Today is Tuesday, all day long, all day long

Highlights/ Low-lights:

• My kids absolutely LOVED the gingerbread men that I baked last night!  The eyes and buttons were made of frosting.  Tomorrow, we will be making gingerbread houses out of milk cartons.
• My gingerbread door theme is a success!  Lots of compliments. :)
• ESL went well today, and the kids are really picking of their high frequency words and/or letters!
• Finally have access to the K Level A Reach program online!
• Ate so many baked goods today...what a glutton...
• Actually started planning ESL and Math for the week after vacation-- hmmm...
• I will have to include photos of our symmetrical snowflakes, frogs, elephant puppets, and my gingerbread doorway for this blog...

Biggest Concerns:

• PJ party on Thursday
• Poetry Slam costumes/ songs for Friday
• My grade for my grad course-- so nervous because the course kicked my butt this semester, and it was so hard juggling a job and class at the same time...
• Latkes for Thursday with gelt
• Gingerbread graphs for tomorrow
• Retention after vacation

Photos: 

Gingerbread Doorway

Monday?! I thought it was Friday...

Holy smokes!  Vacation fever has hit the teachers, and now I don't know if there's hope for anyone!

Highlights/ Low-lights today:

• Average scores for Unit 2.1 Key word exam today for First Grade-- they are getting better!
• pacing in math worries me...but I like whole-class lessons followed by the independent work
• My kids love the "If you're reading and you know it" song... :)
• staff meeting was short, yay!  but no snacks...got the shaaakes

Biggest concerns:

• schedule this week w/ parties and special events
• gingerbreadmen tomorrow, latkes/gelt on Wednesday, gingerbread houses on Thursday (and pj party?), and poetry slam on Friday-- b-u-s-y

Photo :

Still under construction...but veryyy cute!  My inspiration: http://www.flickr.com/photos/squigglybee/3105418306/

Yesterday

Yesterday was Friday--  *celebration dance.*  So exhausted from these long weeks, just absolutely insane.

Highlights/ Low-lights:

• ESL groups went well again with K and Grade 1 divided
• love having L substituting in the building so that we can chat throughout the day!
• made foam gingerbread men today...the kids don't know that we will be having real ones on Monday =)
• sent in my next course for credit approval
• sent in my version of the new schedule for January
• tested Grade 1 on their spelling words and also pretested them-- good thing I remembered

Biggest Concerns:

• preparing my kids for the math quarterly assessments
• finishing my final grad paper for Tuesday when this weekend is already feeling crazy-busy
• packing in the gingerbreadman stuff for next week!
• putting the student gifts together in time for Friday
• pj party on Thursday
• planning for next week...I feel like the whole week is going to be discombobulated

Photos: 

foam gingerbread men with glue concoction, whole-punched buttons/smiles, beads for accessorizing, googly eyes, glitter, and blue or red yarn for hair

My updated Word Wall

Thursdayyy

Tomorrow is Friday, and I am just so so so excited!  This week just feels so long, and I think it's because the consistent 5-day weeks are wearing me down.  I.can't.wait.for.vacation.  5.5 more school days!

Highlights/Low-lights:

• My twinsies birthdays today...6 years old and they were wearing matching outfits today!  I love it when my kids can wear crowns around the school-- they get so excited.
• 2 math CPTs again because I really needed to see how the quarterly 2 assessments will look like, and whether or not my kids will be successful!
• asked my para to pep up her energy today...I hate being put in a position like that...
• Kindergarten "cupcakes" for the letter C came out cute :)
• Grade 1 choral reading/singing was nice
• my first Staff holiday party tonight-- It was more fun than I thought, but it's exhausting to work all day and be social with the same people at night!
• #s 1-10 in shaving gel today with suspects 1 and 2...#1 loved it, and it seemed to be working (for the time), and suspect 2 was just being foolish.

