GIVEAWAY!!!

Soooo cool! Christina Bainbridge is having a giveaway! She is giving away a set of monthly check off sheets that are super cute.   Head on over to her blog post to leave a comment for a chance to enter. Follow her blog if your not already because she always has super cute stuff!  Good luck!

Oh, the joy of going back to school...

Don't you just love going back to a room in shambles??? Part of me actually does. I know, call me crazy, but there is something about completely revamping a classroom that gets me excited.  I've got so many great ideas for this school year I am a little overwhelmed. Here's what my room looked like yesterday, even after I had taken some boards down. Check back soon for beautiful versions in a few days. :) 

Our desk/small group area... soon to be listening station, computer station, and a teeny tiny teacher corner. 

This is the back wall of our class with those lovely, dark, plastic table cloth boards and the library underneath. This area will turn into out small group and writing station area. 

Here are the horribly stuffed bookcases behind our desk... in need of an overhaul! But where do we put all this stuff???

A view from the front door.

Ok... confession time!

I. Love. Paper! :) (Ok, I know they weren't really complete sentences, but it adds drama.) Every year, I spend nearly $100 on fadeless paper and redo my entire room. I've even tried plastic table cloths in the past which work...in moderation. Last year my husband helped me set up our classroom and we went a little overboard with the plastic table cloth idea.... epic fail. Last may, I even vowed to keep it up just incase I might possibly think about using it in the fall.

Wrong!

My job share partner and I have already decided to ditch the not-so-fantastic plastic in exchange for smaller, more meaningful boards. See, the problem is, I see wall to wall bulletin board and I have this obsessive compulsion to cover the entire thing. Why on earth has it taken me five years to figure this out?

While stalking my favorite blog Mrs. Bainbridge's Class, I recently came to the realization that in her classroom, although she has tons of pin board space, she outlines smaller board space to make neat, organized spaces for learning and reference. You mean I don't have to take out a loan at GW on Fadeless paper?

I'll let you know how it goes. I'm "going in" for the first time tomorrow.

Which leads me to a completely unrelated topic...

A new, but dear, friend of mine passed away after a five year battle with cancer.

She was a wonderful mom of two school-aged kids and was amazingly good at what she did. Arlene Silvestro, our Academic Program Leader, was one of the first people I met when I came to my new school last year. She instantly jumped into my classroom and helped at every request. She got to know me right away...and right away we hit it off. We had so much in common (babies, fertility issues, husbands jobs, teaching philosophies etc.) and when I found out she had cancer, and that it had come back, I was dumbfounded. How could this energetic, funny, fiery, spirited woman have cancer?

When I think of going back to work, although she was out most of the year for her treatment, I know that  it will just not be the same. My thoughts and prayers are with her family and the rest of our staff who really knew her and spent, in some cases, their entire careers with her. I am glad she is safe and healed in heaven. God must have really needed her, because a lot of us will be wondering how we will ever get along without her here on Earth.

God bless,

Lacie

Donors Choose

Check out my donors choose project page. We're qualified for 50% matching form Lakersore! Woohoo! Please donate if you can.

Too funny for words...

Just watch it. :)

My jump into Whole Brain Teaching...

I don't have time to post much right now. Sundays are always busy for me. Teaching Sunday School, church, lunch, the softball this evening. However, I finally followed my supernatural teaching instincts and looked up Whole Brain Teaching on the web. What in the heck have I been waiting for?!? And why in the world am I discovering this on my own? And why haven't some of my lovely colleagues tied me down and made me read this book? I, for one, plan on employing the WBT "Fair Use Agreement" and hope to reach out to plenty more teachers than the ten they require. The eBook is free, and a must read. Anyone out there using this with as much success and I anticipate? More to come!

Finally giving in...

Ok, so I admit it, I spend hours on end each week reading blogs. I guess that's not too surprising given that I'm on the life sucking "F" word (Facebook) for the same amount of time. I'm slowly going away - too much drama. I mostly frequent blogs of fellow teachers trying to find the next cure all for struggling students. Since I began teaching 2007, I've followed my teaching idol, Christina Bainbridge who now has her own blog that I can't seem to get enough of.  She has some of the cutest, most creative ideas, files, and saving graces!

So, like I said, I've been following her for some time and have a ton of her creations, some of which she is now selling on her partner website, The Teaching Oasis. The Teaching Oasis is a wonderful resource for all things primary. They make my little OCD heart go pitter patter. Right now she is having a flippy giveaway so head over there to check it out! (If you don't know what a flippy is - I just found out myself - check out her post.)

So anyway, this is my attempt to blog. I'd love to jump on the bandwagon... but I have to say, I'm usually an implementer rather than a creator of amazing teaching techniques. Stay tuned though I'm scouring the internet for long, lost Bainbridge twins.