Christmas Break

Yes, I know the title of this post is a little out of order with the more recent posts I have done. However, I wanted to show off all of the cool things that went on right before Christmas break and during the holidays.

So I had to get my room ready for Christmas because I LOVE all holidays. So my mom helped me create a snowman and a wreath for my door. I also had some garland up with candy canes and ornaments hanging from it.

For our holiday party at school, the students made an ornament by painting their hand white and holding the ornament. This created a pattern that looks like snowmen. When the white dried, they were able to use paint pens and glitter glue to create scarves, hats, eyes, noses, and scenery. 

My kiddos were all so sweet. I got so many great gifts and HANDMADE cards! I love handmade cards. They make my day and the kids put so much effort into them, it shows they truly do care (even during the times or turmoil where they think I am being "mean"). I meant to take pictures of all of them, but forgot because of the speed of the day! That last day sped by so fast, I am glad I took some pictures, because chances are, I won't remember the details in a month. 

Once school was out for the break, I was really able to use my creative juices that have been closed up for four months! I created ornaments out of corks (I can't take credit for this idea. I got the idea off pinterst.com). I hung these ornaments off gifts for different people. I also created these jewelry/key hangers for some people. 

Before Christmas day was very relaxing. I got to work out everyday. I ran errands. I organized my room. I watched TV. But after Christmas break was a whirlwind. It started with a dinner with my sorority sisters. It was so great to catch up with everyone! A group picture from that will come later due to the fact that I haven't put the pictures onto my computer from my "good" camera (these pictures on here are just from my phone). The next stop was Williamsburg, VA. I know I mentioned it during an earlier post, but some family friends live up there. We had a great first night (besides hitting a deer five miles from their house). They always welcome us with open arms. We left the next day to go to DC where Harrison lives. Lucy and I spent New Year's Eve in DC and got the opportunity to catch up with an old sorority sister and see the White House (which I haven't seen since I was 8). 

New Year's Eve was a blast and after a long train ride back to Williamsburg, my mom and I left Virginia the next day (January 2nd). We got home, unpacked, and repacked, because Thursday, January 3 we packed up the car and headed to Baton Rouge, LA! We figured it up and we went through 7 states in 7 days. Talk about a tour of the Southeast! We cheered the Tigers Gymnastics team on to a victory and toured the facilities. It was great to reunite with friends and eat some real Louisiana food! 

Once we traveled safely back home, I hit the ground running the very next day (Monday, January 7). Report cards were due and lessons had to be taught! I also started my semester for grad school. Two classes, a full time job, and my sanity is what I hope to end the semester with. 

This past weekend, I ran the Hot Chocolate 15K in Atlanta. It was a very cool race. We ran down by the zoo, through Grant Park, Inman Park, and back to Turner Field. It was a different route than the Thanksgiving Half Marathon, so it gave me a change of scenery. The best part, though, is at the end of the race, you get a giant "mug" of chocolate! 

YUMMY! I also went to a precious little girl's 2nd birthday party. I have pictures below of the "Elmo" tutu I made for her. I am very proud of the tutu and if you look closely, the orange is sparkly. I made the tutu in the car on the way to Atlanta. My mom will be finding orange glitter for years to come. So, whew, there is a recap of the last month of my life! I hope to add some more pictures soon. I have a lot of wedding stuff coming up soon. And by the way, four good friends got engaged over the break, so this may become the blog of good wedding ideas! Until next time, good night!

Rain, Rain, Go Away!

It has been raining for about three days here in Georgia. We haven't been able to go out for recess for one day (i.e. today). But it feels like we haven't been outside for recess in months. The kids go crazy when it is raining. We got to go out yesterday, but only on the "track" which is also similar to a death trap because it is part of the parking lot. BUT it is a track and the kids can run.

