June Currently

Good evening!  It's June... Just in case you hadn't noticed.  And June means the end is in sight!  Summer vacation is on the horizon!  Therefore, on to this month's Currently.

I {heart} jazz music.  Enough said.

I love that I can eat ice cream without freezing once more.  I hate the hot weather that summer brings, but I do enjoy me a good bowl of almond milk ice cream after a long, hot day!

8 day. I think I can, I think I can, I think I can.  

Maybe the report card fairy lives with the laminator-cutter-outer fairy?  I really need to find them.  Do you suppose the parents will notice if I just use the same comments/names on every report card?!

Needing to place future plans and dreams into God's hands.  I'm trying to make some rather big changes in my life for next school year and it's hard to remain patient and wait for God's perfect timing.  I know that the most I can do is continue to pray and seek guidance, but the planner in me wants to know NOW! 

Summer is my travelling season, and though I am not travelling on a big international trip, I am planning on visiting a bunch of friends and family.  A trip home to the mountains for a few weeks is always in order!

My mom gave me a whole canning system this last Christmas and I am so ready to hit the farmers markets and get canning!  I've got a great "how-to" book to work my way through and visions of yummy canned goods filling my shelves in the near future!

I have only about 64.5 books on my "to be read" shelf.  I am most definitely looking forward to working my way through a whole bunch of these!  I cherish time to sit in a comfy setting and curl up and get lost in a good book for a few hours. :)

Now to pick out which one to read first!

Thanks for stopping by!

Currently

Pigs may be flying. I'm posting for the first time in For.Ev.Er. here on the blog. It's been one of those years, all.  One of those years where you hold on for dear life every minute of the school day.  And then you collapse and take a nap when you get home.  There is no functioning after dark.

But there is a light at the end of the tunnel.  And this has been a true test of my character and I have to come to see just how much my staff has my back in tough situations.  I've had to learn to accept that along with teaching my kiddos, my purpose this year may be simply to help out a few special friends and get them where they need to go and/or receive the additional support that they desperately need that I cannot provide by myself.

But, onto this month's Currently.... a few days late.

Oh how I heart this album.  It was constantly playing on my CD player in late HS and early college and remains a favorite to this day.

Fractions. Who knew fractions could be so much fun?!  Pizza, pompoms, names, numbers... I can't wait to dive head first into teaching fractions! I loved teaching them to my second graders years ago, and Common Core is bringing them down to my firsties starting this year.  I am dreaming of all the amazing, fun, creative projects we can do to help us conquer beginning fractions!

27 days. Enough said.  I think I can, I think I can, I think I can...

Possible life changes in the works here. Keep me in  your prayers!

You know how spring is. Raining one day.  Scorching hot the next.  All I'm asking is to go back to the rain.  And the cool air.  People, it's been 95F+ here for the last week.  I'M NOT READY FOR THIS! Although,  I have enjoyed wearing dresses to work again. :)

Two blogs have become a staple for me over the last few years. Seriously, these ladies are AMAZING!  Their products are high quality, and they have made my kiddos so excited about learning!  Thank you!

Thanks for stopping by!

Currently

Happy New Year!I can hardly believe it is already 2014, and since it's January, that means it's also time for another currently. Oh how I've missed these!

Listening... I only live a couple blocks away from the Rose Bowl and Rose Parade, and yet I've never seen either live.  And I'm OK with that. I like watching the Rose Parade from the comfort of my own couch, in my jammies. :)  Though, our whole neighborhood always goes outside in time to see the jets fly over. 

Loving... Winter Break!  Oh, the heavenly joy of sleeping in each morning, not putting makeup on, using the restroom whenever I want!  I may or may not be on my fifth book since school let out, as well...

Thinking... With school starting back up on Monday, I've been thinking about all of the units to be taught this month. Weather, MLK, informative writing, skip counting... TPT and pinterest are my friends. 

Wanting... I LOVE to cook and am looking forward to using a day or two of my time off to restock the freezer with lots of meals for the next month or two. Quick lunch ideas to take to work, ready to cook dinners... Gotta do it while I have time.

