Talk About It Tuesday

Okay, so we have a slight problem.


I wasn't able to take notes last night during the Bachelorette.


This is due to my slideshow.  That I procrastinated on.  As usual.  I was burning dvds until about 11pm.  I would have put it off even longer, but I had invited the parents to come watch it this morning.  And, yes, I could have taken notes the old fashioned way, but instead, I kicked back on my bed in five minute increments.  Then I had to put the label on the DVD, insert it into a case, and start the whole process over again.  Times thirty.  I know it's hard not to be jealous of my nightlife, but just try.


Then I thought that I could fast forward through most of the show again and refresh my memory that way.


But I just got home and it's almost 8pm.


It's my nightlife, people.  I'm a wild woman.


So here's what I want to talk about from what I remember.


And can I just say that next week I'll be on summer vacation and my not having time to do this will not factor in at all?  AT ALL?  Insert GLEEFUL FACE HERE.  Insert HAPPY DANCE HERE.  Insert DANCE POLICE HERE.  


Okay, no more dancing.  I promise.


What was up with Tony?  The crybaby who misses his son?  Oh my word.  Buck up, already!  I see that you miss your son.  I got it the first nine hundred times you said it.  He's your best friend (weird), you can't stop thinking about him, you can't live your life like this . . . we get it.  


I'm not a mom.  I shouldn't judge.


Especially because I remember crying when I had to leave my dogs at a kennel when the hubs and I went to Jamaica.  The crying may have come when it was time to leave Jamaica, but either way, I cried.


Chris, the 25 going on 45 year old, is nice.  They had a good time.  Whatever.  You know, they climbed to new heights so they're bonded now.  Much like love.  It starts out at the bottom of a building and then you have dinner on the roof.  If that's not a cliche, it should become one.  It describes my marriage perfectly.


Arie is cute.  I thought it was hilarious that Dolly Parton was sarcastic about finding herself at Dollywood.  Imagine that.  Dolly Parton at Dollywood.  I mean, really.  Come on.  I'm sure Emily had to have some sort of clue.  Please.  Scoff.  


Group date:  Loved the friends getting to interview the boys.  That was great.  


Did Sean come from out of nowhere?  It sure seemed like it.  Emily's friends fell in love with him.  I don't know.  I feel like I have to wait and see on that one.


Ryan - well, I don't think he scored any points with the fat situation.  As in, don't get fat, or I won't be all up on you.   Up in your bizness. All up.  


The Rose Ceremony was fantastic.


We've got crazy Kalon with the glasses.  Were they necessary?  Did he need them?  Or were they an accessory?  And, I'm sorry, but "I love it when you talk, but I am going to talk more now" was not a good move.  How about YOU shut up?  Huh?  Just pipe down.  Talk, talk, talk.  He went on to talk about control and how his mother said this and that . . . Control?  I'll show you control.  See that limo?  Get in it.


But that's not what happened because Emily is the bachelorette, not me.  She kept him.  WHAT?!  Shake head.  Insert JUDGMENTAL FACE HERE.


And Alessandro?  Are you kidding me?  Is this a joke?


(I'm looking around for hidden cameras.)


Oh.  The cameras are out in plain view.  


Hold on.  Could we get an interpreter?  I think there's a language barrier.  (What we've got here is a failure to communicate.)


Oh.  There's not.  He does mean compromise.  As in, my life is so great right now because I'm a gypsy (not to be confused with a genie which would be waaaaay better) and so if I marry you, and take on your daughter, it would be a compromise.


At least she put him in a limo.


Ryan (pro Sports guy) is jealous of Arie.  It's not pretty.


I'm trying to root (wroot?  route?  rooty toot toot) for Ryan because one of my commenters said he's from their hometown and I want to be on the team . . . but I don't know.  He described himself as a physical man and Arie as "dainty".


Wait a minute here.  Arie is a race car driver.  He gets in a car and drives it in a circle.  


Hmmmm.


