Where O Where For Art Thou Summer???

Wondering why this has gone away??? Seems like we basically had ONE WEEK of summer in southern cali this year! I was really hoping for a day by the pool! Bummer!!!

Gearing Up for The New School Year

Last year I put together a "binder" for my first graders and called them a HORSE: Happy Organized, Ready, Students, Everyday (thanks to a teacher I found at www.bainbridgeclass.com). This year I fell in love with an owl fabric and bulletin board border that naturally caused me tospend a week revamping this HORSE and morphing it into an OWL (because I can't do anything the easy way)! It took a lot of time, and a few pieces I made and threw out, but I LOVE end result! Take a look!!

Organized Willing Learners

Here is the cover:

This is where students will put all their work and school information that needs to be sent home to parents. I refer to it as a "Hoot Pocket".

This is a plastic pencil pouch. I will refer to this pouch as a "nest". On the top I have placed a label instructing students to keep their lunch money and other items in this pouch so that their OWL can help them get the items safely to school. (Ignore the page you can see through underneath)

These here are the rules for the care and keeping of the OWL. I copied them directly from Mrs. Bainbridge's site.

Next, I copied spelling activities on the back of the rules page to explain the process of spelling homework each week. It is called "Spellers Choice" because students are allowed to select from these activities to complete their homework each night.

This is a section that I found to be tremendously helpful last year. I included lined paper to serve as a communication corner for parents and myself. Each morning the students know they have to check their OWL to see if there are any important notes that their parents have written to me. If their are they are place their OWL in the "for my teacher" box in the back of the room! It is called "Hoot -n- Holler".

Here is a calendar I use to grade students homework. There is one box for each week of school. If a student completes his or her homework I will place a sticker in the box for that week.

The back of the OWL holds the students homework packets and includes a list of all the first grade sight words for parents to use!

Now I can check one back to school "To DO" off my list!!!

And Puppy Makes Three!

Meet the new Princess in our house LUCY!! We love her so much already!!! We are so excited to get her settled in, and all her shots so we take her out and show her the world!!!

Playing with my new baby Grammy got me!!

Life as a puppy is tough! I pretty much did this all day long!!!

Open House

For the last month (and maybe a little more) my First Graders and I have been turning our classroom into a miniature rain forest for Open House! What a different experience than sixth grade. Needless to say my parents were very impressed, and the kids were over the moon with excitement. All in all, I would say the night was a success, I am glad it is over, I have learned exactly what I will do and won't do for next year, and it was all TOTALLY worth it!!! Here are a few pictures I snapped before the night began!!!

I had A LOT of help with these hats!! And I mean A LOT! They are made 100% out of newspaper that was spray painted, but the kids put them on their heads as they lead their parents around the classroom!!!

These little Safari Guides were my favorite. This was the best one. They were all wonderful, very first grade, but I am so glad I decided to throw them in last minute! Thanks Julie!!!

A Rainy Day Project

So I was doing some blog surfing yesterday and I came across this amazing blog, love from texas, and I decided to copy a project!

Jessica originally borrowed this little idea from Southern Living Magazine.

And turned it into this:

And after putting my own spin on it I was able to come up with this:

Soo much fun!!! I am still trying to figure out the best spot to display this little piece, and I am debating maybe adding a little extra detail to the edges with a piece of paisley scrapbooking paper!!! Still a work in progress, but I love it!!!

A Tribute to the Judds...

Just rediscovered my long lost love for this goodie of an album:

I couldn't even begin to put a number to the countless hours I spent locked in the bedrooms of my "youth" singing these songs to myself. And by singing I mean full on rocking out!! I truly was a country girl. It strikes me to listen to the lyrics today. As I familiarize myself with them again I am reminded of how much these songs took me on a journey through the worlds I hoped to one day call my future. A future filled with both love and broken hearts. Back then that "future" seemed to be filled with so much hope, promise, and stories that were yet to be written. Although I am pleased to say my life today is still filled with just as much hope (if not more) I can't help but thank God for both the parts of the songs I have experienced, and the ones I never had too!!!

So thank you Naomi and Wynonna!!! Thank you for being a part of creating the memories of my childhood, for teaching me to dream, and for making each and every Christmas absolutely perfect!!!