer! Happy Sunday!

I don't think we're in Kansas anymore

2011-12-01T17:32:00.000-08:00

Holy wind! What a crazy, nutty day! We are in the midst of the worst wind storm in a decade. I think it's about 9 years, but who's counting? Luckily I live where the winds haven't been as bad as some places, but it's still cold, windy and dry. And it makes the kids go berserk. Mine were pretty good today, so I won't complain!

This week has flown by! I am so glad, as I am in need of a long vavction. I love my kids, but I am almost burned out. Burn out is mostly from staff I work with and the crap that we all go through. I am done with one of the teachers and her constant whining about one thing and then her constant one-upping of whatever it is someone says. Anyone else work with someone like that? They have had it happen to them worse, more often, done it better or did it first, no matter what it is. I have this one beat on being married and having a kid, but everything else - ugh. I enjoy the dys when she is gone and we have a quiet lunch. Today was one of those days. Thank you!

I think I have finally come to peace with the fact that my student who is Jehovah's witness just misses out and can color. I m done trying to make it all religion friendly. It's too hard when all the otherclassess are having fun. This week we talked about pine trees and their parts and needs, but then we also talked about how they are Christmas trees. Tomorrow we will do an art project to go with our writing and have. Little fun. We'll also make a cute project I found on line. If I remember to take a picture, you might see it by the weekend! :)

I think tonight will be a total veg night. I am tired, cold and not motivated to do anything. Sorry exercise, you lose tonight. Maybe to tomorrow...or Saturday...or...thank goodness tomorrow is Friday. It's been a good week, but I am ready for the weekend. A little cleaning, a little project and Legoland may be in the weekend plans. I hope sleeping might be in the future, too! Happy Friday eve!

A wonderful day

2011-11-27T19:46:00.000-08:00

Today was a great day! While my mountain of laundry is still waiting, I got a ton of stuff done for school. My creative juices were flowing and I was able to make a lot of games for my kids. There are a couple posted below and some posted on TpT. I feel inspired today and ready to go conquer the world tomorrow. OK, maybe not the world, but at least my classroom. I am excited to go back to work and get working in these next 3 weeks. I know these next 15 days will fly by. Yikes! I hope we have a great 3 weeks with a lot of fun and learning.

Now that my school work is mostly done, it's time to get my daughter in bed, get some laundry done and hit the hay myself. Working at the computer all day has me pretty tired!

I am planning to have a fabulous week at work and wish you all the same! Happy Sunday!

Counting by 10's Freebie

2011-11-27T15:53:00.000-08:00

One of our math lessons this week is on counting by 10's. My kids have mastered the skill, but I wanted to give them something fun to do once we finish the lesson (since it will be so quick!). I made this cute little activity for them to order the numbers 10 - 100. We will do it whole group several times and then they will do it at their seat and glue it on to a strip of paper. If you would like it, you may download the counting by 10's freebie here! Enjoy!

Cookie Sort

2011-11-27T00:12:00.000-08:00

I made this up quickly tonight for my kids to use at centers. They are good at sorting when it's cut and dry, so I wanted to see how they do with this activity. I know some will think it's too easy, but there will be some who wonder what I was thinking!

It's a freebie for you! Enjoy! All images are from Scrappin' Doodles...I love them! All I ask is for a quick thanks! Happy Sunday morning!

Vacation is coming to an end...

2011-11-26T19:39:00.000-08:00

I have very much enjoyed my time off of work this last week. In fact, I barely thought about it at all. It was nice to be away from the daily grind and do things that I wanted to do. I didn't get as much done as I had hoped, but I still got some things done and my house is decorated for Christmas. It's basically just my living room and the outside, but I would need more decorations and a bigger house. I like my little living room decorated and lit up and then the rest of the house "normal".

I sat down tonight to make up some things for school. I am trying really hard to make sure I do my daily problem solving in math with my kids. I made up a quick 4 day problem solving kit to go with Christmas trees/decorating. I have decided to put it on TpT, but it's only $1! I noticed an item I had put on my blog last year had over 900 views...and 2 comments. I am hoping maybe someone will want it and like it and tell me so. I am a bit needy and like knowing that someone thinks my creations are OK.

Here is a freebie of the problem solving unit. This is the problem we will do on Monday. The students have their math journals and they will draw and write the answer in their notebook. There is no question for them to glue on (maybe next year?), but they work it out and then come and show me. If they get it right, they get a star on their paper. Big deal, huh? But they love it cause I use the Mr. Sketch markers and they think I am the greatest person in the world! And, I just ordered another set of markers to make sure I don't run out! I think 3 sets should get me through til the end of the year!

I am planning to sit at my computer for a bit tonight and get some things created. I am feeling a bit creative, which is good, cause it's been missing for awhile! Here's to hoping the next 3 weeks go quickly and smoothly and we all have a great time with our kids!

Enjoying vacation

2011-11-22T17:30:00.000-08:00

I realized it's been over a week since I posted. Don't know if anyone reads this, but for my own sake,it's been a week. There hasn't been that much to post about. I took pictures last week of whatwe did, but they are still on the camera. And this weeks vacation, so I haven't done anything worthnposting about, unless younwant to read about the Super deep cleaning of my house or the time I have spent doing a lot of nothing.

I brought home a lot of work to do. But, it's going for rides in my car with me. Haven't even bothered to take it out yet. Maybe this weekend. I really do need to do some work, but I also want to enjoy my vacation. Mind you, deep cleaning isn't fun, but it's rewarding tom see all the junk I don't need in the trash and the dust bunnies gone. Of course, I cleaned my floors (I have wood floors in my whole house) and then it rained and my dogs thought it would be fun to roll arund outside and then come inside. The joy of living on 5 acres of dirt! It's a double edged sword...I love my property (and no neighbors!!!!!), but I hate all the dirt and dust and mud that goes with it.

I have really enjoyed my 2 days off so far. Today I went to my daughters school all morning and helped get ready for the feast. I liked being a parent and not a teacher. Luckily she is off tomorrow, so we will sleep in and relax a bit. She is having a friend over, so the middle of the day will be busy with 2 little girls running around like wild banshees!

Tonight I hope to sit on the couch in front of the fire (it's chilly to is!), make a cup of tea and sit and read. I don't have to be up too early, I can stay up late and indulge in my book for a bit. Happy Tuesday!

A good Monday

2011-11-14T18:18:00.000-08:00

Today was a good day. Even better that there are 4 days left before a weeks vacation. I can't wait. 5 days of not having to go to work! I am so excited to be able to get things done and get some good reading done. I just finished Danielle Steel's book Happy Birthday and bought the new one Hotel Vendome last night. If I get my stuff done,I can start tonight!

I got a new student today. Well, new to me this year. I had him in my class last year. He wasn't the top of the class, but hen worked with an extra aide and managed tom get very close to grade level. His guardian didn't want him to repeat, so he went on to second grade. Now, I know nothing happened over summer, he came to 2nd grade behind. For this year, he hasn't been very motivated, gets no help at home, but was getting lots of extra support at school until his attitude got really bad, then the help stopped. Somehow, it came to be that he would go back to first grade. There were 2 openings, and one wouldn't have been good, so he came back to me. I am a little worried, since I already had him and didn't get him to grade level. Hopefully he will be higher at the end and get the gaps filled in that he has. I noticed on his writing today he is still low, which is scary considering he has been in 2nd grade for almost 4 months!

I wonder, silently of course, what goes on once the kids leave us. I know it's not a good thought to have. We are supposed to have trust in the other teachers we work with, but I am losing it quickly. We have had several kids be moved down to first grade this year and it's like the others don't want to work hard. I bust my butt to get my kids as far as they can, but it doesn't seem like others do. There seems to be a lot of "fluff" going on in the grade above me, whereas we are doing work, work, work and a little fluff. I don't know...I guess we shouldn't say much until we are in their shoes, but I know they couldn't do what I do without extra help and some complaining. But, I know I will do my job as best I can and I am just one person. I can only get them as far as I can I one year and I hope for the best.

I guess it's time to play chutes and ladders. my daughter is sitting there questioning my if I am ready. I need to go do that, do dishes and make my plans for Wednesday...can't wait for a nice, fun family day at D-land! Happy Monday!

Thanksgiving Freebies

2011-11-13T19:46:00.000-08:00

I have 3 days this week to teach about Thanksgiving. Really, I have 3 days to get in all the fun stuff we should be doing, but won't because we are worrying about standards and acountability. We will get the social studies standards in one way or another and hopefully learn something along the way.

Tonight I made some pages that we will work on in class. They are more educational than fun, but I hope my kids think they are fun and that they get something out of them, too! Don't worry, though. I am not all work and no play! My kids will do more than their share of craftivities for Christmastime! They will be crafted out by then! ;)

The first page is about Pilgrims. We have already compared Pilgrims to ourselves and all the ways we are different and all the things that we have now that they didn't. This one, the kids will fill in after we discuss what the Pilgrims could do, had and were. It's a take on can/have/are, but since it's the past, I changed it!

The second page is about Thanksgiving. It's very similar to the top page, just what we can/have/are at Thanksgiving. I want my kids to understand what we have Thanksgiving for and that it's more than just turkey!

The last page is a writing page I will have them do on Thursday, I think, about what they are thankful for. We will brainstorm ideas of all the things we are thankful for. I really hope we can get past the xboxes and wii's and crap like that and get to the nitty gritty, like family, food, and free education!

I am also planning to have the kids made a Thankful turkey. I have to make the pattern and trace it and all that fun stuff, but that will be for tomorrow. I will trace the body and then hopefully copy feathers onto different colored construction paper. On each "feather", they will write one thing they are thankful for and glue it on. I hope this will pass with my girl who is a jehovah's witness!?!?! In all my years of teaching, I have never had a student in my class who doesn't celebrate the holidays. Kinda makes me panic a little!

Well, this is more or less the extent on my Thanksgiving fun and games. I wanted to do so much more, but there just isn't time. I could not teach reading or math this week, but I don't know if that would be my best option. Happy Sunday!

Love/hate relationship

2011-11-12T19:24:00.000-08:00

So, I have to confess. I have a love/hate relationship going on right now. And it just started. I am little bit late to the game, but I joined. Pinterest would be the new game I have joined. And dang if it isn't addicting. I spent about 3 hours last night pinning stuff just because I could. Some things are great ideas for school, some are great ideas for my home, some make me laugh til I can't breath while others are just a nice thought. But, after 3 hours on my couch, I got nothing done, except for wasting time and getting a sore neck. Hubby wasn't too thrilled I didn't return a phone call and decided to do dishes at 9:30 last night. I said he could have done them (right ladies????) but then I got the response of, well.....

Today I was a bit more productive. My daughter went to a friends house for a play date, sadly her first, and hubby was out running errands. I finally got my bedroom and bathroom deep cleaned and looking nice. Now to keep it clean and nice for the remainder of the month! I still have laundry going, but that is a never ending process in my house. And dishes will be done in a few! Tomorrow I'll be saved for lesson planning, lesson writing for Wednesday and figuring out still what I am going to do this week thanksgiving-y for school. Nothing like the last minute! And I need to make Wednesday plans so we can play hooky and go to Disneyland! Hubby has a friend/client who works there and we will get in for $0! Score! So, I will play sick for that and have some good family time without the crowds! Yippee!

Well, time to get off my butt and get more done. Happy Saturday!

Time off

2011-11-11T19:14:00.000-08:00

Today was a much needed day off. And I didn't do much at home. Hubby had to take his car in to be fixed (and we will get it tomorrow), we went to visit a couple of his clients and then we did lunch and went to Hobby Lobby. We must got a new Hobby Lobby 2 weeks ago, so the new is still there. Luckily it's a ways down the road, so I don't go there all the time. This was my second visit, and we have given them money each time. I got stuff for Christmas crafts for my home and school as well as some other fun stuff and gifts. We left at 8:30 today and got home at 4:00. Then it was rime to make dinner and then I got sidetracked with the computer. What else is new?

I am trying to figure out what I am doing for thanksgiving craftivities with my kids. There isn't a ton of time for me to do them, and I need to figure out what to do that won't offend my one student whose parent told me theynare Jehovah's witness. I didn't know and she was doing all the halloweeny stufF, tho it wasn't anything major. Isn't that something you should have told me in August? But now, I am trying to figure out what to do that will be fun, educational and PC. And I only have a couple days, really, to get it all in. We are still mandated to do our regular reading and math and I don't want to deviate too much. We have someone at the site who is "spying" on us, so I want to make sure everything I do is clean and in line with the pacing guide. Good thing we are an award winning school and know what we ate doing!

I am planning to spend some time on Sunday getting some ideas together for Christmas stuff for when We come back. I try and do a Christmas around the world thing, but I really need to beef it up. I may scour TPT and break down and buy something. It goes against what I want to do, but I need some help. Christmas will be here and over before I know it. I just put away Halloween...not really ready for Christmas!

Well, time to veg for the night and catch up on the DVR. Good thing someone invented it so we can be coach potatoes! Happy Friday!

A Much Needed Break

2011-11-10T17:00:00.000-08:00

Well, I have made it to November and survived! The stretch from Labor Day til Veteran's Day is very long. It's actually the longest continuous time we have with our kids without any interruptions other than the weekends. Crazy. Today was the first day without kids. And I needed it. And I loved it. I am sad it is over and that I didn't get my mountain of a to-do list done. But I did get some things done, and that's all that matters!

Today was our "Teacher Work Day". It's the union's fancy way of saying conference day without telling us to do conferences. We don't get half days or any of that "normal" stuff. We get one day in the whole year to be at school without children. We can use it to meet with parents, or we can meet with parents before today and use the time to work in our rooms, which is what I did. Some teachers don't schedule conferences and hope parents come today, but not me. I scheduled a bunch, met with 17 of my 22 and told those who didn't bother to send me a paper back any of the times I sent them home that I would be available today. No one came and I am not sad!

I had big, lofty plans, but then I got side tracked. I wanted to put my read aloud books in buckets, but I am not a good visual perception person, so my buckets were too big and my shelf too small. So, I took all the books out of the buckets, put them back on the shelves and then tackled my student library. I "leveled" the books there, but there are really only 3 levels instead of the gazillions I should have. Baby steps. Now I need to buy some colored stickers or lots of tape to mark so the kids know where to put the books back. I wasn't prepared to do that project, so I wasn't prepared to finish it. But, the library isn't a disaster anymore and the kids can stop asking me if it's a test book or not!

I also cleaned off my board, threw some stuff away that had been there for months and cleaned up some charts. I made some new anchor charts, go some things organized and then left for the weekend. I am getting a sort of new kid on Monday, but I didn't prepare for him. Oops! I know what I will do on Monday morning, don't I?! In my defense, the custodian never did bring me the extra desk I had asked for today, so I had nothing to put his stuff in. He'll survive...he knows me! I had him last year. He wasn't the highest in my class, but he was able to hold his own. Well, I guess he isn't this year, which is a whole other bee in my bonnet. Let's just say we don't love our 2nd grade team and wonder what they do with the kids we give them.

But, I have the next 3 days to myself. Or with my family. Soccer season is now over, so there are no more early Saturday morning soccer games. There will be nice, lazy Saturday mornings where I may actually get laundry done. I might get to work in the my flower beds and make them look nice for winter (I do have to wait for it to not rain on the weekend...last week and this week...really?!?!?!?!). Or I may just be lazy and do nothing and enjoy being home. Which is what I think I will do now...the couch is calling my name, along with a blanket. It's chilly today for us So Cal people!