Well, he wears a helmet, and a flame retardant suit, and he drives REALLY fast in a circle.  


That's not dainty.  That's . . . dangerous.


Either way you look at it, I don't like Ryan's attitude.  I may like his un-daintiness, but not the attitude.  And next week doesn't look any better.  I'm hoping for a miracle.


Weird boy smashed his ostrich egg.  Gross.  And how embarassing.


Stevie left.  I wonder if he'll go by Steve now.  Or Bob.


One and a half more days.  I'm beside myself.


I told my class I want a vacation.  But then I want them to be in my room when I get back.  I love this group.  It'll be a little emotional for me. 


But not a lot.  


I don't like to cry in public.


Or in private.


Just in Jamaica.

Full Moon

Happy Three Day Weekend!  I have two and a half more days.  Again, I'm not counting.  Just being informative.

I have to start off this post with a big, huge, enormous shout.

HALLELUJAH!  

MR. CLEAN MAGIC ERASER CLEANED MY TABLE!  IT'S BETTER THAN NEW!

I'm so happy.  ("THO HAPPY!" she said, as tears welled up in her eyes.)  One of my teammates had a magic eraser in her room . . . so she sent a kid over with it, and it was working like magic before it even entered my classroom.  I also got rid of some sharpie marks and a couple of unrecognizable somethings or others.  Thank you to everyone for all of your help!!!!  I feel much better about all things.  In general.  I am a happy person to be around at the moment so stick around.

My play is over!  Thank goodness!  Praise the Lord!  I am so relieved.  Although, it's always so much fun to rehearse in the library (where we have a stage - the only good thing best part of the library!) with my partner every day.  We do the same play, but we have to do it separately because we can barely fit 32 kids on the stage, much less 64.  So my class will watch hers and vice versa.  And we help each other.  And we always crack up.  It's a blast.  I would like to teach with her everyday.  We often talk about not having a wall between us.  Although, I think it was put there to ensure that we actually DO teach.

Our play is Three Nanny Goats Gruff.  Much like the Billy Goats Gruff, but this one has GIRL POWER.  Gotta love it.

It's a musical.  My friend bought it at the teacher supply store.  Don't be scared, but this is what it looks like.

I have changed the script over the years to fit my needs (and to create some comedy) . . . and to fit in all of these millions of characters.  The lady singing on the cd sounds like an opera singer.  She's all "Nanneeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee. . . and Goooooooooooooooooats . . " and I envision her mouth open super wide and she's in a robe of some sort.  With a lot of makeup and some ringlets.  Can you tell I have never been to the opera?

I tell my kids we will not be singing opera style.  We need the glass in our classroom windows to keep the bugs out.  It also helps keep the kids from escaping.  So we sing in our regular voices and then we move up to the music-only songs.  We're brave like that.

Many years ago, my partner and I spent a ton of money on large

t-shirts and baseball hats at a swap meet.  A scary swap meet.  An inside swap meet.  But we got a deal so that's all that matters.  I just know now that I will never go to that swap meet by myself.  Or without a taller person next to me.

Then we asked for volunteers to take the t-shirts and hats home and create something.  It was fabulous.  SEVERAL parents helped.  And then two parents made our backdrop. 

And this is what it looks like . . . 

the stage in the library

(I forgot to say that I inherited that bridge from one of my very first partners.  She moved to a land far away called Missouri and the bridge wouldn't fit in the Uhaul.  So I inherited it.  Our custodian stores it for us because he doesn't know how to say no.  It's his best quality.  The bridge is special and I miss my friend.)

the narrators

the goats

the rabbits

the butterflies

the bumblebees

the raccoons

the terrible trolls

We lysol the costumes each year.  And rinse a little.  But we can't actually put them in the washing machine due to all of the fur, cotton, string, tails, etc.  They just put the costumes on over their regular clothes - hence, the larger size.  So far, no outbreaks of lice, either.  I'm sure it will happen now that I've typed that.  But it's okay.  As the director, I do not wear a hat.  And it's Memorial Day weekend so my kids have three days to take care of any shampooing needs that may come up.


