Talk About It Tuesday

Happy Tuesday, people!  


I thoroughly enjoyed my date with Tivo last night.  How about you?


I don't have that much to say about Real Housewives.  I'm very pleased and surprised that it will be a THREE PART reunion.  Now that's what I'm talking about!  I really wish the three parts were one after the other . . . I don't want it to drag out.  Just hit me!   


So Lisa and Adrienne.  Geesh.  Not so neighborly, I guess.


I have always thought that Lisa was funny -- but I can't stand little digs when someone is doing it to me so I get where the other girls are coming from.  Jackpot is Adrienne's child so I get that Lisa calling him Crackpot is quite upsetting.  I mean, if someone called MY Sydney by a different name . . . say Lassie or Bingo or Kidney, I'd be devastated.  Especially if I didn't have time to cover her hears before the other person said it.  She may not be able to speak English (although I understand her perfectly), but she UNDERSTANDS it.  


Adrienne also seemed to know a lot of people who know a lot of people who know Lisa's friends that said that Lisa said this and that and the other . . . Just ask Lisa!!!  That whole bit was tiring.


I don't know what to say about Taylor.  I don't have anything yet.  It's just too sad and I don't think I should joke.  


Brandi came out way too late -- I think it's going to get a lot better next week!


Let's move onto the Bachelor.


Did everyone see that Emily (from Brad's season) is going to be the next Bachelorette?? Hadar at Miss Kindergarten texted me during the show (we were actually texting through most of it because we're BBFF's now and it's what we do) to tell me that Emily is the next Bachelorette.  SWEET!!!!!


The Bachelor started off with the drama between Emily's mouth twitching and Courtney's shoulders shrugging.  


Then Nicki and Ben went on a one-on-one.  And it rained.  So Ben decided to wear a hat.  This is what I said when he wore the hat.


"Nooooooooooooooo!"  


"No!"


"No!"


But he didn't listen.  And he wore it.  Or, rather, the hat wore him.


I decided I like Nicki.  And I actually LOVED the seashell, bucket, chair, umbrella, thingamajig they were sitting in.  I need one of those.


The baseball group date was cute.  My worst nightmare, but cute.  I'll tell you right now that I would have been picked last.  I can't hit a ball with a bat.  Or a piece of cardboard.  I have no business being anywhere near where a ball could hit me.  But those girls were pretty darn good.


People, Ben did not fill out those baseball pants.  My hubs played baseball his whole life and I watched a lot of his games when he was a highschool senior (and I was . . . ahem . . . mouth twitch . . . shoulder shrug . . . in college) and I loved the way he looked in his uniform.  From the back.  When he was catching.  And Ben . . . not so much.


Red team wins.  The crowd goes wild.   Blue team CRIES AND CRIES.  Waaaa.  Waaaaa.  "Time with Ben is precious, " says one misinformed girl.  I thought babies were precious.  Or puppies.  Time with Ben?  Really?


The beach.  All I can say is Ben's hair is out of control.  OUT OF CONTROL.  Is it wet?  Or is it sweat that's making it do that?  What is wrong with it???  


Courtney starts hinting that she would like to be naked with Ben.  Except she doesn't hint.  I said that to be nice.  Courtney tells Ben that she would like to be naked with him.  Because, shoulder shrug, mouth twitch, "a girl's got to do what a girl's got to do".  Meanwhile, she says she can't believe a stripper (Blakely) can play baseball.  Well, let's see here.  In all honestly, I didn't know a stripper (aka skinny dipper) could model.  BOO-YAH!


One-on-one time with Ellyce.  The writing was on the wall.  Did you see it?  As soon as she said she gave up her job and her bridesmaid duty in her best friend's wedding to be there for Ben, it was over.  


Ben's face was all scrunched up and annoyed looking.  He just looked so . . . I don't even know.  But I could tell.  And sure enough, bam!  Get in the limo  town car  boat and go home.   


Courtney waits up for Ben.  At this point, Hadar had started texting me.   So I knew.


Cover your eyes.  Guard your children.  Hold on while I cover up Sydney's ears.


Courtney and Ben got naked and went in the water.  Without clothes on.  In their birthday suits.  And it wasn't even their birthday.  I know!  Do you think that they . . . they didn't, did they?  


Cocktail party.  Ben feels "crappy" about what he did with Courtney.  Besides skinny dipping, what did he do??????  WHAT?!


Blakely opened up.  I don't care.


Emily.  Emily.  EMILY!  What a mess.  She's a mess.  I hope this is not a spoiler alert but there is NO WAY she's going all the way to the end.  


