Tuesday, July 23, 2013

Catching Up


Hello blogverse. I've been a little absent for a while. I've even cut back on blog stalking so my BlogLovin' app is full of 'unread' posts. I've had some Dr. appts and some worrying news...well worrisome to me. A big wakeup call on my choices. So I've been looking at what I eat and I've been moving more.  I even did a belly dancing video this morning. It was 30 minutes...and I butchered every single minute. Hey, at least I was up and moving...and alone, lol. My dogs are appreciating more walks and longer walks.
a view from a dog walk at the park

Enough of that!

I made it into my classroom last week. So daunting. Time is really ticking down.

This must be the year of new reading adoption. I have a friend (a real life one if you believe that!) who is also adopting a new series.

She walked into her room with alllll of these boxes. (It's the National Geographic series, I believe) I felt bad for her...until I saw all of her storage...and coveted it. That momentarily absolved any feelings of that may have wanted to jump up and help her. (kidding...if she would've asked I would've helped...but I am jealous of those cabinets)

I walked into my room last week and found all of my reading materials unwrapped and waiting to be put away. 
Please note I do not have tons of cabinets or closets. My school is pretty old and was built in sections. I work in the middle section so I'm pretty sure the rooms are older than me. I just can't imagine teachers 30+ years ago not needing storage. C'mon room planners!  
I got all of the green books put away and I'll go back soon to deal with the rest. Each kid will get 6 books throughout the year. That is a lot of textbooks that need stored!

We got a new laminator at my school and it still has some of the uber fancy thick high quality laminate that came with it. (ooh lala) So I put together my new clip chart. 
I'm thinking I should've made "Ready to Learn" bigger...but once I get 20+ clips on there it'll be okay
I also (finally) dropped off some stuff I've been 'collecting' in my living room. I found these book covers at Target on sale for $1. They weren't in the dollar spot and I'm not sure of their regular price. They had two sizes and the jumbo ones came in so many cute designs as well as a few plain colors. I was sooooo tempted to get the owls but they didn't match my other room stuff. 

No, I don't give my firsties book covers. I made cheapo DIY seat sacks. Just flip one inside out and put it over the back of the chair. It's not perfect but the price worked for me. The 'pockets' will stretch but I think they'll be just perfect for leveled readers for my groups and maybe a pencil pouch. I might see about a whiteboard but I don't want to weigh them down. 



I also started numbering some book boxes. I only did a few because I'm hesitant to unpack too much and then end up with dusty pretty school stuff. i just wanted to make sure my labels fit and were well....good looking, lol. 


On my way out I stopped by my mailbox and found these gems
sorry it's sideways
That's been the haps since my last post. I'm going to catch up on some blogs and drink my Kellogg's 'Breakfast To Go' 

3 Replies:

Kelly said...

Will this be your first year using the Journeys program? My district has adopted it and the upcoming school year will be our first year of implementation. What are your initial thoughts about the program?

Miss Cosby said...

@Kelly
Yes, it will be our first year with this series. It is the same publisher as our previous series and our current math series though. Thanks to using thinkcentral.com I have had a chance to play around with some of the online features. I am excited to get new stories but this series really works at a rigorous pace. We're learning nouns right after K review! Ive looked at the first few lessons and I'm apprehensive about what I can fit in. Adopting a new series is tricky because you never know until you're really into it. Keep checking my blog for how it goes & I welcome any input you might have, too.

Kelly said...

Thank you! I have heard that it goes fast and there is a LOT to it. I am of the mindset that I will just do what I can because this is a learning year. What we were doing before getting a reading "program" worked, so I am not yet sold on strictly just using this as my method of teaching reading now. Like any teacher, I will take what works and adapt it to my kids & teaching. I will be sure to keep checking your blog. :)

My school email is kelly.campbell@pccsmail.net if you want to keep in touch more often about how it's going...I'm in Michigan, so I'm not too far away. :)

Thanks, and good luck in the new school year!
- Kelly :)

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