We are also continuing our unit on the Solar System. The kids LOVE learning about the different planets. But, I had a somewhat freak out moment last week because there are only approximately 35 days until our state test. Which means...I have to cover the rest of the standards by the end of April. This doesn't seem like a lot, but when I think about the students I have that also have to remember what we learned in August, I get a little panicky.

If there is one thing I have learned this year, it will get done. I am blessed to work with an awesome team who supports me through the ups and downs. Parents may not agree with everything I do in my classroom, but I have the respect of most of the kids and my colleagues. That is success in my eyes. Until next time, good night.

New Year, New You

I am not sure where to start because I haven't posted in so long. I will say that a New Year's Resolution is going to be to post to my blog more than once every 9 weeks. I know some of you may think that is a lie, but like all resolutions, I am going to try really hard. I have been off from work for two full weeks so far and don't go back until Monday (whew!). But with that awesome extra time that many teachers don't get this year (most people went back to school today) come the stresses of "Oh No! I haven't done half of what I needed to during this break in order to be ready to go back to work January 7!" Yikes! So in my times of stress and deadlines, I like to procrastinate by looking on pinterest (for awesome lesson ideas, of course) and posting to my blog (to keep everyone up to date, of course). Grades are due Monday and I am approximately half way done with those. I do have my Science lessons ready for this week. I have some pictures to post from our Weather unit which ended right before Christmas break. We are in the very beginning of learning all about the Solar System and the kids are very excited about it. They want to know why Pluto is a dwarf planet, what black holes are, and is the world really going to end on December 21, 2012? (Obviously not since I am writing this on January 2, 2013. I think they were just more worried about coming back to school and having to prepare for tests and stuff.) 

Enough about the stresses of what I haven't done and more about what I HAVE done during the break. I had the opportunity to catch up with all groups of friends. My break started out with my high school girl friends and a Mary Kay party. I have to say, I was very skeptical about going to a Mary Kay party (isn't that make up for old people?), but was pleasantly surprised when I learned more about skin care and how to take care of my skin NOW at the ripe age of 25 so it will look this good when I am 55. I caught up with my dance friends, although this group is actually growing (up and out) and not everyone could make it. One of our friends in this group (Kristen) is having a BABY so it will be the first baby of the group. We are so excited to be "aunts," but super sad that she had to spend Christmas in Seattle. I caught up with my camp friends with lots and lots of food. I got to complete some projects that I have needed to complete (mainly completing Christmas gifts I was making). Pictures of those will come at a later date. I traveled to Williamsburg, Virginia and Washington DC. We have family friends who moved to Williamsburg so my mom was so gracious and drove with me and a friend (Lucy) to Williamsburg. We spent some time there and then went with my friend to DC for New Year's Eve. I haven't been to DC since I was 8, so I was able to see it in a whole new light. I love the city. Lucy and I had lunch with a sorority sister, Anna. It was great to catch up and reminisce about the days of college. I just got home today from Virginia and am unpacking and repacking. I leave tomorrow to go to Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The family I lived with last year lives there now and I get to go have some Christmas time with them. I am very excited to see them, but wondering when I will actually get the grades put in and comments done. It will all get done, especially since New Year's Resolutions always include becoming more organized. I think the most exciting news of my break is that THREE of my dear friends got engaged! Not ONE, but THREE! I am stoked about what 2013 has in store for these awesome ladies. For now, I am signing off. I have a football game to watch and some work to do. 

Long time, no see...

Ok, Ok...I know it's been an extremely long time since I posted. And I hate myself for that. I promised myself I would post at least once a week. Well, that has NOT happened. Let me start by explaining that I had fall break the first week of October. It was a glorious week and I had grand plans to craft and not do much. Well, of course I can never stick to those kinds of plans. So I did craft (see frame...I also made Kinsey an eyeball frame, but didn't add the "Eek!" or spider), and worked out, and worked at the Mart in Atlanta. I think one of my callings is in sales, but with clothes and accessories. So by the end of Market weekend, I was exhausted. Oh, and that weekend before Fall Break started, the family I lived with came back to town. So we went full throttle the entire weekend. Cole got his black belt!