The Rose Ceremony -- here we go again with THE HAIR.  What is going on with THE HAIR?  It's like another girl and it wants a rose, too.  Is it the humidity?  Does ABC not have a hair stylist that can work with his hair?  I was so distracted by it.  It's not good.  Really.  I should not be this worried about someone else's hair.


I was shocked when he let Jennifer go.  He kissed her at the cocktail party.  I checked (thanks, Tivo!).  He gives Emily the SMACKDOWN ("Stay out of my other relationships."), KISSES Jennifer, and then keeps Emily.  Go figure.  I think the hair got in his eyes which led to some sort of mix-up and he made a mistake.


Jennifer did not seem well.  Or she had the hiccups.


I guess Courtney hasn't been to Panama.  Well, I have!  


No, I haven't.  Just wanted to say that.  


And my champagne glass is higher than hers this week!  


Well, it would be if I was standing on a chair.  Or a ladder.  Or stilts. 


So there.

Tag

Okay, so I tried to gear up for a good old game of tag.  The problem is, I'm old.  It got the best of me.  Kelly from Buggy for Second Grade tagged me first and then it just went on from there.  I think by the time it was done, I was lying face down in the dirt and I'd been tagged three times without ever once getting back to homebase.  So much for the Rocky music.  And what a waste of raw eggs.  


There's no way I can come up with 12 new things about me.  You guys pretty much know everything there is to know about me.  I mean, you're lucky you don't know when Tom is coming to visit.  (Tom = Time of Month)  I'm an open book.  Always have been.  So this is going to be a difficult task.  


Here's what I came up with.  I apologize for any duplicates or any information that you already gleaned from my blog.

 Here are the questions Kelly wanted me to answer.

The other amazing taggers are:

Cheryl at Crayons and Curls

Stacy at 2nd Grade Paradise

I'm not going to answer their questions because I think that would be overkill, don't you think?  I'm going with the first person who tagged me.  Something tells me they'll understand.  I don't think it's my fault that the RHOBH Reunion and The Bachelor are on tonight.  You may call that bad timing.  I call that a wonderful night for TV watching.  Let's agree to disagree.

My other problem in this Tag Game is that I haven't gotten up from the dirt yet.  I'm just lying there and no one has really come by to offer me a hand.  I see so many other bloggers playing and going back and forth and shouting, "TAG!" but I feel a little lost.  Who's been tagged?  Can they be tagged again?  What if I tag them and they already did all the rules and now they're annoyed with me?  What if they're so into The Bachelor and crazy model chick that they can't bear to pull themselves away to come up with 12 new things about themselves?  

I think it's safe to say I'm out.  I think.  I don't want to make anyone mad at me, though.  I just don't know who to tag.  I actually don't even know if I'm on a team.  Are there teams?  Was I the last one picked?  Why does this feel like junior high school all over again?

If I had to ask other people 12 questions, I don't know what I'd ask.  Unless it pertained to the Real Housewives of Atlanta.  Did you see NeNe?  She was practically a peacekeeper.  I couldn't believe it.  I think she was embarassed by Marlo.  Who'd have thunk it?  

No salty butt kissing here.  Uh uh.  Nope.  

So there you have it.

That's all I've got.  I'm just sitting on pins and needles to see the Bachelor.  He would make a great math word problem.  Ben has 15 girls.  He kisses 15 girls.  He sends one home for being upset about group dates.  How many girls are left?

I can't wait for RHOBH either.  It's going to be a great night!

So . . . rather than being "out" of the game, I'm going to leave you with this.  

TAG!  You're it!  Feel free to tell me 12 things about yourself or just one or two things.  Or did anything I say strike your fancy?  Such as International Delight Coffee Creamer a la Coldstone Cream?  Or have I instilled a fear in you about me slapping you if I laugh too hard?  Really, it could be anything - there's lots to choose from.

Hearty Heart Heart

I've been tagged a lot today.  Which is really weird because we are a no tag school.  It's just not allowed.  But I'll play along because, as I've said before, my halo has been known to get a little crooked every now and again.  I was a little worried that I wouldn't be able to catch anyone to actually tag them, but thank goodness this is a virtual game.  I can be really fast in a fake world.  Like superhero fast!  I'll be back later in the week to continue this game. But not yet.  I have to get into training mode and get the Rocky theme song in my head and eat some raw eggs first.  So hold your horses.  And keep your panties on.  :)


It's about to be all about hearts in my neck of the woods.


We started with our Jump Rope for Heart Kick-off Assemblies on Friday.  One of my good teacher friends is the chairperson every year.  She asked me if I would speak at the assemblies to make it more meaningful for the students and/or so they could make a connection.  Hmmmmm.


