Moments from our week

It was a great week. You know, it really was. Nothing super fancy, just a great week.  Sometimes, when I'm locking up for the night, I look around this place that literally looks like my house, because of all the stuff that my husband has been kind enough to deliver to our room, and I find it hard to believe that I actually get paid to be here in the first place. Those are good moments. 

I really should tell you that he's the man behind the scenes of room 208. He's the guy that staples the tests, fixes the unfortunate mistakes (like when I drop stuff in the parking lot), repairs the classroom furniture and makes sure the book order is all correct.  He sits through all my practice lessons and looks the other way when the sticker and Chapters deliveries arrive. Behind every good teacher is a great partner and I hit the jackpot with this guy. 

We've reached something I call "family status" as a class. It happens every year. Some years it comes late, but typically it comes around January. This year: December.  That's pretty neat. 

We feel like a little family. It's warm and happy and sometimes a little messy.  Yes, there's differences and I'm sorrys, but there's always respect. There's always humor and there's always love.  

It can't happen right away. That's just not authentic.  But after several months together, lots of stories, lots of routines and job assignments to kids, the wackiness that is Halloween comes and goes,  and then it's just a matter of time. The kids drive this bus. I do my thing and then one day, there they are, just doing their own thing together, loving each other and running my room to the point where I could meet you for lunch and they wouldn't notice I was gone.    

It's sweet and it makes my teacher heart happy.  
There's no other job like teaching. 
There's no other place like Room 208.  

Practice Page 16

I promised the kids that I'd post the instructions for tonight's Practice Page. We always review them in class, but this one is a little different than usual, so I wanted to make sure everyone was clear on what's expected. I know sometimes between when I review the page and when kids sit down at home to do their work, information can get lost! 

Here's the video that explains the page. 

A very cozy Fun Friday!

Friday was snow much fun! I think it was my most favorite Fun Friday so far! It was such a sweet and cozy day and I'd love to tell you all about it. Everyone wore their jammies to school and I'm starting a campaign to make every Friday pajama day! 😆 #newcasualfridayidea

With our classroom decorated for Christmas, it only seemed right to kick off the season with a theme day! 

We started the day with a great story and a "craftivity". We read "The Gingerbread Man Loose at Christmas" and then started work on our own little Gingerbread Man. The kids will do the writing part (that white heart you see on his tummy) later next week.  

I started the hot chocolate while the kids were out at lunch recess and it was such a hit! While we waited for it to cool down, we had two super-fun activities to do!  

The first activity was a real team-builder. The kids were given a small amount of masking tape and just one sheet of construction paper. Their job was to build the longest possible paper chain. It was so fun watching them all work together with their elbow partners on this project.  I loved listening to all their strategies and ideas! 

After the paper-chain activity, the kids had a new challenge. They used Lucky Charms as their "markers" and they had to solve the "Pyramid Jump Game".  It was a another hit!  They could work with partners, or on their own. We used Lucky Charms cereal because we're reading a story right now about a polar bear who loves them!  

Somewhere around this time, we had our hot-chocolate.  
As Goldilocks would say, it wasn't too hot, wasn't too cold. It was juuuuust right! 

After that, it was time to relax and enjoy some quiet time together. We watched an adorable modern day version of the Christmas story.  We were going to have our gingerbread cookies but all of us agreed that with bellies full of hot-chocolate and cereal, it might be best to wait 'til next week.  

As you can see, it was such a sweet and cozy time.  These last photos are my favorite. They make my teacher heart so full and proud.  Thank you to all the boys and girls for a great day! I hope it's one you will never forget! 

Photo above displayed with parental permission. 

Shhh...it's DEAR time

D.E.A.R stands for "drop everything and read" and it's a pretty important part of our day. As you can see by the photos below, it's quiet, cozy and just an overall special time of day. 

Each afternoon from about 2:35 to 2:55, we stop and read and it's really something. The kids come in from recess and, as we say, "head to their places", and then...silence,  except for the quiet music. For years, it meant pressing play on the CD player, but now, that same CD comes courtesy of itunes. The album is called, "The Most Relaxing Classical Music in the Universe" and it's magical in the way it brings everyone down from recess and into that quiet head-space where great reading happens. 

I bought the original CD for my dog about 20 years ago, back when you bought music in a store.  My hope was that it might keep my dog calm while I was at school. No such luck. They say teaching is the only job where you steal from home and bring it to work, so I brought the CD to school and DEAR time has never been the same.  I couldn't tell you where that CD went, but the legacy of its music lives on.  

I often tell the kids that come 2:55, I feel a little bad waking them from their reading and they totally get what I mean. They all look so focused and content, it's hard to disturb that. And these aren't staged photos.  This wasn't me announcing, "places everyone!". This is really what it looks like everyday. 

One look at these and I'm sure you can appreciate why I think everyone needs a little DEAR time in their lives.