Thoughts of a Teacher

2013-05-14T09:04:00.000-07:00

Wow...it has been a long time since I have posted. It has been a very busy year this year and it is slowly coming to a close. I think we are all ready for a break after all this state testing!

Two of my colleagues and I have enrolled in a program to receive our master's degree and administrative certification. So, this summer we will be working on our courses. Exciting and scary all at the same time!

So this year we did "team teaching" in pairs and it worked GREAT!! Why haven't we been doing this all along??
We worked together to be sure the very same organizational strategies in all four classrooms so that the children knew exactly what the routines were. We used several fantastic ideas from Pinterest in our classrooms. Where has been Pinterest been all my life?? Wow!

The first thing I did that I am SO glad I did was to get RID of my desk!! I am so thankfull for the extra room since our rooms are fairly small. It is a very old school. So what did I do with all my stuff?? Well I made this nifty little toolbox (idea from Pinterest!!)

As you see I still need to add a couple of labels...but I LOVE it!! It takes up so much less space than a big old desk.

I found these owls at Wal-mart this past summer and hung them from the ceiling to make my table signs. Pretty cute!!

I am ready to start planning next year and think I will continue to use my owl theme (it IS our mascot).

Stay tuned!

Work in progress!

2012-08-11T13:21:00.000-07:00

Well, it is time to get back to work! Many of you have already returned and some are gradually returning. Our first contract day os Aug. 20th with school starting on the 27th. However, I have already spent three days working in my room to try and get a jump on things. My daughters have been going to help me out . I treated them to Sno-Cones yesterday afternoon! They were delicous especially when it is 100+ degrees outside!

We worked in my room until they kicked us out. I forgot to take a picture before we started, but here are a few pics of us on the second day. Thank goodness we made so much more progress since then!

See my oldest daughter cutting out laminated goodies!

What a mess!

Well, I will take more pics next week, but I made a cute sign that I thought I would share. I saw the saying on pinterest and loved it!

Tick Tock!!-- A linky party!!

2012-07-23T10:51:00.003-07:00

Aghhh!!!!!!

Tick tock....our summer is coming to an end!

I couldn't wait for summer to get here and it is hard to believe it is coming to an end soon. Most of us will start heading pack before our contract time just so we can throw hours upon hours into getting our classrooms to look "just right" before our new students arrive. We will work sometimes with out A/C and without help, but we still do it....every year!

It has been a good summer. I may not have achieved alot of my DIY projects I had envisioned, but we did do ALOT this summer. Here are a few things:

*My daughter (16) is ready to get her drivers license after alot of practice

*she also got her first job (and is very excited)

*Both daughters (16 and 10) went to summer camp for a week

*youngest daughter attended golf camp (she ♥'s golf!)

*she also receives private lessons from a PGA pro 2x a week

*Oldest daughter practices with the varsity cross country team 4 days a week

*I have spent an enormous amount of time on Pinterest finding wayyy coool stuff!

* I have managed to keep my yard green all summer in the Texas heat

*We took a week vacation to the Texas coast

*I read all three novels in the Fifty shades of Grey series (yum!)

*I read Nights in Rodanthe by Nicholas Sparks

*I have started another novel.....

*Did our doctor appointments, sports physicals, etc

*My new niece was born (she is adorable by the way!)

*cleaned out our garage

whew......I am tired ! But as most of us educators do, I still have MORE on my to do list to accomplish before school starts! EEK!

I am joining the link party to share our to-do lists!

http://www.fabulous4thgradefroggies.com/

Sooo....here goes my list (off the top of my head of course! I am sure I will think of 20 more things when I am done!)

To Do:

1. buy toolbox with 20+ drawers to organize my teacher stuff

2. buy sterilite drawers to organize all my reading games by objective

3. Make desktags

4. Get my planning binder in order

5. buy new Owl border

6. paint two bookshelves I already have at school and buy/beg for two more

7. make final thoughts and plans on behavior rewards system (by table groups?)

8. make an updated "Book About Me"

9. Plan out first week

10. go shopping for new pants, capri's, dresses

11. Buy an new super cool broom from Ross/TJ Maxx for the classroom

12. plan out class room set up

13. Meet with my team to plan (and have lunch since we are there! )

14. Make binder covers

15. make a new behavior chart (mine has seen better days)

I am gonna stop there......geez I better stay off Pinterest and all these blogs if I am gonna get anything accomplished! ♥

What do you have left to do??

