Daily 5/CAFE

Okay, so ever since I did the book studies last year at my school, I have discovered Daily 5/CAFE has been a pretty big craze, meaning I've found a ton of posts and blogs all about Daily 5/CAFE.  This is my first attempt at it this year and I wanted to post some things that are working well and reservations I have.  Obviously, trying anything new takes time and I plan to use it next year too before deciding how I want to run my reading/writing stations.

Book Boxes:
Can we talk about how EXPENSIVE magazine holders are?  Even cheap ones multiplied by 30 does not equal cheap.  Anyway, I found a pretty inexpensive way to make book boxes and did it this past summer.  Here's the site I found with the information & directions: Book Boxes from Priority Mail Boxes.  I ordered the boxes from USPS and they shipped it to me for free.  The cost of labor was spending some summer time doing all this, but after buying paint (about 3-4 cans for 15 boxes), the cost was about $0.82/box.

Telling the Kiddos You're Expecting

Well, my pants are starting to get a bit snug and I'm 15 weeks pregnant now.  I figured it was a good time to tell the students and families, especially since people (school staff) were starting to find out.  We're a pretty small school and I wanted my students to hear it from me.  If I had told my staff first, the parents would have known and then my students would be the last to hear.  So I decided last night to tell them and put something quick together this morning.  We talked about inference on Monday and I thought I would tie that into telling them 1) so as not to waste precious teaching time and 2) because they would not see it coming.

I Don't Tell Kids, "Say No to Drugs"

Ok, ok, the title sounds bad.  But I also don't promote drugs & alcohol either.  What I'm trying to say is that I remember being in elementary school.  Year after year during Red Ribbon Week, we went through some sort of D.A.R.E. (Drug Abuse Resistance Education) or anti-drugs programs.  As an elementary child, I thought, "Oh, of course I would never do anything like that."  Many of my friends did too.  I don't think these are bad programs, but I feel the reality of our world today needs a slightly different approach.

As kids get older, they think they know what they're doing, act like adults when they're not, make mistakes, learn from them, and hopefully think "Ugh, my mom was right."  I was one of them.  I didn't act on what I was told to do, I did what I wanted to do, then learned from it.  All we can hope for as adults and teachers is that our kids make good choices and remember our voices/messages as they encounter situations of pressure as they get older.  Don't get me wrong, I was NOT the kid who went off to college and used a bunch of drugs or went off the deep end.  The only thing my D.A.R.E. education would be ashamed of would be the fact that I really like to enjoy a glass of wine (or two).  Not that I'm doing that now while pregnant anyway.

So for Red Ribbon Week, I do it differently.  I don't say, "Say no to drugs."  I feel students need to learn that their choices lead to consequences, which can be good or bad. (This is a message I try to reinforce in every decision they make throughout the year.)  Their LIFE choices can determine the roads that open or close in their future.  Some consequences are small and we can bounce back from them pretty easily.  Some consequences, especially as we get older and the risks are bigger, are life altering/threatening/uncontrollable.  My approach with the kids starts with this chart below.  They copy/take notes as I talk about each section.

I got this from a Marcia Tate classroom management workshop way back when.  She was great and talked about how to manage a classroom based on brain behavior, etc.  I immediately thought of Red Ribbon Week when I did this and have been using it ever since.  It's a great way to teach kids about how drugs affect our brain and what happens when we have a chemical imbalance.

Conference Season

So it is conference season now.  It's a busy time of year with report cards, comments, and preparing for meetings with my students' families.  I have been trying out Student-Led Conferences for the past couple of years now.  Overall, it has turned out well and I'm pretty sure there are some things that I need to tweak, but I thought I'd note some things I've been doing.

Here's a quick glimpse into how I plan to have students guide their parents this year:

Agenda Guide: 

D- for the day; A+ for the effort

Ok, so I was gung ho on starting this blog, being able to talk about my awesome career, and I knew that those "need-to-vent" moments would come up, but not so soon.  It was definitely the case of the MONDAYS!

