12 on 12-12-12!

What a F-U-N day!! I am linking up with Simpson's Superstars to document my day in pictures - 12 to be exact :-)  Click the button to join in the fun and check out what everyone else did today!

Here's my day! Enjoy!

My heart, my baby!

Does anyone else's teacher bag look like this EVERY morning?!? I mean... a lunch bag, a muffin snack, my Santa picture frame, my kiddos' Christmas gifts, and my breast pump. {Yeah, I said breast pump. It'll be okay. :)} I get quite the arm workout every day!

I am following Lesson Plan SOS' lead and we're starting Secret Santa in my classroom! Here are the slips with each kid's name on them... we drew names and started our acts of kindness this morning!

Morning Writing... Each day they pick a prompt and write/draw for about 20-25 minutes between the first bell, the tardy bell, announcements, and attendance. It's so great to see them working so hard!

EEKK reading at it's FINEST!! :-)

My lunch. Before the microwave. Oh... how I can't wait for Christmas Break {6 more teaching days!!} so I can have a "real" lunch for a change!

Yep... I paused my writing lesson just to take this screen shot of my phone! The kids got a kick out of it :-)

Christmas cards arrived today! I had them mailed to school in case the weather was icky and that way they didn't need to sit out on the porch until Hubby got home. Makes my heart SO SO SO happy to see my boy!

We traveled to Italy today for Christmas Around the World. Here they are turned "plane style" and their wings are out, ready to make the trek!

Ha!! We did many random sets of 12-12-12s today... 12 high kicks, 12 jumping jacks (seen above), 12 high knees, 12 sit ups (which ZERO of my kids knew how to do!!!), etc. I would randomly tell the kids to stand up and push in their chair... by the 3rd time, they knew what to expect. We did this 6 or 7 times throughout the day. It was a great way to get our blood moving!

My sweet girl... Lucy :) She currently has a hurt paw {by her own doing...}, so she's doing even more laying around than normal!

The gifts for my Angel Tree baby! I'll bring these to school tomorrow so they're ready to be delivered next week! :-)

I hope you had fun peeking into my day! It was nice to not be so serious with my kiddos today and enjoy a little bit of fun!

Skittle Math Fun!

I just wanted to stop by really quick to let y'all know about a great little freebie that I've found SUPER helpful in my classroom this week! You may already have it... but if not, you'll want it!

The wonderfully talented Erica Bohrer has created a Skittles graphing/sorting activity that is so kindly offered for free through her Teachers Pay Teachers store... click the top pic to get you there!

Seriously, this little packet is so perfect for getting first graders interested in math again - I mean, who doesn't love a lesson that involves eating CANDY when you've finished?!!? My kiddos soaked it up, and we had about 45 minutes of pure DE-LIGHT in my room... silent, hard-working little ones just make my heart smile :-)

If you're teaching graphing soon, I truly recommend this great file! It's just what my whole class (myself included) needed to get us through these last several days before Break ;-)

Up tomorrow... a great marshmallow graphing activity!

More sugar!

More sweets!

Hopefully more hard working kids!!

Big News!!

Oh, friends!! It has been *gulp* over 2 MONTHS since I've last posted! I have missed you all so very much, but... there's this little blessing that's been taking over all of my time :-)

That's right!! Meet my little "pumpkin"! The above pic was taken at 6 weeks, and today I hit the 15 week mark... so Pumpkin is significantly larger and more human-looking ;) Man, oh, man - this little wonder has been sucking the life out of me every day and making me too tired to even THINK about stalking blogland, let alone typing my own posts!! However, we have turned the corner, and my energy is back - just in time for the holidays!

I am hoping to get back into the habit of my nightly blog searches... I can't even begin to think about everything I missed while sleeping on the couch and growing a baby! Just wanted to say hello again to all of you lovelies and that I can't wait to dive back into the FUN!

I hope you all have had a wonderful Thanksgiving break... I know I have, and now I'm ready for the next 3 1/2 weeks until we hit the halfway mark of the school year! I can't wait to have some holiday fun with my little kiddos.

To kick-off my new beginning, there will be a sale going on in my TpT store from NOW thru tomorrow for Cyber Monday! Please stop by and browse around a bit! Click the pic to hop over!

PS - Can I tell you how fun it was to create something new... even if it was just this silly little notice of my sale!

Thank you! And "All on the Map"

You guys are so wonderful at lifting a girl's spirits! Your comments and emails to me about my previous post really helped me know I'm not the only one out there who's so frustrated with the way teaching is heading. Some days, I am jealous of those of you who get to teach reading centers, but I don't even have that option with the way our schedule is set up. My kiddos don't go to centers, and they have no down time throughout the day when they aren't being directly instructed by a teacher. One of these days, I'll figure out a time when I can get these first graders into some fun activities where they can explore their learning a bit!! :-)

In other news... Here is the latest in my set of StoryTown activity printables! Click the pic to check out this packet that works with Lesson 6, studying the -all chunk!

