OFFICIAL BLOGGER

It's official!  I'm an official blogger!  What makes an official blogger, you ask?  Why, having a mug with your Blog name on it, of course!  Check this out:

Big thanks to my friend and co-worker J- such a creative and thoughtful gift!  I feel like an official blogger now!  I wanted to bring it home to use, but instead I am going to keep it at school to use with my Keurig Machine in my classroom!  Very nice!

Merry Christmas!

FIRST CLUB DAY

Our first club day was a huge hit!  The students and the teachers LOVED it!

We had one small issue overall, getting the Kinder and First Grade students to/from their clubs smoothly, which I had foreseen (having taught first graders for 12 years!) and attempted 6 or 7 different remedies and guidelines to prevent the chaos, or at least limit it.  Some of my recommendations were denied by higher up, ignored, or just not taken very seriously. Afterwards I was approached about needing to fix that area of the club process.  Needless to say, I wasn't very happy to hear that.  I expected some confusion with the younger ones, but had more of the ideas been followed, there would have been very little chaos at all.  I'm sure the next time will be much smoother though.  We live and learn.  But overall, this was really a small issue.

I had 2nd and 3rd grade students in my puzzle club. We talked briefly about different strategies (sorting edges, or by color, etc...) Then I let the students choose their puzzle and group.  Several chose a 24 piece puzzle, and the rest chose a 100 piece puzzle. Even with 4 people on the 100 piece puzzles, it was hard to get done in less than 45 minutes.  I have some 300 and 500 piece puzzles that will take several days to complete. I bought a roll-up puzzle mat, but I'm also going to use poster board under the puzzles so we can save them to finish during the next week's club.

As I walked around to each group, I was amazed at how many of the students did not have experience putting puzzles together. Two boys were struggling with a 24 piece penguin puzzle.  After I helped them with strategy and a few pieces, it was so neat to hear their excitement a little while later when they finished it!  They asked to do a harder one next time!

I really enjoyed my Puzzle Club, and I also enjoyed hearing my Homeroom students return from their clubs brimming with excitement about their clubs: Paper Crafts, Handyman, Healthful Living, Origami, Dance and Rhythm, Author Study, Board Games, and even my Puzzle Club!  They can't wait for next time!

I'd say the Clubs are indeed a huge hit!

ICE, NO CLUBS

Today was the big day!  The first club day was finally here!  I have put in countless hours over the past 5 weeks or so to organize 31 clubs for about 500 students in grades K-5 at my school.  Final rosters complete, student notification slips made, we have prepped for everything! We are ready to go!

Well, we were ready to go.  Until we were blasted with a winter storm!  Ice everywhere! School's cancelled! (Yay for that!). So now we'll start the clubs on the next Friday instead! At least we'll be ready!

3 inches of  ice outside = a really nice day to stay inside!

THANKFUL

As I spend my last remaining hours of Thanksgiving Break at home, I am reminded of many things about school that I am thankful for.  Things that I will need to hold on to during the busyness of what is about to come.

Aside from the obvious personal things that I am thankful for (family, friends, faith), I am very thankful for this school year.  Last year was a challenging year that would send most people screaming for the hills.  If I had another year like that, that's where I would be right now, screaming in the hills.  However, I was blessed this year to only teach ONE grade (and a 1/2 a grade, at that).  I am thankful for Donor's Choose and the generous donors who have given so many awesome things to my classroom (the iPad is a HUGE hit!). I am blessed to work with children that I know well (having some of them for the second and even third year in a row!)  I am blessed to work with some amazing people that I don't consider as just co-workers, but as dear friends.  And I am thankful that there are only 3 more school weeks until Christmas Break!

Yes, I am very thankful for my job, but also thankful to only have 3 more weeks of school until the next break.  The next 3 weeks are going to be INSANE!  I'm going to need the break!

First, we are starting Clubs this Friday (see previous post about the Clubs.)  I have a great fear that the first day will be chaotic, despite my best organizational skills.  After the first week or two, I'm sure it will all be fine.  The kids are really looking forward to it!  I'm doing a 2nd and 3rd grade Puzzle Club.  I am stocked up on all kinds of puzzles- from 100 pieces to 1,000 pieces!

I have two field trips over the next 3 weeks:  Log Cabin Village and The Nutcracker Ballet.  I love going to the Log Cabin Village, as one of my family cabins is there (but that's a story for another time).  It is neat to show children what life was like long ago.  The Nutcracker will also be fun.  My students may never get to see it live.  I just wish that field trips happened on Fridays, so you had the weekend to recover!

Another crazy thing going on is our annual Grade Level Teacher Lunch.  My principal's Christmas gift to us is to allow each grade level team a two-hour lunch together, off campus.  I love it!  It's a wonderful time together!  But in order to make that happen, it is a scheduling nightmare!  For 6 or 7 days, we will all have a different lunch and Specials schedule (PE, Music, Art).  Gotta keep up with the crazy scheduling!  

We also have our class Christmas Party, Polar Express Themed this year.  My very awesome partner teacher has already started working on the details. (I'll get started soon!)  It's going to be great fun!  

And hopefully there will even be a visit from Santa this year.  One year Santa was "accidentally" banned from our schools, which hit the media, so my district had to issue a Press Release about how they really do love Santa and he is very much welcome in our schools.

On a personal note, my daughter is turning 13 during all this!  I can't believe that I am old enough to have a teenager, and I can't believe that she is old enough to BE a teenager!  Having a 13-year-old birthday sleepover on Friday the 13th is going to be an adventure for sure!

I'm sure I am forgetting many other things happening this month, but you get the picture that it's going to be CRAZY BUSY!

So, yes, I am thankful for my job.  I really do love it.  But in 3 weeks, I will be very thankful for Christmas Break!

Happy Thanksgiving!  And Merry Christmas!