Marching Onward!

Out of no where, March appeared.  It's gearing up to be a busy month.  It's the fifth and I've already crammed a lot in.

First, we conquered {Reading Week}.  5 spirit days, 2 assemblies, 1 guest reader, 1 field trip, 3 lunches outside, and lots of reading time.  As a school, we also hosted a book drive to collect books for Spread the Word Nevada, a nonprofit.  We collected almost 2,500 gently used books in a week.  (100 of them are from my class!)

We also received our first box of new books from our {Donors Choose} project.  We made thank you cards for our donors and dived into reading.  Look how cute they are!

Second, fifth grade was in charge of First Friday treats.  Each grade level has an assigned month and we bring in treats for the rest of the teachers.  

I went to Costco for several dozen pastries, but picked up fruit and juice as well.  We put down butcher paper (it makes for easy clean up) and I raided Sunshine's closet for some decor.  (One of the perks of being co-chair is that I can borrow decorations whenever I need as long as I bring them back in a timely manner!)

I bought a little too much food (I went to Costco hungry), but still came out pretty close to our budget.  We split the cost between the five fifth grade teachers, so it was only $12 each.  Considering all the teachers (plus some substitutes) had happy tummies, I call this a win.  We're also off the hook for 11 months.

Third, I'm sick of this being my weekend:

So I made a change. I've stopped working from home and on the weekends. Yes, I'll continue to work on materials for Teachers Pay Teachers (because it doesn't feel like work). But unless it's a special occasion (report card comments), this work stays at work.  

I'm reclaiming my nights and weekends.  If I'm at work from 7-5 each day, that's enough. That's 3 hours unpaid work every day.  It's still not enough time to get everything accomplished, which is beyond frustrating (but also the life of a teacher).  Nights and weekends are for things that fuel my soul: couple time, pet time, friend time, family time, and/or nap time.  A week in, it's going fairly well.

Fourth, I'm making slow and steady progress through Love and Logic.  My goal of a book a month isn't quite on track, but January's book was nearly 500 pages (and this one is 300), and I'm taking copious amounts of notes, so it's okay.  

Up next? A book for Battle of the Books, then perhaps another teacher book.  I've had a few recommended during trainings, so my  Amazon cart keeps getting new additions.  (I'm saving receipts because it's tax deductable.)

This month also brings an in home party for Lularoe and Lipstains (co-hosted with our school's librarian), a quasi-bachelorette party, traveling to Anaheim for a conference, a GATE training, and preparing for two showers at work in April (a wedding shower and a baby shower).  We also have the SBAC (standardized testing) starting soon, and with that means a pep assembly...and assembling 200 green troll headbands.

We'll also be having our new cabinets dropped off.  We had custom built ins assembled, but I'll be staining them myself (so not only will they match the other cabinets I stained, we'll save a little in the process).  Our next home improvement project is replacing the flooring in the bathroom and doing the backyard.  We hope to have both completed by December.

Keep Calm and Read On

I'm spending as much time as possible relaxing today in preparation for reading week.

For those not in Elementary, it's a rather chaotic week that requires a lot of caffeine and patience.  

For starters, it's a spirit week all week.  While I love dress up days, they are often accompanied by additional quirky student behaviors (which when combined with spring fever, leads to lots of head aches and write ups).

Monday: Crazy Hair Day
Tuesday: Oh the Places You'll Go! (College shirts day)
Wednesday: Wacky Wednesday, full of mismatched ensembles
Thursday: Dr. Seuss day, it's time to find a tutu.
Friday: I forget the technical theme, but it's pajamas.  Enough said!

 We also have two assemblies, one on Monday and one on Tuesday.  I also have two guest readers on Thursday, one of them being my boss's boss.  No pressure there!  There's a school wide reading competition for the highest percentage on AR tests, book bingo, drop everything and read, buddy reading with other classes, a story writing contest (by pod), and read around the pod (where we visit other classrooms).

Oh, and we're taking a field trip on Tuesday.

In addition to all of that, I have Battle of the Books, new teacher meetings, a post observation conference, a grade level meeting to plan the pep assembly skits, and fifth grade is responsible for First Friday treats (which means a Costco run on Thursday).

Oh yeah, I'll also be teaching. 

Sigh.  It's time for a nap.

Everything else

Yesterday I {shared all about Reading Week}.   I was exhausted. I still am exhausted.

