'Twas the Day Before School

I got the chance to meet my new class last night - I always LOVE the first time I get to put faces with names - but it is SO overwhelming.  Every single year feels like a whirlwind and before I know it, I'm sitting at my desk in my quiet room feeling awful that I didn't have more of a chance to meet and get to know the kids and their parents.  But, such is the schedule of Stash & Dash...it's fast and intended for them to just drop in, meet me, and drop off their supplies.  I work in a really fantastic district where parental support is abundant and I feel SO blessed.  This is going to be a great year.

I did take a few pictures of my room finished so I could share it with all of you.  :)

This is the door to my classroom.  I love, love, love the poster that's on that door.  The biggest life lesson I want my kids to leave 5th grade with is that they absolutely can change the world.

This is the view of my classroom from the front.

This is the new and improved reading corner.  Posters and a rug made a HUGE difference - I really love it, I can't wait to sit there and read to them every day.  :)

 Now that the physical space of my classroom is set up, I was able to sit at my desk today and really plan for the week's activities.  While the OCD side of me loves organizing and setting up my room, my favorite part of my job {and the real reason I'm there} is planning and interacting with my kids!  :)

I have to admit, on today - the day before school starts - I'm nervous.  The magnitude of the responsibility I feel is enormous.  25 lives are entrusted to me and whether I am one of their best or worst teachers, I am still responsible for changing them in big ways.  I want them to always look back on 5th grade and smile thinking about the fun we had and the things we learned together.  And the selfish part of me (or anyone I'd guess) wants my fifth-sters to like me.

So, here we go!  The 2013-2014 school year begins tomorrow and I couldn't be more excited!  :)

Classroom Project Progress

Happy August, friends.  August is the month of back-to-school here in Iowa, so here's a little re-cap of the progress made in my home away from home - Room 91.

Earlier this week I spent another day in my classroom checking things off my master to-do list.  We go back to work one week from today for a few in-services before students join us on the 14th.  With each project I complete, I get more excited to have my new fifth-sters in my room - I hope they will enjoy being in this room as much as I do!  :)

I have really enjoyed making as much as I can for my room rather than buying everything or handwriting all of my labels - I'm by no means an expert, but I am liking the way it's turning out.

This is on my front white board.  When there is work time in my room, I will put up the cards of approved activities for them to work on when they are finished with the assigned task.  So far I only have 8 tasks, but I like that I can make more if I need to!  So easy, insert a square shape on a word or powerpoint document, insert your text box, clipart if you want it - print in color, cut out, back on card stock, laminate and slap a magnet on the back = EASY PEASY.  :)

Last summer I decided to make the switch to fabric on my bulletin boards - hello, best decision of my life.  {Kevin says I exaggerate, I have no idea what he's talking about...} Anyway, I really have loved the dark fabric with bright colors.  It makes everything pop.  I also feel really lucky to have one accent wall in my room - all classrooms in our building have one wall that is painted a color (green, yellow, orange, purple, or blue) - it really adds a lot to the room. 

This is my side whiteboard and it has housed 3 different things during the 3 years I've been in this classroom - but I think the 3rd one is the charm.  I basically re-created a big page out of my kid's planners - each section is a different subject and we will fill out our "planners" together as the day goes on.  I'm hopeful that this will allow for accountability for the kids and we will be able to scaffold throughout the year so they will be able to do this with increasing independence by the end of the year so they will be ready for 6th grade {and life!}

I found this on a blog or something a long time ago and I wish I knew where so I could give them credit.  I changed it up a bit so it fit the language we use in our classroom and then made it in my classroom colors.  I uploaded it to Vistaprint {LOVE} and it came in the mail a week later.  It hangs in the back of my room and serves as a reminder to the kids, but more importantly to me - I need reminders that we do a LOT more than just learn to read and do math from time to time.  :)

This is my back table and our mail station.  It's not a great picture, but here we go: the mailboxes are shoe organizers from Target.  They were expensive {$25 each maybe?} however I bought them my first year teaching, I use them every single day, and they're still going strong - so they were definitely worth the money in my opinion.  My philosophy with most things - but my classroom specifically - is to be as frugal as possible and only splurge on things you are confident will last for a LONG time and be used frequently.  You can see two of my labels on the wall pointing down to the two baskets - one is the "in basket" which is where kids turn in notes to me, office, etc.  One is the "outgoing mail" basket.  I put corrected papers or anything that needs to go home in there and then whoever has a moment (a kid done with work, a para-educator in my room or myself) just puts the papers in each student's numbered mailbox.  It works for me.  On the side of the table are two other baskets (one is for turned in homework and the bottom is for missing homework forms) and then a basket of highlighters because my kids have to highlight their name on all assignments prior to turning them in.

