Suess-tacular!

Read Across America takes place in March, so our school decided to make a month of it. Parents and family members came to read on Fridays, I dressed up like the Cat in the Hat and my friends were Thing 1 and 2, and of course--we had a Door Decorating contest.

Now, my friend strung up yarn across her door and hung socks for Fox in Socks. Another one of my friends used pictures of her kids with Cat-in-the-Hat hats. Someone else recreated the cover of One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish. And another friend used tissue paper to make truffula trees for her Lorax class door.

Me? I stuck with Oh, The Places You'll Go. My students loved the read-aloud and had so much fun telling me all the things they wanted to be when they grew up. I copied from Pinterest and recreated the cover of the book on my own, then had my kids write their dreams on thought bubbles, which I attached to hot-air balloons (colored by students). I figured I'd leave it up all year, considering we only have 62 days until June 10. But since paper and matches can cause fires and my door is apparently very flammable, we had to take down all our doors today due to a fire inspection. So here, for your viewing pleasure, is my door. RIP Hard Work. 

Where I've Been

Finally, it came. Spring Break. I had a countdown on my phone just waiting, waiting for that bell to ring and send my kiddos to their parents for a whole entire WEEK. Except for the hacking and sniffling and general illness that apparently attacked me once I left the classroom, I was prepared to enjoy spring break. I planned out the weekend with The Boy and left the weekdays free in order to go shopping or do whatever I so chose--back at home, away from North Carolina. 

So. The first weekend, The Boy and I just stayed in with my family, watched the new Doctor Who, and celebrated Easter with eating many jellybeans and chocolate. 

The next few days I spent trying in vain to find a new pair of brown boots to replace the ones I have worn out in the classroom. Luckily, my mother is talented and a bit of dye REALLY makes them look new! Then on Thursday, The Boy came and took me to a wonderful place I remember from my childhood: The Newseum.

Hadn't been there since it moved and was re-done, so I didn't know quite what to expect. It was still very interesting and exciting, but most of it was kid-oriented and it had me thinking about my classroom and the field trips we take. We saw Suessical the Musical and are heading to a science museum next week, but nothing of the Newseum's magnitude is available where I am in rural NC. I wish I could take them to something like that, or a Smithsonian type museum. Wish. 

When we headed back to The Boy's home, something big happened. Something that has prevented me from blogging. The Boy became...The Fiance. He asked me to marry him! Now, it's all very thrilling and exciting and of course, when I returned to the classroom, none of my kids noticed the beautiful ring he picked out on his very own, but I personally enjoy seeing it sparkle--and thinking of him--whenever I'm up at the board or pointing to a book while with my guided reading groups.

Oh--and I celebrated my birthday. Another year older, another year wiser. My kids think I'm 108. I'm looking pretty good for my age, I think! We had brunch with my BEST friend (who I have known since elementary school) and her Boy. Fantastic weekend--very eventful, this the no blog posting. Also, The Fiance bought me jumbo marshmallows. They're amazing :-) Happy Tuesday!

PS. You should check out my best friend's blog: http://www.abutterballblog.blogspot.com/

Balance

Many teachers--at least in Teach for America--seem to say one of the biggest challenges to teaching is maintaining a balance between your teacher life and your home life. I've heard a lot of people say, "I couldn't do your job, I'd bring it all home with me." 

Working at a school where many of my children are living in poverty and may not have the best home life is difficult. I see my students struggling to keep it together during the school day because of a lack of sleep or lack of food. It makes you want to grab all your kids and give them one big hug because you don't know quite what else to do. While I do bring all those worries along home with me--as well as the paperwork--I have tried hard to maintain a balance between work life and home life. 

My best friend Linds and I would both come home last year and try NOT talking about school. It was a rule. No school talk. But we couldn't do it. Eventually, it comes back up somehow because teaching was a part of us. It was easier last year, I think, for me to maintain the balance between home and school because I had Lindsay in my life to come home to every day and talk, watch silly movies and TV shows, and just generally have a friend there for me. 

Since her unexpected death this September, I left our apartment and moved into a one-bedroom on my own. I've struggled to keep that happy-home part of me alive. It helps that I live in apartment complex with several teacher friends. We even carpool back and forth to school and I know, without them, I couldn't have made it through the challenges I've faced this year. But I need to make a change to help me be healthier instead of the couch-potato, TV watching, going to sleep at 9 teacher I've become.

A teacher friend of mine told me it takes 30 days to make or break a habit, so here it goes. I'm starting a 30 day challenge. Every day, for at least 20 minutes, I need to exercise. I can go running with friends, go over to the small gym and run on the treadmill, Just Dance or Zumba in my apartment. But I have to to it, every day, for 20 minutes. Here's to balancing the teacher life and my personal life :) I'll keep you updated.

