13 in '13 Linky

Well, since Kristi linked up her resolutions the other day, I thought I'd jump in with Thirteen in '13. Looked like fun and my mind is not back in to school mode yet! Thanks for a great linky, girls!

 

 

 

13. Favorite article of clothing:

 

Hoodies...

 

12. Favorite movie you watched:

 

Catching Fire

(this is the only movie I went to see this year...usually wait for things to show up on TV)

 

11. Favorite TV series:

 

Person of Interest

Blacklist (close second)

 

10. Favorite restaurant:

 

Chick-Fil-A

(P.F.  Changs, Gen Ghis Grill, Red Robin...I could go on!)

 

9. Favorite new thing you tried:

 

Teaching 2nd grade! :-)

 

8. Favorite gift you got:

 

Christmas 2012 - Ninja (blender) - I use it every day!

 

7. Favorite thing you pinned:

 

Favorite...I don't know. But my most recent that I have plans to make in the very near future...LOVE bookshelf. I'm excited to put it in my newly remodeled bedroom and put some of our wedding things and favorite pictures on it.

 

6. Favorite blog post:

 

The cupcakes...a total nightmare, but took Pinterest by storm. Kind of cool to see your own things popping up now and then. :-)

 

5. Best accomplishment:

 

Surviving my first semester in a new school, teaching a new grade (2nd), and teaching K-2 music!

 

4. Favorite pictures:

 

 

3. Favorite memory:

 

Big 12 Tournament! Some friends took hubby and I to the Big 12 basketball tournament last March. We watched all the games - the best part being KU winning the championship! Kicked off my March Madness (obsession with NCAA tournament). ;-)

 

2. Goals for 2014:

 

Spend more time in prayer...

Remember what is truly important...

Stick to the budget...

Stay healthy...

Organize more...

 

1. One Little Word:

Prioritize - I really want to stay focused on what is truly important this year. My relationship with the Lord. Enjoying my family and friends. Sometimes I get too wrapped in what keeps me "busy." So prioritize...a reminder to keep my priorities in line.

 

Hope you enjoy your week...oh, and look for a little Facebook action coming soon. :-)

New Years Resolutions!

We have linked up with 2014 Resolutions at A Peach for the Teacher.

I can't believe that it is already almost 2014-WOW, this year has went so fast!  So, I have made my New Year's Resolutions and I'm very excited because one of my resolutions is not to procrastinate and to get and stay organized!!!  YAY-it is Dec. 29 and I didn't wait until after Jan. 1 to do my resolutions so I have already worked on one of them!  :-)

Here they are:

Make sure you head over and do your resolutions for the new year.

I hope all of you had a great Christmas and have a wonderful New Year!

Merry Christmas (Wisdom for Wednesday)!

 

 

 

For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.

 

Isaiah 9:7

 

For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.

 

Luke 2:11

 

No one says it better than that...Merry Christmas!

A Comical Review of Last Week

Waking up at 7:30...

 

Sitting down to enjoy a cup of coffee and homemade cinnamon roll...

 

Working out at 9:00 instead of 5:00 (and yes, I realize if I'd skipped that cinnamon roll, the workout wouldn't have been as necessary - HA!)...

 

Plans to go absolutely NOWHERE in our icy/snowy weather...

 

Those are the small things I enjoy about Christmas break! And, boy, did I need it after last week!

 

We started the craziness on Monday afternoon with a movie reward for all the hard work the kids did on the Christmas program. Each teacher brought a different movie and the kids would get to choose which movie to go to...after some debate, I chose to offer Snow Buddies. I truly thought this would not get a big response (my other choice was Lion King) and was really hoping the Kindergartners would choose Toy Story (the K teacher) or the other Christmas movie (the 1st grade teacher - can't remember the name of the movie). No offense K teachers, but they still exhaust me even after teaching them in music for one semester.

 

We gathered in the gym...all 62 kids. Yes, that is our whole school K-2. Isn't it awesome? Then we announced the movie choices. I knew I was in trouble when there were many "oohs" and "aahs" over Snow Buddies. Finally, we told the kids to line up behind the teacher with the movie they wished to see.

 

That's when it happened...a stampede led by all those Kindergartners I had hoped to avoid. I shook my head and smiled, but I will admit I felt a small amount of envy as I watched at the other two teachers with maybe 6-8 kids each heading off to their movie. Then I herded my group of 40ish kids to my room and quickly started the movie.

