How I Spent Day 1 of Winter Vacation...

I think teachers should get paid for at least 1 day of winter cleaning. I so want to begin my winter vacation (which includes Christmas shopping, cleaning my house, and planning and throwing a bachelorette party for my bff). But, my classroom is a disaster, and there is no way I am waiting till January to organize and take down Christmas.

My first order of business is to tackle my messy closet. I am fortunate enough to have some great therapists on my team, as well as two teaching assistants. But, that also means so many people are using my closet for storage. Without an organizational system, it didn't take long for my closet to end up like this...

I spent my first day of winter break cleaning and organizing everything! I found these great shoe box size storage boxes at the Dollar Tree (my fav)! I put a sticky note to label each box to make sorting stuff easier. 

Then, I emptied out the entire closet. My classroom was mess, but I needed everything out of the closet in order to get it in the shape I wanted it in. 

So far, this is what my closet looks like...

It still has a long ways to go and I still have a lot of stuff to put back into the closet, but I am so happy with everything so far! 

My next step is to label everything, so therapists and teaching assistants know where things belong. Wish me luck!

My Heart Belongs to my Cute Little Students...

One of my little students wore this shirt on the last day of the semester just for me! She was so excited to show me and all of the kids loved that my name was on her shirt!

Santa Visited Preschool!

Special thanks to my amazing dad for playing Santa the last day of school! It was a great way to end the semester!

So This is What Death Valley Feels Like...

A study that surveyed first year teachers illustrates their attitudes towards teaching throughout the year...

source

I didn't really feel like this reflected my first year at all, until last week, right before break. It was a very stressful week including a child bitting me (broke the skin and left a mark that has lasted over a week) and a child peeing on me (yes, it happened). So, this is what disillusionment feels like. If only the rejuvenation stage came a little sooner... do I really have to wait until March!?

My district has a great Professional Development Department and the workshops for first year teachers are amazing. The Professional Development Office sent me the greatest gift this last week...

What a great gift! This was just what I needed to get me though the last week of school!

Is it Christmas Break Yet?!?!

It's been cold and rainy this week and normally that would mean a lot of students would be absent. But, not this week. It seems like every student came to school, every day this week, and came with more energy than ever.

I have a smoke detector in my classroom with a red light. All month I have been telling the kids it is the Santa Cam and that Santa is watching their every move. This week, it isn't working. The kids are over it and could care less if Santa saw them running in the classroom, dumping out buckets of blocks, and biting their teacher (yes, it really happened).

Today after school, all I wanted to do was head home. But, instead I forced myself to drive across town (during rush hour) to check out the Scholastic book sale for teachers. I am soooo happy I went! Although there wasn't a huge selection of books, there were really great deals. I got $120 worth of books for $40! You can find the winter book sales for your city here. Be sure to print off the coupons too, I got 2 free hardcover books with mine!

Now, I'm snuggled up on my couch enjoying hot tea, my cute little Christmas tree, and cheesy Hallmark Christmas movies (my fav)!

These Are a Few of My Favorite Things...

Christmas is just around the corner (10 days... ekkkk)! Here are a few things on my Christmas list this year...

1) I REALLY want my 2 college diplomas framed. I think that 5 years worth of hard work and late nights deserve a pretty display. I know most people with a master's degree have it posted in their office. I don't really have an office to put mine up in (all 7 teachers in my school share an office with cubicles), but I think a nice frame will be better than the file they are currently sitting in!

2) I would love this ice tea maker. A coworker has one and brings it in on potluck days. It is so simple to use and the pitcher can fit in my refrigerator door. I love ice tea, and having this bad boy around will help me kick my diet coke habit.

3) I NEED a coffee maker and I would like a single serving one like this. I drink one cup of coffee every morning and usually have 2 a day on the weekends. Right now I don't have a coffee maker. Luckily, my parents live next door, so every morning I take my coffee cup over and steal myself a fresh cup. Lately, I've been trying to get to work early to get progress reports and such done, so the 'rents are still sleeping and the coffee pot is empty. I've resorted to Starbucks, which I LOVE, but really can't afford. So, my own coffee maker would be amazing!

4) I love change in my home and I get bored with the same decor all the time. I have found that a cheap way to change things up is to just change out duvet covers every so often. I love Ikea and have always had great luck with their duvet covers. Right now, I'm decorating with a very simplistic style and this gray duvet cover would look great in my room!

Little Photographers

One of my goals this year is to introduce my students to all forms of art. Often times, as teachers, I think we forget about art that doesn't somehow include construction paper, paint, glue, or scissors.

For this lesson I showed my little learners books with photography. I explained that photographers are artists, too. Then, throughout the week, each student was able to use my camera to take pictures of anything they thought was interesting, beautiful, or cool. I printed the pictures and made a great book for our school lobby.

The kids had so much fun being a photographer for a day. Their pictures encouraged a lot of conversations and the students love sharing their pictures with anyone who walks in the classroom door.

These are a few of my favorites. I love the interesting angles and shadows.