Tagged. ;)

Not facebook tagged- not old school freeze tag- not pinterest tagged, it's BLOG TAG! :)

I was tagged twice, so I've got 2 sets of questions to answer... here goes! :)

1. You must post the rules.
2. Post 12 fun facts about yourself on the blog post.
3. Answer the questions the tagger set for you in their post, and then create 12 new questions for the people you tagged.
4. Tag 10 people and link them on your post.
5. Let them know you've tagged them!

Fun Facts about me:
 1.  I'm training for a half marathon- the hardest thing I've done so far in my life!
2.  I live within 10 minutes of both my parents and my in-laws.  I'm blessed to have all of my family so close!
3.  I used to be a cheerleader, tennis player, and swimmer.  Now, I play tennis and run :)
4.  I'm starting my life as a parent with a school aged child next year- Wade will be old enough for preschool and it terrifies me!!!
5.  I'm a reality TV junkie.
6.  I have a photography biz on the side :)
7.  I teach at a Catholic School.  
8.  I recently did an addition on my house- you can check it out at my personal blog: To the Moon and Back
9.  I live in Indiana, and we are so excited to be hosting SuperBowl!!!!!!!!
10.  I can't wait to go to the blogger meet up on Saturday!!!
11.  I collect Willow Tree figurines.
12.  I drive fast.... probably too fast...


Staci from Going Nutty asked me these questions:

1. When was the last time you talked to your high school sweetheart? hmm... at my 10 yr class reunion over the summer.

2. What is the most important quality in your lovey- dovey? he's so funny! and he's a good daddy.  Can I list 2??

3. Do you believe in love at first sight? Has it ever happened to you? yes- I only dated my husband for 6 months before he proposed!  When you know... you just know! 

4. Where is the most romantic place you have gone for a date? Hubs took me to his family pond and proposed- that was romatical :)

5. Does your sweetie support you in the blogging world? (The Mr thinks it's silly).  um- he knows I have a personal blog and likes it- not sure he knows about the teaching one :)

6. If you could plan a getaway with your honey, where would you go? We'd go to Alaska.  Ben wants to see the northern lights.

7. What is one word that best describes you both as a couple? happy:)

8. How long have you been with your honey-bunny? 5 yrs this coming October.

9. What is the best present you have ever received for Valentine's Day? a card- Hubs is a good writer :)

10. What is best present you have given to someone for Valentine's Day? I got Ben (husband) a NY Jets watch.  He (and I) love the NY Jets!

11. Where was your first date? oh gosh- I have a HORRIBLE memory!!  Husband could tell you EVERY LAST DETAIL!  what I wore, he wore, what we ate, etc.  All I remember is I asked him to take me to PetSmart to get a dog bed for my new dog while we were in the city.  HAHA!!!  and he did!!!!

12. Why don't you show ME some love and add me to your Blog Roll!?!?!?!? <3 Smooches!! You know I would, Staci, but I don't have a blogroll and I don't know how to make one.  I just mastered the button- so maybe I'll figure out the blogroll next!!! :)

Bonnie from Living a Wonderful Life  asked me these questions:

1. What state do you live in? Indiana!  Yeah Super Bowl 2012!
   
   
2. Do you collect anything? I collect Willow Tree figurines :)
   
   
3. What is your favorite color? GREEEEEEEEEN!!!!!
4. Do you do anything work related on the weekend? um, I'm a teacher, that's a big YES!!!!
   
   
5. What is your favorite food? Italian- anything Italian!  pizza, spaghetti, alfredo, yum!
   
   
6. How long is your commute to work? 25 minutes :)  I like to listen to books on CD to pass the time away! :)
   
   
7. If you won the lottery, what would you do with the money? My husband would want to buy the land below our hill by our house and turn it into a horse ranch.
   