Let's examine why:

1) The students have spring fever, big time.  This need for a break manifests itself in lots of interesting ways.  This week I dealt with theft (including the school police), citations, suspensions, bullying issues, depressed students, parents, vomiting, and more.  Some days, I taught from the doorway of my classroom, privately solving behavior problems in the pod while simultaneously trying to teach multiplying fractions.  I'm the queen of multi-tasking y'all.

2) I overheard a horrific car accident while at the gas station Tuesday morning.  Six cars were involved, I think a pedestrian was hit, and crunching metal is a sound I never want to hear again.  I called the police and waited for ambulances to arrive.  I got to work thirty minutes later than I planned to and just in time for a meeting I'd forgotten about.  I had fifteen minutes between the meeting and crosswalk duty to turn on my computer and set up for the day. Tuesday morning was rough.

3) The pets were naughty.  Last week went amazing with Waffles.  She didn't get into anything when we let her roam during the day.  This week was a different story.

Monday she helped herself to some files:

Including her adoption paperwork.  I guess she's ours forever.

Tuesday included altering a dining room table chair:

At least it's an old chair? 

She's just one this month, so she's not quite ready for all that freedom.  She didn't do it to be  mean. She did it because she missed us, was lonely, and I'm sure the cats were playing without her. We'll try again in a few months.

Crooksie snuck into the pantry, ripped open a bag of dog food, and helped herself to extra food.  She's not enjoying the kitty diet very much.

4) Grad School.  I'm taking a one credit course right now and assignments are due every few days.  Between now and May, I'm finishing up course work to be at masters +32 (yay) and earn a pay raise (maybe? That's still being negotiated.)

Wednesday night I spent writing a four page analysis of the text complexity of the chosen article.  I had to watch videos, read thirty something pages, and address all sorts of questions regarding the validity of the article and if it would be appropriate for close reads and thoughtful discussion by students.  Long story short, it was appropriate.  

The topic?  Dino poop.  Snag it {here} fellow teachers! It comes from the 4-5 tool kit and is free for classroom use.

5)  In addition to all the prep for reading week, we had Harney Middle School registration.  This meant we lost our prep on Thursday, but were given prep during the assembly later that day.

6) I was observed for math.  Not only was it the fourth time rescheduling (our principal is a very busy woman!), but it was after an assembly, at the end of the day (we normally do math first thing), on a Thursday, during reading week.  Naturally, as soon as my principal left, they got the concept.  Those glorious brain fireworks and light bulbs started going off...ninety seconds after she left. 

7) It was also fifth grade's turn for First Friday treats.  Each month a specific grade level does treats for the school.  I came up with the "March Munchie Madness" theme.  Ms. C took the lead on shopping (thank you teamwork), Mrs. J helped me decorate, and Mrs. H took care of clean up.  I made fake snack brackets to give everyone something fun and different to do.  We used popcorn bags that we found in our supply closet (score!) and picked up different flavors of chex mix, popcorn, m & ms, marshmellows, and cheese-its.  Perfect snack foods to munch on.  Last year we did St. Patrick's day, but since we're having a potluck on the 16th (because we have monthly potlucks), we went with something different.  I sent out an email asking for college shirts to use as decoration and we used black butcher paper to define the space:

It must have went over really well because there were no left overs!

8) Both {Jamberry} and {Younique} launched new products, so I did my best to share this info with my Facebook groups.  There's a lot of (unfair) pressure to hit certain quotas at times, especially with the launch of new goodies.  I didn't meet these goals.  But, I am excited for what came out!

 I mean, how cute are these new nail wraps?

Dinosaurs? Yes please! I can match the Dino Poop article that I'll read with my students next week.

On the make up side...tinted flavored lip balms? New foundation brush? Yes please!

But...I'm in a sales rut. I've accepted that I won't be one of those direct sales people that makes thousands of extra dollars each month, quits her real job, and wins cruises around the world.  I'm not able to devote that much time to these hobbies, but more importantly... I don't want to. I don't want to be that pushy sales woman that tells people they need this new make up product because really the underlying message is that they aren't pretty enough and need help.  I'm not that person.  I'm much more laid back about the products. Right or wrong (probably wrong in the marketing world), here's my philosophy: I like them, I use them, and if you have questions, I'm here. Want to try something? Sure, why not? I like to try before I buy too! No judgment. I may not make a lot of money with this attitude, but I also won't lose friends and will still be me.  That matters.

