Thursday, December 22, 2011

Survey Says...

So, Kristin, at A Teeny Tiny Teacher posted this survey.  I remember doing this late at night via e-mail in high school.  It was a love/hate relationship- I LOVED reading what everyone wrote, and I LOVED writing my own answers, but I HATED how un-quippy, un-witty, un-funny I was at it. Everyone else was better at it than me.  Well, it's been 10 years since I graduated high school, so let's see if I got any more quippy, witty, or funny.  Probably not, but I'm gonna give it my best shot...

Here goes:

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags?
Wrapping paper- for everyone else.  For me, gift bags so I can peek ahead of time.  Yes, I'm that kid who can't wait until Christmas, or wait for anything.  When my hubby and I had out babies, he asked made tortured me not to find out what we were having.  The ultrasound tech was a friend of mine, and I begged her to tell me, I would have paid her- she didn't budge.  dang it.  (and if you are curious, I have 2 boys... but I had to WAIT 9 LONG LONG LONG MONTHS to find that out.)



2. Real tree or artificial?
Artificial for now.  When my boys get a little older, we'll go tree hunting, but for now- no stress, no hassel, art-if-icial!!!



3. When do you put up the tree?
Whenever my hubby can get it down from the loft- it's too heavy for me to drop down from the loft what is 10 feet in the air- so he's in charge.


4. When do you take the tree down?
See answer # 3... hubby in charge.


5. Do you like eggnog?
I think I just threw up in my mouth a little.  yuck.

6. Favorite gift received as a child?
My grandpa made my dolly a wooden rocking chair for her to sit in. 


 7. Do you have a nativity scene?
Yes!  My teaching friends pitched in and got me the Willow Tree Nativity and creche when I got married.  I collect Willow Tree Figurines and I cried... a little... when they gave it to me- so sweet :)   


8. Hardest person to buy for?
My dad.  He just buys whatever he needs, and anytime I ask him, he just says "I want the love of my family."  nice try, but next year don't even think about asking for World Peace.
  I don't know how to wrap that.


9. Easiest person to buy for?
My mom.  She and I have the same taste- so if I'd like it, I buy it for her. (and then end up borrowing it.  ha)


10. Mail or email Christmas cards?
mail.  I especially love the picture cards and the letters families write- so cute! :)


11. Worst Christmas gift you ever received?

Gosh, I dont know.  But I did see the Ellen episode of people who wrote in saying their worst- they were so funny!  sorry, I can't contribute.  oh wait- it's not christmas, but it was my birthday.  My hubby asked me what I wanted and I told him I wanted hanging flower baskets for me porch.  I came home to a flat screen hanging in our bedroom... I'm just gonna say that for his birthday, he got hanging flowers for the porch.  HA! :)


12. Favorite Christmas movie?
How the Grinch Stole Christmas and Charlie Brown Chrismas

13. When do you start shopping for Christmas?
I'm a total Black Friday nut- so that's when it starts!


14. Ever recycled a present?
sadly, yes, but here's my question- who hasnt?!?!


15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas?
my grandma's noodles- yum :)  I can almost taste it now....



16. Clear lights or colored lights on a tree?
Clear :)  I have a pre-lit white lights tree, and the old school big bulbs in white on my house.  CLEAR, CLEAR, CLEAR!

17. Favorite Christmas song?
I like Where are you Christmas sung by Faith Hill.  :)


18. Travel at Christmas or stay at home?
Stay home- I live within walking distance of my hubby's parents, sister, and brother.  His other sis lives in Nashville and she comes to us.  We live within a 7 min. car ride of my parents and my brother lives in Cincinnati, so he comes up here.  I'm pretty blessed to have all family members close :)


19. Can you name all of Santa's reindeer?

Yes, but I have to sing the song...

20. Angel or star on top of the tree?
Star, and I love watching my hubby hoist my 4 yr old on his shoulders to put the tree on.  I'm a HUGE scrapbooker, and that's totally scrapbook worthy!!!

21. Open the presents on Christmas Eve or Christmas morning?
Christmas starts today and doesn't end until Sunday evening.    We are BUSY.  We have HUGE families.


22. Most annoying thing about this time of year?
my boys hating Santa.  Again, scrapbooker right here, and it's not cute to put a pic of a child frightened to death by santa on a page.  it's just not.  when will they grow out of it?!?!  I have a 4yr old and a 2yr old...and still they hate the big fat man in red.


23. Favorite ornament, theme, or color?

no theme, no color, my favs are the ones my hubby and I made when we were kids.  I also love the ones my 4 yr old has made at the babysitters.  homemade, handmade, love it all!

