Image Map

Sunday, June 30, 2013

An Early Currently and I'm still late!

Once again I'm joining up with Farley and her wonderful currently linky and I'm still one of the later entries! Oh, well, maybe I am always fashionably late!!

 
It is so nice to have the windows opened and the air off again, so I'm listening to the birds (and the neighbors dogs bark, but it's okay). My cats are happy that the windows are open, too!
 
I love Sunday afternoons when I don't have anything to do on Mondays! I'm trying to figure out how I can keep this going even during the school year.
 
I keep writing down ideas, creating materials, and trying to decide on a classroom theme. This week end I went to a behavior conference and learned some great ideas to try in my classroom. One of my co-workers also went and we talked about trying to change our level system and point sheets for the school, so my head has all this buzzing around in it!
 
I would love to take a vacation somewhere this summer, but it isn't looking promising. First, our bathroom ceiling leaked and has to be replaced, so then there will be repainting, and I have to figure out what to do with the border- I'm thinking it will go. Then I have a STEM class for 2 weeks that I signed up for to learn about the standards better since I'm switching grades (again). So, I think that leaves about 2 weeks of freedom for me before school actually starts! My husband is doing the ceiling himself, so there goes all of his free time!
 
I really need to go to the grocery store today! We need food! I have the list made out with the menu for the week, but I just need to actually get up and go! Well, first I should shower and get out of my pj's!
 
My tip is to join linky parties and make meaningful comments. I still consider myself a newbie to blogging (I think my 1st year anniversary will be here soon). I've gained followers from the linky parties and commenting when I have something to say on other blogs. I've learned a lot from other bloggers and always want to share my appreciation for them!
 
So go to Farley's blog and join in the fun!
 


Monday, June 3, 2013

June Goals, just what the teacher in me ordered!

I love this idea for a linky party! I need to be held accountable and set goals for each month of my summer! So I'm linking up with




I started cleaning, purging, and organizing the dreaded basement today. It has become a dumping ground for everything- not just my teachery items. I'm trying to get rid of things I haven't used in the past few years and organize it all by subject or category. This may take me all month! I also want to spend more time with my mom, sons, and husband doing fun things. We tend to get stuck on what has to be done or think that we can do fun stuff next week, which never comes. I've told my sons (ages 20 and 23) that I will be taking them out for lunch during the summer. 
On pinterest and other teacher blogs, I've seen some awesome ideas for organizing ideas with the common core. Since switching grades for next year, this is a good time to set up file folders with the standard number and description on them. Hmmmm, not sure what happened to my 4, in blog at least 4 times per month! I've slacked off during the school year, so I hope to get back in the swing of blogging!
I want to reread The Great Gatsby. I read it in high school (a long time ago) and with the movie coming out, I want to read the book before seeing the movie. I also have ordered Whole Brain Teaching for Challenging Kids. I like the idea of whole brain teaching, but it needs tweaking for my students! Hopefully, this book will give me a lot of ideas. I've also joined the book club/discussion for this book with others through Chris Biffle's Whole Brain Teaching site, to help me along!

Sunday, June 2, 2013

June Shout Out to Vacation Time!!

It's June and everyone here knows what that means... Farley's June currently , school is out (or ending, hopefully) and summer flip flop time!! My school ended on Friday, so tomorrow is my first official day of vacation! I know I will be awake early, as it takes me awhile to turn off my internal alarm clock and retrain the kitties to wake up later!

 
I love HGTV and House Hunters, I love being able to see inside of different peoples' homes! As I wrote earlier, my school ended on Friday- kind of bittersweet as my classroom paraprofessional retired, our wonderful speech pathologist is moving to another state, AND two other teachers are going to other schools - I'm going to miss all of them!
I've decided that I need to plan out what I'm going to do this summer, so that I don't keep putting off what I want to get done, and then not do anything! I just need to make the plan and stick with it as I have several major projects in mind! I really need a space where I can create my classroom plans, centers, games, bulletin board cuteness, and anything else that I may need or want! Right now, I do my creating, printing, cutting, laminating in the living room or at the dining room table, which means I'm constantly getting things out, working, and then putting things away. This leads into my need of cleaning out the basement. It would be the perfect place to work in the summer. I just dread going to clean it out- over the past year  2 years maybe 4 years (yikes!) I've just carried down boxes from each school year to store when I've changed grades or themes. I need to organize it all and purge items! 
When I go on vacation I need the usual books and camera, but it is a family joke that any type of slope or uneven ground that I walk on, I tend to fall- especially if it is muddy. I keep trash bags in the car for me to sit on when I fall in mud, the times I've fallen I was covered in mud!
 
I hope everyone is enjoying their last few days of school, or their first few days of summer!