It was a conundrum, that one.


Not even all of the teachers at school know about my heart condition . . . now I was just going to get up and pour it all out??  Yikes.  And yes, the entire virtual world of bloggers and strangers knows about my heart condition but not real life people.  I never said I was normal.  If that was your assumption, you have been led down the wrong path, people.


But I decided to do it.  I think I did it in a way that didn't scare the kids . . . I guess I'll find out tomorrow at school.  If parents bring me food and casseroles, then I'll know the kids went home and told them I was dying.  Which I'm not.  And I never said I was.  But I'll take the food.  Especially the desserts.  


I did get about 1000 students who said they would jump for me since I can't.  A little known fact about me is that I used to be on a jump roping team.  That's right.  Uh huh.  Go Skippers!  My school in Texas had a team and they were called the Skippers (not to be confused with Barbie's little sister.  Or was that her cousin?) and I tried out for the team in second grade and I made it.  I went to practices before school and everything.  I may not be very athletic but I can jump over a rope over and over and over again.  I also learned some cool tricks, if I do say so myself.  So I told the kids all about that and how I was sort of sad that I couldn't jump and they all said they'd jump for me.  They also said they'd bring in $1 for the American Heart Association so that one day, maybe, just maybe, I'll be able to jump rope again.  I'm secretly hoping this will be our biggest year to date in the fundraising department.  But you didn't hear that from me (insert violin music here).


I will also introduce some new Heart Poems.  Like this one.
To My Valentine Color
To My Valentine Word Cards ColorTo My Valentine Fill in the Blank

I think it's so cute.  If fingers were thumbs . . . well, I doubt I'd be typing this, that's for sure.


You can get the black and white poem {HERE} and the black and white word cards {HERE}.


I am off to catch up on some TV.  A crisis was just averted when I happened upon MTV's The Challenge:  Battle of the Exes.  I forgot it was premiering and I didn't Tivo it.  Panic!  Sweat!  Tears!  Say it isn't so!  I caught it just by chance and recorded it immediately. I'm dying to see if CT and Diem will reunite.  I know CT is a bad boy and all that but I like him.  I can't explain.  Does anyone else watch these Challenge shows?  Am I the only one?  


I hope you like the poem -- fingers and all.  Please leave me some bloggy or stranger love if you grab them!  :)  


And don't forget to enter the Good Old Giveaway!  Just click.  :)

Thanks for all the Reality TV comments on my last post.  I think I'm going to be a Dance Moms watcher.  :)  At this point, why not?  I lost my dignity somewhere between Big Brother and The Challenge:  Battle of the Exes, so why not?

Good Old Giveaway

We all know that I don't have a TpT or TN store.  And there's no way I'm going to have one in the new future.  Just. Not. Happening.  So you know when I'm part of a giveaway, I'm giving away cold, hard cash.  Well, almost.  I'm giving away a gift card which allows you to buy stuff as if it WAS cold, hard cash.  I wonder where that saying came from . . . how come it isn't Warm, Wadded up Cash that's been squashed in the bottom of my purse or squished between couch cushions?


Anywho, I'm in another giveaway!  Woot Woot!

Kimberly from Funky First Grade Fun is my mentor.  She introduced me when I first started blogging.  Really.  If you want to check that out, it's right {HERE}.  Aw, the memories.  Makes me want to sing.  "Memoriessssssssss.  All alone in the moonlightttttttttt.  I can smile at the old daysssssss.   They were beautiful thennnnn."  FYI:  I do not assume responsibility for any broken windows or mirrors in your house.


Jennifer from Rowdy in First Grade is just a good bloggy friend.  We have done a giveaway together in the past, too.  Also, she created a Sweet Literacy and Math Center Pack and offered it to the first six people to comment on her blog (this was recent).  I just missed being one of the first six.  Well, not really.  I think I missed it by like eight people or something.  And I believe I may have been a poor sport.  It's possible I may have commented, "Dang It!!!!" and that's all.  Well, Jennifer just sent it to me.  Free of charge.  Out of the blue.  Just because.  She said I make her laugh.  And she sent it to me.  I know!!!  This is why I love her.


So here's what we're giving away!!!


$10 gift card to Amazon from me (I'm on a kick because I want more books for my Kindle and so I think everyone must want that, too)


$10 gift card to TpT from Jennifer


$10 gift card to Target from Kimberly


I would REALLY like to enter this giveaway.  I may make Kerry, otherwise known as my twin, enter this giveaway and then make her give me the loot if she wins.  :)


So here's all you need to do.  Follow our blogs.  And/or their stores.  That's it.  But you've got to go enter on Kimberly's blog.  She's the hostess.  I'm more of a . . . caterer?  Or a waitress?  The entertainment?


