Back to Reality...

 

The vacation is coming to an end for many of us. It’s time to set our alarm, lay out our clothes, pack our lunches, grab our bags, and start working again. I know as teachers many of our friends have a million comments about our 2 week vacation ( or summer vacation at that) but  I know in my life I needed it.

Before the holiday I was beginning to have that burnt out feeling. We have all been there at some point, too many unfinished projects, too many things on the to do list for school and home, and not enough time in the day. I felt like I could go to bed as soon as I got home from work. I could not do that before the holiday because, well I had to many other things to do.

Fast forward 2 weeks later. I miss my class and am itching to get back into my routine of working. Granted this past week I have spent 8+ hours a day almost working on the computer. I have been updating, creating, and cleaning out so many things using technology. It has been so rewarding to finally have time to focus on my classroom in a way that I usually dream of focusing, but find there is not enough hours in my day.

Beau the Golden was so annoyed with me being home over the holiday. He groaned anytime I would move while he was sleeping. I am sure he will be very happy next week as his routine gets back to normal. He was such a fantastic helper however. He just sat patiently with his head on my lap while I worked. Occasionally he would however drop a toy in my lap to pay attention to him. I have some very funny photos to share with the students.

You see Beau is my dog. I have had Beau since he was 10 weeks old. In a previous blog I talked about how he brought much happiness to me when I moved across the United States away from my friends and family. I always share the silly antics of Beau because not every student has the privilege of having a dog. We often do writing prompts with his many expressions. The stories the kids come up with are great. I did it once just to see and well it snowballed from there. This Christmas I did not only receive gifts from my students, but so did Beau. None of my students have actually met him in person. They have seen him in the yard as the bus goes by, but he is a little hyper so I would not want him to accidently scratch anyone. We are working on manners right now. He is learning. =).

This school year is different than the 2 I have taught previously. This year I am in a new grade level and I am planning a wedding. Sounds stressful enough? Well, I have many of the same kiddos from when I taught 2^nd grade last year, so that means many of the holiday activities I have that are not grade specific ( like my fancy ornaments) are out the window because they already did the activity. This vacation I began following many new blogs and found some really great activities and ideas that I will be implementing into my classroom. I cannot wait to share with the teacher community and with my students.

Thanks you for your support as always,

Miss Stetson

Vinyl in the Classroom

9 DAYS UNTIL SCHOOL STARTS! 

The countdown has officially begun. I am now in a mad rush to finish many little's before the school year begins. I need to label folders, clean my piles, make copies, and look over what I will be doing in the near future in my curriculum. Today, I decided to not go to my room and do what I enjoy most, yet rarely make time to do. That is to make something with my Cricut. 

I have owned my machine for 6 years now. When I received it as a gift from my family I thought I would use it more often in my classroom.  Little things like this is calming and almost therapeutic. So, with stress rising to the quickly approaching school year, I need some relaxing moments. 

I made 2 things that will help my students and myself be a little more organized. This took me about an hour to complete. Took me about an hour to clean up the mess I made in my office. Beau the Golden wanted to help. 

The font used for both projects was a free font I found on TPT. The name of the font is Melonheadz. If you enjoyed the font click on this link ---> Melonheadz Font

Box Top Jar

I had a 6 jar display that I have lost 2 of the jars. This happens when the moving truck monster eats random things. I could never find the other two jars and they have been sitting in my "craft room" for two years. Today I decided I needed a fancy BOX TOP jar. Like most schools we collect box tops. I usually throw them in a bag, loose the bag, and have random box tops laying in my desk. This year I am going to encourage and acknowledge in my newsletter anyone donating BOX TOPS. I am hoping this will encourage parents to send them in. I used gold vinyl because it made me think of money. Box Tops = Money. 

The 2nd project I completed was the 10 drawer unit. I made the letters 2 in tall and they seemed to fit just right. I had a few letters that got deformed while cutting because Beau the Golden was curious. I fixed them, but I still do notice the abnormality. 

This here was my pride and joy project for the day. This is a nice compact way to store supplies. The students do not keep scissors or glue in their desk because we do switch classes for reading and I would run out quicker. This is a great way for the community supplies to be stored away and pulled out when needed I am looking forward to seeing this in my classroom tomorrow. 

Thanks so much, 

Miss Stetson

Life with a Golden

When B and I purchased our home we decided we needed an addition to our family. We researched many different breeds and decided that the Golden Retriever was the breed for us.

2 years later and we are still laughing every night at the antics of Beau. He is the silliest puppy I have ever met. His personality is like none other.

Beau enjoys soaking up the sun while I work in my garden. One of the most rewarding hobbies I have is to garden and can my food. Beau always enjoys supervising my working skills. He always enjoys stealing a stick or two to play with.

While supervising sometimes he decides watching me is to much work. He often takes naps on the hammock B made in Honduras. The fence in the background B made to keep our sweet Golden out. He does love to dig. 

In my classroom and in conversation I will admit I love to talk about our puppy. He does bring lots of laughter with throwing himself against the side of furniture to tell us he needs out to running full speed for a piece of cheese. He is such a loving breed of dog and I foresee maybe convincing B to getting him a sister Golden soon.