It's Official...

...School is on my brain!  I woke up this AM and all that I could think was "OMG!  I have so much to do, and not much time to do it in!"  Just last week I felt like I had an eternity.  Ok, maybe not an eternity, but a lot longer then I feel like I have now. 

There is so much to do, first of all set up of my room.  Last time I left it, in the end of June, it was a disaster!  Everything was moved to one side of the room, piled high and I couldn't even handle the thought of starting to arrange the room.  Not only do I need to get the room put back together, I don't like to look at the same room set up for long so that means I become interior designer as well.

Then there is trying to wrap my head around the start of school.  Procedures, getting to know you games, what went right/wrong last year and theme for the year.  Just when I thought I had my act together, school begins to approach!

There is so much to do, so I'm going to stop blogging and start planning.

Wish me luck...

Easy come, easy go

It's over.  The school year as come to an end and I can't believe it!  I feel like I was just getting the news that I was going to be switching grade levels from 5th/6th to 1st/2nd and now it's done.  I totally survived it too!  I mostly have Jill to thank for that.  I don't know how I would have survived without her. 

Did I teach it all? No. 
Did I have all good days? No.
Did I enjoy every minute? Yes.

Surprising, I know!  But it's true.  Every single moment, good and bad, made me a better teacher.  The good were celebrated, the bad were reflected upon, the horrible were simply forgotten! 

So here I am, ready as ever for a relaxing summer vacation.

'Til I decide to think about school again...

Mom's and Muffins

Who knew that in just a few days time one could plan a most fabulous Mother's Day Event?!  Well me, of course!

When I presented my Mom's and Muffins (borrowed from a lovely friend/teacher) idea to Jill on Monday her response was "ummm...No."  LOL!  Well I changed her mind and we started planning.  We picked a day and time, whipped up some fill in the blank invites for the kids to make and decided on food and drink.  There were even 2 homemade gifts that all got started and finished within the week.  It all came together really well.

I spent Thursday night at Costco, staring at muffins, just trying to pick some out.  Why was that so difficult?  Not sure!  I ended up with 1 dozen very large muffins and a package of small muffins.  Thank you to one mom that brought some goodies for us, what a huge help!  I also ended up with some daisies for the kids to give to their moms.  The perfect touch.

Well, needless to say that all (and when I say all, I mean every mom showed up!!!!) of the moms loved the homemade gifts.  Each kid made a book about their mom with various info like mom's age, favorite sport and favorite color.  We also made a class book "20 Uses for a Mom" in which every kiddo had their own page with their own "use."  It was really cute and the mom's all seemed to get a kick out of it.

So now we're on to the next event.  We couldn't possibly leave out the dads.  So upcoming will be Dad's and Donuts.  Jill, has said "no" for now!

I'll keep you posted...

Pencils for Snack

I am pretty sure that every kid in my class eats pencils. There, I've said it!

I have handed out over 500 pencils this year, yes I said 500! Where in the world do they go? I've tried everything from keeping a flower pot of pencils with the take one/give one philosophy to giving each table 4 pencils with their table number on it to not giving out pencils at all. I've had the kids search the floor, under and behind shelves and inside cubbies.

It's to the point now, that I give one student a pencil to complete an assignment, we go out to recess and then for the next assignment, they ask me for another pencil. WHAT?!?!

When I taught 5/6 I would give them a pencil for a shoe. Then when they gave me the pencil back, they could get their shoe back. But, my 1/2's would be happy to go without shoes, in fact, most of my kids, at some point in the day, will be without shoes.

So...what to do? Do I not hand out any more pencils? Do I keep handing out pencils? I'm out of ideas so I'm putting it out there! Any and all ideas welcome...

Here We Go Again

Here we go again. After surviving last years RIF's (reduction in force) I really thought that I was in the clear. But just as I never know what the new day will bring me, I don't know what the new year will bring me. It's frustrating, wanting so bad to plan for the new year, to want to be excited to come back, to not know if I'll get another much needed year with some of my 1st graders. I just want one year, where I don't have to worry about the next!

But enough of that...

At this point, I'm pretty sure you are all aware that I have a hard time saying no. So I got myself into putting together the yearbook this year. It was all good, until teachers didn't turn in their pages, GLEAM's didn't take pictures of their kids and yearbook contact didn't know what she was doing. Thank goodness for Christy! I really couldn't have done it without her. Now that it's finished, I don't know what to do with myself. I think it will come out great and I really can't wait to see it hot off the press. 72 pages of beauty, a labor of love!

I love my job! What job can you name that you can see a kid break dance, hear a kid ask someone if they brush their teeth because their breath stinks, feel a kids fingers tap your arm insistently, and witness the "light bulb" moment. Not many, not any that I can think of.

I can't imagine doing anything else!

Short and sweet tonight...