9) I'm behind on grading.  No, scratch that. I let a week's worth of assignments pile up because I was overwhelmed by student behaviors and now I'm paying the consequence.  Eight different tests or quizzes to grade.  That's 264 pieces of paper to look at, score, record on a spread sheet, and enter into the grade book before passing back to students. Not fun.  Progress reports go home soon, so I should be all caught up so grades reflect all the work. That's fair to families, but it's a lot of work.  In case you're a loyal reader (or new, welcome!) and aren't in education, know this:  I tend to work an extra 15 hours a week, unpaid, grading and prepping lessons.  Every single week.  There's not enough time during the daily fifty minute prep (when it's not held up by SPED meetings, grade level meetings, surprise meetings, parent meetings, or any of the other events that happen often) to get everything done.  So please stop blaming teachers for all sorts of problems.  We're doing our best. I'm doing my best. 

10) Meetings.  There were meetings with admin.  Meetings with special education (SPED) because a behavior plan needed to be tweaked.  Three of my students are now on individual behavior incentive plans.  Last month it was one.  January? None.  But..the plans are helping those students make strong behavior choices and that's ultimately the end goal.  Meetings with parents. Meetings with the police.  Meetings with the grade level.  Meetings with other teachers that I'm mentoring.  Meetings about being certified.  Meeting with coaches.  Meetings with students about cheating.  Meetings about upcoming meetings.

All my meetings were important. I get that. They just all happened to at the same time.

11) Sinus infection.  Because items 1-10 weren't enough of a struggle, my allergies became a full blown sinus infection.  On the bright side, I used the new online telemedicine option.  I called in, a doctor called me back within an hour, we had a nice chat about my mucus situation, and he confirmed I have a sinus infection.  Considering I have several a year, for as long as I can remember, I'm pretty good at self-diagnosing this.  Thirty minutes later, CVS called to let me know my antibiotics were ready for pick up.  I didn't need to go to the doctor. I didn't need to take a sick day.  Technology for the win!

Plus, Waffles brought me a toy to snuggle with:

To be fair, she tried to share with the cats first. 

But...I'm trying to focus on the positives.  We were pleased with our tax return.  B enjoys gambling (he grew up in Vegas, what do I expect?) and did well this week.  Because we're a team, we've talked about limits and what we're comfortable spending monthly.  It's not my favorite activity, but he enjoys it.  This week he hit a royal and came home with enough cash to buy a new water softener.  Thanks babe!  I've got two weddings this month, get to see my best friend, have found some cute things on Etsy, get to see my family soon, and have bridal appointments over spring break.  There's a lot happening...and that's a good thing.


Nine days until field day.  Ten days until spring break. I can do this.
  

Recapping Reading Week

In college, reading week was this glorious time before finals where I had no responsibilities (other than a few hours at a desk job) but to read and study for finals.

As a teacher, the concept of "reading week" is an entirely different beast.

To start with, we have a week of spirit days.   Now don't misunderstand me, I love spirit days.  I don't love the spirited attitudes that accompany these dress up days.  Because of the surplus of extra fun activities, many students (not just my own rambunctious class) were extra off task and defiant.  It made for a long and exhausting week.

Our school tends to take celebrations to the extreme, and that's okay.  The kids need to have fun in elementary school.  Our reading week activities include:

Book bingo (We get blank boards and a list of titles the week before reading week.  I had students help me fill it out.  Three books were called each morning during announcements.)

Mystery Readers (Students have to guess which staff member is reading the poem or short story aloud over the intercom.  Students submit their guesses on blue colored slips of paper.  One winner from each grade level with the correct guess wins a prize, which is usually a left over poster from the book fair.)

Spirit days (Not only did I give students points on class dojo for participating, but they got pink colored slips of paper to submit.  Once again, one winner from each grade level was chosen for a prize.)

Assemblies (Each grade level got at least one.  Ours featured a local published author who did an amazing job interacting with the kids.)

Lunch with someone you love (families are invited to bring students lunch and eat together in the courtyard.)

Guest readers (Everyone from high school students to the air force to news anchors to families came in to read picture books to the classes.  We had our principal and a fellow teacher's husband (he's in the air force) come read to us Friday afternoon.)

Read around the pod (teachers switch classrooms and read to one another).

