Five for Fraturday

HAPPY HAPPY HAPPY HAPPY HAPPY SATURDAY!

I don’t have a picture for this one.

But I want to tell you all how thankful I am for every comment and email I received after I wrote about my grandma.  Some were hard to read because many of you have lost loved ones recently, too.  But more than anything, you all were just so sweet and supportive and thoughtful.

I am truly thankful for all of the prayers.  I’m also thankful that I can write about virtually anything on this blog, and you will read it, and you will respond KINDLY.  When I get a huge response like that, I’m always overwhelmed because I almost forget that ACTUAL people read what I write.

I have this need to write and get my thoughts down — I have no idea why, but it’s like therapy for me.  But while I’m writing, I’m not thinking about the fact that someone is going to read it.  I just have to GET IT OUT.

But then you read it and you respond.

So thank you.

Thank you, thank you, thank you.

You all are the BEST.

 

I created some quick and easy Birthday Cards for my new class.  You can read about what I do for birthdays {HERE}.  But I wanted a little something extra so voila!

I love the way they turned out.  There are four to a sheet so I just printed 8 copies (yes, for those of you who are new here, I can have up to 32 kiddos), cut them, and now they’re ready for me to grab quickly and hand out on the day of a kid’s birthday.  I did not laminate it, I do not expect to save it and re-use it, I am 100% positive I’ll throw it away with the skipped page of homework, too.

Shoulder shrug.

Sometimes, you just can’t keep stuff or you’ll go crazy.

And it’s not like the kiddo is going to want to keep this card forever and ever.  And YOU KNOW the parent won’t want to.

So it’s a win-win, if I do say so myself.

By the way, I kind of thought a little too hard about this, and wondered if I should think ahead and make sure this card gets into the homework folders THE WEEK OF the kid’s birthday (because I send home folders on Mondays) and then I wondered how on earth I would remember to do that, and then I thought for a little longer and I came up with this idea:

PUT IT ON THEIR DESK WHEN IT IS THEIR BIRTHDAY.

IF THEY CAN SOMEHOW GET IT HOME, GIVE IT TO MOM,

AND REMEMBER TO PUT IT ON THEIR HOMEWORK, THEN HOORAY.

IF NOT, DO I CARE?

DO I REALLY?

IF IT GETS LOST IN THEIR DESK, AND STAYS THERE FOREVER, DO I CARE?

And I decided quite quickly that I do not care.

The effort was made on my part and that’s all I really care about.

🙂

If you’d like these for yourself, I made a little editable template (the only thing you can change is your name because I was trying to keep my life simple) so click the picture or click {HERE}.

 

 

Wednesday, August 9

FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL!

I plan on putting up pics of my room on Monday!

Summer is officially over.

I started year 21 on Wednesday.

YEAR 21.

I wrote on Instagram that I do not know how that’s possible when I still do not know how I am an actual adult.  And I’m being serious. When I stop to think really hard about the fact that I have a mortgage and a car and I have to grocery shop and pay bills, I just cannot believe it.  How did I get here, is what I want to know!

One of our new hires is 24 years old.

So when I first started teaching, she was a TODDLER.

But when we’re talking (and I love this girl!) and chatting and whatever-ing, I feel like we are exactly the same age.  Whatever that age is.  I don’t know.  I’m not saying I feel like I’m 24 (although I think I do? or maybe 26?  Or maybe 18?  30?  I do not know!) and I’m not saying she feels like she’s in her 40s (hahahaha – NOT), but I definitely do not feel old enough to be her mom.

I just feel like her friend and colleague.

I mean, I KNOW she is young because she has no wrinkles and cute clothes and can wear BRAIDS in her hair, but still.

Anyways.

Year 21.

My list is ALL OVER THE PLACE.  It has changed SO MANY TIMES, I have lost count.

I started on day one with 29 kiddos on MY LIST but only 24 showed up.

I ended the week with 26.

My teammates all have 28 or 29 so I’ll be getting the next two new kids FOR SURE.

In the meantime, I am LOVING my new class.  They are all so cute and sweet and they think I’m funny which is all I really care about if I’m being honest.  🙂

 

 

How cute is this girl’s pigeon?!

We read a bunch of pigeon books on Day One and then made this craft (I cannot remember where I got this from – holler if it’s yours!) in the afternoon.  I love that she made her pigeon into a GIRL.  She used left over black paper from the legs to make the bow.  LOVE!!!!!

And, by the way, look at her little polished fingernails!!!

I felt sad that summer was over, but being around kids again is really really really fun.  They are seriously into whatever we’re doing.  I LOVE FIRST GRADERS!  Even when they make me tired and they REALLY make me tired the first few weeks of school.  Remember THIS POST? 

It’s not like any of that has changed.  First Grade is HARD.  It’s ALL DAY.  It’s the big playground.  It’s ALL DAY.  It’s the big kid lunch tables with supervisors.  It’s ALL DAY.

But it’s also my happy place.

🙂

Forgive me if I’ve already shared this.

I updated it a bit with new labels and turquoise baskets instead of white ones.

But instead of the 3 drawer caddies that I see all over Pinterest and Instagram and Blog Land, I use these baskets for my Monday – Friday organization.

Here’s why:

a)  My teammate, Heather, does it.

b)  So I copied her.

c)  EVERYTHING fits in these baskets.  Books, construction paper, copies, manipulatives, etc.  I have found that the 3 drawer caddies are a little trickier when it comes to that stuff.

d)  I can carry the basket around with me.  I usually take the basket with me to the carpet and put it on a shelf there so that I can easily get what I need as I’m teaching.  However, when we made the pigeon craft, I passed out the first thing they needed, and then said come to my teacher table when they needed other pieces.  I carried the basket from the carpet area over to my teaching table.

e)  When I have a sub, I put everything they need into the basket and set the basket on my desk.  If I’m out for two days in a row, I prepare the next day’s basket, but keep it on the shelf and leave a little note note on the first day’s plans that they can access everything in the such-and-such basket.  If it’s an emergency sub situation, my teammates can just grab the basket or tell the sub to get the such and such basket off the shelf.

f)  It’s pretty!   🙂

🙂

And that’s about it!

I’m going to go catch up on ADULT things such as laundry and bills and shopping . . .

Ugh!

😉

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