My partner and I have to beg the librarian for the use of the stage every year.


I guess beg is the wrong word.  


I think a better word would be bribe.


We get her gift cards.


But she makes little comments every now and then about how she can't get the songs out of her head or when is this thing going to be over.


We try to rehearse during her lunch hour.


Not because we're afraid of her or anything silly like that . . . just so that we don't bother her.  This year, she took the week off.  Hmmmm.   I wonder what that's about?  I am positive she missed seeing the show.  And the rehearsals.  And the kids running around the library.  


Our rehearsals went great.  Just great.  With the exception of one day in which I had to pull two kids off the stage for goofing around.  Turns out I AM evil as one of my boys with special needs decided to call me when I took away his shoebox filled with a lego creation that he tried to sneak down to recess.  It's really hard to sneak a shoebox, by the way.  I may be dumb, but I know a shoebox is not a snack.


The day of our play, though, was a different story.


One of my trolls fell down in the middle of it. 


I'd love to say he fell because of his shoelaces.  Or because another kid got too close to him.  Or because he's clumsy and that's what first graders do.


But I can't.


We have our trolls stand on chairs behind the bridge so that they can be seen above everyone when we're all singing.


And he fell off the chair.


I don't know how it happened, but we heard a loud BANG! and then he disappeared from sight.  


It was actually a cool trick.  


But it wasn't supposed to happen.


I heard a little giggling.


And then I heard crying.


A lot.  More than a lot.  He did the ugly cry and then he couldn't stop.


And he had a solo and he couldn't do it.  He came out from behind the bridge with the reddest face you've ever seen and the hiccup-sobbing-type of cry.


So my first troll got to go twice and he basically stole the show.


I had the fallen troll come sit next to my partner and I.  Down in front.


Well, his mom decided she should try to comfort him.  


Even though he was down on the carpet IN FRONT OF EVERYONE. 


So she came all the way to the front and then bent over to talk to him.


BENT OVER.


IN THE FRONT.


No squatting.  Or kneeling.  Or even bending a little.


I'm talking BENT OVER AND TOUCHED HER TOES BENT OVER.


And she's . . . well, let's just say . . . can I say?


Hmmmm.


Let me think.


Yes.


I'll say it.


Baby Got Back.


One of my other parents told me that there is a full moon blocking her kids (she has twins in my class0 on her taping of the show for about five solid minutes.  And the play is only about 15 minutes total.


And our performance was in the morning so I'm not sure how that full moon got on there.  


But other than that . . . the play went off without a hitch.

If you're interested in the play, you can check it out {HERE}.  And if you're super interested (and if I get enough comments about it), I'll post the scripts, programs, and other stuff I've created to go along with it.

As for now, I have to finish my slideshow.  The parents are coming to watch it on Tuesday morning so I don't have a choice.  

Let's just hope the full moon ends up on the cutting room floor . . . 

Sucker Punched

Four and a half more days.  I'm not keeping track.  Just keeping you informed.


So . . . two things.  Maybe three.


Number One:  Nothing is going on with my table.  NOTHING.  It's still just sitting there.  I haven't tried any of the solutions offered because that would require going to the store.  


I have some Clorox wipes here, and some at school, but that's about it in the way of my cleaning supplies.  


Don't judge.  


And don't drop by unexpectedly, either.


I plan on trying all of those solutions, solvents, suggestions next week.  When things are not as busy.  I also plan on showing it to our custodian if I can't get it out.  As for now, I cover it up with piles of paperwork so he's none the wiser.


Number Two:  I wanted to do the last giveaway for Learning Resources this week.  It's big.  It's a DOCUMENT CAMERA.  


At least it's big to me.  I mean, I just got my ladybug a couple of months ago and it's changed my life.  And now I have ANOTHER one????  Except this one is turbo charged????  Are you kidding me?  Am I dreaming and I work at a school that is from the future now?