This is NOT passing, F or no F.  Below par, not even average, practically failing with that minus, and something to be ashamed of.  Not to this kid...

Oh goodness... I've started a blog!!!??

So...I never thought I would be the type of person to start a blog.  I mean, I look at them for so many amazing ideas and love to see how passionate others are about their job as I am.  All the projects and posts from others always seem so Pinteresty that I thought, "My stuff isn't always cute.  What do I have to offer?"  Well, I came to the conclusion that I didn't start this blog for others.  I started it for me!  (Let's be honest, if it helps others in the least bit, I would be thrilled! I am all for sharing ideas and not recreating the wheel!)  I've always been the type of person that didn't need things to be cute anyway.  Don't get me wrong, if it's cute, bonus points!  But I probably won't be that person that creates something with cool graphics just to be cute.  I spend most of my time on content and leave the cute graphics to other teacher pros who are willing to share/sell their materials!

So my hubby and I just found out we're pregnant!  It's our first!  I wanted a way to start documenting my life so that I can look back and remember all those moments and what's gone on that was fun, happy, cool, sad, not so cool, frustrating, full of laughter, etc.  I am hoping this can be a blog with a combination of  teaching and personal life moments and how I struggle to juggle the two.  I know this is possible because I know plenty of amazing teachers who are also moms!  As in the title, "Teaching Has Spilled Into My Everyday Life," most of my time is spent thinking about school that I feel uncertain how I will balance that with my upcoming mommyhood duties.  If I want to work late, I can give my hubby a call and say, "For dinner, let's fend for ourselves!"  The dogs have a backyard, so they're okay too.  I don't think I can leave a newborn baby out in the yard with the dogs or without proper nutrition.  Yikes!  This next coming year will be an adventure for sure.

These are some reasons I know teaching has consumed my life...

1. For Christmas one year, all I wanted was a document camera and was thrilled my husband got me one!  This was to ensure no matter what classroom or school I was in, I would have my most treasured and valuable tech tool.  
2. My first day of summer break 2013 was spent revamping my classroom newsletters.  I got yelled at by my husband.
3. I have spent my summers applying to teacher workshops around the country so I can LEARN more about what I teach to bring it back to my kids.
4. My dogs were forced wanted to pose for my classroom anchor charts.
5. I don't like to go places for a long weekend (unless planned way in advance) because I want to plan and grade (Well, I don't want to grade, I just need to).
6. Once I was unexpectedly hospitalized for a cavernous angioma (brain bleed) and went back to work in 4 days even though my vision was skewed because I wanted to teach!  (Don't worry, I'm totally okay now... lucky!)  Hey, I got to use the excuse "Sorry, guys, brain bleed," every time I forgot something.  Eventually, the kids said I couldn't use that excuse anymore!  Those rascals.
7. I hate when people plan weddings the first few weekends that school starts.  Don't they know I'm busy??? (J/K, I really do love weddings!)
8. I had a dream that my class left the room a complete mess and I broke out into song (during my Glee phase) with Beyonce's part in Lady Gaga's "Telephone" singing "This is a disaster!"
9. I started this blog tonight even though my new math unit I'm starting TOMORROW isn't even fully planned yet, the house is a mess for my in-laws coming to town, my hubby's on me about making a nutritious dinner (all of a sudden, he's more in tune with how healthy I'm eating...hehe),  and... Wait, this has nothing to do with how teaching consumes my life.  It's just showing how bad I am at multi-tasking right now.  Never mind.
10. I We planned to have this baby in the spring because I am that anal about having a long term sub in my classroom at the START of a school year.  Middle of the year, ok, but not ideal.  Spring?  Take your maternity leave once you've pretty much done your job and then have the summer with your newborn!

Okay... talk about the ramblings of a first post!  Cheers to this online adventure! (Have a glass of wine with your cheers for me since I can't right now!)

Spring baby on the way!!!