Littlest Learners / Clutter-Free Classroom Blog

Must Do / May Do Board - classroom management series

2011-08-30T19:00:00.000-04:00

This post is part of my Classroom Management Series. Click here to read other posts from the series.

I wish I could take credit for this. It has made my role so much easier. I first saw this in a co-workers classroom. She found it somewhere else. Regardless of where it came from, you NEED it!
The "must do / may do" board is exactly what the title says. It's a visual reminder of what tasks need to be accomplished and what can be done once they are. I created my board using electrical tape as a divider on my white board. This allows me to use dry erase markers to record the daily activities. I printed the subjects on cardstock, laminated them and hot glued magnets on the bag. This lets me move them around as space is needed.
After I complete a lesson and assign a task I write it on the must-do board. The children know to reference it when they need a reminder on what to do. After everything is complete they may select and activity from the "may-do" side of the board. I don't include activities that would encourage the children to rush through their assignments. My "may-dos" typically include things like: independent reading, free-choice writing, and math fact practice.
It's a great tool for keeping everyone on track with their assignments and eliminates the "I'm done...What Do I Do Next? Chorus."

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All By Myself

2011-07-18T10:27:00.004-04:00

Guess what me and Macaulay Culkin circa 1990 have in common?

We were both left Home Alone!!!!

My girls are attending a "summer camp" from 9-11:30 Monday-Thursday of this week. It's not exactly camp since they won't even be 2 until the end of August, but it's called that.

We've enrolled them at a Montessori school this fall and the school asked that they attend this weeklong session as a way for the girls to become familiar with the classroom and the teacher with them.

Who was I to argue?

Of course that meant I needed to scramble to find a place for the big brother to go.

Because I have not been home alone for any substantial amount of time for over 2 years.

And I love being home alone.

So he's at sports camp and they are at "school."

I feel the onset of adult ADD because my head is spinning with all that I want to do in my 10 hours this week...maybe I'll get a pedicure, perhaps I stroll around Barnes and Noble, oohhh I want to take my laptop to Starbucks. I want to buy a People magazine and go to the beach by myself. AHHHHH!

Truth be told, I'll probably go into my classroom and work on some stuff there.

I'll likely organize some stuff in the basement.

I'll spend time working on my other blog.

But, the point is I get to pick what I do.

No wonder there were 2 sequels to Home Alone. You can't get too much of a good thing.

Time for an Annual Favorite

2011-07-01T13:53:00.002-04:00

In honor of the holiday weekend, I am reposting this from last year. FWIW, I did get a whole boatload of emails from people RAVING about these tasty treats. So if you were a skeptic last year, I suggest taking a leap of faith and making the day of those around you.

If you are visiting for the first time, you're probably thinking, "oh look...a cooking blog."

Not even close. In fact, I hate to cook.

As in loathe it.

I don't so much care for baking either. But, with 4th of July weekend upon us I feel it is my civic duty to share with you THE BEST STRAWBERRY SHORTCAKE RECIPE EVER!!

Don't get too excited. It's not like I'm about to whisper great gramma's secret recipe to you. This is just something that I discovered by accident.

Here's what you need to do.

Get some strawberries.

Buy a box of Bisquick.

Follow the directions on the box for making Strawberry Shortcakes.

BUT,...

When the good people at Betty Crocker instruct you to put in 3TBS of sugar substitute that with 1/2 cup of sugar.

Yeah, I know that makes it even less healthy, but whatever. I never claimed to be making organic health foods.

The recipe actually lists sugar twice. It calls for 1/2 cup to be mixed in with the cut strawberries to create that juicy goodness that you pour on top. It also calls for 3 TBS to be baked into the shortcakes.

Silly me mixed that up once.

And much like the accidental discovery of penicillin, the yummiest shortcakes in the world were created.

Another tip from me to you...roll the dough into little balls instead of plopping them onto the pan.

Maybe someday my great grandchildren will whisper my secret recipe to others. For added Patriotic flair I suggest adding blueberries and one of those cute little paper flags.

Hollywood Comes to My Neighborhood

2011-06-30T15:58:00.005-04:00

We went to get the pool water tested this weekend. On the way home I looked out the window of our oh-so-cool minivan and spotted this sign.

In case you can't read the fine print (since it isn't illuminated in all of it's neon glory in the photo) it reads, "Classy Rick's Bacon & Leggs."

Here...let's get a closer look.

And, because if wake up one morning and find yourself at that place in life when you are riding in a minivan with your 3 kids in the back it is pretty much required that you be offended by such a thing.

I blurted out a shocked, "Are you kidding me?"

To which my son replied with an inquisitive, "What mommy?"

And I had to quickly think up some lie on the fly...because while I view the sign as morally offensive it appears that I have no problem lying to my child so as to distract him from looking out the window to the right. Whatever.

Anyhow, although this fine establishment has always been a strip club, it was sort of set back off the road and didn't stand out. This sign changed that. I questioned my husband, "How can they get away with that? There is something very wrong about it."

We tossed in the pool chemicals and I wanted to have it retested before having people over for the 4th so I once again ventured to the pool store. It should have been a quick trip because it was 2:00 pm on a Wednesday and those poor fools who weren't smart enough to check off the "Elementary Education" box on the college application in response to "Intended Major" are all at work while I am stopping at the pool store on my way home from the beach. As we pulled out of said pool store, we found ourselves in bumper-to-bumper traffic. It barely moved. However as we slowly progressed down the one way-nowhere to turn off road-I realized the

hold up was at "Classy Rick's Bacon and Leggs." And there were police officers out front.

I pondered if there were people picketing the new sign.

I wondered if there were really THAT many people eating Bacon and Eggs at 2 pm on a Wednesday that they needed a police detail.

Alas, we made our way in front and I discovered the real cause was none other than Adam Sandler. It seems that the new and improved sign on what it normally known as the elegant "Cabaret Lounge" is just staging for a movie he is filming there.

With Vanilla Ice by the way.

Who doesn't love a little, "Ice, Ice Baby?"

OK so perhaps I'm alone on that one.

Adam Sandler and I go way back. I first saw him perform at the University of Central Florida back in the day when I was young and fun.

Around that same time I "starred" in one of his films.

Maybe "starred" was a bit of a stretch, but I did appear in one of his films.

Did you see the Waterboy? I was one of the screaming fans on the crowd at the Citrus Bowl. I basically sat here wearing an orange shirt with thousands of other people sitting there in orange shirts.

You're probably thinking, "Doh! That's where I know her from." :)

Two summers ago Mr. Sandler thwarted my dinner plans by filming GrownUps at the restaurant that we were taking my dad to dinner at for Father's Day. The place was shut down for days. My dad refuses to watch any of his movies because of it.

And so it goes that the offensive sign will be taken down in a few days. Due to the bumper to bumper traffic today though my 6 year old son was able to get a good long look at it.

More upsetting than the sign however is the fact that the movie they are filming placed Adam Sandler in the role of some guy's father. The premise is that Sandler moves in with his son and his son's fiance. That would mean that Adam Sandler is old enough to play the father of someone who is old enough to get married. And that my friends makes me feel older than my reaction to the sign made me feel.

I just might join my father in the boycotting of his films. Make that all his FUTURE films because it's not possible for my remote to stumble upon Billy Madison or the Wedding Singer without watching the rest of it.

Doobiddy Doo

2011-06-17T05:48:00.003-04:00

The end of the year is bittersweet.

I mean, let's be honest, we're all psyched for a hiatus in the sun and surf. But, it also means the closing of a chapter.

As crazy and chaotic as it can be, there is something awesome about this time of year. The atmosphere is relaxed and, with the stress of testing behind us, we simply enjoy creative projects and activities.

I had to laugh when one of my kids randomly came out with, "Mrs. D What are you going to do without us next year? We're like your little Oompa Loompas. We're cute. We're funny. And we work for you without getting paid."

I love third graders.

Countdown to Summer Sale - 10 Days = 10%

2011-06-15T05:13:00.001-04:00

When I posted the first Countdown to Summer Sale five days ago temps were in the 90s.

Here we are less than a week later.

And temps are in the 50s.

Gotta love New England weather.

I'm not going to lie, and I apologize if this makes me a bad person, but I'm happy about it.

If I'm not able to enjoy all that summer has to offer and am going to spend my days in an (unairconditioned) classroom then I'm quite content with a drizzly 56 degree day. It also helps create the illusion that we are still knee-deep in the academic year and not on the brink of singing, "no more pencils, no more books." The kids are much more focused on cool, rainy days then on the days that the classroom smells of sunscreen.

Which is good because we still have ten days left.

TEN.

DAYS.

LEFT.

In honor of the countdown I'm throwing a "Countdown to Summer Sale!" For the next 24 hours, I've marked everything in my store down by 10%.

This includes my Clutter-Free Classroom Guide, my plan book and grade book as well as all of my classroom theme kits.

There had been some problems at TPT with my new Frog Themed Classroom Kit as well as my Bee Themed Classroom Kit. Buyers were letting me know that they could place the product in their cart, but it would disappear when they went to check out. Both seem to be working now. Thanks to those of you who let me know and thanks to TPT for fixing it.

Some Lunch

2011-06-14T20:25:00.004-04:00

Today was the day I dread each year.

Charlotte died.

I know it's coming, and yet it chokes me up every time.

And just when I start to recover, the next chapter comes along and talks about Fern growing up and it tugs at my mama-side and stabs me in the heart again.

The kids always take it hard too.

So we finish the book and the mood is quiet, but luckily it was time for lunch.

The routine is that my class lines up and I walk them down to the door near the playground. An aide meets us there and I go into the teacher's room for lunch. The routine has also become that they ask me what I brought for lunch that day.

9 times out of 10 the answer is some variation of pasta or chicken.

But not today.

Today went something like this:

Class: "So what's for lunch today Mrs. D?"

Me: "My husband cooked last night so I have leftover potatoes, carrots and pork chops."

Class: Collective gasp of horror and a few, "How could yous?" Followed by, "Mrs. D, first Charlotte died and now you're eating Wilbur!?!?"

Needless to say I did not enjoy my lunch today.

My Pain is Your Gain

2011-06-08T22:04:00.003-04:00

It was in the 90s here today.

It's supposed to be close to 100 tomorrow.

The pool is open. The beach is open.

Oh, yeah...and school is still open.

And will be for another 15 days.

I've decided to throw a "Countdown to Summer Sale!" For the next 24 hours, I've marked everything in my store down by 15%.

This includes my Clutter-Free Classroom Guide, my plan book and grade book as well as all of my classroom theme kits.

I'm also throwing a contest over at my new blog. Check it out if you haven't stopped by yet. :)

There Should Be a Stipend

2011-05-31T20:23:00.002-04:00

Here's the thing. Most days I go to work and think, "I can't believe they pay me to do this!"

Because I truly love my job.

But some days are different and I think, "They don't pay me enough to do this!" And today was one of those days. Because today I introduced the crayfish.

The creepy, bottom-dwelling, scary crayfish.

They are the stuff that nightmares are made of. Supposedly they will teach the children about the life cycle and biology. Whatever. I'm petrified of them. I can't get past their beady little eyes and their floppy antennae and those claws that threaten to pinch you in their attack position.

Luckily, one of my students had a pet crayfish because a few years back her older brother won the "Crayfish Lottery"

If the kids bring in a signed permission slip and a tupperware container to bring it home in, they are entered into the crayfish lottery and they have the chance to take home a bottom-feeder of their very own.

Anyhow, she was kind enough to pick them up and put them into their clear, observation containers for me. With great excitement, the kids gathered round their assigned containers and made scientific observations.

I bravely assisted one group in lifting their container so that they could observe the bottom of the critter and determine if it had boy parts or girl parts (as if the experience wasn't fun enough already).

And that's when it lunged at me. It's pincers were opening and closing like the jaws of a rabid Pit Bull. I swear I saw it breathe fire. It tried to eat me.

Last week in Social Studies we talked about the Revolutionary War and learned about "The Shot Heard Round the World."

Today in science they got to hear "The Scream Heard Round the School."

It was a blood-curdling, top-of-my-lungs, horror movie quality scream.

I'm quite certain that several children peed their pants while others clutched their stomaches and rolled on the floor in hysterical laughter.

I really think there should be a stipend in our contract based on the live animals you must encounter at your grade level.

What types of living creatures have you had the pleasure of experiencing in your classrooms?

Drumroll Please...

2011-05-30T06:26:00.003-04:00

I'm super-duper excited to kick off my new blog: The Clutter-Free Classroom Blog. Watch the video to learn more about it and then hop over there to follow along and enter my debut contest!

How I'll Spend My Summer Vacation

2011-05-29T15:15:00.002-04:00

As I mentioned in my post explaining the What Are You Planning Linky Party (it's not too late...go post your list), I always make my summer to do list at the beach on Memorial Day Weekend (more on our beach fun later). So here are my plans for the summer:

1. Maintain Pretty Piggies- I'm a New Englander. Flip flop season is far too short. I intend to treat myself to a pedicure every couple of weeks. It makes me happy. And it's sort of a nice thing to do for the rest of the world who needs to view my hooves since I never, ever, EVER wear closed-toe shoes between April 1st and October 31st with the exception of my morning walk during which I begrudgingly sport the sneakers.

2. Pretend to Homeschool - I'm intrigued by this whole homeschool thing. Realistically, I need the salary and insurance and I do love my job so I don't see this as being something I would do full time. However, I thought it would be fun to see what it's like for the summer so I'm going to plan some structured things to do with the kids and some educational projects and outings.