The problem is that as soon as I hooked it up, my computer wanted Adminstrative Approval.  It's always asking for Administrative Approval.  You'd think I was trying to look at blogs during the day or something.  


I don't have Administrative Approval.  I'm not even sure my administrator does.  It's all district this and that, and don't touch, and leave it alone, and just be bare bones, and that's all.  In other words, I can use Word.  On a good day, I can use the internet.


I'm working on getting some approval from somebody somewhere.  And if that doesn't work, I'm not above hiring a hacker.  Any recommendations?


Number Three - On my way back from dismissal, I was sucker punched in the gut.


Yep.  


I was walking up the big, wide, more-than-enough-room walkway, minding my own business, and this upper grade girl came up alongside me (on my right side) and she took her entire left arm and reared back and let it fly.  Into my stomach.  HARD.


And since I wasn't prepared, I wasn't able to flex my rock-hard-six-pack abs, which then would have caused her arm to break in half, so I guess in the long run, it's good I was caught off guard.  (I have no idea if that sentence is gramatically correct or not, and I don't care.)


I doubled over a little, but I won't exaggerate this time.  I did not get the wind knocked out of me.  But, people, it hurt.  And it wasn't an accident.  Not like that time I hit a friend of mine because I was talking with my hands.  Or that other time I hit another friend because I was talking with my hands.  This was ON PURPOSE.  And she was bigger than me.  Don't laugh.  She was.  It's a fact.


I said, "Hey!" really loud.


And then she turned around.


And it was a super sweet student with special needs.  She is a doll.  She is in third grade now and all of her teachers love her.  I'm not sure if she was giving me a love tap or what.  I honestly don't know.


So I said, "Hey!" a little bit softer.


"What?" she said.


"You hit me," I told her.


"So?"


Wait.  What?  So?  SO?  SOOOOOOOO??????????????


I said, "Did you just say 'so'?"


"Yeah."


"You're supposed to say 'I'm sorry'!!" I cried.


"Sorry."


And she stalked off.


But she wasn't sorry.  I know these things.


I'm adding this to my list of injuries in case you're taking notes.

Talk About It Tuesday

I just saw on Kelli's post at Castles and Crayons that's she waiting for my Talk About It post.


I have to apologize for the delay.


I met some friends for dinner.  Instead of having the chicken that kissed the walnut, I opted for garlic chicken pasta.  Stay far away.


Okay.  So.  The Bachelorette.  Reagan texted me during some of it. Yes.  Reagan at Tunstall's Teaching Tidbits.  We text.  It's new.  (Look at the way I'm name dropping tonight!)


She's two hours ahead, though, so she couldn't tell me much.  I wouldn't allow it.


And ABC (All Bloggers Communicate about The Bachelorette) didn't fix the time for me last night!!!  It didn't come on until 9:00!  I was up past 11:00!  (due to all of the rewinding)


My lack of sleep was okay, though.


Because this is what I did in school today.


1.  Awards Assembly that lasted FOREVER.
2.  Math Assessment Review on whiteboards for about . . . five  twenty minutes.
3.  Centers.
4.  Play Practice.
5.  Oral Language.


That's it.  You don't need to be wide awake for any of that.


Okay.  Back to The Bachelorette.  Reagan texted that it was a little boring. 


And now that I've watched, I agree.  


This is what happens when you boycott helicopters.  It takes the fun out of everything.


Anyways, the night started off with a one-on-one date with Ryan.  He's the Pro Sports Trainer.  Lots of you liked him last week because he was good with kids.  Instead of jumping off of things or diving into water or flying over something, he had to bake.  BAKE!  He was a good sport.  I like that he talked about his pastor.  But mostly, he just made me want a chocolate chip cookie.


