I'm Interviewing!

Today I was at school packing up my room (side note: not even close to being done. I think I have packing-up-ADD). My principal stopped by to say that he is going to order this bad boy for me for next year:

I am so super excited! I used this book in three different school districts in the past: the one where I student taught, the one where I was an aide, and one where I was a sub. The kids always LOVED this time of day regardless of district and my class this year really could've used the reinforcement on phonemic awareness skills. So I asked my principal if he could get it for me, and he said yes! Yay!

While he was in my room, he mentioned that he'd been interviewing people for the two positions we have open for the fall. Both are part-time - one is P.E. and one is an Art/Technology combination.

Then he asked if I would be interested in being the second round interviewer!!! That is pretty exciting for me and something I've never done before!

Have you interviewed before? What kinds of good questions should I ask?

There Are My Obsessions

I am going linky party CRAZY! I hope soon I do something school-related so I can feel more legit in my blog. In the meantime... linkies it is.

Today I am happy to tell you about my obsessions! Bonnie is hosting at Living a Wonderful Life!

Here is what I love!!

• Being warm. I seriously do not like being cold. I welcome humidity, in fact, I embrace it! It's like the outside is wrapping a big blanket around me!!!!!! Sometimes I think I should move somewhere warmer. But then, would I really love being warm so much if I didn't experience the cold Chicago winters?? Deep thoughts right there.
• My cousins. I have two crazy awesome cousins who I love so much. They are 21 and 18, so slightly younger than me... but now that we're all adults, the age gap seems nonexistent! We have a lot of fun together doing things like eating fro yo and going on spontaneous trips to places like the Jelly Belly Factory. My cousin, Kelley, left for Tanzania today to help build schools! And my cousin, Lisa, was the salutatorian of her graduating class!! Love love love.

• Weddings. I'm not having one any time soon (although I feel like I get harassed about it a lot) but I suuuuuuure do love them! I just went to one on Saturday and it was great, and also unusual because it was a Macedonian Orthodox wedding, which was a whole new adventure for me! In case you are wondering, I want a dress like this...

         and I want my bridesmaids to look something like this...

• Cheesy junk food. I typically enjoy fruit and other healthy types of food. However, I can not say no to Cheetos and cheese popcorn!!!!!!! Oh my, yum yum!!!!

What are you obsessed with? Link up!!!! :)

What I'm Reading This Summer

This summer, I plan on doing a LOT of reading!

Every summer, I read all of the Rebecca Caudill Young Reader's Book Award nominees. I started doing this a few years ago before I had a job. I wanted to be familiar with the books my future students would read! Now that I actually have students, I still read all of these even though they are way above my students' reading levels. This collage shows all of the books I haven't read yet on the list!

I'll also read some professional books, like these...

And I'll definitely be long-term planning over the summer, too!

Maybe I can fit in some non-children's books........ we'll see. ;)

What are you reading this summer?

Music in the Classroom!

Leslie at Jack of All Trades is hosting a linky party about using music in the classroom!

I definitely don't use as much music as I want to! That is one of my 9,000,000 goals for next school year. :)

However, we did watch at least one educational video per day! We did XtraMath as a whole class in the computer lab after lunch, so if they were working hard and not being silly, I rewarded them with a little video! I mostly just picked random ones from Harry Kindergarten's YouTube channel. Here are a few faves of ours:

When we were learning money, we watched this video one time and they sang it for DAYS afterwards. Probably because the Teacher Tipster is the bomb dot com, obvi.

Back when I couldn't decide whether I should teach social studies and science in random themes or by using my textbooks, I taught about bats for a week. I'm pretty sure I just stumbled across this fantastic song, which cracks me up because it sounds like they commissioned Britney Spears to sing this:

We also listen to Jack Hartmann's Hip-Hop AlphaBop CD when we are painting or cutting or doing other leisurely school activities. :) My class especially loved Miss Mary Mack from that CD because there is a rap part and they all thought they were rappers. I should have videoed their smooth moves.