3. Blah-Blah-Blog: I love summer blogging. It's such fun to connect with so many people and while I tend to let it fall by the wayside during the school year, I spend a lot of summer hours blogging and blogsurfing. Check back tomorrow for my latest blogventure!

4. Reclaim my Coupon Queen Crown: Back in the day I was a couponing diva. I saved so. much. money! I would play The Price is Right with hubby after each trip and make him guess how much I paid for the abundance of loot before him. It was my own Showcase Showdown. I've been too busy to do so lately and really need to get back into the swing of things. It kills me that I've been paying full price for cereal and toothpaste!

5. Discover the Magic of the iPad: Hubby gave me an ipad for Christmas and while I love it's sleekness, I am not using it to it's potential. I need to spend some time bonding with it.

6. Create Photobooks: I made Hubby a photobook for Christmas using photoshop to design the pages and had it printed as a hardcover album. I swoon each and every time I open it and it brings me great comfort having hard copies of my pictures since I live in fear of losing the digital version. I need to go back and make albums for previous years and trips.

7. Purge: I loathe clutter (surprise, surprise). I've been really good about getting rid of stuff, but I need to go all Rambo on the stuff that is left and do another thorough scan of every nook and cranny and take no prisoners. I need to Craigslist, donate, recycle and trash whatever is not needed.

8. Work on my Class Website: It's such a great resource and the kids use it regularly. I want to update links for all units.

9. Math Workshop: Oh, how I love teaching math this way. My goal for the summer is to align things with the common core instead of the MA Frameworks.

10. Word Study: I've been working on creating Word Study centers and curriculum a lot this year. Much like the math workshop it needs some tweaking.

What Are You Planning?

2011-05-27T05:55:00.001-04:00

This is the weather in my neck of the woods.

I'm giddy with a capital G!

Memorial Day Weekend is one of my mostest favoritest times of the year. The entire summer is laid out before me complete with the promise of long l-a-z-y days, countless hours in the pool and limited responsibility.

Summer always means the start of a new to do list for me. I view summer much like people view New Years. Complete with resolution-ish type items.

Our tradition is to go to the beach and I always take along a notebook. In it I scribble down my plans for the summer.

Some are simple: clean out the sunroom cabinet.

Others are lofty: Make a baby...FYI this was on the list a few years back...we reached our baby quota in 2009 in this house.

What are your goals, to-dos, resolutions for the summer?

Join my very first linky party to post about them. Simply blog about what you are hoping to accomplish as we roll into summer, link back here and sign the list below. I can't wait to see what y'all have in the works. I'll post mine after our annual beach trek on Saturday.

Crisis Averted

2011-05-26T16:28:00.002-04:00

I live 1 mile from my school.

Me loves this fact. I'm lazy like that.

That means I live in the district in which I teach.

As such, my son goes to my school. It's been great. I'm able to volunteer in his classroom during my lunch and since he attends the afterschool program, I simply need to stop by the cafeteria or gym and snag him when I'm leaving.

I try very hard to keep a distinct line between parent and teacher which means I don't take him to school with me in the morning. I leave for work and 20 minutes later my husband drops him off.

Oh how handy that can be.

This morning I did the unthinkable.

I left my coffee at home.

I make the coffee the night before so it's icy goodness is waiting me when I awake.

Usually, it's been sucked down by 5:15, but for whatever reason (I'm looking at you toddler twins) the morning was hectic and it sat idle in the fridge waiting to come to work with me.

Halfway into my commute (yes, I realize that means 1/2 a mile from home, but it's still a commute), I realized my cupholder was empty. Not cool.

Unfortunately, I was crunched for time and couldn't doubleback and grab it.

Fortunately, hubby would be dropping the Boy off soon after so I put in the call.

My coffee was delivered and I was a happy teacher.

As an aside, the cup was a gift from a student last year. I coveted that stinking cup for months. I so wanted to buy it, but my track record of not properly caring for travel mugs made it hard to justify the purchase. I adore that cup. It looks like a regular Starbucks cup, but is hard, insulated plastic with a screw on top. The straw has a catch to keep it from coming out all the way. Best. Cup. Ever!

So...how long is your commute? Do you think you would want to live in the district you teach in?

Hungry

2011-05-24T15:59:00.003-04:00

You know how I've been hinting at something new that I've been working on?

Well, it's coming soon.

As in This Weekend!!!

I've set Memorial Day Weekend as my official launch weekend and have been working diligently to get all the ducks in a row.

I'm super excited to share.

I'm also super duper hungry.

Third grade eats lunch at 11:00 at my school.

Yes, that would be 11:00 a.m.

It's not really lunch.

It's more like 2nd breakfast.

The problem is that by 3:10 I am about ready to eat my own arm off.

But then I'm torn because 3:10 is way too early for dinner. I usually am good about distracting myself, but then there are those days when I can't be stopped.

Today I consumed several forkfuls of chicken that was waiting for me in the crockpot when I got home along with 2 slices of toast w/ Nutella (food of the Gods), a glass of milk and a handful of popcorn.

What time do you eat lunch?

What is your favorite after school snack?

Have a Magical Day

2011-05-23T16:42:00.002-04:00

Last week we spent a few days in the Happiest Place on Earth. I love me some Disney Magic.

I was lucky to make several trips to WDW with my family as a kid. I started my teaching career in Orlando and armed with my Florida Resident Annual Pass spent many a weekend afternoon soaking in the sights and sounds. Since moving back to the Northeast, I've returned at least once a year and love it each and every time.

However, I have never felt like I NEEDED or deserved a vacation quite like this one.

That whole balancing 3 kids, a full time teaching job and 2 grad school classes thing kind of kicked my butt. Seriously...exhausting.

We were going to skip the trip this year. We usually go down over April vacation, but this year Easter fell on the last weekend of the school break. That means you take an already overpriced, overcrowded travel time and multiply it by a million and one.

But, $67.00 airfare and a 40% off code for the resorts and leftover passes from a past trip are kind of hard to pass up so we snuck away for a long weekend.

And it was awesome!
After spending the past few months burning the candle at both ends, it was so nice to relax and just enjoy family time. Sunny skies and 80 degree temperatures aren't too shabby either.

And now it's back to reality. I am doing my best to have "Magical Days" here at home, but it's rained for about a year straight, temps don't seem to want to climb above 60 degrees and did I mention we are in school until June 28th.

June.

twenty.

eighth!

End of Year Activities and Ideas

2011-05-21T05:52:00.004-04:00

(reposted from May 2010 with new pics added)

Do you smell that?

It the perfect combination of sunscreen, iced coffee, grills and ocean air. That my friends is the aroma of summer vacation and it is so close I can smell it.

So close!

But before my toes can go without shoes for 10 consecutive weeks, the school year must wrap up.

Those last few weeks can get tricky. The kids shut down, your to do list grows, the classrooms heat up and schedules get all jumbly which adds to the chaos. It's important to have an arsenal of end-of-the-year activities to balance out the nostalgia for the school year and the anticipation of the vacation. It helps to keep the wee ones engaged.

Below is a thematic kit of activities I've developed to keep the kiddos on task.

Below that is a collection of ideas that I like to use during those last few weeks of school. Hopefully, you'll find something new to try.

The following pictures show my most recent kit designed for the End of the School Year. It includes over 35 reproducible pages that are ideal for grades 1-5 and can easily be adapted for preschool and Kindergarten. Included are a:

28 page Memory Book ~ (click on the picture to see larger versions) These pages allow students to reflect on the past year. There are pages for the funniest thing that happened, field trips, favorite lunch, what they did at recess, what is popular now, and much more. Print them all out or select just the ones you want to include. There is even a blank template that they can customize (my kiddos use them to add in student teachers, aides and one child even created a page for each classmate). You can assemble the book using a binding machine or just staple it. What I do is copy the pages and 3-hole punch them. When the students finish writing and illustrating them, I give them the choice of binding the book with ribbons and pipe cleaners or putting them into folders with prongs.

Top 10 list Template for each grade level ~ It reads, "The Top 10 Things You Need to Know About ___ Grade" and I've included a copy for each grade level starting with preschool. There is clip art on the side that the students can color or you could cut that off before photocopying and have your kids decorate the border themselves. These make a great back to school bulletin board for the fall (hello, timesaver!) and also a nice class book to have available to your new class.

3 different templates for letters to the child's future teacher ~ It's nice for the next teacher to get a letter from the student and the kids feel better knowing that their teacher knows something about them. I designed three versions of this so that it can be used by different developmental levels. There is one for students to just draw on, one with a headline/midline/baseline and one with smaller lines for advanced writers.

It's available at my online TPT store as an instant download for only $5.00. I have them do a few pages each day. It's great as an instant filler when you find they need a low key activity and it's such fun to hear them chatting and remembering the year. I find it is great closure and a wonderful keepsake. I typically print some photos from the year and make a page for each student's book as well with a note from me.

I promise it will make those hectic last weeks easier for you. Wouldn't you rather spend your upcoming nights and weekends picking out new flip flops and browsing Barnes and Noble for beach reads instead of creating end of the year projects on your own.

IDEAS FOR YOUR CLASSROOM

OUTDOOR ACTIVITIES:

Fresh Air Reading:

Have the students bring in sheets or beach towels from home. Spend some time outside reading in the fresh air. Give the parents a head’s up so that they may apply bug spray or sunblock.

Sidewalk Chalk:

Use sidewalk chalk to create some outdoor art to enhance a lesson. Anything you would normally do on paper can be done using chalk outside. Some ideas include: webbing stories, character sketches, illustrating scenes from a book, etc.

Water Painting:

Take the kids outside with cups of water and paintbrushes. Let them “paint” their spelling or vocabulary words onto the wall of the school or the playground.

Detail Writing:

Use clipboards and allow the kids to sit outside and journal, compose poems or write descriptive paragraphs about an object that they can observe outside.

So Many Nouns:

Go on a walk around the schoolgrounds and list all of the nouns that can be seen.

SUMMER SAFETY:

Now is a great time to do some safety lessons and activities. Topics such as sun safty, water safety, bike safety and fireworks safety are timely and important.

Have kids write persuasive paragraphs on why bike helmets should be worn.

Research summer safety tips and design posters that can be hung around the school or town.

Contact the local police and fire department. They are often willing to come to schools and do presentations on these topics.

CAMP THEME:

Read and write campfire stories.

Research and write about woodland creatures. Use model magic to create them.

Make “solar s’mores” by wrapping marshmallows, chocolate and graham crackers in foil and setting them in the sun.

Tye-Dye tshirts or use watercolors and coffee filters to make pretend shirts.

PLAY GAMES:

Give the children posterboards and allow them to create their own board game. Provide them with parameters and guides. They can design the game board, write trivia cards, write out instructions for play, etc.

Do an “in-class game day” where the students bring games from home. Allow them time to teach each other how to play the game and let them enjoy playing together.

Use online programs to create word searches using words that relate to your school year.

Play a whole class game of Pictionary.

Challenge another class to a kickball game.

CREATE:

Make playdough and allow the children to be creative.

Collect recycled items (newspapers, egg cartons, cans, etc) and let the kids create interesting artwork.

Make collages.

Water color murals. Put on some quiet music and see how calm the classroom becomes.

Read the book, It’s Not a Box. Have each child bring in a box from home and use classroom supplies to transform it into something else. Allow time for each student to share with the class.

TAKE TO THE STAGE:

Print out reader’s theaters scripts and have your students work in small groups to plan a performance. Supply them with some art materials to make props, costumes and scenery.

Hold a “class talent show.” Let kids practice and perform on their own or with a friend.

LIGHTS! CAMERA! ACTION!

It’s so tempting to put in a movie during those last few days. Justify it by reading a novel that has been made into a film. My personal favorite is Charlotte’s Web.

Watch SchoolHouse Rocks and then have the kids make up their own songs to teach a concept.

end of year ideas end of the school year end of year activities for the classroom preschool kindergarten first grade second grade third grade fourth grade fifth grade sixth grade end of year celebration memory book yearbook printable free ideas

Sunflower vs Pumpkin

2011-05-04T21:00:00.002-04:00

I've been very lucky this year. By having my son at school with me, I've been able to volunteer in his classroom during my lunchtime. Admittedly, the reason I'm skipping my brown bagged nourishment and hanging with the K Crew is because my son is in the class. However, if you have the opportunity, you should totally spend some time in other grade levels. First of all, Kindergarten is a hoot. Those kids are funny. Secondly, it's really neat to see the spiral in the curriculum.

In third grade we are learning about life cycles in science including the life cycle of plants. Yesterday I planted seeds in little cups of dirt with 5 year olds. I love seeing where they are coming from knowing where they are going.

Anyhow, while I was showing off my green thumb and getting dirt under my nails with small groups, the kids were also working at their seats on a writing activity that the teacher had modeled. They had to choose between two seeds: a sunflower and a pumpkin. They then had to write if it was big or little and what it would grow into.

My son selected the pumpkin. It was a 50/50 option so I thought nothing of it.

Last night at dinner I made conversation by asking why he picked that seed. I expected the shoulder-shrug-I-Dunno-Thing or maybe the "I like Halloween" answer.

Instead, I got..."It's easier to write 'big' than 'little' and there are more letters in 'sunflower.'

I couldn't decide if I was disappointed in his laziness or impressed by his cleverness.

I opted for the latter.

Take 2

2011-05-04T08:56:00.002-04:00

What's better than a sale?

A two-day sale! Whoop! Whoop!

It appears that teachers everywhere had their shopping shoes on last night because the TpT site crashed.

