Block the Door Food Drive!

It's been forever, I mean FOREVER since I've last posted... I've just been so busy, I never have time to sit and relax..being a first year teacher is exhausting! LOL! My New Year's Resolution is to be a better blogger. I hope to at least blog once a week, I believe that's manageable!

Only a few more days and then it's Winter Break! I can do it! 3 more days with kiddos! I can do it! And then Friday is our holiday party, which is fine..it is in place of our inservice day! :) It should make the day go a little faster!

This week the Junior High Student Council is hosting a food drive called Block the Door. We learned about this at our StuCo workshop in early November. How it works is the kids bring in non-perishable food to try and "block the door." Each teacher has a piece of paper the size of their door somewhere in their classroom, either on the floor or on the wall. The students try to fill that piece of paper by stacking/laying goods on it. Once it's completely filled, they don't have that class period for a designated day. We made the last day of the semester be their 'free' day. The student council has planned games, coloring, movies, and other activities throughout the time of those classes. Obviously, the goal is to block ALL their classes doors so they don't have to go to any of their classes. They get Monday-Wednesday to bring items so that everyone knows which classes get the free day on Thursday.

Our 7th Graders came in SUPER enthused! They blocked 2 of the 4 core classes on MONDAY! I took some pictures so you could all see!

 

This is the math teachers' door! Very neatly organized and filled with cereal! :) BLOCKED DOOR NUMBER 1!

Below is my door! BLOCKED DOOR NUMBER 2 for our 7th Graders! YAHOOOOOO! 

They've got a start on their English teacher's door...which is pictured below, however they haven't even started on Science! We're hoping they keep it up and can block one more tomorrow and then another on Wednesday! 

However, the 8th grade team is slacking....below are pictures of their doors. 

Doesn't this seem fun?! It's great seeing all the kiddos so excited to give back to the community! And it's a great thing to do just in time for the holidays! If you want more details or want to do this at your school, just comment or email me, bleathers@usd365.org 

I'd be willing to share all we know about it, or how we did it! 

That's all for now, I better go work the concessions stand, as I'm the High School Student Council Sponsor, and it's my duty! 

With Love, 

B

November Currently/SlantBox!

Sorry for the hiatus for a while! It's been a stressful few weeks! This is going to be a jammed pack post too! I got my slantbox! I did my November currently andddddddd my school made national news! 

Well, first things first! I got my slantbox this week! If you don't know what a SLANT box is...head over to Lessons With Coffee's post. They are so much fun! :) You send a package, you receive a package, the best of both worlds!

 

I was partnered up with Amanda from Cupcakes and Lesson Plans. She sent an awesome gift! 

Also, check out Alissa's blog at Fun in Fifth. She is the other fellow teacher that I got the privilege of getting to know and then I sent her a package! :D 

Nowwwww on to my November Currently!

Listening: Well, now it's Hawaii Five-O... but i'm a big fan of Undercover Boss, the wonderful stories always get a tear from me!

Loving: This weather. I love wearing sweats and scarves. I love it all. And the trees are BEAUTIFUL!

Thinking: Teaching is so political. If you heard about a school suspending a boy for wearing a purse....that was my school. We hit NATIONAL news. Front page Yahoo!, front page Fox News, front page Washington Post. A small town from SE Kansas made national news. I can't obviously get into details, but the side of the story that hit national news was one sided and completely fabricated and now it's turned into a discrimination/gender identity issue. I feel bad for our administration for dealing with what they've dealt with.

Wanting: I think it's time I get a new teaching bag. I have a Vera Bradley one, but after this mad mess that's been going on in school, I don't think I want to support them anymore. 

Needing: A BREAK. This first year teacher is OVERWHELMED.

A yummy pin: My boyfriend's favorite thing I make is apple crisp...sssh, don't tell him I found it on pinterest. :) He thinks I made it up. :) But here it is thanks to A Family Feast!