Book picnic (Students brought blankets or towels and we read outside on Friday afternoon.  It was mid seventies and gorgeous.) 

No wonder I'm exhausted!  

Our spirit days included:

Monday: Ties & tutus day.  I borrowed an electric blue one from a friend and rocked it with jeans and an eagles shirt (our school mascot).  I had twenty minutes of playground duty, so not only did I start my day with already hitting my 10,000 steps (thanks fitbit!) but I got lots of compliments.  I should wear tutus more often!

Tuesday: Dr. Seuss day.  I snagged a solid red shirt from Target, wore jeans and the electric blue tutu again.  I didn't want to ruin my shirt, so I attached a paper plate from my classroom (a Christmas one no less!) to a lanyard.  With the help of a black sharpie, I became Thing 1.

I also had crosswalk duty.  I got a lot of questions asking if it was spirit day... I didn't really know how to respond to that one.  Do I normally look ridiculous and wear tutus on normal Tuesdays?

Wednesday: Disney day.  (Also, Marvel and Star Wars day!) This was the day Ms. C and I had our Disney themed lip sync battle for students who met their reading goals.

Can you guess which Disney princess I was?

Would it help if I said I carried around a dinglehopper (fork), yellow fish, and red lobster?

Thursday: Dress as your future self day.  Not only did I rock a Hogwarts alum shirt that I snagged at Target, but I also completely dressed another teacher.  She wanted to be Wonder Woman, so I lent her a cape, crown, shirt, and the blue tutu.  (Yes, I do just have those things laying around.)

Friday: Pajama day.  I rocked black yoga pants and an oversized pink shirt that said "I was made for taking naps."  (Another stellar Target find!)

I really failed at taking pictures this year!  

To make things fun for teachers, we were entered in a raffle for free books each time we participated.  While I didn't win, I really like and respect the intermediate teacher who did. 

Reading week was great, our librarian put a lot of hard work into every detail, but I'm really glad it's over.  It's time to get back on track with learning.

 

Reading Week Recap

It's been a while dear readers, and for that I apologize.

Life got in the way.  

Since I last blogged, there's been a few nail parties, baby showers, and new students that have soaked up a majority of my free time.  I've begun spring tutoring and book club with my students, in addition to a teacher book study.  (I love learning and was given hot pink post-its and can write in the book, so why not?!)  Plus...it was reading week.

For those of you not in elementary school, reading week is a magical and exhausting time.  Our librarian did an amazing job of putting together various activities, including:

• daily DEAR time (drop everything and read)
• mystery readers
• book bingo (which we won, by the way!)
• assemblies
• guest readers, including members of the Air Force and from our local news stations
• door decorating contests
• a scavenger hunt
• lunch with a loved one

Oh, and the Scholastic book fair.  Oh, and every day was a spirit day.  Oh, and book club started that week, in addition to tutoring.  Oh, and the fifth graders took their panoramic picture for the year book.  Oh, and the fifth grade team was in charge of the First Friday breakfast for the teachers, so we decorated the lounge and had a plethora of yummy breakfast foods.

Oh, and we toured the local middle school, so add that field trip in there.  While on the field trip, I was confused for a middle school student, by a middle school student.  Not the best for my ego, but I'm glad I can blend in with teenagers...oh wait, no, I'm not glad.  At all!  College and high school are fine, but middle school?! 

I am exhausted.  This week, I wore crazy socks, was both Medusa and Batman, rocked Dr. Seuss stripes, and was a minion. 

My crown of snakes.

 I went to Fresh and Easy before school Friday (for last minute breakfast items) in not just a Batman tee shirt (because that would be socially acceptable), but full on boots, yellow tights, a cape, and a utility belt.  However, once I clarified with the cashier that it was reading week, she understood completely.  She has a first grader, so my ensemble made sense.  I must say, cross walk duty was interesting when dressed like this:

We did finish our novel The Lightning Thief, bringing us up to two completed novels this year.  I don't think I'll start another, but instead continue with "Teaser Tuesday" and start reading aloud novels...but stop at the intriguing parts.  Mean? Yes. But if it sparks their curiosity and makes them want to continue reading, then I've done my job.

I do have to make permission slips for them to watch the movie "adaptation" since it's PG.  The movie is so ridiculously different from the book, which prompted me to make this, which I'll be using with them.  I'm glad things have worked out timing wise, because I'll be showing the movie on the Friday morning before Field Day, which is the Friday before Spring Break.  I know they'll have extra short attention spans, so I might as well hook them with multimedia elements.  Plus it's directly related to the 400 page book I read to them, so it's academic.