Needing... Speaking of prepping units. Is there a fairy out there that cuts out lamination?

Christmas Tradition... Our tradition is simple. Be with family.  Eat good food. We always make a big Christmas Eve dinner with ham,veggies, yams, dutch apple pie, the works.  Christmas morning means Belgian waffle brunch. Yum, yum!

Thanks for stopping by!

Five for Friday

So glad that Five for Friday is back!  I haven't started back to school yet, so this is a bit of piece-meal, end-of-summer- mixture of events from the week.

1. Last Friday found me in Oregon visiting with my bf and 4-month old niece! Isn't she the cutest?! I had the pleasure of babysitting her for a whole day, and shortly after this picture was taken, snuggled with her until she fell asleep in my arms. So smitten!

2.  I went in on Tuesday to help my roomie out with her new classroom!  She was just hired as a band teacher at a nearby private school. So excited for her! After the many, MANY hours she has selflessly volunteered and helped in my classroom, it was the least I could do.

3. My new tumbler came today! So excited!  I think it's my new favorite cup.

4. This happened this morning. Ugh.  Allergy scratch test. 61 of those needles scratched my back and I have the hives and welts to prove it. So itchy!!!  But the good news was that there were no huge surprises. My last allergy test was about 7 years ago and not much has changed since then, though some thing were worse this round. Immunotherapy starting sometime next week. Yay?

5.  I finally get the keys to my new classroom on Monday!  I called yesterday and they were officially moving all of my boxes from the old room to the new.  With only seven work days until school starts, I think I know where I am going to be living all next week...

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Currently

Holy moly. It's August.

Don't know how that happened.  Wasn't the last day of school last week?

The countdown is officially on. I still have about 2 1/2 weeks before school starts, so the panic isn't completely setting in yet. But I sure am aware of exactly how many days are left before the kids arrive.

I'm so excited to be playing along with Farley again this month for August's Currently! I figured a few days late was better than not playing along at all. :)

Wanting... Mr. Mailman and Mrs. Condren to work together and get my new Bentley of a lesson plan book delivered! I'm SO excited about my splurge purchase for this school year.  I usually just use Lakeshore's free plan book, which has been wonderful. I think it's been my go-to for the last 10 years.  And then they CHANGED them this year! 

What is with THAT?  As a teacher supply store, aren't they aware of how much teachers hate, dread, abhor change?!  Their gorgeous horizontal layout with tons of room to write is now vertical with little tiny boxes. And no room for notes. I was so inconsolably upset after my annual Lakeshore visit. I didn't know what to do with myself! How was I going to lesson plan?!  Erin Condren to the rescue! 

Isn't it purdy?! Of course, it will have my name and not the random sample name. It should be here in about 8 more days!

Needing... To get into my classroom!  I'm moving rooms this year, which is always a pain, but I keep telling myself that this is for the best. I'm moving to a much bigger classroom that actually has storage! My old room didn't have any counters, no cabinets... It made storing things away a huge pain in the rear.  Just envision tubs upon tubs stacked in the corners storing art supplies, science, manipulatives... Yeah, it wasn't pretty.  But I made due for three years.

Now I'm moving! Yay!  But my school takes our keys from us in June.  Meaning, there is no work allowed to be done on campus until the office opens back up in mid-August.  MID-AUGUST! AH!  Back in June, my principal was guessing I might be able to get in there around the 9th.  Not too bad.  But of course, that is if the currently occupying teacher has finished moving out.  

Maybe this is where the stress and panic begins...

BTS Must Haves...
1. Mr. Sketch Markers. I finally grabbed my first box last year.  I can't believe it took me 8 years of teach to discover the brilliance of these amazing markers! Smelly. Bold. Colorful.  My anchor charts were my best anchor charts EVER!  I'm definitely restocking this item yearly!

2.  The first day of school just brings out the kid in me. Having a great, brand-new, first day of school outfit is a must!  First impressions are everything! ;)

3. I used Abby's Fun with Firsties pack for the first time last year, as well, and absolutely had a blast!  From Jitter Juice, to the surveys, to the stories... So much fun!  AND she recently updated it!