Okay, I suppose that's all for tonight. If you want to read the article that put my school on the map: http://www.kctv5.com/story/23899790/boy-13-suspended-for-carrying-vera-bradley-purse

Keep in mind, the story hit Wednesday night with no chance for the school to provide a statement. The school then provided a statement Thursday evening after receiving millions of phone calls and emails of hatred for us. Now that the full story is out, the hype is lessening because they're realizing the full story.

That's all! 

With love, 

B

Manic Monday on Tuesday

Monday AND Tuesday were the manic days. I just didn't have time to post until today! Linking up with Lindsay like usual!

Oh, before we start with  Monday/Tuesday..  On Friday, the other Student Council sponsor quit doing Student Council, so that was an added stress. It was a good one, because it's easier for me to just do everything, but I wasn't expecting it.

First of all, during 4th hour the tech people came into my room and said they needed to take my computer because there was a problem with it. And of course they had to take it mid lesson USING the computer. They brought me a laptop to make up for it, but I really miss my big computer. :(

Then, during the last hour of the day I found out by word of mouth of some students that a few of the students came into my room and stole some candy out of my candy jar while I had stepped out for a few minutes. That upset me a ton. Being a first year teacher, I tend to let them get away with a lot of stuff they probably shouldn't get away with but that broke all that trust. I was so upset with them.

Well then after school I had conferences until 8pm. Blah! That makes a LONG day, especially with an hour commute. Lucky for me, I only missed the first five minutes of The Blacklist! I LOVE THAT SHOW!

Today I was just heated from the get go. I gave a stern lecture to all my classes. You could hear a pin drop the rest of the class once I was done yelling at them. I was impressed. It made me feel powerful! :D YES!

Then 8th hour is just a mess! --It just exhausts me.

Then I have a few co-workers who are very unpleasant and just rubbed me the wrong way at the end of the day.

With all of this, I just went into my room after school and cried. Not tearing up, but a legitimate bawl--and I am not an attractive crier. HAHA!

On the brighter note, I went and got everything for my SLANT box so I can hopefully get it in the mail this week! yay!!!!! Check out Lessons With Coffee for more information!

AND THE VOICE IS ON! RIGHT NOW!!!

With love,
B

Manic Monday!

Yay! I've been waiting all day to link up with Lindsey! Phew. Manic Monday is over. 

We'll my kiddos had Friday off since it was the end of the quarter and so I spent all day Friday creating some neat lessons and new seating charts for the kiddos come today! Also, my principal told me Friday he wanted to formally observe me this week! Ahh!! My first formal observation. That has me a little manic in itself. I also have concessions stands to work since I'm the student council sponsor and student council is in charge of it. Yikes!!! Too many things on my plate, just like Lindsey!! 

However, my kiddos decided today would be a good day to go crazy! I hardly got anything done in school today! We had a student council meeting during high school seminar time meaning I had to leave my middle schoolers for a bit. Then I decided it would be a great day to start all carte during lunch where they offer hot dogs, nachos, candy, water, and pretzels. So since that started today I had to get that ready for today! Phew! 

The only positive is that we started an activity today so I have NO grading or planning to do tonight, so I can just hang out with the boyfriend and watch the voice! The best part about Mondays is the TV lineup on NBC!!! The Voice and then The Blacklist?! Awesome! If you haven't seen the blacklist, you need to check it out! 

Manic Tuesday will be here tomorrow as my principal is coming in to watch me and I don't really have a "good" class for him to come observe in. Ha! I have to bribe my kiddos to be on their best behavior! Whatever works, works, right?!?

That's all for tonight! Thanks Lindsey for the awesome linky! 

With love, 

B 

Manic Monday (On Thursday)

I'm linking up with Lindsey over at the journey of a beginning teacher for Manic Monday on Thursday! She's starting a new linky party to share stories of crazy things happening or how wild your Mondays can be! And of course you can say any triumphs you have too!

Well, I know it's not Monday, but yesterday was my Manic Wednesday! I gave my students their unit exam and told them it would be the last grade of the quarter. We spent 3 weeks going over it, Friday and Monday we went over their study guide to make sure they had all the right answers and then Tuesday we spent the entire class period playing a review game! We played the dots game from when I was a child, I split them up into 3-4 teams and asked them a question, if they got it right, they got to come up to the smartboard and draw a line in attempt to make a square. 