Weekend Adventures

Most weekends, after being up on my feet teaching all week (seriously, has anyone worn a pedometer while teaching? It must be amazing how many steps we take...), I tend to stay inside, being a couch potato. Sometimes, it's justifiable. I'm exhausted--I sleep 12 hours a night on the weekends. I might be sick, so obviously, couch + snacks + juice is a perfect remedy. But a lot of times, I just really do not want to get up. 

This weekend, the living on the couch was definitely earned, but I tried to include some new things in my free time as well. 

Accomplishment #1: Peanut Butter Oatmeal
The Boy decided to make me breakfast on Saturday and said he could try something with peanut butter and oatmeal. Well, I love peanut butter anything, so he tried it out. The first time he mixed in the peanut butter and we tasted it...it was okay. But eventually, after a couple tries, we've come up with the perfect recipe for peanut butter oatmeal for two.

Materials:

1 cup Quaker Oats 

1 3/4 cup water

1 HEAPING tbsp of peanut butter

3 tbsp of sugar

1. Boil your water.

2. Stir in oats--let boil for 1 minute.

3. Stir in peanut butter.

4. Stir in sugar.

5. Let sit to cool.

6. ENJOY!!!!

Accomplishment #2: Pinterest Crazy Teacher Toolbox

I kept seeing it all over Pinterest and being extremely jealous of the crafty teachers out there with their beautiful teacher toolboxes. So I went on a hunt one night to find it. Kindergarten Smiles has this beautiful toolbox posting and basically, I followed exactly what she said.

The Boy and I went to Lowes and, after a nice long search, found the toolbox. It is definitely a lot smaller than I imagined. The exact toolbox has 22 drawers in it--they're called Stack On Drawers. But we brought it home, printed off the labels from Teachers Pay Teachers (TPT) on colorful cardstock, and glued a bit of ribbon at the top of each label. (Shout Out to The Boy who did the hot glue gunning himself--he's very proud!)

Those labels are FREE and customizable. Just download the font and it'll turn out just fine. We had to cut a tiny bit off the side of each one to make it fit in the front. We taped it in on the sides to keep the labels there. 

I haven't decided what color to spray paint the box yet, but later on in the spring, I'm thinking I'll paint it a nice pink color. I'd like to have my teacher friends sign the sides of it so when we leave at the end of the year, I'll have some memories to take with me. 

My only problem is that the yellow pencils my kids use do NOT fit in the drawer--a little too small for them. But my sharpie collection JUST makes it and I think it's super cute. I might keep this one for home and make one for school later on. It's very organized and now that I know how to do it, why not? In total, the price was about $20.00. 

All in all, it's been a very productive weekend. New recipes, lots of British TV shows, crafting, and lesson planning. With hot glue gun in hand, I feel like I can conquer the teacher craft world. :-)

Bringing Monsters to Life

Yesterday I got a fantastic surprise! The Boy showed up exactly as school let out, just after a huge graduate school interview. He'd hinted at coming, but at that time I had entirely forgotten about it. So there he was at the front door and my teacher friend says to me, "Look!".

(You must understand, The Boy lives SIX hours from where I work.)

That wasn't my only surprise. After frozen yogurt, he gave me an early birthday gift: a hot glue gun. I've been wanting one for a while, because all those cool Pinterest crafts seem to need one. So, of course, the first thing we did was make Greater Than and Less Than monsters.

One of the first grade common core objectives involves my students solving problems like:
1) 64 < 92
2) 86 = 86
3) 72 > 45

I saw these cute alligators on Pinterest to help kids remember to chomp the bigger number and I figured, I'd try it out. So here is our product... four little monsters for a math center. Happy Weekend!

Welcome and Hello!

Welcome to my blog! A little about me...I teach first grade in North Carolina through Teach for America. It's been a whirlwind of change for me over the past two years, but one thing has stayed the same. Since I first stepped foot in the classroom, I have loved teaching. It amazes me how much you can change a child's life in just one day. Think about the impact you can have in a year. 

But of course, I'm not just a teacher. It's so important to have a life outside your job, because teaching can consume you. It can become all you talk about, all you think about, and even what you dream about. I'm a crafter, a friend, a reader, a Doctor Who obsessor, a girlfriend...and a teacher.

These posts will include resources for teaching and stories from my classroom, but they will also include the happy moments outside school,  like exploring North Carolina, crafting up a scrapbook, or hanging out with my teaching friends.