Now I need to wrap my mind around the fact that the next Currently will take place two weeks into the school year. Ugh...

Thanks for stopping by!

Five for Friday (on a Saturday)

Good golly it's been a busy few weeks!  We all know just how crazy the end of the school year to be, and the mile-long to-do list that has to be conquered in record time.

Add Open House to that, and you have my week.

So, without further ado (and a day late!) my Five for Friday!

1.  Open House. Check!  We had our Open House on Wednesday and it was a success! It's always so much work to pull everything together, but when I see the proud faces of my firsties as they run around my room, dragging their parents by the hand, it's all worth it.  I had a great turnout, and a HUGE wave of kindergarten shoppers.  Those little tiny guys always make me smile (and freak out slightly at how tiny they are!).

2.  We lost the lottery and had to have our Open House on a Wednesday, which made for a very, VERY long Thursday and Friday. Needless to say, we most definitely planned a movie day for Friday. Which ended up being perfect because my teammate's sub (and my shared doorway buddy) didn't show up! I had 40 kids in my room for most of the day! Movies = instant crowd control.  And it let me get tons of work done so I could leave pretty quickly after school ended. Winning!

3.  We have 12 days of school left. 12! So close and yet so far!  In those 12 days, my to do list looks something like this:

• report cards
• pink and blues
• class assignments for 2nd grade
• cumulative files
• benchmark testing
• tear down classroom
• pack up classroom for move
• pack for England (yay!)
• field trip
• plan end-of-the-year party

And I'm absolutely sure that I have left something off of that list.  I may be freaking out slightly.

4. I'm moving rooms. We're increasing class size a bit and my current room is tiny and literally has no storage. I have tubs and boxes stacked in the back corner to hold all our my supplies. We barely fit with 19 kids.  The room I'm moving to is much bigger, but really far away from the office. I guess it's better than nothing.  But it's so much work to move rooms!  I am definitely looking forward to the extra space, but not the process of gaining that extra space.

5. It's a 3-day weekend!!! Enough said.

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Five for Friday

TGIF!

So glad it's Friday, but kind of stressing already about all of the work I have to do this weekend. Only 12 more days to Open House!

1. Classroom creatures update!  Our ladybug larvae have officially entered their third stage of life and are happily all curled in their pupae.  I'm expecting to come back and find them all as ladybugs on Monday... Wonder if they'll survive until Open House on the 22nd?  Our two tadpoles are doing wonderfully.  My little three-legged friend sprouted his fourth leg and is quickly looking a whole lot more like a frog than a tadpole.  Tadpole #2, well, he's taking his sweet, precious time.  Mr. Froglet even climbed out of the water for the first time today... AFTER the kids had gone home, of course.  All caterpillars are in their chrysalises. And not a praying mantis nymph to be seen yet...  One of these days it's going to burst open with hundreds of them, I just know it...

2. We finished up our Mother's Day gifts! We made MissKindergarten's adorable purses and they turned out great! My favorite page is always when they have to compare their mom's height to an object, and then guess her weight! "My mom weighs 49 pounds."  What mom wouldn't love that?!

3.  Open House is in 12 days and this is what my walls currently look like! Stress and panic!!!  I spent some serious time working on walls and assembling books after school ended today.

4. My license plates came for my new car in the mail this week. Sad day. The new car doesn't feel so new anymore.  At least it still SMELLS new!

5. We studied antonyms this week in class and had a blast!  We took off our shoes to trace some "an-toe-nyms," read a few stories, and I even whipped up a quick bingo game.  I called a word and the students had to mark the antonym. Hope you can use it, too!

Thanks for stopping by!

Five for Friday

Praise the Lord for Fridays!  I think my kids were determined to give me gray hair this week.  Hello, spring fever.

We've only got to hang on for 27 more days, guys!  27!!!