Before you go, though, you know you've got to leave ME a comment.  Otherwise, I feel unloved and then I start to question my lot in life and what am I really doing here in this virtual world and do you not like me anymore?  The agony.  Try living with it.


SO!  Before you go to enter this giveaway, leave me a comment about any reality TV show you've seen this week.  I just caught up with Tori and Dean last night.  I am in love with Stella.  She is the SWEETEST little thing.  She's so adorable.  


I also caught up on Teen Mom 2.  I am worried sick about Jenelle.  I can't believe (yes, I can) that she got into a fight with her roommate.  Who does that?  I've never had a roommate (I went from my parent's house to a condo after my "honeymoon in Vegas" with the hubs) so maybe that's normal?  Is it?


If you don't watch Reality TV, maybe you can tell me about the lunch you're having tomorrow.  I'm super excited about mine because one of our support teachers (who has more freedom than we do) is taking orders from the yummy deli that we almost-never-go to-because-they-take-so-long-in-the-process-of-making-absolute-deliciousness-like-you've-never-had-before AND she is going to go pick it up and bring it back to us!  I'm telling you, that just made Friday sparkle before we ever even got started!  :)


Okay.  So after you've left me a random comment, you can go enter over at Funky First Grade Fun and get all the details!  I grant you permission.  :) :) :) 

Ah-choo! (but I'm not sick so you can come closer)

Today was the day that I found out more about my new troublemaker student.


I learned lots of new information.


For example, if he is on the playground, he feels very comfortable telling other first grade boys that he is going to beat them up and that they should run.  As in, "Yeah, you'd BETTER run!"


He also feels it's within his right to state his dislike for me when he can't find his scissors.  You know, the scissors I gave him one day ago that are somewhere in his desk but not in clear sight.  I suppose I understand.  I often dislike others when I misplace my sanity.


During lunch, my principal and A.P called me into their office to chit chat about their very special phone call with the administrator of new boy's previous school.


I'll just say this.  BAGGAGE.  Tons and tons of it.  We would not be able to find Blakely anywhere in all of the baggage that he brought with him into my classroom.  So.  Staying positive.  God put him in my room for a reason.  And later in the day, when I called him a math wizard (yes, it was a stretch, but that's what I call my kiddos during math, and it just came out), he beamed.  He hugged me, said he loved me, and that I was the best teacher he ever had.  I know.  But don't gush too much.  It didn't last long. 


My principal had him come up to the office when we were having our little pow wow.  It was interesting.  Mainly because my principal kept telling him that he needed to be nice to his "little teacher".  And that he couldn't talk to his "little teacher" like that.  And that "little Mrs Oldham" is going to have fun stuff for him to do and he needs to cooperate.


I could go one of two ways.


One:  Does she say "big teacher" to the taller teachers?  "Listen here, mister, you'd better respect your big teacher."  Or "Your big teacher really cares about you and wants the best for you."  Or "She's the best big teacher we have."


Two:  Thank God she did not say "your teeny tiny teacher" because then I might be paranoid that she knows I have a blog!!!  And then I would have to die.  Die.  People!  My blog is a secret.  SHHHHHHHH.  You know nothing.


Speaking of scissors (way back up there in the second paragraph or so), guess why we needed them????


No, silly.  We weren't cutting hair.  Guess again.


No, stinker.  We weren't trimming our nose hairs.  Guess again.


YES!  We did art!


Our Step Up to Writing topic this week was all about what happens when we're sick.  The kids had tons to say because . . . well . . . they are full of germs and like to pass them around by either picking their nose and rubbing it all over the carpet, or by picking their nose and eating it.  Yes.  It's gross.  I gag.  Sometimes, if I am so lucky to see this happen right in front of me, I have to pause while teaching or reading a story to breathe through my mouth while I let the nausea pass.


We read these stories (along with some other titles that I can't recall because I was too busy being disliked):

Then we wrote.  It went well.  Blah, blah, blah.  That's not the exciting part.

THIS IS!  We made these little faces to go with our writing:

They're sick.  Get it?  :)  I got this idea from my very first partner, Sheri, who helped me forage in the trash for the finger.  I've done it every single year.  It makes for a cute bulletin board.  What's that?  Huh?  No, I don't have a picture of my bulletin board.  Between new boy, assessments, the third grade team providing soup and bread for lunch today, the Bachelor, RHOBH, and catching up with the Kardashians, I've been consumed with other things.  I am getting it up by Friday and the title is going to be "Ah-choo!"

