Inspiration!

I'm sooooo EXCITED!!!  I just purchased my DJ Inker License and I plan on making a new product each day this week and posting it on TeachersPayTeachers nightly.

Today I created a High Frequency Word Cloze Sentence Activity.  It is 4 pages of useful handouts.  Short, easy, the way I like transition work.  I plan on using these with my class this week to ready them for the Cloze Assessment on Thursday.

Tomorrow I will edit my Christmas Math packet and put it up for sale.  I will be posting details nightly.

Last but not least, I will be having a give away, so please check back on Thursday for the fun details!

Have a great week!

PS, I am having a sale on my products, so it is the perfect time to buy!

WHOA!

I cannot believe that it is already Halloween!  I didn't have school the last two days because of Hurricane Sandy, but that isn't why I haven't been blogging.  I am currently doing something I never thought possible.  I am losing weight.  I'm not talking weight watchers or some other plan.  I'm doing Boot Camp.  Eat from the sheet and work your ass off.  In a month I was running a mile in under 13 minutes!  I did it in 11:56 last week!  AMAZING!  I have a goal to be under 10 minutes by Christmas.  I also plan on being down 26 pounds by then.  I'm thrilled to be releasing my stress in a healthy way and turning myself away from food.  I've been reading like no tomorrow.  Replace one habit with another.  Well, time for bed.  Hope to share some fun things I'm doing in class.

Happy November!

Miss Red Head

Exhaustion, Fun, and Parent Homework

This weekend has been EXHAUSTING!  I feel like I need a weekend for my weekend!  I had four days off to boot!  CRAZY?!?!?  My daughter finally returned late Friday night from her trip with her grandparents to Maine!  I loved having a week off, going to three boot camps (More on that another day), and spending time with my grandmother.  It was odd to get up daily and only worry about me, but then to put her into the mix this weekend AND add in my nephew!  PWEH!  I'm ready for bed!

I had a lot of fun this weekend with my daughter and nephew.  They are two amazing kids and they get along sooooo well!  I took them for a long walk today at the beach.  Let's just say, he didn't like the long walk, but agreed to go for a jog with me next time he was down.  :)

Finally I just posted one of my FAVORITE resources to TPT!  I use Parent Homework EVERY year! I seriously NEED this form to understand my parents every year!  I just ask a few simple questions, and in one night, I know a LOT about my students and their parents!  I have made it free because I'm sure other have used this resource in the past.  If you don't have it, please download it and use it yearly!

You will find Parent Homework HERE!

Also while you are there, don't forget to pick up my Beach Alphabet and Shapes unit!  The Alphabet is amazing and I can't wait to share with you a picture of how it looks in my classroom!  Seriously, the kids loved it and love looking at the pictures!

I will be back tomorrow with my currently for September!

Have a great first day to those starting tomorrow!  I'm starting day 5!  :)

And She Surfed to Success!!

Today was the day.  The day I've dreamed about for 7 years.  The perfect first day of school.  Yes it came.  Lucky number seven maybe??  The students came in and they were SILENT!  They colored and listened and followed all of my directions!  I thought I had died and gone to heaven.  Yes I have a shouter!  But I can live with a shouter because that shouter found out that I don't do calling out, we raise hands and wait turns.  I do have one with health as a concern, but we are going to stay on top of it and rock her out to a successful year of first grade!  I had one student that well we didn't get it right twice.  Can't have milk and was upset about oj.  Can't blame the kid.  Second, kid was marked to walk home, but parent came.  Not a cool story!  Moral, make sure if they parent drops off that they understand what walk means.  I'm sure I'll double check it again!  Kid made it to parent.

Next my perfect day came to a hault when I was asked to switch reading groups.  We switch for reading and we have two groups of three.  Our pods were made by where our rooms were, but one person asked me to switch because it wasn't gelin'.  I'm not gelin' with the idea.  Tears were shed as I talked to my mom about it.  I want a stress free zone tomorrow and I don't know what to do.  O the choices stink!  I say no and it bothers me, I say yes it bothers me.  WHY MUST I BE PUT INTO THIS SITUATION!!!!????  What would you do??

I'm totally diggin day two with my kiddos.  Can't wait to see what they are capable of!

I'm also thinking of just ignoring the situation and seeing what happens. ;)

Oh and always carry a spare set of flip flops with you.  I didn't.  i've lost weight and the shoes that were perfect last year aren't so much this year.  O well, just gives me an excuse to wear them all day tomorrow!  So thankful I am able to do this!

