Home Sweet Home

Since I don't have all that much to say about teaching at the moment, I thought I would show some of my home spaces. Who doesn't like at peek into someone else's home? 

I'm starting with Baby Sneaker's playroom. In our previous home, we had a much larger space, but it doubled as my office. Her current playroom basically houses her toys, but she has the run of the entire first floor. We do spend a good amount of time playing in this room, but she also spends a lot of time exploring other areas as well. 

I did a little before and after shot. The top photo is what this room often looks like during the day. The bottom shot shows what I wish it looked like all the time. How cute is Baby Sneaker putting a diaper on her baby doll? 

A closer glimpse at some of my favorite parts of this room.

I asked for these alphabet cards as part of my baby registry. I think they are so cute and I love the teachery touch it puts in the play room. We never put them up in the previous house because I wasn't really sure how I wanted to hang them. I didn't want to frame each individual one, but I also wasn't really sure how to pull off putting them on a clothesline type deal. Luckily, this room has the perfect little ledge that they can lean on. When Baby Sneaker gets bigger she might pull them down, but for the time being she's not tall enough. 

We have two of these storage units from Target. I love putting things away so that the overall look is not total clutter. The baskets come in all sorts of colors and they are perfect for storing all the little toys, stuffed animals, and blocks. I like having the books more on display, so I keep those in the middle. Baby Sneaker can easily pull the handles to get the boxes out and access her stuff. 

My best friend got this Pottery Barn Kids Anywhere Chair for Baby Sneaker when she was born. I used it for her monthly photos and it was so cool to see how she went from a floppy little baby just propped on there to a 1 year old who could sit on her own. I stopped taking those monthly photos once she turned one, but she still loves to sit in this chair because it's the perfect size for her. She likes to sit on it with her little books. Pottery Barn Kids offers this chair in tons of different colors/patterns and I think a large and small size. I love that it can be monogrammed as well. My sister in law has a different chair for each of her three girls and I love that they each get their own with their name on it. Something special that can be just theirs. We'll definitely get another one when we add another baby to our family.

These mattresses went to a daybed that we previously had. We bought it in the US, shipped it to Germany and it got damaged. So, we got it replaced by the moving company, but we had to get the new one in Germany so the mattress size was different. We sold the bed and the Euro mattresses before we moved back, but we still had the original US mattresses. So, although it's not the prettiest sight, we have them on the floor as a nice little cozy place to lounge while playing. And a certain little monkey likes to jump on the bed, which is pretty fun since it's so low to the ground and not a big fall. On those early mornings when mama is just a little too tired, it's a great place to lounge while the peanut plays.

What do you think?
Do you want me to share more of my home spaces?

Roll Call

Hey all you blog readers (hopefully there are some!)...I need a favor! I'm looking down my blog roll and the majority of my education bloggy friends have not posted in a long time. I'm not judging...trust me...I'm not judging. I have been a very lackluster blogger as of late, but I think that I need to mix up my blog roll a bit and maybe that will help in the inspiration department.

So...here's what I need from you....

Tell me who you are.
Tell me what your blog is (if you have one).
Tell me who else you're following that you think is awesome.

I think I've lost that lovin' feeling of bloggy connectivity. I'm going to do a little blog roll clean up and I'd like to add some others because that's how I stay in touch with my bloggy friends.

Let's be friends!

Gotta love the wisdom of kids

If you haven't seen this video, take a moment (okay 9 minutes) to watch it. 

The little girl with bangs is to die for.

Their thoughts in reaction to the criticism of the biracial family in a recent Cheerios commercial are impressive!

Summer Time Stay at Home

This is my first summer where I am not just a teacher on summer break, but also a mommy teacher on summer break, which means I have become a temporary stay at home mom. Even though I was home with Baby Sneaker on maternity leave into summer break last summer, she was so tiny that I was still able to do what I wanted because she slept a lot. So, I have kind of been adjusting to this new role because she is now an active toddler.

Luckily, I feel like I do better with a schedule and having a little one probably helps me focus on getting more accomplished than I ever did during those lazy days of baby free summerdom. Baby Sneaker still takes two naps a day. I consider myself lucky and I hope that continues. She wakes up around 6:30 or 7, naps from about 9-11, then has another nap somewhere between 2:30 and 4:30. During those windows of time, there are a lot of things I can/should/need to get done.