(yes, we could have used yarn for hair but I was doing assessments and got lazy --- there, I said it)

I've had "Dance Moms" on in the background while typing this.  Holy mack.  Now THIS is drama.  Whoa.  Do you guys watch this?

No judgment here.  Just wondering if it should be added to my syllabus.  I think I remember getting a comment about it but I might be wrong.

I'm off to read your blogs now!

Talk About It Tuesday

Oh, people.  Before we get started, just have to say . . . 


PEOPLE!!!!!


Listen to my day.  I'll make it quick.  Really.  I will.  


I got a new kid.


He doesn't know how to write his name without looking at his nametag.  I know this because I didn't have a nametag for him.  Because I didn't know he was coming.  Because he's new.  And because no one told me.  And when I said, "Write your name.", he looked at me like I was the shortest person he'd ever seen on earth and how in the world could I be the person in charge of running this classroom.  


We are getting to know one another.


He doesn't like me.  


That's okay because I had my doctor appointment today and my doctor likes me.  I say this with confidence because one of us had to take our clothes off for the other one.  I think that's a good indication of a close relationship.


Now it's night time.  Tori and Dean and Teen Mom 2 are on the agenda.  And possibly another ice cream bar.  It's either that or wine because the doctor didn't offer me any.


Let's get down to business.


Real Housewives of Beverly Hills:  I was a bit bored.  Were you?  I got a good giggle from Paul and all of the air coming out of his body post-colonoscopy.  "Oh no . . . "  


There was a lot of wedding.  Last week, I said I wasn't interested.  I wasn't.  I did take notice of the fact that Pandora's cake cost more than her dress.  Is this normal?  I have no idea.  Being the Las Vegas bride and all, I didn't get married on a tennis court.  Just next to a black jack table.  Does that count?  I was happy that Lisa let Ken walk her down the aisle.  I thought she might do that.  Pandora seemed . . . well, it just seemed like she was overly concerned with her hair.  She looked at her hair way more than she looked at her groom.


I did love Jiggy's tux.  I would like to kidnap him and let him run naked and free over here in my house.  Although I think Syd might think he was a stuffed animal and tear him to bits.


What else really happened?  One minute we were at a wedding and three weeks later, Russell had died.  Was that weird editing to you? And what about Camille's new stranger-man-with-all-of-those-abs-but-no-face?  Perplexing.


Kim is in rehab.  All I can say is phew.  PHEW!


I did not see previews for a reunion.  PLEASE tell me there will be a reunion!!  Part one and two, please!  Does anyone know??


The Bachelor:  Much better in the drama department.  I mean, in the first five minutes, we've got Kacie B. crying.  No.  Stop.  Don't do that in the FIRST FIVE MINUTES!!!  


Rachel -- she got to go in the helicopter.  I'm so tired of the helicopter.  And the scenic views.  And the headphones.  I'm just sick of it.  We need something else.


Ben and Rachel were awkward.  AWKWARD.  I could barely watch.  Rachel kept doing weird mouth twitches and lip disappearances (come to think of it, we had a lot of mouth things going on) and they had nothing to say to one another.  And then after all of that, they agreed they had a vibe and he gave her the rose.  WHY?  WHAT VIBE?  Did ABC tell him he had to keep her?  EXPLAIN.  


Then it's group date time.  Ben rides in on a horse.  Or, actually, the horse jumps into the water without Ben being prepared and he looks  a little lot frightened as he holds on for dear life.  I cracked up.  I may have replayed it a few times.   But Lindzi, aka horse girl, loves a man in the saddle so let's all sing "Home!  Home on the Range!"


Courtney kills me.  We would not be friends.  Nope.


And then she caught a fish.  Dang it.


When she is talking to Ben, her itty bitty poopy baby voice makes me want to . . . I want to . . . Oh.  It's just so FAKE!


Don't forget the drama at the end of the group date with Samantha.  My hubs walked in the room right about that time and when he saw Samantha, he said, and I quote, "Holy fake boobs!"  


Well, everyone, let her be a lesson to you.  Don't you dare complain about being on group dates.  And you'd better not be highly emotional.  You can be lowly emotional but that's it.  Go above lowly and you're out.  SEE YA!  


Time for Courtney on stage again.  Obviously, she was nominated for an Oscar and Ben congratulated her with a rose.  Take a bow, Courtney.  Charlie Sheen would be proud.


Onto the one on one with Jennifer - the cute little girl from Oklahoma.  I like her.  I didn't like their date.  Once again, we're afraid of heights.  But while we're afraid, just to make it interesting, let's get into our bikinis, too, shall we?  And let's say this again, "If we can conquer this thing, we'll have trust . . . "  Gross, yuck, disgusting.  Please, just be quiet.  


