Hello there and HAPPY WEEKEND!
MY DAD FINALLY RETIRED!
We are all so excited and happy for him! He turned 73 on March 27th so it’s ABOUT TIME!
I stayed at my parents last weekend and I was able to take a picture of my dad on his very last day. Isn’t he just the cutest? He said it didn’t feel real AT ALL. So off to work he went FOR THE LAST TIME and then he came home from work FOR THE LAST TIME around 10am. Haha!! I mean, what were they going to do? Fire him?
He didn’t really want a retirement party, but we sort of convinced him, and then while we were prepping for the party, which included cleaning a dozen or so patio chairs with Soft Scrub, and Comet, and a hose, and then deciding one chair looked cleaner than another so we would start the process all over again and again, we started to wonder why we were doing all of this when my dad had originally said we could just all go OUT to dinner.
Steve smoked pulled pork (for sandwiches) and a brisket, my mom made baked beans, we ordered coleslaw from KFC (I mean, you’ve got to do it right if you’re going to have coleslaw), we had veggies, and cookies, and brownies, and lemon squares . . . let’s just put it this way: the food was DELICIOUS. Steve got a ton of compliments on his food. 🙂
I love love love the picture of my parents together. My mom looks so pretty and I am just so happy for my dad!
The picture of the girls has my niece, Ashley, my twin Kerry (on my left), and my older sister, Lisa (on my right). Ashley is Lisa’s daughter.
And, of course, you know Steve who was not amused about taking any pictures whatsoever at all which is basically what he thinks about having his picture taken every single time.
Anyone else have a husband like this?
I took a few candids, but really and truly, that’s all I got. My nephews were there, my brother was there, my brother-in-law was there . . . I don’t know. I’m chalking it up to I was eating and talking, thank you very much I was in the moment.
Lots of my parents friends came over, and all of their neighbors, and some friends from their church, and a good time was had by all.
🙂
HOORAY FOR RETIREMENT!
‘
Remember how last week I showed you custom made bells from Picking Up STEAM on Etsy? And how I said I felt like I needed one?
Well, there it is!
Are you in love with my bell as much as I am? Don’t you just want to ring that bell?
RING MY BELLLLLLLLLL, RING MY BELL! That’s an actual song, if you didn’t know.
Jessica at Picking Up STEAM was a JOY to work with. She replies RIGHT AWAY which is how I like people to reply to me. Don’t make me wait around when the only thing I can think about is a darn bell. If I text you to ask you if you watched Vanderpump Rules or the premiere of Real Housewives {New York} or the premiere of Southern Charm, I need you to reply RIGHT AWAY. It means we need to talk and I have some things I need to say, and then I need your opinion, as well.
Well, Jessica did not let me down.
I decided to order a bell for each of my teammates as a little end of year gift. We normally do not buy each other end of year gifts, we would much rather go out to dinner and chat, but I couldn’t help myself.
I “designed” each bell to match their classroom.
LOOK!!
THEN.
Because I am basically a child, I couldn’t wait until the end of the year for my teammates to open them.
By the way, Jessica wrapped each box INDIVIDUALLY and stuck a sticky note on each one so I would give it to the right person. How’s that for attention to detail???
We had an unwrapping party on Tuesday (and they asked if I wrapped the boxes and I was honest and true and genuine and said no, RIGHT AFTER I SAID OF COURSE I DID) and my girls oohed and ahhhed and said all the right things.
Jessica even has Rae Dunn Inspired bells if you’re so inclined.
I KNOW.
I thought the price was extremely reasonable, she communicated with me often, showed me paint colors for approval, and allowed me to change my mind.
I think every teacher needs one.
FOR REAL.
Jessica at Picking Up STEAM.
You’re welcome.
Prepare yourselves for a little self-promotion. Sorry. But this really did happen.
I was “grading” morning work during lunch one day this week and it hit me.
We are IN IT.
We are reviewing some hard stuff!
Look at us! IN IT!!
We have come so far! This morning work has progressively become more rigorous throughout the year, and I love that my kids are handling it LIKE A BOSS.
I also love that it covers so many different skills on one page.
I might be biased since it’s my creation, but hey. I ask my teammates every year if they want to use something different, and they always tell me they love it, too. So there you go. Not much I can do about it when my team is pressuring me to use my own pack. 🙂
By the way, just in case you think I should be doing morning tubs, I want you to know that our school has a Before School Recess time. My kids get to play and chat and talk on the playground for about 15 minutes before school even starts. So we’re ready to buckle down right after announcements. We are all there, no one is “trickling in”, we’ve socialized, and now it’s time to get started. However, at the END of the day, when we’re tired, and they’re sick of listening to me, we have centers. It’s a great way for us to end the day.
I love seeing so much growth and progress at this time of the year! It’s so exciting!
Tara from Little Minds at Work shared this picture on her Instagram this week. Another teacher named Holly (and that’s all I have so I don’t know how to give her all the credit with links and such) shared this picture and idea with her. Tara made the poster and Holly shared the cubes idea.
After they read a book in guided reading, they use the retelling poster to retell the story. Holly puts the cubes on each circle (color matching) and as her kids retell each piece of the story, she moves a cube to line it up in order. Her kids know that if a cube is still there, they still need to add something or tell her something else.
ISN’T THAT BRILLIANT?
Are you already doing this?