Hope you all had a relaxing weekend! Have a tremendous week... may it be the best one yet! :)

Creativity in Teaching...

Alright, y'all... I gotta be honest with you! I am W.O.R.N. out this week!! My kiddos seemed to have taken several steps forward in the past couple of weeks, but then the past couple of days, they've gone a little backwards, and I'm so tired :( Anyone else out there experiencing this same kinda slump?? Honeymoon's officially over, I guess!

While I'm being honest, I have to ask you guys...
Are you allowed to use those wonderful, God-given creative genes of yours in your teaching? Not just your management style, but your curriculum, also? Because, this year, I feel so squelched in that area. It breaks my heart to have all of these great ideas {many of which come from your FABULOUS blogs!!} that I know my kiddos would just die for, but I'm unable to use them!!

Instead, I turn the page each day in our basal... and teach it as it's written - with "fidelity." {Sometimes that word makes me shudder a bit...} And now, we have a new pilot/Common Core math curriculum to follow, as well. It's written by the folks at the Board Office, along with a handful of classroom teachers. Once again, I turn the page and teach what's given to us. I did find out this week that we have a bit of flexibility in this math thing, but not as much as I'd like. Thankfully my principal is creative herself, and she encourages us as much as she can!

So... my question to you: How do you do it?!? How do you follow the rules, yet still fulfill that inner desire to be creative and help your kiddos learn as much as you know they can by creating lessons that are tailored to them and their learning styles??

I'm feeling a bit saddened this year... this isn't what I signed up for when I decided in 4th grade to become a wonderful teacher someday.

A Weekend for Remembering

Hey you guys! I hope you have had a relaxing weekend and enjoyed your time with family :-)

This was not my ideal weekend, that’s for sure. Saturday evening, a colleague and myself went to the funeral of a 3 month-old little brother of a student of mine. Little Gavin was remembered in a very touching ceremony in which his mom and dad both spoke of the hopes and dreams that they had for their only son. Throughout the entire service, my little girl was just bawling, and it broke my heart, y’all. I am so glad I went, so she could see I care about her and her family. I let her know we missed her so much in class, and she said she’s ready to come back. We’ll see her tomorrow, and I will be greeting her with the biggest hug.

Then today, I, along with all of you, couldn’t help but travel back in time to ten years ago. TEN YEARS AGO. Holy moly. I remember like it was yesterday…

I was a freshman at Oklahoma Baptist University, and I was set to meet a buddy in the lobby so we could travel to breakfast. As I walked into the common room, my RD was watching the events unfold on TV. Unknowingly, I asked,

“What movie are you watching?”
”It’s not a movie… it’s really happening.”

Woah. My friend came in and we traveled in confusion to the cafeteria. In there, the big screen was showing footage, and we witnessed the 2nd plane hit. To say I was scared and disturbed is an understatement.

We walked in silence to our class (classes hadn’t been canceled yet, but they were shortly), where I was to take my first test of college ever – in government, none the less. My professor still had us take the test.

And I FAILED. But I didn’t care. My dad was on business in Atlanta and I needed to make sure he was okay. Since airports had shut down, he was unable to fly home, so his business buddies all decided to “steal” their rental car and drive it back to Kansas City. He was telling me of stopping off at Cracker Barrel and plugging in his phone {along with all of the others traveling home} on the hearth of their fireplace. But, he made it home, and my family was safe.

This was a day that changed our forevers. I will never forget.

Hug your kids. Love your family. Have a great week, everyone!

My heart hurts.

Well, folks, I heard of some news this morning that I have never had to deal with before. One of my beautiful little girls' little adorable baby brother passed away suddenly yesterday.

We know no details.. she wasn't at school today (we only found out because Mom called the office this morning with the quick explanation of why my darling was going to be absent), but she will probably be back tomorrow.

After the shock and tears passed this morning, my head couldn't stop spinning... poor family! Poor little 6-year-old big sister who is left not understanding why her 5 month old baby brother is gone. I cannot even imagine, you guys.

What are your suggestions? How do I handle this and the questions that will come from my class tomorrow? How do I let this little one know I am here for her and it's okay to cry and be angry and take it easy? I've had parents pass away while I've had their child, but never a sibling and never so suddenly.  My heart is hurting for everyone involved, and I can't wait to give my student a great big hug... it's all I know I can offer her for sure right now.

Seriously?!?