Happy Thursday, which is my Friday!

Scarecrows, corn and some rain

2011-11-06T17:28:00.000-08:00

Wow! Last week was a whirlwind! Halloween, hot days, some actual real, live teaching and some rain. Yep. That was our week.

We started the week with Pumpkin Day. We did all sorts of pumpkin activities. The kids had fin, they weren't too crazy and it was a nice to day to carve the pumpkin and scoop out the seeds.

We spent the rest of the week learning a bit about corn. And when I say a bit, I mean a bit. Teaching about the "fun stuff" has ended up with teaching just enough that the kids had fun, they learned something and we still got the real important stuff done. For our poem this week, we read a poem I wrote about a scarecrow. I read some scarecrow stories after lunch as well and we talked about what scarecrows do for farmers. On Friday, we did a 2 part, all day project. It was so much fun and they turned out so darn cute! Take a peek for yourself!

First, we water colored the background with the fields and the sky. Oh my word. My kids were silent when they were painting. All I could hear was the breathing. I need to paint more often!

I gave them a choice of some scrapbook paper for the shirts, then we made the pants, the hat and the head and put them all together. Here is our wall of scarecrows. No birds are getting into our room!

I love that each one is different and they all have very similar personalities to the kids who made them!

We also learned a bit about corn. We talked about Indian Corn and how the kernals are different colored. So, we made our own Indian Corn to hang up for the next 2 weeks.

I hung them on the window, some facing in and some facing out. Now that people walk by my room, I feel obligated to have something on the window, even though the fire marshall says no, no!

We have been working all year long on the personal narrative. Here is the last step in the process. I made the chart and hope the kids will follow it.

This last week and this week, we have been enjoying the stories by Karma Wilson. I absolutely love the Bear books. I have some at school and some at home that I have taken to school for the weeks. We are making a mini author study chart to use with the stories. I hope the kids get something from it, but at least we are having fun with the stories. I have noted in my yearly plan to use these with Seasonsnext year since they will tie in nicely.

As I mentioned, we had some rain Friday. It rained all day at school, which is fine, but the kids were a bit wild from it. It was 90 earlier in the week, so I don't know why they are nutty when it's only 54. Hmmm. Here is a view outside the classroom and in the parking lot to show what it looks like on a CA rainy day! Enjoy!

This is looking out my window to the East. Not the best view, but on a clear day, I can see the top of the mountains out east. Could be worse!

This is looking toward the east. The clouds were mean looking, but it had stopped raining by this time. It was already after 5pm, and the sun was setting. No more staying late now since it will get darker so much earlier. The only downfall to Daylight Savings ending is the dark at 4:30 thing. Yuck!

On tap for this week...not really sure. We are finishing up some stuff and will venture into Thanksgiving learning I think. We have a 3 day week this week, then 5 days next week and then we are off for the week. November is a very busy month, but there are lots of times to rest, as well. If I get rambunctious and make something blog-worthy, I will post it for anyone reading who would like a freebie. I am tired of seeing all the cute stuff that costs money. Time to put my not-so-creative mind to work! Happy Sunday!

Amen...it's almost Friday!

2011-11-03T20:25:00.000-07:00

I will be glad when its about 3:45 tomorrow afternoon. I will be able to clean my classroom, getnthings ready for next week and come home and collapse. Or at least I hope that's what I get to do. And to top it off, it's supposed to be cold and rainy tomorrow. It was 84 today and 90 the other day. Tomorrows forecast is 56. Brrrrr! Nice and chilly and fall-like.

No ewe so far on my foot. I need to call in a bit (they are open 24/7!) and see if the results are in. Ifi have to, I can run down there tonight and have them take care of my foot. I have managed to make it 6 days with no meds and can still walk. I picked up my meds tonight, but they are steroids to bring down the inflammation in my foot and a med form heartburn that the steroid can cause. Lucky me! I will take them in the morning and start the road to recovery...hopefully.

This weekend is my daughters last soccer game. It has been long 3 months of soccer. I will be glad to have my Saturday's back, but I will miss watching her play. She will
Lay indoor soccer in the winter and also basketball...her choice. I am also hoping to get her into 4-H since she loves animals so much and I think it's better than girl scouts. I want her to do something educational and more fun for her. We'll see how it goes!

Well, time to put sleeping beauty to bed. I have dishes (since no one else does them) to do and some tracing to do for tomorrow. I threw caution to the wind and changed my lesson plans for something fun. I like it and so do my kids. :). Happy almost Friday!

One step forward, two steps back

2011-11-02T21:08:00.000-07:00

Today's post isn't about teaching. I AMA little stressed, bummed and freaking disappointed. Plus I am physically in pain, so it's not a good combination. I would like to sit and cry, but I don't want the hubby to get on my case.

Long story short...last Friday, my right foot hurt. I didn't think much of it, wore my tennis shoes, went to work, taught, did the carnival, all in a little pain. Saturday I wore my trusty flip flops all day, again in pain. Sunday, same story. You get the idea. Monday and Tuesday were horribly busy, so today was the day. My own dr. Closes at noon on Wednesday's, so to urgent care I went. 90 minutes later, still not sure what's wrong with me. Originally, the PA told me it was planter fasiiutus. So I don't know how to spell it, but if that's the case, my flip flop days are over and I may need some xanex to get me through it. But, I took xrays and then he changed his tune. He told me, and I think he made it up, that he thought it was a bone island. Seriously...I couldn't make it up. He said there are extra bones in hands and feet that can cause problems. He wnted an xray of my "good" foot to compare. Guess what...not there! So now, there is fear I have a stress fracture in my foot. WTH???? But their xray screen isn't great, so he has to send it out to someone better and then let me know on Friday. Ugh. He gave me a list of drugs, but I haven't got them filled...waiting to see if I can wait til Friday before I fill them. I guess there is a lot of inflammation in my foot, so they want me to take these super anti inflammatories and a steroid. And no exercise. I'm not the queen of exercise, but I have been starting to enjoy it and am liking the results I am getting, no matter how how small. It has been a week and I am not liking what I am seeing. Then to make matters worse, my husband is being a big jerk about the whole thing, which makes me feel like an idiot.

Worst case, it's a stress fracture and I will be unable to walk on It for a few weeks. That means no exercise til it heals. And I would have to wear the lovely black boot and possibly be on crutches. If not, I just have to go buy dr. Shols things and wear them in my shoes like an old lady. Not happy about that, either. So tonight, I feel like a slug who cant do anything and I am crabby and getting crap from the hubby. Gggrrrrrr! Just when I think I am making good progress, something happens to derail it. Makes me mad, sad and pissed.

Think I will take some Tylenol and hit the hay. Another busy day of hobbling around and trying to do my job. Happy Wednesday!

We survived...and other random thoughts

2011-11-01T19:58:00.000-07:00

Well,we survived another Halloween season. My kids were angels yesterday on Halloween. We did pumpkin day, or a short, abbreviated version of it. I just wasn't feeling it. My kids didn't seem that into it, either. Kinda sad. But, the day came and went and they went home. I told them, er warned them, that they were to bed on their best behavior today and to not eat all their candy for breakfast. They were very good today and we had no problems. One of our better days, really. Kinda scary if you think about it. Tomorrow will hopefully be just as good.

We had an assembly today for red ribbon week. Some DEA officers were there talking to the kids about what red ribbon week is for, how it all started and to remind them tom say no to drugs. The best part of the whole thing...they landed a helicopter on the field. So cool! They unfortunately didn't bring any dogs, but it was good nonetheless. The agents were there all decked out, been with their weapons. The kids were in awe. And so was their teacher. A neat way to end the day!

I started conferences today. I met with 3 parents, and they were all pretty easy. 2 were OK, the other is really low, but he needs testing and I am working on getting him to that point. It makes my Jon a bit harder to have to jump thru hoops, but I am doing it. Fun.

It was interesting talking to a parent. The kid is new tom school and sweet as can be. The parents are super supportive and want to make sure their child is doing well. I love that, and feel bad that I had the wrong impression of the dad. My first impression - Gang member. Sad, but completely possible. Tats all over, dresses like one, etc. I've talked with dad a lot and he is the nicest guy. In fact, he is a good dad...takes care of the one in my class and helps with the baby while the mom is helping her mom. Makes me so happy to see dads take an active role in their child's lives. There are too many who aren't there are who don't care. My hubby makes sure he is involved, and he has helped several times in my daughters class.

I will be doing conferences every afternoon from here til next Wednesday. I may have some next Thursday, but it is a teacher work day and I would rather work than conference. We'll see how that goes...if that goes. I want to clean, organize and wrap my mind around the next trimester. I need to make things nice and neat and more prepared than I am now. Lucky for me, the kids have no idea what they are supposed to be doing!

Well, my daughter decided tom write all over herself with a black sharpie, so it's time to scrub away. Happy Tuesday!

Report Card time again

2011-10-30T17:51:00.000-07:00

Well, it's that time of year - report cards. We have completed 12 weeks. 12 weeks! Where did the time go? Report cards will go homeon Friday. I have been sitting in front of the computer all afternoon working on them. And they are almost done. I have a couple things to fill in, but otherwise they are complete and ready to be printed!

I don't know about you, but my report cards don't tell the parents anything. They are really a waste of paper and time. We would like to make changes, but they tell us it would cost too much money to have the company fix them. And with the Common Core Standards coming into play soon, they will change them when it's time for those, but no sooner. So, we do crappy report cards that mean very little and then I write a small novel in the comment section.

Now that report cards are done, it is conference time. I am envious of those of you that have time for them during the school day. We are given next Thursday as a teacher work day to do conferences. The next day is a holiday, so no one wants to stick around town. I plan on doing mine over the next few days after school and hopefully will meet with most parents before the teacher work day. I want to use my work day to work in my room and get my mind wrapped around what I am doing.

Speaking of wrapping my head around what we are doing...I started my science unit on weather, but it has been a bust. There are 3 days left in my plans to do weather, and I have about 4 weeks worth of teaching/learning to do. I am thinking of putting it on hold and revisiting it in January, when we may have weather. Sounds crazy? Stupid? Unplanned? I think I would rather spend the next couple of weeks doing something educationally fun with corn/scarecrows/thanksgiving. I'm gonna do it...throw caution to the wind and just plan it. This isn't my best year in my mind, so why not keep it up, give me something to work on and do something fun for a change that the kids might be able to learn from.

With that in mind, I should start working on it and getting my butt in gear. Tomorrow is Pumpkin Day and then Tuesday will be November. We will have exactly 12 days of school between Halloween and Thanksgiving to get it all in and learn something! Yikes! Happy Sunday!

Rewind...a week in review

2011-10-29T21:00:00.000-07:00

Woo-hoo! I am posting on a Saturday night! That's a whole day early for me. I just plopped down in front of the computer and thought I would post about the week. Or Friday, really. Friday was the day where we did our "fun", so that's all the counts! :)

A quick recap from 2 weeks ago...we had read some Huggly books by Tedd Arnold. I had bought them years ago, read them a couple times, didn't care for them and left them in the bookcase. I pulled them out this year and read them and loved them. My kids absolutely loved them and were so excited each day when I would read to them. Last Friday we did a directed drawing of Huggly. I am trying my darndest to get more art into my week, but dang it if those weeks don't just fly by! Here are some of their works of art...Huggly art.

There is a wall in the library that these are hanging on. The librarian has opened it up for others, but no one has given her anything, so I will keep it decorated as well as I can!

Yesterday, we did Spider Day. We spent the week leading up to Friday reading the Miss Spider books by David Kirk and also doing some spider problem solving. I was trying to get some "fun" in and make it educational at the same time. We learned all about spiders within the 4 hours or so that we had. We may not have learned it all, but we had fun in the process. And the kids were so good all day, considering they were slightly crazy on Thursday.

We started by reading Spiders by Gail Gibbons. I love her books. I would like to do an author study, but they are so themed that it would be hard. I just love the illustrations and the fact that they are non fiction. We then filled in the chart above and then the kids filled in their papers below.

The students did this reading comprehension page and drew a spider. After this, they were drawing spiders on everything they could find!

I found the cutest blog all about using toilet paper rolls. I have to find it again, as I lost it (along with my mind!). I saw these cute spiders and we had to make them. Luckily I have been saving tp rolls all summer and beyond and have plenty. If I have time, we will make a pumpkin on Monday! Too cute! I think their spiders turned out so cute, especially with the googly eyes!

This one is a Black Widow. The little girl took a lot of time to get it just right. Then the eye came off right after I took this and it was "ruined".

We marble painted webs. They turned out better than mine last year. This year, I used silver tempra paint on the black paper. I love the silver and may look into buying the gold one, too!

We put the spiders on their webs!

We ended the day by making our own paper spiders with the accordian legs. It would have been easier to just watch a movie or do centers, but no, crazy teacher decided to do one more projects! What was I thinking? I was so tired after yesterday, but it was a good tired. We then had the school carnival/festival/beg for money thing last night. I made $68, which is good considering I normally make $20 if I am lucky. I charged 25 cents per game, which was fair for candy (which I got all donated by parents!!!!). Some crazy teachers were charging 75 cents for dumb games, but the kids were paying it. I way low-balled my game. Whoda thunk it?

I left the carnival at almost 8pm with a migraine. I came home, collapsed in bed (with my clothes on from the day) and laid there, hoping to not be sick. Luckily the migraine went away a little bit later and I slept like a baby (thank you, Tylenol PM!).

Today I had such big plans, but in the end, they didn't happen. Hubby and I spent the morning at soccer, looking at a travel trailer and then debating on the trailer. It's used, it's in pretty good shape with some minor repair work and I think it'll be ours tomorrow if the fridge, A/C and water heater work. Camping here we come! I did manage to clean my daughter's room, which is a feat in itself! Her room is a mess almost all the time. I guess I suck at parenting that way! Then tonight, we went to Hobby Lobby! I can say that now! It opened yesterday down the way from us! I could have been there for hours, but they were getting ready to close. :( I bought some cute owl stuff for my home, a couple things for my daughter and then we came home. But I will be back. Maybe next weekend...:)

I should be working on report cards, but that will be for tomorrow. Once I get working on them I can get the done quickly, but I need to finish grading before I can actually do report cards! I think I will get my daughter to bed, go to bed myself and sleep for the night. Tomorrow will be a busy day! Happy Saturday!

They have lost their minds!

2011-10-27T21:04:00.000-07:00

Oh. My. Word. My kid have lost their ever loving minds. A few days before Halloween and our school carnival and they are nuttier than a squirrels stash. I will be so glad when Monday is over, and even happier come wednesday when the sugar wears off!

I tried to do some fun crafty projects with my kids, but didn't turn out so hot. As a whole, my class forgot how to think today. It was bad. They were nutty, I was grumpy; not a good combination at all. I had such high hopes for today and it was such a disappointment for me.

Tomorrow will be spider day. We will learn as much as we can about siders in one day. Great teaching method? No, but it's what's gonna happen this year. And Monday will be pumpkin day. Same idea, different subject. I haven't quite managed to get into a groove this year and I don't know why. It makes me feel crappy, but I am trying to get over it and make the best of it and do what I can to wrap my ind around things. It seems like everyone has it all together and I am floundering. I am shooting for January to get it all together and have it make sense.

