Monday Made It and Lots of Nerves!

It is time for...

Thank you, Tara, for always hosting this oh-so-awesome linky party!

Okay, so I admit - there was not a whole lot of "making" involved with this little project, but I am happy that I got something accomplished today.

This is a lamp that my sweet friend gave me a couple of years ago when I thought I was moving to a homeroom.  In the end, I went into ESL and did not have a use for it.  Welllll...now that I am going back into Kindergarten, I have a reason to use it again!  So I spruced it up with some ribbon.

The lamp pictured above will go on my computer desk and the one that I was using on my computer desk (which is more of a spotlight) will be used like this:

(Disclaimer:  This is not my photo.  It came from McCumbee Talent Development.)

Great idea, right!?  Good thinking, Mrs. McCumbee!

Okay, another confession:  Ever since July came around, my nerves have kicked in BIG TIME!  Not only am I prepping to go back into a homeroom, but I am also on a team that is opening a brand.new.school.  So fun - yet so stressful!

Speaking of stressful - My Donors Choose project seemed to have come to a halt.  :(  I am trying to obtain materials and supplies for launching a Writers Workshop model in my classroom:  large carpet for meeting during mini lessons, lap boards for students to work on, clipboards, writing utensils, paper...you get the picture.  It is my first HUGE project and it started off well, but now I still have $460 left to go and the deadline is September 5th.  

Sooooo - If you have any tips on how to get things rockin' and rollin' again, please share your ideas!  

I feel kind of lame with only one "made it" project this week, BUT...I assure you there will be a lot more to come!!  I have been going through my Pinterest boards with a fine tooth comb and making a project to-do list for all those things I said I would make one day.  So I will be busy, busy, busy!

Thanks for stopping by!  :)

Workin' On It Wednesday!

I am joining the party, Workin' On It Wednesday, provided by the lovely hostesses at Kinder Gals (which, by the way, was one of the very first blogs I fell in love with when I first discovered this oh-so-wonderful world of teacher blogs).

If I were to really explain to you EVERYTHING that I have been working on, you would fall asleep - seriously...boring stuff:  Staff Routines and Procedures Manual, Staff Handbook, Family Handbook, schedules, parent letters, lists galore...you get the picture.  I feel so privileged to be on a leadership team that is opening a new school, but let me tell you:  It is a tremendous amount of work!!

So let me move on to something slightly more interesting.  I found a great article from Edutopia this morning titled, "5 Ways to Make the Most of Your Non-Teaching Time" and it totally inspired me to create a plan for my non-teaching time, similar to what is described in the article.  Here is what I came up with so far:

Are you able to read that?  I know it is a small font (the font has to be small when you have a ba-zillion things to do and you have to squeeze it all, right!?)  Do you have any suggestions on what I should add?  Is there something obvious that I might be overlooking?  I have been out of the homeroom for two years, so I would not be surprised.  Obviously, there are going to be SO many other things that come up that I will have to deal with, but I wanted to stick to regularly occurring tasks on this plan.

By the way, I would be happy to share this document with you, if you would like it - though it is nothing fancy or special.  Just leave your e-mail address in a comment and I will shoot it your way.  As always, thanks for stopping by!  :)

P.S. - If you are a Morning Meeting classroom, be sure to check back in the next few days as I will have an amazing freebie to share with you!

Happy Third Birthday to My Blog + Linky Parties!

Let me start on a positive note:  I am on summer break!  Woo hoo!  Even though I just completed by fifth year of teaching, I have never had a true summer break before, as I was teaching at a year-round school.  I am excited to have time to work on classroom projects and spend quality time with my son.

Which leads me to my next point... I will be home with my two year-old for the next two and a half months.  O.M.G.  It has only been a few days and already I am going insane!  The weather has been not-so-great here in good 'ole Wisconsin, so we have not been outside much.  I have been trying to keep him occupied (lacing cards, coloring, stamping, looping cereal on a shoe string, stickers, pillow mountains, movies, music, toys, chalk, bubbles, video chats with Daddy...) but nothing lasts long.  Help!!

Okay, I got that off my chest.  :)  Moving on...

I am joining my two favorite linky parties:

"Monday Made It" hosted by 4th Grade Frolics and "Five for Friday" hosted by Doodle Bugs Teaching.