All of the questions that were asked Tuesday, CAME STRAIGHT FROM THE TEST! I had the test in front of me, asking them questions straight off of it. Those questions came from their weekly quizzes throughout the unit. So they had the questions 4 times (Quizzes, Study Guide, Review Game, Exam) and I still had about 5 of my 60 score an 80% or higher! I had SEVERAL fail the test! I was so disappointed in them, when I asked a few of them if they studied, they said no, I don't have time to do that because I was outside hanging out with my friends. Hmmmmm!!!!

Sooooo, today I'm off to reteach, correct, and somehow try to salvage their grades and egos in my classroom. I don't want them to all be disappointed and hate my class, but I also want them to take responsibility for their grades! They're in junior high now, not everything can be spoon fed to them! 

Any suggestions?! 

Phew, today is the last day with kiddos (tomorrow is an inservice in the classroom) so I just have to make it through today! 

-B

October Currently!

I may be a few days late, but hey...better late than never, right?! And, I'm doing another no-no...double blogging today! If you want to link up, link up with Farley!

Listening: This whole government shutdown is wild! And being a social studies guru, makes this even more interesting to me! Why can't our government just make a decision and fix the problems and end the shutdown?!

Loving: I have had it for a month, but I still love it. It mixes things just oh so well! I love making cookies now! It's wonderful, and I swear it makes them so much better tasting!

Thinking: It's the end of the first quarter already?! Being a first year teacher, this is flying even faster! I can't believe it's already October!

Wanting: I love rain. I love falling asleep with the window open and it raining. I love lounging around the house just listening to rain, and we haven't gotten enough. I need rain. I want rain. Luckily, it looks like we'll get a little rain tonight...but not enough!

Needing: I definitely need a girls day! I really need to get my hair colored, but that will have to wait, but my feet can't wait much longer! They are dying for a pedicure!

Trick or Treat: This is nothing school related, but super cute! It's the panda cam from the Atlanta Zoo! We watch it occasionally in class while they're working on something quietly. The kiddos love it. They have adopted the baby twins as our class pets. It's quite funny because I don't teach first graders....but seventh and eighth graders!


Thanks Farley for a great linky!

-B

five for fridayyyyy!

Phew! I haven't blogged in forever...but I happened to log on, during a perfect linky party!! HAPPY FRIDAY! It's 5 for Friday day!

I found a website that seems to be doing good things! It's called donorschoose.org, I created a project on there in hopes to get some atlases for my geography class! Have you ever tried to teach US Geography without any atlases? Until October 8, all donations made to the program will be matched by the company! Here's the link to my project:  http://www.donorschoose.org/project/map-less-geography-class/1051227/ you just have to enter the word INSPIRE on the payment screen.

As most of you know, I'm a first year teacher and I checked off another first this week. I sent my first kid to in school suspension. I swear there had to be a full moon this week at sometime, the kids were abnormally wild and rowdy. One kid just got a little too sassy and upset when I made him work and threw his textbook on the ground, and then slammed my door when he left my room.. That's a big no-no. 

This past week the kiddos and I have been watching the panda cam! Yes, the national government is shut down so the national zoo is shut down and all their cams are turned off. HOWEVER, the Atlanta Zoo isn't closed, and they have their panda cam up and running. Lun Lun, the mommy panda, had twins on July 15, so it's always interesting to watch her with the baby pandas or the baby pandas crawl along! Here's the website if you wanna catch a look: http://www.zooatlanta.org/1212/panda_cam

This is so true! I hate it when the kids come back and ask me that question.  I have the weekly schedule posted on the website, on my board, and all the papers in a missing work folder, so it would be simple for them to do it all themselves and get things turned in, but it never fails I get swarmed with kiddos after they've been gone! I just wanna tell them this sometime. 