Oh my goodness, you guys!! I had a first today. I'm in my 7th year of teaching, and I'm usually the teacher that gets the BIG TICKET kiddos - you know the ones ;) Anywho, I have a big ticket again, this year, but my story is not about him! It's about my sweet, quiet little Miss C.

Miss C must have been tired of waiting in line. So, what did she do? She BIT her neighbor. On the CHEEK. WHAT!?!?! I was flabbergasted. I have never seen a first grader bite in all my years. Have you?? Needless to say, mom was called and apologized for her daughter's behavior. Sigh... They're gonna keep me on my toes this year! :) Which leads me to my next point...

I am in LOVE with this! Check out the CFC blog and watch the Class?Yes! video! I am going to try this tomorrow. And the next day. And the next til it works!!

Flash Mob 2011

So... I guess I can cross "be in a flash mob" off of my bucket list! (Except I don't have a bucket list... but if I ever make one, I'll write that on there simply so I can cross it off...)

About 40 of us from the district were asked to secretly be a part of a flash mob on our first day of reporting back to work this past week. We always meet for breakfast before the Convocation and speaker begin, and our mob was the segue from breakfast into the auditorium! Check out the following pics of myself and a few co-workers. Some are blurry - but we were a movin'! :)

(I apologize in advance for the AWFUL face I'm making in the last picture - it was snapped in the middle of my, "Come on, guys, get moving already!" face... oops!!)

We were the first group to start the mob... no one really noticed yet!

Starting to get the idea here... all the dancers were forming a circle around the room.

Finally - jackets OFF! It was darn hot in there!

We moved our way to the middle of the room and now faced out towards everyone else.

Check out our shirts! It says MOB: Making Ourselves Better. This was the theme of all of the speakers in the best Convocation I've ever attended. It ended with our football coach coming out as Tina Turner singing "Simply the Best!" with 3 of our Board Office ladies in neon wigs as his backup dancers! HI-LAR-IOUS!

How did your district kick off the year??

Don't get Heat Struck!

Just a quick note between teaching, errands, and starting a new grad class tonight... :)

So, I'm teaching K Camp right now (for incoming kindergartners that need a little "boost" before August), and one of my darlings said the CUTEST thing today!  We're in a suburb of Kansas City, and it's rather steamy outside today (at 2:15, it's currently 100 our there, feeling like 102!) so we had indoor recess. When I explained that the temps were too hot to play outside, little A piped up and said,

"Yeah, you don't want to get heat struck! It's the hottest day of the EARTH today!"

I love it! Kids are the best :-)

M.I.A.

Oh how I've missed this place, y 'all!!

I have been away from the blogging world for way too long, and I'm glad to be back! My uncle is in the hospital so my whole family has been up there every night for the past 9 days. And you know what - they DON'T allow you to get on any sites ending with ".blogspot.com"!! What kind of waiting room is that, I ask?? :/ Anywho, tonight I'm home, and you'd  better believe I've been doing some stalking :)

In other news... we're down to 1 1/2 days of school left!! On Tuesday at 11:30 CST, I will be kid-free until July! Now don't get me wrong... I would loop with these kids if it was a choice for me! I'd even take them through 3rd and 4th grade and state assessments and everything. They are fantastic. Wonderful. Sweet. Funny. Kind. Friendly. I could go on and on about this group. Instead, I will give tearful hugs on Tuesday morning and send them onto 2nd grade knowing I did the best I could do to prepare them for their future!!

Thank you to all who have purchased things from my TpT store lately - you are too kind with your comments and ratings! I am so excited for this summer when I have time to create more fun stuff to share with the other fabulous teachers out there :-)

Great New Website!

Thank you for all of the great stories/comments regarding my latest crazy excuse - you gals were cracking me up!! So glad to be reminded I'm not the only one who deals with this *stuff* all day! :)

I've now seen this site (Tagxedo) mentioned twice on blogs in the past 2 days, so I knew I had to go try it out!!  Here's the end result of a quick product using my blog:

I do an end of the year Wordle with my kids each year as a way to let each other know what we think is really great about them - we go around and add to everyone's Wordle with some sort of super kind sentiment, and it's really neat to see them light up when they print off and take home all of these compliments from their friends. If I have enough time to explore Tagxedo, we may choose to do this instead... who knows! Thanks TBA and Mrs. Randall for sharing the idea. :)

Tomorrow is field trip day to the Play Hospital and then the Farmstead!! Stay tuned for pics of my cuties!!

Have you heard this excuse before???

No, no, not from a student! This excuse came from a parent in my room today... Please stick with me; it'll be worth it, I promise!!! It even involves the mafia... :)

We were asked to call families that hadn't filled out their Summer School enrollment papers yet, so I called my one little girl's house to talk to her mom.