   
8. How do you spend your time when you're relaxing? reading- I joined a book club and we are reading MIDWIVES... great book... so far!
9. How many weddings have you been in? um, I'm gonna guess about 14.
10. What is your favorite place you've visited? Gatlinburg, TN.  Our honeymoon, and it was just really a cozy place to stay.
11. If you weren't a teacher, what would you be? It was a toss-up between teacher and nurse, so I'm gonna go with nurse.
12. Kids...do you have any?  How many do you have/want? I have 2:  Wade and Henry.  I want 2 more: Caroline and Clare.  (see how I have my whole life mapped out... haha, I'm not sure what I would do if I had another boy.  Maybe a Matthew?)
    
    
    and now my questions:
    
    
    1.  What blog are you stalking right now?
    2.  What are your plans for Valentine's Day?
    3.  What did you get for Christmas?
    4.  What is your favorite App?
    5.  What's your favorite TV show?
    6.  What do you eat for breakfast?
    7.  Do you have any nicknames?
    8.  What is your favorite time of the school day?
    9.  Do you have a balanced school calendar?  Year round school?  Traditional Calendar?
    10.  Mac or PC?
    11.  What's your favorite number?
    12.  Who are you rooting for in the presidential election?
    
    
    And here's who I'm tagging:
    
    
    Mrs. Bell from A Place Called Kindergarten
    Tammy from Forever in 1st
    Emily from A Cricus of Learning
    Abby from The Inspired Apple
    Reagan from Tunstall's Teaching Tidbits
    Beth from Living Life Intentionally
    Mor from A Teacher's Treasure
    Krissy from Mrs. Miner's Monkey Business
    Heather from Heather's Heart
    Kate from Kate's Kindergarten
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    There you have it... now you are IT! :)
    
    
    

Button, Button, Who's got a Button?

ME!!!  I can't believe it actually worked!  Notice...over there... to the right... yeah!  My button!

Thanks to Beth and Living Life Intentionally for her awesome how-to-make-a-button post!

I did it :)


If you need to make a button of your own- check out the link above and give it a shot. 


And also- sign up for the Good Old Giveaway over at Funky in First.  You can sign up to win $30 in prizes!  I did! :)

What's NOT wrong!

In the teaching profession, we are filled with ups and downs.  Today, I want to focus on the UPS! (and no, not the men in brown uniforms...).

So, I found Mrs. Davis' Carried Away in Kindergarten linky party "What's NOT wrong Wednesday"

So, here's how it works... list 5 things that are NOT wrong with your life- the perfect recipe to have a positive outlook!!

Here's my 5:

1. PreSchool is NOT wrong.  We are taking Wade, my oldest son, to PreSchool open house tonight.  I'm so over-the-moon-excited for him, but I am also very, VERY nervous.

2.  Classroom Tidy Time is NOT wrong- at the end of every day, we do a classroom tidy time and clean up anything that was misplaced or needs thrown out.  Perk for me?  It's nice and tidy when they leave my room!

3.  Pretending to not know an answer to something a child asks is NOT wrong- it teaches them how to problem solve and think about things in different ways.  (I never leave them stranded for answers... I just pretend I don't know and lead them in a direction of where to look.)

4.  Glitter is NOT wrong- I looove glitter- it just makes things so much prettier!  Yes, it's messy, but it's so NOT wrong!! :)

5. Random Acts of Kindess are NOT wrong.  I challenge my Kinders to see the good in people and to be the good for people.  If I see them being kind or respectful they get to find a star.  (See my post on Finding a Star HERE!)

So, there you have it- 5 things that are NOT wrong today, and oh, so right!
Thanks, Mrs. Davis for such a positive linky party!

Name Tags

I really do not like name plates.  My kids always pick at the tape and they end up looking pretty messy.  Sometimes I just don't use them... but I think it's important for kids (at this age) to see their name.  The more exposure, the better they are.  It also helps with letter formation, they get to see how their name is printed properly. 

Anyway, here's my solution...  Name STICKS.  I asked my local Wal-Mart if they would donate 20 paint sticks.  My kids painted them whatever color they wanted to paint them...

And then I used a black sharpie to write their names on them.  No taping, no picking, no peeling, no hassel.

I DID have to set a few guidelines down first...
- no hitting
- no slapping
- no tapping

But, it does give the kids a "fidget" to use if they are getting antsy.  They can hold and squeeze their name stick as long as it's not disrupting a neighbor.

So, there you have it- my way of solving the annoying peeling name plates.
And, my kids are doing a pretty good job of managing their name sticks.

You could even take them with you to library.  The kids could put their stick in the spot where a book was if they want to look at the book- that way they know where the book goes if they don't want the book afterall. 

So- what do you do for labeling your students' desks??

