I'm Still Alive...Just Busy!

Oh my gosh! When was the last time I was on here?  Well, a lot, I mean A LOT has happened in the interim since I posted last.  I'll try to remember everything.
1) My husband and I decided to sell our house.  I know - I move schools to be closer to home and then we up and sell.  Go figure.  Well, the house was on the market for a whopping 24 hours before it sold.  We moved out 3 weeks later (in which I regret immensely because I have lost my charger to not only my cell phone but to me iPad as well.) Crap.  So long, backyard that took 4ever to clean! You are someone else's problem now!

View of the backyard that now someone else gets to clean after every breeze that rolls into town.  Good Luck with that!

2) We moved in with my mom - who loves to be able to see Baby Alex everyday, while we look for our next house.  Actually, we think it's going to work out just fine.
3) Baby Alex isn't quite a baby anymore.  He turns 1 NEXT BLOODY MONTH! Where does the time go?  But - the passage of time just makes this little guy cuter.  Don't you agree?

He's making his "squinty face" (which looks just like his great-grandma's squinty face did when she was alive) 

4) Pumpkin Week is here!  Hopefully, starting on Monday, I'll post what we did in school for Pumpkin Week.  Monday is Mostly Math: observing, measuring, and weighing our pumpkins and recording them in our pumpkin science journals.  The kids are excited, their parents are excited (probably mostly to have their kids STOP talking about it) and I'm excited about it.
5) Parent-Teacher Conferences are OVER!  I really like to meet this parents of my students, but it becomes one big hassle to get everyone scheduled, have some blow you off completely, and others' go over into someone else's time and then someone gets mad.  I always go home with a huge headache and a bucket of chicken from Popeyes because after that debacle, there is no way in H-E-Double hockey sticks that I am cooking.
6) Halloween Hoedown (my school's version of their fall festival is done with as well.  Can you imagine, 700+ kids, just as many parents and screaming toddlers milling their way in and out of a haunted house that takes up the entire courtyard of a school for 4 hours?  Neither can I.  Everybody had fun, I stayed home.  Oh well.  My sanity is intact, while my school spirit is little lacking.  BUt after a hurried weekend move, a baby at home who is learning to walk, and parent conferences to plan for (which happened to fall in the SAME 5 day period) you can cut me some slack.

That's about it.  So, I'm still alive...just busy around here.
I just have to put this face on here one more time...he's my favorite person and he can't even talk yet.  But...the other night in the car, I taught him to laugh like an evil mastermind.  I'm just that awesome.  Mwhahahaha!

Lookin' cute at the Winco! 

Until tomorrow - PUMPKIN WEEK!
Shauna

Catch My Breath

It's been awhile, readers, yet I feel I can finally catch my breath!  New school, new procedures, and most of all, new students!  Two weeks into the new school year and I'm having a blast.  The kids a re loving the superhero theme and, according to Open House turnout, so are their parents! Win-Win!

I will say there most definitely is a learning curve when it comes to moving schools.  So much new stuff to learn and new ways to re-think things I have done for a long time.  It's a great opportunity to try something new and find out what works for this year.

I am super excited about Amy Lemons' Henry and Mudge unit that is brand new as well!  Check it out here!  We are beginning our own Mudge unit and her activities are right up my style.  I can't wait to show my students next week!   Here is a picture of Ms. Lemons' Unit.  If you want it for yourself, head on over to her Teachers Pay Teachers store and stock up!  Only $5.00 and a whole unit's worth of things to do!  http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/A-Boy-and-His-Dog-A-Henry-and-Mudge-Unit-860742

Other things are happening as well - Bean got a walker yesterday!  He has been crawling all over the place and well, now he can scoot along as well.  He turns 10 months this month - where did the time go?  But I simply adore him.  Every smile, every tear, every scream, yell, and shout.  Every coo, every drool, every twinkle, tinkle, and poo.  

Bean too wanted in on the superhero happenings n my class.  Who was I to say "no"?

Well, I promise not to wait so long between posts!  Now that I have my breath back, I get back to normal! 

Always, 

Shauna 

Whew...I'm Pooped and 2013-2014 Classroom Reveal!

