WOW! Finally Back and Adding On

I just realized that it's been just over 3 weeks since I have posted to my blog. I'm not even sure where the time has gone but I do know that I'm exhausted. Starting Monday, I am a co-teach class. My new roommate starts on Monday. We finally got to meet Friday after school. I thought it might be a good idea instead of her walking in cold on Monday. I think we are going to get along great. I think she's just happy to have a home school as this will be her 4th school since school started in August. We will share 25 children, 21 K students and 4 First graders. I'm really excited to start this new venture. I tend to be more creative and venturous when there is someone there to help. I was also able to adjust my schedule so that my 5 speech kids weren't missing math during the week. Things are starting to look up. Now hopefully, I will be able to keep up here.

4 Weeks Later...

So, I am finishing up my fourth week of kindergarten and I am still exhausted! I have finally finished FAIR testing but now have to finish FLKRS. ugh It's ridiculous that we have to spend the first month or so of school doing nothing but assessing. My class this year is pretty tough and immature. I feel like I am fighting for control all day long. They love the attention getters but the attention only lasts a brief moment and then it's gone. Really thinking I could use a Ritalin salt lick in the room. lol I really feel bad for the 3 or 4 mature students who would like to move on and not have to review the rules all day long. All they want to do is play all day. I've gotten to the point that free choice centers are at the end of the day and only if we are able to complete all our lessons. I've explained to them if they use my teaching time with talking and interrupting then we'll have to use our free choice time to finish our work. Does anyone have any suggestions for immature classes?

Today my friend, Tara from 4th Grade Folics came to the classroom for Book Buddies. Her kids were paired up with my kiddos. It went great as the one thing my kids love, is to be read to. We are planning on doing it every 2 weeks when we don't get specials (due to budget cuts). It was nice to finally have a break where I was free to walk around and take pictures.

First Week and an Oops!

Well, the first week is over and I survived. Monday we had parent meetings. There were 4 different meetings and parents were able to come to the classroom in small groups at an assigned meeting time to go through a kind of parent orientation. I went over my rules, routines, school procedures, what to expect, etc, etc. Tuesday and Wednesday I had 1/2 hour appointments with each child to screen them so that I know what they are coming in with academically. I always go over the information with the parent afterward so that they know how their child did and where we will go from here. As usual I have one who doesn't know the difference between a letter and a number as well as a couple who are already reading. The screening gives me an idea of where to start with each child. It also provides me with a tool to show growth over the next couple months.
Thursday I had 9 kids and Friday I had 7 kids (2 didn't show up due to being out of town). We are fortunate to have this staggered entrance so that we can go over rules, routines and the cafeteria in small groups. It is definitely like herding cats. I'm nervous to see what Monday will bring. I've already spotted certain behaviors that will have to be curtailed and yes, I even had to use my ugly voice.
Now, let me just say that by Friday afternoon I was thoroughly exhausted and the day seemed really long. I have one little guy who has never been to preschool or even left with anyone other than mom. He spent all of his free choice time walking around the table. I finally got him to sit briefly and draw a picture (scribble since he's never used crayons before). When he was done he got up and walked around the table some more then came and told me that his mother was waiting for him. I assured him that we only had a little while more. When I called for the kids to clean up he was the first to grab his lunchbox and was ready to head out the door. We went through the routine of getting our backpacks, putting our STAR folder in our backpacks, making sure our chairs were pushed in and our seats were neat. I explained where everybody was going to go (parent pickup in the hall, bus and YMCA kids with me). I had a couple that just couldn't get through their heads that they were NOT getting on the bus but going to YMCA after we dropped the one child off at his bus. Anyway, I put the parent pickup kids name hats on them and took them to the hallway and sat them down. I just couldn't figure out why no one else was heading out yet and then it hit me. I was an hour early! So feeling stupid but explaining that even teachers make mistakes, I sent them back in and let them go play at stations. They were thrilled. Maybe by next week I'll learn how to tell time. lol Well, at least I made it through the first week. Only 175 more days of school..haha

Open House and Finishing Classroom

Well, tonight was Open House. I had 10 out of 18 families show up in addition to even more former students and their families. It's going to be an interesting year. Still hard to see how it will all fit together. The boys seemed to get along very well playing with the Legos together. My room finally started coming together right at the end of the day and right before the parents arrived. My closet on the other hand now needs help since I stuffed a lot of the mess in there for the time being.

These are my book buddy bags hanging on the stand that my wonderful hubby made for me.

My writing center, my hubby built the table years ago so that one side is chalkboard and the other side is dry erase. The table top lifts up and flips over to change.

Calendar and group activity area, my hubby built the chair too.

View from across the room.

I gave a bag to each new student that came for Open House.

Another view, hubby built the listening center table as well.

Arrrgggghhhh

Oh my goodness, I'm soooo exhausted that I started nodding off tonight during youth group at church. Even as I sit here writing this, I'm nodding off so this should be short.
I have so much to do and tomorrow night is Open House. My custodian walked in today and asked if I was done. I seriously thought she was joking since it was very obvious that I was anything but ready. Then she preceded to tell me that I couldn't put things here or there. I basically told her too bad, they were staying where I put them. Tomorrow there are no meetings so I'm planning on cranking up my music and busting it out. I think right now I'm on complete overload. Hopefully tomorrow I will be able to finish taking pictures and post them on here. In the meantime, I'm heading to bed for a fresh start tomorrow.

Here we go!

Well, tomorrow I officially go back to work. I've been working on and off in my room for 2 weeks but tomorrow it's official. In one aspect I dread the end of summer but on the other side I look forward to a new group of kids and a much needed paycheck. Today my wonderful hubby and I spent about 4 1/2 hours building a stand for my Book Buddy Bags. For years I have kept them in bins but they were hard to see so I wanted a stand to display them on. My husband was in construction for years before he became a computer tech so he's a VERY handy man to have around. He's always been great about building things for my classroom as long as I draw a picture of what I want. I must say I was thinking really simple but he made it so much better. The book bags get very heavy so I knew I wanted something sturdy that would last. Luckily, we had some purple heart wood in the garage that had been sitting untouched for years. I love exotic woods and this is a very hard iron wood.

This is the base of the stand. Unfortunately it's too big to fit in my suv so hubby will have to bring it to me after he's done at his school tomorrow.

This is the final product. The dowels are just regular pine. I can't wait to finally have all my book bags hanging on it. I will post a pic when I finally get it in my room.

Back to School What's for Dinner?

Well, I've come across 2 linky parties asking for recipes for things you cook on a busy schedule. Growing Kinders and Clutter Free Classroom are each hosting one. I thought, "Now that's what I need!" So to add to the list I thought I would add my easy go to recipe. I'm not sure that it is exactly a precise recipe as I tend to fall more into the add a little of this or little of that kind of cooking. My family loves it when I experiment. My crock pot is definitely my best friend in the kitchen. There are no exact measurements as I usually throw in what I have.

Southwest Chicken Soup
Boneless skinless chicken breasts (1 per person is about what I plan for)
1 T. chopped garlic
1 cup salsa (whatever your favorite is)
salt and pepper
1/2 cup water
Cover and put on low for 5-6 hours. Shred chicken and put back in pot.
Add
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 can corn drained
1 carton or can of chicken stock (amount depends on how much chicken)
1 can crushed tomatoes
1 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp cumin
Cover and cook for another hour.

You can serve with sour cream and shredded cheese or rice if you would like. All amounts can be adjusted to your personal taste. Like I said, there is a lot of throwing this and that in when I cook. Time is also flexible. I put this on in the morning before I leave and then come home and add the final ingredients and let it finish.