And the concert?  Please don't dance.  Don't.  Please.  Just stop.


I loved that Blakely (the girl crying by the luggage that inspired me to do the same a couple of weeks ago) is now "back in the group" and can DO HAIR.  She's alright in my book if she can take care of my roots.  Girl gossip  talk.  Girl talk in the bathroom.  I'm having deja-vu.


Rose Ceremony:  Oh my word.  Guys, did you hear that Emily is bothered by Courtney?  She's bothered.  It bothers her.  The whole thing is bothersome.  Emily told on Courtney to Ben.  Ben thought the telling could lead to her demise.  HER DEMISE.  Talk about serious.  It really bothers Emily.  I wonder if Emily has bothersome brothers or brothers who bother her?


As Emily and Courtney talked about each other, both of their mouths twitched and pursed and moved and had a touch of Bewitched in them.  Don't you think?


It's that time.  Ben hands out roses.  


There's only one left.  It's a nail biter.


Alas, Emily survives another day.


We've lost poor Monica.  I had no idea she liked him.  Did you?  I'm always so worried about the girls in the limo.  Do they have a therapist in there?  They certainly don't have kleenex.  At the very least, the limo should be equipped with kleenex!  I mean, really.  Or me.  I could be in the limo.  I could listen and wipe away tears and nod my head . . . I could do that.


So that wraps it up.


The Bachelor beat Real Housewives.


But my doctor visit takes the cake.


Which makes me think of ice cream.   Please excuse me . . . :)

CUT!

I made it.  It's Monday night and I have RHOBH and The Bachelor to look forward to, and maybe a Snickers ice cream candy bar, as well.  


Both of my meetings went fine today.  This could be because I read Philippians this morning and here is a verse that spoke LOUD and CLEAR to me and basically said, "KRISTIN, PAY ATTENTION!"


"Do everything without complaining and arguing so that no one can criticize you."  Philippians 2:14


Ahem.


So I smiled a lot.  I nodded.  Our Leadership Meetings always begin with grade level reports.  This is when we're allowed to complain or congratulate or commiserate or what have you.   But after reading that bible verse, I had to rethink first grade's position.


So, instead of saying:


"That PTT meeting last week was ridonkulous! a bit frustrating"


 or 


"Synthesize this!  We were really disappointed", 


I said, "First Grade is really hoping that we'll get to see some modeled lessons from the experts utilizing the engagement cube with our mandated curriculum.  Is that a possiblity?"


I know.  


Kiss my brain and all that.  


I know.


The School Site Council Meeting????  I don't really remember it.  I did take notes because the prinicpal asked me to so I'm sure I paid attention somewhat.


I also survived the rain.  I had a nice day with the kiddos.  Really.  No one tried to kiss anyone today so that was already a big improvement over Friday.  


We had a kissing bandit.  And he did not discriminate.  Girl, boy, blond, brunette, spikes, ponytails, jeans, dresses, whatever.  Kiss kiss.  


One of my girls (a TEACHER'S kid!!) told me right away that she did NOT like it.  I asked her where he was kissing her.  (On the cheek?  On the lips?  On the neck?  On the swings?  On the grass?)
She said he was kissing her back because she was always running away from him.   Of course.


We also started our Assessments today.


Kill me now.


The worst part is that the one-on-one portion involves distinguishing between short and long vowel words.  For example, I say read the script, "Which word has the long vowel sound?  Cut or Cube?"


And I'm either spit on with a rapid fire response of "CUT!" or I'm sitting there in agony while they look back at me like I'm an actual crazy person for asking them this.  I can see inside their heads and they're saying "Vowel?  What's a vowel?  When is it time for recess?" It's usually one or the other.


It doesn't matter that we go over this and over this.  They're not listening.


They're supposed to sound out EACH word first.  And then thoughtfully give me an answer.  The correct answer.  


BIG SIGH.


BIGGER SIGH.


I am definitely going to eat that Snickers ice cream candy bar.


Here's what we're going to do tomorrow to help out with this short/long vowel situation.  Because that's what it is.  A situation.
Short-Long Vowel Sort

So we'll sort our long and short vowels.  I am a big fan of pictures when it comes to this.  Number one:  my struggling readers have no struggle.  Number two:  they actually have to "hear" the vowel when they look at the picture.  If that makes sense.  


Feel free to grab it if you want it.  


