Room Mom Gifts

We had some great room moms and volunteers this school year! We wanted to show them our appreciation and decided to give them a little heart felt gift. In the past, I have given my room mom a canvas tote bag and I decorated it by using the student's thumb prints to make butterflies, bumble bees, and lady bugs. This year I decided to use flesh colored paint and use sharpies to add each child's eye color and hair color. I also added glasses or freckles if the child had either. I tried to put some of the girls hair styles as pony tails. Each student's name is under their thumb print. We are having our class end of the year party on Monday and we plan to give our gifts to our room moms then. Only 4 more days of school with our kinders and then one work day and then it is time for our annual BEACH trip!! Woo hoo!!

Count Your Blessings

Last week, the beautiful state of Alabama was devastated by several tornadoes. The storms were the most fierce in history. One of the tornadoes, which was over a mile wide, stayed on the ground from Tuscaloosa to somewhere in Georgia. The death toll is over 250 in just Alabama (other parts of the south were affected, too) and there are still hundreds missing. Many schools will be closed until further notice. The University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa cancelled finals and postponed graduation until August. High schools, middles schools, and elementary school students are being bused to other schools. Thousands of people lost EVERYTHING in several towns. Tuscaloosa, Cullman, Pleasant Grove, Pratt City, Concord, are just a few.

We live about 20 miles south of Birmingham. Our area was not hit. Shelby County schools were let out at noon on the day of the storms. Families in this area spent most of the afternoon and evening in their safe places glued to radios and televisions. Now, grandparents, parents, aunts, uncles, brothers, sisters, children, etc. are trying to pick up the pieces and salvage even the smallest trinket that they can find among what looks like toothpicks but is really their beloved homes.

The outpouring of love and support is the one bright spot in this tragedy. People from all over the country have come together to help people dig through rubble, get much needed supplies, and find places to sleep. Can you imagine what it would be like to not even own a toothbrush anymore? I know I can't! But, this is exactly what thousands of people are going through right now.

Our school is doing a "Fill My Bucket" project. One of our teachers got "Home Depot" to donate enough 5 gallon buckets for each class. The students are bringing in supplies to send to these people in need. Many organizations are filling 18 wheelers with everything from diapers to work gloves. Some of our stores are out of or running low on bottled water and the such. Which is WONDERFUL! Facebook is full of opportunities to volunteer. Tickers are going across the bottom of the tv with information on where to take your donations, locations of shelters, and the like. It does your heart good to see everyone pitch it!

So, when you eat your dinner tonight, brush your teeth, and snuggle into your warm comfy bed, count your blessings, even the smallest ones! HUGS TO EVERYONE!!

Kindergarten Crayons is having this awesome giveaway! We just love all of Fran's great ideas! Hop on over and check out the details! You will be glad you did!

CRAZY!!!

It has been FOREVER since I have posted anything! Just haven't come up with anything blog worthy lately. We have been using a lot of everyone's awesome ideas in our classroom. Thank you all for sharing!

Today was our 150th day of school! Yes, only 30 more school days left in the school year. Can you believe it? Seems like it was just last week that all those little 5 (a few 4) year old babies walked into our classroom for the very first time. We could not be more proud of the progress they have all made.

This time of the school year is B.U.S.Y.!!! And that really is an understatement. Our school has so much going on right now. Here is a list of some of the happenings that make our lives a little more crazed right now:

Boosterthon Fun Run ~ if you aren't familiar with this, it is a HUGE fundraiser that 100s of school across the Southeast participate in. It all starts with a very LOUD and fast paced "pep rally". There is music pumping, beach balls bouncing, frisbee's flying, and kids screaming. The guys that work for Boosterthon show the kids all the prizes they could win by getting people to pledge an amount per lap that they run. Then they give all the students a lanyard with their pledge booklet attached. The students come out of the gym so hyped up and thinking that they are going to win all the prizes. Then everyday until the actual fun run (which isn't until next Thursday) a Boosterthon representative comes into your classroom and gives out prizes to the kids that brought in new pledges. You can imagine how the kids that don't have pledges feel when they don't get to take home silly bandz or a foam rocket. It is a big money maker for the school and each teacher gets 10% of what their class raises. The kids are in a frenzy over it!!

