Happy New Year!!!

Here is something cute on came across and had to post it. This is soooo true!

Merry Christmas!!

Love, Love, Love these guys!  Thanks to Reagan Tunstall we made these adorable snowmen for our parent's gifts. They turned out so adorable and the kids had fun making them.  I will definitely do them again next year. Thanks, Reagan for sharing the idea!!

It's Been A Long Time and For a Good Reason

So here is the good reason. I am completely done with my master's degree in reading education. I can't believe it. I have been teaching for 25 years and I always said I had no desire to get my master's. These 2 lovely ladies talked me into it and I am sooo glad they did. Now, on to more blogging and posting what is going on in my room. To start here are a few projects we did from some wonderful teacher blogs. I don't take any credit for creating these projects, just carrying them out with my firsties.

Today we made the Grinch from the Glyph Girls and I forgot to take the pictures of them. That will be on my list of many things to do tomorrow. We also have our Christmas program tomorrow night so a big day is planned for the kiddies tomorrow. I will have more posts to come in the next day or so.  Thanks for stopping by.  

Happy Thanksgiving!!

Awesome Adjectives And It's Almost Over!

Okay, I haven't been on my blog or anyone else's blogs for quite some time now. I do have a good excuse, I am nearing the end of grad school and this coming week I start my LAST class (can you tell I'm anxious to be done?) Teaching full time, going to school, and dealing with a senior who needs to complete college applications all at the same time is, needless to say, exhausting!  Graduation from grad school is on December 15th at 3:00, but who's keeping track?! I truly feel like I haven't been doing all the fun activities in my own class this school year that I've always done. Come January, look out first graders, we'll be so busy doing awesome lessons and projects.  I wanted to post these pictures of the adjective unit we did. The firsties really liked doing this one and I think they got the hang of adjectives. As soon as I have a few free minutes I'll post more. So, thanks for stopping by.

Awesome Bulletin Board for 911

Okay, as I was walking down the hallway in our upper grade wing I saw this wonderful bulletin board outside the sixth grade room. Each student wrote what it means to them to be an American. There comments were incredible. I just wanted to share this idea with all you awesome teachers out there in blog world.

Tomorrow night is our back to school night. After 25 years of teaching I still get nervous. My room is just about ready to go. I fournd some really cute projects to do for this night and have on display. However, I can't take the pictures because they all have the kiddies pictures on them and (like so many of you) I can't post their pictures on the web. Bummed!! My favorite project we made was the clothes pin magnet with their picture on it and a poem for displaying their work at home. Too cute! It's pinned on my Pinterest if you are interested. We also made fancy picture frames for a bulletin board and of course, their pictures are on them. As soon as I get some projects completed without pics I'll post them.

We are also back to grad school. I can finally see the end of the tunnel here. Graduation is December 15th, woo hoo!! It will be so nice to only worry about first grade and not writing papers or case studies. I'm so ready for this to be over, however, I am soooo glad I did it.

That's all that's going on around here. Hopefully I will have some more pics soon and thanks for stopping by.

Welcome Back Board

So, here is my board outside my classroom. I just love the owl  themes going on this year. I "borrowed" this idea from Erica Boerher. When I found this the owl at Kirkland's I had to get it and use is somehow and this is where he ended up. My classroom is ready to go for the kiddies. They will arrive on Wednesday for a half day and then full days from then on. Pray the heat doesn't come back like it was all summer. We've had beautiful weather the last week or two. Now I just have to decide which back to school activities I want to do since there are a ton of great ones out the on Pinterest and blogs. It would be nice to hear what your favorite back to school activity to do with your class is. Have a great weekend and thanks for stopping by.

Sneak Preview of 1st Grade

 Here is my reading corner, meeting area and calendar area. I just love how this turned out. The boxes sitting on the desks are their math boxes I give them. We use Saxon math and they store their flashcards and math crayons in them. Our school starts on the 22nd and on the 21st the kindergarten and first graders can come to school to bring their supplies and find their desks. Several years ago we started this and found that it is VERY helpful. It solves a lot of  "where do I put this?" problems and makes them more comfortable on the first day. You should try it if possible. Back to the math boxes. I'll put them in their desks after they leave on the 21st otherwise the firsties think they are their pencil cases and dump everything in it. It works easiest this way. The blue pocket chart in the back corner is for the classroom library check out. They will put the card that is in the book they want to check out in their pocket (I still have to get those). The kids love taking home class books and I have yet to have a problem with them returning the books. They can only  have one book out at a time. Our school library books are sooooo old (we are a catholic school) that's why I let them take our class books home.

 This is our guided reading corner and small group corner. My class aide also sits here (if she is sitting, not too often). The clear box sitting on the chair still has to be sorted out, my job for Monday. The 6 and 7 on the shade will have their pictures. The sign says, How Old Are You? The kids love this. On their birthdays this is the first thing they want to do when they walk in, switch their picture over to the 7. This year I am going to take their pictures according to their birthday months and post the pictures by the birthday cupcakes. I saw that on Pinterest and thought it was so cute.

 I love these stools. Last year we made the small ones, which I recovered this summer and this summer we made the larger ones for the guided reading table. I just hope they aren't too low when the kiddies sit down.