Biggest Concerns:

• Suspects 1, 2, 3, and now 4!
• quarterly assessments are on the back of my mind
• Will my students forget everything they've learned after the break?
• schedule changes
• pacing my kids and meeting their different needs
• pj party next week?

Photo:

Shaving gel and Elmer's glue cupcakes for the letter "Cc" (with pink sprinkles)

WEDNESDAY!!

So I woke up thinking that today was Friday...rough.  Then I found out that my dad ate my leftover pizza last night; so I was forced to make myself a lunch.  Lastly, I spilled half of my coffee the moment I stepped into my classroom this morning.  FML!  It was also all over my white gloves.  my life.

Highlights/ Low-lights:

• Math sorting went well today, and so did the dice roll game-- woohoo!
• New schedules for all grades to try to accommodate more CPT time and flexible scheduling-- I hope it works out.
• Second book into the Gingerbread series.  We read the Gingerbread Man yesterday, and we read the  Gingerbread Girl today.  Hopefully, we'll be able to read Gingerbread Baby tomorrow.
• My aide was 2 hours late to work today, and I don't know why.  It stinks when your kids show up in your classroom before you do, and they don't understand why they can't be in the room without an adult...ughh!
• ESL groups went well today, and my low group did really well with "Write the Room."  I was so proud!

Biggest Concerns:

• preparation for next week
• busy day tomorrow with my new hire meeting and staff party-- nervous about parking there, too!
• Gingerbread cookie decorating, gingerbread house decorating, snowflake making, and poetry slam preparation...and pj party possibly on Thursday?
• comp pay for covering Music today

Photos:

"What did the sixth snowman say?"

"My nose is cold."

"I like my snowman friends."

another alphabet poster in the room...

Tuesday

Highlights/ Low-lights:

• Working all day at school and trying to complete my work for grad school at the same time-- CraZY!!
• Suspect #1 in my class can't count to 10...I am going to seriously drill him every day until vacation...might make his life miserable.
• Suspect #2/3 poopsied in his pants AGAIN...#4!!! I was so mad!!! Missed 25 out of the 30 minutes I get for lunch today...ughhhhhhhhhhh
• ESL groups were kind of rushed today-- hate that!  But my group #2 is really trying hard to practice phonemic awareness and blending...so proud :)
• Glue and shaving gelled snowmen are hanging up, and I will try to include a picture when all of them are complete!
• Grade 1 QQ4 in math were actually pretty good!  Only one straggler who is already on my radar...tisk tisk!
• Last grad class of the semester tonight with only 1 project due next week...such a great weight off my shoulders.

Biggest Concerns:

• Speaking to parents about expectations in the classroom-- below grade-level kids and kids who are behaving like babies...I am not their mother!
• packing in my gingerbread activities for this week and next before break
• staff party on Thursday right after my new-hire meeting...busy day!

Photo:

new HANDS-OFF policy @ school

Monday Monday

Highlights/ Low-lights:

• THIS GIRL was at Dunks this morning at 6:10 to pick up her Box of Joe for her workshop beginning at 7:30am!  I also halved apple turnovers and croissants as breakfast treats for my super nice participants.  I ended up having 8 professionals at my workshop, and I was so nervous.  I was only expecting 4-5 people.  My principal and the other teachers LOVED the Pictures Books for Reading and Writing Workshop packet, and my principal wants to use it for a future PD...how exciting!
• Math was dragging in K today, but it was interactive, and gave the kids something new to do...unifex cubes with whiteboards and equations...hard stuff for 5-year olds!
• ELA went okay today...it's nice when each group of students has a teacher with them so that they don't make extra noise or run around seeking attention.

Biggest Concerns:

• How can you tell if a student isn't understanding a concept because of a lower IQ or because he is developmentally "not there" yet?  I wish there was a checklist for these things...
• Last grad class tomorrow night!  But still needing to finish up my projects...
• How do I write language objectives for my students? ughh...