Currently July 2015

Once again an entire school year has passed by without a single blog post from me. I am going to TRY to be better about blogging. I have plenty to share and I'm sure you can hardly wait ;) However, that is not what this post is all about. Onto more important things. I am excited to link up with  Farley from Oh'Boy 4th Grade once again.

Listening: I am listening to The Talk on CBS as I am waiting for my boys to come home so we can go shopping. 

Loving: Last summer our school was designated a Zoom school. Basically that means our test scores have not been what the states thinks they should be. Becoming a Zoom school didn't bring too many changes. What it did do was allow us to work an extra 17 days. Yesterday was my last day of school. WooHoo!!!!! In September 17 days didn't seem like a big deal. In June, it seemed like the year would never end! 

Thinking: Having cut my summer short by a month and moving schools has made for a very long to do list. But everything can wait until tomorrow, right?! 

Wanting: I have had the worst year of my entire teaching career! Not because of my class! They were amazing. But, the other nonsense that goes on at a school 'bout killed me! Because of the stress, I want to do absolutely nothing for at least a week. We'll see how long it really last. After all, 4th of July is in 4 days and I have a party to plan and get ready for. 

Needing: I really need to start on my to do list! Have you ever had so much to do, you didn't know where to start or how to prioritize the list? Well, that's where I am. I am thinking I need a three column list;  Family, School, and Home. That way I can make sure I complete at least one item from each column everyday. Or, I can just relax and go on vacation. I think vacations should win out. Right?!

All Star: So I am an all star mom! Both of my boys are on our cities All Star Baseball team. Pretty proud of both of them. However,that's their accomplishment not mine. One of my passions is cupcake decorating. I LOVE decorating cupcakes and I love teaching others how to decorate cute cupcakes. I taught an after school cupcake decorating class to 2nd - 5th graders. Talk about combining two passions. So much FUN!!!!! Below are a few of the cupcakes we made. 

          Spaghetti and Meatballs        Fish                 Flowers

                 Butterflies                  Karaoke                Ladybugs 

Sharks!!!!!!!

Currently

I know, twice in one day! Had I remembered it was September 1st, I would have saved my earlier post until tomorrow. I am linking up with Farley at Oh' Boy 4th Grade. Hop over and take a look at what other fun things are happening all over the world.

Listening: I just took my two boys to the water park. It's crazy to me they are old enough to do things like this on their own. And they are meeting GIRLS! When on earth did this happen

Loving: Living in Las Vegas I can hardly wait for June, July, and August to be over. I love the cold weather and living in this heat is not something I enjoy. 

Thinking: Lesson Plans, Lesson Plans. Lesson Plans... After meeting my new students last week, I have decided I need to rethink my entire plan for the rest of the month. I'm going to have to do a lot of small motor skills, beginning writing skills, and early literacy skills. They are not ready for any of the centers I made over the summer. 

Wanting: I have two favorite places. The beach and the mountains. I'm a good 2 hours from the mountains and at least 4 from a beach. So for now I dream.

Needing: My computer printer has seen its last piece of paper. I am trying to decide if I bite the bullet and by an expensive one, buy another cheap one, or just take my flash drive into office depot and print there. I'm leaning toward buying a more expensive printer. Any suggestions would be helpful.

3 Trips: I am obsessed with anything Southern. My father was born in the south and I have always longed to see where my family is from. Greece, I love the architecture of Greece, the beaches, oh the beaches. They are calling my name. Paris, the museums, the food, the shopping, the food, and did I mention the food. I can see myself walking the streets of Paris eating a croissant. I am a people watcher. I just know that I would have a blast watching people in whichever place I was lucky enough to visit. 

Thanks for stopping by! Have a super month!!!!!!

Glue Sponges

"Teacher, I can't find the lid to my glue!", "Who's glue does this lid belong to?", or "Teacher, mine doesn't stick!" I'm sure we have all heard and said these things. I have been battling glue sticks for years! But, NO more! After seeing glue sponges on Pinterest for years, I finally decided to try them. 

 I went to Dollar Tree and bought these containers and sponges. I made a class set of 12 for  $7. My school provided the glue. 

I cut my sponges in half, put glue in the bottom of the container, placed the sponge on top of the glue, and then drizzled glue on top. The next day I introduced them to my cubs. With very little instruction, students went to town gluing color words.