It's up and running again and they are honoring the Teacher Appreciation Sale for an additional day.

I've extended my sale too and am offering 20% off of everything. If you couple that with the code TAD11 offered by TPT the two will be combined.

Fabulous!

Getting My Sale On

2011-05-03T06:05:00.004-04:00

Are you feeling appreciated?

You should. It's teacher appreciation week.

I told my husband he needed to appreciate me this week.

He said, "You're not my teacher."

I proposed, "It'll be good practice for you for doting on me on Sunday."

He replied, "You're not my mother."

Do you feel the love?

Just so you know....

YOU are appreciated. And to show my appreciation, I have marked everything in my Teacher Pay Teacher store on sale.

This includes the Ultimate Teacher Organizer, My Emergency Sub Plan Kit and the number one selling book: The Clutter-Free Classroom Guide.

I should probably clarify that by "number one selling" I mean in comparison to my other products and not that it tops the NY Best Seller's list or anything like that. You know...in case you were wondering. ;)

SPAM I AM

2011-05-02T16:23:00.003-04:00

When I was little, my mother used to make a culinary delight.

It was a treat for the senses.

We called it Goulash.

I Googled Goulash (try saying "Google Goulash" 3 x fast) and found out that it was all a lie. The results for "goulash" do not even remotely resemble this dietary staple of my childhood.

So I called my sister and said, "Take a casserole dish, line it with Spam, dump in Velveeta Cheese, a can of corn, and instant mashed potatoes. Bake it in the oven until the instant taters from a box get all brown and crunchy. What's it called?"

Her response, "I call it GROSS! Why?"

I found myself discussing this dish as the culmination of one of my rambling tangents today.

You know the ones where you start to tell a story and then get off topic and forget your point.

In this case my path lead me to a description of Mama's Goulash. Want to know where it started? Spam.

But, not the nasty processed 'meat-product' spam. The kind you get in your inbox.

The reason...

I discovered today that I've been spamming people for months and months. Unknowingly.

When my classes started in January I used the email account that I use for this blog and my business. I needed to set up a gmail account for the course and since I already had this one I figured it would be easiest to use it.

No big deal.

Except I forgot that there is a signature file attached to my email with links to my blog and store. I didn't realize until today that it automatically attached to all my messages.

That means that every. single. email. that I sent over the course of the semester (and there were a bunch) all had the signature. Hopefully they knew that it was an automatic thing and weren't just figuring I was using the course for marketing purposes.

So if you are here because you clicked on the link in an email...well, welcome.

If you are here because you are one of my regular readers, and you were just asking yourself, "What's for dinner?" Well then, might I suggest a heaping helping of Spam Casserole? Now you have the recipe. Go crazy. I triple dog dare you to bring it to a potluck and try to keep a straight face.

And on that note...what's the yuckiest thing you were forced to eat as a child?

Oh How I Miss You All

2011-04-10T06:32:00.002-04:00

So when we last left off I had started grad school.

Two courses...how hard could that be?

Holy Head Spinning Batman. It has been a crazy few months. I've learned a lot and I think I'm kind of enjoying the process. It's hard to tell because I complain about it constantly and am bitter about the tuition, but now that the semester is winding down I'm in a good groove. Figures.

I've also secretly been working on a project which I'm planning to debut in a couple more weeks. I'm excited about it. It involves videos and lots of classroom organization. Details to come.

In other news: the kids are great - exhausting, but great.

School vacation is next week. I'm super excited about this. We've gone away for April vacation the past three years and while I love me some air travel and fun in the sun, I also love me a solid week of spring cleaning with the windows open at home. Don't act surprised. It's not the first time I've raised my freak flag in this area.

In addition to purging and scrubbing, I have big plans to finally decorate the girls' bedroom. I say finally because we shifted the bedrooms around months ago and the twin girls have been sleeping in a blue room with wooden letters reading, "CAMDEN" hanging on the wall since then. Pictures to follow.

We're headed to Disney next month for a mini-getaway. We were going to go for a week in August, but have opted to make it a quick long-weekend trip in May instead. The main reason is because we had 5 snow days this year and I was afraid that would translate into the 2011-2012 calendar starting before Labor Day and thwarting my travel plans. Also since "pool season in New England" is so short we didn't want to lose a week of it. That, and I pessimistically assumed that if I travel during hurricane season then a hurricane will hit.

And did you know that there are tornados in Florida?

I didn't.

Until I moved there for my first teaching job. I was getting ready for work during the first few weeks and a tornado warning came across the TV. The announcer was instructing people to either go into the basement (are there even basements in FL) or else get into the bathtub and put your mattress on top of you.

Let me repeat that: Get into the BATHTUB and put your MATTRESS on top of you.

I quickly checked the clock and realized I had about 3 minutes until I needed to leave. Faced with the choice of risking the same fate as the Wicked Witch or else calling into my new job where people didn't really know me yet and telling them I would be late because I was calling from under my mattress in the bathtub, I opted to get into my little Mazda Miata and drive into the world like a storm chaser. Ultimately I was glad that I did since when I arrived at school everyone was there and acting like it was a regular day. I would have clearly looked like a fool.

And on that note, I'm off to get my day started. Thanks for the check-ins. I'm alive and well and you'll be hearing more from me soon. Enjoy the weekend!

Silence

2011-02-16T04:19:00.003-05:00

Did you hear that?

Listen closer.

OK...Did you hear it?

I didn't think so. That was me trying to talk.

Except I have no voice.

None. Nada. Zilch.

A slight whisper comes out. But nothing more.

I'm about to start day 3 in the classroom sans vocals. It's actually kind of nice. There is a calm in the room. The kids are working together to make our days successful and it's been doable. I figure: I feel fine with the exception of not being able to speak and they will get more out of my lessons on mute than they would from having a sub so in I go.

Yesterday I had some students lead lessons. It was A-MAZ-ING. They directed whole group and small group pairings. They worked with partners. I circulated, listened in and beamed with pride at how the room was running itself. Cooperative learning at its finest.

My goal s always to manage my classroom so that ultimately I can step away and have it be self-sufficient. However, I've never really been forced to let it happen before.

Perhaps I could spend a week in the Caribbean and nobody would notice. :)

What kind of happy surprise have you had in the classroom?

WHAT IS LOVE SALE?

2011-02-10T05:23:00.002-05:00

Way back when I taught first grade.

I loved teaching first grade!

I made a class book titled, "What is Love?"

It was so stinking cute. I even displayed it at my wedding.

Those innocent, sweet little first graders wrote things like, "Love is getting licked by a puppy."

They also wrote, "Love is my mommy making my favorite cookies."

I haven't done the project in awhile. But, since I am now teaching writing to all the 3rd graders I thought it would be fun.

I forgot how "worldly" kids can become between first and third.

The wrote paragraphs instead of one sentence.

The content was different too.

Let's just say my editing sessions focused more on the phrase, "Let's reword this so that it is 'school appropriate," and less on punctuation and capitalization. They weren't THAT bad, but they did fall into the "hey can of worms...let me open you" category.

I had a few that had me laughing real hard though. I was going to wait until Valentine's Day to share them, but thought maybe you might like to do the project with your class so I'm mentioning it today. I also marked my Valentine's Unit on sale at TpT...check it out.

And now onto some of my favs:

From my appearantly over-confident boy (points to him for incorporating our work on inferencing skills):

"Love is having a crush on someone. I hope nobody in this class has a crush on me. Do you think anyone in this class has a crush on me? I wouldn't be surprised if they did. I mean I look like Justin Beiber and the girls love Justin Beiber so I can infer that at least the people who love Justin Beiber have a crush on me. What should I do?

From Little-Miss-Sunshine:

Love is hearts and flowers. It is feeling warm and fuzzy. Love is wonderful. You can not see love. You can only feel love and it feels so magical. XOXOXOXO

From the kid you need to know to appreciate:

Love is disgusting and makes me want to puke. Since I don't think you want me to write about puking this is all I have to say about the subject.

Groundhog Day...Literally!

2011-02-02T06:17:00.003-05:00

D.J. #1: Okay, campers, rise and shine, and don't forget your booties 'cause it's cooooold out there today.
D.J. #2: It's coooold out there every day. What is this, Miami Beach?
D.J. #1: Not hardly. And you know, you can expect hazardous travel later today with that, you know, that, uh, that

blizzard thing.
D.J. #2: [mockingly] That blizzard - thing. That blizzard - thing. Oh, well, here's the report! The National Weather Service is calling for a "big blizzard thing!"
D.J. #1: Yessss, they are. But you know, there's another reason why today is especially exciting.
D.J. #2: Especially cold!
D.J. #1: Especially cold, okay, but the big question on everybody's lips...
D.J. #2: - On their chapped lips...
D.J. #1: - On their chapped lips, right: Do ya think Phil is gonna come out and see his shadow?
D.J. #2: Punxsutawney Phil!
D.J. #1: That's right, woodchuck-chuckers - it's...
D.J. #1, D.J. #2: [in unison] GROUNDHOG DAY!

It's ironic that today is Groundhog Day because, like the movie, I sort of feel like I've lived this day before.

School Canceled - Snow Storm - Stay if PJs - fire up the crockpot - bake cookies - shovel the stairs - try to squeeze in grad school work between grading 3rd grade work between playing with the littles...

Oh wait.

I have lived this day before.

Last week.

And the week before that.

AND the week. before. THAT!

We are on our 5th

make that FIFTH

actually...make the #$!@ FIFTH SNOW DAY since we returned from Winter Break on January 2nd. This puts our current last day of school at June 28th. UGH!

We actually had school yesterday as 9-12" inches fluttered down outside...and nobody paid attention to it.

A plow came barreling by within 6 feet of the classroom window - 5 times - and nobody even looked up.

It's becoming the norm. You can tell it's getting old when your class of third graders begs you to send home all of Wednesday's work on Tuesday because they want to do it at home if there is a snowday and not make the day up in June.

I wish it worked like that.

How's the weather in your neck of the woods?

Burrito with a side of ADD

2011-01-31T05:37:00.003-05:00

We're doomed.

And by "we" I mean teachers.

I'm certainly not a wise old sage when it comes to teaching, but I've been around long enough to have noticed that kids are changing. Each year I find myself needing to do a little more tap dancing and juggling to keep their attention. I'm sure you have too.

Yesterday the fam went to Chipotle for lunch. Do you have a Chipotle near you? Oh, how I love Chipotle. It's loud so people don't notice that my twins are loud. It's counter service so I can enjoy my giant burrito without feeling bad for any waitress that got stuck waiting on "Littlest Learners: Party of 5" and the trail of crumbs we leave that would rival anything Hansel and Gretel could have tossed in the woods. It's fast food so I don't need to entertain the younguns' while we wait for cooked to order edibles. Plus, it is cheap (by dining out standards) and oh-so-yummy!

Anyhow, if you aren't familiar with it, you basically cattle herd through an assembly line of burrito goodness while a team of workers wearing Tshirts with such cleverness as "Foil Shizzle" written on them builds you the burrito of your dreams. The whole process takes only minutes.

Minutes.

Yet, in line in front of me there were three separate families with children under the age of 6. One was playing games on an iTouch, one was playing Angry Birds on an iPhone and the third was reporting current wait times for Test Track and Toy Story Mania using the Disney App on her mom's cell phone. This was not to be rivaled by the (estimated) barely 2 year old sitting in the stroller with the Dsi.

Seriously?!?

Do you understand how hard it is going to be to attempt to teach these kids and hold their attention in a classroom if they can't even wait in line for 5 minutes with live burrito action in front of them without needing high-tech entertainment?

I love technology. I'm guilty of sitting on the couch with OnDemand on the TV, my smartphone by my side, my MacBook in my lap and my iPad in my hand. I check Facebook constantly for fear I may miss an important update on what an acquaintance from high school (who's existence I had completely forgotten about until he friend requested me) had for dinner. I can Doodle Jump with the best of them. I stream video. I rock the Smartboard. I buy Xbox games for my husband who should have retired from "the sport" fifteen year ago. I get it. I really do. But, I just don't see how we will ever have the means or the funding to meet the changing needs of kids who have had so many bells and whistles, lights, touchscreens and apps from such a young age.

What do y'all think? Am I just old and crotchety or are you finding that you are battling the effects of instant gratification too?

Classroom Organization GIVEAWAY!!!

2011-01-30T05:39:00.003-05:00

Last summer I made my humble little publication available to the public and wrote this blog post about it's grand release. I bought a package of 50 large envelopes figuring I would need 24 for my class in the fall anyhow and that would leave me with 26 extras just in case anyone actually bought a copy and I needed to mail it.

Holy Underestimation Batman! I ended up mailing out over 1000 of them between June and September. I had it listed in my online store, which I only run when I'm on summer vacation. We all went back to school and I didn't really think about it.

I'm not sure if someone posted a link somewhere or what happened, but lately I've been receiving emails with requests for info on how to order a copy.

Not wanting to disappoint my fans (because that would be 3 angry people), I have once again made it available online.

You can buy it here for $5.00...that's like the cost of a magazine....or 5 items at Dollar Tree...or 2 of the $2.5o items at the Dollar Spot at Target. You get the idea.

And because I had so much fun with the "spread the love" Valentine's Giveaway I want to give one of these hot-off-the-press-inspirational-motivational-booklets away too.

Heck, I'll even increase it's value by making it a signed copy. You can't get a valuable autograph link that on a Kindle or the Nook, can you? :P

Anyhow, all kidding aside, it does have quite a bit of useful information and helpful tips and I did get a lot of really nice feedback and blushworthy emails. So...do you want to win one?

