Sudsy Sunday

KShaf and I usually try to grab a few extra winks of sleep on the weekends, since we are up during the week at 5:00 a.m. Lately, my lovely little ones have gotten themselves into some trouble on weekend mornings before KShaf and I are up and moving (I blogged about it here). This morning, I awoke to find that Princess A and Deedle had "helped" by "doing the dishes." Translation: they had taken all of the dishes out my cabinets, put them in the sink, and emptied half a bottle of dish detergent onto them. There were soap suds everywhere. The best part, however, came after I had finished cleaning up the mess and had turned the dishwasher on: the dishwasher literally started puking bubbles out of it and onto the kitchen floor. It was like something out of a comedy, and it probably would have been funny...if it hadn't happened in my kitchen.

So, I decided that between the early morning antics and the prepubescent snarkiness (she's five, for crying out loud!) that has been coming out my daughter's mouth recently, it is time to start using behavior charts with the children. I went on TPT (thank you, Molly!) and downloaded this:

Then, I made the following to accompany it:

I am headed (back) to Dollar Tree once the kids are down for their nap (and so help me, they had better sleep today!) to get fridge magnets or magnet tape (to hang the charts and behavior goals on the fridge) and small incentive stickers. 

If this plan doesn't work, I may have to send them to boarding school (kidding, kidding!).

Enjoy what's left of your weekend!

A Little Bit of This, A Little Bit of That

I made Iowa Girl Eats' recipe for Chicken Enchilada Casserole tonight for dinner. Holy deliciousness, Batman!  It was amazing! Added bonus: there are enough leftovers for KShaf to take for lunch for a few days this week.

 

 Notice the cheesy, tortilla chip awesomeness on top.

In other news, I got the idea on Friday that it was time to organize my math manipulatives. So, I took the kidlets with me to Dollar Tree on the way home from work (much to their annoyance; suffice it to say, there was a lot of loud whining involved), and I bought a dozen Gladware-esque tubs with lids. I looked for some labels on TPT that would suit my needs, but nothing was just right. I made my own, instead (click below to grab your own set from Google Docs). If you likey, let me know, and I'll make a set for you to meet your needs.

Once I get these bins together, I plan to take a hot shower, open a bottle of Ravenswood Merlot (one of my all-time fave wines, besides this one), and read to my heart's content. 

Happy Saturday!

Newest Preoccupation

Today was my first day back to work after the holiday break. I have to admit, I was really happy to see all those sweet, smiling faces this morning when they came into the classroom. I think I actually missed them!

I got a text from KShaf around 10:00 that Deedle was sick and needed to be picked up from school. I was immediately suspicious. He was pretty doggone sick over the holidays, but he had been feeling a lot better in the past few days (no fever whatsoever and a few infrequent coughing fits). KShaf agreed to go to the school and pick him up. When KShaf arrived, he asked Deedle if he was feeling sick. Deedle ducked his head (guiltily) and said, "No. I just wanted to go home and play." I knew the kid was slick, but I never thought he'd fake being sick (at least not at the tender age of three!). I think I experienced shame and pride simultaneously. Ah, parenthood.

I have been lucky enough to have numerous parents offer to volunteer in my classroom this year. When I first started teaching, I will admit that I didn't enjoy having parents in my classroom; I always felt like they were sizing me up and judging every move I made. The longer I've been teaching, however, the more I have realized that parent volunteers can be an enormous asset. My parent volunteers come in three times a day, three days a week. I have them work with the children on their high frequency word recognition and their addition fact recall. It has made a huge difference! But, I didn't like the way I had my volunteer materials organized. So, I spent the better part of my evening creating this (yes, it could have waited until the weekend, but when I get an idea in my head, I have to run with it):

 

 Now, all of my volunteers' materials are neatly organized! I have this three-drawer organizer on the desk outside my classroom door; parent volunteers barely even need to enter the room!

I am off to read my Kindle (one of my New Year's resolutions)!

What I Did on My Extra Day of Winter Break

My kids' daycare provider had to close today because a sewer line broke at her house over the holidays. So, I took a personal day. I had originally planned to send the kidlets to school today, but after listening to their juicy (sorry!) coughs at breakfast this morning, I decided to keep them home. What's one more day, right? After dropping my laptop and plans off at school, I took the kids to Walmart (I wasn't sure what I was looking for, but it was of dire importance that I get the kids out of the house before they drove me bananas!). I ended up getting a huge drawer organizer for my desk at home. I now have a place for all the junk that I need on an almost daily basis (White Out and rubber bands being at the top of the list, followed closely by my iPhone arm band and running headphones).

