Christmas Chaos 2

Well, it's official! I'm on Christmas Break! I love my job and my first graders but oh boy am I glad to be able to spend the day in my pjs, no make up, watching sweet movies, cuddling with my pups, and not having to worry about grading papers, tying shoes, and dealing with the drama. :)

We had quite an eventful week at school with our Christmas Party, Polar Express Day, and Successful Student Day! We had so much fun and the kiddos were actually not too wild and loud. They did really well yesterday, our last day of school! Here are some pictures to wrap up our 2011 part of the year:

 Christmas Party 

 Enjoying the yummy penguin cupcakes my mom made!

 They began to hype up after the chocolate, chips, and cookies soaked in...

The Polar Express Day!

The first grade teachers blacked out a classroom, changed the door into a train, and had train tracks leading into the classroom. They had to give their ticket before entering. I vote pajama day everyday! 

After part of the movie, we went back to the room and had hot cocoa with marshmallows and candy canes. We had some tummy aches afterwards but they still drank every bit of it!

I just had to share one of my dirty santa gifts I got from one of the Christmas Parties I've been to this year. Yes, every teacher's dream! I am now actually looking forward to grading papers. ;) 

Blake and I had his parents' huge Christmas party this past weekend. I got to meet and mingle with lots of people. Best of all, I had a wonderful time and got to wear my fur! At first, I wasn't sure what people would think and then I realized, I was walking into a party of furs! I must say Blake did an excellent job and I received lots of compliments. Of course, we didn't take any pictures during the party, but I got one with me on the way to the party. I'm not really that white as a ghost. The flash from my iphone was awfully bright! :)

Enjoy this CHRISTmas season with your friends and families! I am so blessed in so many ways and could never think my heavenly father enough! He is abundant in his love and forgiveness.

Merry CHRISTmas!

Southern Love,
Tricia

Christmas Chaos 1

There is sooo much I want to do this month of December with my firsties but with the holiday hyperness, the extreme talkativeness, and craziness of the month we haven't gotten to everything I wanted too! They have slapped worn me out and I feel that not much has been accomplished. :(

Bless their hearts, I know they are excited about Christmas but only two more days! We've still got to pack in reading with qu and wh and math addition and 3D shapes! Ahh!! We can do it! We also need to work on Christmas gifts to parents and some more FUN Christmas activities! They are just six years and need to have some fun! Yes, I said fun! Move away state leaders and so so educational leaders who "think" they know about kiddos....we can learn by having fun!

Anyways, here are a few fun things we have done this month!

We did Cara Carroll's Mooseltoe Unit from the fabulous book! You can learn all about her unit from her amazing blog: www.thefirstgradeparade.blogspot.com!

We also have our special friend from the North Pole, Mario, who I'm sure is reporting every night to Santa about how much we are "trying" to learn and how much we are "actually" talking and giggling because we're so giddy about Christmas.




We've done some really cute writing activities about him that I got from another amazing blog: www.castleandcrayons.blogspot.com!

We also got to act out our special "ar" dates! Here is a video of two of my cute little firsties. I will post another one later...

On a side note, I have a new addition to my family. I found out on facebook that this cute little guy needed a home and he's quite a stinker. Don't let his cute looks fool you. ;) I just love him! He is a sweetie but loves to attack my feet and legs. He is a mess but he fits right into my little family. My maltese, Milo, is warming up to him and becoming a protective big brother. Blake is quite attached to this little fellow and is over all the time playing with him. He LOVES Blake! His name is "Augie!" Welcome to the family Wilford "Augie" Adams! I named him after my grandfather because he acts just like him!

Augie at 4 weeks old. First day home. :) 

Bonding time through sleeping.

Cuddling while mom works on grading papers. 

Augie is very stubborn. He was so determined to climb the couch that he passed out when he finally reached it! haha

Augie at 6 weeks and after his first visit to the vet! 

Thanks for hanging into this super long blog! I just had so much to share. We only have two days left before Christmas Break...Polar Express PJ day is tomorrow! I can't wait!!

Southern Love, 

Tricia

Tiny Dates and Speechless A!!!!

I am soooooo exhausted! I strongly believe in taking the entire month of December off and pick back up in January. My kiddos are too excited about Christmas to pay attention to me. :) So...I've started a new type of behavior plan. It's called the Punch Card Plan with a Shopping Catalog. I got the idea from another blog (I can't remember who to give credit but will try to find out) and so far it's been doing pretty good.

The kiddos have a punch card taped on their desk and as soon as they receive ten punches (hole punch moons) they get to go shopping in the prize catalog (that doesn't cost me a thing!). They can wear a hat for a day, have lunch with a buddy and talk the whole time, take their shoes off, show and tell, etc. Well, I will give a punch any time during the day and if I'm in a good mood or just ONE student is actually doing what I asked..they'll get two to three punches! I'm trying to encourage those kiddos who aren't so motivational to obey. I try to give each student at least one punch a day but sometimes...anyways...back to the story...