Mandatory 1st Entry:

Blog, Facebook, Messageboard or Tweet about this (I love how those are all now verbs) with a link to this blog (www.LittlestLearners.com), leave a separate comment with a link to each one.

Feel free to copy and paste the image above into your post.

Unlimited Additional Entries:

Leave a comment with one of your favorite organization or time-saving tips. Do a separate comment for each tip for extra entries.

I'll do a random comment drawing on Wednesday.

COLLEGE: Then and Now

2011-01-28T04:45:00.003-05:00

Think back to college.

And yes I do realize for some of you spring chickens it was only last year, but that’s fine.

You know that annoying person that was in every. single. class. She was easy to spot because she sat in the front row and monopolized 85% of the discussion. She thought she was so much older and wiser because she had “life experience.” Yeah, that’s the one.

I had a sad realization today when I concluded that I am now THAT person.

Don’t mess with karma people.

I made fun of THAT person. I rolled my eyes at THAT person. Now I am THAT person.

Karma will get you every time.

I’m convinced that is why there is a minivan in my driveway.

But, do you want to know something? THAT person really was wiser. Or at least I think I am. :P

So much has changed since I’ve taken classes. Which incidentally wasn’t as long ago as it feels. The coffee is better. The technology is better. The parties are probably better too, but I wouldn’t know because I don’t get out at night.

So as I sit surrounded by PDFs with scribbled notes in the margins, empty Starbucks mugs and other school-related clutter that cause me anxiety, I’ve decided to take a break and focus on how things are the same.

TOP 10 WAYS COLLEGE HASN'T CHANGED FOR ME:

10. I live in a house with roommates who are party animals and want nothing more than to have fun all the time. They tend to be too loud at night and want to nap during the day.

9. I find it hard to concentrate with loud music in the background, yet somebody always has it on. I will say I did prefer Dave Matthews to the theme song to Elmo’s World.

8. It’s still OK to wear your jeans more than once without washing them.

7. I ate Ramen Noodles for lunch last week. Don’t judge me.

6. Textbooks are still way overpriced.

5. There are always empty bottles lying around. Granted these have traces of milk and not Bud Light, but still there are always empty bottles lying around,

4. I only have two hairstyles: ponytail or wet and up in a towel

3. Highlighters are fun.

2. I spend more time debating whose turn it is to clean the dishes than it would take to just do them.

1. Two Words: Pizza. Delivery.

Only now when he comes to the door I can hand him a twenty and wait for my change instead of paying him in chage...that was collected from pockets, couch cushions and the floor of a car. Although given the rate of tuition I'm pretty sure that will be the case by next semester.

Target Stampede

2011-01-27T09:36:00.003-05:00

Seriously folks. Get in your car and go. Now! I have found me a Target Dollar Spot Treasure and you need them too.

Behold:

They are clipboards.

Cheaply-made, cardboard clipboards.

I almost passed them up because unlike Timex which "takes a licking and keeps on ticking," there was no way that these puppies would stand even a day of abuse by the third grade crowd.

But, the funky patterns and cool colors which totally match my new...um, make that work in progress...classroom decor, had me at Hello and I just couldn't stop myself from tossing three of them into my big red cart.

I took them out of their bag the next morning (along with the matching file folders that also hopped into my cart because I died just a little when I saw them) and there was a chorus of ooohs and ahhhs in the classroom. I love my class for many-a-reason, but the fact that they appreciate a colorful office supply as much as I do gets them bonus points.

That's when I had my light bulb moment.

They are thin and lightweight and come with a retractable little metal hook with a hole in it.

You can pushpin it into the wall or you could hot glue it to a bulletin board.

And then just lift the metal clip and attach papers underneath. So here's what I'm thinking...

I will stalk every Target in the area and acquire an entire class set of these bad boys. I will then mount them onto a bulletin board, put a friend's name next to each one and easily display their work by slipping it under the clip. It will be a thing of beauty.

Too bad we're snowed in again or I would be at Target right now. Actually that's a lie. If we weren't snowed in I would be at school right now. But, alas I am home today and as of today's snow day I will also be in school on June 27th. Summer officially starts on June 21st. Color me bitter.

Write On!

2011-01-25T05:53:00.003-05:00

I mentioned in passing that my teammate and I have started mixin' and matchin' our kids for science and writing. In the past we've attempted something similar where she taught science and I taught social studies and we would just switch our entire classes.

Hated it!

It always felt out of sorts to have an entirely different class of kids in front of me. This time we have split our classes in half and mixed them together for those two subjects.

LOVE it!

Teaching writing is my absolute favorite. She loathes it.

Teaching science makes my head spin. She loves it.

Mixing our kids together has been fantabulous! While we've tried to align our procedures and routines this year, it is helpful to also have 50% of the kids in front of you knowing where the highlighters are, where the paper is, etc. I also love that there is a change in chemistry in the classroom.

We have a direction we are hoping to go in and this was our way of dipping our toe in the water. I so want to dive in.

More to come on that at another time.

For now I want to share with you something I came up with and started doing this year that has knocked my socks off. I call it "writing tours."

I have the kids leave their work at their seat, take their pencil in hand and go on a tour of the tables reading the work of others. This gives them a chance to move around and be inspired by their peers. It also motivates them because they know those same peers are going to be reading their work. It also creates a feeling of teamwork because while they are doing their own work, they are also collaborating.

The reason they have the pencil is because they play a role in providing feedback to the writer.

Last week I had them each compose three possible topic sentences for a descriptive paragraph about something they love. While on the writing tour the class put one checkmark next to the sentence they liked the best out of the three. Afterwards I asked, "does anyone want to share a sentence that the fans went crazy for and those who voted can tell you why they selected it."

Yesterday we divided a paper in 1/2 and labeled one side as compliment and the other as advice. We did talk about advice being constructive criticism and not a cruel remark. We also discussed how a compliment should be specific.

I was blown away by their maturity and the usefulness of their comments. It's a bit like peer editing, but allows for the feedback from many. The students then used those pieces of advice to make revisions.

Happy, Ummm.....January 22nd?

2011-01-22T05:40:00.004-05:00

OK, so "Happy New Year" was oh-so-three weeks ago.

But, lucky for me I did not make a resolution to be more punctual about blogging in real time.

Also lucky for me that I did not make a resolution to eat healthy because these days off from school with three kids and "inclement" weather leave me with little to do but bake cookies. I'm about 3.5 dozen cookies away from consuming more cookies in 2011 than Santa does on all of Christmas Eve.

And remember, the dude hits a lot of houses.

Anyhoo...better late than never right?

I wanted to share my super-cute New Year's Bulletin Board. The kids wrote and published a paragraph about a goal they have for 2011. I'm on a kick to work in as much craftiness as I can so I then had them each create a little paper version of themselves to go with it. I hot glued the party blowers on.

I do love 3D elements of a bulletin board.
I also cut the hat in half, snipped about 1.5 inches in and folded it down to make tabs. I stapled that to the board along with a tiara.

Don't fret about the fact that it is January 22nd. Remember you can now get the hats and blowers super cheap and do a Happy New Year board for the new school year in September. It would also make a cute board to write about birthdays.

And on a sidenote: I realized how starved for creativity my kiddos were during this project. While the scissors were snipping and the glue was oozing, a student fell off of her chair...AND BROKE HER FINGER. As in, no-gym-for-a-month-wear-a-little-metal-brace broke her finger. And nobody noticed.

I had been hunched over a friend helping him work the scissors (on 2nd thought, that should have tipped me off that they were starved for creativity, but I digress) when my injured young student approached me frantically saying, "I need to go to the nurse. I hurt my finger."

As she was whisked off to the nurse, I inquired about what had happened. Her chair was upright. There had not been a thud or a scream. In a room of 23 students, nobody could tell me what happened. Instead I heard, "I was busy glueing my hair on" and "I was cutting out my mouth and didn't see a thing."

Ahhh....successful integration of the arts. Well, minus ending the day with one student who can't work a glue bottle or a pair of scissor for 4-6 weeks.

But, What Happens Next?

2011-01-21T05:22:00.003-05:00

As I type this I sit sipping my coffee as I do every morning at 5:18 AM.

Oh, it's not that I'm uber-regimented in the time that I wake up each morning. Having an alarm sound at 5:00 AM would actually be a luxury. Instead, I've become nocturnal.

Those of you who have itty-bitties at home (or have in the past) can feel free to shout out an, "Amen Sister" after my next line:

Teething is cruel and unusual punishment for all those involved.

Holy Moly! I don't recall the Boy being this miserable. They screech, they cling, they fall to the floor in misery. All. Day. Long. And then night comes. And we give them a heaping helping of liquid Tylenolish-type-product (since real Tylenol and Motrin are banned from stores) and pray that it is the miracle drug that will allow them to sleep through the night, but alas it wears off during the Witching Hour and the screeching hour begins again at 2:00 A.M.!

And when your head is spinning with to do lists and there is a lengthy syllabus sitting in a binder with an abundance of mandatory reading to do and the 3rd grade assessments aren't going to magically correct themselves...you say screw it and get up.

And that is when I start watching the clock and waiting for an acceptable hour to push the start button on the coffeepot. I've officially deemed that to be 5:00 AM and so...

As I type this I sit sipping my coffee as I do every morning at 5:18 AM.

Except the chaos known as "morning rush hour" at our house will not ensue afterwards on this day because today is yet another snow day in my district (and a whole bunch of y'alls districts too).

If this were not a public blog I would probably have tossed a few bad words into that last phrase.

To recap: We've had winter break. We had 2 snow days last week. We had MLK day on Monday. We have another snow day today. Throw in your usual weekends and my schedule and routines are all discombobulated.

And if you have been reading along for awhile then you know girlfriend here is nothing without her routines. Plus this is the "magical time of year." The months of January through March are always long, but the kids are always in such a great place to learn and we make so much growth.

Curses to you Mother Nature. She will also be the one who decides that it will be 90+ degrees in June when we make up these snow days. Boo Hiss!

Do you want to know the real reason that I'm bummed about the unexpected day off?

It's the same reason that I suspect many of my kiddos will be bummed (Maybe I'm kidding myself and they are all jumping for joy in their pajamas right about now, but I do think there will be some disappointment.)

It's because I want to know what happens next in our current read aloud.

It's also because I am having so much fun reading this book to them.

It's because of The BFG.

I love me some Roald Dahl. My husband read Charlie and the Chocolate Factory to our son last summer and they both really enjoyed it. My class was way into it this year too. As for Matilda? Swoon! Love the book. Love the movie. James and the Giant Peach? Classic! But The BFG is new to me. It's been in my class library for years, but I've never read it.

My team teacher insisted I give it a try. Eh? I wasn't all that interested.

We've recently started to mix and match our two classes and she has taken over science and I have taken over writing. We started by creating heart maps of things they love to inspire their writing and almost all of her kiddos included the BFG. I figured if her peeps loved it so much then mine would too.

We are about a third of the way through the book and it. is. awesome!

They all sit there with their eyes one me, hands in their laps and mouths open like little statues mesmerized by my reading. They frequently break their frozen gazes to drop their mouths open wider while quickly looking around to see their peers reactions to certain lines and for fits of laughter.

We are loving it!

I have plans next week to do a writing activity with it. I'm going to take each of their photos in the same position as that of the little girl on the cover. I am then going to create some writing paper using the image on the cover minus the little girl and then attach their pictures to the giant's hand.

I love altering book covers and adding their images and this one begs for it.

For those of you in younger grades who want to do something similar, my favorite book cover to do that with is Harold and the Purple Crayon. Just add your little ones' heads in place of Harold's and have them do an illustration in purple crayon. Super cute!

And now I need to come up with a plan to tell the Boy that we have a snow day when he wakes up. It will very much be equivalent to those Disney commercials where the parents surprise the kids with a trip to the Magic Kingdom and then immediately throw them on a plane. He will be THAT excited.

WHAT ARE YOUR FAVORITE READ ALOUDS?

Spreading the Love

2011-01-18T21:13:00.003-05:00

Thanks for your kind words and your links. I had fun discovering some new blogs.

And as promised, I am spreading the love. Below are the first 5 commenters to leave links to their blog or website.

The Thrasher Family (ummm...can I come to Hawaii too?)

Brandy

Mrs. Frail's Frogs (super cute template)

Queen of the 1st Grade Jungle (love her pointer bucket)

Mrs. Guntorius' Class (lots of great closeups of kids' work)

And the random drawing winner from the remaining comments was...

One Extra Degree (found this one at a perfect time as it has a great activity for my magnetism and electricity unit)

If you are one of my winners email me at littlestlearners@gmail.com from the address you would like the kit emailed to and I will send it right along. If you didn't win, you can snag a copy of it by clicking here for the instant download.

There's Something in it for You

2011-01-17T16:17:00.003-05:00

My doorstep moments ago. There is nothing fun inside.

I have Billy Madison's voice running through my head, "Back to school...back to school...to show my dad that I'm no fool."

Gosh, I love me some Adam Sandler.

Why is this song running through my head? Not because a 3 day weekend is winding down. Not because the 3 day weekend coupled with two snow days meant that I've only worked 1 out of the past 5 days (but who's counting). The reason why it's popping up on my mental shuffle is because I am going back to school tomorrow.

Grad School that is.

How am I getting there you ask?

Why, I'll be riding the bitter bus to campus. On a scale of 1-10, my excitement level is currently at -5. Yep, that is negative 5. I'm just not feeling it.