Ryan and Emily got all gussied up later and had some live music playing for them.  When bands play for the happy couple that just met, I always feel . . . awkward.  Like I'm on the date.  But I'm not.  But it still makes me feel uncomfortable.  Because number one, I can't dance.  And number two . . . I don't have a number two.  I just can't dance.  I can do it in my head, but then when I do it live and in person, it doesn't match what was in my head.  This happens to me on a daily basis, but mostly with cooking and cleaning and lawn mowing.  I'd never heard of that band, but I liked the song.


Group Date:  Here we go.


Miss Piggy was funny!  She's my kind of girl.  I was waiting for her to say "No one comes between me and my man!" and then I remembered she wasn't Rachel.  And that this wasn't Big Brother.


Charlie, Charlie, Charlie - the man with the brain injury.  Emily was really sweet to him.  I don't know what to say about that whole thing.  Shrug.  Except that I would have wanted to be in all three activities.  I love me a microphone.


And the Rainbow Connection?  PERFECT SONG TO SING INTO A MICROPHONE!  The lovers, the dreamers, and me!  (Just found another thing I can do in my head that does not match up when I do it live and in person.)


Emily said she was a proud mama when it came to Charlie pulling through onstage.  Um . . . call me crazy, but she's not picking him in the end.  


And, truth be told, I thought the whole Muppet thing was corny.  Just saying.  I can't decide if I'd rather see helicopters.  Or death defying stunts.  So the couple can test their relationship and see if they can come out on top or if they'll fall in the valleys.  Is that how it goes?


Long haired dude????  Did you see his super high ponytail after the Muppets?  NO.  Stop that.


How is Chris only 25?????  He's really cute, but how is he only 25???


She really likes Jef.  Skater boy.  Duckie.  I don't know.  Like I said last week, I think I'm missing something.  Most likely my youth.  Because he looks like a little boy to me.


Kalon, aka dubbed Chopper by Stevie (because Stevie is a cool name, don't you know), is . . . I don't know.  What is it?  Does he talk out of only one side of his mouth?  Like he wants a Vlasic pickle?  


If we have Duckie (Skater Boy Jef) from Pretty in Pink, then I think Chopper is Steff (the obnoxious guy played by James Spader).  


Joe - the guy who got to fly in a private jet to go to West Virginia to then ride in an old fashioned car - reminds me a little of James Van Der Beek.  You know, Dawson.  Anyone?  Am I the only one?


(As an aside, I would like never to see Emily in her bikini again.)  


Let's interrupt the date for some guy time by the pool.


Kalon, just check it.  CHECK IT.  No one puts being a parent on hold.  Got it?  CHECK IT.  Then mark it off.  Then turn it in.  AND CHECK IT.


Back to the Joe Date.  She didn't pick him.  And she felt awful.  Tears.


Poor Joe.  Maybe he should have CHECKED IT.


Oh well, what are you going to do?  She can't keep everybody.


Rose Ceremony:  Ryan (Pro Sports Trainer) made her a gift.  He said it was like Christmas.  Wow.  He is so humble and doesn't think highly of himself in the least.  Anyways, the gift turned out to be a novel.  With a lot of chapters.  It was possibly a trilogy, but I don't think the third book is out yet.  (I can't fault him too much.  I tend to go on and on, too.  But I know you people.  He just met her.)


I couldn't believe she called Kalon's name first.  Gag.  That boy better know how to run.  Or have some bodyguards.  Or the chopper on standby.


Ponytail boy got a rose, too!  ?????????  We could call him Ponyboy.  You know - from The Outsiders?  


This is going to be a season of nicknames.


That's pretty much it.  I missed the previews for next week.  I don't know what I was doing  -- possibly brushing my teeth.  


SQUIRREL


After our awards assembly, a set of parents ambushed my assistant principal because I did not give their daughter the Principal's Award for Overall Academics.  I just gave their daughter the Principal's Award in Reading.  The horror.   


My assistant principal had to calm them down, and reassure them that their daughter is the smartest girl in our entire school, and that she is destined for early admittance to Harvard.


Meanwhile, some of my kids didn't receive an award AT ALL this year.  Too many kids and not enough awards.