The most popular prize has been "eat with a buddy at lunch." We have a lunchroom policy where they have to eat for ten minutes in silent lunch and then they can talk. Well, if they choose to eat with a buddy at lunch, I let them sit at the next table over with one friend and they can talk the whole time. They LOVE it! Well, today, I noticed that these "buddy lunches" are becoming "tiny dates." I have a CUTE little student that reminds me of Tiny Tim and he wanted to eat lunch with another boy. Well, this other boy couldn't get it together and so Tiny Tim had to find someone else. He comes up to me and with a BIG GRIN tells me he would like this super cute little girl in my room to eat with him. It surprised me because usually they pick the same gender, but I said, "That's fine, but you will need to ask her." Not realizing that I am preparing him to be a gentleman, he goes over there and asks her to be his buddy for lunch. (I know! Cute!)

While eating lunch today, I looked over and their they were, sitting side by side, swinging those cute little legs, just chatting away at each other. It hit me that they were on a "tiny date" in the lunchroom! Tiny Tim was BEAMING from ear to ear because he had the girl of his dreams in first grade his undivided and full attention. He was just a smilin' and chatting away. It was the gosh darn cutest thing I have ever seen and I just smiled. He deserved it so much! I'm hoping more punch cards will continue to be filled!

My class has another tiny date tomorrow. My little prancer finally filled his punch card after three weeks! Praise the Lord! This afternoon, he chose to eat with a buddy, and he asked the new girl to join him for lunch tomorrow. I plan on snapping a picture. ;)

This week in reading we are learning about "ar" as in far, part, cart, etc. Well, I came up with a way to help them remember because they really struggle with these special vowel combinations, digraphs, and r-controlled vowels. I told them that a and r are dating in certain words. When they are side by side they are on a date and "a" becomes speechless but not r! He is so full of himself that all he wants to do is say his name. The kids were hilarious! I got a lot of ewws and awes and one girl even covered her ears because she couldn't stand them dating! I had a lot of giggles too but they were so cute. Of course, I really worked it in every word we did. I asked them, "Now in farm, is "ar" on a date? What happens when they're on a date in a word?" They did really well! They kept saying, "a is speechless! She's so in love!" I just love first grade!

We have DONE so many amazing things in first grade but just haven't had time to blog about it. I'm hoping to become better!

Southern Love,
Tricia

The Ultimate Party!

Thanks to Mariglenn (brother's girlfriend), I am officially hooked to Pinterest!!! It is soo addicting! It seems like lately if I have any free time (or avoiding grading papers) I am on Pinterest pinning away. Now, I know how people feel when they don't have their morning dose of coffee or caffeine. I'm constantly worried that I'm going to miss something if I'm not checking it on my macbook or my iphone. Yes, they have a free Pinterest app for the ipad and iphone or whatever awesome device you have!

I have discovered so many amazing recipes and cute craft ideas that I want to try on Pinterest, but once again I begin to think, when is the time for me to do this? I spend my time on Pinterest just pinning away because I don't want to miss what someone has pinned because I may like it! Haha...it is a new (bad?) but super fun addiction! Not to mention my life is already consumed with first grade, Mary Kay, Graduate School (Education Specialist Degree), and etc!

Okay, now to the point of this whole blog, while pinning away on Pinterest, I began to think about my friends who are also obsessed and pinning away as I speak about how we could all come together and bring our pinning expertise together. :)

I know a lot of people have Bunko Night...well....get ready for it....Pinning Night! or Pinterest Party Night! I'm still working on a super cute name, but is pretty much a party all about Pinterest. You would get a group of gals together once a month, like Bunko, and each gal or guy would host a party at her house at least one month out of the year.

At the party, the host would create appetizers or a meal just from her pinnings on her boards, for her guests to try, and (I know!) if guests love them, then they can go online and pin them! She could also already have recipe cards printed out (if time permits).

She would also let the gals know what items to bring to create the Pinterest Craft of the Month! It could relate to the theme of a month (Valentine, St. Patricks) or just be one that she really wants to try. The gals would be responsible for bringing their own materials or whatever the host decides to do. You could make it really cheap or budget for this party!

I see this as an AWESOME idea and I already have many gals that are ready to hang out once a month and Pinterest away! I would love suggestions or ideas to make Pinterest Parties even more awesome and amazing! I am definitely going to be pinning this to Pinterest to start a party trend.

I just thought this would be a great way for, especially busy gals, who never seem to have time to just sit down and do something for themselves and to of course...gossip...about the latest television shows and other interesting moments.

Let me know what you think! I would love to add to the list of ideas (a million) I have going through my head of making this party idea even better! :) I'm so stinkin' pumped!!! Now...back to pinning!

Southern Love,
Tricia