Okay - I finally was able to get into my classroom this week and work.  I started off with a room that had the following things just lumped against the wall:
25 student desks
15 chairs
1 kidney table upside down
1 teacher desk
2 giant wardrobes
2 bookshelves
2 filing cabinets
1 overwhelmed teacher

I finished today (with the help of my mom) with the following:
25 student desks
25 chairs
1 kidney table (right side up in the corner)
1 teacher desk
1 computer table
1 small table
5 bookshelves
2 wardrobes (1 out in the hall)
0 filing cabinets
1 very tired, but satisfied teacher

Ready for the full fifty-cent tour?

The hallway bulletin board (love the pop of colors!)

Hero Cape and Bathroom/Nurse sign out signs

No more "What time is art?" questions

Calendar and 1st day Back Treat bags -  I love love love the spiderman lampshade! 

Word Wall in the back of the library

Small group table (excuse the mess - we're preping today!)

View from behind the small group table

View from behind the small group table facing the class

Ikea book boxes ready for journals and writing folders (5 for $1.99!)

Library and math/spelling tubs

Math rotation bins all ready to go

Standard board and behavior/CHAMPS section

Teacher desk - ELMO will go here

Today mi madre and I got my BAT Binders put together (Monday's post will be all about them!) and my Walmart anchor chart (laundry hanging rack) put together.  Pictures of those to come on Monday.  So as you can see, we have been busy busy busy these past few days.  I'm taking off all next week to spend the last full week of vacay with Bean.  August 21 - I'm ready for you!

So what do you think? Are you ready for school to start again?  The first three comments below will get a free download from my store at Teachers pay Teachers! (Just leave your email in the comment!)

Always,

Shauna

Finally Finally Finally...AND a GREAT DEAL

Finally #1!  I have finished my latest labor of love - a HUGE unit on saturation for science!  13 activities designed for fun and exploration in the world of mixtures, solutions, and saturation.  I actually wrote this when I was an undergrad for a science class and I dusted it off and updated some of the graphs and assessments.  Still - it's my biggest file yet - 51 pages of fun.  Check it out if you're interested, just click the title!

Counter Top Chemistry Presents: Saturation!

Finally #2! I am now able to move my school stuff to my new classroom!  I have been waiting anxious to do just this since the last of school back in June.  I hate the feeling knowing that I have so much to do and not being able to do it.  That, and I am tired of walking around all my things in the garage, a spare closet, AND my dining room!  My office is almost pushing me out with all the boxes of fantastic things that I have put together while waiting for my room to be done.  

By the way...anyone looking for a GREAT DEAL?  I've found one for you.  DO you use those cardboard magazine holders in your classroom?  DO you hate the price that you must pay for a pack of two?  (Last I saw, Target had 1 for a $1 in the Dollar Spot, and Really Good Stuff has 4 for $9.99).  Check this out!  IKEA! 

These babies are...wait for it...5 for $1.99!  OMG are you kidding me?  No!  Check out the website here and order yours today.  I already ordered mine and while shipping to my part of the world was $11, I still was able to order 50 (that's right 50 files) for only $20!  I can't wait until they are here!  Here's the link:  http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/50022354/ 

Well, that's it for me today - I need to gather my school stuff in one place so the Hubs can load it all in his pickup truck to move to my NEW CLASSROOM!  Can I say that I am excited? 'Cuz I am! Yay!

Always, 

Shauna

Welcome Back Letter

   So today I was on full-on "home-maker/mommy" mode.  Laundry, dishes, dipers, and naps took over my morning.  But because of above mentioned nap time, I did get something for me done - my welcome back letter!  I also got my math rotation signs made, laminated, and cut out. Check off those things on the "to do" list.

Speaking about laminating - my little extra monetary incentive from those 3 weeks of summer school came in and I finally splurged and bought my own laminator from Lakeshore Learning.  Can I just say that I should of purchased this little beauty YEARS AGO?  OMG! I am in love with a machine.  And until September 1, you too can own one for just $70 'cuz it's on sale along with all the supplies needed for it.   Don't think about buying one - BUY ONE!  It's totally worth it.  No more standing in line waiting for the school to do it for me.  No more waiting and waiting and waiting and just when it's my turn, the roll of film runs out.  No more.  This time...I win.

My new favorite machine. 