I'm irritated.  But I'm letting it go.  


Whatevs.


Does that stuff happen at your school?

Ruh Roh

Ruh Roh.  That's my Scooby Doo accent, if you're not sure.

I sort of, kind of, in a round-about-way ruined my kidney table.  Although it's not quite a kidney.  It's more of a . . . . boomerang.  We call it the back table.  It's where all my crap  teacher stuff  piles  the best learning happens!

Here it is before the, uh . . . um . . . before the "incident".  We'll call it the incident heretofore.

It's also in a different location here.  That's not the problem.  But look at how pretty it is.

Then I covered it with black butcher paper for Open House.  Not a tablecloth.  That's important to know for later in the story.

When I tore off all the butcher paper on Friday . . . this is what I found.

People, that's permanent.  

I tried.

I scrubbed.

I don't know what was in my creek water, but I think it was lethal.  This does not bode well for the over one hundred people who drank it at Open House.

It ate away at my table.  Like, for real.

I was dumbfounded.  That means -- found dumb while I stood there staring at my table.  Found dumb.  Stupidfounded.

Look at it for last year's Open House.

That's tan butcher paper.  From the same company.  

Except that's not creek water.  It was pond water because I had a Habitats theme.  

Can I let you in on a little secret?

It's not creek water or pond water.

It's blue gatorade.

Gasp.  Shocking, I know.

And I have never had a problem with it.

But something between the blue gatorade and the black butcher paper combined together to create a flesh eating table-disintegrating solvent to make me get in trouble so that I am a stress case with one more thing on my plate!!!!!!!

I told the hubs about my problem because he is known around this house and my classroom as Mr. Handy.  And if anyone can solve this problem, he can.  No doubt.

This is what he said.

"Why didn't you use a tablecloth?"

I think I rubber-necked at him.  Which means my head spun all around in defensiveness and anger and shock.

Why didn't I use a tablecloth?  

Does that help me right now?  That's like asking someone whose computer crashed if they backed up their files.  

"My computer crashed!  I lost everything!" I cried.

"Didn't you back up your files?"  the hubby asked as he pushed his glasses up his nose with one finger.  (He doesn't wear glasses.  I say this for effect.  And this may or may not have happened when I had a PC before my Mac.  I'm not admitting anything.)

Why didn't I use a tablecloth?

BECAUSE.  I got tired.  I didn't want to make one more trip.  I'm cheap.  Black butcher paper worked.  

Just shut up.

So.

He says he'll take a look at it.  This summer.  Or next year.  Or whenever.

In the meantime, I know that Jennifer at First Grade Blue Skies covered her kidney table in contact table.  Check it out.

This is definitely a possibility.  I just don't see how in the world she covered it so neatly.  With nothing amiss.  I don't get it.  I've already bugged her for step by step directions.  So I can tell Mr. Handy.

And I have to say that I truly loved my gray tabletop.  Loved it.  Wah.  :(  

I just can't believe that I ruined it.

RUH ROH.  

Any ideas?  Any tutorials?  Anyone make any other similar mistakes today?  It's a little lonely in the boat right now.  I'm just kind of rocking back and forth . . . I could use a friend and a cocktail right about now.

Thank goodness for The Bachelorette.

Sunday Stuff

Happy Sunday!  Seven and a half more days of school.  I'm not counting or anything.  Just informing those of you who may be interested.


The wedding we went to yesterday was really cool.  Different.  It was at this crazy house in the hills of Laguna Beach.  The shuttle that picked us up would not drive up the driveway because it was so steep.  So we had to hoof it.  Basically, my hubby had to get behind me and push me up the steep incline.  Once we got to the top, we had to go upstairs.  


It was worth it in the end.  AMAZING view.


Although the house was so strange.  Really.  None of us knew how to turn on the water in the bathrooms or turn on the lights.  Seriously.  So it didn't matter that my hair had fallen or that I had sweated off all my makeup from the Mount Everest climb.