Enough of my pity party. I am gonna lay on the couch, watch The Big Bang Theory and doze off to sleep. A full day of teaching and a carnival tomorrow are in my future. Happy almost Friday!

Whirlwind days

2011-10-26T19:43:00.000-07:00

Like very day this year, the days go by so quickly. No matter how well I have planned the day, there are always things I still needed to do. I don't know why that is this year, but it's how it's going for me. Hum.

Today we had an assembly. We have it every year. It's a good assembly and the kids like it, but it makes them a little nutty after. We had to change recess time today to go earlier, then we had to cancel focus time. We don't do well with change. I liked it, but my kids were off. To top it off, it was one of the kids birthdays, so we had to cram in math to have his "party" since it was minimum day. we get out right before 2 on early days, so there is less, time to think.

I would like to say I stay after and get a lot done, but I don't. I would like to say I come home and get a lot done, but sadly, no. I guess I waste a lot of time on minimum days. I did get my writing graded for report cards, so that was something. And I had a parent conference, so pretty good today. And at home, I got my dishes put away(they were a pile) and got the counters cleaned, so that was progress. I lost all motivation when I had to call parents to cancel soccer practice and then go sit and the field for those who didn't answer their phones. I guess they got the call since no one was there. I was a little pissed that I woke my daughter to go to the field, but we then went to get dinner. Eating dinner and then bathrobe and there goes my night. Bit, I did get my toenails done, so it is safe to wear sandals again! So for those of you having the threat of snow tomorrow, we will be back to sunny and
warm!

Tomorrow will be a busy project day at school. I'd like to say we are doing halloween stuff, but we are not. That will be saved for Friday and Monday. My kids are so lucky, huh? But, we have been busy learning, testing, testing and testing. Good times in my class!

Happy Wednesday! I see the weekend in sight. I hope to stay home and rest and relax and attack the pile of laundry!!!! I hope I am not alone in my lack of laundry motivation!

Tuesday

2011-10-25T19:17:00.000-07:00

I couldn't come up with a better title for today. Nothing exciting, nothing fabulous, it was just a Tuesday. A good day, but Tuesday.

I did get all my testing done for report cards. My kids were pretty good, letting me test instead of teach. It's my leastbfavorite part of teaching. I know it's beneficial and useful, but it's so time consuming and there has got to be more to life than testing, testing and testing. But, it's done. Now comes the fun part of putting it all together and start report cards. They go home next week and then it's conference time. Ugh.

Today was a chilly day. It was cloudy and cool today and yesterday, after being in the 90's over the weekend. We had rain yesterday, which made my kids nutty. Today was just cloudy and cool, and tomorrow will be similar, I think. We were a bit chilly today, with highs in the 60's. It's fall, y'all. At least for a couple more days til we warm up again. Makes the kids go absolutely nutty.

It's red ribbon week this week. The kids get to dress up each day. Today was hawaiian day and yesterday was crazy hair day. I don't dress for the days, as I have nothing or I don't want to look goofy when I go home. Tomorrow is wearing red and we have an assembly, which will make the kids go nuttier than yesterday. Teaching what after? Hahaha aha!

12 weeks are almost behind us. I can't believe the year is a third of the way over. I feel like there is a group of kids who need so much more help to be able to catch up and get to where they need to be. I hope we have time and can make some more meaningful time in the next couple months to get them where they need to be. t leastnthey are hard workers who try hard. I just hope they can make it!

Here is a funny from today. One of my kids was trying to tell me about the people in Japan who had the tsunami damage their land. "mrs. Teacher...in Japan, they had a really bad thing happen. They has a big salami that made a big mess.". I bet they wish it was just a salami. I told her it was a tsunami and she said, "really, a tsunami? I thought that was something you eat!". Smetimes I just love 6 year olds!

Happy Tuesday!

Problem Solving unit with eight legs

2011-10-23T19:34:00.000-07:00

So, I sat down and quickly wrote my problem solving questions out for the week. Since we will do spider day on Friday, I made them all go with spiders. We will work these out in our math journals while I am busily assessing on the million and one things I need to have done by Friday! Yippee!

If you would like to use these questions, please do, but please leave a comment. I makes me feel warm and fuzzy! Thanks!

Spider math problem solving can be found here!

Contraction page

2011-10-23T19:03:00.000-07:00

I did something today. OK, tonight, but I did something. I made this little contraction page to use in class this week since we are going to start diving into the world of contractions. I am a little shocked that we are already there in life, but it is the 12th week of school after all. What was I expecting to happen?

In our reading program, Houghton Mifflin from many years ago (this is year 10 on this program...CA is poor, remember?), we will cover r blends this week along with contractions. I am not prepared for the blends this year, but contractions here we come!

The holidays, or major fun times in the year have come up and slapped me in the face. I am not prepared. I am not ready for them to be here. And heaven help me that it's almost Thanksgiving. Oh crap! I am not ready. So, I made my little contraction worksheet a little, teeny tiny bit related to what we will be doing on Friday (AKA Spider Day)!

If you can use the contraction pages, please do, just show a girl some love...or at least like! I am going to use the first page as my whole group match up activity and then the other page they can do on their own later in the day/week. You can get you own copy here since I don't know how to put the cute little picture of it on my blog and you click there (any advice on how to do it would be great!!!

Unplanned mess

2011-10-23T16:20:00.000-07:00

I am becoming the Queen of Procrastination lately. I have not found my groove this year. I feel like I am flying by the seat of my pants. And I don't like the feeling, but I am getting pretty good at it. My plans for the week aren't done at all, though I know what I am doing. My principal doesn't check lesson plans, so there is no harm if I didn't do them, but I like doing them so I know when I get to work Monday I know what I am going to do. And I may get to them today. Or I might not. I am not sure what I am going to do at the moment.

I brought home a box of stuff to go through. A lot of it is stuff that I have printed off from other fabulous blogs and then paper clipped them together. I want to put them together into sheet protectors, put them in binders and have them organized nice and neat for actual real life use rather than collecting dust in my cabinet.

Moving classrooms has put me in a rut. I still don't have everything unpacked, I don't know where everything is and I don't like the flow of my room. To top it off, I have a ton of assessing to do this week, report cards to start working on and a whole lot of teaching to do, too! I almost need a sub day but a day where I am at work and the sub is teaching. I wonder if my principal would let me do that...

I don't know about you, but I am ready for fall. Today it is sunny and 95. 95* in October is a bit much, even for us. Thursday and Friday were nice and foggy and cool, but today is HOT. It's supposed to cool down a bit and then we bob up and down a bit each day. Yep, that's fall for us in So Cal...very hot to warm to cool to hot...you get the idea!

Well, I need to get my butt in gear and get something done. We'll see what, if anything happens! Happy Sunday!

A day off and nothing to show

2011-10-20T19:47:00.000-07:00

I had a great day being mommy today. I wish my daughters teacher had told us we didn't have to be at school at 7:45, but that we could have just gone to the pumpkin patch by 9am. But we were up and ready to go anyway, so that was good.

We had a nice time at the pumpkin patch and then ran a couple errands. I visited my grandmother, ran to my parents house and managed to get home at the same time that school gets out. So much for getting things done today! Oh well...they will be here tomorrow and the next day...

Today was one of the first sub days where I didn't think about what the kids should be doi g all day long. I didn't care. It's one day.they will survive, they will be fine and the world keeps turning. Tomorrow we will have some fun, learning of curse, but we will have some fun. Or at least all the kids that were good today. I hope it's all 22 little kids, but we shall see tomorrow.

I did finally buy some books from Scholastic. I haven't put in an order in years. I spent a Ron of money today, but I bought some books for me and some for my daughter for Christmas. She loves her books and loves reading. What more could we ask for? We also ran to the goodwill bookstore and got some books for cheap,too. Some are for me,some are for her. Imcant say no to books!

Well, it's almost Friday. It was a long week, but a good week. I met with some parents, felt like I taught my kids something and tomorrow we will have some fun as a class. Life is good! Happy almost Friday!

50 days!

2011-10-19T19:56:00.000-07:00

Today was the 50th day of school. I have never put much thought into the 50th day of school before, but this year I did. We are half way to the 100th day. We are almost 1/3 of the way done with the year. Where is the time going? I made a small deal out of it to my kids (compared to a big deal like the 100th day), but decided to have a little fun while learning, just a tad! I threw together a page to copy at lunch and we made a little cereal collage-like thing for the 50th day. Sorry I don't have a copy...technology and I were at odds today!

I made a sheet with 5 circles and wrote "We have been in school for 50 days! We can show 50 with 5 groups of 10!" The kids then got to count out 50 pieces of cereal and glue them on, 10 in each spot. They thought I was the coolest teacher for that. Well, there was the one kid who got to sit with his head down since he is devious and didn't get to have fun. My kids thought it was all fun and there was no learning at all! Ha ha!

Here is a shot of their work. I have just one since it was from my phone and my email is not working at top speed today.

They had fun and that's all that matters sometimes! They had their regular math lesson after this, so it wasn't all fun and games.

Tomorrow I will have a sub. It's the first sub of the year. I should have posted a pic of my desk with everything laid out. I managed to keep my plans to 5 pages this time, which is good considering I normally have a lot more. But the sub is a retired teacher and should know what to do!

As soon as my daughter brushes her teeth, I am going to bed. It was a long day and it's almost 8pm and time for a nice, long nights sleep! Happy Wednesday!

Craziness

2011-10-18T20:06:00.000-07:00

Here's to a Tuesday that can't end fast enough! I woke this morning, feeling good and had energy. Took my shower, checked my facebook and e-mail and then went to wake up my daughter. She proceeded to tell me she threw up last night all over the floor. Lovely. So, she couldn't go to school today, which she cried about. I told her she could go lay in my bed and watch TV. I found out that my hubby had been up all night long with the stomach bug as well. Yay, me! I went to work and let them fend for themselves!

I felt good all day, but I still made lesson plans for tomorrow, just in case. I am out on Thursday as well, for Mommy day where I get to go on the field trip with my daughter, so I did plans for tomorrow and Thursday. I figure if I feel fine tomorrow I know what I am doing and also I have my things ready for Thursday as well. I won't be having to stay late tomorrow after school to get it all done. I swear it's harder to plan for a sub for one day than it is to plan for the whole year!

I still feel pretty good tonight, but I think I am psyching myself up about not feeling well. I am so worried about being sick that I might make myself sick. Trying hard to think of other things, but...Does anyone else do that? Maybe I'm the only crazy one! I am so worried about being sick for my daughter's field trip. I don't want to be sick for that, as every time I have something planned, I end up sick. Last year I took the day off for her IEP and we were going to go to Legoland and I ended up with a 103 fever and strep throat. Lovely. But not this time...I refuse to get sick!

Time to put my no longer sick daughter to bed. She was fine all day today and ran around like a crazy baby with my hubby asleep on the couch. Here's to hoping that the fast and furious stomach bug is gone and doesn't make any more surprise visits. My kids at school seem all better, so hopefully this is going away fast!

Happy Tuesday! Here's to hoping everyone else is bug free and healthy!

And so ends another week

2011-10-16T16:40:00.000-07:00

Wow! Tomorrow will be the start of week 11. CRAZY! I can't believe that we have been in school that long. It seems like we just started a little bit ago and now I am getting ready to do report cards. My how the year is flying by!

This last week was an "off" week. We didn't do a new story. There were no new words and no new "learning" for reading time. Instead, we worked on a writing project to go with the story Seasons in our anthology. We made a picture for each season (one per day) and then the students had to write about it. I will put them together in a book and keep them for Open House. It seems like such a long way away til May, but hopefully the kids will remember doing them and hopefully they will have much better work to show for it come May. Some of my kids did a great job on their work and really are working hard to give it 100%. Others I get scribble and they think it's OK. And then there are others that I had to write it for them and they copied (their ideas) it so they got something on the page. It's frustrating the ones who just don't care. But, I am going to focus on those that do for awhile and get my fix of happiness!

We finally finished up talking about maps. It was a very long unit that I got bored with. With all the pressures on us for reading, writing and math, science and social studies get pushed to the back burner. We have 3 days a week to cover the standards in science and social studies without dipping into the time for the other areas. After 4 or 5 weeks (it felt like an eternity) I was glad to be done. We finished this week with a project. I had bigger hopes for it, but it is what it is.

We wrote on each one what it was - My home, my state, etc. I will do it again next year, but make a couple changes, I think.

For math, we finished up a unit on addition. My kids "get it" but they don't know their facts. And I don't know if I want to be the hard ass to make them memorize them. I have a couple who don't get the concept of +0 or +1, but again, I will focus on the ones who are learning them at record pace and passing their tests! To end the unit, we did this cute activity from somewhere in bloggy land. I couldn't find the actual post, but my kids loved it. If it was yours, thank you! I don't want to take the credit at all!

Last week, we talked a lot about fall. Here are some of the projects we did. Some are bad pics, as I was taking them on the window!

The next 2 weeks will be spend on Halloween and pumpkin stuff. A lot of the kids don't really do Halloween, so we keep it friendly with pumpkins. I have no plans yet on what I am doing, so that should be fun! I have to write sub plans for the first time this year! I am being Mommy on Thursday and going with my daughter to the pumpkin patch with her class. Should be fun to be mommy and not teacher that day! And, if I am lucky, I may get to have some time at home to get caught up on things in the afternoon! :)

Even though we have been baking in the heat the last week, there are starting to be signs of fall. Here is proof we have fall in So Cal! Enjoy our bright blue skies with temps in the 90's!

One of the fruit trees changing color

Little pomegrante losing its leaves. There are some on the other side of the house...still bright green!

Here is to a great week! I have a million and 3 things to do this week and hope to get them all done. First up...lesson plans! Happy Sunday!

Amen for Friday

2011-10-13T20:24:00.000-07:00

I wish today was Friday, but it's not. But there is only one more day for this week. Amen. I am tired. Exhausted. Ready to fall over asleep on the couch. But it's hot in my house. It was 103 today and my house was closed with no A/C on. No one was home, so it was off. Now it's after 8 and I am sitting her hot and uncomfortable. Welcome to fll in southern California.

Last week we were in the 60's with the first "cold spell" and this week we are in the 100's. My poor kids are starting to get sick. I had one out yesterday, 2 went home sick and the. 3 were out today. Time to clorox wipe everyday instead of just Fridays. Other than being tired, I have felt pretty good. Eating better and taking a daily vitamin has got to help in some way! One of my students went to the office feeling tired (she said she was up late waiting for mom), but the health clerk took her temp and it was 103! Poor girl! She never comp.aimed about that, just being tired. I hate it when kids are sick...they are just so pitiful and sad looking. Hopefully my own stays pretty healthy! She was ticketed out by 7:45 tonight and already asleep! Yay for little miracles.

Now it is my turn to chill. A little Big Bang Theory, Greys Anatomy, grading a math test and lights out for me. Thankfully tomorrow is Friday. Another busy weekend on tap, but it'll be fun! Happy almost Friday!

Yay for minimum days!

2011-10-12T15:45:00.001-07:00

I am so glad Wednesday's are minimum days. It's a nice little break from my darlings. They are a pretty good bunch, but it's getting harder with a few of them. Maybe not harder, but weirder. Strange stuff lately that makes you go, "huh?"