I Quit

I have a quilt that is one-third of the way to being done hanging on my wall in my office.  It has been there since we moved in, 3 years ago.  I haven't finished a quilt in that long.  When I began quilting, I finished five quilts in as many weeks.  As soon as one was finished, I would start another one, the ideas just popping into my head were not as fast as my fingers or sewing foot would allow.  But, one thing led to another, one project started, then set aside, kept me from going back.  Now I have a design board filled with white and yellow squares mocking me in the gentle breeze of the ceiling fan that seem to say...you gave up on us.  You're a quitter not a quilter!

And they are right.  I am a quitter.
So here is my official resignation.

I quit.  I quit being lazy in my planning - I will try to get my act together and become better prepared in my everyday lessons.

I quit being disorganized.  I will become better at remembering that "everything has a place, and there is a place for everything" that my Nana taught me but I had since forgotten.

I quit being lackadaisical in my approach to important things.  I will try to place emphasis on the important and dismiss the unimportant in my life and my teaching.

I quit being tired, bored, and staid in my presentation.  I will try to have my nails, face, and clothes look like the professional that I am.  I do not need to wear jeans and a t-shirt to work everyday.  Dresses are pretty and they make me feel pretty.

I quit procrastinating until the last minute.  I will plan, lay out, and organize the things I need in advance.

I quit putting things into piles.  I will put my clean clothes away when I am done folding them instead of just putting them on the dresser.

I quit hoarding onto things that I will a) never use b) don't really need in the first placed and c) can replace easily if I ever DO end up needing it.  I do not want to die under a large stack of newspapers and clean, folded clothes.

I quit "collecting" things that I don't need.  Do i really need all the Twilight books when I don't read them anymore?  I read all three 50 Shades books and got rid of them right after, so Twilight - you're history.

I quit  hanging onto school forms, evaluations, administrator memos, and any other piece of paper that finds its' way into my mailbox at school.  Scan what I need into my computer, read the memos, then toss them away.

I quit being the teacher who is known more for fun, rather than substance.  I want to be known for a balance of both, not heavily to one side or the other.

I quit being inconsistent.  Consistency is my new mantra and I will chant it everyday.

I quit being everyone's "Go-To-Girl."  I am now my own "Go-To-Me-Girl."

I quit saying "Yes" and I now own the word "No".  I will use it everyday.

I quit trying.  Instead, I will DO.

I quit thinking " already know how", and instead I will think "How do I do...".

I quit the mentality that I "know" and I will accept and adopt the mentality of "I want to learn".

I quit "someday I will" and will move on to "today I will."

I will quit looking at that unfinished quilt and I will finish it.  I will let my little boy take a nap under its warmth, and I will let it soak up his baby drool and spilt milk.  I will let him roll around on it under the sunshine, and I will let him wrap his favorite animals up it at night, and I will let him make a tent out of it and the cushions from the couch.  I will let him tie it around his neck and become a superhero, gently crushing his enemies and thwarting the nefarious criminals and their dastardly deeds.  But I can't let him do any of that if it is still tacked on the wall.

I quit.

Do you want to quit too? Leave a comment below.

Shauna

Monday, Monday, Monday

Well, I finally, FINALLY finished my long-worked on product for Teachers pay Teachers.  I had this idea since the beginning of summer, and have only NOW gotten around to finishing it.  It also helps that Bean cooperated with me this morning and was content to bounce in his bouncer while mom typed away.  Well, what is this magical product you ask?  Parts of Speech labels!  Yay! Check the pictures out. I have no idea WHY these stupid things are like this, but at least you can stretch your neck muscles!

The labels are designed to help your students identify the parts of speech in a sentence.  They are color-coded and easy to print out and implement.  My questions is why does something sound so easy to do (like put this pack together) take so long to do it?  (My mind wanders again to my bouncing baby boy who has started to talk non-stop. Remind me to tell the story that he told the other day about the trombonist running away with the saxophonist, leaving the poor timpani drummer alone with a kettle-drum sized broken heart.  Quite interesting.)  

On a lighter note (sorry once again poor timpani drum guy) I am eagerly awaiting Tuesday night when I get to go meet some wonderful bloggy friends at the Venetian!  I am really excited to meet some of the people that I follow on their blogs and who gave me the inspiration to start my own.

Inspiration happens in the smallest of things - like a walk in the park to the sound that a waterfall makes.  Just reading all the wonderful blogs and pintrest boards out there makes me feel like I too, can do it.  Well, sometimes trying things one sees on pintrest and having them actually turn out like the picture is a totally different story.  (See my previous attempt at a banana cream poke cake that ended up lining the bottom of a trash bag...) Those "Pinned it...Nailed It" posts are spot on.