(Please ignore the dusty chaise.)  Well, as of Friday the 13th, it is official:  I am teaching Kindergarten again next year!!  Yaaahhhooooo!  (Who says Friday the 13th is an unlucky day anyway?!)  I will also be teaching at a different school, which is the brand new public, charter school in my district:  RCLA (Racine Civil Leaders Academy).  I cannot tell you how much I need and want this...everything feels right in the world again - or, at least, in my teaching world.

So - I made a "1st Day in K" frame, like all the adorable ones that I see on Pinterest.  My Kinders will hold this frame, stick their cute little faces in the hole, and I will snap a picture of them.  I am not done yet though; I am going to add different-sized polka dots, using flat colored duct tape.

Update:  Polka dots have been added!

I certainly did not make these adorable printables; however, I did make the end creation.  I bought some cheap frames at the Salvation Army and garage sales, ran some sand paper over them, spray painted them with my new classroom colors, and this is how they turned out!  (Or at least two of them...I need to print more mini-posters for the rest of the frames.)

I am not sure what I will do with these drawers, but I like them and they were FREE!  One of my neighbors was tossing this little gem, so I snatched (yep - I am a garbage picker apparently) and sprayed it using my new classroom colors.  I may end up adding stickers; we shall see!

Anyone who knows me well knows that I.love.to.read.  When I get moments of "me time," I happily pick up a book.  These are the two books that I am reading now:

"The Morning Meeting Book: K-8" by Roxann Kriete and Carol Davis - If you are interested in this one, make sure you get the third edition!  When I went to Barnes and Noble, they only had the original edition, so I ended up returning it and buying the newest edition on Amazon.  This is an easy, but great read and I am SO EXCITED to implement Morning Meeting school-wide at RCLA.

"The Power of One: How You Can Help or Harm African American Students" by Gail Thompson - I have been plugging away at this one little by little for some time now.  It seems like I am doing more reflection writing (as the author insists) than reading and learning.  Also, I don't think this was a good choice for me, as I often find myself thinking, "Really!?  People still do that!?" and "Duh!" 

This is the book that I finished reading most recently, "The Leader in Me: How Schools and Parents Around the World Are Inspiring Greatness, Once Child at a Time" - This book is AMAZING!  I love it!  Read it, read it, read it!  I am fortunate because my new school (Racine Civil LEADERS Academy) will be taking on a leadership theme.  I am so pumped to see what this will do for our students, staff, and community!

 This last picture is a two-parter:

1) Happy third birthday to my blog!  I know I am a horrible blogger because I infrequently write, but when I do, it makes me happy.  As this summer develops and my Kindergarten school year starts, I am certain I will blog more because I will have content to write about and photos to share - yay!

2) Check out my brand new MacBook Air!!  My school district gave every teacher a computer refresh.  It is so light, which (in my opinion) is the best part - my last Mac was so stinkin' heavy to carry around.

That is all I have for y'all!  I am going to try and hop in the shower before nap time is over.  Enjoy the rest of your day and, as always, thanks for stopping by!  :)

Five(ish) for Friday!

Today is bittersweet.  It is Friday (yippee!) but it is the LAST Friday of my 3-week break (bummer).  Because of the year-round schedule at my school, I have been home with my little man the last 3 weeks.  I love my "tiny tornado," but boy - it is exhausting being a (temporary) stay-at-home-mom to a toddler already in his "terrible twos."

Speaking of my little munchkin, here he is!  On Easter Sunday, my immediate family came over, we had a big lunch, colored Easter eggs, and the kids did an Easter egg hunt in the yard - though it was not much of a "hunt."  I just tossed them all out in the open lawn, haha!  (Mason is not even two yet and my niece is only one, so no need for a challenge.)

As I was looking for my son's Easter basket, I came across my tutu!  I wore this as part of my Dr. Seuss Day costume two years ago.  I am really excited to have a reason to wear it again next school year, as we will be trying our best to implement Ron Clark's vision in our own school by bringing in that "joy factor."  So - anything to make the kids giggle!  And, if I am being honest, I will take any excuse to wear my tutu!

Okay, so this is REALLY getting ahead of myself, but I cannot help it!  Plus...it is just FUN stuff to me!  I looked at the floor plan and focused on what might be my next classroom and I started thinking, "Hmmm, how would I set up this room?"  I know; I am a nerd.  (Did I mention I have been home with a toddler the last 3 weeks!?)

