Work in progress!

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!!

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??

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

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

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!!!****************

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

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

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!

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.