Fractions!!!!

I need ideas...that is all!

Cheese...and WHINE

Boring!

 This just in: My students are HORRIBLE poor readers and writers!!! So, I had to go back to basics and start with the 4 kinds of sentences. Ugh...BORING!!!

But...THIS sentence is EPIC!!!

One week down...182 days to goooooo!

I survived the first week of school and (as of Friday at 3:20) all the children were still intact and injury free! Whew!

So far, the students are great little bundles of curious joy. They are definitely a mixed bag intellectually but they are hard workers and very trainable. I have no complaints...well...maybe one...who the heck thinks it's a good idea for 5th graders to NOT have recess after lunch? We go from lunch back to class and have recess from 3-3:20...DUMB! Alas, I adore my little OWLs and it's going to be a fantastic year!

I had to start with the basics for Math...I got an amazing resource from 4mulafun! to teach place value. I think I actually tricked my students into learning on Friday. 

I also enticed them with the promise of treats afterwards. We used Skittles Math Pebbles to show how multiplication is easy if you look at is as making or repeating groups of numbers!

AND...I didn't catch anyone sneaking a bite, but we all had sticky fingers after about 10 minutes of speed drills :0)

3 x 11=???

3 x 3=???

9????

Currently...September!

Is it really September? No, really?

Thanks to Megan from Oh' Boy 4th Grade for helping me reflect...

My favorite part is the section at the bottom with the heart...because this summer has been all about loving, accepting and forgiving myself...and being AWESOME, of course :0)

Shout outs!!!

I received 3 deliveries yesterday! All 3 packages are for my students so I think I must treat myself to some retail therapy this weekend...I digress.

The first package contained all my OWL flair, including my teacher bag and poster. VistaPrint did a really good job... I guess I'll forgive their constant email reminders (for a minute there it felt like we were in an "it's complicated" relationship!)

Next I received the most amazing pencil sharpener on the planet! No, seriously...it's beyond words...it's small and unassuming, quick, and, BEST OF ALL, quiet!!! I sharpened one pencil and I was so intrigued that I finished the entire pack. I used some cheap pencils from the OneSpot at Targét and they passed the test. I'm going to try it out with my 5th graders and see how well it holds up...

My last delivery was a cute book called "Summer in the City!" It's authored by Kathleen Wainwright. It is very engaging, energizing and a dose of cuteness overload!

Texting your classes…

I’m sooo exhausted after cleaning out my new classroom today…whew! I shall not go down that road though…at least not until I can show pictures of my completed labor.  

For now, I’m pondering how I’ll incorporate more relevant technology into my classroom, I keep seeing “Remind101”

After a Googling it, I discovered that I there are a few “safe” group messaging apps for teachers...apparently I'm way behind. I think I’m going to give it a whirl. Most of them are free to educators. (Apps of this kind are used to send group messages without revealing your phone number.) 

The students and parents can subscribe to your group and you can email or text updates and blasts as needed. It would be cool to see words of encouragement from your FAVORITE before those big assessments also. I foresee it being more user friendly & instant than a class website, which I have no immediate interest in…

I’m curious as to whether any of my peeps have tried group texting…here’s a link for your enjoyment!

Toodles…

One Word...TEACHER-GASM!

It's starting...the back to school shopping is starting...one cent sales, tax free weekend, glue sticks, sharpies, flairs, post-its, pencils, tape, scented markers, composition books, wide ruled paper...Oh-Em-Jesus! I'm hyped up...or high on glue sticks...either way, I love this time of year!!!

This is just the beginning...happy shopping!

A word about VIstaPrint!

I guess this teacher blog thing isn't too bad. It's actually cathartic...I can vent and my non-teacher friends don't have to pretend to be interested, shocked, or amazed! lol!

So, a word about VistaPrint...I'm a member of a group on FB called VistaPrint Ideas for Teachers. They have some pretty cool ideas about using reward cards, post cards, posters, stamps, book marks, etc...and I stole borrowed a few of their ideas for my new classroom. I also snagged a Groupon for $70 worth of product for $17. As of right now, it's still available for 10 days. (Click here!)

Here is a sampling of what I ordered.

A cool customized poster for my OWL theme...

A couple of mini stamps...(I completely hijacked this idea...wish I'd thought of it first!)

And a not super cute but not super ugly tote bag...

OWL=Obsessed With Learning! Are you obsessed? I am!

FREEBIES!!!

Just like every teacher I know, I love free stuff. Waking up to a SURPRISE giveaway is getting my Monday off to a great start! Check out The Inspired Apple... for your chance to enter and WINNN!

Happy Monday peeps!

CURRENTLY...August!

It's a tall task to be a dedicated and consistent blogger. I'm doing what I can to stay in the  loop. Today,  I'm linking up with Farley at Oh' Boy Fourth Grade on her August Currently. 

So, I guess it's all self-explanatory!

On my B2s, I never would imagined that I'd be on a green tea kick, but I had to kick my 4 cokes-a-day habit. Also, I'm teaching 4 subjects this year, so organized centers and task cards are an absolute must-do.

DIY Pennant Banner

Everywhere I look, PENNANTS are all I see. I've been shopping for back to school items and decor and I decided to make one on my own. Let me emphasize something: I don't do DIY!