Brain Benders

So, I blogged about my Brain Benders, but got no response. Maybe people already have their own routine for Morning Seat Work??? Here's a glimpse... would you want it? Should I bother posting the rest that I have?  It's a front and back sheet.  This is my first one I used towards the beginning of the year.  So, give me some feedback- do you want them?  It's a lot of files.

Let me know what you think.
Oh, and the next post?  100 Days of school!  We just had our 100 Day celebration yesterday. 
When is your 100th day??

Literacy Centers

So, I promised a blog on Literacy Centers to wrap-up my "I love centers" ramblings for the past week... and... well, I've already done that...

Click HERE to read my past post on Literacy Centers.

Sorry, for the confusion.  I'm not sure why I forgot about that post! :)

Anyway, so this post, is now all about Brain Benders.  Brain Benders are what I am currently working on... it's a morning paper the kids can work on while the rest of the class is getting settled.  My school opens at 7:30, but class doesn't start until 8:00, so I need to fill that time for those early-arriving students.  I used to use connect the dot pages, coloring pages, color by number pages, and other essentially useless busy work.  I know, I know... I can justify coloring- it helps with fine motor skills... and connect the dots- it helps with number sense... and color my number-it helps with number recognition...

but I wanted MORE!  With the pressure that comes with the new common core standards, I needed to milk every last minute I have with these kiddos to get it all in... plus it serves as a small assessment tool- because I never give them something I haven't taught... they should (in theory) be able to do these small tasks.  right?  right :)

When I finish putting them together, I'll share... so, don't forget to follow me, and you'll not miss out on my Brain Benders freebie!  (should I make it a contest... like... when I reach XXX amount of followers I will unleash the freebie?!?!)  or should I do a giveaway for all the people that comment?  I'm not sure how that works- I've won a couple (Thanks KindergartenWorks and Thanks Miss Squirrel for my wins!) but I don't know how to HOST the giveaway.

leave me a comment, and tell me what you think! :)

A day in my shoes...

Well, I lied.  I told you next time I posted... it would be about literacy centers.  sorry to disappoint, but I'm pretty sure you'll be OK with it... because I'm linking up with Miss Katie from The Adventures of a 6th Grade Teacher for her linky party...

Thanks Katie for this awesome idea... I love reading about what everyone else's day is like.

Here's mine: and I'm gonna focus on MONDAY :)

5:40... alarm goes off...  I listen.
5:45... jump (my husband says I shouldn't jump... I'm gonna hurt myself one of these days) in the shower.
6:00... wake, dress, and feed my 2 boys.  (hubs helps with this, so I'm not flying solo...)
6:30... give hugs and kisses to Ben, Wade, and Henry (my husband takes them to the sitters, it's so nice to have the house to myself for 30 min. to finish getting ready)
6:31... grab a bowl of Frosted Shredded Wheat, blow out my hair, pretend to style it, listen to the past days Y&R as I do all of this
7:00... head for school
7:28... (Yes, I live 28 minutes away from my school... I hate the commute, but I love my school.) Arrive.
7:30... kids start coming in (and I'm sooo sooo sooooooo jealous of you teachers who don't have kids until 8:00 or even 8:30!!!)
8:00... Reading/Literacy Centers
9:10... Math
9:40... Religion (I teach at a Private School)
9:55... Specials (Music on Mondays)
10:35... Gather my kids from specials
10:45... 1/2 day dismissal (I have 4 kids that leave.)
11:00... lunch (it's so early!!!)
11:25... recess (Monday's I have duty.. yuck)
12:00... science (I love science!!!  The experiments are the BEST!)
12:30... science again (to my teaching partner's kids... she teaches social studies)
1:00... snack
1:25... recess (no duty on Monday!)
1:55... quiet time
2:15... centers
3:10 dismissal (I do bus duty...)
3:30 leave school
4:00 pick up my boys from the sitter and (if it's a nice day) we go to the park
5:00 dinner
6:00 Henry's Toddler time at the library
6:30 Wade's story time at the library
7:00 head home
7:30 watch Wild Kratts with the boys
8:00 put boys to bed
8:10 put on my running shoes and do the treadmill thing while I watch Pretty Little Liars or The Bachelor or Ellen or Y&R or Big Brother or The Amazing Race or Kortney and Kim Take NY or any other show I happen to be obsessed with at that moment.
9:00 shower
9:30 bed

Ok- I think it probably took you an entire day just to read my outline... sheesh, I just noticed... I even stopped putting the ... after the time because I was getting tired of writing it! haha.  Now that's it IS a Monday, you know that in an hour I have to be at the library with my kiddos for story time- so that's where I am!