1. My classroom is absolutely crawling with critters right now.  In addition to our tadpoles (see post #2), our caterpillars, ladybug larvae, and praying mantis egg all arrived over the weekend.  The caterpillars are growing like weeds, as usual. I have an awful feeling that they are going to be butterflies WAY before Open House. I'm hoping I can steal one of my teammate's butterflies since we'll likely have to let ours go before the 22nd. 

2.  Tadpoles! These guys have been in our room for a few weeks now, but this little guy decided to sprout his first front leg yesterday afternoon! Of course, as luck would have it, he waited until AFTER the kids had gone home to do so.  I happened to be around still and snapped a picture of our three-legged frog to show the kids.  And then, sure enough, his other one had sprouted sometime over night.  He is officially a froglet!

Right side.

New leg on the left side!

3. It's hot. I'm grumpy. I want winter/spring cool weather back. Teaching PE in this ridiculous heat is the pits.  "They" say it's only supposed to be like this for one more day, though.  We'll see if "they" are right...

4.  This is my best friend's new little girl.  I am absolutely DYING to meet her and am working on booking some plane tickets to fly up to see her later this month. Yay!

5. My mom is here for the weekend, and we're off to get thoroughly pampered tomorrow. Hair cuts, a little shopping, dining out... And then my cousin's baby shower on Sunday! So excited to spend some time with my mom!

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Currently

May.

Yeah, that happened.

I'm so excited that it's May! I love our science unit this month, I'm one of those crazy people that love gearing up for Open House, and I love that all of my summer plans are just around the corner!

And I love that it's time for another Currently!

Ah, Mr. Buble.  What you do to me with that perfect-pitch voice of yours.  And the new album is no exception. It's currently on constant repeat in my car.

I am such a girly-girl. I have always loved dresses and skirts, and am completely in LOVE with the fact that dresses are coming back around.  And they're cuter than ever!  I love the "no-brainer" quality of a good dress. What to wear? Dress!  No need to match shirt and skirts. They're an all-in-one deal.  They make me happy. :)

Singing. In front of the whole school. Kiddos. Parents. Staff. District personnel.  Yup, it's going down in about one hour.  From now. Today.  It's "Pajama Story Hour" at school tonight, and somehow I nominated myself to sing as one of the acts.  Rethinking that decision now...  It'll be fun.  And my kids are just a teeny bit excited.

It's in the 90s outside right now. And I think we're supposed to hit 100 tomorrow.  I'm going to start a protest.  This is wrong.  I'm not ready for summer weather yet. Though, I do love wearing dresses... 

My cousin's baby shower is this Sunday, and being the queen of last-minute shopping, I have no gift. Yet.  I'll get one. Maybe on Saturday. Or on Sunday on my way to the shower.

As to my summer bucket list, have I mentioned yet that I'M GOING TO ENGLAND? Ok.  Now that I have that out of my system (46 days!) some of my other plans are to take in the Mammoth Jazz Jubilee 'cause I love me some good 'ole jazz and all the great friends that congregate there each summer.  I'm also in the works to plan a tour of the Pacific Northwest this summer. I have a sister in Portland, a best friend in Bend, an amazing friend in Seattle, and a stamping buddy in BC.  I've gotta make this happen. Just figuring out the logistics and timing is going to keep things interesting.

Phew!  Now to eat some dinner before running back to school.

To sing.

In front of everyone.

Thanks for stopping by!

Jumping on the Instagram Bandwagon

So, I've had an instagram account for a little while now.  And I've seldom used it. As in, I have  whomping 3, yes, THREE pictures on there.  And one of them was taken today. Yay me!

Perhaps what I needed was a little motivation.

Enter Teacher Talk Tuesday.

Is it bad that I'm a little excited about this?!

Just in case you actually want to follow me (I know, yet another thing to follow), I'm iedibiedi on instagram. 

And now I'm off to go check out the thousands of photos posted today. :)

Maybe hashtags will make sense now... (and when did they become "hastags?" Aren't they pound signs?!)

Oh, I'm totally going to try this little challenge, as well, from Clutter-Free Classroom.  Maybe this will help me get into the habit of having my camera at the ready in my classroom.

Thanks for stopping by!