This past week was pretty much just as busy as last week. I had a two-day training to attend and then it was a mad dash to get my room as done as I can get it for the first day of school. I also took Joseph to his new school to pick up his schedule and find all his classes. It’s crazy to think that we have a kid in middle school! Yesterday, Paul and I got a sitter and made our way over to the McNay to see the Tim Burton exhibit before going out for dinner. Our anniversary isn’t until next week, but we’ll both be working and then it will actually be Abigail’s turn for Meet the Teacher that night…and I need to be in my classroom to meet my students and parents, so it made more sense to celebrate early. I chose the title for this post because yesterday, I finally checked off the last thing currently on my to-do list for my classroom. 🙂 It feels good to see it empty, even if it will probably start filling back up soon. I go back to work tomorrow and the kids start on the 28th. It’s getting closer!
This is going to be one of my happy places, I think. The lights make it feel so cozy! Ignore the empty bookcase in the back (which you now can’t, because I told you about it, haha)…I was not quite done filling it up.I found the little mushroom pillow at Wal-Mart and couldn’t help but get it. It was the perfect addition to this corner of my classroom.This is the shelving unit we bought from IKEA. It has storage for my classroom games, and a lot of storage for extra paper and whatnot. We got inserts for two of the cubes. One is partitioned so that my students have some place to turn in work. The other one is actually drawers that are quite deep. I’m planning on using that to store the kids extra pencils, crayons, markers, etc. It needed a bit of color, so I draped the blanket I got from New Mexico over it.This is my extra-ling work station. My filing cabinet is against the wall with my printer on top. I’ve got my computer set up and then my typical desk set-up. I got matching desk pads (that are actually identical to the one I have at home…it was just so perfect), so it looks extra cozy. 🙂This is my spot for small groups. On the whiteboard, I have a spot where I plan to display their work, our calendar, and the sticker store (the kids can earn tickets and then use those tickets to “buy” stickers). I also have my birthday wall up, but I haven’t added the birthdays yet.This is the board where I’ll have the schedule written and then board space for writing (as well as when I need to use my projector). The chill zone. I added positive adjectives to the area around the mirror. That way, when the kiddos look at themselves, they can see all those positive words.The kids’ cubbies and some RLA strategies. I had someone pass along to me their laminator (which they were not using) and it has been a life-saver for little jobs like this.This is the cart that the kids will use to charge their Chromebooks along with some fun posters I got and framed…and we can’t forget my favorite sign!Proof I finished putting books in the bookcase, haha.This was a sticker in a cute little pouch our secretaries personalized for each of us and filled with goodies like pens, sticky notes, etc. I added it to my laptop and it makes me laugh every time I look at it.The goody bags for Meet the Teacher. One of my fellow fourth grade teachers gave me the idea of getting pop-its and making a sign that says “thanks for popping in”. I did that, but added some popcorn and Tootsie Pops (because the kids are going to like those just as much, if not more than the pop-its).The sign going into the Burton exhibit.It’s Jack! I was a little bummed they didn’t have Sally, but these were all on loan by one donor, so my guess is that he probably doesn’t have Sally.Oogie-Boogie sans burlap covering so you can see all his bugs, haha.The cat house.The shoot-out guys from Oogie-Boogie’s.Tim Burton, Jack, and Robert Tobin (the person who lent the collection).The bed from the opening sequence of the movie.The initial mock-up of Lock, Shock, and Barrel’s hangout.The sign for the mock-up.The armory itself.The mock-up for Jack’s tower……with its sign……and then the final thing.I think this is the guy from Oogie-Boogie’s that rolls the dice.A very Burton-esque wreath at the front of the exhibit.This man. Museum trips are not very high on his list of things he enjoys doing, but when I expressed a desire to go, he got it all set up. Twenty-one years has gone by in an eye-blink it seems. I’m so glad we chose each other those many years ago. 🙂Anniversary flowers. 🙂The necklace he got me. In the stone, if the lighting is right, you can see very small print that spells out “I love you”.He also got me a watchband for my FitBit. I don’t have a picture of what I got him (an expansion for one of his favorite games).