October was also a HUGE wedding month. A family friend got married; a good friend from high school got married; and a new friend from college got married and I helped coordinate the wedding (I try and do that in the spare time teachers have). So between weddings and football, I hope you see and understand why I haven't posted ;). 

This was at the Ole Miss Homecoming Game! Go Dawgs!

I also got the awesome opportunity in the month of October to go see my cousin play football. He is a Junior, so he is beginning to look at colleges. It was a proud and bittersweet moment to see him out on the football field considering I remember when he was born (since when can I say things like that? I'm not that old yet, am I?)

He actually had a pretty large cheering section! 

So, I will say that my kids have been pretty great through October. We have been studying the water cycle and weather. I will have to try and post some of their songs about the water cycle. I was thrilled by some of the lyrics and their motivation and creativity in the performance. In my reading class, we did an author study on Eve Bunting. We took a look at her books and the tough themes and subjects she writes about. At the end of the novel study, the kids painted a pumpkin to look like a character from a book. They worked in groups and had to write a summary about the character and the role they played in the story. Here are a couple of pictures of the pumpkins. 

So now, here we are, a week away from Thanksgiving. I turn 25 years old Monday (yikes...quarter life crisis mode) and I am running a half marathon in Atlanta Thanksgiving morning. What a month and it has flown by! I will also try and put some pictures from my real camera and not the camera phone soon. I also love the water cycle flipbook we did and the cloud flipbook, so I will get those posted soon. Of course, I can't take all the credit...pinterest is a teacher's best friend. Until next month (but hopefully sooner), see ya around. 

Read All About It!

So, I decided I would procrastinate putting grades in the computer by posting some of my favorite reading projects that were presented today. I just finished a unit with my Reading class based off of the book Number the Stars. This was a childhood favorite of mine, so I was very excited when I decided to do that book with my class. The students, even though they have no background knowledge (or very little) with World War 2 and the Holocaust, they still were incredibly engaged during the entire book. This also opened up their world to those subjects and they couldn't wait to go to the library every week and check out more books about this period in history. That is when, as a teacher, you know you are doing your job. Their final assessment for this novel study was a partner project, as well as two individual projects. For their partner projects, they had to choose one out of five options. I wanted to highlight these two because I thought they really showed the student's understanding of the novel, as well as their creativity.

So this first series of pictures are of a pair of girls who created a facebook page. I thought they really took this to the next level. They created this from memory....we have no access to facebook at school! Next time, I would love to figure out a way for them to create a mock facebook page for their character on the computer. I love all the details that are true to facebook!

 Chatting with Ellen :)

This next series of pictures are of the newspaper option. They could create an illegal newspaper (similar to the one in the book) or they could create a legal newspaper. This pair of boys chose to create an illegal newspaper. I especially liked the tag line under the title: "The illegal newspaper you can trust." 

 I haven't looked closely at the individual projects yet, but will hopefully post some pictures of those too.

Fall Break, Fall Break, Fall Break!

It is so close, I can taste the pumpkin spice latte. Fall Break is 3 DAYS AWAY! We only have to make it to Thursday. However, I have 108 students' report card grades to put in the new system that the county is using. So, while 4:00 p.m. Thursday is SO close, it is yet, so far away. But I will make it through. I know my promise to update every week has not been so true. But, I remembered to take some pictures and am finally going to update with the fun things that have been going on in fourth grade. I think I left off while we were studying light. We went on to sound and the students got to make musical instruments. They are currently being displayed in the library so I will have to go take a picture of the displays and post it on here. The students LOVED this project. I brought in everything I have been recycling for about a month or so. It definitely took the help of my mom and fellow teachers to bring in as many recyclables as the students wanted. They would have emptied a local recycling center if I had let them. Their possibilities were endless; however, most stuck with the drums, shakers, and guitars. They had to show pitch, volume, and make it look creative. Like I said, I will post some of those pictures soon.