My fifth thing is a little personal and it may not be of interest to some of you. However, my professor from college, (Kansas State University) has a missing husband! She was my favorite professor, and I'm not the only one who thinks that. She's so caring and wonderful. She's known all through the campus, everyone loves her classes and tries to take at least one before graduating.  Her husband has been missing since Sept. 2. He was last seen in Manhattan, Kansas but they are unsure where he could be now. They haven't found any big leads yet. They've created a facebook page in hopes to find him alive and healthy! Here's the facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/finddavewelch

Link up with Doodles Bug Teaching with her 5 for Friday Linky Party! 

It's been a while...

Phew! It's been a while. Life has been crazy! This first year teacher life is exhausting. And if you didn't know, I'm also the high school student council sponsor, therefore leaving little time for blogging. Yikes. So this may be a little bit long.

Homecoming is put on by the student council and that's in two weeks, so I've just been going and going and going. Finally, I broke down and got sick.. I knew it was bound to happen sooner or later, I haven't been taking real good of my body.

I think it should be illegal to throw student council (very front year loaded) onto a first year teacher. Don't get me wrong, I love it, I really do but it's exhausting. I don't know how I stay a float, that's for sure.

My daily routine:
5:00--Rise and Shine!
6:00-6:15--Start my hour drive to school.
8:00--School starts
   (I have my four 7th grade history classes right of the bat, 5th hour is my planning period, 6th hour is homeroom/study hall, 7th hour is team plan, and 8th hour is US Geography)
3:08--School is over!

After school, I pay bills for student council, make copies, etc.

Thursday, I helped out at our cross country meet here in town and didn't get to leave school until 8:30 and start that hour drive home, yahoo! That was the first night of making big kid sacrifices for my big kid job--missed the first half of the NFL game. :(

Then this past Friday, as soon as school let out I was on to Student Council stuff. I had to prepare the concessions stands for the first football game, since I forgot to mention...Student Council runs the concessions stands at all the athletic events.)

10:30--I left school to start my journey home this past Friday.. got home at about midnight, since the interstate was closed for a shooting.

I went to sleep as soon as I got home and didn't wake up until 12 today..sick too. Cool! Went back to bed at about 1:15 and slept til 4. So today, I haven't accomplished much, which is okay! (Besides being sick)

Most of my frustration and exhaustion comes from student council. I am a co-sponsor that I feel like does 90% of the work, but my perfectionist/OCD won't let things not work right or not get finished. Also, it being my first year as a teacher, I am striving to make a good impression and show administration that I was a wonderful pick, therefore I work 100000x more than I should.

I have always taken on probably more than I should, but it all gets done in the end. That's all that matters right? It will in the end all work out but until then.. it's just a long frustrating journey for me. Luckily for me, my mentor that I was given, has helped me out A TON. It's relieves a little stress knowing I can always ask him a question or for help and he'll help me. I was blessed.

On a side note, Mommy is coming this next weekend. I am excited to see some family for the weekend and hopefully concentrate on non-teaching life. I am going to Flatland's Country Festival with them too. I'm super excited! I get to see Luke Bryan, Kevin Fowler, Darius Rucker, Toby Keith, Miranda Lambert, Kelli Pickler, and more! :) It's going to be a long week waiting for that!

I suppose that's an update on my life for now.. I'm going to try to be a better blogger!

With love,
B

Five for Friday! [[Linky Party]]

I'm linking up for the first time with Doodle Bugs Teaching for her linky party! It's called Five for Friday! All you have to do is post 5 random things from today or the week! Easy peasy!

1. This girl is exhausted. It was my first full week of school, EVER. As a first year teacher, I had no idea what to expect! I'm going to sleep gooood this weekend!

2. I got my FIRST KitchenAid  Mixer last week, and boy am I in love! :) It does wonders, and makes my cookies stay soft for days. I can't wait to make more recipes in it this weekend!

3. These flowers have made my smile all day long! They are still blooming! I received them from family on the first day of school, and now over a week later they still look beautiful. I get tons of compliments on them too!!!!

4. I love my students to death. I really do. But the best classroom, is a quiet classroom (when you want to get stuff done), and today they were anything but that. They were wound for sound, which I suppose I can't blame them. It was their first full week of school, and it was a Friday...but as for today...this was the best kind of classroom. It allowed me to get all my grading done and entered, so I HAVE NO HOMEWORK THIS WEEKEND!