(Background info that's important here: this mom has something wrong all the time... either hernias or breathing problems or allergies to things such as carpet and cockroaches. Also, the mom is on oxygen all of the time for her COPD, and she doesn't leave the house hardly ever. I had the older sister 5 years ago and never once met the parents, and that hasn't changed so far this year!)

Ok, back to my story... So I call Mom, and she tells me she had 6 teeth pulled this morning, so I tell her I'll keep it short and sweet b/c I'm sure her mouth hurts. I proceed with my schpeel about Summer School, and she tells me that she won't  be enrolling her daughter. When I repeat that it's FREE for them, including breakfast and lunch, she tells me that they will be going to Mexico. Apparently, her mother in law is in trouble with the mafia down there.

Yep, the MAFIA in Mexico has been coming to her house at night and destroying things. And... 3 days ago, her son was kidnapped by the MAFIA and held ransom for all of their money. Soooo, after school's over, they're traveling there to make sure she gets to a safer location. So, my student won't be going to Summer School.

*Just so you know, I'm not being mean here... this Mom has all sorts of excuses, and after confirming that this is not a true story with my principal, I've decided that it is instead the CRAZIEST excuse I've ever heard!!!*

Can you top it?? Please share your wildest excuses! :-)

New Storytown printable + Musical Picture!

As promised last night, here is a quick pic of my kiddos all ready for their dress rehearsal! Check out my cast of characters in the previous post! You can see Sleeping Beauty, Little Boy Blue, one of the 3 Little Pigs, Little Miss Muffett (with the curls), and Mother Goose (in the "Grandma" crochet sweater, according to her!). I love them :-)

**TpT freebie alert!!**
Here is the beginning stage of a project I'm working on. I'm putting together information sheets for parents/planning purposes for each Storytown lesson. So far, I have lessons 26-30 complete. I'll work on the rest as time magically appears! :-) These pages have the phonics focus, spelling words, high frequency words, and vocabulary words so that parents know what we're learning. They also have a clip art image corresponding to the lesson's Main Selection. Enjoy!

Lemonade!!

(I have to say Sorry in advance... my camera is still at school, so some pics will have to come later! I know, boooooring!)

Tonight was our First Grade Musical, LEMONADE! My kiddos transformed into various characters, such as:
* 2 of the 3 Little Pigs (they had to wear pink shirts, and one of my tiny boys walked in wearing his little sister's size 3T bright pink shirt! When asked about his shirt, his response was to shake his pink corkscrew tail and say, "It's not the shirt that makes the man!" haha! LOVE!)
* Little Miss Muffett (complete with frilly dress, ringlet curls, and a high pitched scream!)
* Miss Muffett's Spider friend (who caused the above scream...)
* Little Boy Blue (with his trumpet to blow!)
* Sleeping Beauty (whose jeans were poking out from underneath her too-itchy dress... cute!!)
* A Billy Goat Gruff with drawn on beard
* Jack's Mom (of jack and the Beanstalk fame)
* and Mother Goose, herself!!!

The musical was absolutely adorable, save for the screaming baby that was not taken out of the gym, so the poor kids had to sing/speak SUPER loudly... I think I was more bothered by it than they were! Buuuut, they were fantastic and I loved every second of their performance!! :-)

One of THOSE days...

Well, hello, bloggie friends! I'm so glad I get to come home and check in with you all at night. I know you will never do any of the following to me:

- have the big D on your pants.

- throw yourself on the floor in a full-out screaming fit. Twice.

- Pee in the corner of the playground. (and have a parent driving by see you do it and call the office)

- Fib about peeing on the playground.

- Forget what EVERY coin is called and what it's worth.

- Bring jarred dill pickle spears for class snack... messy. And may have contributed to #1.

Yep! This is the kind of day that the first grade team at our school had today.
TG(tomorrow)IF!!! :-)

Flood Drill: April Fool's Day 2011

I'm just as bad as the kids when it comes to having fun on April Fool's Day :-) First off, my team all switched classrooms for the morning greeting time; THAT really threw some of our kiddos off!! Then, later on in the morning, we had our Flood Drill!

Since April is quite rainy here in Kansas, we have to be prepared for floods, you know. ;) So, we take off our shoes and socks, roll up our pants, and stand on our chairs, all lickety-split quick! I had the camera out b/c "our principal needed proof that we practiced the drill." I got some doozies of pictures! Enjoy!

(This last pic is my FAVORITE! Check out Mr. B in the back, with the red pants all the way hiked up! HE was SERIOUS about keeping them out of water's way!)

When finished, I told my kiddos that they passed the Drill, and "Oh, yeah... APRIL FOOL'S!!" They cracked up laughing and couldn't believe they fell for it! What a great time of laughter and fun in my room; I sure do love these kids!