But, I am home earlier than normal,and getting ready to go on a date night with my hubby! It's our anniversary today (9 years!) and we have a babysitter and are gonna paint the town red. We are going to dinner and a movie and will still be home by 9! We are party animals. And we have to work tomorrow! And it's 102* right now outside at 3:30 in the afternoon. Yeah, we don't have fall. But we don't have snow, so there is a payoff!

Happy Wednesday all! I'm off for the night with my love!

Still around

2011-10-11T20:22:00.000-07:00

I am still around, just haven't had a moment to blog really. Life is going by at Mach 4 and there is no one to pick up the slack on laundry and cleaning, so that is taking the time away from blogging. Here is a quick highlight of the last week:

Monday - regular day, nothing exciting.

Tuesday - RAIN and my observation. My principal was 10 minutes late to it and then we were 5 minutes late to lunch. Crazy!

Wednesday - RAIN all day. Mind you, the Saturday before was over 100* and on this day it was 63*. We don't do well with major temp. shifts!

Thursday - No rain, regular day.

Friday - A bit warmer, completed tests and decided to do art. Dang it if my kids didn't whine the whole time we were doing projects (they had 3 - a tear art...my fingers hurt; leaf rubbings...it's too hard; marble painting a leaf cut out...this is stupid...and then a trip to the office for that little guy!). I thought it would be nice to have some fun, but they can't handle it too well. Whoda thunk it?

This week is shaping up to be just as crazy. We are working on a writing/art project this week instead of starting a new story in reading. That would have been easier and less stressful. The kids who are really trying are doing very well, while there are others who don't give a hoot what they do. So frustrating, but the norm, really. Between coming home and tackling the weekend chores that didn't get done last weekend and won't get done this weekend, the mountain of laundry (it's folded now), getting in a workout and making dinner and cleaning up from dinner, and getting my daughter to bed, it's all I can do to be done with that by 9:30 and then it's time to hit the hay. These longer nights/shorter days suck and make me lose all my energy and desire to do more than sleep!

Happy Tuesday. I hear that Thanksgiving break is coming soon (like in 6 weeks or something). Maybe I can blog then! :)

Picture overload

2011-10-02T17:58:00.000-07:00

Here are some pictures of what we have done in the past couple of weeks. I haven't posted a lot lately, so here is my month in review in pictures. There are a lot of pics, but they are pretty cute if I say so myself!

We were learning short i words (way back when I think!) and we did a directed drawing of pigs in the mud. I am glad I took the time to take the art classes in the summer. It helped me in knowing how to better teach the kids how to make the lines and make their pictures. Pretty cute! And it doesn't hurt that this year's group is a little more artsy than last year, either!

We studied patterns. To end the unit, the kids were able to use pattern block stickers to make patterns. It was interesting to see some work while others just breezed right through it with no issues. They were cute when they were up!

To end our science unit on matter, we made a mixture. We had pretzels, marshmallows, raisins, chocloalte chips and cereal and the kids were able to take some of each to make their mixture. They thought it was so neat to be able to eat it all together! Now we have ants. Yippee!

To celebrate Johnny Appleseed's birthday, we did a rotation last Friday (9/23). In my class, we made apple tree pictures. We used 3 different mediums - paper, crayon and paint. We glued the tree trunk onto paper (thank goodness we have die cuts), colored the leaves with crayons and then finger painted the apples on. Messy but fun!

In another room, the kids did a directed drawing of Johnny Appleseed.

We spend the week reading stories about the Little Red Hen. The kids colored a little red hen and then wrote about it. It looked good for visitors.

This last Friday, we did a directed drawing of Lilly from Lilly's Purple Plastic Purse. They are too cute! The librarian has them in the library for all to see! She even laminated them for us! I wanted to do Chrysanthemum, but this was really cute and fun! Some of my faves are below!

I have a lot more pics, but they are on my phone and my phone doesn't want to send them to my computer. Must be a lover's quarrel of some kind! But, we did a really cute adding activity with die cut fish. (After 14 years of teaching, I am learning how much fun the die cutter is and how much we can do with it!). The kids had to take 9 or less fish and then put them on the paper into 2 groups and write a number sentence for them. They look bright and cheery on the wall!

Happy Sunday! I haven't touched my lesson plans, but I have my lesson plan for my observations done and ready to go! I hate being observed, though I know it will be fine. I just hype myself up so much and then make myself sick in the process. Plus, I need to decide for sure if I am gonna do National Board. My hubby wants me to, I want to (in a way, though I am totally freaked about not passing) and my principal wants me to and will help me 100%. Gonna keep thinking for a bit! :)

Yay!

2011-09-29T20:52:00.000-07:00

Today was one of those days that made me remember why I teach. I was testing my middle group on their sight words and a few of my kids just rocked it! They are ready to move on to a higher level. Unfortuantely the others in the group are still struggling, but I felt so good and was proud of my kids for their hard work in learning their words. Now it's on to the next group to get them learning their words!

The feeling was a bit overshadowed during social studies when they turned in complete and utter crap, but I guess that's my fault. I let them color, cut and glue on their own without me walking them through it step by step, so I get what I get. I may revamp it a bit, have them do it again, or I may just send home the crap!

I went to a meeting today for National Board Certification. OK, meeting is the wrong word...more like listening to the teacher talk about how hard it is and how great she is. I am over 50% sure I am going to do it, but I want to sleep on it for a couple days before I really decide. I don't think I am that wonderful of a teacher, but I want to push myself. I am a perfectionist by nature, so it's hard for me to think that it's all dandy, cause in my mind it's all crap. My hubby loves me for that (note the sarcams!!!) but it's included in the package of ME! :)

I will be glad when 3:12 rolls around tomorrow. I am tired and have a busy weekend ahead. Oh, and my formal observation is next week and I need to get my rear in gear and get ready for it. Exciting lesson on plural nouns, here we come! Happy almost Friday!

So much to do, so little time

2011-09-27T19:33:00.000-07:00

I think back to the days of summer with fondness, but also with wonder. Like what was I thinking? I had planned so much stuff that I wanted to do with my new bunch of kids. And now that we are fully in the swing of things, it just doesn't work out they way I had planned. And it bums me out. I had such high hopes, and it frustrates me and makes me question myself as a teacher. I need to find a balance. And I don't know how right now.

For some reason, this year just seems to be passing me by. I feel as if the days are going by so fast, and there isn't enough time before or after school to get it all done. I really need to stY until Lille 8 one night or get there at 6am to get a jumpstart on things. But that isn't going to happen this year. With my hubby's schedule, I need to be home at certain times. And with my daughters school,I get to work later than ever before. It's frustrating.

Luckily my kids are pretty good this year. They are, for the most part, making good growth and seem like they enjoy being at school. I haven't had the time to do a lot of "fun" as we have been busy with learning. And it bums me out, too. I feel like my kids are missing out, but I know what needs to be done, what other crap we get thrown at us week after week and then the stuff we do that we rush to finish and claim it was our fun.

It's reflecting like this that makes me feel like I suck at my job. Not all my job, but the fun part. The part the kids will remember. One of the teachers I work with always plans for the really fun stuff - big shebangs for apples, Halloween, thanksgiving, Christmas, you get the idea. She's always heavily requested by parents, and the kinder teachers just love her. Another teacher does lots of art and big projects. Her kids are historically lower than the other classes, but the kids have fun. They are probably fondly remembered by their students. I just hope they remember my name in a few years and remember that I was their teacher. That sounds selfish, but I just hope I am remembered for something.

I don't know why tonight I am all Debbie Downer about school, but I am. I have so many things I want to do, but I don't know how to get it all in. After 13 years, I am still trying to figure it all out and it is frustrating me. And to top it off, I need to find some free time to make a poster to celebrate our blue ribbon school by Thursday. And then, cause I am glutton for punishment, I m going to a meeting on Thursday about National Board Certification. I feel like I suck at my job, so might as well go listen to those who are wonderful talk about themselves. Yeah, I am glutton for punishment. Hopefully I will get out of this funk soon and realize that I am doing what they pay me to do - teach my kids and get them ready for 2nd grade!

Is there a "bad blogger" award?

2011-09-26T18:06:00.000-07:00

I hope so, cause then I could win it! I have wanted to blog all week long last week and through the weekend, but there was just stuff getting in the way of me having free time. As much as I want to, I am trying not to spend all my free time on the computer. I am really trying to focus my energies on more industrious activities, like exercise, cleaning and reading (not industrious, but fun), but there have been days when I just want to watch TV and catch up on all the shows I missed last week!

Anyway, I took a ton of pics last week, but I am too lazy to get the camera out of the car and download them. I feel like my weeks go by so fast and there is nothing to show for them. I need to slow down and take a breather and have a little fun. We did try that today and dang, my kids were like slugs in the "fun" department. They wanted to take their time, and then they gave me crap. Oh well...it's a Monday. I should care more, but I don't today. We had picture day today, too, so that threw everything off. I guess I will just "pass" on today and start new tomorrow!

Today we had a behavior committee meeting. Loads of fun! But, we are trying to work on making the school a much better place with kids who follow the rules and kids who know the rules like the back of their hand. If any one that reads this has a playground and or classroom referral you would like to share with us, please send it my way...we'd love to see copies of what you all use. You can e-mail it to me at socalteacherstuff@gmail.com. Fancy, huh? Thanks in advance!

Now, for all you bucket fillers...do you do this school wide? I was mentioning it to my principal and she had never heard of it before. My daughter came home last week talking about it. I need to go get the book for myself and then share with others. Anyone use Inch and Miles? We're looking for fun and interesting and learning all at the same time!

Well, now that I have rambled about very little, time for some dinner. While the weather may not say "fall", my calendar does and so do my taste buds...tonight it yummy chicken tortilla soup, minus the evil tortillas! Happy Monday!

Snail's pace

2011-09-20T19:23:00.000-07:00

What a change! The last 6 weeks have gone by so quickly that my head was spinning. The last 2 days have dragged on. We have done a toN of work, but the days are moving a bit slower than they had been. I don't know if I like it going slower or not.

It is hard to believe that it's almost the end of September. The time is going by quickly. There are less than 100 days til Christmas! Holy cow! On Friday, we are doing adoration for Johnny Appleseed day. I am going to have the kids make an apple tree to show the tree in the fall. I punched out 100 tree trunks yesterday and have to get the paper ready for the kids to glue it on and then draw their leaves. We will then finger paint the apples on the tree in red, yellow or green. Hopefully I will remember my camera and remember to take pictures!

So I have made myself get super serious about getting in shape. Sunday was a good day at WW, but I want to kick it up a bit. So, I finally opened up my wii active game program. Oh my word...it kicked my butt! I have done it for 2 days and I can barely move. I am hoping to see some good results this week and in the next month. If you need or want a good workout, go buy wii active by EA Sports and be ready to walk funny for some time!

Time to hobble to the kitchen, do dishes and

Sunday planning and some freebies

2011-09-18T15:51:00.000-07:00

Happy Sunday! We are back to summer this weekend. Well, today anyway. Yesterday was nice and coolish, with temps in the mid 80's. After being 100+, 85 is nice and workable. Today we are 100 again and it is forcasted to be hot this week. Yeah.

I haven't done lesson plans yet this weekend, and the day is quickly coming to an end. I still have laundry to do, dinner to make, my 2 mile walk to go on and all the fun that goes along with the nightly get ready for the school week routine. But, I have made my word sort for the week and a new addition to their nightly homework.

We will be talking about short e this week. My kids are really good, for the most part, with knowing all the vowel sounds and being able to blend cvc words. At one of their centers, they can do a word sort. It's very similar to last week, just with new word families! You can get it here if you'd like! I also made a quickie homework activity called Give Me a Minute. Students will read the words for one minute and see how far they get on the list. I don't care if they go down or across as long as they are reading. You can get this here!

I haven't thought too much about math this week. We are continuing with beginning addition. They really seemed to get it last week, so we will see how it goes the rest of the week. I don't want to scare them too much with math, but I also want them to "get it". We'll see how that goes.

If you haven't heard, Scholastic is having a Dollar Days sale. I looked last night and picked out 10 ebooks for $1 a piece and then used the coupon 10thanks and got them all for free. It just coast me my time, my paper and ink in the computer and I printed out over 500 pages of goodies to use with my kids! Can't wait to see how to get it all in! Go to http://www.teacherexpress.scholastic.com/ and click on the Dollar Days link. Happy shopping!

Math and how I have learned to like it

2011-09-14T20:42:00.000-07:00

I was blog hopping tonight and found a lot of people really disliking enVision math. I don't love it, but I have learned to embrace it after 3 years and make it something of my own. I don't go through the teacher's guide and do what they say. The TE tells me the lesson I am doing, and then I do it my own way and my kids have fun and I have fun teaching it.

We don't go in order. As a math committee, we decided to do it out of order, since many of the topics are lame and we need to get the meaty stuff covered before the lame stuff. And, we do some of the easier topics first (shapes and patterns) while waiting for others (Topic 2 - really...what in the heck does that even "teach"?) til later in the year.

This year, I have started to do cereal math. 3 or more times a week, we use cereal for math instruction in some way. For patterning, they used fruit loops to make different patterns. With shapes, we used the cereal to count the corners (vertices for all you enVision peeps) and for making 6, 7, 8 and 9, we have used different cereal. For 6 and 7, we used shredded wheat and used the frosted and not frosted sides to show the different ways of making the numbers. For 8 and 9, we used cheerios and just moved them around from side to side. The counters work, too, but the kids are all jazzed about the cereal and really seem to "get it" better than following the guide.

Luckily, I am at a school (and in a district) that met API and AYP. We aren't under the gun as many other schools and districts are. My principal is wonderful and knows that we as teachers know how to teach and she let's us do our job. We aren't all teaching it the same way and are able to have some freedom in what we do. We are allowed to teach the kids, rather than just follow a script or some moronic plan. I hope I never have to go back to teaching that way. It causes major burnout and it isn't why we all went to school. We went to school to be able to use our creativeness and teach the kids they way we see best. My way isn't for everyone, and I certainly don't want someone telling me how I must teach. Isn't that like telling a doctor how to perform surgery?

Last year, I started doing math journals. I would give me kids a problem solving type of question they would have to draw out and show the answer. They loved it and I was all excited to do it again this year. But something happened and I haven't been that gung ho. I think it's the beginning of the year and we are still figuring it all out. Yeah, it's been 6 weeks, but...

Last year we had to attend a 3 day training for enVision. I was very excited when it was over, but then the school year ended 2 weeks later and my excitement for all they showed us disappeared. I need to find it again. I didn't agree with everything they said, but there were some good points. I wish they had done it when we got the program, rather than wait til we had used it for 3 years. But it could be worse, we could be at training now like all the other grade levels!

I'm sorry there are so many people unhappy and frustrated with math. It took me a couple years to really embrace the program, but now that I have, I feel I am being much more effective with it than ever before. My scores are higher than in the past and the kids seem to enjoy math. Heck, they even make their parents do "cereal math" with them at home! I will try to post some of the things we do to help some people out, when I have the time and resources!

Happy Wednesday!

I'll blame the weather

2011-09-13T19:50:00.000-07:00

Wow! Today was a very strange and emotionally draining day. Well, the night was draining, the day was weird. I'll blame the weather - rain already and get on with life! These clouds coming in and out from the desert are driving me nuts.