5. I have been thinking all day, how much I miss volleyball. It's been 5 years since I've played competitively, but I played throughout college on an intramural team..and I miss it dearly. The high school girls started practice this week, and walking by the gym at the end of the day is a debbie downer. for sure.

That's all for now, I suppose. It's been a great first week, but this chick needs some sleep. She is exhausted to the extreme...you wouldn't think I would get this exhausted, but man, I could sleep for a week.

Join Doodles for Teaching linky party! It's super easy and fun! 

With love, B

A day of firsts, I suppose.

I suppose this year is going to be full of firsts. I'm hoping more good firsts than bad though.

Today, I gave my first quiz for a grade. yikes. It was the state capital quiz. They had to list all the state capitals without a bank or anything. They also have to get 47 right otherwise they have to retake it. I don't think it should be that hard. We live in America, I think every person should be able to list the states, know where they are and the capitals of each one. I suppose that's my mean side of a teacher coming out.

That means, today was also my first day with ACTUAL grading to do. The few assignments they've already turned in have all been completion grades since we worked on them mostly as a class so they all had the same answers. Phew. Grading is intense. ;) I suppose I better get used to that.

Today was also the first day I really lost my mind. It's five days in and this kid is already driving me nuts. He won't do A SINGLE THING. Already failing my class. I checked his daily work for the week today, hasn't done a thing and just sits there making inappropriate comments. This leads to another first...

Sent my first parent email. Hopefully mom can help me set them straight before they dig a hole to deep. I want all my kiddos to succeed. I really do!

And finally, I got my first follower request on twitter and instagram from a student. He told me he was going to spend all day looking for me, but he will find me. DENY. I don't understand why students think their teachers want to be friends with them! CRAZY KIDDOS!

Overall, the first week has been WONDERFUL. I couldn't imagine a better staff for the first week of school. My coworkers are wonderful, and it actually hasn't been that stressful! I already have the planning done, the copying done, now I just have to teach. The thing I LOVE TO DO MOST. :)

God is good.

With love,
B

Teacher Week: Now Teach!

Welp, now I'm double posting! Eeks! Try to catch up on a day that I'm taking away from school to relax and ease nerves before the first day, which is....TOMORROW.

I've been surfing blogs and looking at all the cute different things you ladies have done with your classrooms this year. Today's actual post is supposed to be about organizational tools. I wasn't prepared for this post.

I am a first year teacher, so I'm trying to be prepared...but we'll see how well that works.

My organizational station is probably my back table.

This is the first part of it. I have assigned each of my students a number. So they will get in the habit of moving their number on the boards (which are cookie sheets that are spray painted), collect handouts for the day, and see what we're doing all in this one spot. 

As they go down the back table, you can kind of see them, I have their books all laid out in number order, so they will take the book with their number and then they can find their seat. Also on this back wall I have the no-name station which is the banner hanging from my chalk board, the make up work section where all my worksheets will be from other days of the week so they can get worksheets they missed but also if they know they'll  be gone another day during the week they can get a head start. The other black file organizer hanging on the other side will be their homework turn in spot. I tried to manage the flow of the classroom and that's what I focused the most on, so lets hope it works!

Let me know what you think!

Go check out some other organization tips from Blog Hoppin' by clicking on the image below! 

With Love, 

B

Teacher Week: Classroom Digs

Yeah yeah, I know I'm a day late..and probably a dollar short, but this week has been crazy! I've been in meetings from sun up to sun down since Monday and 7pm is the earliest I've been home in a while! I have my first kiddos coming tomorrow, so my classroom is finished..for the most part. I have a pile of stuff that is for Student Council that I am waiting on a file cabinet for, so it's in a corner of the back of the room for now. Hopefully I'll get a file cabinet tomorrow or Friday.

I know  I should have linked up to this linky yesterday, but I didn't want to take pictures before it was completed! Plus, I keep getting asked if it's ready or for pictures...so here's the unveiling.