2012-07-18T15:20:00.000-07:00

A recent blog I have discovered is Mrs. Fultz's Corner. Her blog is great and I enjoy seeing the new blog designs she makes and other goodies! She is having a give-away and you really should check it out!
I would LOVE love love to have her redesign my blog into something much cuter and practical! I love the cute owls and polka dots that have become so popular lately. I think I also could use some help renaming my blog....any ideas??

Don't forget to check out her giveaway!

Mrs. Fultz's Corner

2012-07-05T05:19:00.000-07:00

Be Sure to join us on the Mystery Blog Hop!! Leave a comment on the blogs you visit!

2012-06-27T14:28:00.000-07:00

What are some of your "must haves" in your classroom? I have MANY as I am sure you do too. We all get used to the items that make our room more smoothly and efficiently. One of my favorite items are these:

These are dry erase paddles from Kleenslate . I saw them at a Texas First Grade Teachers Conference in 2007 and had to have them. They are a bit pricey, but so worth it!!! Once I showed them to my principal and how we used them in the classroom, she ordered a set for every classroom. They are AWESOME and the kids love to use them. It also makes it easier for fast responses when teaching in a large group and the kids do not feel so intimidated about getting a wrong answer. I used them with my first graders and now use them with my third graders. LOVE them! My 3rd graders will go grab one when they are working on a computer program or playing an educational board game to work out math problems without having to waste paper.

**************Check them out!!!****************

2012-06-25T15:28:00.002-07:00

June is coming to an end already? What??? Nooooooo......... We were just finally "released" June 7th! Well, lots going on for June with us. One daughter in golf camp two days a week, one has cross country practice 4 days a week, both went to camp for a week in the Hill Country, and my new niece will be here in a few days!

I have enjoyed my occasional sleeping late and lounging with no real schedule (excpet the girls sports schedules), but I have found myself on the computer quite a bit searching for the things for the upcoming school year. Why do we teachers do this????

I just have to say whomever created Pinterest is a GENIUS!! I love love love pinterest and have found so many wonderful ideas shared by other teachers! That's not even talking about the many recipes, arts and crafts/DIY projects, outdoors ideas, etc. Ahhh........

I found this poster which you will definitely see hanging in my classroom this upcoming year! Says it all! The transistion from 2nd to 3rd grade is always a tough one and we gets lots of comments that 3rd grade "isn't easy"....... Oh my....

Another thing I have enjoyed is staying up to watch all the Friends re-runs on Nick at Night! I am a HUGE Friends fan and really miss that show! Sigh....
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I am looking for "Owl themed" items for my room so if you know of some great stuff, let me know! That's all for now! Thanks for stopping by!

Spring Break

2012-03-18T14:55:00.000-07:00

We have been off for spring break this past week. It has been so nice to NOT have to rush to drop off kids, rush to work, rush to get everyone picked up from practice, fed, helped, etc. I seriously can't wait for the summer! One thing I absolutely ♥ about Texas is our Bluebonnets! Every late winter/early spring we are blessed with these blue beauties along our highways and countrysides. Living in the country, I am so lucky to have a yard full of them. This is what I get to look at for a few more weeks....

Lucky, right??? I think so!

Here are my daughters striking their poses:

But...back to work tomorrow! Let the countdown to summer begin! LOL!

Whiteboard---not the computer kind

2012-02-19T07:53:00.000-08:00

Okay, you may not believe this but if you do you are in the same boat as I am. Our school still has green chalkboards...yes, I know.......

I teach at the same school I went to as a child and it still has the same chalkboards (just with some extra chalkboard paint layers added). At lunch on Friday, my team and I were discussing how we could get whiteboards (dry erase boards to be exact). The chalk dust is not always cleaned up every day like it should be and leads to not only a mess, but allergies.

A teacher down the hall found some dry erase contact paper like material he applied to the board and it seems to be working but says he paid near $100 for it. We are not willing to invest that in our rooms since we can be moved at the principals discretion and the board would have to stay behind. Also, we can not "screw" whiteboard panels in beccause it will damage the board.

So, we were considering dry erase paint. Has anyone used this? Does it look nice? Does it last?

I am back!

2012-02-18T07:50:00.000-08:00

Well, not that anyone really reads this, but I have decided to try and get back to writing on here after a long absence. I have a very challenging class this year and quite frankly I don't think I have ever been so exhausted after a days work both physically and mentally in all 18 years in the education field. So, coming home and working on this is far from my thoughts. I do however, love, love, love Pinterest! I can get on there or facebook and calm down, if I am left alone for a few minutes (which is rare).