This morning, one of my kids lost his tooth. I don't know how long he had help it, but when they went to do their work, he told me it fell out. I saw it and went to get an envelope for him to put it in. By the time I walked from his desk to my desk and back to his desk, the tooth was gone. He dropped it! UGH! I hate teeth more than anything. Loose teeth just disgust me. And yes, my daughter has 2 loose teeth and I am dreading the day they fall out. Anyway, I looked everywhere for it. I had all my kids on the floor on their hands and knees looking for it. It was nowhere to be found. I am thinking a kid pocketed it, hoping the tooth fairy will come to his/her house. Yuck! But, the really bizarre thing...this happened a couple weeks ago with another kid. His tooth fell out and instead of telling me, he carried it around and lost it in the room. We were in the "loaner" room when my A/C went out, but still. I have never had a kid lose their tooth that just fell out and I have had two in about 3 or 4 weeks. Gross!

We had collaboration today and it is going so much better now that one of the teachers is not participating with us. We even got one of the other teachers who is very reluctant to join in with us to join with us for a Johnny Appleseed day. I wrote out our notes, sent them to all the teachers like I always do, even to the one who doesn't meet with us, but still needs to know what's going on with 1st grade. So tonight, I check my school e-mail like the nerd I am and I have the rudest letter from her telling me how callous and unprofessional I am and that I am imparting my personal issues onto her kids. I was very mad about it when I first read it and still get upset (I have read it about 100 times since 5:00 when I read it), but now I am more sad. This has been her attitude for the last 4 years. We are all out to get her, we never do anything with her, etc. During the meeting, which she wasn't at, though she was invited, I asked the other teachers about including her kids. 2 of the others didn't really want to, but I did say they are 1st graders and it isn't their fault their teacher treats us they way she does. I just didn't put in the e-mail that her kids were included. My fault there, but her reaction was a bit much. I don't know what personal issues she is talking about, but I don't go to work to make friends. I go to work to teach little kids. I am more than happy to take her kids and we talked about splitting them up 2 in each class. Oh well. I shouldn't let it bother me, but I can tell you I won't sleep well tonight.

In the perfect world, we would all get along. There would be no hatred and animosity towards each other, but we don't live there. I am so upset by this, but don't really have anyone to talk to, other than hubby (out at work). I am in a damned if you do, damned if you don't situation with her and don't see it getting any better. I seriously thought of telling my principal I don't want to be team lead anymore, though I like it. It's too much stress already and I don't need it. I sent the e-mail to the principal with my PC response, in my head using every 4 letter word I could think of. I hope the principal sees where we are coming from and also realizes where the other one is coming from, too.

I really hope tomorrow is a better day.

Love days like today

2011-09-12T19:19:00.000-07:00

I love it when all goes according to plan. And my plans aren't that specific, but today was just fab. We got through all our work, my kids did well overall on everything we did and we had a little fun in the process.

The hit of the day was math. I am really trying to be a better math teacher, and I think my kids are learning better because of it. I had always thought I was a better language arts teacher, but I need to beef that up now, too. Maybe I am in a little rut or something, but I need to make some sparkling changes there. That's my next plan! ;)

Anyway, in math, we were learning about ways to make 6 and 7 with adding. I gave my kids 6 blueberry shredded wheat cereal pieces and they were able to "throw" them like dice and see what came up. It took a bit of modeling to get them to do what they were to do, but they finally got it. We made 6 (then 7) in all the different ways and then colored in the little sheet I made yesterday. The kids really seemed to get how to make 6 and 7 when we went in order and one had the epiphany "the numbers get bigger on one side and smaller on the other!" It was a lot of fun and a good learning experience. I plan on trying to incorporate the cereal into as much math as possible this year, as the kids just love it and it's a good teaching tool.

Here is one of the pages we did today. My computer is slow and it isn't uploading the other pics. Sorry!

Now, I must go and supervise bath time. The downside to my hubby working from home is that he schedules meetings at night when I am home, but he is late tonight, so there will be no working for me, since he had my computer I can use while my daughter is in the tub! Grrrr! Happy Monday!

Word Families

2011-09-11T16:38:00.000-07:00

Some of my kids are having the hardest time with reading words in the same word family. They aren't getting the fact that only the beginning changes its sound while the ending stays the same. I saw some cute word family sorts at A Teeny Tiny Teacher's blog and made one like those she has posted. I don't want to take the credit for idea, so I will give it to her! I plan on having the kids do these sometime this week, along with all the DRA testing I have to do for progress reports. Just when we get on a roll, we have to slow for a speed bump! Hopefully your kids will like the word sort! Download it here!

Introducing addition

2011-09-11T15:57:00.000-07:00

I had hoped to post earlier, just some randomness through the day and stuff, but we had to make a trip to Walmart, which takes like half the day. Then I had to come home, make lunch, put away groceries...you know the drill!

I sat down a bit ago to work on my lesson plans. We are finally getting to addition. We have been doing other math, as the district pacing guide committee (which I was on, but didn't agree with their planning) had us working with shapes and patterns before the "importatn" stuff. So, we will finally begin this week with adding. It's the "Understanding Addition" in our math (enVision), and it goes really fast. Unfortunately, there isn't enough time in the year to move at a snails pace, so we will continue to go at mach 4, like every year!

Anyway, as I have said before, my kids are CRAZY for cereal math. They love to use the cereal and then eat it of course. I have had a few parents send in cereal, but not enough to keep us in cereal for the whole month. While at Walmart the other day (I seem to be there a lot, but really I don't go that often!), I saw some blueberry shredded wheat cereal - the Malt O-Meal kind that was a buck a bag. So I bought 2 bags and will use them for math time. Nutitious and helpful with math. The kids will get 6 (and 7) pieces of cereal and will shake it in their cup, roll it out and show the different ways to make 6 (and 7 later in the lesson). I then made these cute little math sheets to go with it. I just love when I find a cute image online that goes perfect with what I am doing!

Here are the two sheets we will be using tomorrow for the math - adding 6 and adding 7. I figure my kids will learn more with being able to eat the cereal. I am hoping to make one for adding 8 and 9, but I will probably use counters rather than cereal. It's cheaper, I already have them and the kids need to learn to use something other than cereal, too!

I hope you can use these pages! Happy adding!

I love you, short work week!

2011-09-07T20:17:00.000-07:00

I am glad this is a short week. It's a nice little break in the long year. From now til November will be long, but we can make it! I may have to take a *sick* day in there somewhere to head to Disneyland or Legoland for some R&R, but I am not thinking of that til October! ;)

These last 2 days have flown by. Yesterday went by at warp speed. We did so much and the kids were so good. I have to say, I am pretty blessed with my class. While I have a large group of kids that are below grade level, they are all very sweet and nice and most are eager to learn. There are a couple that I hope I can help and make a difference, but I don't know. I think their needs are greater than what I can give them, and with little support at home, it's hard. I am hoping they mature a bit, but I am also hoping they can get a little extra intervention help, too.

My kids are absolutely crazy for cereal math. I don't know who had it on their blog way back when, but you are a genious! My kids live for it, but unfortuantely, their parents aren't too with it on going and buying me cereal. I had 4 kids bring some in, but they were the small boxes of like shredded wheat. No kid wants that, but we will use it next week for adding small numbers. Yum! I learned I love Captain Crunch (or the generic Malt-o-meal one), but that is so bad for my Weight Watchers points. (Still doing it, but my weight loss has slowed dramatically, making me a very cranky mommy! I'm sure the In-N-Out tonight didn't help that either, nor the fact that is was over 100* at 6pm, so no walking for me!) Anyway, I have turned a couple teachers on to cereal math and their kids love it, too!

Here are a some current pics of my classroom in it's current state of occupancy! Enjoy!

Clifford graph - what color we would change Clifford to

Working on AB patterns

Matter information

My word wall...more on that another day...but I love my word wall!

My focus group kids working on a word sort...easy, but they were racing each other!

I am so thankful that my other 1st grade teaching partner was able to take my kids this morning. My daughter got an award at school, so I got to my school late. Her school did such a good job on the assembly for Patriot Day, though none of the kids were even born during that time! I am glad I was able to see her get her award and be so proud!

But now it's time for bed. Or grading papers. Or staring at the TV waiting for my room to cool off. These days of 100*+ days zap it out of me. But soccer practice doesn't help, either!

Happy Wednesday!

Good thing blogging isn't an Olympic sport

2011-09-05T17:03:00.000-07:00

Well, I have to give myself some credit. I did blog for a couple days at the beginning of last week, but then life got busy and blogging took a backseat. I have so much I want to blog about, but there just isn't enough time and something's gotta give.

I can't believe that I have been in school for almost 4 weeks. We are in school and chugging along like we have been in school for months. My kids are doing well, making good growth and going with the flow. It just seems like there isn't enough time to get things done. I don't know what's happening this year, but we are so busy, yet we are behind. Already. I had to adjust my yearly calendar already to make the changes needed to get everything in that I need to do. Good thing I had room in the beginning of the year with nothing planned!

I was going through my camera looking at pics I have taken since school started. I thought I took a lot more, but sometimes there isn't time and we are just in the moment and doing things. Here are some things we have done this year...in no particular order!

Tie dying our shirts - We ended up following another teacher's suggestion and I was disappointed in how they turned out, but the kids had fun doing it and they are so happy to wear them on Tuesdays!

We were studying the color words and we graphed our favorite colors and made a rainbow.

After finishing our first Topic in math, the kids used their Cheerios to represent the numbers 1 - 12.

We did a shape sort the day we were sent to Siberia when the A/C went out. It was a nice, easy lesson to do that took little teacher action!

I didn't take any pictures last week. None. I guess I will try better this week. All the things I had planned to do weren't done. We didn't make the ice cream, as it was going to be pretty pricey for me to do on my own. The parents already seem to be tired of sending in stuff. We are going to study mixtures this week for science and are making a trail mixture on Friday. I asked for things and got 4 bags of stuff - 2 bags of pretzels and 2 bags of mini marshmallows, one of which is old, stale and hard. Yuck! I got some raisins and chocolate chips today and I hope I get a couple more things this week.

My kids' favorite thing to do this year - cereal math! We do it 2 - 3 days a week and each day is different. We counted and sorted this last week. This coming week, we are learning about patterns, so I went and bought generic fruit loops to help make patterns. Their favorite part - eating it of course. But hey, if it makes them like math, I'll do it!

Well, I feel as if a migraine is trying to come on. Not a good way to end the weekend when there are still lesson plans to do! Here's to a great week at school...and the long haul between now and Veteran's Day...our next day off! Happy Monday!

Smooth

2011-09-01T06:18:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was the first day with my new kids. The others were freaking out, thinking that three kids would make their job harder. I may just have the best of the grade, I don't know. My new kids came in and we went on with business as usual. They all were here in kinder, so it's not like they don't know anyone. I have to say it was very easy yesterday and I am hoping for the same today.

The only downside is one of my new ones has now taken over the title of my lowest. I looked at his work last night and was shocked. It's sad how they come in so low and no one wants to take responsibility. So, I have my work cut out for me, but it's ok. I'll do what I can!

On another note, I teach in the same district where I went to school. There are people with kids who went to school with me. There are people that are all over the valley that we know in one way or another. Yesterday I was meeting with a parent and trying to get info so I can try and get her son the helpmhe needs. While talking, I told her that I have to watch myself and make sure I call him by his name, cause I want to call him the name of another student I had 7 years ago. Turns out, the kid I have now is the half brother of the one I had back then. In fact, mom was pregnant with him whe I has the other one. She has since left the dad, moved in with her parents and has no contact with the dad. Sad for the boy. But, it goes to show how smLl the world is. The families are about 12 miles apart, yet I have had both kids. But, at least now I know that the speech issue is more inherited rather than just because.

Well,it's Thursday...thankfully. I am tired and ready for a nice, long weekend! Happy Thursday!

Ch..ch..ch..changes

2011-08-30T21:29:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow begins our first day with our new kids. Mine seem very sweet and eager to learn. They were all at the school in Kindergarten, so they know most of the kids in my class. We got their books and materials from the other teacher, so they are ready to go. I am ready to go and get working on learning now that the change has taken place and I have my kids set!

I am trying to be real go-with-the-flow about things. I wish others would, too. 2 of the other teachers are in pure b!tch mode about it. They are upset that the kids are low, and EL and a slight behavior problem. It's not like we get to pick the kids we get - EVER! We had the chance to take the combo class, but no one did, so it went to the teacher with the least seniority. And as it worked out, she is getting 7 high 1st graders and 11 high kinders. Which makes the others freak out that they have the lows. WHATEVER.

In the schools I have taught at, which are all Title 1 schools, high EL population schools, etc, the majority of the kids come in below grade level. It is our job as a teacher to work with them and get them as far as they can go. It would be nice if they were at grade level, but it isnt the norm, however sad that may be. It used to bother me, but after a couple years teaching, I realized how far behind these kids were when they entered Kinder and how much progress they had made in the one year. So now, I know that they have worked hard to get where they are and it's my job to get them as far as they can go this year. Unfortuantely, others don't believe this and think that they can bitch and moan when the kids they get are not at grade level. Well, they went as far as they could go last year!

But, on that same not, it's really sad to me this year that our EL's are so much lower than they have been in the past. The last couple years, they have been higher than the EO's. But this year, they aren't. And I am not sure why that is the case. It makes me sad to see the kids so far behind, knowing they have so much more to learn than some of the others. I do have a couple of really high EL's, but most aren't so lucky.

So tomorrow, I will embrace my new kids. I will continue teaching what we have been doing, even though they have already done it, since the teacher doesn't care what the pacing guide says and does her own thing anyway. Um, that's why we have a pacing guide, but I guess that is a post for another day! I look forward to working with my new kids and seeing how far they can go!

Happy Tuesday!

Oh, and hubby just booked a mini trip for the weekend. Santa Barbara here we come...by train! Yippee!

Another Monday down

2011-08-29T20:02:00.000-07:00

I love Mondays when they go according to plan. Today was one of those days, thank goodness. All the stars must have been aligned just right. My A/C worked (we were only 106 today!) and my room was nice and chilly. All my kids were there, so we got some good learning in. Most of the kids were very well behaved, so there was little time out of teaching. But man, I am tired!

We have our 1st benchmark tests this week. They are mostly on the kinder standards, but they throw in stuff the kids might not have learned in Kinder, depending on who their teacher is. I gave them both today, as they have just 13 questions on them for both LA and math. I haven't looked at the math one yet, but they look pretty good from what I saw. On LA, they did OK. I have a couple miss 3 out of 13, but most missed 1 or 2 simply because they weren't thinking. I have heard from the others that their kids didn't do so hot, but I feel pretty good about my kids. I have quite a few low ones tho, so I have my work cut out for me. I feel really bad for the kids whose parents don't/can't/won't speak English and then get mad at them when the child doesn't know what is going on. Maybe if they (the parent) learned the language, even just a little, then the story would be different. Enough on that tonight!

We are learning about matter in science (oh how boring!!!). The kids seem to be doing OK with it. I am hoping on Friday to make ice cream. I need to buy the stuff and try it at home first. Next week we will look at mixtures and make some jello and also some trail mix...if all my donations come through!
Hopefully I will remember pictures!

