Disneyland isn't the greatest place on earth

It's rare to find a place of employment where you truly enjoy going day after day.

I've found that with my school site and for that, I am abundantly blessed.

Between work friends who understand the power of random surprise gifts of Starbucks (because there is no greater gift than caffeine) and a supportive environment, I couldn't ask for a better job.

Our school fully embraces holiday celebrations, extra recess for when the kids need brain breaks, and educating the whole child.  Yes, standards are important, but it's also understood that as teachers, we have an emotional and moral responsibility as well.  I care about test scores, but I care more about who my students become.

Between our potlucks, spirit days, and very active Sunshine committee, I feel blessed to be around such awesome teachers.

I'd also like to give a shout out to my friends and students' parents who helped make this possible:

We've got some floor cushions and other wiggle options en route!

Bummed you didn't get to donate to this project? You can always check out my most active projects {here} if you're in the giving mood!

Transitions

I'm preparing to transition to third grade and getting kind of excited about it.

One of my favorite kiddos has a younger sibling in second grade, so I'll get to work with his awesome family for a second year in a row! (Not that teachers have favorites...but I'm allowed to have favorite parents!)

The classroom I'm moving into probably won't be ready on time.  That teacher is leaving to another school due to personal reasons, and I don't want to further anger this teacher by trying to move in while he is moving out.  It's better to just move everything home (it's not that far of a drive) and move back in August for a clean start.

I've started boxing up materials and separating what will stay in my garage, what gets given away, and what is set aside for third grade.  I'm even labeling the boxes for ease of moving.  Since B is on campus helping coach girls' soccer, he's on campus anyway.  On Mondays, he helps me move home boxes.  I told my students that I'm moving down to third grade and that the classroom books will be the last thing to go so they can enjoy them as long as possible.  Once it was established that the books are off limits until June, they were totally fine with me boxing up the classroom.  Granted, I'm not doing this while they're actually in the room.  There are just piles of boxes slowly being piled up along the sides of the classroom.

In the mean time, I'm also going through materials and seeing what can be scaffolded down to meet third grade needs.  I'm using my "bonus bucks" from Scholastic to stock up on second and third grade classics.  I've got a {donorschoose} project for third grade materials.  Today, between naps, I also drafted my third grade supply list:

We are supposed to supply some blurb that the school district supplies all the necessary materials and the listed supplies are just a suggestion, but we all know that's simply not true.  I get $123 from the state for class supplies, which won't even cover notebooks for my classroom.  Most teachers spend around $1,000 out of pocket on their classrooms each year.  Hopefully my parents will be generous and I won't have to cover too much out of pocket. I was able to stock up on dry erase markers on clearance last year and always try to snag deals at Target.

Fellow teacher friends, am I missing anything for third grade?

Photography Challenge, Days 3 & 4

I've been consistent with posting to social media each day, but since I don't blog from my phone, this sometimes gets forgotten. I'm working on it.

For April's photography challenge,

Here are days 3 and 4.

Day 3 

Yesterday was "shapes".  I chose to rock my new Carly (Lularoe dress) which I got for free for hosting an in home party.

The geometric shape design reminds me of a mermaid, which quite frankly was a huge selling point.  Additionally, I could wear a small, which was another boost for my ego.  (On a side note, I didn't win the biggest loser contest at work, but I did lose ten pounds and am continuing with the small tweaks I've made to my diet.)

I'm also rocking my new {Younique} lipstain in speechless.  It's got an orange-nude tone and I like it!

While it gets a tad annoying to have to wash all my Lularoe items on delicate, the fabrics are incredibly soft and it's like wearing pajamas to work...except it's socially appropriate.  As the weather heats up, I'll be continuing to wear a lot of dresses to work.  Plus it was a Monday, and new clothes seem to make Mondays go a little better.

Day 4

I actually snapped tomorrow's picture today too, so don't mind the matching outfit.  Day 4 was "good together".  

I've got some awesome parents this year and it seemed like the perfect time to brag about them.  Between sending in extra supplies, making sure we're stocked for class parties, chaperoning field trips, donating to our {donors choose} projects, or sending our class post cards from their vacations, I've got some great support this year.

This post card is from one of my most supportive parents.  Her and her fiancee went on an amazing South American adventure and sent us post cards from their journey!  This one has a stamp from "the end of the world" which is pretty cool.  Not only does it help us feel connected to others, but it provided an awesome authentic moment to do a geography lesson.

But that turned into a lesson on how the hemispheres have opposite seasons due to the earth's tilt.  Which then turned into a lesson on the inner and outer planets.  Then one of my students brought up Pluto and it's declassification as a planet, so then we had that discussion.  Naturally, astronauts came up next...and that's just sometimes how learning unfolds in my classroom.

I so desperately wanted to show them this,

but realized it would be highly inappropriate.  #thestruggleisreal

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.

Feeling blessed!

What a beautiful way to start a Friday!  Even more awesome? Some of my students' families donated to our classroom.  

After today's math test and mapping test, we'll be making some thank you cards! 

