Five for Sunday (Just a little tardy!)

Ahhhhhh. The last few hours of Spring Break are ticking by. All morning I've been wanting to say to the clock: Can you pleeeeease move a little more slowly?!

While I made a commitment to truly resting and recovering from a tough few weeks at school before Break, I really did get a lot accomplished. Some of the "clutter" has been put away (or at least put out of sight!), laundry is finished, papers are sorted, and lesson planning is in progress. But, best of all, I feel (almost) "ready" to go back to school and enjoy being a teacher!

Here are some highlights of my week...

When I left school on Friday, I was practically shouting...Woooooo Hooooooo! On the way home, I stopped for some promised-to-myself ice cream and looked up at the sky. I feel so fortunate to live in a place that is beautiful almost all year long. Palm trees and sunshine and loveliness...

About that ice cream... Oh. My. GOODness! There may have been more than one of these "opportunities" during vacation. My new favorite treat is "sweet cream" ice cream with hot fudge sauce from Cold Stone Creamery. Dee.Lish.Ous. I took this picture on the first day of break when it was ninety degrees. I am a less-than-capable photographer, but I was determined to get a photo before the ice cream was completely melted! (And, in case you're wondering, it tasted just as good in this "format"!)

Yep, those are my pillows. For the first time in ages, I actually rested. I may need to define that a little more carefully. During the school week, I don't get a lot of sleep. Normally, I got to sleep between eleven and midnight, and by 4:30, my coffee cup is generally in my hand. There were a few mornings when I slept all the way to six o'clock (which felt like noon!) Not to mention the TV marathons and naps! And there was coffee (sometimes with whipped cream) just for fun--and not because I had to stay up to grade assignments, essays or tests! It was just lovely, and I am so glad I "scheduled" some unscheduled time!

It was so nice to be on vacation the week before Easter. Generally, Spring Break is not connected to Easter's place on the calendar. (I am old enough to remember that, when I was in school, we called this week "Easter Break" and banks and other businesses would close at noon on Good Friday). Fast forward several decades... There were several Easter events at Church this week. And while it was beautifully decorated inside, I am so glad I got a picture of the beauty outside the church too! The color of these flowers was even more brilliant in person. I've begun thinking that this shade of pink may have become my second favorite color (after purple, of course!) So many blessings!

 Despite the naps and the ice cream and the coffee-with-whipped-cream, I did get a lot done. I am almost ready for tomorrow! On the "menu" this week: Colonies (5th grade social studies), Mesopotamia (6th grade social studies), ratios, rates and percents (6th grade math), multiplying fractions (5th grade math) to find area, analyzing poetry and finding evidence to support and opinion/argument. I even remembered to make extra reading cards, bathroom  logs, behavior reports and the April seating chart! Yippee! I am suddenly feeling quite accomplished!

I am thrilled to have found some wonderful task card-makers on TpT, whom I also happen to enjoy as BlogFriends! Pictured (blurrily!) are Areas of Rectangles with Fractional Sides (Kate Bing Coners), Rate and Proportions--Pirates! (Amy Alvis) and Measurement Conversions in 5 Days (Teaching in Room 6). These teachers have made my week a lot easier! They are printed, cut, and bagged, and I plan on using them all!

As always, I am late to the party, but there are lots of interesting sagas to enjoy if you head on over to Doodle Bugs Teaching. Just click on the words you just read (Doodle Bugs Teaching) or the graphic above.

Whether your Spring Break is just a memory or if you are currently plotting your activities (and naps) for your vacation-which-lies-ahead, I am sending you sunny thoughts...

A Week of Kindness... Five for Friday!

Kindness. Isn't it a lovely word?

We try to recognize and celebrate kindness every day, all year long, at our school.

But a week just for kindness? A chance to start each day asking, specifically, What can YOU do to be kind today? What an awesome opportunity!

Heart paper from Surfin' Through Second HERE on TpT

I am linking up with Doodle Bugs Teaching to share about some of the kindness that has been celebrated around our campus this week as we participated in the Great Kindness Challenge!

I had the opportunity to meet Jill McManigal from Kids for Peace last year at a Character Education Workshop. My buddy, Barbara Gruener was there too--in full superhero garb! Drop by Barbara's blog, the Corner on Character HERE to read about the Great Kindness Challenge in Friendswood. And if you type "kindness" into the search box on Barbara's blog, you will need a second cup of coffee. I'm telling you: That blog is just filled with love and kindness and all things wonderful!

Jill is the perfect ambassador for The Great Kindness Challenge. Immediately after meeting her, I knew I wanted to join her in her desire to share the message that KINDNESS MATTERS! You can read more about the organization, Kids for Peace HERE, and about the Great Kindness challenge by clicking the picture below...

We emphasize one character trait each month through our character education program at our school. Then, any chance we get, teachers recognize when students demonstrate the identified trait and fill out a card commending the student. Knowing that The Great Kindness Challenge was coming, we chose Kindness as the word for January. An there were plenty of kind acts to celebrate this month!

