Where has the time gone?!

I have been out of the blog game for several years!  

So many things have changed over the past 4 years: 

My babies, I mean, middle schoolers...enough said!

 

I fell in love with & bought a new home. 🏡

We have a puppy!  Ahh a dog lol and are in the process of becoming fosters for Big Fluffy Dog Rescue which is an amazing organization so if you're an animal lover like me check them out! 

Some things, however, never change: 

I'm still teaching 1st grade (ahh my ❤️) and loving every minute of it. 

I've been using more and more technology in my classroom and I love it. Our littles need to be preparing for jobs and tech that hasn't even been created yet. An understanding of the digital world is vital to their success. 

Recently, I became a Seesaw Ambassador for my area. 

Let me say, if you haven't tried Seesaw yet you need to!  In a nutshell, Seesaw is a digital portfolio for student work where littles can create, upload, edit, encourage and question in a safe digital community (your class only!!) 

There are so many things I love about this app and I will be posting about that at a later date. 

For now, what tech do you find essential in your classroom when it comes to creating student initiated 21st century learning? 

✌🏼❤️🌀

Things I LOVE about teaching

I wanted to post about summer and how much I absolutely LOVE it but since this is my "teaching blog" I think I should share some of the things I LOVE about my job before I go crazy about summer!

I am a teacher.
*yes, I am underpaid
*yes, I spend countless (unpaid) hours at school both early and late to make sure I have great stuff for my kiddos
*yes, I am exhausted August-June (with the first and last being the most exhausting)
*yes, I have spent thousands of my own $$ on things for other people's children
*yes, I get a paycheck during the summer but only because I have chosen to have the county take money from my paycheck during the year so I can get my EARNED money over the summer
*and yes, I HATE having to hear about how easy my job is - you know, "those who can, do, those who can't teach..."  UGH!!!!!

Despite all that, I really do love what I get to do each day.

They tried to catch leprechauns with traps but
things didn't work out how they planned!

I love getting to do things like this ------>

I love parents who come in to read and make my life a little easier and a lot better! (and who hack my phone and take crazy pictures while I have the kids at the bathroom!!)

This was a writing activity for the
book Aliens Love Underpants

And I love getting stories with aliens wearing thongs!














Seriously, especially at the beginning of the school year.  I love the smell of the building, the new books, the pencils, the crayons...okay, not so much the crayons!!  I love getting to help out my kiddos and I love their faces when they are so proud because they finally "got it" or their little faces when they get to be our special "Guest Reader"

Is this post making me miss school?!    Yes.

Wow...Just...Wow

Yeah, those really are the only words I have.
It has been almost TWO years since my last blog - TWO YEARS!  That is pretty pathetic and I am so very sorry for neglecting something I was so excited about.

So updates, I mean, seriously after all this time lots of things have changed.  First of all let me say that I did not stop blogging because I wanted to but because I had computer issues and then e-mail issues and lets just say instead of stepping up I just let it go.  I mean really, blogging just takes more time, right?  WRONG!!  While it does take time, it is such a blessing for me to be able to get stuff out and share it with others.

So let me just say, shortly that I have had a lot going on - starting with the fact that I now have a 7 year old and a 9 year old!  AHH where did the time go?!?


Seriously, the 9 year old is almost as tall as me.  I am sure he will be passing mommy's height soon enough.

The 7 year old is also the funniest dancer you've ever seen!  (I don't know where he gets it)

We have been having fun this summer using a cute little idea I found on Pinterest: 

 

Let me tell you - those boys hold me to it - especially Thinking Thursday where we done even turn on the tv for the news and we essentially do school projects/activities/experiments/book reviews... 

With that being said...which days am I allowed to blog?!? 

Better get to Making something - it is Monday!! 

Love love love!! 

Daily 5

Also, My Daily 5 is going very, very well so far.  Friday, we had our Apple Harvest Party & at the end of it, while kids were munching on snacks & hanging with friends & family I had about 6 kids ask to go to book nooks with their book baskets - and they ACTUALLY READ & WORKED! 

I was so proud...will post more later!



Welcome to Noun Town (and this school year, apparently)

I have been a total blogging slacker! I'd like to say that it is because I have been working so hard on my classroom that EVERYTHING I wanted to have accomplished by is but that is not the case. 