But first, we've got to dive into our new books:

#blackgirlmagic

 

Adjustments

Sleeping on the couch for the past week (post surgery) has thrown my already off schedule into almost complete disarray.  Add in the frequent naps (again, part of the healing process) and I seem to lack any desire to go to bed at a reasonable hour.

I'm aware this will need to change (and quickly), but for now, I'm channeling my unconventional sleeping patterns into productive tasks.

For example, tonight I:

1) Wrote a new grant proposal for donor's choose.  You can donate {here}.  I'm asking for bean bag chairs and other flexible seating options for my classroom. 

2) Continued to clean out and organize the pantry.  I also cleaned out the fridge.  However, I'm only able to lift things under ten pounds, so it was not a long cleaning session.

3) Stumbled upon this gem:

4) Finished all the mandatory training videos! (insert the praise hands emoji here!) 

5) Made a new sale on {TpT}.  This past month has been really expensive, so if people could download items from my store...that'd be great.

6) Made a to do list for tomorrow.  I've got a planning session (we're going to try to hammer out the first six weeks) and going to the grocery store when he gets home from work.  I'm also planning on a nap because I'm thinking all the planning will wear out my brain. 

Me: 1, Insomnia: 0

 

Joyous June, Paying it Forward

{Donors Choose} is one of my most favorite resources, period.  I've been fortunate enough to have multiple projects funded and my students have been blessed with new books and games.  

Now it's my time to pay it forward.  One of our new teachers is coming over tomorrow afternoon to write her own grant for her (our) sped kiddos.  I get to pay it forward and help her try to secure funding for new books for her classroom next year.

Help others. Spread Joy. Pay it forward.

#Bestdayever Indeed!

Last month I was fortunate to have not one, but two projects funded by #bestdayever on {donorschoose}!

We are fortunate enough to have some brand new supplies in our classroom!

Thank you so much donors!

 

New Year, New Resolutions, New Books

I've got my hands full with thirty six students.  Many of my students, especially my boys, are reluctant readers.  They want "cool" books, which apparently, in the logic of ten year olds, I'm lacking.

So I posted a new donorschoose {project}.  I'm requesting sports themed graphic novels in addition to books on monsters, Greek Mythology, mysteries, and spies.  I'm hoping these "cool" books will hook my reluctant readers and help them reach their new years goals.

For the next week, you can double your impact by using the code DISNEYCREATIVITY at checkout.  Donations are tax-deductible and very much appreciated!

Double your impact!

I posted another project to donorschoose.  I requested copies of Steal Away Home, Seed Folks, and My name is Maria Isabel to use with small groups.  I read portions of these novels as read alouds (mentor text) with my fifth graders last year.  They loved the stories but were disappointed when they found out I only had one copy.  I'm requesting eight of each novel to use with small groups. I love when more than one student is reading the same novel because they discuss their ideas with one another outside of our group meetings.

I'm also requesting eight copies of House of Hades to continue our quest with Percy and co.  In the grant, I also asked for some interactive number lines, math manipulatives to stress teaching powers of ten (but in a way that's helpful to my visual and kinesthetic learners), and some classroom organizing materials.

Donations to my classroom are 100% tax deductible and for the next week are being matched through charitable organizations.  Use INSPIRE at checkout to double your donation! (Up to $100).

Even if you can't donate right now, please keep my classroom and young students in your mind.  Pass along this information to any interested parties and I will be extremely appreciative!  Thank you.

Kindly,
Ms. Vice
(and the munchkins of room 71)

It's that time of the year.

And...I'm back to work.

It's Saturday. That being said, I spent about six hours in my classroom and all I really feel I accomplished is making a big mess.

After my final day of math training, I went to my new school to get my keys.  I stayed about two hours because I had my final day of tutoring before the family heads back to Europe.  I managed to get my technology all set up and decided where I wanted my furniture.  I only had to move the filing cabinets and wardrobe twice before being happy with the placement!  I set up my desks in Kagan groups, unpacked the few boxes I had, then headed home.

Last night I finished The Secret of the Fortune Wookiee while packing more.

This morning I woke up around six, typed up the rest of my teacher notes on the novel, wrote a grant for books on donorschoose, then headed over a little before nine am.  I worked until noon, came home to load up again, met up with the boyfriend and bestie, grabbed lunch (my treat...err bribe. Let's be real, it was a sub bribe) and headed over.   We only got to work for about an hour and a half before it was too hot and we had to leave.  (They shut the air off at one and it was close to three.)

Today we accomplished moving about a hundred outdated text books to a storage cabinet, putting math books in all the desks, partially hanging two bulletin boards, and beginning to unpack boxes and organize my library.  We didn't finish hanging the bulletin boards because I use sheets and they had to flatten out.  I staple up the top part of the board, then use anti-wrinkle spray and let them air out over night before stapling the rest.

I think there is a small pile on every desk.  I've taken over about 70% (of the materials I've gone through) so I think this is progress.  I'm just overwhelmed because so many other teachers' classrooms are done.  I need to keep reminding myself that it's okay to not be done. I'll go in tomorrow for a few hours (when the building has AC).  I'll go in for most of the day Monday and Tuesday. I have Wednesday after training, all day Thursday, and next weekend.  My room has to look presentable for open house...which is in 6 days. Yikes!  At least it's a short commute and I have awesome friends who can help.  Plus everyone at my new school seems super friendly and helpful.  It's such a positive, refreshing change.  I can honestly say I'm excited to go to work again.  