Bucket Graphics by Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah Designs found HERE at TpT

 

At the beginning if this week, we brainstormed all of the possible acts of kindness we could accomplish--both at home and at school--during the week of the Great Kindness Challenge. The students worked in cooperative groups--but they were more than willing to share their ideas with other groups--such kindness! We made a bulletin board with some of our favorites.

 

On Wednesday, the Student Council members went to an assembly at the high school along with representatives from all of the other local elementary schools. It was yet another step in our Great Kindness Challenge! I couldn't get a substitute to cover my class while I accompanied my kids to the event. I shouldn't have worried; my principal quickly offered to attend the event with the kids. Such kindness! The Council members were excited to return with their Kindness Matters bracelets (Another gift from Kids for Peace!) and they had lots of new ideas for generating kindness at our school.

I am so fortunate to work at a school where character education is valued. Each month, the students decorate the doors to their classrooms with the character trait of the month. At the end of the month, the principal brings her "Character Sleuths" around the campus and they celebrate those classrooms that have participated. I love the recognition for kindness that is now displayed on our door!

The students in my room decorated our door with "mini lists" of the acts of kindness that they had accomplished throughout the week. (Some students had completed a lot more than ten!) I am having the best time reading them... enjoying their goodness and the way they express themselves. I am thinking it might be an act of kindness to let them know that "lended" is not a "common" word in English (although, statistically, we may be skewing the occurrence!) And I love their efforts to be kind to the lunch lady (Most said thank you--but a few added compliments!

frame by Ashley Hughes HERE in TpT

 

I just had to share this kindness that was sent in my direction. I have some wonderfully sweet and kind kiddos in my classroom this year. I almost cried when one of them handed me this (And I DID cry later when I read the precious note that he wrote!). Sigh. Such kindnesses are long remembered...

I'm starting to think of some more ways to recognize and celebrate kindness at our school. It really has made our classroom a happier place this week. Knowing Jill, she is probably already formulating plans for the Great Kindness Challenge for 2016!  It's a wonderful (and easy!) way to focus on increasing kind act, ending bullying, using kind words, and just recognizing the good in people. I hope you will check in when the activities are closer to finalized, and that you will join us next year!

In addition, you might want to check out Kids for Peace. There are lots of sweet ideas there too! (And you can read more about Jill). Just click on the link below to read more.

And, it's always fun to check in on Doodle Bugs' Five for Friday. Click below to return to the link-up.

Hoping your week ahead is filled with kindness!

Five for Friday... and RAIN!

WOW! What a week... Okay, I'll admit: I think I say that every week!

Today I am linking up with Kacey at Doodle Bugs for her Five for Friday linky party. I don't get myself organized for this link-up very often, but I always enjoy seeing what other people post. And today my little purple bloggy button will be in the mix!

Here's a peek at some things that happened in sixth grade during this week of February...

I think we are FINALLY getting the hang of fractions! I know, I know... This is a fourth grade skill. But we are slowly making progress (and I also have seven kids who are working on some advanced algebra skills). Despite our slow pace, I honestly think that fractions have become more "understandable" to more kids this year than any other year. Sometimes they say they "see" fractions (in a good way!). I hope to send them to middle school with better number sense and more confidence. And I think fractions and decimals provide the foundation for understanding and accessing many other math concepts.

I gave the test twice (with different problems) this week. By the second round, more than half of the students scored "proficient." It was a new class record! One of my kids (who really struggles with math) went from getting none right on the first test to answering seven out of eight correctly on the second test. I cried! Then she cried! Then we both had a great laugh. Sometimes teaching is truly JOYful!

The fourth of my five reading groups is finally getting comfortable with Book Clubs. After complaining (extensively!) that it was too hard and that the book was too confusing, they are slowly becoming comfortable with reading for meaning and discussing the text. This group was not used to the "analytical" part of reading; they just wanted to know what happened next (and how many pages to the end). How fun to drop in on their group and hear them asking each other questions and even challenging an answer now and then. One more group to add to the mix (hopefully, next week) and they will all be a part of a book study. Whew!

I love a happy accident. Somehow I ordered the same item from Really Good Stuff (which I call Really Great Stuff!) three times. (I really should LOOK before I hit "Submit"!) Now I have a collection of pencil baskets in the prettiest colors! Even if I never use them, I will just enjoy stacking them up and rearranging the colors!  I DO have plans for a few, but twenty-four? Maybe I could have a bloggy giveaway?!

I just LOVE the TpT sale! Although I have a store, I am far more interested in being a purchaser! I bought lots of great stuff... including Ashley Hughes' umbrellas... HERE at TpT. Even the sale banners were pretty! This one was made by friend, Zippy, at Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah Designs. She's another of my go-to clip artists. Check out her shop if you aren't familiar with her lovely work.

