From The Mouths of Babes!

This week at school we are celebrating presidents! We enjoyed a day off on Monday, Tuesday we focused on Abraham Lincoln, yesterday we focused on George Washington, and today we read If I Ran For President

http://www.amazon.com

This book is FANTASTIC!!!! My firsties just LOVED it!! It walks the reader through the process of running for president from start to finish in a easy to read and understand manner.  After we read this, we discussed the qualities of a good leader. WOW! They BLEW. ME. AWAY.  Here is the anchor chart that we created listing the traits:

What a list!!!! I am so impressed!!! Hey world! First graders believe that a good leader is HONEST! Do you hear that world?!?!?!? Also, a good leader is brave because sometimes they have to say or do things that may not be popular! Wait! What? Yep these were the conversations that were had today!!!
After we created our list of traits we did a little writing about if we were president.  Get this, they were ENGAGED! Oh yeah! That's right! It's February, single digits out, no snow day in sight and they were ENGAGED IN WRITING!!!! I used Michelle Tomaszewski's President's Day Free Printables for the template (check out here TPT store: https://www.teacherspayteachers.com ) here are a few examples of our writing:

January Revisit

So January brings all sorts of fun into the classroom.  Sometimes, we return from winter break ready to go like we never missed a beat and other times it is like the first time we have stepped foot into a classroom.  My K buddy D came back from winter break with a class of the latter.  Now, remember she was on maternity leave from the start of the school year until the beginning of December so her kiddos were still adjusting so she wasn't too surprised that her students were struggling when we returned to school.  She came to me and told me that her kiddos were struggling with Daily 5, this was the week that both K and 1 were completing their MAP testing.  I gave her the following advice:

Sometimes you have to walk away from the plan.

Your students have a crazy week this week because of testing,

scrap the plans and reteach procedures.  Oh and hey

my kiddos are awesome (in my humble opinion) with Daily 5,

how about you bring your kiddos down to my room and we 

can pair them up to learn the ropes!

Please note that the MOST IMPORTANT piece of information in that is "sometimes you have to walk away from the plan"!!!  Also, we had a 4 day week that week and I told D that it will be way easier to make up 4 days of material than to struggle the rest of the year.  Here is what happened in pictures:

Working on Writing

Work on Writng

Work on Writing

Listening to Reading

Work with Teacher

Word Work

Read to Someone

Work on Writing

We have now paired our students up twice! It was a great January refresher for my kiddos.  D is noticing that her students have a more concrete idea of what is expected of them! Believe me it was not perfect - students were being pulled for various services, students had to use the bathroom, students forgot what they had to do, I mean how perfect could it be?  We had over 30 students in there!!! But it was a positive experience and one that I think not only benefited the K kiddos but also the firsties!

Pinterest PD

Over my winter break I....
Spent time on Pinterest pinning ideas for a project that my K friend D and I are working on.  Okay so back this story up a little.
A Month Ago
D was on maternity leave and of course I was missing her like crazy! She called me one day and said "So what would you think about doing themes?" Ummmmm OK! So D created a calendar and a Pinterest board (that we share)  to pin any ideas.  She shared everything via Google Docs (so awesome) and we were set.
3 Weeks Ago
D was back at work!!!  Hooray!!! AND we had common prep! So we sat down and got to work!! Again LOVE Google Docs!!! Before we left for winter break we had the first week of January ELA planned for Kindergarten and First Grade - go us!
2 Days Ago
I needed to get the 2nd week of January done for my firsties. I totally rocked it out, but then...

I.Logged.On.To.Pinterest.

BIG MISTAKE!!!

I started looking for ideas for the last two weeks in January and the next thing I knew it was 1:30 in the morning. Oh my goodness, who does that? Oh me apparently!  It's too bad I can't earn credits because as my little ecard states I would have a Ph.D! 

Random Musings

So earlier this week I began a journey that involved 2 LOOOONG days of driving. Now I was very fortunate to have completed this drive in a reliable and comfortable vehicle. So comfortable that I was afforded the luxury of satellite radio which was awesome at first however I mentally compiled a list of songs that at the beginning of my journey I enjoyed but now have no desire to hear Ever.Again.

1. The Weekend I Can't Feel My Face
I Can't Feel My Face

I honestly liked this song and enjoyed it until this week. As my drive continued and I heard it for the millionth time I begin to wonder WTF? The song makes no sense! I can't feel my face when I'm with you? Really? That might be considered a health problem, you might want to get it checked out. Oh but wait you like it? Uhhhhh maybe not healthy.

2. Fifth Harmony Worth It ft. Kid Ink
Worth It

Ok again, a catchy song that I used to like to sing along to, however over playing it like 10 times an hour just ruins it. When I would hear it I began singing along in a nasaly tone that bordered on a witch's cackle. Probably not my finest hour, at least other drivers couldn't hear me!

