My "Office"

I rearranged the desks this weekend to be in groups of three all facing the front (flag). Door reads: First Grade is Awesome!

Our Chicka Chicka Boom Boom Alphabet tree. They wrote the letters on the coconuts and glued them on.  "A told B and B told C, 'I'll meet you at the top of the coconut tree.Chicka chicka boom boom, will there be enough room?"

They earn Tiger Bucks when they are good. They can get them from me or any other teacher in the school. Related arts teachers give $2 Tiger Bucks and the principal gives $5 Tiger Bucks. They can spend them in the ROAR store once a month. ROAR stands for Respect, On Time/On Task, Always Safe, Responsible

I'll let the pictures speak for themselves. Keep in mind that I did all this--bulletin boards, posters, desk and table arrangements, built the easel from scratch, etc.--in one week while also attending professional development meetings for several hours during each of those days.


I'm still feeling a little overwhelmed, but starting to get a handle on things. I'd show my kids, but you know, privacy and all that.

First Day of School

We are starting the second week of school already. These are the traditional first day photos. Hard to believe that it's M's last year to have one taken. Sigh...
Look at the table behind M. I designed it and made it all by myself, using the wood we took down from the ceiling beams. Reduce, reuse, recycle!

Belated Birthday

We actually celebrated Smarty's birthday before she went back to school, but I planned on putting up a picture for the actual day. Of course I have been busy, busy, busy and missed it. So here she is with the water bottle M gave her. C gave her a mini-succulent garden in a pot. We are trying to give her a washer and dryer, but it's hard working out the logistics and figuring out exactly what she wants.

She started back to school on Thursday. So far it sounds okay. She changed rooms in her apartment and spent a few days painting and decorating. Speaking of decorating, I have some phone pics of my classroom that I'll try to put up soon.

***After I first posted this I noticed the print behind S. It looks like she has mouse ears or an elaborate hat! Haha!!

Back to School

Just a quick note to let everyone know I am heading back to school, at least for this next semester. I will be teaching first grade. I hope it leads to something more permanent.

An Honest Day's Work

Summer days tend to get filled up with the kinds of things that you can't even remember by bedtime. I often find myself wondering, "Did I do anything today?"

At least some people in my family are getting things done. Here you can see Mr. C keeping the grass in line. (Those of you in Indiana, there is still grass out there that needs mowing.)

And here is Hubby demolishing the wall between the living room and foyer. It is much more open now. I wanted to show the wallpaper that has been painted over. You can see how there were two different patterns in the foyer.

Here is a close-up of the downstairs pattern. Words fail me.

Portraits

I wanted to get some portraits of the kids while Smarty was home for the summer. The days keep passing and I keep putting it off. Or the girls are never home at the same time for a group shot. I have about two weeks left to try.

My Summer Vacation

I feel like Charlie Brown writing that title. Actually I've got pictures of the kids on vacation to share, so I should have called it My Kids' Summer Vacation.

Aren't they cute? Once I got home I realized just how many pictures of the bridge I took. Lots!

Mr. C got in this picture and put his hand in the empty hole. When we were looking at the pictures at home he said, "See this guy next to me? He's my right-hand man!" and then he laughed like a hyena. Funny guy!

We found an English phone box. There was a pay phone inside, but no dial tone. Of course we had to take a picture. You know how my kids are about anything British.

We crossed this suspension bridge wearing a safety harness. My camera strap was stuck inside the harness and I couldn't pick it up to take pictures. So I quite literally shot some from the hip. Most of them turned out pretty good.

Here comes Mr. C down the zip-line. We all did this and it was really fun.

Since we've been home I've seen a couple of good movies. My taste in movies tends to veer away from mainstream, so I don't want you to take this as an endorsement to see these. But you might like them. The girls and I went to see Moonrise Kingdom. S and I liked it and thought it was funny, quirky, and cute. M thought it was a waste of money. In all fairness, M hates to go to the movies and has a hard time sitting all the way through videos at home. I was also pleased to see that Netflix has The Black Balloon available again. I saw it awhile back and wanted to watch it again, but it wasn't on the list. Then it magically reappeared yesterday. I don't know why I like this movie so much, but I do. It is a coming of age story about a boy who has an older brother with autism and ADD. Not really for younger kids. Speaking of movies, I did get to The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel and really enjoyed it. I love Judi Dench and just about everything she is in.
Isn't summer great?