I know that the days are tough and pulling these 12 hour days are not ideal. However, there are reasons I keep getting up day in and day out. Last Friday, my students and I had a great day. Their attitudes were great; my attitude was great. I opened up the day and each class with some Kidz Bop (which I do most Fridays, but they were just having a great time with it this Friday). And then by the end of the day, after the fury of papers and folders had settled, I looked at my board and found this:

As much as they may drive me up the wall sometimes, I always have to remember why I am doing this.

I also added some new "ticket out the door" options. I added a "twitter board" and a "What Stuck Today?" My kids have enjoyed "tweeting" and ask at least three times a week if they can reply to the tweets. Our "What Stuck Today?" board works, but I am constantly finding post-it notes on the floor. I'm sure the janitors aren't crazy about the post-it board.

Alright, well that's all for tonight. I have some more additions to the room, but I have got to do some work for grad school. Unfortunately, that has taken the back burner this semester, and I need to try and get some of it under my belt tonight instead of waiting for tomorrow! Yikes! It's already Tuesday! Alright, until next time...take care!

What a week!

I always knew four day weeks felt longer than your typical five day week. But last week (Labor Day was Monday) felt like forever. The kids were chattier than normal and I learned a lot of lessons. I graded my first tests which I was so proud of. I created questions that I knew we had talked about...and talked about...and talked about. Nothing was new or a surprise. I even asked the students when I handed them back. I was proud of them for being honest. They were honest about when they started studying (the night before the test). They were honest that they had seen everything that was on the test. It was a reality check for me. And for the students. Summer is over. That is for sure. I also have to remember that these students are still a little bit in summer mode. I am ready for a great week this week. We have started studying Sound and the students are very excited about making musical instruments. I feel like it is definitely an age old assignment, however, I remember making one when I was in elementary school so I am hoping to give these students a similar memory of what I had.

Labor Day weekend was fun though! It's FINALLY football season again! This is the time of year I wait for all year long! A friend came from South Carolina (and is a Gamecocks fan...I am slowly trying to stage an intervention) and went to the game with me. We tailgated as much as we could for a 12:21 kickoff and then settled into our seats.

We were very fortunate because our seats were in the shade, but the Dawgs didn't do as well as planned...in my mind. I told Corey we might leave around halftime because they would probably have enough of a lead that it was safe to do some afternoon shopping. But I was shocked and surprised that we stayed until the end of the third quarter. The Dawgs did not have a big enough lead for me to be comfortable leaving at half time. However, the game ended well and we left after the third quarter. Got downtown with enough time to do a little shopping and then meet some friends for an early dinner. It was a great day that ended with some lounging around and catching up with "Meet the Parents" and craft tips. I also got to spend some time with good friends and had a cookout at my parent's house. I love three day weekends...in a selfish way. I got laundry done. Lessons planned. And had time to spend with family and friends.

This past weekend was another chill weekend which I have come to LOVE and look forward to. I had a night at home Friday night and was able to gawk at the dresses, prices, and attitudes at "Say Yes to the Dress: Atlanta." Started my leveled library for my classroom too...that is going to be a huge chore, but well worth it so my students know what books are right for them. Right now, it is a cluttered mess. I got to spend some time with a good family. Max (the dog I am dog sitting for a very extended period of time) took the mini vacation with me and we packed up and went to Atlanta. He got some new treats (a deer antler-who knew dogs loved those, and a new bone) and got a bath! He was not a fan of the dryers at the bath so he had to air dry. But he doesn't smell like a dead animal or mud so it was well worth it. I am now mentally preparing for another week...another week of grading...another week of being a positive role model for my students...another week of laughter and "Ms. Gunter, where did you get your dress? Can I come shop in your closet?" I am looking forward to another week with my fourth grade team and students! Look for a new post hopefully sooner rather than later :).