 

I stopped the movie twice in the first half-hour to tell the Kindergartners that they had to be quiet in a theater so others could hear the movie. Oh, and people can get kicked out of the theater, you know?

 

Thank goodness for coaching basketball though. I got to make my escape before restroom and popcorn break!

 

On Tuesday, I started on parent gifts. It went so well, my friend/para posted this on Facebook that night:

 

 

This is what started it all: 

 

Isn't it cute? And it looks so easy! It even says easy in the description. See for yourself here.

 

Easy? No...not if the marshmallows won't fit. We tried rolling the marshmallows on desks to make them skinnier (with some success).We tried pushing them through with a pencil, which created an ooey gooey mess and then NO marshmallows would go through the hole. Then one little kiddo poked the pencil clear through the ornament. Okay, bad idea with the pencils... Next?

 

This pic shows the mutilated marshmallows.

We ended up with two broken bulbs and one that I just threw away because we couldn't get any marshmallows in it, so I had to buy another pack of twelve bulbs. Fortunately, this pack had large openings and the kids were able to stuff with no problems. See below:

 

No mutilated marshmallows.

I felt so bad about how some of the snowman turned out, we made another ornament the next day. Kristi and I made this one last year so I knew it would be cute...and EASY (truth - not like the easy of the marshmallow bulbs)! Foam snowflakes, sticky pictures of the kids, glue and glitter. Perfect!

 

Hey, check out that table above the snowflake. It is the kiddo's schedule during Daily 5. I know, I know...I'm supposed to let them choose, but this is what works for me. I made a PowerPoint and click through the rounds each day to tell kids where to go. I found that there were days the projector wouldn't work or when I had a sub, it was just easier for them to have a copy on their desks (laminated and attached w/ a velcro dot). Worked pretty well when I was gone recently. :-)

 

 

 After the excitement of the ornament making on Tuesday and Wednesday, Thursday was Polar Express Day. We read the story, rode the "train" to the North Pole (set up on our stage by the 1st grade teacher - very cool), had hot chocolate and watched the movie. Best part was wearing my PJs to school! :-)

 

Finally it was Friday...we went caroling at the local gas station in the morning. I was a little nervous about this since I was responsible for having the kids ready to sing. They did great...it was over way too fast...literally. Came back to the school and "winged" it until our early lunch. The same gas station provided pizza for the kids, followed by our Christmas parties, and loading the bus by 12:30. I was completely exhausted!!!

 

I hope you are enjoying your break! Merry Christmas!!!

Wisdom for Wednesday-Christmas

Welcome back to another week of Wisdom for Wednesday!

         1 Cross

 +     3 Nails

______________

       4 Given

-unknown

I saw this the other day and thought I'd share since Christmas is about here.  I believe this is the best addition problem I have ever seen!  :-)

 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life

John 3:16

Hope all of you have a blessed day!

Remembering Sandy Hook

As educators, we remember and honor our fallen colleagues and their students from Sandy Hook School.  We honor them each day in our classrooms in which we continue their dream of teaching our children.  We honor their memory with our service.  Join with teachers everywhere in committing random acts of kindness to show our love for Sandy Hook.

Wisdom for Wednesday - Cheerful and Happy

Hi there! Hope you're hanging in there... I know my kiddos are getting a little wound up about the coming break. The bad thing is we have 7 more days!

 

Anyway, here's another...

 

 

I'm not sure I need to add much to Mrs. Washington's wise words.

 

I know I try not to let things bother me, but this is a perfect reminder. Those situations and circumstances do not have to control my disposition. May I be determined to be cheerful and happy no matter my situation!

 

Breathing a HUGE Sigh of Relief!!!!!!!!!!!!

I survived my first Christmas program as a music teacher!

 

The kids did a fantastic job, and they were so stinkin' cute dressed up in their western wear. They definitely made me look good. Ha! I heard a lot of good comments...so I'll call it a success. I really don't know if that is bad or good though...I was really hoping to get out of teaching music next year!

 

My coworkers definitely helped me out...from kicking around ideas to helping with actions and words to running the sound equipment. They are great!

 

I had a nice surprise after the program too...

 

Kristi and Sara*

 

L to R: Kristi, Sara, Crystal

I had no idea they were coming! Kristi had sent me a text this morning telling me good luck and that she was thinking of me...sneaky, sneaky. I was so happy to see them! I miss these two ladies more than I can say, and it meant a lot to me that they would drive all the way out to my little rural school to support  me on my first "big night." Thanks ladies - LOVE you!