 Does anyone use these chair socks? Our floors are unbelievably shiny and after about two weeks of the kids dragging the chairs in and out the wax is all worn off. So this was my big purchase this summer. I bought 20 sets. Now the chairs are so quiet and slide beautifully. I will tell you thought, it's the first thing you notice when you walk into the room. Some of the teachers thought I was crazy but I'll have the shiniest floors in the building. (lol!)

I'll have more pictures next week. I forgot to to take a pic of my bucket fillers. Now on to another project, taking my daughter back to school tomorrow. I dread packing the van and unpacking. At least this year she is not in a dorm without an elevator and the weather couldn't be any nicer, 78degrees and no humidity. Be sure to check back and have a great weekend.

It's Heeerrre!!

School that is. This is my last official week off of school. However, most of us will be in this week to put the rooms back in order. The kiddies come on the 22nd but we start with a week of meetings on the 15th. I'm anxious to start but am really worried about the heat. We DON'T have air conditioning and as many of you may know we have had a summer of high 90's. I don't do heat well when it's been several days in a row.
So, pray for some cooler weather for the windy city! Other than that I have been working on projects from all the awesome blogs and Pinterest. As soon as I get the room together I will post pics. I love checking out other teachers classrooms for great ideas. Now on to more creating and blog hopping!!

The Color Run

Before the run. Look how white we all were.

After the run (walk). We were a fun mess!

Have you heard of the Color Run? Well, it's the newest 5K run out there. We just did it in Ypsilinti, Michigan last weekend . It was on the campus of Eastern Michigan near Ann Arbor. Anyway, it's a 5K run with the proceeds going to the local food pantries and homeless shelters. The proceeds go to different causes in each city. Chicago had one in June and the proceeds went to the new Laurie Children's Hospital. So the money is put to good use. This is how it works. Everyone (15,000 people) starts off in their cleanest white clothes. As you run along the volunteers spray you with a colorful powder at certain points. Sounds silly but it was a blast. By the time you are fininshed you looked like a rainbow of colors. Some of us got colored more than others. The goal was to get as colorful as you can. The powder washes right off and can't hurt in any way. It really was a great day. If you are interested in it they do these runs all over the country but you need to sign up on line immediately because they fill up within minutes of open registration. That is why we did it in Michigan. We missed the Chicago sign up.

We did the walk with some of my nephews and nieces and my daughter and her friends as well as my brother and his wife. I you look closely in the last picture you can see the powder clouds in the background .We are looking forward to doing this again next year.

Now off to do some much needed school work. I haven't touched anything for school this summer and I know it's coming fast. Today I am determined to recover my little seats I made from milkcrates for last school year. I'm don't know about you but mine got really dirty throughout the year. Thanks for stopping by and have a great day!

At the Lake

What a beautiful day on Lake Michigan!

Just Fun Pics!

So, our 4th of July village fireworks show was, once again, a blast (no pun intended). My daughter made these shirts after she saw them on Pinterest. They turned out so cute. My son thought he was funny by wearing the sample shirt and of course he wouldn't be seen in public with it on. In my opinion, he looked kind of cute with it on. He had it on long enough for a few pictures and then he was out of here. Even Bruno, our dog, was ready for the show. I will say it was HOT! 100 degrees here in Chicago is unusual and we had several days in a row in the low 100's. I'm not a heat person so I felt like I was a prisoner in my own house in the middle of summer. That usually happens in the middle of January around here. By the way, has anyone been to Costco lately? They have a laminator with 100 sheets of film for only $20. That's cheaper than buying a package of refills from Target. Needless to say I had to purchase 2 of them (I already have one). One for school and one for my daughter who goes away to school. If you don't have a laminator you should really get one. It's a lifesaver when you are at home and really need it. Now I'm off to my pinning! Thanks for stopping by.

Shout Out!!

A shout out goes to Traci over at Dragonflies in 1st for helping me with my header. I so appreciate it. On to the 4th of July. Our town is having their 4th of July parade and fireworks tomorrow, the 3rd. The good thing is the fireworks are set off right across the street from my house, so we have a ton of people sitting on our lawn watching. It's so much fun and we love the front row seats. The bad thing is that it is supposed to be 98 degrees tomorrow and I don't do heat well. So I'm not sure I am looking forward to it or not. (I'm tending towards not ). Anyway, I hope everyone has a great 4th and stay cool!!

Help Wanted!

I'm really hoping that someone out there can help me. I just can't seem to get my blog name in the hearder. I have been working on this for several hours and am ready to give up. I thought maybe someone would know and will be able to help me. So if I don't have a name on this blog for a few days it's because I am working on it. I know eventually I'll get it.
Thanks for any help I can get.

Thank You Cards

Okay, so I started out as a scrapbooker and then moved on to card making (that is, until I discovered teacher blogs). I haven't made cards in so long. Therefore, I decided to make thank you cards for my kiddies. You see, I always get a ton of wonderful gifts throughout the school year and the last day of school is no exception. Teaching in a catholic school does have its perks. These are the thank you cards I made for the kids. They turned out so cute, if you ask me. Today they were signed, sealed and delivered. Another item off my to do list.
I hope everyone is staying cool out there. Here in Chicago it is 101 degrees with a heat index of 112. I'm sure that may be normal for all the folks in Texas and other parts of the U.S. but in Chicago that is very hot. We are melting here. Anyway, stay cool and thanks for stopping by.