Don't get me wrong. I totally hearted college the first time around. Heck, I even enjoyed my initial grad school work down in sunny Florida.

But, I was not employed.

Nor did I have 3 wee ones underfoot.

And I'm pretty sure nobody is going to be asking me to pledge their sorority or inviting me to a keg party tomorrow.

Drats.

I'm sure by now you're thinking "quit your whining" and "what's in it for me?" Followed by, "your title said there's something in it for me." Keep reading...

Well, with grad school come textbooks.

And they come at a cost.

And to add insult to injury there is sometimes a shipping charge too.

Sure, Amazon.com offers free super-saver shipping, but it is slow.

And I don't know about you, but I've got a bit of Veruca Salt in me and, "I want it now!" However, I'm also cheap and I don't want to pay for faster shipping.

So I don't. And you don't have to either with this handy dandy tip. Just sign up for the Amazon Mom's Club and you'll receive a free 3 month membership to Amazon Prime which gives you super fast and free shipping.

Amazon Prime is a membership program that gives you and your family unlimited fast shipping, such as FREE Two-Day shipping and One-day shipping for $3.99 per item on alleligible purchases for an annual membership fee of $79. Eligible customers can try out a membership by starting a free trial.

So there you go. A little tip on saving time and money for taking the time to read through my whining. I'll post the "Share the Love" links tomorrow along with the winner of the comment drawing. You can still win the Valentine Unit if you are in the gambling, love-spreading mood.

And now I need to brush up on my hackey sack skills and buy me a Trapper Keeper. I'm going to college tomorrow.

Who Wants Free Stuff?

2011-01-16T19:10:00.004-05:00

Don't you just love 3 day weekends?

Question: Do you view today as 2nd Saturday or 1st Sunday?

For the first time in weeks, I ventured into Target. I always make a budget in January and I know that I am not capable of walking under that illuminated bulls-eye without exiting with a minimum of $60.00 worth of randomness in a big red cart.

I was happy to see the bathing suits were out.

Because regardless of what the calendar or that crazy little groundhog says, the arrival of bathing suits and patio furniture means spring-is-a-comin'!

I was also excited to see the beauty that is the seasonal display. While not as thrilling to me as when the new crayons and notebooks grace those very shelves in August, I did get a bit giddy at the plethora of hearts and the abundance of chocolate.

Some people find inspiration in sophisticated ways.

I find it in the Target Dollar Spot and in a bag of red, white and pink M & Ms.

And I turned that inspiration into a new thematic kit that I just uploaded to TpT.

Oh, and I'm going to give five away. Read on...

It's fun and educational and contains enough pink to make your little boys puke. I modified the activities so that they would work for grades K-3 easily and to make it easy for you to differentiate within your classroom.

Below is the complete table of contents and the 4-1-1 on what's included.

As for how to get one of the 5 freebies...

In the spirit of Valentine's Day, simply spread the love. Blog about my blog (good, bad or ugly) and post a link to it. Leave a comment here letting me know where to find your post. If you are one of the first five people to do so I will email the entire kit to you and post a link to your blog to spread the love back at you.

If more than 5 people want to play along, I'll do a random drawing for a 6th set for anyone else who spreads the love.

CLICK HERE TO PURCHASE THE KIT

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Graphing Hearts...................................................................................page 1

Use a box of conversation hearts to complete the graph. Younger learners could do this as a center activity with adult guidance. Older learners may complete it independently and then record observations in a math journal.

Making Words......................................................................................page 2

Cut the letters at the bottom apart and use them as manipulatives to construct words. You could have younger learners create word families and brainstorm other words using those word families.

Poetry Craft...........................................................................................page 3

Print a copy for each student. Either attach a photo of the student or have each child draw a self-portrait in the box. Decorate the image using a collage technique and pieces of string, ribbon, paper, etc. As a challenge, you could have the students underline the verbs and circle the nouns.

Opposites Attract Antonym Game.............................................page 4

Print one copy of the cards and laminate for durability (optional). Cut each card in half in a variety of patterns so that the cards become self-correcting. Print a copy of the worksheet (page 5) for each student. The children match a word with it’s antonym and record it onto the worksheet. They may then record their own list of antonyms.

Hugs and Kisses Sight Word Activity..................................page 6

Hugs and Kisses are represented with Xs and Os so what better way to practice sight words than with a tic-tac-toe game. Print as many copies as you would like for your students to play with. Another option is to slide a copy into a clear page protector and use dry erase markers. You could also project this page onto a Smart board. One student is Xs and the other is Os. Before marking the box, the child needs to read the sight word.

Life is Like a Box of Chocolates Computation Game.....page 7

Included are two versions of this game. One reinforces basic addition facts and the other focuses on the 3’s table in multiplication. You will need to add 2 dice to this game. Each game comes with a game board and recording sheet (print one per player) as well as a printable sign to place at the center.

Hogs and Kisses Writing Activity........................................page 13

After completing this writing activity you will have an adorable bulletin board to display. The students will be using their senses to complete a descriptive writing project about Hershey’s Kisses. Included are: a graphic organizer to guide the brainstorming/webbing process and three levels of writing paper making it applicable for grades Pre-K through 5th. I have the students make paper pigs using craft supplies to display with the writing. I have included a bulletin board sign to print and add as your title.

What is Love? Class Book............................................................page 18

After completing this writing activity you will have an adorable class book. Included are: a graphic organizer to guide the brainstorming/webbing process and three levels of writing paper making it applicable for grades Pre-K through 5th. I do this every year and it is always hysterical. I even displayed copies of this class book at my wedding. I’ve included a cover for you to use with your book.

Valentine’s Math Activities.........................................................page 22

Included are two levels of math activities that focus on estimating, number sense and computation. You’ll need to add Conversation Hearts to this activity.

Eeeeeeeeeekkkkk!

2011-01-13T21:07:00.005-05:00

I have my fair share of fears.

But, when it comes to 'rocking in a fetal position' phobias, we are talking about rodents.

Shudder!

Petrified does not begin to describe my feelings. I can't even look at squirrels too long without getting creeped out, but mice are the worst.

We've lived in our house for 4.5 years and have been blissfully mouse-free.

Ironically, the person we bought the house from was a retired 1st grade teacher in my district. He had grown up in the house and lived here his entire life. He was very friendly with one of the teachers at my school. I took great comfort in her telling me about how he had called her one time because there was a mouse in the house and he wanted to borrow her cat. She said he had lived here for almost 50 years and only had that one mouse encounter and was at a loss on how to deal with it.

I had been lulled into a false sense of security.

On Wednesday night, one of the twins woke up around 1 am acting like it was morning. Hubby and I took her downstairs. As we were sitting in the living room by the glow of the TV, I swear I saw something scurry along the baseboard.

Admittedly, I should be wearing glasses, but I know I saw something.

Eeeekkk!

I've been told they are more scared of me than I am of them, but I'm doubtful. Because right now I am sitting at the table with my feet all "criss-cross-applesauce" on my chair. I desperately love this 4:30-6:00 AM window when the house is silent and I am the only one awake.

But instead of embracing the silence as I have for the past 4.5 years, I am analyzing every creak and squeak of the house and debating going back upstairs. For reals people. If I am contemplating giving up the solitude and trekking upstairs instead of blog-hopping and coffee-sipping then you know this is serious.

And I'm pretty sure that the alleged mouse is not sitting around with his feet up on a chair denying himself a caffeine fix because he is afraid to go into the kitchen.

So for those reasons, I do not believe that he is more scared of me than I am of him.

I do think all blog posts should have pictures though.

And you can bet your sweet bippy that I am not about to google "mouse photo" to get some random image that is appropriate for this post.

So I will leave you with a few pictures from Thursday...AKA Snow Day Round 2! Included are a few culinary ideas you could do with your class.

I sent my child out into the wild to hunt for our dinner. Well, actually it's just the backyard and he was simply instructed to fill a bowl with snow.

So that we could make "Snow Ice Cream." Mix 1/4 cup sugar, 1/2 cup cream, and a tablespoon of vanilla. Then add in 4 cups of snow (white, not yellow) one at a time and mix. It was like a vanilla shake and really yummy.

And then I made these super-cute little banana snowmen for an afternoon snack. I used rainbow sprinkles for the nose.

Stay warm and enjoy your 3 day weekend.

That's a Crock of...

2011-01-13T07:16:00.003-05:00

When life gives you lemons you are supposed to make lemonade.

And I'm pretty sure that when life gives you a snow day, you are supposed to make cookies.

So we did.

Big, chewy, yummy, chocolate-chip-oatmeal cookies.

And then ate them until our bellies hurt.

As far as snow days go, I rocked this one. I left the TV off and we read and baked and played games and did puzzles and made crafts and played in the snow.

When you play the role of Stay-at-Home mom only on a random Wednesday, it's easy to stay in the running for Mother of the Year.

And Holy Snow Batman! I offered to go out and shovel the stairs at 6:30 because I knew I would be in the house all day. I got them down to the concrete. By noon there was another foot of snow on them.

In the spirit of multitasking, Hubby shoveled the back stairs and turned the pile into snow fort.

And since this blog is billed as "Saving Teachers Time and Money," I feel it is my duty to share with you a useful tidbit that will do just that.

It's not rocket science and it's not new to you, but trust me when I say, "crock pots got it goin' on!"

Here's the thing.

Talking about crock pots makes me feel all old and uncool.

Combining the words crock pot + pot roast totally makes me feel and sound matronly. However, I was given the crock pot pot roast recipe from a coworker who is younger and hipper and more stylish than I'll ever be so it's totally OK.

At least that's what I keep telling myself.

And at the risk of receiving hate mail from those who believe "Earth Day is Every Day" I must tell you about the Crock Pot liner.

Along with parchment paper, they are little culinary gifts from Heaven.

Busy work day?

Throw a whole bunch of stuff in the crock pot liner and go to work. Come home to a house that smells delish and dinner that is ready. The downside is that I eat lunch at 11:00 get home about 3:30. It is all I can do to not stick my entire head into the trough of goodness.

After dinner just put the leftovers into those cute little Ziploc containers, toss the liner and stick the crock pot back into it's hiding place. You can make tons of food in it and therefore have lunches ready to go or stock your freezer.

I made the yummiest pot roast yesterday and because it was a snow day I was home all day while it simmered. After Hubby got home, I took the boy for a walk (well I walked and pulled a sled while he rode around the Hood like a King). Two blocks into the walk I noticed that dogs were being friendlier than usual.

Then it hit me.

I smelled of pot roast!

Fearful that other wildlife would find me enticing I quickly scurried home.

And devoured my yummy dinner.

And then just tossed the liner and called the kitchen clean!

What is your favorite crock pot recipe?

It's Official

2011-01-11T16:39:00.002-05:00

We got the call.

It's official.

No school tomorrow due to the forecast of snow.

I loved reading all your comments with your thoughts on the snow day.

Despite my preference for not having school cancelled, it was great fun to watch the little man do a happy dance when I announced there was no school tomorrow.

Because when you are 5, your very first snow day is a big deal.

It's totally dance-worthy.

I heart that we got the call today. Not that I'll sleep past 5 am anyhow, but at least the phone won't ring and wake the wee folk.

Because the longer the wee folk sleep, the longer the mama sips the coffee. Which can only mean good things for all those involved.

We had a very productive day today and I love the magical period of January through March when the classroom just clicks. But, I'll be making the most of the midweek day off.

On the agenda is pajama-wearing and cookie baking.

The little man "has a hypothesis" (though if you ask him he has a High-Pop-I-Sis) that it would be a great idea to add chocolate chips to oatmeal cookies. I am certainly not about to deny the child of believing that he is the original inventor of the oatmeal-chocolate chip cookie so we will conduct our "experiment" tomorrow.

Seems like a lot of you will be home tomorrow too. Enjoy.

The Perfect Storm

2011-01-11T05:52:00.003-05:00

Forecast: Nor'easter! Heavy snow and wind...heaviest Wednesday right through the morning ride (5am-9am). Highs near 30. Northeast wind 15-35 mph. Thankfully, our *lowest high tides* of the month occur during the storm so coastal flooding isn't likely. A widespread 12-16 inches is likely with rain and mixing cutting back totals on the Cape and Islands.

It's "the perfect storm" in regards to school closing potential. The timing is just right. Starts to snow around midnight and continues in to the next evening.

There was once a time where I had choreographed an entire snow dance.

You know to make the Gods of Weather dump snow upon us and cancel school.

I did this not only as a student, but as a teacher.

Now I curse the snow day.

And I'm not sure which of the following is to blame:

My realization that it's not a free day off, but rather a loaner that needs to be paid back with interest (the interest being a stifling hot late June classroom full of kids who have checked out for the year). Yes, I would rather be in school in January than June.

Moving to an "MCAS Grade." At this time of year every. single. second. counts. There is a very large (albeit imaginary) clock constantly ticking over my head with the alarm set to the March and May test dates. There is no time for sledding when there is MCAS-a-Coming.

Children. Once upon a time a snow day meant extra long sips of the coffee cup while checking in with my lady friends: Kelly Ripa, Ellen Degeneres and my girl Oprah. Now it means paying for daycare on a day it's not used, cabin fever, and spending more time "suiting up" than you spend outdoors. Oh, and did I mention I am so not the outdoor type? Much less on cold, snowy days. I'm more of the "pajama type."

OCD. I like a rhythm to my week. I like structure and routines and those routines are built around a 5 day schedule. Luckily this is a review week in our reading program so I won't be falling behind, but girlfriend likes her schedule to flow according to plan.