I have been looking for a "red carpet" for my Kindergarten classroom (next year).  I want my kiddos to enter our classroom in a FUN way each day!  This was one of the ideas... to crank up the music and have them walk in on a red carpet.  My husband eyed these red bathroom rugs on clearance for only $4.00!  Works for me!

These are the two professional development books I am reading right now:  "About the Authors: Writing Workshop with Our Youngest Writers by Katie Wood Ray and Lisa Cleaveland and "PBL in the Elementary Grades" by the Buck Institute.  Both books are excellent!

I highly recommend "About the Authors," if you teach 4K through 2nd grade and you are thinking about implementing a Writer's Workshop in your classroom, though I would suggest reading Projecting Possibilities for Writers by Matt Glover and Mary Alice Berry first.  I like to see the big picture first (which is what "Projecting Possibilities for Writers" helped me do), then work through the logistics (which is what "About the Authors" is helping me do).

Here is my stack of books that are on deck.  The spiral bound book is Math Work Stations by Debbie Diller, followed by "Making the Most of Small Groups" by Debbie Diller, "Already Ready" by Matt Glover, "Engaging Young Writers" by Matt Glover, "Doing Science in Morning Meeting" by the Responsive Classroom, and "Guided Reading" by Fountas and Pinnell.

The Fountas and Pinnell book is kind of out-dated, but I was really struggling to find another guided reading book for Kindergarten.  Any suggestions for me!?  I would also like a book on Math Workshop for the primary grades.

Okay, so I am not following the rules...I am throwing in another picture, but I just got these awesome aprons from my mom and I just had to share them!  I wanted a short apron to tie around my waist when I teach, so I can keep essential items close by me at all times - particularly my digital camera.  I searched online and though there were some cute ones out there, they were a little pricey (in my opinion).  I asked my mom if she would make one for me and she said, "Yeah, that would be pretty easy."  (I am glad she thinks so, as I do not know how to sew.)

As you can see, my mom is the "go big or go home" type, so she made me THREE aprons!  Aren't they cute!?  Thanks Ma!  :)

I am joining the "Five for Friday" linky party over at Doodle Bugs (first grade rocks), so be sure to hop over there to see what other teachers are up to!

As always, thanks for stopping by!  :)



My Dr. Seuss Costume!

(This may be the shortest blog post I have ever written.  Here it goes!)

 

I promised I would share photos of my costume for Dr. Seuss Day this year.  It may have taken me a few weeks, but I am keeping my promise!  :)

 

 

"The Cat in the Hat" socks are from Target.

 

"One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish" boxer shorts and red leggings are from Target.

 

"Green Eggs and Ham" earrings I bought from a shop on Etsy.

 

Aaaaaand.....

 

"The Cat in the Hat" costume and accessories were a gift from my mama!

 

 

Okay, one more random thing that warms my heart...I just have to share.

I work with a group of 5th grade boys.  I truly enjoy each and every one of them.  They are definitely my most difficult group, but they really are great kids.

 

One of them in particular challenges my thinking and my way of teaching every.single.day.  He is known throughout our entire school for his undesirable and defiant behavior and low academic levels.  Yet he is an extremely insightful and intelligent student - despite what others will claim.

 

Recently I learned that he has an interest in building, fixing, and flying airplanes, jets, and helicopters when he is older.  (Ambitious, right!?)  Well, wouldn't ya know it?!  My sister-in-law was in the Navy where she worked on airplanes.  You better believe we hopped on the computer that very minute and started a conversation with her via e-mail.  The two of them have been e-mailing back and forth almost every day now for the last couple of weeks.  He has more and more questions to ask each day - I am getting the impression he is giving this all quite a bit of thought outside of our ESL time together - and she is so graciously taking the time to answer all his questions.  Thank you, my dear SIL!  <3

 

Anyway, my point... when my 5th grader wrote in his journal last week (which, by the way, he usually HATES to do), this is what he very willingly wrote: 

 



 

"I would like to be in the Navy because it would be fun and exciting."

 

YES!  Now I cannot predict this child's future, but maybe...just maybe...if this will give him something to hold on to...something to work for...then our time spent discussing it was totally worth it.

 

Okay, so this blog post was not as quick as I was expecting.  Haha!

 

Thanks for stopping by!  :)