On Wednesday we will get our new kids from the closing of the 1st grade class into a K-1. I don't agree with how it was done, but I didn't take the class, so I can't complain too much. The teacher is getting rid of all her EL's and low kids and keeping her high 1st's and getting high K's. What a deal. I am getting 3 of her EL's to put me at 22. I haven't had that many kids in a long time. Yikes! Of course I am getting one boy who is supposed to be separated from one of my kids, as they caused problems together. So now I will have all 3 boys who were supposed to be separated from each other in my class. Yippee! Just what a teacher wants.

I am hoping tomorrow goes as smoothly as today went. We have collaboration tomorrow, but the ice queen won't be collaborating with us anymore. That should make our lives a bit easier...I hope!

Happy Monday!

New week, new attitude

2011-08-28T16:38:00.000-07:00

So let me tell ya...last week sucked. Just the whole week in general was icky. And hot. And sweaty. It just ended badly all around. But, today is the beginning of a new week and I am going to do my darndest to make it a good week!

I am really hoping my A/C is fixed. It worked all day Friday with me NOT in the room, so I hope it works all day tomorrow with me IN the room. It is way too hard to teach effectively without all the tools we have grown to love. Like my ELMO. And my own clean board. And a room that is bright and cheery, not all stark white and dirty. Anyway, my kids were really good with the change, but I felt like I was babysitting them. My fault as I wasn't as engaged as I normally am, but I was very upset with my room situation and I didn't have 95% of what I needed to teach. I moved my stuff back to my room, but I haven't unpacked it yet. I am still waiting for them to tell me tomorrow that I have to move. The room I am in has had problems for years, yet they never fix the big problem (needing a new unit), rather they fix the little problem and hope it goes away. And then a week later, something else goes wrong and they are back to fix it again. But, this is what happens when people try to save a buck - they end up spending more in the long run than they would have if they did it right the first time.

Anyway, I really like my class. We are moving along in every subject, but it stills feels like I am stuck. I think my writing time is what is making me feel that way, but I don't know how to change it. I need to look into it and see what I can do differently. I think I have been going over the same thing for too long; now I just need to get in there and make something happen. So, after we take our benchmark tests this week, I will do just that - jump into writing and see what happens!

I am hoping this week to make ice cream with my kids. Seems easy enough. We are studying matter (ugh, it's boring) and I want to show kids different things. Last Friday, we turned frozed ice cream into a liquid and drank it. This week I want to make the ice cream and show them how it goes from a liquid to a (semi) solid. Next week we are going to talk about mixtures, so I hope to bring in some Jello as well as goodies to make a big trail mix for them. We'll see how it goes. And we'll see if I remember to take pics - I have my camera with me, but I forget to use it!

We are also working on short a word families this week. A lot of the kids get it, but they still struggle with what they are in the same family. So, I made this little word sort that we will do whole group sometime this week. I will glue the families to paper and then the kids can glue the words on where they go. Hopefully they will see that the letters are the same and that they all make the same sound. Seems so simple, but...Here is the word sort words we will be using. Enjoy!

Well, this was also a bad week (for me anyway) with my weight watchers weight loss. Today was my 4th weigh in. For the last 3, I had lost at least 2 pounds. But this last week, it was so hot, we didn't do our walks, I ate more crap than I should have and it showed. I lost .6 pounds. It didn't bother me til I got home and started to think about it. Hubby said it's still losing, but it seems like nothing. I have to get back on track this week and make it up. I am down 7.2 pounds all together, but I am waiting for those bigger numbers so I can see more of a loss. I am still in the same size clothes, but now they are big. I can't wait to go down a size, but it seems like it may never come! But I am trying and that's what counts.

Time to go get dinner started. Thinking a whole wheat pasta dish with zucchini, eggplant and a bit of sauce and cheese sounds good tonight. I can't wait for fall when it's cool enough to make a nice soup or something else equally as yummy!

Happy Sunday!

Thank goodness it's Friday

2011-08-26T19:57:00.001-07:00

It's hot (111 today), I wasn't in my room (it's a long walk on black asphalt) and I am tired. I felt like a babysitter today with not having my stuff, but the day is over, my A/C might be fixed and it's Friday. Amen! Time to "watch" a movie with my eyes closed and get ready to melt tomorrow at soccer. More on my week tomorrow. I hope.

I just want to cry

2011-08-26T06:13:00.000-07:00

So, yeah, this is a pity post. Yesterday, we had the hottest day so far (until today, anyway when it's supposed to be, on average 108) this summer. And, my A/C went out. Yep, I said it...MY A/C WENT OUT! As in died. That was at 9am when school started. By 9:45, the room was too hot to stay in any longer, so we had to go out to one of the empty classrooms. Let me tell you - they should just send us home. The room, since it's empty, is dirty, smelly, dusty with only 17 desks for my 19 kids, the desks are filthy and there is NOTHING in the room. We made like 8 trips back and forth to the room to get what we needed. By the end of the day, if was so effing hot that I could not work to get stuff ready for today. I think the room was about 95+ degrees. So I just left. I have nothing ready for today, nothing ready for next week. NOTHING! And I am sure today I will be out in BFE "teaching" with my very limited take-what-you-can-carry supplies, a dirty room and not enough seating. Good times, good times. Thank goodness it's Friday! But I may have to get cozy in the room for a bit til they fix it...if they can. Oh and did I mention the room is used for the after school program, so it's not like I can leave my stuff there and have it there the next day? This sucks! Happy Friday!

I've lost it...and can't find it

2011-08-24T20:34:00.000-07:00

My blogging mojo that is. I just haven't gotten into the groove of work and wanting to blog. There are have been a million and a half things to do after school, and blogging hasn't been on the top of the list. It sucks, but something has to give.

Anyway, here the lowdown from the last week or so. It hasn't been horribly exciting, but that is OK, too. Just crazy how fast the days are going. We are now on the third week of school and it goes quicker every day! Yikes!

* we will have a k/1 combo class staring next week. That means we will be getting some new kids in our classes. And they will be low. I guess the k/1 teacher will get high Kinders and high 1sts so they can be independent workers. Some we get the low kids. I can handle it, but it still kinda sucks. I'll meet my new kids next week and go from there. Good times!

* our kids overall are doing well. We have some freaky kids this year, but they can learn. I am amazed at how awful the behavior of some kids can be when they are only 6. I makes me sad that they have had such bad lives already that they don't know any other way to behave other than to act out.

* we are chugging along through our work. A lot of my kids are working really hard. I love seeing the ones who are so happy and eager to learn and will do anything you say. I can already see some kids making huge growth after just a couple weeks of really working hard. Some of them just make my heart melt. One of my little guys tells me everyday he loves me and he loves school. Too cute!

* I need to start teaching my kids art. They have very little skills in artsy stuff. I blame the state standards. They are so much higher now and the kinder teachers are teaching things that weren't taught before and the things that used to be taught - coloring, cutting, painting - are ignored now. It's sad that kids miss out, especially since a lot of them don't do that stuff at home. There are a few, but not too many. Hmmmm.

* winter needs to come now. It was 105 yesterday and today. It was 95 when we got home at 7:30 tonight. Gross! The kids were very feisty and a bit nutty today and I blame the heat. I can do 90's and be fine, but over 100 sucks. Sorry for you all in Texas, but this is for the birds!

* just 2 more days this week. I am looking forward to the weekend to recharge and be ready for next week. My kids are on a roll and it's fun to watch them learn. I wish they were all that way, but I need to work on a few of the kids and get them into learning.

Happy Wednesday! Hopefully I will post again tomorrow!

Long overdue post

2011-08-18T18:46:00.000-07:00

Oh my word! I can't believe how far behind I have gotten on life. I can't seem to catch up at all, and when I try, there is a million more things that I need to do. So in other words, there is no catching up going on! But, I will try to get some things out there for you to see!

Here is my classroom! It still looks the same, really, as we haven't put anything up yet. Nothing is really "up" worthy, but we will do something tomorrow that will go up on the walls. No one comes in to see it, so I am not too worried.

Here is the room looking at it from the door. It's a long narrow portable, so it looks like a cave!

Here is the board. Not exciting, huh?!

My calendar area. It also has my math wall, or what I have done as a math wall for now.

My word wall, next to my calendar. I like to practice the words in the morning daily (once they get up there) so the kids know what they are and where they are. I will get words up next week!

My library and game area. There are my crates that I made and never posted. I made 4 of them, but now I want to make more. The kids love them and think they are the greatest thing in the world.

My work wall. This is where I will hang their work (mostly art and writing projects). My cubbies are there, too! Most of the kids can reach them!

My writing area. This is where I will post their weekly writing they do. I have always done one on the first Friday, but the day came and went so fast that we didn't get it done. :(

My reading group table and the center table for word games. That's my only window and it gets the morning sun.

My desk area...it's still this messy or worse. I need to stay tomorrow and clean it so I can actually use my desk after school.

I am done with all my beginning of the year assessing. I have my work cut out for me with some of the kids, but I can handle it! Nothing I haven't done before. They seem to be a pretty good bunch, but today they were losing their minds. I had a kid punch another student as they were "playing" and then another little girl decided she wanted to touch everyone in line. Crazy!

We have been reviewing the color words this week. Tomorrow they will get to make a rainbow that we will hang up. It's one of my favorite projects. We also made a graph this week of our favorite color and wrote about something of a certain color. The kids seem to be having fun, and that's what counts.

Tomorrow we are dying t-shirts for our Tie-Dyed Tuesdays. We have our Peaceful Playground day that day and the kids will wear their shirts then if they like. They can wear them any day, but Tuesday would be the best! Hopefully I will remember the camera tomorrow to take pics of all the fun!

We are in the midst of a possible shake up at the school. We are low in 1st grade with our numbers and the kindergarten is over a bit in their classes. There are several sites that are really high in classes and a few that are really low. So, there will be some moving around. But, I guess our genious governor signed some bill to cut busing come January, so the district doesn't know if they want to move kids to an overflow school or keep them at their home school. If they were to keep them at school, we would make a K/1 combo. Not fun at all...I did it a few years ago and didn't feel I did my best teaching at all. But luckily, it wouldn't be me! It would be the teacher with the least seniority, who happens to be the one who doesn't get a long with any us of. She would lose some of her 1st graders and get some kinders. We would get the 1st graders into our rooms then. In my perfect world, she could go elsewhere, but I don't see that happening. I can hope and pray, but I don't know if that would work! But, they aren't making any decisions this week, so it's still a waiting game.

Next week will be the "big" week for the kids. They will finally get homework, they will switch for intervention time and they will have completed their first math test. Big league now! And with intervention, the 2 teachers who don't want to work with us aren't switching their kids. And I am OK with it! I don't want them to have my kids, nor do I want their kids! I will be taking the higher kids for now, and there are 9. 9 out of 32 kids that we have within our group. We have about 30 of our kids in ELD, so the rest are going to go between high, medium and low. I was very lucky and was given a fairly high group. Mind you, my lows are really low, but I have no middles. Just high and low. Interesting dynamics!

Well, I still have a million and a half things to do tonight. TGI almost F!

Still here, just flustered!

2011-08-14T20:41:00.000-07:00

No, I haven't fallen off the face of the earth, though that might make me feel a little better. I thought the weekend would be relaxing and all, but I was wrong. I am still trying to catch up from last week, and now it's almost Monday again. I am ready for it, but not really. Lesson plans are done, but mentally I am not prepared. Here are the highlights of my week and weekend so far.

* So far, I love my class. There are a couple squirrels, but I will whip them into shape eventually. Some are more excited about learning than others, but isnt that the case with all classes?

* We had back to school night on Friday night. Yeah, ugh. But, I and 14 of my 18 show up, which is better than IRS been in the past. And, it's done and over with so that it good, too.

* I have been assessing my kids any chance I get, but it is taking me longer than anticipated. I had my 30 minute aide doing sight word tests, but you know the saying, if you want something done right, do it yourself. Tomorrow I have to continue tone word sets for those that she stopped after 50 words.

* we are beginning the ever so fun unit of matter. I actually liked teaching it last year and look forward to teaching it gagain. I hope the kids are as interested in it as I am.

* I finished my last class finally. I can now turn in my paperwork to move over on the pay scale. A nice little raise is in my future. Will make the savings look very nice come October.

* I have now been on weight watchers for 2 full weeks. I am down 4.6 pounds. I wanted more, but I think I will always want more each week. Aciuple people I started with are already down 5 or more pounds, so I feel like a slacker. But, I didn't Eat a donut this week and there were 4 dozen in the lounge on Friday. Yay, me!

* well, it's time for me to get ready for another week. Hopefully there will be some time in the future to post pics of my room and post more than highlights. Until then, this is what you bet! Happy Sunday!

First day highlights

2011-08-10T19:52:00.000-07:00

So the first day has come on gone. Thank goodness! I don't love the first day, but the rest are all pretty good. Here are a few highlights of the day, as. I am too tired to go into detail!

* I had 18 of my 19 show up. Not bad, but we were hoping to have to collapse a class. Not a good thought, but it would make life easier. We can go to 24 per contract, so we will see how the rest of the week goes with kids coming to school.

* I had 2 criers today. One cried for about 5 minutes. Te other wailed and cried like a baby for 45 freaking minutes. It was insane and threw me off for the morning. He finally stopped, and joined in with the rest of the class. I found out later he was supposed to be retained, but they moved him on since our numbers were low. Huh.

* I didn't get half the stuff done I had planned. I have a lot of slugs in the room! They were very slow today. I hope it picks up a bit.

* I have a few boys who are so well behaved...at least today. They were kind, polite and good helpers. So cute!

* My kids seem a little more artistic than in them last few years. They can at least color neatly which is more than I can say for last years group. A good sign!

* we have a new automated lunch system. It's so hi tech that it didn't work for all of us. Nightmare lunch time! At least they just sent the kids through to get lunch and we were able to eat fairly quickly!

*Well, it's time for my daughter to go to bed. I'm not that far behind her tonight. It was a long day and I am beat. Here's to another great day tomorrow, minus the crying and wailing!

Just a few hours left

2011-08-09T06:09:00.000-07:00

Oh my word! I can't believe that tomorrow is the day. I will be ready, but I'm not there yet! I noticed I have a row of mess - my desk, a table and my teacher table all have piles. Guess I should organize it, put it away and be ready for tomorrow morning.

I got a lot done yesterday, but no pictures. I forgot the camera, as I was all upset after taking my daughter to kinder. I got lots of pics of her, and then leftbthe camera at home. Maybe I will remember today!

My room finally got cleaned on Friday. It looks much better, so I am now able to better embrace my room and start to love it. I am loving all my little owls around the room and can't wait tom get some work up to make it look like a real room! Lots of stuff planned, lots of stuff tomdo, lots of fun and learning to take over!

I have about a million ideas of things to do these next three days, yet I need to narrow it down and make a decision. I guess it all depends on how much i get done tonight at home. So much to do, so little time.

Happy Tuesday! In 24 hours i will be a bundle of nerves waiting for the new little kids to come in! Yikes!

This is it!

2011-08-08T06:23:00.000-07:00

Let me tell you, then sun is not up when I have to get up. I didn't know that, as I have been enjoying sleeping in this summer. I like when the sun is up whe I get up...I don't feel like I should still be sleeping. Today...another hour or 3 would be nice. But, no. There are things to do. Just a few things...like a billion and two!

In about an hour, my little girl will be at kindergarten. Not so sure what I think about that. I had never put much thought into the kids coming to school and wonder what the parents think. Now that the shoe is on the other foot, I know how they feel. It sucks!

