Happy 2017

Hello 2017.  With a new year it always seems there's a fresh start on the many things that weren't finished in the year before right?  It's actually been a couple years since I last posted and as you can probably guess, I'm going to try and do a better job at updating posts this year.  I'll try to be realistic and start with a new post once a month increasing towards once a week.  Too ambitious?  Maybe.  

Too much has happened since my last post to do a whole recap, so we'll just fast forward two years and into where I am now.  I've been making some positive changes that have already had a huge impact in the last 5 months.  I'll continue to use this as an outlet to share my many projects.

Every accomplishment starts with the decision to try.

So here has been the last 5 months in no particular order with a few projects that I've completed in between!

Project for the classroom.  My sister gave me her used IKEA chalkboard my nephews had outgrown.  With a little paint, voila!

Found this globe on clearance after graduation time at Target. Used the quote from my Erin Condren notebook and I keep it on my desk in the classroom.

 One of our hikes with the girlfriends.

Halloween night.  Went to a haunted house with friends.  Same haunted house we originally went to as seniors in high school 15 years ago.

 Canvas I finally finished.  Painted the background a couple summers ago and finally wrote a quote to finish the project.  We use it as a reminder in my classroom to be a whole body learner.

The hike we went on with the girlfriends in hopes to get a picture for our Christmas card this year.  This is the one we selected.  The Happiest of Holidays. 

Pictures from our hike.

The start of bullet journaling, or my take on it anyways. Just started tracking things today, January 1st!

To be filled with books read in 2017.

Might have a slight obsession with these Tieks ballet flats.  This is my 3rd pair, taupe.  Already trying to figure out which color to buy next.

January's monthly tracking page, for now.  I've already added a lot of other pages and figure that's how this journal will work.  Non-stop changes and additions.




Working on this year's Christmas cards collection cover.

Currently I've been re-decorating our dining area.  Well the whole house really.  Again, fresh start.  But I'm almost finished with a gallery wall area and can't wait to see the end result with our new table. I've always wanted to hang a map and pin the places we travel.  I finally finished getting everything I needed to complete the project!  Just need to hang it up.  In my next post I'll update with pictures of the re-dos.

Until then, here's some motivational words:

The secret of getting ahead is getting started.

It always seems impossible until it's done.

Hope is the only thing stronger than fear.

Don't be afraid to fail.  Be afraid not to try.

Be patient.  Sometimes you have to go through the worst to get the best.

Cheers to 2017!

 

Halloween Spirit

Halloween Spirit. I can't believe it's already October!  Seems like just the other day we were starting school. Now that it's here... it's time for some decorating!  Decorating for Halloween/Fall comes in a close 2nd to Christmas. As I type I even have instrumental Halloween music playing in the background. I love it! In the years past I decorated more for Fall using pumpkins and leaves so I could leave everything up until I switched for Christmas. I wanted a bit of change this year though... something a bit spoookier!  I've been seeing Pinterest overflowing with decoration ideas. I also wanted to use my apothecary jars.  

Here's some ideas I pinned to help inspire this year's decorations:

I started looking for new decorations for the last few weeks and finally put things together this morning. Here's how they turned out:

On the other side of the pumpkin is a 'jack-o-lantern' type face. You can see it through the window!

Just loved finding these mini skeletons! 

Watch out for rats on the loose!

For now... that's what I have. I'll keep an eye out for other decorations for around the house. I also want to decorate the front porch. I have some 'webs' that I'll stretch across the corners but I'd love to add one of those chalkboard signs with a fun Halloween saying.  Just need to find one!  I'd also love to create some pillows similar to these for the couch:

Halloween spirit is in full swing!  Now we just need to decide this year's costumes. We ALWAYS wait until the last minute. Which I hate because we end up paying an arm and leg!  We always incorporate the 'girlfriends' into our costumes so that makes it a bit challenging at times but so cute in the end!  Here's some of our last couple years:

Yee Haw!

To protect and serve!

Can't wait to see what this year will bring... we've been talking about Scooby Doo?!  Koda as Scooby Doo, Mishka as Scrappy-Doo and Tyler and I could be Fred and Daphne!  How fun would that be?!   Guess we'll see what we can find in the next few weeks!  Until then...

 

My Classroom & Our First Weeks

A Peek into my classroom. First of all, I hope to take more pictures soon... Some close ups on the different areas but for now I took a few pictures to use on my school website to update from last years. Here's the view from all four corners of the room (again, I apologize it's hard to see anything up close):

First week of School.  Can you believe we've been back for almost 3 weeks?! I can't believe how it flies by. Every year seems quicker and quicker!  Here's a few anchor charts we created in our first couple days as we tried getting back into the routine of school!

First Day Jitters.

Even though some kids have heard the story before... I like to read First Day Jitters to help remind them that even the teacher is nervous on the 1st day of school!

So cute! Especially because our school is SO small there's really only two hallways. One for the K-1 and the other is 2-4!

Dream Jobs. In the first few days we also like to brainstorm our 'Dream Jobs' to help emphasize that my students' current job is 'school' and they have to work hard to be 3rd Grade All-Stars so they'll be one step closer to finishing grade school, middle school, high school, and hopefully onto a technical, 2-year, or 4-year school to help in pursuing their Dream Job.

Each student then created a 'craftivity' for our bulletin board showcasing their Dream Job!

Choosing Books. As every teacher knows, helping students correctly choose their books will help them as a reader leaps and bounds!  We review the different ways they choose books and then work towards making sure their choices are 'Just-Right' or a Good Fit for them at this time.  

Setting up Rules & Expectations. Each year we work to create the rules and expectations together. We brainstorm different ideas that will help them to do their best learning in the classroom as well as being safe. We then incorporate each idea into our classroom Behavior Slips.

Finished 'Thinking Journals'.  In a previous post I was working on each students' Thinking Journal that we'll use for small group work in reading and responding to reading/writing and they're finally done!!

Open House/Parent Night. In just a couple days we have our Open House/Parent Night and I can't wait to see &/or meet the families again! Each year I try to incorporate a little goodie for my families that are able to come back after hours and help support their child's education. I found an idea on Pinterest. Of course!  Also liked this idea because it incorporated a 'healthy treat' with all our new FDA laws/recommendations I figured an apple would be better than something sweet!  They were easy to assemble too!

Pinterest idea.

Used twine I had instead of buying ribbon.

Printed tags from the 'Printed Press' blog and signed my name. I'll try to attach the link... if I can figure that out?

All ready for Thursday's Parent Night!!

 Well. It's been a FAST three weeks. This is just some of it in a nut shell. I'm hoping to get better at juggling all this new curriculum as well as keeping things updated. One. Step. at. a. Time!