I'm so proud to be a part of the TpT community... and prouder still to know so many teachers who create and share such wonderful things. I'm guessing that TpT has saved me hundreds of hours--and I have been able to purchase lessons and activities that I wouldn't have thought to create even if I did have the time! I can't wait to try out some of my new purchases next week...

It rained on Thursday! Rain. I can hardly remember what it looks like, it has been so long. (This group of kids has heard the words, "California drought" more often than most classes through the years.) The rain didn't last, and it wasn't much, but it DID happen during recess. (Of course!) I brought my rain boots... and I didn't get to wear them because there were no puddles! 

I bought these boots for a trip to Canada several (and I mean several) years ago. They are my "adventure" shoes, but occasionally they are called into service when it rains... which is, well, seldom. At this rate, my rain boots will outlive me!

On Friday, it rained MORE! We are just not used to rain in our corner of the country! More than once, I saw the kids looking out the window, mesmerized. At one point, there was rain and wind. Several were convinced there would be a tornado. Or a hurricane. Or a tsunami. Not that it changed anything. Most of the boys were wearing shorts. Two of the girls had on short-sleeved shirts--and no jacket. And there was only one umbrella in the bunch... brought by a child new to the United States!

Somehow the rain was a nice ending to the day. It felt a little like it was polishing off the week and getting us ready for what lies ahead.

This weekend will be spent doing report cards and sorting through my TpT acquisitions from the sale (YIPPEE!). I hope that the weekend finds you well, with a chance to mix school thoughts with some relaxation.

Now check back into Doodle Bugs' linky. Better yet, let all of us know how YOUR week went...

Five for Friday (UN-linked)... and a Bear or Two...

Doodle Bugs Teaching is on hiatus... but my Five for Friday post (from last week) was already finished when I discovered that bit of information. So, I am posting this unlinked and alone... but with sweet thoughts toward Doodle Bugs just the same.

When I left off on my travel saga, we had left San Francisco to begin our camping adventure. Here's our sweet little tent...

 

We were camping in the southern Sierras, and the weather was cool and lovely. We even met a nice ranger who directed us to examine this...

And then we took a careful look at this...

Which would have all been nice precautionary information had the ranger not continued with a detailed description of the bear that had been in the campsite the previous evening, snuffling through the area and trying to remove the doors from cars in search of a late night snack.

Which meant I went to sleep with some "tools" right next to my sleeping bag...

Fortunately, the noise-makers remained unused, and we moved on to our next camping adventure... although I sort of felt like I was living a cause-and-effect essay!

Our next stop was a campground next to the Kern River. It was warmer, but not too hot. I was feeling more-than-proud when I put up the tent all by myself., (Of course, then I wanted to drive back to civilization and get ice cream!)

It was just beautiful sitting next to the river... {sigh}

Isn't that just lovely?! Of course, it wasn't long before the campground host came by to inform us that a bear had been spotted roaming the area...

Needless to say, I was already prepared! And, fortunately, we heard nothing but the peaceful sounds of the river and woke up to a gorgeous (bear-free) day!

 I brought some professional books (carefully enclosed in plastic bags, sandwiched between cardboard to keep the corners from getting bent... OCD anyone?) and I loved reading them in the quiet sunshine. It was heavenly!

And here's a little secret: I remembered that I had downloaded a movie on my iPad. And, just because I could, I watched it in the tent! FUN! (Does this contraband technology disqualify my adventure as "camping"?!)

I finished a novel too! If you haven't read The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie, it's a great book. This is the sequel, The Weed that Strings the Hangman's Bag, and it wasn't quite as good, but entertaining nonetheless. If you like mysteries, you'll love the adventures of Flavia de Luce, an eleven year old with a love of chemistry, disdain for her sisters, and an uncanny ability to put together details in order to determine the culprit in a murder in her little village in the English countryside.

The day after we got home I had to scurry back to school to finish cleaning my classroom. I know, I know, many of you are getting ready to go BACK to school, but I am always behind, so my classroom had remained semi-disastrous. (Don't I have the most forgiving principal and custodial staff on the planet? After all these years, I don't think they were even surprised to find I was the last one to check out...)

The first thing I saw when I walked into my room was one of the programs from our sixth grade promotion. I am still missing my last group of kids... I generally love September, but June often tears at my heart. And the chance for a Do-Over is always a good/bad thing about teaching!

And then it was time to start getting things in order. As I cleaned my classroom, I filled up my car with things to sort, clean and organize.

 

I love to go back to school with everything already washed and scrubbed and clean-smelling. I clean out my cupboards and drawers in advance so that I can return to my classroom and focus on the new year. I haven't tackled my library yet. That is always the hardest task for me to accomplish. And I have a lot of books to sort and label.

But, for now, I am still in summer mode... reading, planning and thinking--and enjoying it all.

I am sending you happy wishes for at least a little more summertime before you have to return to the classroom...