And so I wait.

For the call.

Which may or may not come.

But, probably will.

And so I ask you....do you enjoy snow days? (and since I am brainwashed by teaching open responses I must also add...) Support your answer with details.

Cough, Sneeze, Yak and Wheeze

2011-01-09T05:48:00.003-05:00

It's that time of year.

The height of "there just ain't enough antibacterial gel in the world to protect my from all the cooties in my classroom" season.

As an aside, am I the only one who thinks the "AIRBORNE was developed by a school teacher who was sick of catching colds in class" ads are sketchy? Call me crazy, but I like my pharmaceutical products to be developed by....oh, I don't know...a PHARMACIST! I mean, I myself am a school teacher who is sick of catching colds in class, but I'm not about to dabble with the Foss Kits while the kids are at gym and develop a miracle cure and attempt to market it to the general public.

But as usual, I digress. Little Man spent the first five days of the winter break with a fever. Which while it did mean I spent the first five days of the winter break nursing a fever, I was grateful to have been spared the need to juggle five sick days. Anyhow, it was a reminder of how quickly and unexpectedly sick days arise so I figured it was a good time to redirect you (and enlighten my new readers with) the week long series I did this summer on how to prepare emergency sub plans.

I've organized all of the blog entries I did that week so that you can read them sequentially. There is a tab at the top of this page titled, or you can just click here to jump to it.

My entire emergency sub plan unit is available here.

I like to think of them as an insurance policy. It's like bringing an umbrella on a cloudy day to insure that it won't rain.

HAPPY NEW YEAR! again

2011-01-08T06:26:00.005-05:00

It's a good thing we don't make resolutions around these parts because this was our breakfast on New Year's Day.

OK so only the Boy had marshmallows, chocolate syrup and whip cream on his crepe, but my crepe spread with Nutella wasn't much healthier.

I did intend to post about my New Year's bulletin board today.

It came out super-cute.

But, I completely spaced on taking a picture of it and it's not nearly as cute if I just describe it to you so I'll wait until Monday night for that.

In the meantime, I figured I would take this opportunity to link to one of my summer posts about a Back to School idea I had shared involving New Year hats and tiaras.

Because you can get them super cheap right about now.

Since not many people will be hosting "Happy 2011" parties now that that ball has dropped, you can snag some bargain-priced hats, tiaras, blowers, and noisemakers to rock in the new school year in September (or August for those of you who start back earlier than moi).

Here's the linky to my August Post

.....ahhhh, August!

Hot. Sunny. Beach-weather August.

And on that note, enjoy your weekend in whatever climate you are in.

Sometimes Labeling Kids is Good

2011-01-07T05:55:00.000-05:00

I mentioned in my clip chart post yesterday that I use labels as my only real incentive.

As in actual labels.

The sticky, adhesive kind.

I had them printed through VP, but you can easily run a sheet of blank labels through your printer for the same effect.

When a child reaches "outstanding" (the top of my chart) they receive a printed label to take home. I was thinking that at the 3rd grade level they would quietly put them into their folders. I was thinking that the fact that I made them pink (to match that section on my chart) would be an issue with third grade boys.

Wrong on both accounts.

They opt to wear the labels on their shirts.

One boy told me that he sticks them on his trophy shelf when he gets home because they are "kind of like an award."

Parents report that the wee ones rush through the door to show off their labels.

Couldn't be easier.

Couldn't be more effective.

See, sometimes "labeling kids" is a good thing.

Happy Weekend Friends!

Best. Thing. Ever.

2011-01-05T06:04:00.006-05:00

I've created a new daily blog specifically dedicated to classroom organization and management. Please visit me there at: The Clutter-Free Classroom

I can't take any credit for this idea, but it is my civic duty to pass it along to you.

It has rocked my world. And it rivals Find-it / Fix-it for the top slot of 'all-time best thing to grace my classroom.'

I feel like there should be a drum roll and spotlights as I introduce you to.....

The Clip Chart!

I've used flip cards and tally charts and dabbled around in a whole bunch of other complicated behavior management systems. Truth be told, I have found that with clear guidelines and consistency, the room runs itself and kids rise to meet your expectations. However, it is important to have something in place.

This was an interesting start to a school year. I heart my class. They are a great group of kids, but were by far the chattiest collection of kiddos I had ever encountered. At one point when they were still talking over me and not listening to directions in late September I told my student teacher, "I've got nothing left. I've pulled out every trick I know. But, I'll work on it over the weekend and find something new to try."

Our second grade teachers had started using a clip chart this year and spoke highly of it at lunch. I resisted at first because of the size, but decided to look into it more. After visiting the site they suggested, I thought it was worth a try. That Monday morning I quickly made a chart using construction paper and introduced it when the kids came in.

Holy Cow!

It was as if I had flipped a switch. The behavior was flawless and has been ever since.

Here's why....

In any given class you are going to have your talkers and your rule-breakers and you are going to have your good little doobies. The clip chart makes the doobies work for you. They become your allies and they love it.

Each student has a clothespin and they all start the day in the middle of the chart on "Ready to Learn." The clothespins move throughout the day. Positive choices will move you up one level at a time. Negative choices move you down. There is a buffer zone between "Ready to Learn" and facing any form of consequence so if a child "clips down" he has the opportunity to clip back up.

Here's the best part....

The good little doobies are rewarded for being good little doobies. They can "clip up." So when the room gets a little chatty, I don't focus on the chatty ones. I find a few doobies, ring my bell and make a nice show of appreciating their role model behavior. They clip up. They beam. The others are quickly redirected without me needing to mention their chatting at all. It keeps things so positive and upbeat.

Here's the mostest bestest part....

There are no prize pails or trinkets or tickets or tokens or tchotchkes to manage or track. Instead of striving for useless junk, the kids strive for acknowledgement of good behavior. When a child reaches outstanding at the end of the day, we add a little star sticker to the clip and I give them a label to take home. When they earn 5 stickers they get a new clip and color it red. We repeat the process in "rainbow order" meaning they then work to earn an orange clip and then a yellow, etc. The ultimate goal is the coveted "glitter clip." They manage this on their own by getting a new clip from the drawer and coloring it with a marker.

You simply pass out the labels and move the clips back to their original spot each morning (or do as I did and train a responsible, tall child to do it).

I love the simplicity.

I love the consistency (it travels to specials with them) throughout the day.

I love the positive feeling to it.

I love that even if a child makes a not-so-good choice, she can rally and move back up. As a helpful hint, I usually try to "clip up" my friends who have a tendency to "clip down" early in the day so that they have a bit of wiggle room.

I really, really love that the focus is on my students that make positive choices. I feel that they often get taken for granted and the attention goes to those who don't. This turns things around and the others learn from their example.

Here's the link to the site with lots and lots of info. I would just whip up your own chart though. It was very easy to make out of construction paper/poster board, but you can also create a Vista Print banner. I made 3 on one banner and cut them apart.

2010...A Banner Year

2010-12-31T05:40:00.005-05:00

Or was it, "the year of the banner?"

My love affair of all things Vista Print is no secret. As I've mentioned before, my motto is, "If it's free it's for me!"

I have such fun designing new things and just about pounce on the mailman when my boxes of goodies arrive. I heart the postcards and shirts and magnets and posters and yard sale signs and key chains and lions and tigers and bears oh my!

But, my mostest favoritest of all the items is the banner.

Oh, the banners! Oh, the possibilities!

Thanks to the free banners, I got to be that over-the-top mother who has banners printed for her kids' birthdays. Because seriously, who does that?

People who get free banners that's who!

Thanks to the free banners, I have recently implemented the all-time-numero-uno-super-bestest thing ever to grace my classroom. Well, next to Find it/Fix it. It's "the clip chart" and you'll have to come back tomorrow (or maybe the next day) to read about that.

And thanks to the free banners, I have made bulletin board creation super quick and simple and yet oh-so-colorful and wonderful and kind of even professional-looking.

A commenter (That's you, Amy) had asked about sign in the center of my board. And I realized that I had never posted about my new addiction to banners as bulletin board time saver accessories. So here goes.

Vista Print is always offering amazing deals that allow you to get a whole heaping helping of freebies for super cheap. Yeah, I know the free and cheap part can be confusing. See, you pay for shipping. Or not. Sometimes, you can can spend $30.00 and get free shipping and up to 10 free items. Those are my favorite promos.

Anyhow...

While you can get up to 10 free items, you can only get 1 of each type of item (i.e. post-its, postcards, magnets).

But...

Vista Print views banners that are designed vertical and banners that are designed to print horizontal as two different types of items so you may get one of each.

You can use their easy templates and create major cuteness. Or, you can design and upload your own image. If you do that simply rotate the image 90 degrees and print it as a vertical banner. That way you get 2 horizontal banners in one order.

They fit perfectly in the center of a typical bulletin board with plenty of room to display student work around it.

You could also design just titles for boards and print several onto one banner and cut them apart.

The options are endless and there are lots of creative folks who have uploaded images of what they have made for you to find for inspiration.

As an added bonus, teachers often pop in to comment on the banners. It's nice to have adult contact. :)

FYI: At the time of posting this, the following links were working and offer great deals.

Giving Away the Farm (free shipping with $30.00 purchase)

and this is my personal favorite because it offers FREE 7 DAY SHIPPING with a $30.00 purchase...and uploads count towards the $30.00)

Intentionally Disheveled

2010-12-30T12:14:00.004-05:00

Since I noticed the lovely portrait of me looking all disheveled with my shiny new iPad was appearing in the "people I follow" section of some of your wonderful blogs, I was inspired to put up a new post quickly.

And I figured I would find inspiration in being disheveled to share with you my favorite way to do a bulletin board.

All disheveled-ish.

There was once a time that I made myself crazy trying to create symmetrical, straight boards. I used rulers. I used yard sticks. I even had a little level to aid in my attempts at perfection.

It never worked.

Something would always be off center or at an angle that was a few degrees from where I had wanted it to be.

And it made me crazy to look at it.

I would cringe each time I walked by.

Then I adopted the "just go with it" philosophy and started slanting my letters left and right. I put up the kids' work with a zig and a zag.

And in its own messy way it was perfect.

My new favorite thing to do is to add creative interest by stapling the corners of the papers and adding a little wiggly-wave in the middle.

Isn't it fun?

Beat the Clock

2010-12-29T05:47:00.006-05:00

The first few days of this vacation were lovely in the laziest of ways.

I wore the same pajamas for 48 consecutive hours without shame.

I sat on the floor and played with the littles without ever feeling like there was something else I needed to be doing.

And when they slept I played with my own new toys.

Excuse the bedhead...I would love to wake up with Super Model hair, but there isn't an app for that ;)

Our holiday food traditions include shepard pie on Christmas Eve, egg casserole on Christmas morning and roasted pork and veggies for dinner. This leaves us with tons of reheatable leftovers making the need to cook for several days obsolete.

Lazy! Lazy! Lazy!

And then the leftovers ran out and my pajamas threatened to start walking on their own and I had to give up the lovely lazy ways and that's when the real holiday chaos started.

I mentioned that the tree came down on 12/26 and that the holidays always leave me feeling the need to declutter and reorganize.

And oh, how I've done just that.

I'm playing beat the clock.

As in...beat the trash truck on Thursday.

As in...beat the tax benefit deadline of 12/31 by donating 6 large boxes and counting.

As in...beat the arrival of my mom and dad on Friday so that my uber-organized and clutter-hating mother doesn't need to feel that she has failed me as a parent when she sees the content of every cupboard and closet sprawled about.

It turns out, Santa could have easily skipped landing on our roof because my son is thrilled to be entertaining himself with whatever I am finding in the nooks and crannies of our home.

And on that note, I probably should log off and continue to face the mess I've been making while "cleaning." I do this a few times a year and am truly baffled by the fact that there is more stuff to donate, trash or recycle.

Extreme Makeover...Classroom Edition

2010-12-28T05:14:00.006-05:00

Maybe it's the New Year a coming and the desire for a fresh start that it brings.

Perhaps it's the fact that you can only log in so many hours in a jungle themed classroom surrounded by animal prints before you start feeling like you are the lost cast member from Jersey Shore.

I got it in my head that I needed to makeover my classroom.

This isn't a new concept for me. In fact, I typically start from scratch with a new theme for each school year. I have not, however, made over my room midyear.

Oh the excitement.

Surely you have scooted to the edge of your seat in eager anticipation for the unveiling of my new theme. If not, I'll give you a second to get your scoot on. :)

Actually, it's not a theme.

Unless being a crafty Goddess of all things paper and rocking a Cricut is a theme.

I'll explain.

I used to scrapbook. Hubby even let me have an entire room in the house dedicated to my lovely hobby. It rivaled any scrapbooking store with the hundreds of papers and die cuts and funky scissors and stickers. I would spend hours designing layouts and even more hours shopping for supplies.

And then I stopped. Babies...life...who knows? I just got busy and stopped making the time.

But, I missed chronicling our family history. So I recently designed a digital album using Photoshop and had it printed through Shutterfly.

Swooooooon!

That baby is beautiful. It includes hundreds of photos all bound neatly into a hardcover, 12 x 12 album. While I did spend an absurd number of hours working on it, I was able to do so just about anywhere my little MacBook would go. I worked on it in the car, during my lunch, and even in the waiting room of the doctor office. I'm hooked.

There were two problems though. I missed the creative outlet of getting all messy with glue and I have an entire studio stocked with supplies.

And so I've decided to create a bunch of projects for the classroom and thus the idea of a makeover was born. There is no real theme. I'm simply going with bright colors (mostly aqua and lime) accented with black.