I have found so many cool ideas on Pinterest.com that we have used here at home for cooking, organizing, and for my class. I am so glad I found it!

I also decided in January that I need to do something for myself each week. I am always making sure one child is taken care of with her cross country and track activities, driving to every small town in Texas to cheer her on (which I LOVE--don't get me wrong!) and making sure her life as a "teenager" is well managed. The other daughter is 10 and is an active Girl Scout (which makes ME the marketing and sales executive basically these days) and a golfer. Luckily the golfing is shared with her daddy because I am horrible at even mini golf, but that leaves the Girl Scout sales to me. ugh..
Of course there is also my hubby of almost 20 years. Any married woman knows men require work too! :) Honey, where are my shoes? where are my keys? ha ha!!

So, back to what I was saying..... I decided I needed to start excercising...for real. Not just saying I would, but actually doing it! I reeled in my cousin Donna to go with me to a Body Sculpting workout class here in town and I love it! The first several days, however, I thought I was gonna DIE! Whew! Was I out of shape!! Climbing the stairs at work brought tears to my eyes! But, after 6 weeks now, I am finally feeling better, firmer in places that were not, and sleep better. It will all be worth it, right?
If anything it is time for ME two nights a week and I get to see my cousin who is also a very busy dedicated mom.

Christmas Crafts

2011-11-29T12:26:00.000-08:00

It's that time again! Time to start thinking of which Christmas crafts I will do with my class...here is a list of things we have done in the past. Now just to decide.....

Christmas Craft Ideas:

Candy cane reindeer—use 1 candy cane, 2 “googly eyes”, one small red pom pom, and one brown pipe cleaner cut in half to make two pieces

Make a snowflake center—this is a center activity on following directions—all they need is a piece of white copy paper , their scissors, and pencil

Heart Wreath- students will trace hearts onto green construction paper , cut out and form a circle with point of heart facing the middle of the circle. Then they will add small red circles as “holly”.

Snowman Can- Use a clean soup can. Paint it white, add eyes and nose out of buttons and students will draw a with a red or black sharpie. Hot glue ribbon around the bottom of the can to serve as a scarf. Hot glue a pipe cleaner as a handle.

Clear glass ornament- Students stuff iridescent filler into a clear glass ornament and the paint a snowman face on to it.

Blue handprint ornament- students dip their hand in white paint and they will grab the blue ornament from the bottom. This will give the effect of five white snowmen. Add hat, and face with black sharpie. Attach poem :”These aren’t just five tiny snowman as any one can see, they are made with my handprint which is a part of me. Hang it proudly on your tree so you can recall, the Christmas of 2011 when my hand was just this small”

Can lid metal ornament: use a soup can lid removed with smooth edges and cleaned. Students can decorate with glitter, scrapbook paper, paint, etc. Add student’s picture to the middle and add a ribbon to hang.

reindeer lapel pin: Use old fashioned wooden clothespins and decorate to look like a reindeer

add pin to back to wear

What ideas do you have that you have done with your class?

Behavior Doctor

2011-11-02T10:31:00.000-07:00

I had the opportunity yesterday to hear "The Behavior Doctor", Laura Riffel, PhD speak. Although our seats wear very uncomfortable (a junior high auditorium built in the 50's), the speech was definitely worth hearing. What great ideas and perspective she has about dealing with children with "problem" behaviors! After siting there all day, I started thinking about how I like the kids to get up and do learning centers for reading and math. While centers are GREAT, there are times when we need to stay at our desk and do work. I realize sitting there will get uncomfortable for some kiddos (as I was uncomfortable yesterday). I have a chair cushion on my teacher chair I sit at during small group instruction.......so why not make the kids chair cushions?? This is something I think I may do for them. I have to explore cost, color,materials, etc. Has anyone else done this?

Here is the link to the site for The Behavior Doctor if you are interested. Today I played the music from her site while the kids were doing independent work. Very calming.....

Happy Halloween!

2011-10-31T11:25:00.000-07:00

Happy Halloween to all my ghosts and ghouls out there! What a busy weekend it has been !

I turned 40 last Thursday and spent the day watching my oldest daughter compete in the district cross country meet. She took the bronze medal and her team won the district championship! What a great birthday gift to see your child be so successful! Friday evening I went with family to celebrate my birthday at a local BBQ restaurant that has local bands play. We had a great time! Saturday my husband and I went to a Halloween party for adults only. Hubby dressed up as Allen and Baby Carlos from the movie the Hangover, and was hilarious!!! He won best costume!