Each Friday my students have Responsibility Recess for the last 15 minutes of school.  It is a privilege and not a right, which serves as a nice little piece of bribery throughout the week.  Students lose Responsibility Recess for not turning in work on time or making inappropriate choices repeatedly throughout the week.  I am admittedly terrible at remembering who has lost Responsibility Recess throughout the week and I needed something to help me out.  *Enter this little gem.*  Each student has a number (lovingly created and cut out by my friend Allie - she's AMAZE-BALLS) - when they lose their RR, their number (which is a magnet) will be taken off and put on the back.  One look at this frame and I will know immediately who owes me time during Responsibility Recess.  Problem Solved.  Awesome.

This corner is in serious need of a little TLC, but I took the picture to show you another splurge I made for my room.  That lamp is excellent.  It matches the colors of my room perfectly and is exactly what I've been looking for.  I spend a lot of time with my kids around this space whether it's teaching mini-lessons, reading aloud to them, or having class meetings so I wanted it to be cozy and fun.  I'm going to move that poster up a bit so it's not blocked and then I have a few other posters to put up in the blank space above the table.  I'll have to take an "after" shot.  Because probably nobody but me cares - but whatever.  :)

Alright, I think that's it for today.  I'm off to spend more fun time with Sam, Maicey & Kaitlyn today.  I hope you all have an amazing day!

Summer Weather is Here and My Classroom is in Progress

It has been ridiculously hot this week here in Iowa.  I know, I know...I complained about the weather a few short weeks ago because I wanted summer, but is there no in between from cloudy and cold to sunny and unbearable?!  Evidently not.

This week has gone by really quickly - between having my sweet nephew and niece here for a few days, getting our dance team ready for camp next week, and beginning work in my classroom - I can't believe it's already Friday!  

I had a little reality check earlier this week when I looked at my calendar closely.  Students will be in my classroom in less than 4 weeks.  {Lets take a moment to take a deep breath and let that set in...}  I will be gone most of next week and the week before school starts we have teacher meetings - which leaves me essentially a week and a half.  WHAT?!  Sooooo...I spent about 8 solid hours in my room on Wednesday.  I even enlisted the help of my 12-year-old step daughter Kaitlyn.  When I left that night, I at least felt like I could reasonably be prepared for school to start...that makes me a lot relieved.

Behold the progress that was made:

This is how the room started.  View from my desk.  Note the computers all bagged up, the desks in disarray, above my cabinet full of who knows what.   

View from the back of my room.  It doesn't look bad in this picture, but it was not good. 

This is what the desks looked like.  Construction dust was EVERYWHERE.  All of them had to be re-cleaned.  Not a huge deal...but certainly time consuming. 

A bit of progress.  Desks re-arranged.  Small group table in a more appropriate spot than smack dab in the middle of the front of my room.

More progress.  Computers un-bagged and plugged in {Thank you, Kaitlyn!}, top of cabinets making progress, desks in final arrangement.  Looking more like a classroom.    :)

My not-so-little helper.  She was SO much help yesterday.  Crawling on the floor, vacuuming, hanging letters on my wall, moving furniture.  I could've never gotten as much done without her.

This is how I organize my bulletin board letters.  In a recipe box with alphabetic dividers.  The hot mess you see sprawled on the desk would be the miscellaneous characters - numbers, punctuation, etc.  That mess is now located in a large ziplock baggie.  That's going to need a little attention at some point.  I dislike having to search for things...it makes my OCD brain uncomfortable.  :)

The finished product of the word wall.  This wall gets filled with reading strategy anchor charts throughout the year.  And who doesn't love Dr. Seuss?  

 Anyway, that's all for today.  I'll show more classroom pictures once it's all done.

Have a wonderful weekend, Friends -

My daily calendar

I have a calendar at work filled with inspirational quotes to live by.  It is one of my favorite parts of the morning when I get to flip it and see what today's message will be. 

Today's is absolutely perfect for this season of my life.  It says:

"Far and away the best prize that life has to offer is the chance to work hard at work worth doing."

-Theodore Roosevelt

Work worth doing is something I've thought a lot about lately.  What does that really mean?  How do you define your worth or the worth of your work?  I think that largely depends on the line of work you're in.  I don't know many people who say "my job is worthless", nor can I think of many jobs which I would consider worthless. 

But because I'm a teacher, I'm going to talk about the worth of my job today.  I really believe with my entire soul that my job is far and away the greatest job on Earth.  It doesn't come without struggle or frustration, but at the end of the day - teachers are the epitome of working for the greater good in my opinion.  Can you name one teacher who has entered the profession for any other reason than because they enjoy kids and want to make a difference?  I've thought a lot about it, and I can't think of one. 

