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.