Today, I am back at work and it has been a very busy day with a parent picnic and Storybook character parade. My team dressed as the M&M's from the M&M's Counting Book ( I know it's a stretch...but it worked and was easy!)

I made an M &M template for the kiddos to make M&M headbands. They had a challenge to make theirs in a pattern. Have a safe and Happy Halloween if you take part in the trick-or-treating!

Scentsy

2011-09-18T16:06:00.000-07:00

I love Scentsy!! I was given my first one as a Christmas gift from one of my students last year. I absolutely ♥ it! I bought one more for my classroom to help with those "after PE" aroma's...you teachers know what I mean! Who says third graders are too young for deodorant?? :)

I am ready to buy another one from my colleague at work Veronica, who sells Scentsy. I came across this giveaway today via The Tip Junkie. Check this out:

This giveaway is sponsored by Being Allison (twitter) , Being Allison (facebook), Being Allison (blog). Go to her site(s) and check it out!!

September 12th

2011-09-11T12:29:00.001-07:00

What will you be discussing with your students tomorrow? I read this book every year and think it is fantastic!

Time flies when you are ....BUSY!!

2011-09-11T12:20:00.000-07:00

Wow......time flies when you are ......BUSY!!!

I have not been on here in a month! No time to do much other than go to work, help give rides to day care for my nephew (my sister had surgery), pick up my high schooler from cross country practice, pick up my 4th grader from our friends home (they care for her afterschool for about 30 minutes till I can get there), come home, make dinner, feed family, feed horses, pick up the house mess that magically occurs even though you just cleaned it, get ready for the next day, shoewr, sleep, and...repeat! Weekends are busy too running to small towns in Texas to watch my daughter compete in varsity cross country meets and lets not forget church, CCD classes, and ......grading papers! Blah!

While on here today I found a give away! I love give aways! I won one from TeachHub and from the Organized Classroom blog! I never win anything so I was delighted!

The give away is from Glue Sticks and Tape. It is a $25 Walmart giftcard. Who couldn't use that? I would use it to buy something for myself! I know, that sounds selfish...but I am always buying for my kids, my students, and everyone else. I will turn 40 next month (YIKES!! How did that happen?) and would like to treat myself, even if it is only at Walmart and not a fancy spa! :)

Last day of freedom! (sorta)

2011-08-08T10:26:00.000-07:00

Well, it is that time! Today is the last day of freedom for me....sorta. Tomorrow I can finally go in to work on my room! :) Even though I am not required to go until Monday the 15th, I must go. There is no way possible to get it all done in the two days they give us. Actually, a day and a half since Meet the Teacher is on the Friday afternoon before school starts! So, tomorrow all the stuff I have been lugging around in the back of my car will get a new home! New stylish crates, pencil holders, shiny posters, new borders, etc. No more sight seeing trips for you!

Back to the routine. Routine is good for me...even though I ♥ my sleep late days (I have trouble sleeping in the summer..weird..I know) and wearing my cute Yellow Box flip flops. I do better when I am on a schedule. It exhausts me, but I sleep like a baby! zzzzzzzzzz......

My daughters will be entering their sophomore and 4th grade years in school. They are anxious and excited and I am as well for them. Fall brings new school supplies, new routines, new expectations, traveling all over the state following my daughter's varsity cross country team, and hopefully some cooler weather here in HOT-Texas!!

Every year my goal is to "be better organized". I think that is one of those forever goals with me. I am organized, but am also guilty of making "piles". I am working on that. This year I have a new goal. I found this saying on my friend Ginny's pinterest board and re-pinned it to mine. It is so true!

So....my goal this year is to live with a positive attitude----GLASS HALF FULL!! I want my class to be more positive to each other as well. Many of them come from dysfunctional home lives and I need to find a way to make them think positive.

I am looking forward to this school year and the changes it brings.... So here we go!

What is your goal for this year??

Giveaway!

2011-08-08T10:01:00.000-07:00

Back 2 School Bash: 4 GB Kingston USB Drive Giveaway

Here is great giveaway we can ALL use! Click on her link and see how you can win!!!

Thanks to Surviving a Teacher's Salary for this!

Behavior Management

2011-08-04T10:16:00.000-07:00

Here is a good post with some great ideas from Ashley at Teaching To Go

Some good resources too!

Hot hot hot!!