P.S. I know I'll add things as I acquire them throughout the year, but being a first year teacher, I can't fork out ALL my money for my classroom quite yet! It's hard to decide how decorated to make your classroom when you're a middle school teacher!

Well, this is the plant my mom and stepdad sent me for my first day of teaching! There was a dr. pepper right in the middle...buttttt that didn't last long.

This is the view from the doorway.

Another view from the doorway into my turn-in corner.

This is my bulletin board, for now. I'll probably change it and move the rules somewhere else so I can use this bulletin board for fun stuff. It's my only one so I have to be stingy with it!

That's my desk area! 

A closer view of my teacher area with my paper lanterns hanging from the ceiling. I look like I have a greenhouse growing in my classroom! I'm going to need a classroom helper to help me remind me to water them!

That's the outside of my door, minus the ladder. The janitor hadn't made it back to grab it and put it away from me! The office is across the hall from my room, so the ladies reccomended I cover the door with something otherwise my students will be focused on who is walking in and out of the office...so I got some fabric from JoAnn's teacher appreciation days!

My pretty banner that has my name. It's just a bit to big to let it hang, so I had to tape it up there in the middle... I'm not sure how I feel about it. 

So that's all! Go and check out the rest of the linked up blogs for some more classrooms!

With love,
B

Working on a Saturday?

Well, I've finally been in my classroom. They just painted it today so on Monday I can hang some posters and more things up so it doesn't look so bare! It's been a stressful couple of days moving into a new classroom. Being a first year teacher, I didn't have much. Luckily, the previous teacher left everything for me. Unluckily, I had to sift through it all. Needless to say, I've been busy. Ben had to work today, so I figured I'd head down to school and get some work done today. The bug hit me or something because I got so much done and was so productive! My classroom is starting to look like a classroom. I haven't been posting much, but hope to get back on the train once I have a day to think and catch up! It's been a busy week and a half! Below are a few pics of my classroom that I took today just so my mother could see them! She's been bugging me. :) I'll take more pictures on Wednesday night when it's all done and ready for the first day of school on Thursday! 

 View from my desk. 

My door so far. I'm gonna decorate my window with some fabric or wrapping paper just really haven't decided yet! 

Attendance and the agenda! 

Where they'll see their objectives! 

My desk. Pardon the mess. :) 

View from the door

Any suggestions or anything, comment below! 

With love, 

B 

August Currently and Lovin' Life!

Well, first I'll connect to the Currently for August! I'm so excited with life and everything going on, if I don't connect to it first, I'll probably forget. :)

I'm so excited about this one! It means school is starting soon!

Listening: Right now my country music pandora is on, while I SHOULD be cleaning house...but I had to take a break and catch up on the blogging world. :)

Loving: Yesterday was my FIRST day in my classroom, and it's my FIRST classroom since I'm a first year teacher this year...it was like walking into heaven. Ahhhhh! My family has said I've been like a little kid in a candy store recently. :)

Thinking: While yesterday was my first day in my classroom, it also let me realize, I HAVE TONS TO DO!

Wanting: I could use a new printer, but without a paycheck until September, I suppose things have to wait. 

Needing: To get off my  lazy butt and clean house. We're headed to my parents for the weekend, and then next week I'll be in my classroom all week, so it needs to get done TODAY.

B2S Must Haves: I'm a new teacher, so I need lots of things. :) Butttttttt, I changed it up a little and I need to be patient. I've learned that I really love sticky notes too. I use them for everything! And finally, I'm going to need chocolate...a lot of it. I'm sure. The nerves have already kicked in. Eeeeeeks!

Well, as you saw earlier, I spent my first day in my classroom yesterday. I also met the rest of the 7th grade team, and I had so much fun. I can't wait for the school year to begin because it's going to be a blast, I can already tell. My mentor teacher for the year is actually the 7th grade teacher before me. He's moving to PE for a few years before retiring. So I will have the support I need and I can always run to him if I need help! :D I CAN'T WAIT. 

I could just go on and on about my first day in my classroom, but I'm sure you've all been there. :)

With love, 

B