This past week has contained a LOT. Paul has been busy with work, the kids have had swim lessons, Joseph had band camp, and I got to start setting up my classroom in between days that I had trainings and meetings. I even had a training today that I willingly signed up for (instead of choosing a weekday) because I knew it meant I wouldn’t need to try and find another sitter for the kids. Paul had Monday off, so he was able to help bring in all my classroom stuff. I did most of my set up on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday and squeezed in one or two small tasks on Thursday and Friday. I still have more to do, but it’s getting closer! Joseph enjoyed band camp (he’s doing percussion) and both kids enjoyed swim lessons. Well, Abigail was really apprehensive at first, so we made a sticker chart with rewards built in at the end of each week. With that to help drive her, she was able to realize that it wasn’t as bad as she thought, really…and by the end of the last day, she didn’t want swim lessons to be over. I promised her we would sign her up next summer as well. Maybe just not at the same time as band camp and work PD days for me, haha. I did NOT do that on purpose. I signed them up for swim and paid the deposit. Then I found out that band camp was going to be happening during the second week of swim. Luckily the times matched up so that I could pick up Joseph from band camp and then we could go home for them to change before heading straight to swim. As for the PD days, those were determined by admin, so I got a sitter for those two days (who was able to take Joseph to and from band camp and take the kids to and from swim). Abigail loved her and even tried to get me to go back to work so that her sitter wouldn’t have to leave. Next week I have New Teacher Academy and then three last days to try and wrap up my room (in between getting the kids their back-to-school haircuts…and Abigail probably needs new tennis shoes before school starts, too). The week after that I’ve got work every day before the kids finally start back on the 28th. Then the REAL crazy begins!
I was excited to walk up to my classroom and see my sign. 🙂This is what I walked into. It was pretty much a blank slate.This is the first piece of decor I hung up. My sweet Tara made it for me and I absolutely love it!She helped load stuff into my classroom, went to swim, and then played hard at home…she was exhausted!Mid-day on Day 2 of decorating. I think I forgot to take a picture at the end of Day 1. I got a lot of the stuff up onto my walls and I got the kids’ name tags on their desks.Abigail was super excited to see the lights go up around my board.I probably would have cried in frustration had Joseph not been in my classroom to help me untangle the patio party lights and bring me paperclips to get them hung…and help me move my stepladder…Abigail was excited when these ones went up, too.This is going to be fun to use in my classroom when I want those instant gratification pictures to put up somewhere in the room.This is my chill zone where the kids can go if they become overwhelmed, angry, upset, frustrated, or sad. They can sit, reset, and then get back to work.The full effect of the party lights and board lights…I also found out that I’m going to have fewer students than I originally anticipated, so I adjusted my desk set-up.I also added the felt clouds a friend of mine passed along to me and the rest of my paper lanterns.I was watering the pumpkin plant and decided to see how many pumpkins I could find. Here’s one……and two……and four! This one is actually the first one we found. There might be more growing, but this was what I found during my quick inspection.Abigail drew Micky Mouse. Specifically the black and white version that is at the very beginning of the more recent Disney movies (I think it might be a tribute to Steamboat Willie) that is whistling. She made sure I knew which Mickey she was talking about. I thought this was pretty good! She got his gloves, the buttons on his pants, and the over-sized shoes. I think she also did pretty good with the whistling mouth pucker. 🙂
I’m having to do a bit of a catch-up post. I let the days slip away last week without doing a blog post, so here’s pictures from that week as well as from this past week. Two weeks ago, I took the kids up to New Braunfels to go to the children’s museum. Joseph has aged out of it, but it was still fun for Abigail (and Joseph stuck it out for her). We also made a stop at Buc-ee’s, so that made it worth Joseph’s while. 😉 The rest of the pictures are of us squeezing the last bit of summer in. The kids still have three weeks of vacation, but my month is pretty packed with trainings, PD days, and setting up my new room. The summer is swiftly flying by!
