Happy New (School) Year !!

Happy New School Year! For those of you who have not started yet, please look away- you can come back later!
Just kidding- just stay here, but keep it down with all your non teacher related activities, the rest of us are trying to be serious!


I have officially been a fourth grade science teacher for 28 days!!!

It's funny because everyone I pass in the hall asks, "How's it going in fourth?" "Are you doing okay?" "Do you miss first?" "Do you like fourth?"

Of course, AINT NOBODY GOT TIME to stop and answer a question like that- so I answer "Yes" to everything! It's just the easier route.

There are trade offs for so many things. Remember, Littlest Little is in the fourth (so yes, I am his Science teacher)- but with having him at home and his friends in the neighborhood, I am kinda used to that age group.

I miss all the sweet little high pitched voices yelling "Miss Squirrels! Miss Squirrels!"- BUT these guys already know how to read!!

I miss the way those firsties used to mispronounce words- it's so cute BUT these guys already know how to write!

And in the last 28 days, no one has eaten glue, wet his pants, cut his hair, or cried for mommy, and everyone "gets" my jokes!

I have been "gettin' my learn on" in the evenings! All summer long inservices were offered for how to read the nomenclature for the CCSS, but we had NOTHING as far as Sci content went- so I am soaking in all I can! For some of this, it has been a lonnnnnnnnnngggg time!!!!

It is definitely going to keep me on my toes.

One thing that really kept me on my toes at the very beginning was getting my room ready. I still walk in each day and think to myself that I need to do a few more things,but then I grab ahold of my self and I say "Self! Are ya nuts???? You don't have any time in your schedule for that lil project!!!"

I do have a few pics of some of the projects I did to start of the year-
Remember, my room was originally designed to be the Science Lab for the whole school. One year (that I remember) we had a Science Lab teacher and  she would take classes in and do lessons with them.  She was sweet and young and pretty and all the children loved her- but then she got budgeted out of the system!!
I have ONE cabinet that is filled with stuff that I brought to the room. The rest of my stuff is at home either in the $100 worth of bins I purchased at the end of the year or in the office that is completely non-functional now and is starting to look like a commercial for the upcoming season of Hoarders!! And the room is FULL to the hilt with materials- new and old.

Here comes the room pics...
These cabinets have glass windows that show a variety of specimens that are very old and other equipment. There's just no neat way to store the stuff inside and use the space efficiently at the same time. So it is IN there like SWIMWEAR (think about that one) .

The patterned paper is "purdy" contact paper from Target. The black is chalkboard vinyl from Hobby Lobby. They both now have new jobs- not only are they storing all these materials, they are to look pretty and have a purpose. I have our class rules and the block schedules written in chalk on the chalkboard.

If you look in this 'before" shot you can see that there are four large rectangle bulletin boards on the other side of the cabinet.
Well at the beginning of the year last year, I redid my first grade room and I bought a ton and a half of fabric to do so.
When The Mr. found out I was moving to a new room for this year, he immediately imposed a fabric purchasing moratorium.  Lay terms? Fabric Restriction!!! 
So I had to make what I had from last year work. I covered the large four board area with Dollar General green wrapping paper and then I was able to put the large reg size bulletin squares of fabric up and make it look like there were originally only two boards!!! (I squished the after pic on accident...sorry Hadar)!

I used the laminated scrapbook paper with black clothes pins to put on the closet for student work. And I had The Mr. climb up there and arrange those tubs. (It is killing me that they are not all the same size, color, or kind- but they were already there and belong to the school- so I will not be color coding and replacing those)!

This is a Science Board on the wall that you push in the panels and different maniuplatives come out. Miss D. (my student teacher from last year) is a room in another building that was also the original science lab- so she was struggling to get these covered, too.
 I know that I will need some of these boards when we begin Physical Science, so I did not want to cover with paper or something semi-permanent. 

So I used 2 wooden dowels ($1.50 a piece) and 4 command strips.... and ....

 Viola! or is it Voila!
????
Anyway, I bought (yes, I purchased) 4 panels from Walmart to put on the dowels and now I have this area of the room that is little brighter and I can get to these boards when I need them!
You might be asking "Squirrels, how did you  get around the fabric purchasing moratorium??"
LOOPHOLE!!!!
Technically not JUST fabric- but instead- already a curtain!
BOOM!!!!

 (Don't look at the crates with with binders- stop looking- STOP!!! They are there now but look different)

This is my ONE place where I have some of my things- A very big switch from having stuff everywhere in the past.

Maybe this will be good for me!
I don't need as many containers because I don't have the tiny pieces for reading and math centers and such.
When our STEM activities and challenges begin soon, there will be plenty to keep up with-  I am looking forward to the fun we will have there.