2011-08-04T08:25:00.000-07:00

It is super crazy hot here in south Texas as it is in many places right now. We have had many days this summer with temperatures well over 100 degrees. My oldest daughter is a high school athlete who runs cross country and track. We are doing everything we can to keep her well hydrated since she has been practicing in the heat. Even though practice is at 7pm, it is still 100 or higher. Athletes around the country have died due to heat exhaustion. Very scary folks! Keep you and your kiddos hydrated! Even though I am sure we will be banging our heads against the wall when school starts because they are going to tell us "no recess" due to the heat.... it really will be the safer option to stay in. Let's just hope our school A/C cooperates! Drink lots of water!!!!

We are staying in during the day as much as we can. What are you doing to stay cool?

Thank you Matt Damon!

2011-08-02T17:01:00.000-07:00

I saw this post on another blog and couldn't help but repost.....

Here is the speech that actor Matt Damon gave today to thousands of teachers, parents and others who attended the Save Our Schools march on the Ellipse near the White House to protest the Obama administration’s education policies that are centered on standardized tests.
Damon was the last of many speakers, including Diane Ravitch, Linda Darling-Hammond, Deb Meier and Jonathan Kozol. I’ve published posts of theirs before, so here is something different: Damon’s common-sense, straight-to-the-point speech.

I flew overnight from Vancouver to be with you today. I landed in New York a few hours ago and caught a flight down here because I needed to tell you all in person that I think you’re awesome.

I was raised by a teacher. My mother is a professor of early childhood education. And from the time I went to kindergarten through my senior year in high school, I went to public schools. I wouldn’t trade that education and experience for anything.

I had incredible teachers. As I look at my life today, the things I value most about myself — my imagination, my love of acting, my passion for writing, my love of learning, my curiosity — all come from how I was parented and taught.

And none of these qualities that I’ve just mentioned — none of these qualities that I prize so deeply, that have brought me so much joy, that have brought me so much professional success — none of these qualities that make me who I am ... can be tested.

I said before that I had incredible teachers. And that’s true. But it’s more than that. My teachers were EMPOWERED to teach me. Their time wasn’t taken up with a bunch of test prep — this silly drill and kill nonsense that any serious person knows doesn’t promote real learning. No, my teachers were free to approach me and every other kid in that classroom like an individual puzzle. They took so much care in figuring out who we were and how to best make the lessons resonate with each of us. They were empowered to unlock our potential. They were allowed to be teachers.

Now don’t get me wrong. I did have a brush with standardized tests at one point. I remember because my mom went to the principal’s office and said, ‘My kid ain’t taking that. It’s stupid, it won’t tell you anything and it’ll just make him nervous.’ That was in the ’70s when you could talk like that.

I shudder to think that these tests are being used today to control where funding goes.

I don’t know where I would be today if my teachers’ job security was based on how I performed on some standardized test. If their very survival as teachers was based on whether I actually fell in love with the process of learning but rather if I could fill in the right bubble on a test. If they had to spend most of their time desperately drilling us and less time encouraging creativity and original ideas; less time knowing who we were, seeing our strengths and helping us realize our talents.

I honestly don’t know where I’d be today if that was the type of education I had. I sure as hell wouldn’t be here. I do know that.

This has been a horrible decade for teachers. I can’t imagine how demoralized you must feel. But I came here today to deliver an important message to you: As I get older, I appreciate more and more the teachers that I had growing up. And I’m not alone. There are millions of people just like me.

So the next time you’re feeling down, or exhausted, or unappreciated, or at the end of your rope; the next time you turn on the TV and see yourself called “overpaid;” the next time you encounter some simple-minded, punitive policy that’s been driven into your life by some corporate reformer who has literally never taught anyone anything. ... Please know that there are millions of us behind you. You have an army of regular people standing right behind you, and our appreciation for what you do is so deeply felt. We love you, we thank you and we will always have your back.

original source- Washington Post

What have you found?

2011-08-02T13:40:00.000-07:00

What new finds have you found for your classroom? I wanted new buckets for my tables to organize pencils and red pens, etc. Last year I used student sized pencil boxes and they worked okay. I just wanted something different this year! I found these at WalMart and I think they will work great! It's worth a try!
Look at what The Sweet Life of Third Grade found!!

Oh, I almost forgot! Look at my super cool broom for my classroom! The kids ♥ to sweep up the mess on the classroom floor when they have a cool broom. I found this for $3 at Ross.

Welcome!

2011-08-02T13:16:00.000-07:00

After reading a friends blog, I have been consumed by reading all of the fantastic teacher and craft related blogs out in cyber world! I decided maybe I should give it a try! So here we go.......

BTW..check out my friends blog: Life as Topher's Mama She has done a great job!