I'm looking forward to dusting off the Cricut and having some fun this vacation being creative.

As you can see in the photos, I got a head start on the day before vacation.

I had hoped to get in there this week and do a little work, but a pesky blizzard kept me home yesterday and prevented my free childcare...um, I mean my parents, from visiting until next weekend.

So into the little basement studio I go with my 5 year old assistant to spend the twins' nap time cutting, adhering, and embellishing some to be determined projects. Stay tuned.

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like...

2010-12-27T14:05:00.008-05:00

The OTHER 11 months of the year.

You know the "normal" months.

The months where you don't have access to an abundance of baked goods in the kitchen 24/7.

The months where there isn't a large tree in your living room.

The months where scented candles don't waft evergreen aromas throughout the downstairs.

The months where there are not boxes wrapped in mismatched festive paper cluttering the home.

That's right. I called it clutter.

Because as much as I like to hop on the holiday bandwagon early each year, I am also the first stop to get off.

The tree came down on December 26th. It's not as Grinchy as it sounds. It had been up since the week BEFORE Thanksgiving and it encompassed 50% of our cozy (read: small) living room.

Oh, it's not that the tree that is the problem. It's the fact that 2/3 of the wee ones who take residence here did their best to "undecorate" it daily and eat the needles and ornament hooks which resulted in us needing to fence our tree in with an expandable baby corral. It almost looked as if our tree was a pristine display that we wanted to showcase by the way it was confined to a "no humans allowed" cage.

I am really very festive.

I baked weekly.

I made reindeer food.

I hosted a gingerbread party for 12 kindergarteners.

I crafted.

I wrapped.

I sang Dominic the Donkey in the off key way that only my tone deaf self can do for the better part of December.

We attended gatherings and tree lightings and Polar Express rides and laser light shows set to holiday ditties.

But, come 12/26 I pull the plug.

I pull the plug on the lights and the music and the oven.

I package it all into it's red and green rubbermaid totes and stuff it into the back corner of the basement until next November when I'm feeling "merry" again.

Am I crazy? Does anyone else view the holiday hoopla as festive through 12/25 @ midnight and then view it as clutter and chaos and overload after that?

You know me. I love to organize any day of the year, but there is something about ringing in a New Year that makes me want to purge and clean like no other time.

I hope your holidays were filled with fabulous memories and like our Christmas card said..

Be Prepared

2010-12-21T20:16:00.004-05:00

Some of you are already 2 days into your winter break.

Color me jealous.

Are you wondering when my break starts?

I'll tell you.

It begins on Thursday.

Thursday, December 23rd.

Yeah, the December 23rd that precedes Christmas Eve.

At 3:10 p.m.

I know, right?

Oddly enough, I've managed to keep the chaos to a minimum and have banked two productive days. The key to keeping the sugar plums dancing in their heads at bay is to keep the structure and routines going.

We're hanging in there. I'm actually really impressed with how typical our days feel. I feel like a Grinch for making them draft open responses and solve 3-digit equations while the elves are putting the finishing touches on their loot up at the North Pole, but we can't spare to lose any time.

Even though many of you are chillin' in your jammies and sipping coffee while I'm still in the thick of things, there are others counting down to that last day before break too.

That day is typically a whirlwind of baked goods and gift-wrapped trinkets. Ultimately, someone unexpectedly gives you a gift. You didn't anticipate it and so you have nothing to give back.

AWKWARD!

Here's my holiday tip for handling such situations. Purchase a few gift cards to Starbucks or Dunkins or whatever local coffee shop allows you to get your caffeine on. Write out a nice, but generic holiday card and slip the gift card inside. If you are presented with an unexpected gift you can reciprocate by quickly sharing the love. If you don't need to distribute them...well, then that is just more coffee for you to enjoy in your pjs next week.

A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words

2010-12-07T03:49:00.003-05:00

I had a professor in college who ended every class by saying, "The teacher's greatest obstacle is the clock."

I thought he was nuts.

Now I would like to go back in time and give him a high-five.

Or an "Amen Brother!"

Because it. is. so. true!

It really is hard to fit everything in. I do love having the students illustrate their writing, but sometimes you just can't justify 30 minutes of coloring.

One solution I have found is to add a photo to their work. This is especially useful if they are writing about a school event (field trip, science experiment, math game, etc).

In the photo featured in this post, I took it a step further and used the extra photos as part of my bulletin board title. This can easily be done with straight letters (E, F, H, I, L, T) and with some creativity you could really do any letter. The 3rd through 5th graders at my school get to ride Trikkes in PE. It was a VERY exciting event for them and one that they were really motivated to write about.

I noticed a few other teachers at my school have been using actual photos on their hallway boards this year and I love that! It's so nice to have a little window into their classrooms. As a parent I would be thrilled to have a collection of my child's writing with photos. What a keepsake!

A Bad Case of the Stripes (cute book, cuter bulletin board)

2010-12-03T12:02:00.000-05:00

Do not adjust your monitor.

And don't judge my picture-taking abilities.

This photo is intentionally blurry as a result of my mad photoshop skills. I'm crafty like that. I'm just not comfortable putting my little friends' faces online, but I think you can still get the idea.

I loved this bulletin board. It was fun and colorful and easy and included a sample of their work. What's not to love.

A Bad Case of the Stripes is a great book. It lends itself to so many discussions and writing activities. I did this the first week of school and since I wasn't yet too familiar with my students' abilities, I kept it simple.

I gave them the prompt of: "Camilla Cream loves lima beans, but I love..."

We used the opportunity to remind them of their second grade skills (webbing, supporting details, etc). Their direction was to select a favorite food and compose a paragraph that stays on topic.

I had taken close-up head shots of each student for an in-class display. I simply photocopied those on an enlarged setting and cut them out. The students used water colors to paint on their stripes and we glued them to the bottom of their writing sample.

I wanted to display the book with it, but hadn't had the time to scan and print the cover.

Remember, this was the first week of school. There is barely time to breathe that week.

I solved my problem by stapling a large ziploc bag to the board and slid the book inside.

I'm SO doing that again with other books.

Plimoth Rocks

2010-12-01T06:03:00.004-05:00

I'm tone deaf.

Dogs located several blocks away howl when I sing.

It's such a waste too because I know the lyrics to basically every song ever written.

Simon Cowell would have a field day with me.

And so I live vicariously through my students. Some can sing really well. Others are like me. But, when you are 8 it really doesn't matter because as long as you look cute in a costume on stage Gramma is happy.

I've done many performances over the years. It's stressful. It's time consuming. But, oh my gosh is it rewarding.

I'm so not a sappy individual, but seeing a student on stage beaming with pride and having a blast brings a tear to my eye. To provide a child who struggles academically with an opportunity to shine in front of their family and peers is priceless.

We're all overwhelmed with curriculum and pressure and tests. It can be challenging to justify fitting "something extra" into your already over-scheduled day, but I highly encourage you to find a way to give your kiddos the opportunity to perform.

Over the years I've done elaborate productions. There have been full sets constructed and 1st graders memorizing detailed monologes. Our most recent production was not the case. It was a super simple (though not without stress...there is always stress), highly educational performance. The outcome was the same: proud parents and kids oozing with confidence and a sense of accomplishment.

Last week my kids took part in a performance that I titled, "Plimoth Rocks." It was at the opposite end of the elaborate spectrum. In fact it couldn't have been more simple. The entire 3rd grade stayed on stage throughout (on chorus risers). Everyone had a small narrative. They could read it from a card or memorize it. My partner teacher sat in front of the stage and whispered the names of the kids who needed to come up to the mic when it was their turn. I played DJ.

There was some basic choreography...so basic in fact that we introduced it the day before of the performance. We collected $3.00 from each child and bought them either a black or a tan tshirt at the craft store and they wore either black or khaki pants. We paired this with macaroni necklaces or paper collars. I hot glued (because not only can I not sing, but I also can't sew) a rectangle of white fabric on the girls' shirts to make "aprons" and cut fringe on the tan tshirts. They looked adorable.

We showed a slide show of pictures from our field trip. iMovie makes it very easy to throw something impressive together in no time. Add some fun music and you've got a show.

I should add that although I played elf #4 in my own 5th grade class play, I have no drama experience. If I can do it then you can do it.

The key for me is that I write my own scripts. It is time-consuming, but doing so allows me to create custom parts for individual children. I play to their personalities and talents. I also like to add fun music.

Because if there is anything Gramma likes more than seeing her little lovey in a cute costume it is seeing that little lovey in a cute costume rocking it out and shaking his groove thing on stage.

When I did a fractured fairy tale production we used Brick House (3 Little Pigs), for Charlotte's Web we used HoeDown Throwdown and for Plimoth Rocks we used classic hits from the 60s, 70s, 80s and 90s (Sail Away/Mayflower, Here Comes the Sun/surviving the winter, Lean on Me/Squanto's role in helping the Pilgrims).

Because of time constraints, you do need to tie it in academically. In this case, I included every detail they were required to know into the script. By reading the script over and over and rehearsing together, the children learned all the facts from the unit.

So give it whirl. Have fun with it. Break a leg.

Figuratively.

Not literally.

It's how us drama folks speak. ;P

When Organization Backfires

2010-11-29T06:08:00.004-05:00

I recently received an email (waving to Sue in TX) that read, "I may have to stop reading your blog. While I am in awe and inspired, I also feel like an organizational failure. I bow to you. You really have it together."

There was more, but I couldn't read it because at that point I spewed an entire mouthful of coffee onto the screen of my MacBook, held my belly and laughed at the irony.

So for Sue in Texas and for anyone else who may have read my blog and mistaking thought, "wow, she's got it all together" I present to you two episodes from this weekend alone.

Exhibit A:

It was super early in the morning. We call my son the "Rooster" because he is up before sunrise each day and then wakes up the entire farm. Since we were up and I knew the grocery stores would be crazy with Turkey Day shoppers later, I did the organized, well-planned thing and decided to go shopping.

I attempted this without caffeine.

I even took one of the Twinkies with us.

We stopped at Dunkins for a muffin for the Boy and hit the dreaded grocery store just as they were unlocking the doors.

We went up and down each aisle and filled the cart higher and higher. At some point between aisle 4 and 6 the Boy gave the Girl a taste of his coffee cake muffin. She went crazy for it. And by crazy, I mean the sweet face you see in the photo above turned into a shrieking mess who NEEDED more muffin NOW!

So aisles 6 through the produce section were a blur of throwing things in the cart while girlfriend shrieked and twisted and attempted to free herself from the confines of it's belt while Big Brother beg, pleaded and whined his demands for various cookies, crackers, and other sweet treats that were at his eye level and marketed in packaging designed to allure 5 year olds. We were more entertaining that any float in the Macy's Day Parade. We were a sight to behold.

And much like marathoners who have the finish line in view, I rallied when I saw the check out lines. I tossed the contents of our heaping cart onto the belt. I gave the people behind me the look that reads, "Don't judge me, pity me because karma will get you." And that's when I realized my wallet was not in my pocket. Nor was my debit card. Nor was my credit card. Nor was any wampum or trading cards or anything else that I could barter with.

I thought it was in the car. After all, I had purchased a muffin at the Dunkin Donuts drive-thru en route to Hell, um I mean the grocery store. I told the cashier I would be right back. I gave one last "don't judge me glance" to the heavy-sighing Bachelor behind me. I took the kids and jetted to the parking lot only to find some loose change that I had received at the drive-thru on the passenger seat.

Because I had found 2 dollars in the center console of the car and had paid cash there. Of course I forgot that part until I saw the change.

One quick call to my hubby alerted me to the fact that the wallet was on the table.

Where I had left it.

After I had taken it out of my pocket to make sure that my credit and/or debit card were in it before leaving that morning.

You know, because I am organized and well-planned like that.

Exhibit B:

We spent Thanksgiving at my sister's. She makes Martha Stewart look like a slacker-hostess.

Seriously.

She bakes the bread from scratch to make the stuffing.

Me...I open a box of Stove Top and call it a holiday. But, I digress.

We had decided to stay the night at her house and since she was putting out an elaborate feast for us on Thursday, I figured the least we could do was supply breakfast on Friday.

I bought fruit and hubby planned to make crepes. So as to be well-planned and organized, he cracked 20 eggs, mixed them with milk and vanilla and funneled it into a gallon milk container for easy transport and easy cooking in the morning.

We went to NH for Thanksgiving.

The raw egg and milk mixture spent Thanksgiving back in our fridge in Massachusetts.

Forgotten.

Until a baby woke in the week hours and said mixture was poured into a bottle.

And 4 ounces of it were consumed before the mistake was noticed.

According to our pediatrician most US eggs are free from salmonella. That's a good thing.

She's now on 72 hour "symptom watch" though.

You know it's going to be a rough week when Hubby starts the morning by writing a note to the nanny and asks, "How do you spell diarrhea?"

And so my friends...I am organized. I am well-planned. But, by no means do I have it all together.

Happy Monday! Hope you all enjoyed the extra long holiday weekend.

Shades of Grey

2010-11-22T06:00:00.001-05:00

I got my hair did last night.

And today I'm a new woman.

Not really. I'm still the same old me, but with darker hair.

As a kid, my hair was super dark. Then 15 year old me discovered Sun-In. And in my teenage logic I deducted that since the directions called for sun or a blowdryer then the necessary ingredient for developing sun-kissed tresses was heat. So I tested my hypothesis and sprayed the heck out of my hair and then slid a curling iron slowly through it.