 

And look what they brought me...

.

 

 

If you've followed our blog long, you know cocoa is a vital ingredient in my morning coffee drink!

 

*A little about Sara...when I was hired at my old school where I taught with Kristi, Sara moved up to 2nd grade from 1st grade. When I left, she decided to move back to 1st grade and now co-teaches with Kristi. She is also one of my BEST friends. She will laugh at that because when we first started to get to know each other, I was very open about not having a lot of good friends! HA!

 

Well, I will sleep well tonight! Can't wait until Friday...took a personal day to recover! :-)

 

Have a great week!

QR CODES?????

OK, so I'm not very tech savvy and our second grade teacher just introduced me to QR codes.  They have probably been around for ages now and I'm just learning about them LOL!  Anyways, I think they are really neat and would be a lot of fun to use with first grade.  I found these neat ones on TPT by Made By Primary Buzz!

I was wondering if any of you have used them and what all have you done with them?  I would be interested in hearing feedback on what all you have used them for?  Thanks and I hope you have a great week!

Wisdom for Wednesday

Thanks for joining us for another episode of Wisdom for Wednesday!

 

When you feel like you are drowning in life's situations, don't worry, your lifeguard walks on water!

-author unknown

 

I have to say that I feel like I have been drowning this week.  I just can't seem to keep up with everything.  It seems like it is always around this time of year that this happens.  Papers pile up, need to get testing done, need to cover this and that, and then there is all the laundry etc. at home waiting to be done as well.  

 

I saw this quote and realized that these things are really nothing and I just let them make me feel bogged down.  Instead, I need to realize how awesome God is and how he can help me with everything! 

 

Hope you are all caught up on everything and if not, remember our lifeguard (God) can handle anything!

 

Philippians 4:13
I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.

Home Improvements, a Birthday, and Addition with Regrouping!

 

Yes, this is a picture of my new furnace. I know this might not excite most of you, but I am absolutely thrilled to come home to a warm house! No more having to "work at" having heat by making sure the fire doesn't go out. Praise the LORD!

 

And...continuing on with the home improvement projects...



This is the view of my bedroom from the doorway.

This is the view of the bedroom from my NEW walk-in closet.

The closet! I can't wait to get it all set up!

I should have taken before shots...or maybe that would have been too embarrassing! We ripped up the floor, replaced some damaged floor joists and put down a new sub-floor. We tore off all the old drywall, replaced the insulation and updated the wiring, and added the two new windows you see in the pictures. The "mud color" you see on the walls is the base coat for stucco. My dad had his own business for years and hubby actually worked for him for 10 years and learned to stucco. Here's a picture of the dining room walls--just so you can get an idea of what the finished walls will look like.

 

 

One more personal note...here's my son. He turned 14 today!!! I can't even believe it. He wants to know when he can get his learner's permit now. I'm not sure I'm ready for this! ;-)

 

Now on to the SCHOOL stuff (which I'm sure is why you are here):

 

Since this is my first year teaching 2nd Grade, I was pretty excited to teach addition with regrouping. Crazy, I know!

 

Anyway, I found this catchy tune and video on Pinterest. The kids and I are loving it. You might even catch me dancing a bit. Ha!

 

I also wanted some extra practice for my kids so I went on the hunt to find some free worksheets. I stumbled upon this website: Busy Teacher's Cafe. I haven't explored the whole site, but I like what I've seen so far. Check it out!

 

Countdown to Christmas at the O.K. Corral is on... Our performance is next Monday. Wish me luck! Better yet, pray for me! :-)

 

Have a great week!

 

 

YAY! IT IS ALMOST HERE!

I don't know about you but I look forward to the big TPT cybersale every year!!! I already have my eye on some of the great products!  I will just have to make sure I stick to my budget!  LOL!

Everything in our store will also be a part of the cyber sale and you will receive 20% off and TPT is offering an additional savings.  Just make sure you put in the promo code CYBER when checking out.

Thank you to Meredith Anderson for this cute banner!

I hope all of you had a great Thanksgiving and enjoyed time spent with family.  As for me, I know that I ate way too much.  I always tell myself that I am going to be disciplined but there is something about having all that good food in front of me.  I just can't resist!  I need more willpower!

Have a great week and happy shopping!