The bride is a DIY-er.  And she did it.  The little details were perfect.  It was very non-traditional.  My favorite part was her dress.  Loved her dress!!!  And the fact that the original officiant cancelled on them a few days before the wedding so one of our good friends got licensed over the internet and stepped in.  He is Scottish.  As in, really Scottish.  Not the way I say I'm Scottish.  Which I am, but not enough to really say that.  Although I am enough Scottish that my dad says I'm not allowed to celebrate St. Patrick's Day.  Our friend is truly Scottish.  His parents still live there and he moved to the states to go to college.  


He was perfect.  His accent added to the whole affair.  So did the kilt. 


Yep.  


For real.


I loved his dress, too.


Speaking of dresses . . .  I don't have a great pic of me in my dress.    I looked up the dress online and couldn't find it anymore.  So I present you the dress hanging in my closet.

And here I am in it.

Does it look like we are at the beach?  Because we are.  I think it looks more like we're in the desert.  And that we're stranded in the desert.  Which we kind of were stranded.   We were supposed to park at an elementary school to catch the shuttle.  But the elementary school parking lot was blocked off with a bunch of signs talking about being towed away.  One sign said, "Towed Away?  Call the Sheriff."  Can you imagine what the sheriff would say?  "So you got towed away, did ya?  Why did you park there?  It said Tow Away Zone.  Say goodbye to your car."


Luckily, we met up with another friend who was in the same boat we were and we finally figured out that there had been a change in plans and we had to park at a grocery store.


I guess if you really want to stalk me, you can figure out what the rest of my license plate says.


It has come to my attention that I haven't offered any freebies lately.


I don't know how to remedy that.  I don't have anything.  I already gave away my sanity.


I am going to offer the third product for the Learning Resources giveaway later this week, though.  That's something.


And I want to tell you about my park and props.  I got a lot of questions.  And inquiries.  And stuff.

These are called Desktop Prop and Parks from Really Good Stuff.  I love these.  I got them about two years ago.  They cost a pretty penny.  Or a dirty penny.  Either way, you need a lot of pennies.  I used some tax return pennies.  

I think they've gone up in price, too.  But if you want to check them out, click {HERE}.  I can't say enough about them.  They are REALLY convenient.  I use velcro to stick them to the desks.  We only took them off twice (for parties).  

I am a little anal about them . . . my kids know they can only have one pencil in the tray and that's all.  No crayons.  No whiteboard markers.  No erasers.  No junk.  One pencil and that's all!  I've been known to take away things that don't belong.  They learn quick that way.  And tears do nothing to me.  Not when it comes to a neat and organized classroom.

  

I wish I was doing a Giveaway for Really Good Stuff, but they don't know me from Adam.  Or Eve.  Or from a tree in the forest.

I also have their magnetic pocket chart.

The magnetic strip on the back of this chart is no joke.  It holds like no other.  I have it on my big whiteboard and I can slide the whiteboard over to get to the storage behind it.  This pocket chart has NEVER EVER fallen off.  EVER.  And I'm going on . . . oh, about eight years now.  LOVE IT.  You can check it out {HERE}.

Well, that's my sales pitch for the day. 

Hope you enjoyed it. 

I must go work on report cards now.  UGH.  

On the bright side, it will be the LAST time until next year!!!! :)

Open House Picture Palooza

Happy Saturday!  We are going to a wedding later.  At the beach.  I will probably freeze in my dress, but that's what my husband's suit jacket is for.  Actually, I don't even know if we'll be outside.  I just know we can't park at the wedding venue and have to catch a shuttle.   It should be fun . . . but is it bad for me to say I wish I could stay home all day?

Are you ready for the Open House Picture Palooza?  

It was a big success - I love Open House because the parents tell me how much they love me and are going to miss me   everyone is so happy and the kids get to show off all their hard work.

Here's the run down in pics.

Before the craziness started.

Students wrote about how pioneers worked hard 

to provide for their families.

I totally copied my teammate's bulletin board. 