------------------Me!----------------------------

I wish I would have had a recorder in the room these last few days so that I could remember every word of our conversations! It is amazing to see them put the last 4 years of school to work and apply their thinking to some very deep questions!

I can't stay up much longer- tomorrow is Friday and I am in a groove of being all prepped for the coming week  before I leave there. What a great feeling!!!

Be sure to check back in soon- for Posts like
WTH Wednesday- There's a Bee in My Nose
Step Right Up and Take a Tour
and the one I am currently working on-
My Weight Loss Plan is Really Less of a Plan and More of a Gamble


Hope everyone is off to a great start!!!

Back to School Sale- Undercover

Hellllooooooo!!!
Haven't seen ya'll in awhile- the beginning of the year has kept me super busy- I have notes upon notes of stuff to share, including the new room. But for this evening, I am posting from under the cover of darkness.
No, really.
I am hiding in the office getting my cart ready to click BUY when I wake up in the a.m.
It has to be quick! I have to be able to sneak in and out quick- so The Mr. won't walk in and see! Oh, yeah- I'll be hiding the cart from him- I swear, Tpt sales are like porn for teachers! Haven't you ever been guilty of hiding the screen??? Because of your "updated cart", not because of anything dirty- geesh!

If you are headed over to click "buy" on your overloaded wishlist cart during the sale-
be sure you have not overlooked some great fluency practice for Math
I made these Super Facts early on in the year and I loved watching them "play' these games and learn!

 

I also created fluency practice for facts to 10.

http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Fishing-for-Fluency-Facts-to-10

 Another big product has been this Fry Phrase Rings- they make practicing fun and mobile!

http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Fry-Phrase-Word-Rings-1st-2nd-and-3rd-100

Well here's to hoping that I make it in and out of here undetected in the morning!
Happy shopping!

(Don't forget to enter BTS13 when you check out)

Guest Blogging for a Squirrel-friend

Hola!
Today I was able to write a guest post for my friend Jenn over at Charts and Chit Chat (formally Best Practices 4 Teaching).

I am posting this from my phone- so I'm gonna have to be like that old lady in church whose slip is always showing...but instead a slip- y'all get to peek at a bare and ugly link....Egads!!!
http://bestpractices4teaching.blogspot.com/2013/06/ive-been-squirrel-napped.html
Head over to check it out - and we would love for you to leave some "nutty chatter"!!!

WTH Wednesday- The Day After

*****DIsclaimer- This post WAS started on Wednesday. Due to a lack of motivation and an abundance of junk food the author was unable to complete it on time. Management apologizes for any inconvenience  this may have caused.
Thank you.
Management*****


Wednesday? Is that you?
You were just here! It has not been a whole week already, has it???
Nooooooooo!!!

SLOW DOWN, SUMMER!!!
I have already been out of school for 12 days.
Twelve days is like two months in "teacher years"!! It drags in the winter and races past in the summer!!

I thought today was going to be an extraordinarily long one because I had an inservice from 8-3pm.
Ick. I was dreading it.
Do you ever dread them? You know the ones where someone reads you an extremely long ppt or tells you all about a really expensive resource that you don't have and can't get? Or the ones where they want you to put down a deposit on a timeshare but you get a free buffet- wait, that was different.
But you know the ones I am talking about, right?

Well imagine the shock on my face when I was all like, WTH- THIS IS FUN!!!!!

Really! I had a blast!
It was part one of three days and I can't wait to go back tomorrow!!!
It is STEM training for my new position as 4th grade science. Oh my goodness, we did a few activities where I got to "play" with toys and learn! So much fun. I cannot wait to do some of these with my class. And the challenge we had was great too.
It was about the rising cost of gas (irony: inservice was on the other side of town) but we did a Close reading ariticle, a math task and a challenge all based on the this.
Now this may not seem like a BIG NEWS for some of you, but remember that I have only "skimmed" science concepts for the last seven years- so this was amazing!!
(I'm totally going to do the time share and that buffet better be good!!!)

I worked with some great ladies- take a look at the "car" we made. After using the materials that we were given to choose from and we made this hot rod. It was our goal for it to be propelled by wind. (box fan). Our goal was speed, not distance. The little guy averaged 56 mph!!!! That's faster that the Buick Regal that  I had 22 years ago!!!! That thing rattled at 30 and became a death trap at 35!!

Pretty amazing!

We have more cool stuff coming around the next two days- I will be sure to keep you updated!!!!

While I am on my way home from this meeting, I get a fwd email from The Mr.

Middle Little has succeeded in royaling messing up his XBOX live

How bad could it be??? He just changed the skin of his avatar to blue......
Well, he is OFFICIALLY Banned from XBox Live
FOREVER. FOR LIFE. 
Like not kidding.