I however, am in need of a nap.  It's barely ten am, but all my weekend grading is done (huzzah), chores are done (hoorah), and I've got a late night with friends planned.  

15 teaching days until spring break, hallelujah!

Expository Writing, Part 3

As I previously blogged about, my students had a wonderful time researching about European countries.  They created brochures which are beautifully decorating our fifth grade hallway.

Since it was Reading Week last week and our schedule was altered, I used some writing time to have my students create informational posters about their countries based on their brochures.

I talked about how this is another way to publish their work and share their information with an audience.  

They had a wonderful time learning from one another and asked really thoughtful questions of one another.  I'm pleased to see how excited they are about researching since they'll be doing a lot more of this in middle and high school!

Happy learning :)

Vocabulary Day Parade

For reading week, we always read Debra Fraiser's picture book Miss Alaineus. 

In it, a young girl mishears a vocabulary word and instead of asking for the correct word, fibs on her homework.  Her dishonesty is brought to light in a humorous way and the book talks of having a vocabulary parade.

So, at our school, the last day of Reading Week is vocabulary word parade day.  After reading the novel, I make a circle map on the board of possible words:

My students have a week to figure out their costumes.  Last year, I was survival and wore a shirt with book characters' names who had to survive.  I believe there was Katniss (Hunger Games), Klaus, Sunny, Violet (A Series of Unfortunate Events), Brian (Hatchet), Ellen, Annemarie (Number the Stars), Harry, Ron, Hermione (Harry Potter series) and many more.

This year, we did a theme for our grade level.  We went as runners, complete with bibs and medals.  My word was perseverance while my fellow teachers were endurance and tenacity.  We talked to the fifth graders about how these words were ones we really wanted them to embody.  

They had such a great time making the costumes, sharing their words, then doing a parade around the playground at the end of the day on Friday.

It was a nice end to one of my favorite weeks of the year, reading week!

FCRR Shout Out

I've blogged about FCRR before and it's a wonderful free resource for literacy stations.  I love that it's broken up into grade level bands (K-1, 2-3 and 4-5) as well as into the big 5 components of literacy instruction (phonemic awareness, fluency, vocabulary, phonics and comprehension).  They've also revised many of their student activities to align with the Common Core State Standards, which is also extremely helpful.

I've used the stations with my intervention groups and during my small groups.  I especially like the fluency stations at the beginning of the year when I'm explicitly teaching the four components of fluency (accuracy, rate, expression and phrasing).

Since it was reading week last week, I took advantage of the lax schedule (we had assemblies and Discovery Education testing as well) to play some reading games with my students (when they weren't being pulled to make up missed assignments, since the trimester ended Friday). 

One of the stations they played was "fact and opinion football":

I had a group of football fans fully entertained for a good twenty minutes.  When they ran out of cards, I had them make up their own statements for the group to guess.

The second station was "incredible inferences":

(Yes, my classroom rug is polka dotted...that's just how I roll!)

I used counters from our math kit as pieces, but you can use virtually anything. I'm pretty sure almost every teacher I've met has some sort of kit of pieces.

They had a great time with these reading games and I liked the skills that were reinforced. I know many of my students struggle with getting past the literal words in the text, so this was a fun way for them to practice "digging deep" and making meaning of the text.  They're getting there with inferences!

Happy reading :)

Expository Writing, Part Two

As I previously blogged about, our grade level is working on expository writing.  We split Europe into four parts and each class took a different section.

The students researched using internet data bases such as culture grams and recorded their research in their writing notebooks.

I was excited to get Northern Europe not only because my heritage is from England and Ireland, but because many of my students have read Lois Lowry's Number the Stars, so they were thrilled to get to create brochures on Denmark and Sweden.

Our hallway:

My wall:

(I had some great student helpers!)

My fabulous team members' walls:

Close up of our brochures:

We printed maps from Crayola's website and of course I used polka dot ribbon to connect brochures with the countries!

As an added bonus, one of the fifth grade classes won first prize in the door decorating contest for Reading Week!  We hung the medal in the hallway to share, since we did a thematic unit together.

They had such a wonderful time creating these brochures.  It's nice to see them so excited about what they're learning :)