We have used our glue sponges everyday. We have never lost a lid, students don't get messy, and best of all, their glued pieces don't fall off. Overall, glue sponges are the answer to this teacher's prayers. If you want to see how they were made, Mr. Greg at Smedley's Smorgasboard posted a YouTube how to video on how he makes them for his classroom.
Glue Sponges YouTube

Coloring

Coloring, before beginning my sojourn back into Kindergarten, I really thought that all parents colored with their children. Folks, that is NOT true. I have children entering my room having never held a crayon. While I would love it if all of my cubs knew how to color, the simple fact is they don't. So what to do? TEACH COLORING!!! Why have I not done this before? I have seen coloring rubrics all over and decided I would make one for my class and spend the time teaching coloring (when I say time, the lesson took 5 minutes tops). I began by going over the rubric. I just took my PDF to Office Depot and asked them to make it poster size. Easy peasy! 

 

My 3 Star Coloring

Click above if you would like the rubric to use in your room

After going through the entire process and all of my expectations, I handed out our first coloring sheet. I was amazed at how much time and effort my cubs put into these monsters. Taking five minutes and teaching how to color has already made a huge difference. I still have a few students that scribble. But, we are working on that and after all, it is only the third day of school. 

As you can see, my cubs are focused and being very careful. The only little cub in the corner has turned her crayon so she can "shade" her monster. Not sure where she learned about that. I thought I took pictures of the final product. But, nope. I must have seen something shiny and was distracted. 

Happy HUMP day! Week one is half way done :)

Classroom Tour!

Yesterday was my first day with my new group of Cubs!  I finally finished my room and I am excited to share the final product with you. In the past, I have done Bears, Jungle, and Fairy Tales. This year I did not do a theme. I chose to focus on color and making my room as inviting as possible. I think I accomplished that goal.  

This is the view from my teacher area. My whole group teaching area is in front of a giant bookcase. You can also see my technology cart. I love the technology, hate the cart. 

Back of my room.

Another view of the back of my room and computer area. My class library is currently in front of the big pink curtain. Not ideal but it is a work in progress.

Close up of my writing bins and  "What can I write about?" bulletin board. The basket will be used for math stations. 

This is where I will display student work. 

Here is where my differentiated reading centers go. 

Storage wardrobes and my sensory table. My plans are to put a tree in the big open space above the sensory table. 

Focus Wall

Small group/teacher area. The bright paper on the wall just above the floor is where my sight words go. Above the word wall is my Smart Board (love). The bulletin board is my Data Wall. We are all required to have a data wall and display our student growth. 

Close up of my data wall. Watch Me GLOW! I made the pom poms and found the "glowworms" at Dollar Tree. The Neon lines are really shoelaces. The students will use clothes pins with their class number on them to track their growth. 

So that's a peak into my room. I love the bright colors and had fun putting it all together. 

Getting Ready!

As I mentioned the other day, I have started working on my room. My little Cubs will be here in less than a week. I thought I was totally ready. After all, I spent hours working on new things for my room. However, I don't like it. UGH!!!!! I like the idea, it's just not working out the way I want. I have my welcome to Kindergarten banner up, it has a glare, hard to read the letters, and is too small. I have my focus wall up, I don't like the heading. I have my boarders up, I just don't think they are working. What to do, what to do!?!?!?!?! Redo almost everything. That's what I am doing today. I was so unhappy with the way it looked, that I didn't take any pictures. With hindsight, I should have. I might as well show the bad along with the good.

TRUTH!

Back to School!

Vacation is over!!! Hit four states in two weeks and had a great time with family and long time friends. I went to school yesterday to assess the damage. Not horrible, but not great either. Here's the before picture.

I was able to move all of the furniture where I wanted and exchange some furniture. After I was all done, our custodian came in and told me I would have to move 3 of my bookcases. NOT a happy camper! For the last 3 years they have been in the same place. That being said, it forced me to rethink EVERYTHING! While I wasn't thrilled about having to rearrange my room. I do like how I rearranged things. So, lesson learned! Being forced to change is often times a good thing. 

I also went in today. I got NOTHING done! The air was out and it was HOT!!!!!!!! Tomorrow is another day and I will get a lot done! Really, I will :)