Thanks for reading! :) and leave me some comments!  how far do YOU live from school?? 

Math Stations

Centers Part 2: Math
I have 7 Math Stations.  The kids BEG to do math stations.  I think they love the independence.

Station 1:  Manipulatives.  Here, I put any manipulatives I feel the kids need more exposure to.  Currently, they are working with money... and since money isn't a Common Core Standard- who knows why?!?! they are adding money.  I feel like money is a life skill and I'm not about to let it go by the wayside... so we just double up and do money and addition.  Here-they are using magnetic coins.  I've also put linking cubes, counters, dice, pattern blocks, geoboards, etc.  If you can manipulate it, it's here!

Station 2:  Sensory.  I don't change the sensory tub in between my afternoon learning centers and math stations... I just give the math station a math objective.  Adding, subtracting, comparing, dividing, patterning, etc.  You get the point :)

Station 3: Teacher.  Here is the one I love most because I get to spend small group time with the kids and really individualize instruction.  I got these mats from KindergartenWorks.  (Thanks, Leslie!)  I also have a stack of work mats that I got from F is for First Grade (Thanks, Melissa!) that I keep at the table for the kids to work on in case I have to leave the station to help someone.  I put them in clear page protectors so the kids can write on them with dry erase markers.

Station 4: Computers.  We use Saxon Math, and it came with a Saxon Math game.  I love this game because it goes all the way up to 3rd grade.  So, I can challenge my high level thinkers to the upper grade games.  They love it too!

Station 5: iPads.  I am blessed to have 2 iPads in my classroom.  The kids LOVE them! (obvi)  So, I search the App store for Math related games and they play them :) If I can't find any I like that fit the standard I'm teaching, they use the Chalkboard App to work the skill being taught.

Station 6:  Work Mats.  I have a ton of Math workmats, and the kids get to use them at this station.  Here, specifically, they are subtracting.  (Put 5 birds in the pet store.  Take 2 birds home.  How many birds are left at the pet store.  Use number tiles to write the number sentence.)  I got these from Scholastic.com during their dollar days.  L.O.V.E. dollar days!! :)

Station 7: Teacher Correct.  The kids love this center because they get to grade MY homework.  :)  These new Common Core Standards are all about thinking.  I figure, why not have them grade papers!  Here's my thinking... instead of them adding 2+2 and figuring out it's 4, why not solve it for them, and ask them to critique my work.  Are they still adding 2+2?  YES  Are they still figuring out that it's 4?  YES.  So, why not give them some avenues to think about how I may have gotten my answer, and justify why it's wrong and why they are right.  Now, granted, it's pretty cut and dry with addition and subtraction... but think about dividing, patterning, etc.  There's a lot of room for higher level thinking here.

I even spoil them with markers! stickers! the whole 9 yards.  I always write "I'll try harder next time!" or "Thanks for helping me figure this out!" or something along those lines when I'm checking their work.  They eat.this.up!

So, there you have it- my math stations.
Up next... LITERACY CENTERS.

Don't forget- I love comments and followers! :)

Centers

Centers.  Stations.  Literacy Centers.  Learning Centers.  Math Stations.  Whatever you call them,  I love, love, LOVE them!  I love the independence they can give a child.  I love the small group setting that I get to have with the kiddos during centers.  I love the imagination the kids get to use during centers.  I love it all.  So, I want to do a series of blog posts dedicated to my favorite teaching method:  CENTERS! :)

So, I'll start with my afternoon learning centers.  I store all my center materials in cereal boxes with labels on them.  All the supplies fit nicely inside, and I asked my art teacher (she also helps me for Kinder Resource each morning for an hour) to make some fancy labels, because if you know anything about me... you know that I am NOT an artist.  My students even laugh sometimes at my pathetic attempt to draw things.

I have 8 afternoon learning centers:
1.  LISTENING.  The kids get to listen to the book on CD (or tape).  After reading the story, they get the magnet letters out and spell words in the book.  There is a left over metal shelf from a cabinet unit that I didn't need, and it fits nicely behind my bench.  The kids pull it out, and start sticking the letters on!