Today is our first official teacher work day. We have a welcome back breakfast, but other than that, we are tom work in our room all day. I have a lot to do. A lot of little things that need done before Wednesday. Plus I need to do lesson plans and figure out what I am doing this week. Yikes! I should have been more productive this summer. But at least I have done more than some. Some teachers will be in today for the first time since summer. I would be nuts, as if I am not already there!

Well, time to wake up the mini beast and get her ready for school! lots to do this morning to be ready form the week! Hopefully I will post pics later of my done classroom. Here's to hoping!

Happy Monday!

Early morning post

2011-08-07T06:16:00.000-07:00

I hate days like today. I woke up at 4:30 this morning and can not go back to sleep. I laid in bed, tossing and turning until about 5:30. Then the dogs wanted out, so I am up. Didn't know the local news was on this early today! I feel very tired, but not able to sleep. Too much on my mind, I guess.

Tomorrow is back to work for me. We have our two prep days on Monday and Tuesday and the. Wednesday is the big day. I'm not ready, or at least I don't feel ready. I am hoping I can get a lot done tomorrow, and be very prepared for Wednesday, but there is still so much to do. I need to sit today and print out labels for my room, print out parent letters, get things organized, finish homework folders, start lesson plans and whatever else needs to be done. Just a couple things, huh?

Top that off with getting my daughter ready for school, getting me mentally prepared for that as well and making sure she has all the things she needs. She's a little nervous about it, I think, but she hasn't said much about it. Last night I could tell she was a bit anxious about school, but she played it off that she was thirsty. I am hoping it's a fairly easy transition, but its been a month since she was in preschool, so that may make it a bit harder for her for the first couple days. She's had our full and undivided attention for the last month, along with the rest of the summer.

It's hard to believe that summer is over. While the heat will be around for the next couple months, vacation is over. The lazy days are gone. No more sitting around in my pj's until I feel like getting dressed. No more sleeping in til 8am, which was the time my daughter would wake up. She likes sleep, too! No more eating lunch or snacks when I want, either. And the worst...no more going to the bathroom when you need to! Now it'll be whenever there is a break and no more. Yikes!

This morning will be my first true test at Weight Watchers. I'll get to jump on the scale and see if my work this week has paid off. It's amazing when you stop and think about what you are eating, or used to eat and how bad it was. We went to dinner at Applebee's last night. They have their WW menu and other items that are WW friendly, or friendlier than other stuff. Some things I would have liked to have eaten are way too bad...too many calories, fat and crap in them!

Well, it's now a bit after 6. I would love to crawl back into bed, but I think I may curl up on the couch and see what happens. I have to be ups at 7:30 to get ready to run out for the morning before I come home and spend the day going half crazy! Happy Sunday. Happy last day of vacation, if you are in the same boat as I am!

We now rsume your regularly scheduled weekends

2011-08-06T15:23:00.000-07:00

Well, this is it. My last weekend of vacation. It seems like just yesterday it was the end of school. now, it's time to go back and begin another year. I am excited to start, I just don't feel ready. I have a few things here and there that are ready to go, but I had hoped to be so much further in the process. I will have Monday and Tuesday before it's show time!

This weekend I decided I wanted to go back to work with a clean house. I may just make it to the kitchen and living room, but they will be clean. Tomorrow I want to be able to work on school stuff, get stuff ready for my daughter and spend the day watching movies and being relatirly lazy. We'll see how it goes, if it goes according to plan or if it all falls apart.

Happy Saturday!

Another day closer to the end

2011-08-04T23:00:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow is officially my last day of vacation. I don't count the weekend since I have laundry, housework, lesson plans and more to do. I am very bummed that summer is over, but am excited to see what new things will happen this year. It will be a big year for me as a mommy, so iamb excited to see how much my daughter grows this year.

This has been a crazy week. I feel like a chicken with my head cut off, yet I can't seem to get anything done. I went to school today and got some things done. I am still waiting for them to deep clean the classroom like they have been telling us, but I am about to give up hope. I am really pissed about it, buti guess I need to get over it. Tey have 3 days to get it clean, but I would rather not be working to get my room ready to teach while they are cleaning. If it doesn't get cleaned, then I may have to file a grieveance with the union, not that anything will happen. Grrrrrrr!

I have a few things ready for next week, but this is the first year I cam say I am so behind. I haven't done my lesson plans, don't really know what I am doing the first week, much less the first day. I do have ideas that I need to work on, but it's just getting them done. I am not going to work tomorrow, as I plan to spend the day with my daughter and hubby to celebrate the last day of vacation. Nothing like waiting til the last minute! Aaaaaahhhhhh!

Tonight, the hubby and I went to the cheap theater. We have a theater by us that plays the movies that just left the regular theater and they are only $4. We finally saw Bridesmaids. Funniest movie in a long time. We laughed so hard tonight. It was good to he out and have a little fun, just the two of us. Our fab neighbor watched our daughter so we could go on our date.

I have now been on weight watchers for 5 days. I don't think I have eaten enough food, really. Today I missed lunch as I was working in my room and didn't bring enough to keep me
full. I Don't feel terribly hungry, but damn, when I get hungry, I could eat my left arm! I hope Sunday is a good day for me. If not, I will be very sad and might just cry all day long!

Happy almost Friday! My summer will now be over and reality will set in. But, routine will be good and a whole new chapter in my life will begin! Wow!

What a day!

2011-08-02T15:45:00.000-07:00

I went to school for a bit today. And I am glad I did. Imwas able to go alitle ape-sh!t on the custodian. My room has been ignored in the cleaning process, which means I can't get as much done as I would like since it's still dirty. I was told last week it would be done on Thursday. I guess I should have asked which Thursday they meant. But, my desks were getting cleaned as I left, and my floor was supposed to be done. I am so jealous of schools that have good custodians. Our day one is useless, really, and the night one is slow and does the bare minimum. I am used to cleaning my room to an extent, but I won't be scrubbing tape off from summer school whe wasn't mine. If parents ever worry about it being dirty, they can complain for me, since our voices are ignored, and have been forever. Sucks!

Anyway, I went to Lakeshore to buy some things for my daughter's class. The teacher put up a giving tree and hubby and I picked 3 things to get. A bit pricey, but they got what they wanted. I bought some people cut outs to use later in the year. Then I went to Walmart to get the last few things my daughter needed for school. The downside is the teacher picked some pretty expensive things, like clear Elmers glue and 8pack of big Crayola crayons. They only had washable for like $2. I think I spent more on her supplies than I did for my whole class! Yikes!

I'm home now and it's too hot to do a thing. For those of you in the Midwest, you dont want to hear it, but it was 106 when I pulled in the garage. And we have some lovely humidity that we don't have too often. It sucks today! So, I figure I will work on some school stuff, get things organized and go from there. Tomorrow is a crazy busy day, so I don't know what I will get done, if anything. It may just be the things that I have to do and then come home tomorrow night and crash. Just a few more days till I have to be back at work and deal with the craziness that is first grade!

Happy Tuesday!

The Alphabet Tree activity & printable

2011-08-01T21:33:00.000-07:00

A while back, I had posted about the book The Alphabet Tree by Leo Lionni.

I love how the book ties in beginning writing with showing how the letters can join together and make words and then the words can join together to make sentences. I haven't quite figured out when I am going to read it to my kids, but I will do it within the first couple weeks of school. I made these cute little leaves so the kids can make their own alphabet tree.

I will copy them onto green construction paper and have the kids cut them out - good fine motor skill practice! Then, depending on their level, they can put letters, words or sentences on their leaves and make it into a cute tree. All you would need is a brown trunk and maybe a little bee, if you are so inclined!

Enjoy!

Busy week..full steam ahead

2011-08-01T06:00:00.000-07:00

So, this will be one of the busiest weeks in long time. I am feeling the crunch. Here is my week in a nutshell. For those of you still with a lot of vacation, enjoy. For those of you back to work, I'm sorry...I'll be there in a week.

Monday: open house for my daughter's school, run to school and do some things, grocery shopping for my new "way of eating".

Tuesday: go to school, work there as long as my daughter will allow; shopping for back to school stuff

Wednesday: orientation for my daughters school, story time at the library, work at school, soccer practice, soccerRent meeting til 8

Thursday: work at school,spend time with my girl

Friday: story time craft, work at school,maybe, try and go somewhere fun, but not crowded.

Weekend: oh my word...I don't know! Cry a lot since my baby is no longer a baby and will be in school.

The good thing is once school starts, there wil be a routine. I will have so much to do, but I will actually get it done since I will be on a time crunch and will have no other thing to do! Yikes!

Happy Monday!

Change of perception

2011-07-31T12:04:00.000-07:00

Well, I did it. I went tomy first WW meeting this morning. I cam do this...doesn't seem so hard, just watching and counting what I eat. I should be able to do this. I have a ways to go to where I would want to be, so we will see if I can do this. I don't think hubby thinks I am that motivated, so I will just have to show hi nd prove him wrong.

I was very anxious to go today, which put me in a bad mood when woke up. That and lack of sleep. On the bright side, it was riming today. We woke up to the monsoonal moisture. It's been nice nd cool, about 72 right now at noon,but it look like the rain is on it's way out. All I cn say is, ugh, it's gona get ugly now. But, beggars can't be choosers, right? We want rain and we got it,now it'll get yucky out with the humidity.

I was thinking today while iwas driving that I can only do so much. I can't do it all, so there is no point in trying. I can do what I can and then Go from there. I got some stuff cleaned, with the help of hubby, so now I can work on some other things. I may kick hubby and baby out today so I can get some things done with no interruptions. We'll see if they go for that. A couple of quiet hours to myself? I don't remember what that's like!

Well, the sun is coming out. Tome for me to go back in, turn on the AC and get some things done. I already feel the sticky. Sorry for those of you that have to live with it all the time. My hair can't handle it! Happy Sunday!

Let the countdown begin

2011-07-31T07:22:00.000-07:00

While I was laying in bed wide awake at 3 am, I started to think about all the stuff I need to do between now and Saturday. I figure I have 7 days to get a months worth of work done. I am starting to get very stressed about getting it all done. I know there isn't enough time to get it all done, so I might as well face the fact and make a new to do list for the week.

1. Put my lesson plan book together. I made a lesson plan template and
Ringed it out for each week. I also made others for the weeks we have something different and are not doing our normal routine. But, that was as far as I got. So, I need to put the together, dat e them and start filling in what I can.

2. Homework folders. I need to make my cute homework folders, get them laminated and then get some duck tapes for the sides. I am changing my homework this year from weekly to nightly, but I am cutting way back on homework. I am hoping imhave better success with my homework, but not overwhelm the kids, either. I saw the error of my ways now, so I am trying to change it.

3. Lesson plans. I had planned to have my lesson plans started, but, no. Last year, I started outlining my units, and giving myself a good idea of what I was doing. I wanted to continue, but haven't cone it yet. I can at least plan my math and some other things now and go slowly from there.

4. My classroom. I still have some boOks and boxes of crap that need to find a new home. I am hoping to get in there as often as I can this week and get as much done as I can. I will have to work around my daughter and her crazy schedule this week.

5. Shopping. I need to figure out what my daughter's teacher needs and then go get it all. Plus, I need o get a few things for her and myself before next week. I have had all summer, but again, like other things they were just put off til another day.

I am sure there are many other things I need to do, but I don't want to become too overwhelmed. Or at least not anymore than I already am.

Happy Sunday. I woke up to some rain from some lovely monsoonal moisture. It has kept the dust down, but let me just say...sticky and steamy. If we could just get some lightning, it would be all worth it!

Oh, happy day!

2011-07-29T21:21:00.000-07:00

It's Friday and that's good, other than it means it's one day closer to the last week of vacation. But, I just found out that we are getting a Hobby Lobby! I live in So Cal, and the closest one is in Las Vegas or in Visalia which is no where by me. I am so happy I could scream, if it wouldn't wake my daughter up.

I have seen so many people post about Hobby Lobby and I finally went there in March and fell in love. When we went on our trip in July, we drove a bit out of the way to go to the one up north. So worth it. I got gifts for Christmas, plus was in awe of all their crafty stuff they were putting out for Christmas. Ooooohhhh, I can't wait.

This is how people in other states must feel when they don't have an In-N-Out burger by them. I just have to be patient for 2 more months and then good-bye paycheck, hello Hobby Lobby!

Mindless ramblings

2011-07-28T18:52:00.000-07:00

This isn't really a teacher post tonight, but more of the thoughts that are in my head. There is so much in my brain right now that I think I might just go crazy! I'm trying to get a lot of things done, but I end up getting nothing done.

Anyway, my first order of business tonight is that I have almost officially joined weight watchers. I filled out the paperwork and will take them to the meeting on Sunday morning. I need to charge of me and put myself first for a change. I always put others before me, and then I end up getting worse and worse, with whatever it my be. So, I need to take care of myself now and see what happens. I don't like admitting that I can't do something, but I have to admit defeat here with this. New school year, new start for me. Here goes nothing!

I went to Lowe's today and was able to get some wood donated for my garden beds. I think I have enough for 2 beds right now, but it's better than nothing. I also went to Home Depot and they gave me $100 to spend on supplies. I need to figure outnhow much more wood I need and then I wil go from there. I may take my daughter with me tomorrow and get what I need so we can start either on Monday or Wednesday. I figure if we get the beds built, everyone will be on their own for the soil and plants. I was hoping to get wood, soil and plants, but no one is too big on donations right now. Another Lowe's told me that because of the economy, they don't have the funds for donating. Um, do they know the state of education budgets? Hello???

Tonight my hubby is working late, so my daughter and I had a Subway picnic on the floor. We ran and got sandwiches, came home and ate them while watching TV. It is always fun to have dinner in a different spot than normal. I feel so anxious for her to start Kindergarten in a little over a week. She's been in preschool for 3 years, but this is the big time. I haven't thought about it much before, but I wonder how many of our kids' parents freak out when their kid goes to school. I have 6 days to spend the rest of summer with her and still get school stuff done, clean house and all that fun stuff.

Oh, yeah, did I mention that I am a big loser and haven't done my homework yet? I had all summer and didn't get it done. What was I thinking? I am mad at myself for not getting it done and end up beating myself up over it rather than getting it done. I have almost the whole class to do and not much time to get it done. More stress...just what I need!

Well, time to get off my butt and get some more done. I didn't get as much done today as I wanted, surprise, surprise, so I gotta get it done now.

Happy Thursday!

You know what they say about best laid plans...

2011-07-28T12:18:00.000-07:00

That's how I feel today. I had, or thought I had my day figured out, but it sort of unraveled quickly. It's only noon here, but I feel like it's been a whirlwind morning. I had big plans that got squashed. I am feeling very irritated and frustrated, but I need to let it go and move on. No use in getting upset over stupid stuff. And that's all it really is, but it still just bugs me.

I figure I will take the time today to get some little things done around the house. Why? It doesn't really matter. No one gives a crap if the clothes are washed or folded or if the dishes are done. They just keep piling them in the sink til I wash them. Same with the clothes...leave them on the floor and I will do it. As if I have nothing else to do with my days. Sorry, I had to get that off my chest or I would burst. I just hate it when things are always a bigger deal when they happen to someone else, but when it's you, it's nothing major.