Here's to the inspirers who manage to keep us pinning, making, trying, and doing.  Thank you.

Always,
Shauna

Anchor's Aweigh!

After watching "Battleship" last night for theupteenth time, (can anyone say Alexander Skarsgard...yum?) I am hereby inspired to post about...Anchor Charts!  All of these I have found on Pintrest and I do not know where their origins lie, but to those who made these in the first place, here is your due.  Thanks for the inspiration to make my own!

In my experience, anchor charts are only as good as you use them - just by putting them up on the wall in the beginning of the year doesn't do anyone any good if you never refer back to them.  Anchor charts that you make with the children are the best - they remember the whens the whys and hows and the purpose of the chart whenever they look at it.  That being said, here are the anchor charts that I have made and use regularly over the course of a year.

The following anchor charts are the newest additions that I have recently completed.  I can't wait to put them in place for next year.  I think they will be a great addition to resources that the kids will refer to.  I really am in love with my Super Stamina one - just wait 'till you check it out!

So there you have it - anchor charts.  As I said in an earlier post, when I get the itch to color something, nothing will stop it short of a box of Crayola crayons and markers (that and hydrocortisone cream.)  I sit down with a picture of the inspirational piece, a pencil and a heavy duty eraser and freehand everything.  When I'm satisfied, then I get to color.  

Bean thinks it's boring.  This is what I found the other day while I was making the Super Stamina poster.

One day, he too, will love to color.  On the walls, on the table, on the doors, on papers that are important, on anything.  I will not get mad, because I was like that too.  And if I remember the curse correctly, my mother said I was going to have a child JUST LIKE ME, and she would sit back and laugh.  So, here's to coloring, hunky Navy commanders, children, and anchor charts that work. 

Happy Monday All!

Always, 

Shauna & Bean

Dollar Store Treasures

I love the Dollar Tree, Target's The Dollar Spot, and the 99 Cents Store.  There's just too much good stuff that one can put to use in the classroom.  That being said, today, I'm taking you on a tour of my recent findings from the above mentioned stores over the past two weeks and a short description of how I plan to use them.  Let's get started, shall we?

I feel like I've won the lotto!  Look at all this crap wonderful stuff the Bean and I have found!

Holds a picture  - was thinking of trying a new management tool: I'll put 5 of them up on a board while I'm with small groups.  If it gets too noisy I'll take one down.  Once they are all gone, the class might lose 5 minutes of recess or something.  

Themed erasers:  Great for counting, grouping, or  fractions.

These make great chair pockets for library books, unfinished work folders, or  stuff they need at a moments' notice.  

SMall dry erase boards (I got one in Batman, Superman, and the Justice League.  I'll hand them by the door and whomever needs to use the potty, go to the nurse, or leave the room can write their name instead of passes that get left behind.

Folders.  It seems no matter how many the kids bring in, you always run out .

Clipboards.  Students always seem to find one then EVERYBODY needs to use one.  

Retractable fly swatters.  Great for reading the room, playing the game SWAT!, and smacking each other in the head.  Hopefully the later wont happen while I'm watching.

Superhero Stickers.  'Nuff said on this one.

Alligator clips.  I thought I could use these in a center for greater than/less than.  Smething else is bound to come up as well.

These microfiber things are the BEST at cleaning a whiteboard.  Just add a spray of pure clean water, and you will not find a better whiteboard eraser.  Better yet, just toss 'em in the wash, and they are as good as new.  No more cheap erasers that fall apart, never clean and just smear marker all around.These ones even have loops for easy hanging on a hook!

Superhero rope pens.  Never be without a pen again!

These came from Target: 4 in a package for 1.00 (that's .25 cents apiece!)  Center work, individual work, and I want to try to create the longest compound sentence this year with my students.  I think these will work great!

Mini-bags ( I got blue, green, red, and orange: superhero colors of course) for the 1st day of school treats.  3 to a package for 1.00 at Dollar Tree.

Gold poster letters.  I am going to label the times for lunch, specials, and recess on the  wall and the letters I had last year ended up being too big, but I was pregnant and didn't really care.  This year, Smaller is Better.



Well, there you have it.  A quick and dirty guide to all our treasures under a buck.  If you have any ideas for any of the products I've listed here, leave a comment below.  


  Always, 
Shauna