School-Wide Art Show ~ Each child has art work hanging in the hall that they completed in art class and the school is opened for the families to stroll through and see the art. That is tomorrow night.

Children's Theater Field Trip ~ We will be going to see "Beauty and the Beast".

Field Day ~ Kindergarteners really don't have any idea what to expect on this day. We have lots of water stations. There is also a lovely station where the kids pull their teacher in a plastic sled. I used to always get paired with a size 0 teacher to race. SO. NOT. FAIR! We get to enjoy this day next month.

Those are just a few of the distractions we are dealing with. And there are only 30 more days to finish teaching, make Mother's Day gifts, do assessments,fill out end of the year paperwork, etc! Starting to feel a little bit overwhelmed....

Ten Things I Have Learned from Teaching

Here are my (Tanya's) 10 Things I Have Learned about Teaching!

1. It is OK to get super excited when the school supplies start appearing on the shelves at Walmart!!!

2. Even the worst days in the classroom are better than the best days in the office!

3. Laughing from your gut every day for some reason or another IS GOOD MEDICINE!!!

4. The child who is the worst behaved is NEVER absent!!!!

5. You are never REALLY immune from all the bugs and sickness!!!!

6. Sometimes you are the only positive thing in a child's life!!!!

7. Be appreciative of all the people who make your job easier - the custodians, the maintenance worker, and in my case, administrators!

8. There is a crayon monster in the classroom that mysteriously steals crayons and/or eats them down to the nub!!!

9. Having your children dance for you will tell you a lot!!!

10. Even though I do not get paid what I feel teachers are worth, I would not change jobs for anything in the world!!!

Ten Things I've Learned From Teaching

Rowdy in First Grade is hosting a linky party! I have loved reading the lists that have joined the party so far! All of them are soooo true!

Ten Things I Have Learned From Teaching..

1. Sometimes, after that first parent-teacher conference, you get the saying, "You understand the jell-o after meeting the mold" very well!

2. Often, it is impossible to hold in a laugh. No matter how inappropriate the behavior was that caused the giggle.

3. People hold teachers to higher standards when it comes to grammar, spelling, speaking, etc. I know that this should be the case most times but, sometimes you just gotta take off the teaching hat and let loose! I yelled out, "You was robbed!" at my son's baseball game referring to a player that was sooooo safe at home and called out. I did it to lighten the mood and make the player laugh. I got a little slap on the wrist from someone because I was a teacher and used bad grammar. WHATEVER!!

4. Nothing melts my heart more than when the shyest little one in the class finally takes my hand while walking down the hall or tells me, "I love you, Mrs. Hutter!"

5. You can learn a lot about a student from reading their writing journal.

6. It never ceases to amaze me when parents say, "I can't believe you can get him/her to read, follow directions, sit still, behave, etc. They won't do that for me at home." That usually translates into "My child is the boss at our house."

7. You never know exactly how much you influence a child for the rest of their lives. The babies that come into our classroom everyday are only 5 and 6 years old but, even the smallest thing I say can stay with them forever. There are times when I wish I could take back a look I gave or a word I spoke too quickly.

8. It breaks my heart when a former student stops waving their hand off at me or stops getting out of line for a hug when they see me in the hall, lunchroom, etc. Since I teach kindergarten, the crazy waving and hug stealing last while the students are in first grade but by the time they hit third grade, I sometimes get a hand flipped up quickly as an acknowledgment. Although, this never happens with the ones that made me want to beat my head against the wall while they were in my class. Those are the ones that nearly tackle me for attention!

9. My job is FUN!!! It is my hobby, my passion, and I believe I was truly called to teach. I think I would do it even if I didn't get my poor little pitiful paycheck at the end of each month. (My husband wouldn't be too thrilled about that, though!)

10. Nothing beats the feeling of sharing a big "a-ha" moment with a child. The look on their face when he/she realizes that they can do something is PRICELESS!

Help Wanted!! I need some ideas!!

For the next two weeks, we will be doing our farm unit. I purchased several packs of the "Grow a Farm Animal" capsules a couple of months ago from Target's Dollar Bins. I remembered reading something on someone's blog about using these kinds of capsules in math and graphing their growth. Who was that???!!!! Also, does anyone else have some ideas on how to use them?? PLEASE SHARE!! Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated and I will take pictures and let everyone know how things worked out. THANK YOU!!