Summer Bucket List

I am literally counting the days until June 10th. While I adore my kiddos this year and will be sorry to see them go, this year has definitely had its challenges. (Case in point: a parent actually slammed a door in my face this morning. What a way to start the day!) Also, right now, I look like this:

I've had viral pink eye for almost a week now. So gross and miserable. Hopefully, the steroid eye drops I got today will help.

So, I am really, really looking forward to summer. That brings me to my Summer Bucket List.

Right now, I am daydreaming about hot summer days, eating ice cream on the porch with these two goofy kids:

Notice the ring of ice cream around both of their mouths. Princess A couldn't even be bothered to look up from her cone long enough for me to take the pic!

Usually, we spend a lot of time at a nearby beach, known to locals as "The Strand." It's on the Tred Avon River in Oxford, and it's perfect for little kids. 

Here's Deedle, skipping rocks at The Strand on one of the first warm days we had a few months back.

I can't wait, however, to take our annual trip to the Outer Banks. This year, Gram and Pop Pop are coming, too, and I am really looking forward to spending the week with them (I will also admit that I'll be glad to have a few extra hands to help with Princess A and Deedle!).

My little beach boy by the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse last year.

 

 And my sunshine girl, soaking up the rays.

Leisure reading is at the top of my list, too. Elin Hildebrand has a new book coming out in early June, and I can't wait to read it while relaxing on the beach, drinking a Corona, and watching the kiddos play in the sand.

I have a few work-related things on my list, too (believe it or not!). I'd like to get the rest of my Houghton Mifflin Science units edited and posted on TPT, and I have a ton of little odds and ends that I'm hoping to post (eventually!).

Bring on summer...June 10th can't get here fast enough!

Best Intentions

I'm bad...very, very bad. School doesn't end for us until June 10th, but I am already (subtly) starting to take things down in my classroom. I'm also trying to get my file cabinets, paperwork, and student work organized, all while trying to keep my overly excited first graders from losing all control! No small task...

My teammate, SpurDog, gave me a great idea for an end-of-year gift for my firsties. Unfortunately, it's kind of one those things that you have to think about at the beginning and at the end of the year (and of course, I didn't!), so it will have to wait until next year. I'm planning to take pictures of the kiddos on the first and last days of first grade, holding these posters that I created:

Click on the pics above to head to my TPT store to pick the posters up for free!

If you leave me a comment, I'd love to change them to meet your needs.

Using Walmart's online photo services or Shutterfly, I plan to use the pictures in photo collages to give my students as unique end-of-year gifts.

I have grand intentions to edit some of the lesson plans and printables that I've created this school year and used in my classroom to add to TPT. Between beach plans, professional development meetings, and relaxing with Princess A and Deedle, I'm not sure how much I'll actually get done. But it's nice to have a goal!

Speaking of Princess A and Deedle, they are watching Pete's Dragon in the next room...one of my all-time favorites!

Have a great week!

Five for Friday (on a Saturday)

It's been a long time since I've linked up with Doodle Bugs for her Five for Friday Linky Party!

1. I had to leave early last Friday to take Princess A to get her vaccinations for Kindergarten. Before I left, however, I realized in a panic that I hadn't planned any kind of Mother's Day craft (how in the world did that slip my mind??). Teachers Pay Teachers, to the rescue! I downloaded Dawn Gray's Mother's Day card freebie, and they turned out really cute!

 

The front

 

 The inside

2. I mentioned in passing last week that I really love Indian food. One of my students is from India, and he told me that he does most of the cooking at his house (!!!!) and that he'd like to bring me lunch one day. I told him how sweet that was, but I honestly didn't think about it again...until the next morning, when the same little guy brought me a lunch box that he had packed with a delicious Indian lunch!

Lunch was amazing! I ate every bite!

3. For Mother's Day, my very kind and thoughtful husband bought a half bushel of local steamed crabs, and we invited my parents down to enjoy them with us.

Princess A, picking her own crabs (for the first time!).

My boy can tear up some watermelon.