I'm off to begin watching my Reality shows while eating a Snickers candy bar and blog stalking.  I can do all three.  I'm good like that.  :)

Vowel Teams and Other Stuff

Well, fascinating as I may be, I'm pretty sure you can only vote once for me.  So I won't be bothering you anymore.  You're off the hook.  Is it weird that while I see a Curriculum Cop Badge, several of you see a can of beer or a beer keg?  Do I need to get out more?  Have the C.C.'s gotten to me? 

It's not raining today but it's going to rain tomorrow.  My phone says 100%.  I guess there's no getting around it.  To top it off, I have a Leadership Team Meeting in the morning before school, INSIDE RECESS ALL THE LIVELONG DAY, and a School Site Council Meeting after school.  Tuesday morning I have an IEP before school and then a FEMALE DOCTOR APPOINTMENT after school.  Yuck.  Shake head.  Cringe inwardly.  Cross legs.

That's a gigantic paragraph of negativity.  Bitter Betty-ness, if you will.  Or Downer Debby-ness, if you'd rather.

Let me try to put a Positive Polly spin on it.

....................................thinking.........................thinking harder.......... ........................hmmmmm...........................

Let's see.  We really need the rain and it's going to do just that tomorrow.  GUSH!  I love my "schmoops" and I get to be with them INSIDE ALL THE LIVELONG DAY.  GIDDY!  I have a Leadership Meeting in the morning which means my voice will be heard. COUGH!  WOW!  I have a School Site Council meeting . . . 

Oh, forget it.  I can't keep this up.

So . . . moving on.

Our Language Arts District Assessment Window opens tomorrow, too.  It's a window I'd rather keep closed.  And locked.  It's not like cute little birdies perch on the windowsill and sing me a lovely tune.  Instead, it brings back this monstrosity  tool of the devil  unique and clever piece of equipment:

You can read my thoughts about it {HERE}.


So I have to spice up my week just a bit.  Obviously.  


I searched high and low and found this little diddy about vowel teams.  It's cute.  I'm going to play it for my kiddos tomorrow.  I love it towards the end because the second vowel keeps trying to talk and says "But-" and the first vowel keeps shushing it.  Ha!



I'm hoping this will help my kids during assessments.  There are a lot of long vowel questions.  Of every kind of nature.  Mainly, it's in the nature of trying to trick the kiddos and make them pick the wrong answer.  Really.  I love it.  It's practically sarcastic.  


PS  Yes, I will make sure that we do Adventure to Fitness tomorrow.  But it's still not the same as children going OUT of the classroom while I nap.

Fascinating

Happy Saturday!  It's raining here.  I'm so happy.  I love the rain when it is Saturday and I do not have first graders with ants in their pants at my house.  Instead, the hubs, Syd, PJ, and I are having inside recess here.  Love.  LOVE LOVE LOVE!  Hubs made me breakfast, too.  I had an Egg McMuffin without the egg.  Eggs kind of gross me out (and I don't like the way they taste).  A doctor said to me one time, "I don't like anything that comes out of that end of a chicken either."  Now I stand by it.  

Well, I got an interesting email.  From some PhD website.  They've nominated my blog for MOST FASCINATING.  At first, I was so blown away.  Wow.  FASCINATING.  That's a Fancy Nancy word if I ever heard of one.  Plus, a website was nominating me -- not bloggers.  Well, aren't I speshial?  (insert digraph in the middle to get across how I'm saying it)

Not really.  

As I read further, I found out that my post "Uno, Dos, Tres" was the reason they felt I should be in the contest.  It garnered a lot of comments and discussion.

Uno, Dos, Tres?  I don't remember writing that.  I know it's Espanol for One, Two, Three but that's about it.  I had to rack my brain.  It hurt.  I don't recommend doing that.

And then it hit me.  Uno, Dos, Tres was my giveaway for reaching 1000 followers.  In other words, I had 189 comments because people were entering the giveaway.  It wasn't a big to-do that gave people a burning desire to dicuss it.  The only discussion was what people were going to be doing for New Year's Eve -- which just turned out to be lots of staying home and eating junk food.

So now I feel a little sheepish.  Not to be confused with a little lambish.  

I mean, a giveaway post?  It's obvious they didn't actually read it.  It's nowhere near as good as . . . um . . . my post about . . . that one time that I wrote about . . . who am I kidding?  None of my posts are educational.  I should just change my blog name to Teeny Tiny and call it a day.  I guess it's good they're not highlighting the Talk About It Tuesdays.  Then I might really feel a little goatish.

On the other hand, if I accepted the nomination, I got a $25 giftcard to a restaurant.

So I had to think long and hard about it.  

After about one millisecond . . . 

SOLD!  I accept!  I am honored.  Let me fan my face with my hand and choke back a sob.  Someone pick me up because I have fainted!