Do you use music in the classroom? Link up! I would love more songs and videos to incorporate!!

Delicious Sea Monsters

Today was our last full day of school!

I am a little sad... that might sound crazy! I didn't have a class of perfect angels this year, but it was my first class by myself, and we went through a lot together!

Part of our last day was spent by us making a little snack together. We found this recipe in the nonfiction magazine that comes with our reading program. This is one thumbs-up I will give to my program... these magazines are actually pretty sweet and the kids really like them.

We made under the sea monster things!

Here's what you need to make these...

A package of Goldfish, a box of raisins per child, a tub of whipped cream cheese  (one was just enough for 12 children), and one mini bagel per child! Plus a plastic spoon, knife, plate, and bowl-like dish per child.

First, each kid got some cream cheese in a cup. Then we added 1-2 drops of blue food coloring and stirred it up to make water!

Then, we spread it onto a plate. It was really supposed to be much thicker than this (so it actually looks like flowing water), but we rolled with it.

Next, you cut your mini bagel in half. Set half aside and cut the other half in half again. There will be three pieces of bagel. Arrange them like so:

Last, use cream cheese to attach raisins for eyes, and place the goldfish wherever your heart desires. Ta da! A delicious sea monster.

The kids LOVED THIS PROJECT. It was especially fun when they realized that the bagel is supposed to be the sea monster going in and out of the water. It just blew their minds, haha!

If it wasn't the last full day of school, I so would have thrown in a how-to writing activity. However, I let them off the hook and we just snacked instead. :)

Shape Birds

With our days left in the single digits, I wasn't planning to start new math units.

With Watercolor Day on Friday, I knew I had to come up with something fun to paint.

So I turned to the creative genius at Deep Space Sparkle for inspiration, and we made shape birds! A little math and a lot of watercoloring. They loved it!

Source: deepspacesparkle.com via Jill on Pinterest

Here we are working hard!

And here are a few of our masterpieces...

 Apparently one of the birds was working out... haha!

Super cute, so fun, and just beautiful. :)

Move-Up Day

Friday was Move-Up Day at my school!

Do you have one at your school? For 30 minutes, all of the students visited their classroom and teacher for next year. Since we only have one teacher for every two grades, the kids know for sure who their new teacher will be.

So the second graders left, I kept my first graders, and the Kindergartners came to see us!

I spent a LOT of time thinking about what I wanted to do for Move-Up Day. I wanted to give the Kinders a little taste of what we do normally, I also wanted to work in a few of our procedures, and I wanted us to have some fun too!

When the Kinders first came in, the first graders showed them the carpet area where we sit for read-alouds and found a spot for each of them. They even offered to share their own spots! I didn't even talk to the first graders about being polite and welcoming - they just did it on their own! First graders, I love you so much.

Then we went over our rules, which are based on the Whole Brain Teaching rules (a few are adjusted). We taught them the hand signals and very briefly discussed each one.

Then we moved into the main attraction... one of our FAVORITE read-alouds this year - Wodney Wat!

The first graders cheered with joy! The Kindergartners just sat quietly (they really took the rules to heart!). I read the book, using my very best Wodney voice - which is award-winning, or so I've been told. :) The Kinders did not understand the funny parts at all, so the first graders and I had explain every page, haha. At the end we talked about how you shouldn't make fun of people for how they talk and that we should be nice to everyone! They all were cool with that idea.

Then we made strawberry mice, inspired by this pin! (I would show you mine, but they look the same...)

Source: repeatcrafterme.com via Jill on Pinterest

And here we are, first graders and Kinders, together!

No fighting. No name calling. No hiding in the coatroom. No screaming in anyone's faces. (Not that any of those things happen on a normal day in my classroom......................)

I know I only had the group together for 30 minutes, but if first impressions mean anything, next year is going to be A-MA-ZING!

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