Yay and Boo

Boo.
I am supposed to writing up a teacher evaluation...translation: I am playing on the computer. I know, but I have to score this teacher on 19 different indicators and give evidence from my scripting for EACH one.

I can only do about two before I have to take a break. I think I have a tendency to over think things. Maybe. And...it is not going the way I thought it would. Once I started typing it, using my rubric, and correlating my evidence, well,...not the way I thought it would. Anyway.

Yay!
On one of my breaks, I decided to go ahead an upload some stuff to my TeacherspayTeachers account. If you haven't checked out TpT (as people in the know call it) then you are missing out. Lots of free stuff and low priced items that are ready made for you to use in your classroom.

I ran in to some issues, though. The sucker kept freezing and then wouldn't create the thumbnails for people to see what they were downloading. The nice man that answered my email created one of my thumbnails, but the other is an ActiveInspire flipchart for the Promethean Board. The thumbnail maker thingy will not work with that kind of file. So maybe I will puzzle through that one on my next break because this one I used to type this post.

Don't you feel loved?

Writers Make Lists

Yep. Been a while.

I was covering the art teacher's class the other day, and she was having the class explore different uses for their sketchbooks. One of the explorations was: Artists use sketchbooks to write. They make lists, write stories, poems, gather ideas, etc. So I thought maybe I should make a list of things to write about, instead of freaking out about it and writing nothing...so here is my list of things I could write about because...writers make lists. (Astonishing, I know.)

I could write about:
1. The fact that my kids are school/office supply nerds, just like me. (Post-it Notes, journals, pens, and pencils, oh my!)
2. The long list of items I am "currently" sewing. ("Currently" meaning heaped in a pile next to my sewing machine.) 1 dress, 5 skirts, 4 tops, and a little girls' dress.
3. My son's daily craziness with diabetes.
4. How I have trained my kids to sit and be quiet during a car ride by using audiobooks. (We have listened to 6 books in 2 months.)
5. The lesson planner I created and am training my staff to use, which makes life soooo much easier.
6. My thoughts on new teachers. (They are very much like a dog at the park. Squirrel. Shiny things. Food. Ball. Run. Squirrel. Cat. Run.)
7. The books I want to read, but don't because I am still in heartbreak over reading Pandemonium.
8. My lack of motivation to run as a form of exercise.
9. The anxiety and fear I have about taking on an admistrative type position next school year. (My current position is grant funded, and the grant ends this year. Boo!)
10. The little gift boxes for the small bottles of hand sanitizer I want to make for people. (Although, I have no reason to make them. I just feel the need to make some because the boxes will be cute, and people will think I am awesome.)
11. The dinners I make in the crockpot, which are nothing fancy, but do make for a fast dinner.
12. Hmmm. I think I have exhausted my brain for the moment.

It does feel nice to get some ideas down. Now will I write about each of these? Don't know, but I have no reason to slack now.

Thought of number 12!
12. My efforts to raise money for JDRF in support of my munchkin. (So far this year, we have raised $2,200 dollars. Yay, us!)

Ah. A full dozen. Sweet.

Car Ride, Comprehension, and Peace

If your car rides with children are like mine, then you understand when I say it is like an Adam West as Batman fight back in the day.

POW

BAM

SMASH

Yeah. Two boys together in the backseat is not a quiet ride. (Even if that ride is only 5 minutes.) This past spring we, by some chance, checked out a book on CD at the library. I don't remember what initiated the whole affair, but it happened. The boys chose "Bunnicula", which also included two other titles from that series.

It was as if the angels began to sing on that first drive home. They. Were. Silent.

Every chance after that we would turn on the book and listen to the story. I had to work with them a little on conversations about the progress of the plot in the beginning. Because eventhough the boys read every night, we don't read "chapter" books like this as a family. My husband and I are pretty prolific readers, but we just hadn't done something so lengthy as a family. Now the boys are regular pros at prediction conversations as soon as we turn off the car.

We finished those three books, and went to check out another. This time we chose "The Graveyard Book" by Neil Gaiman. I was a little apprehensive at first, but the boys were motivated so I went with it.

I have to tell you. Books on CD rock! The boys might be in the middle of arguing or just being loud...so...I turn on the book. Immediate SILENCE. Love. It.

This afternoon we took two turns around the block to finish the book. It was that good.

I wish we had more time for things like this in the classroom setting. Students need to hear fluent readers, but more than that the practice in comprehension, visualization, and conversation is just as important in creating confident readers.

Now go and check out something for you and your noisy riders. The peace is so worth it.

Pinterest Finds

Now I realize you could just find me on Pinterest, but I thought I might talk/write/communicate the recent things I have found. Some are work/school related and others are I-want-make-that.

Let's start with...

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 I think this is such an easy way to end a lesson. I sometimes use the 3-2-1 strategy (write 3 things you learned, 2 questions, and 1 confusion), but it is nice to have a variety. Plus, with my job now, I have to constantly find and model different strategies for teachers. I think I can do this and make a set of laminated ones. That way I can put notes on them before the lesson and as students/teachers complete them they can post them or share with a friend. Then I would probably have them transfer the post-its to their journals.

This one did not have a link. Sad, but still super cute. The teacher gave each student a post-it to draw their self-portrait on and then bordered the stationary paper with the notes before copying. FUN! You could update the drawings every few months, but how cute and easy is that. Great first day/week activity.

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My oldest will be turning 10 in a few months, and he wants a Percy Jackson party. I have found a few things online, but not alot. If you have any ideas, I am open. I am thinking about blue food, some matching of the god with powers and the painting of the "camp" beads. Other than that...

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Bacon Ranch Mac and Cheese. YUM! Bacon. Need I say more?