All of my running stuff now has its own little space...so easy to grab on my way out the door!

I found these adorable file folders at Walmart, too...3 for $1.00!

Since I had to go back to school at the end of the day to pick my laptop back up, we decided to head here for dinner. Their fried shrimp is the best I have ever had (believe me, I've taste-tested many a fried shrimp!), and really, any place that has a daily Happy "Teacher" Hour can't be bad! KShaf and I have resolved, though, that we are going to better about eating at home in the new year. I can't wait to see how long that lasts!

New Year's Day Fun and Linky Party!

We hadn't been outside all day, so KShaf and I thought it would be a great idea to bundle the kids up and take them down to the road to the park. Even Kin joined in the fun!

This picture was taken about five minutes before KShaf had to take Deedle back home because he couldn't stop coughing. Poor guy!

 

 Kin found a soccer ball while we were there. He ended up dragging it home with him!

Ms. M, over at www.teachingisagift.blogspot.com, asked me to join her linky party! I contributed the free holiday thank you notes that I wrote about in my previous post. Go check her out!

Last Minute Holiday Thank You Notes

If you're anything like me, you've waited until the last day of your winter break to write thank you notes to your students for the gifts you received. Head over to my TPT store to grab some that I made for free!

New Year's Resolutions

I'm new to this whole linky party thing, but after reading SpurDog's blog post the other day, I was inspired! I know I'm behind the eight-ball (seeing as how it's January 1st), but it's never too late to make resolutions.

Technology

I'm very lucky to work in a school system where technology is a huge priority. Every teacher has his/her own Mac laptop, and each classroom is equipped with several desktop computers, as well as a Smartboard. As a result, I've been forced to become tech-savvy! In the new year, though, I'd like to become more proficient with Adobe Photoshop; KShaf has taught me some of the tricks of the trade, but I know that there is a lot still to learn. Also, the idea of creating my own fonts intrigues me, so maybe that's something I'll teach myself to do.

Organization

I always considered myself to be a fairly organized person. Then, I had kids. I've had to "let go" of a lot of my controlling tendencies; I still try, however, to stay as organized as possible (without going overboard). One thing that really helps me in the classroom (and I got the idea from SpurDog, so, thanks!) is to use binder clips labeled with the following: "To Copy," "To File," "To Return," and "To Grade." I am able to transport my (gobs and gobs of) papers from school to home, and I am always able to find what I'm looking for. 

Professional Growth

This year, I've been asked by my administrator to serve in several professional development capacities. I am part of my school's CARE team, and I've been participating in my county's Courageous Conversations. This is an opportunity that has had both professional and personal impacts; I have found that, through these conversations, I have begun to look at race and its role in today's classroom in a different way. 

Down Time

Down time? What's that? School and home keep me incredibly busy, and as a result, down time is not something that is easy to come by! I usually end up turning on Bravo in the evening, thus allowing my brain to atrophy for awhile. In the new year, I am going to try to turn off the television and read books on my Kindle more! I just downloaded Last Night at Chateau Marmont, by Lauren Weisberger.

Fitness

Last July, I started running (after getting a glimpse of my post-baby behind in the mirror), using the Couch to 5K app on my iPhone. I wasn't entirely sure that I'd be able to commit to it (exercise has never been a favorite activity of mine), but after convincing KShaf to buy me a new pair of running shoes, I kind of had to make a go of it (or KShaf would never let me live it down!). I started slowly and worked my way up to running two 5Ks last fall. In the new year, I'd like to try running a 10K, or (if I'm feeling really cocky) maybe even a half-marathon? The St. Michaels Running Festival is coming up in May, and in my opinion, any race that ends with beer is a race worth running.

Last night, we went here to eat with KShaf's friends. They had an all-you-can-eat seafood buffet, and believe me when I say that we got our money's worth! Deedle ate scallops, oyster fritters, steamed shrimp, prime rib, snow crab legs, and crab imperial. He is going to be an expensive date one day! We came home, put the kids to bed, got our PJs on, and watched "A Few Good Men." I was asleep before 10:00, and KShaf wasn't far behind. Now, that's the way to end the year!

Happy 2013!