Because THE VERY NEXT DAY, I did it. I didn’t have the poster, but I mocked one up on a whiteboard, and THIS WORKED LIKE A CHARM with my groups. I love love love how the middle part has the most cubes because, obviously, most of the story happens during the middle. It was eye-opening!! It was genius! My struggling readers were so successful and it really helped them with retelling.
It was AWESOME and I highly recommend this strategy!!
You can get the poster from KinderLiteracy Unit 2.
Oh, you guys.
Get ready for a little TMI or exit out.
Now’s your chance.
Go.
Save yourself.
Alright. You’ve been warned.
Our staff lounge is set up so that our two refrigerators are right exactly next to our two bathrooms.
Basically, in a nutshell, our two staff lounge bathrooms ARE IN OUR KITCHEN AND DINING ROOM.
And here’s the deal.
SEVERAL of us have been at our school for YEARS. In fact, I’ve been there since it opened.
And our district gives our custodians cans of lemon spray to keep in the bathrooms. It’s not a fresh smelling lemon smell, either. It’s not like it’s a lemon tree in someone’s yard and you’re hoping they bring you over a bag-full. No.
It’s industrial strength. It is not pleasant, and if someone sprays it, it’s basically means someone went number two.
NEXT TO THE REFRIGERATOR.
So for years and years, there was an unwritten rule called . . . NO LEMON-ING IN THE LOUNGE.
Because NO. JUST NO.
If you have to go number two, we have staff bathrooms on the ends of buildings that open up onto SIDEWALKS AND GRASS AND SKY AND OPEN AIR. That right there is the beauty of an outside school.
I don’t know about you, but if I can’t (for some unforeseen reason) wait until I get home, I would much rather go in an outside bathroom because the only other alternative at our school is to use the staff lounge bathrooms AND PEOPLE ARE SITTING IN THERE ALL THE TIME, AND THEY ARE MICROWAVING THEIR FOOD, AND THEY ARE MAKING COFFEE, AND SOME ARE JUST STANDING AROUND CHIT CHATTING BECAUSE WE LIKE TO TALK AND WE DON’T GET TO SEE ONE ANOTHER ALL THAT OFTEN. Our campus is HUGE, we have three lunch schedules that do NOT overlap, and if I see an upper grade friend of mine in the lounge, we STOP AND TALK.
I mean. Who wants to go number two when anyone is nearby?
BUT AT SCHOOL?!
I mean. The horror.
Use a bathroom at the end of a building AND YOU WILL HAVE PRIVACY.
I’m sorry.
BUT SOMEONE HAS TO SAY IT.
And by someone, I mean PRETTY MUCH ALL OF US FEEL THE SAME WAY.
Welllllllllllll . . .
Until recently, we pretty much ALL abided by the rule. Occasionally, a sub comes in and doesn’t know the whole NO LEMON-ING IN THE LOUNGE thing, but for the most part, we can chat and eat and drink in relative ease.
BUT NOW.
UGH.
This year, for whatever reason, and I don’t know why, but this year, our bus drivers are coming in DAILY to use the bathrooms after they drop off their load (HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA) in the morning.
And we are a late start school and the only thing we can think is . . . their coffee has kicked in by the time they get to us.
Because, people.
WE HAVE A PROBLEM.
And not only is it . . . well, hmmm, let’s see here . . . um, well . . . stinky and unbreathable air, the rest of us ARE IN A BIG FAT HURRY TO JUST PEE BEFORE THE BELL RINGS, and now we’re waiting outside the lounge bathroom door for an eternity while someone else is reading the newspaper and taking care of business WHILE THERE ARE DONUTS SITTING ON THE TABLE. OR COOKIES LEFT OVER FROM A RETIREMENT PARTY. OR ACTUAL LEMONS FROM SOMEONE’S TREE.
You see the problem?
So my teammate and I tried to hang these posters up on the doors all sneaky-like (we felt like maybe we might get in trouble for not being sensitive to people’s biological needs) and, of course, my principal walked in. We tried to be all nonchalant about it but, apparently, my face TELLS AN ENTIRE STORY and she wanted to know what we were up to, and when I tried to lie, she said YOU ARE LYING TO ME (gosh darn the wrinkles and expressions on my face and my HOLY BIG EYEBALLS) so we came clean and told her.
And guess what?
She wants me to make more so that they’re all over the bathroom, and maybe people will think TWICE before going NUMBER TWO in our kitchen/dining room.
Gotta love a supportive principal, is what I always say!
PS This has nothing to do with bus drivers. I like bus drivers. I say hello and good morning, and how was your weekend, and when they eat our donuts, I look the other way, and I am not at all offended because they are people, too, even if they didn’t pay their social dues because they are not on our actual staff. Like I said, it’s not about the bus drivers.
😉
On that note, I hope you have a great weekend!
ENJOY!
SaveSave
I love, love each of the 5! We have the restroom challenge too. They are in the lunch room, but at least they are away from the eating area. And there are no outside restrooms. The other is up on the front office, which is not better. I somehow forgot that the morning work I’ve been using for three years is yours!! I don’t have the masters printed for the higher skill pages. Hmmm, was it a separate pack or do I just need to check my download? Congrats to your dad!
Congrats to your dad! My husband hates having his picture taken, too. I think I have about 6 photos from our 11 years of marriage. I hope your signs work!
Jan
Laughter and Consistency
Ha! Our staff restroom in our lounge, too, where people eat, get coffee, put their food in the fridge and microwave, etc. Luckily everyone SO FAR has followed the “Number Two” rule. Thank goodness! LOL