However, once it's all done, I will treat myself to a mani & pedi :)

AM reward

In our SWAG competition between AM and PM, the AM has won again.  This time, they had a half hour of free board game time.  The timing worked out perfectly because we lost twenty minutes of our hour to an assembly, so after fluency there was only time to meet with one group (and cover everything we needed to).

Reward snapshots:

Many of my games were generously funded by friends, family, and strangers on donors choose.  Thank you again for continued support in my classroom!

(The Series of Unfortunate Events board game was perhaps my favorite find ever! I found it at Bookman's, a used bookstore in Arizona.  I didn't even know it existed until one magical spring break!)

I love watching them get so excited about comprehension and reading games!

That time has come...

For the first six months of the school year, I ran my small groups with ease.

Okay, not ease per say, but with a relatively stress-free mindset compared to the rest of my day. 

 I knew where to go for my weekly fluency passages (reading A-Z), I had a list of must do's to choose from based on what standards we were working on in whole group and what grade level assessment data revealed.  I've changed up our "word work" a few times, but am now using this great resource:

Based on my notes from our daily fluency practice (and my RCBM progress monitoring), I select what focus skill we'll be using for the week.  So far we've done irregular past tense verbs, silent consonants and soft & hard c.  Next week we're looking at stressed and unstressed syllables.

Over the past several years, I've meticulously created teacher guides for my novels.  Through the amazing generosity of supporters on donorschoose, awesome sales on Scholastic, thorough searching at second hand bookstores, Amazon's fast shipping and shamelessly using my teacher discount at both Borders and Barnes and Noble, I have established a decent classroom library, filled with multiple copies of some great books.  I try to have at least six of each, so I can use these novels with a small group.

However, with twelve small groups, I've arrived at the day I've dreaded.

Some of my groups are ready to read novels I haven't had the time to meticulously prepare...which means I have extra homework!

Granted, reading is by no means a chore.  I love reading!

However, while I'm reading the novel my students are, I'm carefully taking down vocabulary words, writing comprehension questions (with answers so I don't forget), picking out specific parts for a close read, brainstorming homework questions and more.  It takes a long time for me to prep a teacher guide so that I feel confident doing the novel with a small group.  I'm not one of those teachers that can just sit down and read the book with them, I want to be ahead of them so I know if the answers they're giving are correct.

Last week not one, but three of my groups finished their novels and selected new ones that I haven't read yet.  So this weekend's homework is reading at least the first part of these books:

"Who Could That Be at This Hour?" (the first of 4 novels in Lemony Snicket's All the Wrong Questions series, a quasi-prequel to the Series of Unfortunate Events)

The Lost Hero by Rick Riordian.  Darn, more adventures at Camp Half-Blood!

They selected this book because they noticed the Newbery Award on the cover and concluded it must be a good novel.  How can you argue with that logic?

I figure I won't finish all of them by Monday, but I can at least get part way through and stay a few chapters ahead of them!

(On the bright side, novel guides for these three books will be available within the coming month on my TpT site!).

On that note, I say goodbye for the weekend and am off to read!

Hatchet has sequels?!

I read Hatchet for the first time around fifth grade.  

I loved the book, so I was excited to read this timeless classic with my own fifth graders.

(The covers have changed over time, which was interesting to discuss with my students.  You can read about it here!)

When I was first starting out, I used donorschoose to write a grant for copies of Hatchet.  In doing so, I realized something:

Hatchet has sequels. 

Not just one, but several sequels.  How did I not discover this until I was an adult??

So naturally I requested six of each and through the amazing generosity of friends and strangers, this grant was funded and I received the novels.  (I have another project expiring soon...)

The Sequels:

Brian's Winter: 

In this novel, Paulsen responds to reader's notes about the ending of Hatchet by posing an alternative ending.  Essentially, millions of readers watched Brian struggle for months and were a tad disappointed where he seemingly effortlessly flips a switch and is rescued within a few hours.  This novel looks at Brian's struggles through fall and winter.

The River:

Like Hatchet, I'm lucky enough to have several covers in my classroom which allows for great conversation about the illustrator's intent.  In this novel, Brian is asked to go back into the woods with a psychologist (Derek) so that the government can learn his survival techniques.  Naturally, things don't go according to plan and Brian must deal with the consequences of nature.

Brian's Return:

Brian returns (duh) to the Canadian wilderness he's grown to call home.  He works with his therapist, Caleb, and struggles to find where he truly belongs.

Brian's Hunt:

This is the final adventure with Brian.  Brian meets a wounded dog, worries for his Cree friends...and lots of tears are involved.  Consider yourself warned.

Just for fun, Guts

I've never done this novel with a small group but it's awesome to get an informational text from Paulsen.  I learned a lot about his life and how it truly is reflected in his books.  

I have teacher guides for all of the novels and am in the process of revising them to improve the rigor of the questions.  They'll be available individually and as a bundle pack on TpT soon!  

Happy reading :)