Best...Week...Ever...

Okay, well maybe not ever, but it was a GREAT week!!

If I'm really honest, it was LAST week, but who cares!

Thursday was my birthday, and I turned the big "39". 

I got so many birthday wishes and hugs

(and a cake made by Jen)!

That night, some friends and I attended a fundraiser

at a lovely little place called "Painting With A Twist".

My cake makin' bud, Jen.

Do I look like an arteest?

The final projects.

The very next day at our morning assembly,

I was named the "Super Star Spud" of the week.

Here is what my principal said,

"Congratulations to Ms. F for receiving the Spud Award this week.  Thank you for your involvement in many extra duties on the campus.  You are appreciated for the hours you put in to make our school better." 

   

The award is given to a different staff member every week

who exhibits the following qualities:

-      Puts needs of others before own needs.

-      Exhibits positive attitude

-      Embraces change and learning

-      Achieved great results with student/students

-      Listens to colleagues

-      Exhibits willingness to work as a team player

-      Seeks out solutions instead of being bogged down by problems (Proactive vs. Reactive)

Here I am, holding my spud!

Why, thank you!

I would like to pass on this Super Star Spud Award to all of YOU! 

Alive and well!

Happy Friday everyone! 

I am so glad that all of you dedicated bloggers

continue to post when I have trouble keeping up. 

Thank you for all your wonderful ideas!!

What have I been up to? 

School, school, school,

with a dash of Facebook,

and a sprinkling of Pinterest for some extra flavor.

Here are some "before" photos of my new classroom.

Let me be honest when I say my desk does NOT

look much better than it did when I took the picture!

Here are some "afters":

Wait....apparently I never took any!!

I saw this cute idea *somewhere* (Pinterest?  blog??),

and I would LOVE to give credit,

but I cannot figure out where I found it! 

I took pictures of my kiddos posing like they were

being lifted off the ground by a bunch of ballons.



After printing them out, I cut out their bodies,

and attached them to die cut balloons. 

They are actually ovals, but close enough, right?

On the balloons, I wrote down 3-4 goals

the students have for the year. 

(They came up with their goals with their parents.) 

The finals results look like this:

So long....farewell....until next time!

The BIG 1-0!

I know this has nothing to do with teaching, but I don't care! 

 My "baby" turned 10!



I love this picture!

Happy Summer!

Happy summer!

Okay, technically I've been out of school for two weeks now, and what have I been up to?
1. Pinterest
2. Pinterest
3. Pinterest
4. Trying to get healthy--I'm down about 8 pounds so far!
5. Interviews--We need two more teachers on our campus, and I was lucky enough to be able to sit in on he interviews and give my input.
6. Book studies--The Primary Comprehension Toolkit and Daily 5
7.  Tutoring
8. Bloghopping--I've missed all these wonderful blogs! I came across a giveaway that any teacher would LOVE to win....a $25 Amazon gift card! Head on over to visit Kaitlin at Smiles and Sunshine for all the details!

Teachers Got Talent?

Here I am, with a few friends, entertaining the students at the 2012 Wiedy's Got Talent (also known as the talent show). 

Happy Teacher Appreciation Week!

Thank you to each and every one of you for helping me be a better teacher!

30% off at Cafe Press

Happy Earth Day to my fellow bloggers! 

In honor of this beautiful planet, Cafe Press is having a sale. 

The coupon code EARTHDAY30

must be entered when you check out. 

The promotion ends TODAY, April 22 at 11:59 p.m. (PT). 

Never visited cafepress.com? 

They have t-shirts, mugs, bags, and a lot more!

I already have this t-shirt.

Read the small print below:

 

Yes, yes I do!

Spelling Test and Tim Tebow...what?

Last week, I was grading the spelling tests, and was happy to see

that this one child spelled all the words correctly.  Woo Hoo!!

I turned the test over to see how he did on the dictation sentence,

and this is what made me smile:





Go Tebow!

REAL E-MAIL FROM VICE PRINCIPAL:

Ladies, I would like to buy lunch for you on Friday as a small token

of appreciation for all your hard work involving the yearbook.

I was going to buy lunch today but I lost track of time and when

I visited with Ms. F., her lunch was coming up in about

15 mins so I will throw her under the



and save some face by blaming it on her. SORRY TINA :-(

Thank you so much for all your time and effort.

