Punch Cards and Hot Chocolate

Hi Friends!  Have a I mentioned lately that I am so excited I can add an "s" to that word?! Thanks, guys!  :) 

So, in my neck of the woods, it's stinking rainy and just plain cold (AKA low 50s, so I know I'll get no sympathy out of some of you guys)!  A great day for being lazy, right?  Hmmm, let's see:  Strike One, had to leave the house at 7:20 this morning for my youngest son's 8:00 basketball game.  By the way, my older son had a game at 11:00, so we stayed at the center until then.....Talk about numb bleacher butt.  Strike Two, we have a birthday party to attend at...wait for it...Chuck E. Cheese.  I think I'd rather take a bullet.  The total antithesis of relaxation.  And, finally, Strike Three.  The five loads of laundry staring me in the face.  Oh well, maybe tomorrow.  (Come on, am I conjuring up any pity from you people? LOL)

Well, here's what we have been up to this week!  We made some hot chocolate mugs from Abby's adorable Hot Chocolate Unit.  They turned out so cute!

I love them!  We will be making hot chocolate in the crock pot on Monday.

I also wanted to share with you guys somthing that I started doing this year.  You should all know that Vista Print offers free business cards!  So, I wanted to find a way that could work for me in the classroom.  And this is what I came up with!

On their website, I made up a business card for myself with my school email and the school phone number, figuring that would be a great way for parents to have my info readily available when they need it. 

Then at the bottom of the card, I added some capital O's with reasonable space between each one so I could also use it as a Punch Card for my students!  They absolutely LOVE it! They are able to earn punches by completing homework and for getting everything right on their morning worksheet (a review worksheet that is on their desk when they arrive at school in the morning).  When they fill their cards, they have several rewards they can choose like: Shoes Off Day, Lunch With a Friend, Change Desks With a Friend, Show and Tell, Pet Shop (where they can bring a stuffed animal from home to sit at their desk with them all day).  They get so excited about these! 

And, might I add, it puts all of the responsibility on them.  I am ALL FOR building responsible kiddos.  I don't have to keep up with the card or special stickers or anything like that.  They are responsible for their own cards, so if they loose theirs, they must start over.  And no one wants to do that.  This has worked wonderfully in my classroom. 

Oh, and can anyone offer me advice on how to post documents on the blog?  I can't quite figure it out!  I'd love some help from you pros!   :) Have a great weekend!

(Wishing I Was) CLUTTER FREE

 Boys and girls---whoa, can you tell I'm used to saying that a million times a day?--I mean, fellow teachers.  If you have not yet visited the Clutter Free Classroom blog, I so recommend it.  I mean, we all know that teachers seem to have a slight holding-onto-stuff-forever problem.  I am guilty of it, and I've only been teaching three years!  Now, I know one of the worst things I could come across as a private school teacher with a !TINY! classroom is one of those "free to a good home" boxes sitting in the office.  *sigh* Dag-on it, why can't I resist??!  But, fellow teacher, I hereby announce that I am going to (attempt to) stop it. 

All joking aside, my classroom is sooooooooooo small!  I need more space!  Now, aside from me donating a large sum of money to the church which is my school, I just don't see a room enlargement coming up.  So, my only option is to be creative.  And that's what I'm trying to do.  Wish me luck!!

While I was visiting Clutter Free Classroom, I came across this wonderful Substitute Teacher post.  That's when it dawned on me that compared to what she has going on, I totally stink at preparing for a substitute teacher.  I dare you.  Check it out.  You'll probably leave feeling bad about yourself too. 

Also, I just wanted to say thank you to my new followers!  Yay!  I finally have some! LOL!  Thanks for the support!  Keep it comin'.  :)

Do we really have to go back to school tomorrow???!!

These are the words coming from my five-year-old right now as I tell him it's bed time.  I feel your pain, buddy, I feel your pain. Hey, don't judge. You know you feel the same way too! I swear, three day weekends just don't do it for me anymore.  I'm always left on the eve of return, wanting one.more.day!  :)

Ok, enough whining, let's get down to business. Guys, I have a confession.  I am a big.ole.slacker.  Yeah, I said it.  Admitting it is half the problem, isn't it?  Around November-ish, I took up my class' "I'm Finished Notebooks".  It was time to replenish the sheets with new material and do some good ole cleaning.  The plan was to get all that done over Thanksgiving break and bring back brand new stuff in the notebooks when we returned to school.  You can see what's coming next, can't you?  It seems that I was--dare I say--"overly ambitious".  Because I STILL have not done that. Hmph.  My poor first graders.  It's a good thing they didn't hold their breath.   Maybe I'll try again tonight....

Happy Short Week!  Don't be a slacker! :)

Hockey, Money, and Cookies......Sounds like a good combo!

Happy New Year!  So I'm a little late......forgive me.  I've had a lot going on...haven't we all?  My hubby and I went to a hockey game the other day--only the second one I've ever watched.  It was so much fun!!  I totally recommend it!  Go Canes!! :)

a nice shot of my husband with his eyes closed. Ha!

On another note, my first graders are doing better than ever!  I am so proud of their progress!  It's that time of year when we are on to harder topics and more work, and they are just relishing it (most of them)!  I am so glad!  We are working hard on money, and that is SUCH a doozy for first graders.  It's all good til we start combining.... So, it has been practice, practice, practice for us.  We use this little rhyme to remember who's on what:
Lincoln penny, Roosevelt dime, Jefferson nickle, One more time!   I know I certainly need a refresher once in a while-LOL!  Does anyone else use this? 