I used scraps of fabric, ribbon, Stitch Witchery, an iron, a hot glue gun, recycled letters, and some owl pics that I cut from a gift bag. (SHOUT OUT to the One Spot at Target!) I drew an isosceles triangle pattern on a piece of heavy paper, traced it on the back side of the fabric, cut the fabric, bonded the triangles to the ribbon, hot glued the letters & owl cut-outs and 20 minutes later I had a super cute, although rather busy, pennant banner to welcome my new pupils.

Easy-peezy-lemon-squeezy...! I think I'm going to use the owl ribbon to make lanyards for my howl (hall) passes :-)

Class Theme!

Soooo, I've decided that I'm going to get on the "cutesy classroom theme" train. I spent way too much money but I'm very excited about putting everything together in my new digs. After going back and forth at least 500 times, I left the teacher store with everything OWL! I am stealing a friend's idea and using the acronym O.W.L. as in Obsessed With Learning! Almost everything is turquoise...not sure how gender neutral that is, but oh well. In a perfect world, my kids will buy-in and become OBSESSED with everything Academic...so I guess the remainder of my posts will be from the owl's nest...here goes!

Tests...not the paper/pencil kind!

Soooo….my new position has been literally hanging by a thread!!! For the past couple of days, I thought I’d have to bite the bullet and head back to my old school. It wouldn’t be the most awful thing, but it wouldn’t be that awesome either, especially given my initial self aggrandizing ranting on this blog.

What happened? I’m so glad that you asked. It boiled down to my certificate not reflecting my ESL designation—the new district doesn’t hire anyone without it! For all these years, my teaching credential with the Texas Education Agency was listed incorrectly. To top it off, it took me two days on hold with countless clueless people only to end up resolving the issue in a matter of minutes. Oh, let me not neglect to tell you that I also had to fork over some cash.

It was a real lesson in patience…dealing with so-called customer service professionals almost brought me to tears, TWICE! I don’t know if that’s an indictment of the public education system or what, but I’m not going to explore that at the moment.

Nonetheless, I was able to order The Book Whisperer on Amazon during my two days of miserable despair, and even though it hasn’t arrived, I have absolutely no desire to read it or anything else. I just want to shop for my cute classroom, eat ice cream, and lounge at the pool for the next 47 or so days…sigh

Happy Independence Day…still in teacher mode!

So, today is July 4^th, I have plans to go to a BBQ/Swim Party, I’ve made tons of Jell-O shots, I’m going to pretend like I’m not supposed to be eating clean, and, best of all, I still have over a month of summer vacay to revel in…yet I’m still fixated on my new classroom. It really doesn’t help that the mascot (at the new school) is an Eagle and the colors are…wait for it…RED, WHITE, and BLUE! I’ve really been pondering décor and a classroom theme. Last year, my entire school had to do a “Lights, Camera, Action…Get Ready to Shine” theme and I went waaaay overboard, which is typical for me. And yes, the principal brought people to my room all the time to see how pretty it was. Never mind that I was an amazing teacher…I digress.

My point in posting today is to revisit my summer bucket list…and it goes a lil something like this (Hit It!):

1.       Eat clean…create an exercise routine (meh)

2.       Organize my closets

3.       Take a weekend trip by myself to a random place on the map (San Fran is looking really good for this!)

4.       Read books that have absolutely nothing to do with education

5.       Read “The Book Whisperer”

6.       Create a teacher blog and try to have at least 5 entries before quitting J

7.       Perfect the art of saying “NO!”

8.       Eliminate obsessing over being a perfect teacher

Happy 4^th y’all!

New Beginnings...FINALLY!

So I finally got a teaching job in another district! I’m ecstatic to say goodbye and overjoyed about my new opportunity. For several years I've been fortunate to have an illustrious teaching career in one of the most interesting neighborhoods in Fort Worth :-)
Interesting like...students coming to school with active scabies (ewww)...parents who sport blue hair (on purpose)...colleagues who utter things like BRUNG and AGREEANCE...precious children named Righteousness, Disney, and King Solomon...well, you get the picture. It was not a cake walk by far, but there was never, ever, EVER a dull moment.
It was somewhat simple to teach in a such a poor environment too. Before I continue, let me explain that I mean far more than financially poor. I mean poor in regard to overall quality...quality of life, education, standards, expectations, and schools. My colleagues will probably argue that most of us had our students' best interest at heart 100% of the time, but that's 100% false. And no, I can't speak for everyone, but I can speak for the environment I was immersed in.
Let me explain why I said it was simple...it was because expectations are low, I'm talking bottom of the ocean low! "Girl these kids can't learn that...they don't want to be here!" I often felt pity for young vibrant teachers (sometimes I was in that number) because their ideas were stifled and mocked by the veterans and even by the students themselves at times. Another thing was that when I or another teacher had innovative teaching methods, we became fodder for the entire learning community and people in suits start visiting our classrooms...the result being that you do less teaching and more "Dog and Pony Show" preparation. It was like energetic and engaging instruction was a novel idea.
I always tried to rise above the environment, but there were days when all I could do was survive. It's very uncomfortable when you’re trying to be productive in a black hole that has an insatiable appetite for your energy and creativity. Simply put, it has been way past the time for me to move on.
I'm not moving to Utopia ISD and I would never want to, but the pastures are greener and I'm already feeling refreshed. I feel my like my brain is no longer paused and my feet are no longer stuck in the mud.
To be completely fair, I have some colleagues who are great educators and who genuinely love learning and imparting that desire to children. Teaching is painstakingly important and tiring work, but it is so worth it when you see the light bulb turn on in just one of your students!