Are there "bad" teachers?  Sure, just the same as there are "bad" actors, "bad" musicians, "bad" cooks, "bad" doctors, "bad" police officers, and "bad" news reporters.  Every profession has their less than great members, so why is it that we as a country are so overly critical of bad teachers?  I find it hilarious when people argue about the importance of people's jobs. {because it really doesn't matter}  "Police are the most important jobs in our community", "No, it's the firemen and women", "no it's the teachers" - Well, ladies and gentleman (all 3 of you reading...) - I guess I would argue that the importance of a profession could be measured by how critical people are when it's not being done well.  I rarely see a person complaining about a police officer who is not doing their job, or a garbage collector who leaves the can tipped over in the street or with some garbage left in it, or the journalist who doesn't cover the entire story, or a doctor who misses a diagnosis or is less than friendly to his/her patient - but when there is a bad teacher, look out - everyone has something to say.  I personally, take that as a compliment because I go to work everyday and do the very best job I can do.  When people are critical of teachers though, it's difficult not to be defensive of my fellow colleagues.

Does this job have benefits?  Sure, but it (like any job) also has it's bumps.  Summers off are nice - except that usually I'm working another job to pay the bills or in my classroom getting ready for the next school year.  Our salary is nice - except by the standards of our country it pales in comparison to other professions.  Working 8-4 as a contract day is great - but to be honest, I can't tell you the last day those were really the hours I actually worked, usually coming early, staying late, and taking home work. Working with kids all day is awesome - except that I spend more than 1/2 my day doing things that 50 years ago were done at home {teaching middle names, phone numbers, manners, appropriate responses, anger management, etc} Our benefit and pension package are great - and what are people attacking right now - the only free and clear, no questions asked tangible benefit of teaching.

But here is the bottom line, every single day teachers in this country put all the political crap aside and go back to work in hopes of making a difference.  As Ralph Waldo Emerson says:

"To laugh often and much; To win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children; To earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends; To appreciate beauty, to find the best in others; To leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch, or a redeemed social condition; To know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is to have succeeded."

And so today, I will go to work and work hard at my work that is unquestionably worth doing. 

Have a happy day, Friends :)

Weekend in Review

Well this weekend was for the majority, spent at a dance competition.  I really loved spending time with my most favorite people. 

My life has always been hectic.  In high school I was at the studio 3-4 nights per week, was a varsity cheerleader, worked a job at a local ice cream shop, had a steady boyfriend, spent lots of quality time with my immediate and extended family, and got good grades through it all.  In college I kept the same pace and after graduation, I just kept going even though I got a full-time job and enrolled in graduate work - I just kept teaching at the studio and coaching a dance team.  It really wasn't a big deal to me, I was single and spending time with the people I cared about at the studio and my dance team was fun.

In the past few years as I met Hubs and began getting serious, I began viewing my extra jobs as a burden.  I wanted to spend time with him, I wanted to relax when I got home from work, I wanted to make dinner like a normal human being.  Now don't get me wrong, I had fun every single time once I got there - but very often I didn't want to go to start with.  I would come home from work and just cry because I was so mentally and emotionally exhausted and just didn't want to go work for another 2-5 hours (depending on the night). 

This weekend, my love was reignited.  I was reminded why I love my job at the studio.  My job at the studio is very often with beginning or intermediate dancers.  I feel like just when they're getting good, they get taken away from me because they get moved up to advanced or elite.  It just seems like a vicious wheel that never ends for me.  But this weekend, I sat watching many of my current and former students shine on stage and was reminded, that it is the purpose of my work ~ to make them excellent and then move them on to become better.  While I may not have a direct hand in their dance instruction today, they wouldn't be where they are without the foundation I {along with many other amazing faculty at the studio} laid for their current teachers. 

In addition to being in awe of my students, I genuinely laughed alot at the other staff.  Seriously, I am so blessed to work with my best friends and get to spend the entire weekend with them doing what we love.  I laughed harder than I have in a long, long time this weekend and it felt good.

So, as I prepare to begin another week, I simply take a deep breath in and count my many blessings.  Seriously, I get paid to do some of the best work ever.  :)

A much needed trip

Well Blog friends,

I am headed to sunny Orlando, FL for a much needed break from this horrible winter weather!  My dance team is headed to Nationals at Walt Disney World and I couldn't be more excited!  The girls have been fretting about how they would get there considering the blizzard of the century hit the entire Midwest, but alas - they are in Chicago right now and their flight to Orlando appears to be on time.  I am working today and heading to the airport in about 15 minutes to fly down and meet them.