3. Taylor Swift Bad Blood
Bad Blood

Peanut and I LOVE Taylor Swift but I am So.Over.This.Song. I get it, y'all used to be friends but now not so much. Friends come and go, reason, season, lifetime blah blah blah but wow, you really pack a punch here literally and figuratively

 4. Walk The Moon Shut Up and Dance

Shut Up and Dance

Another song that in the past I have found to be catchy but I was never very comfortable with the whole use of "shut up". I just find the saying impolite. Then add to the overuse in this song plus the over play and I am Over.It. I really just want to encourage whomever it is to just dance! Dance like no one is watching! Shake it! A good dance marathon while washing dishes, sweeping the floor, or doing laundry never hurt anyone, well ok maybe those of us that are less than graceful but we still end up happy!

Grandmas, Mommy, and Peanut Weekend!

So last year mom, my mother-in-law, Peanut and I began a new tradition - going to Great Wolf Lodge over mid-winter break. Currently we are enjoying the 85* temperature inside the hotel water park while the rest of the state is enjoying bitter temperatures and snow.  We love it here but I learned some interesting things today:

1. Once you become a parent and you begin to participate in the "family fun" you must pack the essentials. While checking in I saw a cart with not only the luggage that was needed for the trip but also the absolute necessities of a large case of juice boxes stacked on top of a large case of beer.

2. The restaurant is more than happy to offer to go cups of your favorite adult beverage that can be taken anywhere in the hotel.  This totally beats the slurpee that they add rum to and call a daiquiri at the pool!

3. No matter how old a person looks or how many children they have they are still a frat boy at heart. Case in point with the dads that were cheering their sons on as they face planted from log to log in the pool ignoring the rope that they are supposed to "monkey bar" across. I will say, in all this cheering they totally avoided spilling their beers!

We have such a great time when we are here!!!! ❤️ it!!!

  

Cupcake

So I have discovered the magic of "The Elf on the Shelf".  First and foremost, Peanut's elf "Cupcake" has been instrumental in reminding her just how she should behave in these weeks leading up to Christmas.  Not that we have many issues with her but in my experience even some of the best kids lose their minds a little as Santa's appearance draws near.  Secondly, DH and I are having a BLAST coming up with creative ways for Cupcake to show his face.  Even more than the aforementioned reasons, the joy that Peanut has when she discovers what Cupcake has done while she is sleeping is priceless.  Now, I have to share this little tidbit of history with you before I continue with the elf and his adventures.  I have a confession to make:
I made my parents MISERABLE at Christmas with the idea of Santa!!!!!!!
Whew! Glad to get that out! That will be a story for another day but I will tell you that had "The Elf on the Shelf" been popular during my childhood, all bets would have been off and my dad would have made the elf so believable, I would still be having issues!
Back to our Cupcake.  He made his appearance in  grandiose fashion:

Cupcake gift wrapped Peanut's bedroom door and left her a note from Santa!

Peanut's face was priceless!  She couldn't believe that Cupcake wrapped her door!!!!  My mama was in town for the holiday and helped me with this endeavor.  So parenting failure number 2375, I had planned on doing this, had the paper and the ribbon but no tape!  The paper is actually duct tape which i accidentally left on the table next to Peanut's bed!  Then the next day, Peanut fund it and told me that Cupcake used "this tape on my door and left it out!". FAIL.  I had another parenting failure that day, number 2376 if you are keeping score, Peanut found the pictures of the elf on my camera. I was on my game and exclaimed "Cupcake took selfies on mommy's camera!".  Peanut then proceeded to write Santa a detailed letter about Cupcake's antics including taking mommy's camera and taking selfies! The things we say to keep the magic alive!

Two Girls and a Dog

Earlier this week I embarked on an amazing adventure! Before the sun was up Suzy Q, myself and K (Suzy Q's toy Yorkie) began our journey across the country towards Colorado.  You would think that this would be some what uneventful yet we found ourselves in some interesting places and situations.

While still in Michigan:

While we were still trekking across our great state and the sun was rising behind us we began to watch a driver who was erratically swerving lane to lane.  Suzy Q and I became concerned. Once we were a safe distance away from the said driver we called the proper authorities about the driver.  All of a sudden the other car blasts past us and becomes no where to be seen. About a half hour later we passed the said car on the side of the road empty. Apparently our concerns were founded.

Indiana and Illinois were uneventful with little to report.

Iowa:

Ahhhh Iowa was an adventure! We began Iowa by stopping at "The Largest Truck Stop in the World". This place was INSANE!!!!! Not only did this have what we found to be the CLEANEST bathrooms we encountered but there was also a barber, a dentist and the trucking museum.  But our adventure in Iowa didn't end there.  When we left the aforementioned stop, the sun was shining and the sky was blue.  However, it didn't stay that way. While Suzy Q drove, I took a little nap but when I woke up the sky was GROSS!  According to the weather, storms were headed our way - BAD storms.  Anyone who knows me, knows that I have anxiety when it comes to storms.  We had to pull over into a rest area while the storm blew through.  We found out later there were some funnel clouds and huge hail. Phew!!!! We couldn't get out of there fast enough!!!!!!

Nebraska passed with beautiful weather and nothing special to report. We arrived in Denver around 12 mountain time!!!! Let the adventures begin!!!!