24. What do you want for Christmas?
that's easy- I want an iPod.  I ran my first 5K this summer, and LOVED it.  So, now I'm training for a half marathon (I'll be running the Mini Marathon in Indianapolis, who's with me?!?!) and I want an iPod touch so I can use the Nike+ chip in my shoe to track how I'm running.  I think I've proven that I'm dedicated to running, so don't you think I should get one???  So, let me know if you'd like to buy it for me, and I'll give you my shipping address.  Or, you can just send me an Amazon gift card, and I'll be happy to pick it out for you.  I'm just trying to make it easy on you :)


oh- there you go- I'm done.  Now, I need to go make lunch.


MERRY CHRISTMAS!!! 
p.s.  Really, all I want for Christmas is a few more followers.  Please surprise me Christmas morning with, oh let's say, 50 followers????  or, really 30 would be just fine too.

Wednesday, December 21, 2011

Currently...

So excited to be a part of Farley's Currently list...  I can't figure out how to download the template- when I click on it, it just shows me a thumbnail, no download-able option.  But, will that stop me?  NO!  NEVER!  NOT A CHANCE!  :)

So, here's my currently:

Listening: to my 4 year old talk to his Papaw on the phone.   
Loving: the idea of friends coming over for spaghetti tonight!
Thinking: I should clean the house before our friends come over
Wanting: some garlic bread, YUM :)
Needing: to wrap my gifts- it's hard to find time when the kiddos aren't around. and let's face it, I like to blog-stalk when they are napping.
Stalking: Misters and Misses.

It's not a teacher blog, but it's a good friend of mine's blog and she has some pretty cute things to write about.  Check her out HERE!

and Merry Christmas!

-Staci

Friday, December 9, 2011

Christmas Gifts

I love homemade gifts, and I really cherish the little trinkets that my own children make and bring to me, but I want them to be practical... so I have my kiddos make handprint calendars for Christmas.  I do NOT claim this as my own, but there is no 1 resource I used to make this happen, it's a hodge podge of poems and handprints.  Enjoy:

January: snowflake
February: heart
March: leprechaun
April: umbrella (a little artistic interpretation needed...)
May: fish
June: flowers
July: elephant
August: butterfly
September: apple
October: jack-o-lantern
November: turkey
December: Santa
I use a binding machine to bind all the pages together.  If you are interested in my poems document, please comment below and I'll e-mail it to you.

What do you give your parents from your students????????

I Won!

I can't even believe it.  My classroom won Classroom of the Month.  Principals from the surrounding counties nominate their teachers for this award, and my classroom won for December.  Here's what we were spotlighted on:

My phases of the moon project.  I found the idea on Pinterest.  Here's the pic (yes those are Oreos.  Yes,  my kinders wanted to eat them, but I had to stop them.  We used popsicle sticks to carve the phases.  And, if we happened to break a few here and there, well, we can't just let them go to waste- so we ate the broken ones.  And you KNOW that a few of my kinders broke theirs on purpose just to eat them....  but all in all, it went really great, and my kinders really "ate it up" hahahaha, that was a bad really bad pun.  Thank you for letting me celebrate my little award :)

Saturday, December 3, 2011

12 Days with Farley

So, I'm addicted to yet another amazing blog.  Farley  She is hilarous, creative, and my long lost sister.  Not really, but we could have been... she likes Big Brother almost as much as I do.  She says "to the moon and back" like I do... it's actually the name of my side photography biz...  <-- she does the ... like me.  Her fav. character is Ursela, and althought Ursela isn't my fav, The Little Mermaid movie as a whole is my fav :)  and she uses inventive words like fantabulous which I think is amaz-errific.  ha :)  The only difference is:  I have 8 followers and she has 800.  haha.  Farley- can you lend a girl a hand, and give me a shout out?!?!?!  (only kidding, um, maybe not...)  I have, in fact, only been in the blog-o-sphere for a month now.. and she's had a little more time to get her followers established.  :)

Anyway, she is hosting a 12 days of Christmas, and I'm pumped.  Check her blog out, and sign up for the 12 days.  as for me... I'm hoping to win the giveaway on day 12!!!!!  JACKPOT!
So, go check her out, here

Thursday, December 1, 2011

Incentive Chart





Have you ever seen these:

Well, let me introduce you: 

blog reader meet your new best friend. :)

These little markers are my sanity saver!  Here's what you do:

1.  Go buy you a pack (or 16) of these Crayola Color Changer Markers.
2.  Make a table in word with as many rows and columns as your little heard desires.
3.  Draw a star with the "magic" clear side of the marker in as many of those little squares on your table as you want.
4.  Post in your room.
5.  Bribe  Remind kids to behave... when they do, they get a "chance to find a star!"

Easy as that!
If they are good, they go to my little school box of color changer markers.  They pick out their fav color, and color in a square.  If they find a star, they get a treat... mine is a trip to the teasure box.  Yours could be a sticker? a stamp? extra center time? line leader?  the list goes on!

So, there is my little trick of how I get my Kinders to behave for me! :)

 Easy, cheap, and it works!!!!!

So, here's my question:
What do you do in your classroom to control behavior?