Just to show how great of day it was, you can see my desk!  It is a mess and I say that any day where your desk looks like this is a success!  All able to be cleaned up but principal gifts just dropped off and my folder basket plopped down at 645 this morning.  Yup, a success!  :)

I'll take you on a classroom tour tomorrow!

Miss Red Head and her not so rambling class!  :)

It Is The End

So today was my final day of summer.  I go back tomorrow.  I have Pinterested my life away.  I've created things I've wanted to for awhile.  I've not finished one professional book.  I didn't crack my curriculum this summer, but it is all going to be okay.

This summer turned into a summer of healing.  Two years ago I started down the longest path in my career.  Trying to deal THE CLASS.  It took all last summer to get over it.  I read about 10 professional books and by February, I was healed and loved my class.  This summer was totally about healing and praying and understanding.  Not completely accepting it, but I'm moving closer.  This will be a year of change for me in my classroom.  No longer will I have my cousin to text in the morning about what a terror kiddo was.  No more texts about parties or get togethers or cookie fun or random stuff.  It is gone.  Yes I have others to do this with, but it isn't HER!  I have struggled about whether to type this, but this is me.  This is one struggle I am going to have all year!  After 28 years, it doesn't stop.  You just adjust.  I'm adjusting by becoming crafty.  My cousin was an amazing artist and the crafty police couldn't stop her.  Now I'm taking steps to become not just done, but finished done.

Since today was my final day of summer I did enjoy one random book of my choice to read.  I finished it around 11 this morning.  I then had breakfast with kiddo at 12 at a local cafe.  I had a gluten free cookie.  She had a cupcake.  Then we rolled down to the beach.  We went to a local fav of ours, where we head on Wednesday Nights until they close for the season to just get away and remind each other that we can make time for each other.  Next we ran to get ice cream and carmel popcorn.  YUM!  (All food was gluten free!!)  Then we went to the play ground instead of the beach because it was only 75 degrees and the last time I was on the beach at that temperature, I ended up on an ambulance.  No thanks!  Finally I went to try and find something for the first day of school, but no luck!

Today I took a ten mile bike ride in an hour!  That is a first!  I came home and organized and loaded a good part of my stuff in my trunk.

I'm ready for tomorrow.  I need daily life to return.  I love my kid, but I need to not feel her glued to me because she is afraid I will die.  My mom returned home on Saturday with no surgery just a nasty case of dehydration!  DRINK PEPS DRINK! Seriously she asked how old she will be when I die after going home the first night my mom was in the hospital.  A 4 and a half year old asked this.  Yes, this has been apart of my healing.   This has been the challenge.

Tomorrow I will begin my link up for the must haves.  This was a heart pincher and it feels good to let it out.  Tomorrow I will eat rice chex for breakfast instead of a cookie.  Yup, summer is over.  And a new chapter is ready to begin!

Miss Red Head

Winner, tour guide, and bellies

First off I want to thank Meg at third grade in the first state for her awesome drawing! What a nice surprise to get an email while sitting in the er with my mama this afternoon. My mom has the belly issue. Not sure what but hoping all is resolved shortly!

Last but not least I went out last night and realized i was the only native in the group. So they decided that I should open a business for tour guides. I have history in our beach resort so I'm all for some fun.

This quickie post is being done while I wait for food for my dad mom kiddo and myself. Happy last crazy days of summer to me!! Hope no one else gets the call about appendix, er, surgery, nope sorry, overnight to see what's up!

~miss red head

Whipped

Oh my word!  What a day!  I spent six hours in my classroom and forgot to bring more than a cup and a half of rice chex to eat.  Needless to say, I ate a late lunch at 3:30 and then dinner at 6:30.  Better late than never.  It is hard being gluten free, but the amount of work I got done and the way my body feels is so worth it.  Don't think I'll go in tomorrow with the intention of having food with me.  :)

Kiddo came with me and played across the hall with my awesome partner's kids.  I got even more done because of them!  SO THANKFUL!!  I didn't take any pictures, but I did manage to get my desks arranged, my bulletin board changed to fabric, things put away, reading books moved around, and so much I can't even remember.

I came home after a quick run to Sonic.  :)  With my favorite Happy Hour Drink, I was able to finish my Survival Kit.  I saw this pinned last year and did it, but this year, I took it to a whole new level.  I filled the bag, redid the bag label, Modge Podged it to the bag and sealed the bag with a label.  It looks like this.

I cannot wait to place them on student's desks for Meet the Teacher next Friday.  Really fits my classroom this year.

Tomorrow I am headed back into my room as I mentioned before.  Kiddo is coming.  Afterward my mom is taking Marie so I can go out for a girls night.  Beach!  Woo!

Happy Tuesday!

Miss Red Head