I don't have pictures on this computer, but will be sure to upload when I get home.  Yesterday on my snow day I finished my classroom organization project, got most of the way done with my Home Management Binder, and got all caught up on my Scentsy business.  What a productive day that was!

I will be out of Blogworld until Monday at the earliest, but will be able to check other people's blogs from my phone!  I will get you all updated when I return early next week.

Happy Weekend everyone!  :)

Home Sweet....

Home.  CLASSROOM.  :)

I spent the entire day in my classroom attempting to get things in order for the fast approaching beginning of the school year.  I cannot believe how quickly this summer has gone!  I think after 7 hours in my room, Kaitlyn working like a set of twins on the to-do list I made for her (she LOVES helping me!), and me crossing things off left and right - I think I'm close to ready.  Here is a photo tour.  Enjoy :)

The door to my classroom.  *smile*

View from the door.

Small group table

View from back by the small group area

My new Daily 5 Cafe board.  I am irrationally excited about it....

View from the other corner of my room towards the front

My desk area

View of the entire room from my desk

I cannot believe in one short week I will be back at work and just a few days later, my students will be filling those blue chairs!!  Wow.  :)

....check!

As many of you may or may not know, my sister and I coach a high school dance team here in our hometown. Actually, we started this dance team at our alma mater Pleasant Valley a few years after we graduated and it has been SO much fun to watch it grow into the amazing program that it is. I very much enjoy my time with the team and it has provided me an outlet besides the studio for my passion for dance.

This year, our team has helped me check another item off my "things to do before I die" list. This list was created in my head when I was in high school and has evolved and changed as my life has changed and I grow older and dream bigger dreams. This year, at only their 4th appearance at the Iowa State Dance and Drill Team competition...WE WON!! We are the Class 5 State Champions in jazz!!! It has been 4 days and I still get goosebumps when I type those words.

I will never, in all my life, forget the looks on their faces. I will never forget the sound of them screaming and shrieking. I will never forget them diving over eachother to hug eachother and us. I will never forget the days following when they were completely satisfied - everything they had worked for, we had. Being a dance team, it is not often we get alot of attention in our school. It was SO heartwarming to hear all the positive comments and read the congratulations emails from teachers and building/district administration. It's so amazing to watch the girls be commended for all their hard work and dedication, even before anyone was watching them.

I am both humbled and honored to be able to be a part of such an amazing and life-altering experience in their lives. And as a self-proclaimed, type A, list maker....I am LOVING that I can cross another thing off my life-long list!!

A new perspective...

So yesterday I was teaching math and one of my students was really struggling. The concept was adding zero's to find larger numbers (7x6, 70x6, 700x6, etc). Student L simply could not figure out what 7x6 was to begin with, much less the adding zero's part - so I made a suggestion I make daily during math. I said, "why don't you try to draw a picture". What I meant was, make an illustration that will help you to find the answer...draw 6 groups of 7 people, or draw 6 rows of 7 dots, or something to that effect. I made the suggestion, and continued pacing my classroom to observe other students.

I circled back to Student L only to find a rabbit, big as life, right there on his paper. I said, "um, what might that be?" He looked at me with such a blank expression and replied to me like I was the biggest moron on the planet, "it's a rabbit Miss D". I took a deep breath and explained to him that I meant to draw a picture to help him solve the problem and started such a picture for him to finish.

Lesson learned: say what you mean and mean what you say. Especially when it comes to math and rabbits.

How's your mom?

So last week, I received an email from a student's mother. It essentially informed me that she would be having surgery and would not be at home for the next couple of days and requested that I give her student a little extra attention if necessary. (As a teacher, I always appreciate these little heads up's)

So, the next morning, I am very proud of myself for remembering, and ask the student "How's mom?" He says,with a completely serious face, "Oh, she's fine. She just had to have her baby maker taken out".

Honestly. I couldn't even find the words to respond to that, nor could I muster up the ability to not crack a grin. It was so adorable and yet so inappropriate all at the same time. Just goes to show you, you should always be careful how much information to share with your children, because they will ALWAYS repeat it to the exact people you don't want them to.

Have a terrific Tuesday! :)

A little gem from school this week...

Student A chews up a piece of chicken from school lunch and decides it would be a funny idea to place said chicken in Student B's hair. Student B flicks it out of his hair onto the floor. Student A naturally picks the chicken up off the floor and places it back into his mouth, chews it up some more, and places it in Student C's hair. Student C freaks out, flicks the chicken out of his hair and immediately reports the situation to me. I stare at Student A in disbelief and inform him how completely revolting his behavior is to me. To which he responds, "Can you just kick me out of here yet?"

Student A, you are awesome. You increase my patience and my dependence on prayer to get through the day.

And that, Ladies and Gentlemen, is why I LOVE MY JOB.