Some days I feel like a stay at home mommy rockstar and other days I feel like a stay at home mommy failure.

Some days I get down and dirty with cleaning the house and doing laundry.

Some days I engross myself in school planning.

Some days I get in a little yoga and shower up afterwards.

Some days I take a nap just like my little one.

Some days I just watch the Housewives or other junk TV.

What I have realized is that I can't do all of those things everyday.

I feel awesome on the days when I exercise and I feel awesome on the days when the house looks super sparkly and clean, but on the days when I just feel like taking a nap I feel like I have failed at my household duties for the day. I am learning (trying) to not feel guilty about those less productive days and to recognize that if I focus on one good thing each day (and I would definitely consider a nap a good thing) then I can have a productive week as a whole. I may not clean or get to lesson planning every single day, but if I invest some time during the week, then I should call that a success.

I have tried creating a weekly schedule in the past so I would do laundry on a certain day, wash the sheets on a certain day, clean the bathroom on a certain day etc. But, inevitably I get off that schedule and it never really stays put. So, for now, I'm trying to appreciate the fact that I have time for naps on some days, trying to be productive during Baby Sneakers nap times, and trying to get her in on the helping action when possible so I can get some household things done when she's awake as well. She currently helps me put groceries away, hands me clothes from the laundry basket to fold, and helps me make the bed (and when I say helps me make the bed, I mean likes rolling around on the bed when I'm trying to make it).

Are your summers productive or lazy?

Do you stick to a summer schedule or just go with the flow?

How often do you take summer naps? 

Makeovers

Do you ever end/start a school year thinking you need to give some aspect of your classroom/routine/program a complete makeover? I often feel that way about Star of the Week and birthdays.

Ironically our Star of the Week program and our birthday celebrations are a few of the only things we do in class that really honor individual kids. (sad, I know). We also do family projects, which I love, but I always end up feeling like celebrating birthdays and carving out space for students to do all of their Star of the Week duties cuts into what we "have to get done." I don't like feeling that way, but I do. I think it stems from the fact that celebrating student birthdays (aside from being a frustrating exercise in coercing parents to actually follow the rules about not bringing cupcakes and giving advance notice) results in some kids having birthday treats in class (those whose families can/choose to afford snacks/bring them in) and some kids not having that special attention. As the teacher, I leave it up to parents and don't really do a whole lot to celebrate birthdays unless parents initiate it. #teacherfail

Sometimes I feel like we have 2 hours 20 minutes...celebrate your birthday at home. #grinchteacher
(And, I really don't like serving the kids any kind of unhealthy treat at 10:30 in the morning before they've had lunch).

So, I feel the need to come up with a different approach because of all people, Mrs. Sneaker sure understands the importance of celebrating birthdays and feeling special on your birthday. I need to do something different so that kids get recognized regardless of whether their parents bring in a snack. (sidenote: I have developed an annoyance with any kind of snacks at school due to various allergies and healthy snack preferences that require me to store and provide "special" snacks to various kids. I understand allergies, but when it's parents avoiding food coloring and other such preferences whose children then tell me they can have the snack and clearly feel bad that I'm giving them something different that their parent provided it just makes me feel like serving snack is a chore).

So, this year I am really think about putting the kabosh on birthday snacks altogether and doing a birthday board instead where I prepare a little baggy for each kid containing a special pencil, eraser, sticker etc. for them to receive on their special day. That way every kid gets acknowledged. That way, if I have children who don't celebrate birthdays, they don't have to leave the room while the rest of us eat a cookie and sing happy birthday. This is what I have in mind. I don't know if I would do it exactly like that, but similar.

 I also like the idea of a birthday chair like these.

I found all these photos on Pinterest. I'm not sure what the etiquette is for giving credit/linking to the source, so please know they aren't my photos and I am giving snaps to their creators!!

I know that I routinely complain about birthdays and the various "cupcake incidents" we've had even after making a rule that they are not allowed because they are so messy not to mention unhealthy. But, this year I am trying to make it into something different because if we only do a few things that really honor individual kids, we certainly need to continue doing those things. 