Respectfully,

Vice Principal

OMG!  Is that really the best picture of me? 

He's lucky I've got a good sense of humor...

and that he's buying me lunch!

Breakfast, anyone?

It seems like everyone's schedule is packed with things to do, and this time of year it seems even crazier than usual!  So yesterday, a few of us met for breakfast before school.  I know that seems crazy, but that seems to be the only time we have available!  We had a great time, and plan to do it again soon with even more early birds who love/want/need to socialize!

Me, Leslie, and Debie

Furry Friends Linky Party

In October 2000, I went to a local PetsMart, and fell in love with a cat that was there.  I didn't intend to walk out with a pet....but I did.  Anna is still with me, and still as stuck up as ever!

Anna, now about 14 years old

During Spring Break 2010, my son and I went to PetsMart to get cat food.......and ended up adopting our first dog, Selah.  She was just so sweet, and scared, and quiet, and I wanted her!

Selah and me

Matthew and Selah

Selah and Anna

 

Six months after adopting Selah, I thought she needed a buddy, so off we went to the Animal Defense League.  When they asked what kind of dog I was looking for, I said I didn't have a specific breed in mind, but I wanted a dog that doesn't bark a lot.  After walking through all the kennels, I saw this sweet dog, sitting calmly and quietly.... and found our newest dog, Janey.  She loves to snuggle!  She thinks she's a tiny lap dog, and wants to be on you as close as she can get!

Selah and Janey

What have I learned from my dogs?  All they want is to love and be loved, and really, isn't that what we all need?

Have pets?  Want a pet?  Join the linky party at



Bully .....the movie

Weinstein Company Movie (2012) HD

This year, over 5 million American kids will be bullied at school,

online, on the bus, at home, through their cell phones

and on the streets of their towns, making it

the most common form of violence

young people in this country experience.

The Bully Project is the first feature documentary film to show how

we've all been affected by bullying, whether we've

been victims, perpetrators or stood silent witness.

The world we inhabit as adults begins on the playground.

WOW!  The movie opens tomorrow, and I plan on taking my 4th grader to see it soon.

Earth Day Activity and Linky Party

Earth Day is right around the corner, and I want to share an activity I did several years ago before BOTH copies of my book were stolen borrowed permanently.

The infamous book is called Dear Children of the Earth by Schim Schimmel. 

Dear Children of the Earth begins a remarkable letter from Mother Earth asking for help from children everywhere. She writes to express her love for each and every child and asks for their love and appreciation in return. In her own words, and with all of her heart, Mother Earth enfolds children with love and entrusts them with her protection.

Show More

Show Less

After discussing what we can do to help the Earth, the kids write a letter to Mother Earth telling what they will do to help make the Earth a better/cleaner place to live.  An illustration is added as well. 

While looking for a new copy of that book on Amazon, I found Children of the Earth...Remember and The FAMILY of EARTH, both by Schim Schimmel.

Children of the Earth...Remember is a tender lesson of sharing and protecting the Earth, enhanced with stunning artwork.  The core message of The FAMILY of EARTH is that "We all share the same earth."

Have an Earth Day idea or activity?  Join the Linky Party at Sunny Days!

Congratulations!!

I have been gone from the blog world for a few months, but I wanted to take a moment to give a huge shout out to Denise over at 2nd Grade Ponderings. She was voted Teacher of the Year for our campus. Stop by her blog and drop some love!

Pinterest, Baby!

If you are like me, you may have heard of a little site called Pinterest. Apparently, there are a few minor details in the fine print (that I was not aware of.....because I didn't read the it!). Be sure to check out Laura's blog for all the details, PLUS a "permission to Pin" badge you can add to your sidebar.

Read Across America is right around the corner!

NEA's Read Across America
event will be on Friday, March 2nd. 

Do you and your class participate? 
What kinds of activities do you do?

We send a note home asking kids to wear pajamas;
bring in a pillow, blanket, a drink and/or snack;
and of course.....BOOKS!

Check out more read-a-thon notes, rules, and ideas
from Rachelle and Natalie at:

(in) Real Life **non teaching post**

I've been feeling very overwhelmed, anxious, stressed, depressed, CRAZY lately.....so I've taken the last two days off as much needed "mental health" days.