So much awesome in one little package…Outside the museum. I like that it’s a smaller one than the one in San Antonio (the Doseum), but Joseph might like the Doseum better…I think it has a bigger range of things (he’s been once on a field trip, but the rest of us haven’t). This one is really geared toward the younger crowd.Getting ready to play an operation game. The lights would light up if you touched the sides of the part where you were trying to get the object out.Joseph was trying really hard not to touch the sides……while Abigail had a much more…gung-ho approach. 🙂She loved taking care of all the babies in the hospital nursery.In a playhouse.Patient older brother…“Welcome to the pirate restaurant…we sell food that pirates like to eat.”Trying out a drum.When she pushed down on the button, it made a stream of water bubble up like a fountain.Getting ready for outerspace!She loved this art area. They let the kids take home their creations.Abigail insisted on being the jumping astronaut…Joseph was less than thrilled to have to hunch down for the picture, but he does a lot for his little sister. Buc-ee’s always makes everybody perk up.I added a new shirt to my collection.A friend suggested this book and it was such a fun, quick read. It’s about the beginnings of Jack and Sally’s marriage, but it’s more of a mystery (with a problem to be solved) than being the typical “after the wedding” book. I really enjoyed it!I got the hankering for rice pudding…well, arroz con leche to be more exact. I looked up the ingredients and it was way easier than I realized to make. First, simmer some uncooked rice with cinnamon sticks.The other ingredients: milk, evaporated milk, and sweetened condensed milk.After the rice simmers for a bit, drain it and pick out the cinnamon sticks. Next time I’m going to scoop out the cinnamon sticks before draining out the water (since they float). It was a bit time-consuming getting all the little bits and pieces of cinnamon sticks out after the fact.Pour the three milks in with the rice and stir, stir, stir (so the milk doesn’t scald) until it’s nice and thickened up.Top with ground cinnamon, chill, and then…Yum!The pumpkin plant really is getting a little overbearing, haha. This tomato plant is trying to hold its own, though.The pumpkin plant is growing out of the ground right to the left of these two closest pots. It decided to go up and over on this closer side and then all the way down the side yard on the further side. It actually started growing up over the other plants over there and I was having none of that. I untangled them (the pumpkin plant had wrapped several of its little curls around the other plant in various places…uh, rude!) and turned the vine back on itself. Hopefully it’ll keep going the direction I turned it. I’m keeping a closer eye on it.New school year means…a new school planner! I needed to pick it up now because I needed to already start filling in a ton of things for August. Whoever thinks teachers have the entire summer off…is sorely mistaken. I did have quite a bit of time off, but it definitely isn’t going to be the full three months. That, and teachers spend so much time before and after school doing things…we need that time off to avoid burnout, haha.I want to set up an area in my classroom (I’m going to call it the chill zone) where a student can go if they feel sad, frustrated, angry, or overwhelmed. It’ll have a cushion they can sit on and a basket full of sensory toys that they can play with while regulating their emotions. Abigail found the fillers for the basket. She loves, loves, loves sensory toys (I mean, what kid doesn’t, really?). She said, “It’s really unfortunate that these toys are for your students Mom, I really want to play with them.” I made her feel better by reminding her that she would get to hang out in my room after school most days, so she could play with them then.I picked up new clothes for the kids and Abigail felt the need for a fashion show. Here she is with her unicorn glasses……and her favorite orange glasses from the dentist……and then she wanted what she called a “normal” one so that people could “see her face”. I love this kid!I decided I needed one more teacher shirt and landed on this one. I love the show Friends, so I couldn’t pass this shirt by (it’s designed like the Friends logo and part of the lyrics for the opening song of the show is “I’ll be there for you”).We squeezed in one last park day (it’s been soooooo hot). We got there about 9AM and were ready to leave by 9:45.