Bargain of the Day!

Well, I know school just got out but I am always on the hunt for cool, bargains for the kiddies. I found these clipboards at the store Deals. They were only $1 so I had to grab a bunch. I do have a set of clipboards in the room for when the kids are at centers or are reading the room but of course I don't have enough for everyone. These are so cute I couldn't pass them up. So if you have a Deals any where near by you might want to grab some now before they are gone.

If anyone sees any great deals out there please be sure to pass the info on. I'm sure all the wonderful teachers would appreciate it. Now off to my last grad class tonight and maybe even a few drinks afterwards.  Thanks for stopping by!!

Summer is FINALLY Here!

I feel like it has been years since I've been on my blog and all othe wonderful blogs. I just finished my last HUGE project for grad school and I'm not even going to look in my grad school bag until August 27th. Woo Hoo!! We had a ton of things going on the last month of school. I was sad to see my kiddies go but look forward to a new "batch" coming in. I do have ten of them over the summer for a first grade bookclub. I have 10 of my top readers and we meet at the library once a week for an hour. We are reading The Chalk Box Kid and Choloate Fever. They love it (and so do the parents).  Anyway, on to more blogging. These are just a few of the awesome bulletin boards my daughter made for 3 of our classrooms.  Gotta love the cricut machine. Thanks for stopping by.

I am Still Alive!

 This is what we have been doing. We hatched a dozen eggs. The kids are soooo excited and I am more than ready to send them to the farm.They hatched last Tuesday so a week with them is more than enough. Don't get me wrong, They are so cute but I can't handle the smell at this point. The farmer is going to pick them up in the morning. The kids are bummed but they understand that the chickens can't live in a fish tank . We love doing this project every year. It's so easy. So, if you ever get the chance give it a try.

I found this cute project on Pinterest and I'm sorry but I can't remember where. Among all this excitement in our class I have been working like a crazy woman on writing reading case studies for our master's class. After turning in the project I don't ever want to see another case study. This is just crazy. Class ends this week, just on time to start the next one that goes through the end of June.  Anyway, thanks for stopping by and hopefully I'll have more to post soon.
Happy May Everyone!!

Plants

We like to hang out our dirty laundry! Not really. I saw this cool idea on Pinterest. We planted seeds in the fingers of the rubber gloves. First we soaked a cotton ball in water, put it in the fingers of the gloves and added seeds to it. After 3 days we already have sprouts. The kids are so excited to see their seeds sprouting. Last year we put bean seeds in a wet papertowel in a baggie and hung them in the windows. Bad idea! They either turned into mush or dried out too fast. This year it's working out much better. You should try it out. 

This is a favorite of all the kids. I put seeds in the cupcake tin and the kids have to guess what will grow from each seed. Right away they think they know them all but surprise, surprise! Many don't know their seeds. We have fun with this activity. 

This board turned out so cute. The kids painted their handprint four times to make the flowers. It was messy but cute!

Thanks for stopping by. Now I'm back to writing 3 papers this weekend along with report cards. Enjoy!!

The Eagles Have Landed!

Ok, I know I haven't been posting lately. I haven't had a minute to breathe around here. Whoever said going back to school for a masters was going to be easy? The work isn't hard, it's the amount of work that is driving me crazy. I haven't been in school since I graduated in 1985 ( I know, I'm old) and this work is for the birds!  Anyway, have you checked out the eagles from Decorah, Iowa? The are sitting on their eggs and the eggs should be hatching soon. My class is facinated with them. You should really check them out.  Here is the link   http://soaringcafe.com/2011/03/decorah-eagles-livecam/.  You can also check out the eagles at Alcoa http://www.alcoa.com/locations/usa_davenport/en/info_page/eaglecam.asp  These eggs have hatched
already.  Anyway, I hope you are having awesome weather like we are here in Chicago, middle 80's in March, Unbelievable!!

Happy Birthday, Dr. Seuss!



What a week we had at school. We did several Dr. Seuss activities and the kids loved it (so did I)! The fish was a glyph from the Glyph Girls, however, I find it easier not to do it as a glyph. Sometimes the kids just don't get the glyph. So we tweeked it a little and they turned out cute. Our other favorite was the Lorax. Since the movie was coming out we decided to make this guy. I found him from Elizabeth at Miss Delk's blog. She has some awesome Dr. Seuss things on her tpt. Sorry about the Dr. Seuss bulletin board being such a bad picture. The sun is always on that corner of the room. Next week I am still going to do some more Dr. Seuss things, there is so much stuff to do.

Besides all this going on we had some really bad news at school. Our principal's 25 year old daughter passed away. She had been very sick. Thank goodness we are a catholic school, the prayers were going all week. Next week is going to be a tuff one too, with the funeral. Hopefully things will calm down soon.  Anyway, thanks for stopping by.