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I think these awesome, cute, green, Calvin Klein heels speak for themselves. And they are clearly saying, "Yes, Jaime. I would look great with your first day of school outfit." I am still looking at them, but buying them is becoming a more frequent thought.

Admittedly, I am on Pinterest alot, but I am kind of a grinch when it comes to pinning things. I have to REALLY like it. I don't know why.

What have you pinned lately?

Obsessed...possibly

I might be obsessed.

I used the Renfrew top pattern last week to make two tops; One was a traditional top made of a stripped knit. The other was an upcycle from an old college tee.

Now. I have made TWO more. Both from old t-shirts. See:

Yes. I realize I need to iron my seams around the top of the shoulders. I hate ironing.

I used a shirt from church to see if I could keep the original neckline. And...I can! Yay! Made it so easy to put it together. Never mind the bulk around the tummy. I had tucked the extra length under because I was deciding whether I needed it shorter. Lesson: Do alterations before you decide to post to the world. (Also, I am too lazy...so the shortening will probably never happen.)

My husband asked, "Why did you cut off your head?" Answer: I didn't want to show my face. I mean do you smile, look at your feet, or point at an invisible something? Awkward...

This one I may or may not have stolen from my little brother. He left it at my mom's house. I found it. I asked my mom if I could have it before I took it. She said yes. So if he should blame anyone, he should blame himself for leaving it and my mom for not guarding his clothes more carefully.

I had to use another shirt for the red facing because I didn't have enough green, and I wanted the whole word to show. It would have been really sad to sport, "Nexico" or "Exico".

I will also admit to having a shirt from the thift store in the wash that will soon be my next victim. Plus, I have decided that from now on when ordering shirts from school, I will order two sizes up so I can redo them. After all...I want to be cute.

Coolest Thing Ever...Until the Next Coolest Thing Ever

While waiting for the summer break to end, I still follow other teaching blogs, pin teaching items on Pinterest, and read professional development books. I know. I am a nerd. But that is okay. Know why? There are plenty of you. Just. Like. Me.

I found the coolest thing ever the other day. It is the Booksource Classroom Organizer. This FREE website lets you upload the titles of your classroom library, import your class list, and keep track of the books you check out to your students. I know, right!

I am not in the classroom currently, but I signed up for an account anyway. Then promptly started to load the books in my personal professional development library. Many times I will loan a book to a colleague, and then months later I have to send out the if-you-borrowed-this-book-email to the staff. Don't get me wrong. I have no problem letting someone else read my books, I just want to be able to find them. Plus, what a cool way to model this tool for my teachers.

Check it out. Coolest. Thing. Ever.

My Renfrew Top and an Upcycle

Along with all the things I do during the summer break, I always find time to sew. Mainly for myself because I am lazy, and I don't want to fit garments to other people. It is hard.

If you follow sewing blogs, I need only say Renfrew top. I <3 this top. It only took me about two weeks (okay two days) to decide to buy this pattern. You have to know two things about me: I have never bought a pattern 1) at full price--love me a $1 sale--or 2) from an independent designer. I bit the bullet and bought this pattern. The reviews where so good, and the pictures of completed tops online were too hard to resist.

Once I received said pattern in the mail, I spent an inordinate amount of time trying to find the "right" fabric to make my first top. Should it be a pirate print or a stripe like many of the flickr photos show...decisions, decisions. I found a great gray and white strip for $5 a yard and history was made. I present my first Renfrew top.

You can't see it, but yes. Those stripes are perfectly matched all the way down both sides. Yay!

So...it got me thinking. Knit. Let me clarify. Cute knit is expensive. This pattern was perfect so what can I use to make more...I give you the regular t-shirt:

I, like many of you, have a plethora of "regular" t-shirts. This one I really don't even know where I got it considering I never went to Virginia Tech. I have no less that 10 college t-shirts in my drawer, and I attended only one of them. (I like to wear college shirts at school on Fridays so the students can see a variety of places they can go when they graduate.)

I cut that sucker up using the Renfrew pattern and...

I know. I look AWESOME.

Next time (Yes. There will be a next time. I have a drawer full of "fabric" ready for an upcycle.) I will cut the neck line a little higher in the front because I didn't have enough shirt let to make the neckband. Other than that, I kept the original hems and extended the pattern at the bottom two inches since I wasn't cutting the bottom band. 

What have you upcycled lately?

Let the Waiting Begin

**Disclaimer: I wrote this post MONTHS ago when I thought about starting this blog. However, it never got posted because Blogger was being "difficult". As a reread it, I am not truely excited about this initial post, but eh--gotta start somewhere.

Begin Original Post (Let's start at the very beginning...even if it is really bad...)


As a teacher, funny stuff happens. Kids. It's what they do. It's what I do when I react to them. Like the time I forgot a kid in the portable building (classroom) during lunch. Yep. I sat down at lunch and realized I had asked this one kid to sit off to the side for time out and not move until I asked him. Well, he followed directions, even when the whole class left for lunch. Oh, to get that first year back. Or the time an other teacher tried to put her infected toe on the lunch table for us to inspect. (Yeah. That actually happened. So. gross.) Rumor had it that same teacher tried to tuck another adult's thong back into their shorts...Anyway.

My friend and I were going to write this book about all the things that happened to us at school while "waiting for the break". Talk to any teacher, and they can tell you how many days until the next break. Don't get me wrong. I love my job! But the breaks are nice. Most of the time, when I am on break, I am waiting for the break to end so I can get back to work. But I digress. As I thought more about it, I realized it is about juggling all the things outside of school, too. So here I am ready-ish to start writing about all that happens while waiting for the break. This should be interesting...