Anyway, I think I will do some little things, ignore the big things and move on from there. What I had wanted to do and what will really happen aren't even in the same thought, but whatever. Next week is another week. Today is the last day of the week the school is open, so if I don't get in today, I won't be able to get in til next Monday, possibly Tuesday with my schedule. I still have so much to do and am starting to stress about it, which isn't going to make anyone happy.

Maybe a little nap, some lunch and a shot of whiskey will help me feel better. It couldn't hurt, right?

Can we say "freak out"?

2011-07-27T20:11:00.000-07:00

So, two weeks from now I will be passed out in bed from the first day of school. I'm not ready. My. Mind isn't ready. My work isn't ready. My classroom is almost ready. My body for sure isn't ready. Bed before 11? Huh?

I went to school today for 8 hours. Yep, 8 long hours and there appears to be very little to show for it,though I know better. I was able to get my furniture a ranged, talk with my principal about a few things, get something's situated and put away and got some math games made for the first few weeks of school. Progress, yes, but not what I am wanting. I have a table that is still filled with stuff that needs a home. That would require time to sit and go through it and see what it is and where it needs to go. Not wanting to spend time on that. But, I will have to!

I took my crate seats in today. Two of the other teachers want them. One said she would pay me to make hers for her, as she isn't that talented. I told her buy me the stuff, I'll make them for her. Mine aren't where I want them, as they haven't bothered to deep for clean my room for me yet, but they said tomorrow. Seems to be the famous words...tomorrow. I don't plan going in tomorrow, but if I have a few minutes, I just might run in and work for a bit. I know hubby and I are going out to solicit donations for the garden beds, so we will see. He has meetings in the afternoon, so I may be able to run over there for a bit and get something done.

I can't believe summer vacation is almost over. It went by very quickly. Plus, next week i have meetings for my daughters school on Monday and Wednesday, plus soccer will start on Wednesday as well. Goodbye restful summer, hello mass chaos! But,I do look forward to a routine, even if it means waking up a couple hours earlier than my summer norm. Oh, how I will miss 8 am! I'll be driving to work then. Yuck!

Well, time to put Sleeping Beauty in bed and prepare for tomorrow. Happy Wednesday!

Whirlwind Days

2011-07-26T15:55:00.000-07:00

I don't know about you, but the closer we get to school starting, the faster the days speed by. I feel like there are a million things to do and not enough time, energy or motivation to get them all done. I am starting to panic as I have 2 weeks til I have a classroom full of new little darlings.

Every morning I wake up and think to myself that this will be the day I get stuff together. This will be the day I make something cute for a center or activity. And then the day is over and it's dark and quiet and I just want to read. Or sleep. Or not think of anything. Agh! I have to stop this!

Today, I spent some mommy-daughter time with my baby girl. OK, she's 5, but she's still my baby girl. We had some errands to run and then we went to the cheap movies. We went and saw Rio. It was OK, not the best, not the worst. She had fun and is all excited to tell Daddy about it later tonight. It was nice with it being just the 2 of us. It's hitting me hard that she will be in Kinder in 2 weeks and no longer just a toddler or a preschooler. Kinda sad, yet very exciting. After the movie, we ran to the mall to look for some shoes for her. She has to wear all black shoes to school. They are hard to find in tennis shoes, but we managed to find a pair we both agreed on. One less thing to do now for school. Next chore - a lunch box. Hello Kitty, here we come!

As we were walking through Walmart for some movie snacks, she was telling me all the things I needed to buy her for school - markers, crayons, pencils and paper. Um, I don't think she really understands what Kinder will be about. I'm planning to buy her teacher some things once we meet her next week, but I hated to tell my daughter that she already has a plethora of school stuff at home, thanks to good ole Mommy!

I made my little crate seats last night, but I have been too lazy/tired/not home to take a picture of them. I found the cutest little owl fabric at Walmart last week. Hubby cut the wood last night and I put them together in about 40 minutes. I only made 4, as they are going in my library area. I can't wait to take them in and show them off tomorrow! I will go in tomorrow while my daughter is off with the grandparents for the day. Some of us are going to be working on math games. Not everyone wanted to "join in" which is status quo for the grade level. It's nothing new, but it sucks that some people still have a stick up their butts and don't feel the need to collaborate. That's a whole different topic, but one I can see giving me grief this year as the grade level lead. Fun times ahead...what did I get myself into this year?

Well, I think it's time to jump in the pool for a bit and cool off. I have a million things to do in the next 12 days. I don't know if I will be able to get it all done, but I will see what I can do!

Happy Tuesday!

School awards

2011-07-24T09:21:00.000-07:00

My school is a Title 1 school. It's an odd combination really, as we have some very poor students along with some not-so-poor students. We have a lot of EL's, along with students who are not EL's. We have a good mix of students, but they don't all fit into a neat little label that the state/feds like to give kids. Before we got "hired" to go there, my friend and I listened to the principal talk about how great the school was, how high the students were and how wonderful it was. Listening to him talk, you'd had thought we were going to be teaching in Beverly Hills (I am no where near Beverly Hills, BTW).

Our first year there was an eye opener. The school was just like the school I came from, but just a bit higher academically. We had the same EL population, the same number for free lunch, the same "trashy" students and the same parents who cared and those who didn't. The only difference was my school was now a bit further down the road and on the other side of the lake.

Our principal at the time (part of the Good Ole Boys Club) was very much into raising test scores, like all principals. We were given lecture after lecture about test scores. We even had (and still do) intervention for all grade levels throughout the day to target the kids who need more help (I won't get started on this as it's a thorn in our sides). And, the scores go up. Is it from lectures? Intervention? No, it's because we bust our butts in the classroom and do what we know how to do.

In 09-10 school year, our school got a couple awards for raising test scores with our Title 1 students. It was a big deal for the district and all since the other schools in the district haven't earned many, if any awards. Our principal was all proud of the job he had done and we now have some ugly t-shirts to show that we earned these awards.

Our principal was moved last year. It ended up being the best thing in the world, since I didn't particularly care for him. We got a new principal from another school that closed. But, our former principal was a little pissed because the school could apply to be a Blue Ribbon School. He was moved to another school that has high test scores already, so there is little chance of him winning all these awards (since they are mostly for Title 1 schools or schools with big gaps in achievement). It was up to our new principal to apply for it and then cross her fingers that we did well on the test.

Late Friday night, like 9pm, we got word (or those of us who check our e-mail from work) that our school will likely be a National Blue Ribbon School. I should probably be more excited, but now the Superintendant is going to make a big deal about how he helped the school. Yeah, whatever. The jerk never came to the school once last year. It's the teachers who worked their butts off, thank you! I guess we won't hear officially til September or something, but it's nice to know that our hard work has paid off.

Now, it's going to be a bit more stressful, just for the fact that we have to keep scores up or else we look like we gave up. I know the kids we had last year who are going into 2nd were a higher group than the ones we had before, but that just means that group will be in 3rd grade and driving those teachers crazy (it was that kind of group). As a teacher, I hate having to worry about test scores. I just want to do my job, teach my kids and hope we have a little fun in the process.

Day 4...glad it's done!

2011-07-22T12:46:00.000-07:00

So, I am as done as I will be for now. I dropped my daughter off at my parents and worked for about 5 hours on my room. I got a lot done and think I can take some time at home now before I really have to go back. My room is starting to look like a room now and that makes me feel good. I can't move my furniture yet, as I am waiting for them to clean the carpets. One of the custodians took all of July off, so we aren't cleaned like we should be. But what else is new...that's the status quo for my school!

All that's left now is some organizing of my desk, putting books and stuff on shelves, once I find the right brackets that the district won't buy for their shelves, and then the actual planning and copying and being prepared for the kids. I will get it done, but I don't want to spend all the rest of my vacation at school. Some teachers will be there from now on, but not me. I have other things to do and don't want to be at work til I have to. It was nice being in this week and getting things done, but I am ready to be back on vacation.

I need to get back into making things for school, working on work for my classes and just enjoying vacation. I bought 2 new books today that I want to read before summer is over. One is the new book from Danielle Steel called Happy Birthday and the other is Silver Girl from Elin Hildbrand. They are my favorite authors so it' no sacrifice for me to sit and read! I also bought some crates at Walmart and am planning on making some little seats for the library. I found the cutest owl fabric at Walmart and now need to get some plywood and foam.

Well, after not feeling well form the last day, I think I am going to take a nap while I can...before hubby and daughter come home. Happy Friday all!

Day 3 Success

2011-07-20T15:48:00.000-07:00

Wow! I am feeling pretty good today! I feel like I got a lot of things done, even though there isn't much to show for it in my room. Today I tackeld some of the cabinets that I had just shoved things into. They are nice and neat and ready for the rest of the stuff that needs to go in there. I can breath a little easier now. I also got a couple more itty bitty bulletin boards up for my rules, school notes and behavior chart. It's starting to come together, but I won't be ready tomorrow like I had wanted to be done. I still have a lot of organizing to do, some rearranging and a lot of putting stuff up that still needs to be laminated. But, we don't have really have access to the laminator yet, but I may try to get to it tomorrow. We'll see how that goes.

While working, the teacher who talked my ear off yesterday was in my room again. I worked while we talked, so I got a lot done. I was telling her about "Cereal Math". I saw it posted on a blog somewhere last week (tell me if it's you!) and am going to try to implement it this year, maybe 2 or 3 days a week, or as long as we have cereal being donated! The idea of this is to work on counting skills and students can simply count it, group it into groups of #, show adding and subtracting and more. I think it's a fabulous idea and want to do it. I was sharing it with her and she's planning on doing it. I'm sure she will buy the cereal herself and go overboard with it, but I have a family to support and she doesn't, so it's easier for her to buy what she needs without feeling guilty!

I think tonight I will try to run out and do some shopping at Lakeshore and Walmart. I need to grab some more border at Lakeshore as I ran out of mine already. I'm not good at guesstimating how long things are. I also need to find some plastic tubs for my class library (which looks so pathetic comapred to others I have seen...I haven't bought new books in a very long time!) and try and level them in some way. I have never done that before I feel like a big loser in that aspect. So, to a-shopping I may go!

Speaking of big loser, what can y'all tell me about Weight Watchers? I need to do something for myself to help me get in shape and lose weight and I have heard good things, but I hate having to admit to myself and everyone else that I suck at doing it on my own and I would be in denial and move all my mirrors out of th house! I am thinking of starting it soon, but I am not a patient person and want to see results quickly! Any suggestions or feedback you have for me would be greatly appreciated!

Happy Wednesday!

Things that make you wonder...

2011-07-19T21:34:00.000-07:00

As I have been watching the news lately, or really the commercials in between the non-news (Carmaggedon anyone? What a waste of newscaster breath!), I have started noticing all the commercials for the back to school shopping for the "fall" clothes. Now, I don't know about you, but I have never started school in the fall. When I was a kid, we started the day after Labor Day, but it's still summer fora good 6+ weeks after that. And in college, we started at the end of August!

Everything I see for back to school touts the "fall" thing. Well, I will have been in school for 6 weeks when the first official day of fall comes, and even then, chances are it will be over 100* on that day. And if it isn't, it will be in the 90's. We don't have fall, and I am sure many others of you are in the same boat. Fall is just a word used to describe the weather and seasons on the East coast and the midwest. I want to think of another word to describe the back to school shopping frenzy that has nothing to do with fall...Schoolmaggedon? Sorry, my newscasters has warped my brain!

Day 2 failure

2011-07-19T15:03:00.000-07:00

I went to school today for round 2. And it didn't turn out like I had planned. Although I don't really have a great plan going at the time. I can't do too much as they haven't done the floors yet, so I can't move things into place. And that, makes it really hard to organize and figure out where things will go. But I am trying my best. Sort of.

I did get another bulletin board set up. This will be wall for their art work and projects we will do. So, to date, I have the calendar wall, word wall, poem wall and art wall up. That takes care of the back of the room. The rest...nothing. And there isn't a lot of room to put things up on. Between the door, window and cabinets, there isn't a lot of good useable space left. I will have to make itty bitty bulletin boards to put stuff up like standards, rules, etc. I am trying so hard to make it not boring, but I am struggling to make it look nice. And it bugs me.

I went to Walmart this morning looking for shelf brackets. When the custodians moved me, they lost some and I already had shelves that were missing brackets. So, that's another reason I can't get things done...there aren't places to put the things that need to be in places! Oh, Walmart didn't have any, so I will be going to Lowe's tonight or tomorrow before heading back to school.

Another reason much didn't get done was because I was talking. One of the other teachers came today, but I realized after I left that she never went in her room. She was in mine the whole time talking to me! And my daughter was with me, so it's harder to work when you have a shadow.

I figured I would come home and try to get some work done. Hasn't happened yet, but there is still some time left in the day. Or the month!

Happy Tuesday!

Good summer fun reading recommendation

2011-07-18T21:19:00.000-07:00

I just finished reading the Nora Roberts bride quartet series. There are 4 book, each one about a different character, but they all go along together. They are fun, easy reads, perfect for the summer. I found mine at a used bookstore, but I think the libraries may have them. Now onto a more serious book by Anita Shreve...The Weight of Water. I'll see how this one goes.

Controlling the classroom chaos or decorating - Day 1

2011-07-18T14:56:00.000-07:00

Well, I did it. I went to school today. I don't know if I feel better or not. Well, I feel a little better, but now, the chaos I have seen is a bit overwhelming. I feel like my head is about to explode with everything that I need to/want to/must do before school starts. And it's a lot. I think it's more than a to-do list can handle.

I went to school today and spent the first hour almost talking. Not productive, but...I then went and took a bunch of butcher paper for my boards. I am going with a yellowy-orangey color. I like it as it really brightens up the room. I have a cute fern border (that I need to go get more of) to go around it. So for today, I was able to put up my calendar/math wall/reading comp wall, my word wall and my poem area. We have all our furniture around the perimeter of the room for when they clean (next week) so I had to work around the clutter. I wanted to get more done, but I started to panic, just a bit. My prinicipal was there so I went and talked with her a bit and then I had to leave and come home so hubby could go meet with a client. Now it's time to be mommy and teacher at the same time. Back to reality I guess!

Tomorrow I am going to go in with my daughter and work on putting up some more paper and trying to get a better idea of where things are going to go. I wanted to put up a science and social studies wall, but I don't know where they would go. I think I need to visualize better or utilize my cabinets better. Time to think on that one. This is why I am going in now rather than waiting til later.

One of my ideas that I finally got cleared by my principal is to have little garden boxes in the tree planters by our rooms. There are 5 first grade classes that will all be together now and there are 5 planters. They have a metal grate covering them, but all the have is one tree in each hole and lots of weeds. Since our big standards are living things, I was thinking it would be nice to have planter boxes and each class could be in charge of having their own planter box. My hubby will build them for us and each class will then have to plant what they want and bring in their own soil, etc. I think it will make the area look nice and will help the kids learn responsibility as well as taking care of things, sharing, etc. And, how fun would it be to watch things grow that they have planted or taken care of? Now I have to sell it to the rest of the grade level. I figure those who want to do it can and those who don't, oh well! Their loss!

Well, I have a million and a half things to do today. My mind in racing and I am getting antsy sitting here. I have 3 weeks of vacation left and I know it will fly by faster than I think. And, I have homework, housework, yardwork and getting my daughter and myself ready for school. Oh, and then there is still the little thing of having some fun and good family time in there, too! Yikes! I need about 28 hours in a day and 12 days in a week to get it all done! Happy Monday!