Life is the case. 

It is okay though, if It was any less chaotic it would be boring.  Plus, I have a really good group this year.  They actually want to work quietly which is amazing - generally each year we have to do several *lessons on what it looks like/sounds like when we are working quietly but this year I have a group of kids who actually works quietly with very little interruptions.  It is kind of weird, but I LOVE it.

Anyway, my friends Megan & Mary over at Fans of First stole this cute Noun Town idea from another creative teacher.  We think it turned out really cute & the kids LOVE finding their nouns!!



The Tooth Fairy (who was almost M.I.A.)

Okay so I kid you not, my child lost his fourth tooth yesterday (lost is a relative term, for all of them really, each time I got so tired of watching them dangle and slip right over apple skins that I finally said "Let mommy pull it out") which meant you know who was going to visit his room whie he was fast asleep and collect that lovely little tooth in exchange for some MONEY (Thank the Lord my child stil thinks $1 is a fortune!!!)

Here is how the tooth fairy routine works in our home:
Step 1: Put children to bed
Step 2: Do whatever needs to be done for the evening (laundry, dishes, blogging...)
Step 3: When the parents are ready for bed they make the switch, easily since it is always a few hours AFTER the children have been put to bed.
Step 4: Enjoy your child's sparkling eyes when he wakes up to find money in his tooth box

Great Job Mom, Nice Work Dad...

Only last night Stpe 3 was inadvertantly skipped.  How could that happen?!?

And to make matters worse, I didn't notice until 6:15 when Zachary was almost completely dressed.  I walked into Sean's room to wake him up and it hit me - the Tooth Fairy's Epic Fail!!!

So I did what any loving mother would do - ran outside to the car 1/2 dressed (well covered, but 1/2 pj's and 1/2 work attire), grabbed 4 quarters from the coin tray, ran up the stairs, casually walked up the last few steps and crept into Sean's room. 

Done deal.
Right...
Just find the tooth box and make the switch, no big deal.
Only my child, whose bed contains no less than 5 pillows & 4 blankets, had done a stellar job of hiding his tooth box - to the point where I was frantic, he was slowly waking up and I was running out of time.

I scrambled and grabbed a Super Mario Brothers extra life tin, threw in the coins and ducked out of his room just in time to hear the sad "Mommy, come here"

So I walked in, looked at his sad face and asked him what was wrong.

"The Tooth Fairy forgot me"

I asked where his tooth box had been hiding (an important bit of info to know for future reference), suggested easier hiding places for the Tooth Fairy, and encouraged him to look around his bed.  After a few coments about all of his pillows and blankets & how the tooth fairy might have gotten stuck under them all he finally found his prize. 

My child, excited about his money and his tooth immediately concluded that he could leave his tooth under his pillow and trick the tooth fairy into leaving him more money...
Unfortunately his tooth fairy (while not always 100%) has a policy on teeth :)

Back to school, Back to school...

...to prove to dad that I'm not a fool (or maybe to lots of other kids dad's ha ha) 

Actually, I'm really excited about this year AND I made it through the first week of school so I'm pretty pumped about that. 

I did not blog once over the summer - partially because I did not have a computer - but now I am back in action so here are 10 things I might have blogged about this summer:

1. I spent WAY too much time in my classroom this summer, I mean WAY
2. But really I had to, I have completely changed my reading plan (any DAILY 5 cheerleaders out there?!?) and we are starting math centers that needed to be prepped PLUS my classroom had to be completely changed - none of which I would've had time to do in the first two days of school (- meeting time)
3. We got a dog, that's right, a DOG!  The family who is always on the go added a responsibility!!  His name is Buddy, isn't he cute?!?

4. MY oldest child lost his first tooth...followed by two more!!

5. We had a summer birthday for a February birthday - we set up kiddie pools, had a ton of water baloons & water guns and let the kids go wild.  We also had a fire pit with hot dogs and marshmallows & fire works  FUN FUN

6. My boys went to no less than 4 different Vacation Bible Schools - I think they have an addiction!



7. We vowed to make a different popsicle every day of summer but didn't quite make it...here is a pic of one good day.

8. We tie dyed...everything ha ha









9. I FINALLY got my tattoo fixed. 

10. They started re-building the in-laws house.