 That's our Class Bear.  He dressed up for the event.

Self explanatory.  Except for the part where I could not bring myself to put it together.  I was the last one on the team to do it.  For some reason, it totally intimidated me.  Each of one us did ours differently.  Although, I am such a copycat because I copied the ribbons from a teammie.  

I do not have an original bone in my body.

The door.  I have said before that we do not have hallways.  So our school (primary, especially) decorates the door

 with a poster and cut outs.

Students wrote about one room houses.  My kids were obsessed with outhouses because I told them about how my mom lived on a farm when she was little . . . and had an outhouse.  

And one time, she went into the outhouse and there was a snake coiled around the hole in the ground.  

Almost every piece of their writing mentioned that houses did not have bathrooms.  And that the outhouses were DANGEROUS.

Snack Table

aka Dinner For A Lot Of My Families 

Logs and Rolos.  Not because the rolos made sense.  

But because I love rolos.

Trail Mix and Creek Water.

My kids kept asking if it was really creek water.  Yes, I told them.  My hubby drove up to the mountains and got it for us.  They fell for it.  One believed it so much that she wouldn't even try it.  It was a hit.  I ran out of cups.  I had 100 and I ran out.  ONE HUNDRED.  I had to dig around in some cupboards to come up with some more.

Students wrote about transportation from long ago.

Just a bunch of pictures through the year.  Mostly fun stuff like the 100th Day, Teddy Bear Day, Read Across America, Jump Rope for Heart, Lunch in the Classroom, etc.  It looks like all we ever did was party with crowns on our heads.

I had Swedish fish in the jar (pioneers had to fish, you know) and the families got to make an estimate.  When I announced the winner on Friday morning, one of my girls cried.  CRIED.  Because she didn't win.  Come on!  Seriously?  I almost didn't have time for it.  I almost rolled my eyes.  I almost said, "You have got to be kidding me."  Instead, I cried a little myself.  I believe I was tired.

First Graders as Pioneer People.  They were in all four of my windows.  So cute!  THO CUTE!

This was what the students' desks looked like.  

That's a paper bag person of a student.  :)

I wrote special notes to my kiddos on each balloon tag.

The cover of our Pioneer Art and Writing Scrapbook.

Another sample.

Last one.  Thanks for hanging in there.

The only thing I didn't get a picture of were the Shoppers.  Shoppers are the kinder parents looking for the perfect first grade teacher.  They can tell just by meeting us, apparently.  The worst is when they tell me that their child is a genius and then ask me how me I plan on challenging their child.  

Let's go over this.

First, I am not your child's teacher.

Second, I don't want to be your child's teacher.

Third,  say what?

So.  Another successful Open House!  It will be a lot easier next year now that I sort of know what I'm doing with this theme.  I do miss Habitats a little.  A take home project for that theme was creating a mobile of a habitat.  They just looked so fantastic hanging from the ceiling because they were three dimensional and colorful and different heights.  This year, our take home project was a Wanted Poster.  It was still cute and still hung from the ceiling, but it just lacked something.  In my opinion.  Although, everyone commented on them and they seemed to be a hit.

On Friday, we went on our traditional Walk Through Tour.  The whole school gets in a parade and we snake in and out of everyone's rooms.  It takes about an hour to go through all of the classrooms.  It is so much fun.  The kids get so excited to see their old kinder rooms and then so fascinated by the humongous desks and chairs in the upper grade rooms.  They like to see sibling rooms, too.  I love it!  Except for the part where I have to say, "Don't touch!" four thousand three hundred six times.

One of the second grade teachers does a Disneyland theme for her Open House.  A take home project is to recreate a Disneyland ride to show Force in Motion or something like that.  It's a Science standard or some such thing.  At any rate, I couldn't get my kids out of that room.  It was like they were IN Disneyland.  Now they "can't wait to go to second grade to learn all about Disneyland."  That's a direct quote.  

Grrrrrr.

Well, I better start getting ready for this wedding . . . sigh.