Permanent suspension!!! WTH!!!!! I just bought that YEAR long card and he only got TWO Months of it

Permanent Suspension!! So being the pushover that I have always been,  I bought him another card!
The Mr said, "Don't do it! Let it be a lesson!" Translation: Don't let him play his Xbox.
I responded, "Dear, we can teach him a lesson a different way." Translation : Are you freakin' crazy?? You're not the one who has to stay home with him all day and listen to him complain...



Check out this new one- I have been saving for you. It came with a shipment I received. First read over the big print.

Now....

WTH!?!?! I'm not even pointing out the fact that skateboard is spelled incorrectly- but the fact that "using it as a ramp" and being "chewed up by your dog" are listed in the void section!
Have they had this many fraudulent claims? I am picturing those insurance scam investigators following 5th graders around and reporting back to the office:
Nope, Bob. We can't replace Billy's binder because I SAW him using it as a skateboard ramp!! And then Chris Hansen comes in and scares the truth out of poor Billy.....
 Oh, the things that go through this squirrely brain sometimes.

I leave you this evening with a "How Did They Get Here?" pic.....

WTH?!! Why are there sadness vibes coming from my blog?!?!?!? It makes ME sad just to think about it !
We can do like on Peter Pan and all "believe' and think good thoughts and the sad squirrel will go away....


Ok- this lady has to get up early and go collaborate one more time before the weekend arrives!
Hope you're all right where you want to be:)

A Celebration, Exciting News, and Summer Randomness

Hello Squirrel-friends!
I am writing to you this evening from "comfy chair".
Comfy chair and I have bonded over the last couple of weeks! I have fallen asleep here almost every night- just exhausted!
Tonight is no different- but I have to share my little "celebration" and I just wanted to share what's been going on in this Nuthouse!

Ok, first the celebration-
Today, June 3rd, 2013 marks
TWO YEARS that I have been SMOKE FREE!!!
What! What! 
Give it up for Squirrels!

How many of you remember my one year? It really doesn't seem like it has been a year since I blogged about it being one year (just said "one year" too many times)- but according to calendar, it has.
Just amazing!
I have now officially passed that mark where I should start exercising and eating better since I got rid of that- I said last year that I would.
Is it bad when you lie to yourself....I mean, I never truly believed that I would start eating better or exercising...but it didn't stop me from saying it- out loud
and to others
and everytime I make a sundae.....

Next time, I will whisper the lies, and then that way, maybe I won't hear them- so technically, I won't be letting myself down!!
Gosh, I am good at solving problems!!!

Look at this huge problem......

(segway queen)
Seriously though, it was a problem for a couple of days.
That is ALL the stuff that I brought home from my classroom.
Not because I am going to work on a ton of stuff....nope.
Not this Squirrel- I made a vow that other than PDs I was going to devote my summer to the Littles! They deserve it. They sure do put up with a lot through the year.

I brought all this stuff home because I am moving rooms.....and grades!

I am going to FOURTH!!!
You are talking to a bono-fide Fourth Grade Science Teacher!!!! A very excited 4th grade science teacher! I will be Littlest Little's Science teacher! (I just said "teacher" too many times in a row)

We'll talk more about the move later- and I will be contacting a few Fourth Grade COnnections.....expect those emails, ladies!
Take a look at my new room- it is actually the school's science lab!
Try not to get dizzy- I didn't pay attention when I made the .gif to the speeds- but these are all the angles.
Miss D came in and helped me out last Tuesday and we got everything put away as best as we could- I was able to turn in EOY checkout sheet and run walk out the door.

So- so far we have taken care of the "Celebration", the exciting news and now it is time for some summer randomness:

Barkley has me up early every morning. Early enough that I can get most "chores" done before they wake up! Which kinda sucks, cause they should be helping me- but it goes faster and I have more to hold over their heads later in the day....
This is what most days are looking like.

I go out back and have a little coffee. This is the view over my fence. There is a farm backed up to our property- most mornings there are cows here.

This is the garden (that I try to do most everything in before it is 1,000 degrees).
We are growing strawberries, jalepenos,banana peppers, tomatoes, asparagus, corn, mint, bhut jolokia peppers and cucumbers

Barkley likes the strawberries! This was just this weekend...

We haven't been able to enjoy too much from the garden yet, but the strawberries are growing like crazy!!!

When I'm not gardening or cleaning, this is where you can find us!! Hanging out with our glitter tattoos, waiting for the "adult swim", eating ALL the snacks we brought before the first break, complaining because IT'S HOT, and enjoying our break!!!

 

It's been great to catch up!

I hope that everyone  who is already out is making the most of their relaxing days! For those of you who are in still in....hang in there!!