Oh, the heat activated the color alright and I had streaks of orange hair. As in Sunkist oranges and not sun-kissed. It was awful.

After that I retired from the role of Beauty School Dropout and ventured into salons where I entrusted the pros to work their magic. This summer I went out on a limb and had it highlighted. It was borderline blond.

Blonds don't really have more fun in case you are wondering.

Last night I had her darken it.

Today I went to school and overheard this conversation while I was doing a running record:

Student A: Mrs. D needs to spend more time in the sun. Her blond streaks are fading.
Student B: That's not from the sun. She dyes it to cover the grey.
Student A: She doesn't have grey hair.
Student B: That's because she buys brown hair with highlights.

Dear Student B, I'll be working on your report card this weekend. Just saying. Love, Your Teacher

The Wheels on the Bus Go Round and Round

2010-11-19T20:25:00.003-05:00

I have a love/hate relationship with field trips.

I usually love to plan and organize events, but when it comes to field trips...not so much.

They are so much work to plan. You often have to track down paperwork. There is a healthy amount of stress. It's challenging enough to keep tabs on 23 kids within the confines of the classroom. Trying to do so out of your element in the big wide world can make your head spin.

This week my class went on two field trips.

They were polar opposites on the field trip spectrum.

Tuesday we went to Plimoth Plantation.

The Good: It was an amazing educational opportunity. We've been studying the Pilgrims and the Wampanoags for the past month and this truly made the history come alive. They were able to see, hear, smell, and experience all that we had been learning about in books. That's priceless.

The Bad: We didn't have as much time there as I would have liked. There were over 1900 students visiting on the day we went. When you dress kids in outerwear they all start to look alike. There was a lot of head counting going on.

The Ugly: Two plus hour bus ride through Boston traffic...one way!

It was worth the ride and I would do it again, but man did it make me appreciate today's field trip.

Today we boarded a bus much like we had done on Tuesday.

However, there was no sitting in bumper to bumper traffic with a chorus of "are we there yets" while hoping and praying nobody wet their pants...including the chaperones who had boarded the bus with extra large Dunkin Donuts coffees.

Today we simply had to travel 5 minutes to our destination which was another elementary school in town. There we walked down one hall and into the gym. We enjoyed a presentation on woodwind instruments and then we hopped back onto our bus for the "don't blink or you'll miss it commute" back to our school. Easy Peasy!

My week of field trips got me thinking. Organizing for a field trip would be blog worthy.

And so I will do just that next week. In the meantime I have my usual Saturday morning field trips planned. Grocery store and post office here I come.

Happy weekend!

Instant Downloads

2010-11-19T06:00:00.000-05:00

I've been wanting to switch to an automatic instant download option for awhile now and have played around with my options. I had started to set up a site of my own, but have decided that for the time being I'm better off going through Teacher Pay Teachers.

It's got a great reputation and at this point it's the easiest choice for me.

I've already uploaded most of the products that I already had available along with some great freebies. They are all instant downloads so you don't need to wait.

Check it out by clicking on the button.

I still have tons of inventory from my online store (teacher resource books, leveled libraries, guided reading sets, etc), but I plan to box it all up and store it until next summer. I will post some seasonal items on here when appropriate (i.e. Valentine's books in February), but for the most part I'm just going to focus on the digital files.

Please let me know if there is anything you would like to see.

Where Does the Time Go

2010-11-18T15:52:00.002-05:00

Holy Cow! 2010 hit fast forward. I've been running at full speed since the school year started. I've been meaning to blog. I've composed many a post in my head while driving or showering or sitting at my son's tennis practice, but something always comes up. You know how it goes. You fully intend to do something...

And then you wake up one Monday morning and step outside with your school bag and cup of coffee and you realize, "I'm holding a travel mug of hot coffee." And you ask yourself, "when did I make the switch from iced coffee?"

And then you notice that squirrels have eaten through your pumpkins because Halloween was a week ago. So you take out your camera because you want to blog about how time has slipped away.

And you snap a photo of the leaves that have all fallen from the tree and are covered in frost. Which makes you bitter because you know that means...
...that your car will be covered in frost. So you get inside and for the first time in the season...
...you turn the heat on. And you sit in your car and sip your hot coffee because it beats scraping the frost off manually. And while you sit there you mentally compose a blog post about it and promise yourself that you are going to put it online that night because you miss blogging and you miss the people and you have been meaning to get back to it.

And then you get to school and you get busy and the next thing you know it is 11/18 and all the pics are still on your camera and three weeks have slipped away. Yikes!

Hope you are all doing well. I've missed you and am happy to be back.

My head is above water. I have the holidays under control. Seriously. Shopping is done and wrapped. I even got Hubby to put the lights up already. Now all we need is a tree and some cookies. I have an amazingly awesome student teacher who is gearing up for her takeover week. I am going to my sisters for Thanksgiving so I don't need to cook or clean a thing.

I'm back baby!

What's new with you?

Alive and Well

2010-09-16T04:45:00.004-04:00

Hey All!

When I am teaching writing I tell my kids not to string together the word "so" over and over and that one "so" is all they need.

But....

I have been so so so so so so so so busy.

School started last week and it's great. Thrilled with my class. Adore my student teacher. Having great fun reconnecting with my long-lost coworkers (when you typically see people daily, ten weeks is a long time being apart). LOVE having my favorite little Kindergarten kid at school with me and getting winks from him as we pass in the hall.

All good stuff.

I do miss my babies and am trying to spend as much time with them as I can when I'm not at school. Which means I am a bit of a juggling act at the moment and have been finding myself falling asleep on the couch with a pile of spelling assessments on my lap as soon as the littles go to bed.

I've started getting concerned emails from my wonderful readers. So sweet.

I assure you I am alive and well. I've very well in fact. I'm just getting the new year kicked off and settling in to some new routines at home. I had great routines going as a "working mom" last year, but the difference between 9 month old twins and 12.5 month old twins is amazing. They used to nap from 4-5 which gave me just enough time to come home, change into comfy clothes, make dinner and play for a bit with the Boy. They no longer enjoy their cages, um, I mean excersaucers and pack n' plays and are in to EVERYTHING.

For those who are curious...

My goal is to resume daily blogging soon. I've been taking lots of pictures and making notes of things to share. I'm a bit more giddy than I should be about blogging about my new bathroom procedure.

Hope you are all off to a great start with your new years!

New Year Resolutions

2010-09-06T20:19:00.004-04:00

I don't make New Year's Resolutions on December 31st.

Because I NEVER stick to them.

I do make New Year's Resolutions in September for the new school year though. I also make them at the start of the summer.

I tend to stick to the summer ones. The September resolutions rarely last. That's because they involve professional clothes and blowouts. Let's be real. I'm a simple girl.

And blowdrying my hair with a round brush and a collection of hair products is not simple. It's fancy. I'm not fancy.

So...What are your New Year's Resolutions for the 2010-2011 school year?

Coming Up For Air

2010-09-01T11:26:00.006-04:00

Wow! What a crazy week it has been.

On Friday my internet went out which in many ways was a good thing. It allowed me to focus on the family and the house and all that good stuff.

Not so good for running an online business though. It all worked out.

We celebrated the twin's 1st birthday on Saturday with a big ole backyard party. I must thank our guest of honor, Mother Nature, for providing us with a gorgeous day. It was a fabulous shindig and I really enjoyed visiting with family who I had not seen in forever.

My mom and dad were in town for the birthday and stayed with us Saturday through Tuesday. We totally took advantage of having the extra hands.

On Sunday morning we took the Big Brother sans babies to the beach.

It's amazing how vacationish it felt. I love the beach any day of the year. However, after a crazy week of traveling out of state, working on the house, party planning and executing, entertaining, etc. it felt SO GOOD to sit with my feet in the sand and not have to worry about diaper and sand-eating babies.

It wasn't all fun and games though. I had work to do.

I'm a teacher. It was the month of August. It's how we roll.

On Monday the reality slap came.

I had received email clearance to go work in my classroom. Translation: the cleaning crew had finished "doing their thang" and I could go piece together my classroom. Since my mom was visiting and could hang with the Littles, I put on my scrubby clothes and headed in to school.

Luckily I brought my big, strong, Hubby with me. (Actually he was bitter and disgruntled about needing to do manual labor, but he sometimes reads this so I thought a few flattering adjectives would be appreciated).

The good news is that I had a blank slate.

The better news is that my rugs were cleaned.

The bad news is that this is the scene I walked in to find.

Why yes, that is the entire contents of my classroom piled high into a jumbled heap. I managed to sift through the rubble, get everything back in order and things are looking good for the 10-11 school year.

We don't start back until next Tuesday.

Tomorrow I'm taking the Boy to a water park.

Since it seems like every school in NH, ME and parts of MA have already started we should have the place to ourselves.

Which is exactly how I prefer anywhere I need to sport a swimsuit to be.

What Bugs You?

2010-08-27T14:53:00.004-04:00

I don't have pets.

Unless dust bunnies count.

But, I do have pet peeves.

Here's the thing. I've LOVED being home with my kids this summer. Like, LOVE, LOVED it! My son is freaking hilarious and the twinkies are just so much fun. I like lazy days. I like being a shut-in. I do seriously believe that I could be a hermit as long as hermits are aloud high-speed internet access. I also believe the world would be a better place if everyone wore their pajamas all day every day.

Yesterday was "one of those days" though. It was my own fault. I put too much on my plate. We're rocking project "paint and move four rooms around in two weeks or less." But, it's been a ton of work. Operation "First Birthday" is culminating tomorrow which means lots of crafty projects. The straw that broke the camel's back was the large group playdate that I had scheduled at my house.

Let me complete that statement.

The straw that broke the camel's back was the large group playdate that I had scheduled at my house...2 days before we host a huge party and as we are undergoing house renovations. It was a crazy day around the homestead and the part that would have been filmed in s-l-o-w motion with enhanced sound had my life been a movie was when I stepped on yet another Cheerio on my freshly swept floor.

It was at that point that I, for the first time all summer, thought to myself, "It's time for me to go back to school."

What I was thinking was..."it's time for me to go back to school so I can finish my lunch in peace, go more than 63 minutes without having to change a diaper or flush the toilet for another human being and not need to crush Cheerios under my bare feet.

Then I remembered.

The Goldfish! Those damn Pepperidge Farm Goldfish Crackers. I hate how they lie there all belly up on the classroom rug just waiting for a foot to come crashing down upon them.

I actually think snack time in general is my pet peeve. I like things neat. I don't like sticky. I don't like crumbs. And I think the creators of Gogurt and Crush Cups should be shot. I get the fact that it's a long day and kids need to replenish their supply of nutrients...to feed their brains and energize their hard-working little bodies in order to complete their day of learning at their maximum level of potential. I do get that.

Which is why I find it all the more annoying when they break out the Doritos and brownies at 9:15 a.m. It counteracts the purpose.

So there you have it. My number one pet peeve as a classroom teacher.

What drives you absolutely insane?

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year...

2010-08-25T23:28:00.005-04:00

In many ways, this time of year is the most wonderful to me.

It's filled with excitement, fresh starts, newness and flawless school supplies (which you know I adore). There's the promise of apple crisp and football and pumpkins looming. It almost makes the passing of my beloved summer seem bearable.

But, today I am here to talk to you about the time of year the song was actually written about.

Christmas.

You know...that most wonderful time of year when you are stressed over money and to do lists? Our conferences and report cards also fall in December. Let's not forget the crowds. Aren't crowded malls fun? Don't they add to the wonderfulness of the most wonderful time of the year?

In case you didn't make note on your calendar today, we are exactly 4 months away from Christmas. Four months is nothing.

Here's the thing. I started to loathe the month of December. I was overwhelmed by the chaos and the waste and the bills and the wrapping and the chaos of it all.

And that made me sad.

I wanted to enjoy the holiday season and make memories with my son. I wanted it to be an experience and not a burden.

So I took charge.

A few years ago I started to give myself official deadlines for the holiday "to dos." People make fun of me and call me names (much like poor Rudolph), but I think it is because they are jealous. My deadlines are as follows:

Columbus Day weekend: all gifts must be bought

Halloween: all gifts must be wrapped

Thanksgiving Weekend: all cards ready to mail

I know you are flat out crazed with school stuff right about now, but trust me on this. It is one of the best things I have ever done.

I started by dwindling my gift list. I LOVE buying gifts for people when I find the perfect gift. I hate buying gifts for someone just to fulfill an obligation and "trading gift cards" seemed silly. So hubby and I had some heart to heart talks with some of the people on our lists and we agreed to stop swapping gifts and instead make a plan to spend quality time together.

As you know, I hate clutter. This comes in handy when the holidays roll around because I've worked hard to not add clutter to other people's lives. I try to give "experience" gifts whenever possible. If buying a gift card, I avoid cards that will be used to buy more clutter and instead aim for an experience:

tickets to a show

a gift certificate to a class, amusement park, museum, spa, etc.

Start by making a list of all the people you need to buy a gift for. Brainstorm some ideas for gifts. Acquire said gifts. Then wrap and deliver. Done! I made you a printable to help with the process.

Instead of running around stressed and bitter during the holiday season (which is where I was at), I enjoy the season and take it all in with the simple things. We bake cookies. We get together with friends. I host a ginderbread party for the kids. We watch holiday specials. I read by the light of the tree in my festive jammies while sipping hot cocoa. You get the idea.

So, it's August 25th. Hop on my bandwagon which is doubling as a sleigh, print my cute little organizer and get started. Stagger your purchases and I'll check in on you around Columbus Day.