A peaceful day :)

Hey guys!

I have a few things to share, but neither are quite ready yet! I printed some super cute labels and started labeling bins and binders on my *new* bookcases! I have so much storage that books are falling over from too much space. NEVER has that happened since I've been at this school!

Torn paper crafting!

I also I have a St. Patrick's Day craft, but it got interrupted by a last minute assembly. I'll post the finished product tomorrow. Well, technically it was planned ahead of time, the administration just failed to mention to teachers until this morning that it was a whole school assembly. Somehow the high school teachers thought it was for us, and the elementary teachers thought it was for the big kids.

Anyway, dudes on skateboards taught the kids the physics of how skateboarding works and how the skateboards flip and turn. I was actually impressed at the information given to the kids like inertia and the laws of physics (object at rest, object in motion, etc.). Watching the guys set up outside my classroom, I was convinced they were skater boys who didn't want to get real jobs, so they chose to do skateboarding assemblies. Haha. Thankfully that actually shared real information while looking very skater-ish in their wrinkled shirts.

Today's Peacefulness:
I had TWO kids this morning! That's it...just TWO! Then one went to speech and I had ONE STUDENT and this happened again when the other one went to speech. At one point, one kid quit working because he didn't like me helping every 2 seconds. I had to step away and help him from across the room as I put labels on my bins in order for him to get back to work since he didn't like me hovering. Haha!

Sadly, one boy has had a terrible fever and another moved away so it was a super quiet day. Do you know what that means? Yep...you guessed it. Tomorrow is doomed to be madness! I already know we have a bunch of people coming in my room to check out my class for "open house" where people see if our school is where they want to send their little guys next year (or now I guess) if they are unhappy with their current school. Strangers walking in and out for 2 hours usually throws the kids off.

Ta ta for now!

Free St. Patrick's Day Stationary

Ski Week is coming to an end. I've been sooo lazy and I love it! I had a blast meeting my friend's baby boy yesterday! He is such a cutie! Look, it's me holding him! The girls and I were late getting to book club because he was too cute to leave!

I had planned to go put my room back together after getting new carpet this week, but there has been a change of plans. Apparently the carpet is late arriving and I won't get it put in until NEXT weekend! I don't actually care about when the carpet arrives, but I do care that I no longer have time to go put my classroom back together now. I was going to go on our extra time off this week. Next weekend means I will arrive Monday morning to chaos and things in wrong places (which never goes over well for kids with autism!). Not looking forward to that little gem of a day! I'm thinking I'll stop by Starbucks at the crack of dawn and see just how much I can get done before the kids come in.

In my procrastination of lesson planning this week I made St. Patrick's Day Emergent readers. Then today I made an extra stationary page. There are 3 different ones included in the set. This freebie one is NOT part of my emergent reader set if you've already purchased it! Don't forget to download this little bonus too!

St. Patrick's Day Readers and Activities

What should I be doing during Winter Break? Probably lesson planning! But which sounds like more fun 1) Lesson Plans or 2) Making cute things for my kids/TPT

I chose option 2!! I'm loving creating these little readers! I was going to make just one fiction story, but then I realized I wanted a non-fiction-ish story. Now you may be wondering, what makes a book non-fiction-ish? I wanted it mainly factual, but I didn't want to ruin the magic of leprechauns. I know some teachers use leprechauns as a fun little learning experience to set traps and things, so I don't want to burst that seriously awesome bubble. I refer to it as a "legend," then talk about how they are known for being tricky.

Click here (or the first image) to get your copy of the St. Patrick's Day Emergent Readers & Activities Set

 This 16 page St. Patrick's Day Set Includes:
-2 Emergent Readers (1 fiction, 1 mostly non-fiction, 8 pgs each)
-1 Full Color Holiday Vocabulary Chart
-1 Brainstorming Web
-3 Writing Stationary Pages (2 with prompts, 1 blank)

Both emergent readers are made to print the 8 page stories on 2 pieces of paper. Printing instructions are included. They are also made as blackline masters to save on printing cost for you. I have all of these images in color, if you would prefer a color version, just let me know and I can add in that format.

Also, my Valentine Addition/Subtraction Puzzles are 50% off for a limited time!

I'm not teaching this week so you get a glimpse into my personal life:

Today is Girls Day! 

First I had a girls only CrossFit class. This is RARE! It's a dude dominated gym/sport/activity and there are more times than I can count that I was the only girl in the class. Today it was all girls, even the trainer! In fairness, it was a tiny class of 5 of us, but still... Girl Power! I start soccer season in 3 days, and I can't wait to see how much stronger I am on the field thanks to CrossFit!

Next up... Speech Teacher Kari (AKA the only person over 7 I talk to some days at work) just had her baby last week. A couple of the girls from work and I are going to see her and the little guy in just a couple of hours. I can't wait to see them! I made her a mommy basket! Kari, you better not be reading this post before I see you! I may be ruining the surprise right now... But I put together a basket of goodies like face masks, sugar scrub, bubble bath, and a few other little surprises.

Take a peek! Note the black paws you see under the clear glass table- That's my dog Cheyenne :)

Last but not least on girls day... Book Club! We started book club toward the beginning of the school year and I love it! We hang out, have some wine and chat. Some months it's a lot about the book, other months it's a lot of teacher chatter. It's by no means required to be a teacher, but teachers have teacher friends! I think we're a 3/4 teacher book club at this point. I am guilty of being a total chick lit reader! I love that book club makes me expand past Jane Green, Melissa Hill and Cecilia Ahern books! I'm a sucker for British/Irish girl writers! This month's book was The Art of Fielding and surrounded the life of a baseball player. Nothing I would ever have picked out on my own, but I enjoyed it. I spent all day Tuesday finishing the book. Perfect rainy day activity!

That's all for now! Have a great day!