So anyways, here's the thingamajig:

Is it just me or does that remind anyone else of a Curriculum Cop Badge?

And, if you feel like voting for me, and you're not afraid to get too close to a Curriculum Cop Looking Badge, please click below.  

There.  Done.  I may bother you a few more times to vote.  Just for fun.  It's not like I care at all.  Not in the least.  It's the last thing on my mind.  Not a care in the world.  Nope.  Uh uh.  I'm footloose and carefree.  Careless, shall we say.

And not to put any pressure on anybody, but I did a lot of voting on the best Mom/Teacher Blog thing.  A lot.

But I'm not campaigning (definitely not the way they do it on Big Brother when they're on the block, and they say they're not going to campaign, but then they always do).  No way.  No need.  It's not necessary.  It's just a little contest.  Means nothing.  

Well, the hubs just said that Inside Recess got extended so I'm going to go cuddle under a blanket with my laptop him and enjoy the day.

I hope your day is going just as well!! :)

Synthesizing Assessments

Ewww.  That is definitely not a good title.  And it doesn't reflect me at all.  But I have to talk about both so I combined them.  But don't fear.  This will not be a post filled with big educational jargon.  It will still be me.  


First, I forgot to offer the Houghton Mifflin Theme 6 Weekly Assessments that I created.  Oops.  My bad.  I think vacation and P.J. got in the way.

Theme 6, Week 1

You can grab Theme 6, Week 2 {HERE} and Theme 6, Week 3 {HERE}.


I keep running out of time on Fridays to give these tests (or maybe I conveniently wait to give them because I don't want to grade any more of anything on the weekends).  I just give them on Mondays and it's been working out fine.  And dandy.  Let's fill in another bubble, shall we?


So the assessments part of this post title is out of the way.  Check.  Or fill in the bubble underneath it.  This is a test.  Stop looking at your neighbor.


Synthesize.  Synthesize.  Synthesize.


Makes me think of Chrysanthemum, Chrysanthemum, Chrysanthemum.  But that's a whole lot friendlier than Synthesize. 


Synthesize was the topic of our PTT yesterday.   Do you have PTT?  I think it stands for Professional-Teaching-Time.  But I could be wrong.  For all I know, it could mean you Poor-Tired-Teachers, now you have to go to a meeting and-sit-and-listen and not get all the things done you wish you were getting done in your room.  The way our school does it, we meet with our Principal and the whole staff every other week and on the alternate weeks, we get to be with our teams.  


I won't state the obvious and tell you which week I like better.  Remember this is a test.  Figure it out on your own.  I can't give you all the answers.  Stop tapping your pencil.  Who's doing that?


So . . . yesterday's PTT was thrilling.  We discussed the Engagement Cube again.


Do you know about the Engagement Cube?  We went to a PDD (I think that stands for Professional Development Day but it could also mean Please Don't Daydream) with an excellent speaker named Jon Antonetti.  Seriously.  He's HILARIOUS and it felt like we were at a comedy show.  I loved him.  I wanted to go on the road with him.  


So now we try to implement his engagement cube with all of our Mandated Curriculum.  


Uh huh.  Ahem.  Cough.  Clear throat.


So . . . yesterday we focused on the side of the cube and it's Bloom's Taxonomy.  And we had to go through all this stuff I won't go into and the word Synthesize kind of threw us for a loop.  Us being the K-1 teachers.  This could be because we use words, such as "Shhhh" and "Stop talking about his underwear" and "Who's humming?".


We asked the guest speaker to define Synthesize and do you know what he said?


Wait .............. for ............... it.......................


He said, "Tell me what it means to you."


What?  I mean, you're the guest speaker.  Speak.  Teach.  Do something.  (We had been writing on chart paper the whole time while he walked around)


I didn't mean to say what I said but apparently, it came out.  I asked my group afterwards and they said, yes, I said it, and they were glad, and for me not to feel bad.  But I inevitably felt bad because that's just the way I am.


I said, "No, no, no, no, no."


And then I said, "We need a definition and some examples."


And then I have no idea what he said because we didn't get it.  Really.  We didn't.


But now I've found out that it just means taking two or more different pieces and creating something new.  For example:  students learn long vowel sounds and also digraphs, and they put the two together to generate long a words with digraphs.  Shape.  Choke.  Three.  See?  We found that on google.


Anyways, this whole running diatribe (ha! look at that big word!) is to tell you how disappointed I was with yesterday's PTT.  


And I really want to know if any of you have PTTs or other weekly things like this.  Please tell me it's not just me.  PLEASE.