Tuesday:  I took the dogs to the park, did a little laundry, cleaned a little, slept a little, took my son to the rodeo (yee ha!), and crashed as soon as we got home.  Tenth Avenue North performed last night, and they were GREAT!  They are a Christian band, and I needed to hear the songs, the praise, and the positive message because of the feelings I mentioned above.

Wednesday: Woke up with a headache, got coffee (okay--and donuts) to help with headache, got groceries (and other unnecessary items), cleaned a little, Skyped a little, and now I'm doing a little online searching, and who knows what I'll do later.

Anyways, one of the blogs I follow is Lysa Tyrkheurst (I'm sure I screwed up the spelling!).  Her blog led me to another site, (in) real life.  Here is just some of what I found:

Yup, we're bringing the beach house to you with the goal of connecting women beyond the blog post! How? Well, with a day of (in)courage meetups - think mini beach house parties - all around the country and globe and a webcast for everyone to tune into. A local meetup on a global scale; friends will gather to watch live webcasts of (in)courage contributors and community, connect with one another, and discover new friendships they didn't know were right around the corner!

There will be something for everyone - walking, talking, laughing, hugging, blog content - right in the comfort of your living room. The webcast kicks off on Friday, April 27 and (in)RL beach house parties follow on Saturday, April 28 with more live (in)courage content to tune into together. Just imagine thousands of (in)courage women all over the world getting together in homes, coffee shops, restaurants, or churches - you name it- to connect in real life!

This sounds like something I need to help get me out of the funk I am in, so I did it.  I registered, and I am planning on being a host too!  Check it out if you are interested!

No child left behind?

The testing starts earlier and earlier...........

Fractions?

uh oh!

Thankful Thursday!

Thankful Thing #1

I can't believe my little ol' blog has 150 followers! 

I know my blog is not much compared to others,

but I keep trying to remind myself of a quote I recently read: 

"Don't compare yourself to others. 

Comparison is the thief of happiness." 

SO TRUE!

So...thank you to all my follwers

AND to all the awesome blog authors that I follow!

You have so many GREAT ideas and you are willing to

SHARE them with me (and others of course)!!

I can't wait to see what you'll do next!

Thankful Thing #2....3....and 4 (okay, and 5)

I know not every child who struggles is "special ed", "learning disabled", or whatever other label is out there.  However, there are times when you just know! 

T is one of those. 

She came to me this year not knowing any sounds, and could only recognize a few letters and numbers. She was very unfocused (even in one on one situations), loud, disruptive (do you get the picture?). 

She saw the Reading Specialist 5 days a week, and had been doing so since Kindergarten.  Her data "folder" was turned in earlier this year, and my hope was that they would have all the information they needed to finally test her. 

No......such.....luck!

T's folder was sent back.  I was told I needed more data.  Are you kidding me??  We had a year's worth of data, yet somehow it wasn't enough!  So, what did I do?  I did what I had to do-- I collected more data, and resent her folder.    Finally, I got the glorious news!

Hallelujah!  Let the testing begin!

Finally, she was tested!   Finally, she qualified!  Then I heard the dreaded "b" word.  No, not THAT "b" word!!  The other one.....but.    BUT, she won't be put in special ed until next year.

I'm sorry, w  h  a  t??

After some discussion, it was decided that she could "unofficially" start services now (whoopee!), and next year it would be official (whoopee!).  She is finally getting what she needs! 

So where is the thankfulness here?

#2  T qualified and is receiving the extra help she needs.

#3  T is finally on meds to help her focus (w o w)!

#4  T is hilarious, and can make me smile

(even when I don't want to)!

#5  I am thankful that T is in my class!!

Thank YOU for reading this!

Happy 100th Day!

Our 100th day of school was last Thursday, which as you know was also Groundhog Day.  Here are some pictures to show some of what we did to celebrate.

This is from abcteach.com.

 

  

The kids are enjoying their 100th day trail mix. 

We also asked the kids (and teachers) to dress up like they were 100 years old.  Yeah, I know the kids' pictures are sideways, but you get the idea!

 Here's to the next 75 days!!!