2.  ART.  I always put the example on my easel.  This time just so happens to be penguins! :)  All the patterns they might need to trace...glue they need...scissors...construction paper...googly eyes...EVERYTHING their little hears desire, is right at their fingertips.  If they finish early and have spare time (and they hardly EVER have spare time... because I judge my center length based on how the art kids are progressing) they can color in coloring books.  They are in the black milk crates on the side of the table.

3.  WRITING.  I tape the example up (again penguins.. this one says "Penguins are black and white.")  I give the kids writing paper, and they go to town.  As the year progresses, I make the sentence longer, harder, and eventually, give them the writing prompt and they write their own sentence.  Spare time- free write on scrap paper with stencils.

4.  MATH.  This one I still would like to give more attention to- it just needs SOMETHING.  I'm OK with it for now, but it's one that is in my "to-do" list for re-vamping.  Here the kids get to do a variety of things.  Sometimes I have a math game for them to play, or give them manipulatives to work with, but their favorite thing to do is play "teacher" and do the morning routine with each other.

5.  SENSORY.  This is probably one of the kids favorites.  I fill it with sand, water, rice, tire shreds, pattern blocks, linking cubes, easter eggs, jingle bells, pretty much whatever I can find that I think would be FUN! :)

6.  COMPUTERS.  The kids can play on KidPix (with a specific project to work on), Saxon Math, or starfall.com.  Enough said :)

7.  PUZZLES.  No picture- just a table with a puzzle crate on it :)
8.  SURPRISE.  No picture-again :)  This is whatever I think the kids need to work on at that point.  I've used nuts, bolts, and screws to work on fine motor.  I've used playdough, letter tiles, stamps, etc.

How do I keep it all organized?  The chart:

So, let me know how you do YOUR centers (or just tell me what you think of mine... because let's face it, I just love comments!), and stay tuned... next time ...
MATH STATIONS! :)

Currently

Farley posted a January CURRENTLY.  Check her out here.

And here is my Currently:

 

Thanks Farley!  I've found so many great blogs through your Currently posts.  Keep it up! :)

My first award!!

Oh my!  I'm so excited about receiving my first blog award!  Tammy, from Forever in First gave me the Versatile Blogger award!  Soooo over the moon about it :)  I feel like a real-life blogger now! :)

So excited!  Here's what I have to do:

The Versatile Blogger Award rules:

1.  Thank the person who nominated you with a link back to them.  Thanks Tammy, check out her blog with the link above!

2.  Tell 7 things about yourself

3.  Pass this award on to 12 other newly discovered blogs and let them know they received an award.

 

 

7 things about me...

1.  I dated my husband for only 6 months before he asked me to marry him.  I guess when you know, you just know, right?  :)

2.  We are blessed with 2 boys, Wade and Henry.

3.  I play tennis and love to ski.

4.  I have a minor in Spanish... hola!

5.  I do photography on the side, and I LOOOVE it.  Some might say I'm addicted to photoshop :)

6.  I'm training for a half marathon.  This time last year, I wasnt even able to run for a whole minute... but thanks to the Couch to 5K program, I ran my first 5K this spring, and now have set my sights on a half marathon in May.

7.  I love the color green.  :)  -- the same color of this award!! :)

And now to nominate 12 other blogs:

1.  Circus of Learning

2.  Classroon Confetti

3.  Finding my Marbles

4.  Kate's Kindergarten

5.  Marvelous Multiagers

6.  Misters and Misses

not a teacher blog, but I just love this girl's style!

7.  Mrs. Miner's Monkey Business

8.  Mrs. Plant's Press

9.  Tunstall's Teaching Tidbits

10.  A Place Called Kindergarten

11.  A Teeny Tiny Teacher

12.  Oh Boy, 4th Grade

Frosty Friends

So, it snowed here.  YAY!  I can't remember the last time I didn't get a white Christmas, and I don't want to ever have another one again. It's just NOT Christmas without snow, right?  right.  See, I knew you'd agree with me.  Well, while I was on break, I tried my hand at making a glyph.  I love, love, LOVE glyphs.  A teaching friend of mine introduced them to me when she told me about the monster glyph for Halloween.  Since then, I'm hooked.  So here's your one of a kind, original, made my me, Frosty Friends glyph. Click HERE for your downloadable copy.

 

Leave me a comment if you use it.  The more comments, the more motivated I'll be to make more!  It was my first try, so I hope you like it! :)