On the fun side, we made some adorable cookies and wrote about our favorite kinds of cookies.  I am pretty sure I got this idea from Teacher Wife .  Love it! They made a darling bulletin board.

These are so cute, right??

 And, of course you know we had to make snowflakes--Even though it's been a nice 60 degrees here for the past few days.  LOL!  Next up is making our hot chocolate mugs.  I can't wait for this one! :)
On the personal front, my husband and I began Nutrisystem last Tuesday......I am bound and determined to finally do this once and for all.  *sigh* It's been a long week.  Haha!  The first few days I was pretty sure I was starving, but at this point, I think I am used to it!  I'm already seeing a loss!  Woo hoo!! 


So, what were your New Year's Resolutions, and how are they coming along?? 

So, today is the day when I can actually get a bunch of stuff done after school.  And I just don't wanna.  :( 

My hubs and my 4-year-old (Kellen) boarded a plane for a little "daddy time" trip this morning.  They are Pittsburgh-bound.  They hate Pittsburgh---no offense if anyone from PA actually reads this. ;) 

So, why, might you ask, are they going to Pittsburgh? 

Well, this is exhibit A in my attempt to prove that my husband is a total.football.freak.  And not just football in general, though he does enjoy watching any football game.  But a Cleveland Browns football freak. 

So, yes....my 4-year-old has accompanied him on his very first Browns "away" game, and folks, it's gonna be a cold one.  As in 30 degrees.  Bless his little soul.  It's a good thing I packed multiple layers.  But guys, let me tell you--homeboy is stoked! 

Anyway, I am a bit surprised at how nervous I got this morning as I said goodbye.  How strange.  I mean, they're coming back tomorrow afternoon.  But for some reason, I have been worried sick all day.  I even went so far as to track the flight and wait anxiously for news that they had safely landed.  What's up with that? What a psycho! 

So, here I am.  At work.  Tons to do.  Just me and my Jakester.  And, I think I'm gonna forget about work and spend some time with my oldest baby. 

But, in the meantime--GO BROWNS! :)

Well, the Christmas program was awesome.  It always is.



This is the view from the nose-bleeds.  Talk about a
packed house!
That's my cutie front and center in the red vest! ;)







Despite the fact that it is 70 degrees outside (say what!?), I am totally in the Christmas spirit.  I've got my Christmas decor up at my house...





Minus the tree topper

 

...my classroom is all decorated....





By the way, the center of my bulletin board was
a door mat I got at.....wait for it.....Dollar Tree! 

  

 



Aint' it cute?  I just did NOT have the room
for a big tree in my room this year. 
But, we all love this little mini.

 

........we're doing all kinds of Christmas crafts....(and I have to admit.  I think I'm a bit obsessed with scrapbook paper these days.)

.






These cute little
Santas
are from Cara's blog. 

  

...and ladies and gentlemen, the countdown has officially begun!  7 1/2 more days of school until Christmas break!  Woo hoo!  Now, don't get me wrong.  I love love love my job.  But, it's about time for a sister to get a break!  And, um...by the way, my family vacation is going down in exactly 13 days!  AAHHH!!  A cruisin' Christmas in the Bahamas, here we come!  I seriously could NOT be more excited!  And on top of that--I have a secret I'm keeping from my kids. We are going to DisneyWorld for 4 days before we go on our cruise.  (Shhh, don't tell!) How am I expected to keep that secret for all this time?? I mean, really!!  I've been trying to come up with some cute way to tell them like I've seen on the commercials and on America's Funniest Home Videos (our family favorite, by the way).  I'll let you know how it goes!!    

Another awesome thing:  This year some really awesome parents started up a Staff Appreciation Commitee.  All school year long so far they have given us sweet notes and goodies.  They are such a blessing.  Well, for Christmas they stuck these cute little trees on the outside of our classroom doors, and they gave us some sticky ornaments.  We are supposed to write some things we could use for the classroom on the ornaments and stick them on.  Parents are to take an ornament if they would like to fill that particular need.  (I work at a private Christian school, and we teachers buy all of our own supplies and decorations. So, you can understand why I'd be excited about this, huh? What a cute idea!  And I am so blessed to have such awesome parents that the ornaments are flying off the tree!  

Can a sister get some ink???  LOL. Am I the only one using up ink like it's going out of style over here?  Whew!  I'm on my third black AND color cartridge of the school year ALREADY!  

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!! (At least it will tonight at 7pm)

Ok, Ok, So technically I guess it doesn't FEEL a lot like Christmas here in eastern North Carolina, but tonight is our school Christmas program, and I can't help but be excited!  Our school's Christmas program involves grades K4-1st, with some help from the high schoolers and middle schoolers who put on the play.  These kids have worked sooooo hard, and this is their shining moment!  And let me tell you now, there is just something about children singing that gets my eyes all watered...so innocent and so sweet.  It makes you forget all the craziness they dish out here in the normal world.  :)  This year the program is an extra proud night for me because my son Kellen is in K4 this year and will be singing right up in the front.  He's getting so big! I'll be sure to let you know how it goes!