4. I am officially obsessed with Etsy. Last year, I bought my kiddos' teachers' end-of-year gifts from Etsy, and I've done the same thing this year.

I bought this adorable ornament for Deedle's teacher's assistant.

If you like it, visit Cookie Dough Creations on Etsy. Kathy, the seller, is prompt, creative, and excellent to work with!

I bought this beautiful necklace for myself (I know, I'm shameless!) for Mother's Day with Princess A's and Deedle's initials. It is gorgeous!

Visit The R House Couture to see more handstamped silver jewelry!

5. I just found out that I have waaaaaay more money in my account at school than I expected, so I've been hitting Teachers Pay Teachers like crazy! I downloaded Houghton Mifflin Themes 1-9 Resource Packs from Shining and Sparkling in First, and they are amazing!!

I hope you're having a great weekend! It's rainy and gloomy here in Maryland, so Princess A just proclaimed that it is Pajama Day; both kids are in their PJs, and they are snuggled up on the couch, watching "The Magic Schoolbus."

Happy Mother's Day and a Teacher Appreciation FREEBIE!

Whew! What a crazy couple of weeks! Between staff meetings, professional development, interims (I haven't even started them and they go home on Tuesday!), and family obligations, life has been nutty!

Teacher Appreciation Week was a blast! One of my cuties brought me these:

Yum. Fresh-picked strawberries!

I wish I had enjoyed a few of them, but these two locusts got to them first!

Our generous PTO arranged for us to have a hot breakfast, chair massages (!!!), a dessert buffet, lunch, and bagels and donuts. I'm pretty sure I gained ten pounds last week.

Speaking of Teacher Appreciation Week, if you're anything like me, you had a zillion thank you notes to write this past week. Feel free to grab the one below from Google Drive, if you can use it!

Mother's Day has been fantastic so far (although my seasonal allergies are kicking my butt!)! KShaf took the fam to breakfast at our favorite spot this morning, followed by a trip here to pick strawberries. I can't believe I hadn't heard about this place before! They had a fun little playground, chickens to feed, and two quarts of strawberries only cost $5.50!

Deedle was very proud of his finds.

I love the sky behind Princess A in this pic!

A gratuitous mother/son picture.

In honor of Mother's Day, here is a pic of my mama and me on my wedding day:

(Holy crap! My hair was super short and crazy blonde!)

Happy Mother's Day to all the mamas out there! You deserve a day to relax and be pampered. Drink it in!

Such a Slacker and a FREEBIE!

I'm cheating on my blog...with Facebook. I can't control myself. I am obsessed.

Yesterday, we took our first grade classes to the Maryland Science Center for a much anticipated field trip. Even though it is a long drive, the trip is one of my favorites; we ride on a charter bus (yes, we ride in style!), we always have tons of chaperones who want to come (sometimes this is a blessing, and other times, it's a curse!), and the kiddos get to explore freely (and the teachers do, too!).

SpurDog and I had a little too much fun, touring the dinosaur exhibit.

In this exhibit, the kids (and Spurdog) could experience hurricane-force winds.

I love the facial expressions in this pic.

In order to keep the children fully engaged during their visit, we gave them the option of completing a scavenger hunt. We promised any student who completed (or attempted to complete) the hunt a free homework pass. I looked for some cute homework passes on TPT, but I ended up creating my own. Feel free to grab them for yourself!

In other random news, my kiddos (Princess A and Deedle) paid a visit to the Scholastic Book Fair today.  It was a BOGO Book Fair, and I sent them with specific instructions that they were not to spend more than $5 each (it took a leap of faith to send them to school with blank checks in their backpacks, believe me!). Princess A came home with two awesome books, and Deedle bought a bug book that he is totally obsessed with. It came with 3-D glasses (obviously, bugs are way more awesome when they literally pop off the page), and he has been wearing them around all evening. We tried to explain that they are not sunglasses, but he's not interested.

It's hard to be so cool.

I am so excited that we only have 28 days of school left...I am looking forward to a summer full of beach trips, Coronas, and backyard fun.

Enjoy the rest of your week!