First Grade Morning Work and The Sale!

Okay, faithful followers of mine.  What the heck happened yesterday?

I mean, I wrote a post about my week and my niece and Back to School Night and gave you a sneak peek at my updated First Grade Morning Work pack.  And then POOF!  It was gone.

POOF!

POOP!

Well, anyway, it was an absolutely crazy day and you know how there are some blogging rules out there in bloggy world and how there is a bloggy jail and all that, right?

Would you bail me out if I were arrested?  

Anywho, Freebielicious was doing a super fun blog hop and I had to join.  I just had to.  So I tried to squeeze it into my existing post but it didn’t fit.  

So I just kind of started over . . . you know.  In the exact same way that I throw away a perfectly good piece of paper with my grocery list on it if I make a mistake.

I am tho thilly sometimes.

So below you will find yesterday’s post.  With a few changes to reflect that time has passed.  Because it’s Sunday.  And that was Saturday.  And, boys and girls, tomorrow will be Monday.

Here you go:

This week kicked my butt and it took names.  Mainly, my name.  First, middle, and last.

I am so happy it is the weekend!  

Wednesday night, the hubby and I went out with the family to have a little goodbye dinner for our niece, Ashley, who is moving into her dorm at Sonoma State University right this very second.  I am so excited for her!  And I can’t wait to go visit her and have her drive me around to all the wineries . . .  

Thursday night was Back to School Night or, as we call it, Parent Information Night.  I can’t stand it.  It is basically two-25 minute sessions in which I talk at a high decibel at breakneck speed so that I can fit in a year’s worth of information.  The part I don’t like is the parents looking at me.

Plus, I’m pretty sure they think I’m a little off my rocker.  I would tell a joke or say something sarcastic and they would just sort of stare at me.   Maybe that was because the RED BELT I wore with my NAVY POLKA DOT DRESS and RED SANDALS was too big and I kind of had to rubberband it to itself so that it wasn’t flapping in the wind and/or looking like a leash.

Then I always get parents who come up and ask me how their child is doing even though I’ve only known their child for seven school days so all I know is that they a) use the bathroom too much b) finish everything too quickly c) never finish anything ever or d) ask if it’s time to go home yet.

I said this to every single parent, “He/she is so cute!  I love him/her!  He/She is doing great!”

I am so glad it’s over.  I feel like now I can get on with the business of teaching.

Speaking of which, I finished updating my First Grade Morning Work.  The reasons why?

1.   I created it on a PC a long time ago.  And now I’m all about my Mac.
2.   No math skills are covered.  It’s just language.
3.   Common Core and a new principal are allowing my first grade team and me a little more freedom which means I don’t have to have it so closely aligned with Houghton Mifflin.
4.   My first pack was truly a labor of love and something I created long before I was blogging . . . and I felt like I wanted to share it, but now . . . well, I think my new one is better.  Friendlier.  It feels more consistent and repetitive to me which I think will help my first graders be more independent and more successful and more . . . LEAVING ME ALONE IN THE MORNING SO I CAN TAKE ATTENDANCE AND WAKE UP A LITTLE.
5.  I created it in the look and feel of my Kindergarten Morning Work packs because they seem to be working for a lot of stranger people and I have found them to be successful with my own kids, too.  So I fixed what was broken, if you want to say that.  I’m not saying that.  I’m just saying the updated version is 2013 and the old one is sooooo 2008.  

This year, my team is using my Kindergarten Morning Work {Continued} pack as a review.  And then we are going to use my new updated First Grade Morning Work pack.   

Here’s a little peek: