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.

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?