I hope parents are understanding if I don't allow birthday snacks, but I am hopeful that they can understand my wanting every single kid to get acknowledged in the same way. And, I don't want to end up having 5 birthday snacks within the first 3 weeks of school like last year. 

What are you giving a makeover for this coming school year?

Do you have any creative ideas for celebrating birthdays?  

Revelations

This is my view right now.

Mr. Sneaker and I just got a new desk and I am putting it to good use this morning working on my year plan for math. 

I'll give you a little tour from left to right:

school laptop with my document where I sorted the Math Expressions lessons by CCSS strands

Diet Coke (of course)

home laptop where I am composing a more specific year plan in Excel

new fancy schmancy Erin Condren teacher planner ::swoon::

and in the background my cute little Baby Sneaker photo and monitor so that I can hear when she wakes up from her nap

I don't think I have ever done this much planning at this point in the summer, but I am really enjoying it. And, I had a big realization while working on this year plan. 

I feel like I am thinking for myself for the first time in my teaching career.

Let me explain.

#1. When I first started teaching, I did everything my team told me to do because they were awesome and I was a freshy. I figured they had it down pat and I could learn from them.

And I did.

But I still relied on them a lot to guide me. 

#2. I have always used scripted programs, teacher manuals, and pacing guides (except in Germany). I truly feel that I am not anti-scripted curriculum, yet I have come to realize the biggest reason to feel that way--they suck the creativity right out of awesome teachers like a portable containment unit sucks up Slimer the ghost. 

Is this a new revelation? No. Teachers have been saying it for years. But, I've just been doing my job the way my employer wants me to do it. I like what I do. Using a scripted program isn't awful. The kids are learning. So, I guess I've somewhat just put my own thinking skills on the back burner. Why should I contrive a new way to do it if they give me the teacher manual and the pacing guide and tell me to use them??

But, now I have hit the comfort zone. This will be my fourth year teaching the same grade in the same school. This is when I start to get this feeling that bubbles up--not of boredom--but of confidence. It happened after my third year of teaching first grade, but then I left to move to Germany and that was a whole new ball game.

My mind is saying "I've got this."

And, as a result, I want to make it better.

And that, my friends, is where this desire to rework my entire math plan came about. 

I don't hate the math program we use, but I don't love it either. The fundamental concepts are good, but it repeats a lot and spirals a lot making me feel like we jump from topic to topic. I don't know about you, but I need many encounters with something before I can really understand it and know it. 

No wonder some kids still haven't mastered the skills at the end of the year. We wait until they have completely forgotten about something to bring it up again. 

That doesn't work for kindies!

So, I am making a grand effort this summer to reorganize the content into CCSS strand chunks so we can just focus on one strand/topic at a time. 

Here's my basic plan

Sept/Oct-Counting & Cardinality (1-10)

Nov/Dec-Geometry (basic shapes, 3-D shapes, patterns, counting review)

Jan/Feb-Numbers and Operations in Base 10 (11-20)

Mar/Apr-Measurement and Data

May/June-Operations and Algebraic Thinking

From there, I inputted our 2013-2014 school year dates into my new planner and labeled all the holidays, end of quarter dates, conference dates etc.

Then I started to plug in what I want to cover during each topic and how I can fit that in around conferences and quarters. That meant I had to shift some dates around so that I am beginning/ending new units within the quarters when possible. 

The units on Geometry and Measurement & Data will be a bit shorter because there's not as much content. 

Now, I am trying to plug in specific content and activities at least for the first few months of school. I am trying to get my mind situated around the fact that the kiddos receiving this instruction are not independent almost first graders like my latest memories of my kiddos, but unsure, new to school, Kinder babies that will be just starting school. That definitely is an adjustment in terms of pacing and planning. 

As I go through this process of thinking about how/what I want to teach, I had this revelation that I literally have NEVER done this before in all my years of teaching--it's been done for me. 

A few Kinder representatives created our pacing guide based on what they thought we should include. That is what we are supposed to use, so I have. But I just feel the need to do things differently this year. 

Call me a rebel, but I need to make it my own. 

This is an experiment because I may end up not liking how this plays out, but at least I know that it's my work, my thinking, my analyzing, and my teachery intelligence that went into making this plan. Doing work like this makes me feel excited to be a teacher. 

Isn't that what we should feel all the time??