My little Wicket

Since a baby was out of the question, a puppy was the next best thing! Meet my baby Wicket! He is just a doll! He lets me bathe him, brush him, dress him, and (most of all) smother him with lots of love!
After a crazy day with my fabulous firsties, there is nothing better to come to than a wagging tail and sloppy kisses! Who knew that such a little fellow could have such a big personality!

During the holidays my students shared Elf on The Shelf stories; I shared Wicket stories. We'll just say he has a knack for stealing socks and underwear!
My husbands boxers are quite large compared to this little Yorkie. So to see Wicket tearing through the house at full speed with a pair was quite the show!

Wicket has also developed a love for plastic Easter Eggs! Who knew?!

Anticipation

Ok, this is killing me!!! I just watch the electoral votes slowly creep up!

I'm on the edge of my seat! I have watched this election cycle for Months!

I'm so thankful to live and work in a country where we can exercise our right to vote.

The USA rocks!!! No place like home!

Getting Rid Of The Old and Beginning With The New

Guess what?

Guess....

I got rid of my teacher desk. 

Yes.

I know.  I know.  I busted my butt  for 4 years to earn that desk.  And then I tossed it.

Yep.

I did it!

Mr. Shawn (our wonderful custodian) hauled it away under one condition:  I could never ask to have it back. 

It's a done deal. 

Now we have space for something way cooler than a teacher desk!

I have two super cute over sized chairs at home that no one uses.
So,   I announced to my hubby that I was taking one of "my" chairs to school.
(The other one will make it eventually!)

I can't wait to get it there!  I want to create a super cozy reading nook-coffee house style. ;)
It will be so nice to have a comfy place for me the kids to sit and grade papers read.   




My firsties and I have set out on our very first writer's workshop! (Let's Write About It: Halloween)

I know, I know, I really should have gone ahead and started with Thanksgiving!

I'm doing the best I can! ;)

It has been FABULOUS!
We've made it through our brainstorming bubble map and idea organizer.
Monday we begin our rough draft!
I hope by Friday that our final drafts are complete.

Then I'll give them some time off before we tackle Thanksgiving.

The kids are so excited about writing like "big kids."

I'll post pics of our finished product ASAP!

Meanwhile I have more goodies to share! Check it all out at my TPT Store!

Make N Stuff Guilt Free

Hey all! Hope you have enjoyed your weekend!

I've been a busy bee creating some fun center activities for my classroom! 

The greatest thing I have done yet (as far as blog world and TPT) is to create a TPT store!

 Check It Out!

Let me just say that I get so excited to see how many times my freebies are downloaded! 

But more than that, because I can share my ideas via my precocious  precious firsties and TPT, my hubby doesn't fuss about how much time I spend back here making stuff!  Slap a $1 on whatever it is and all of my guilt is gone!

(Who am I kidding? I don't feel guilty at all!)

I want to SHOUT from the roof tops how incredibly blessed I am!  From my awesome family, to my undies, I am so THANKFUL! 

God is good.  If there is anything in your life that is weighing you down, or causing doubt in your heart, know this: YOU CAN DO IT.  You can't do it alone, but you can do it with Christ by your side. 

Jesus has brought me through some tough times. He has kept his promise.  He has NEVER let me down. 

I can stand before my students with love and patience because He put me there.

I offer you encouragement.  Keep going.  Don't give up because he won't give up on you.

Sending you love and hope...

 

Rock-N the Boat

There is no time like the present.

Over this past summer I was a CRAZY blog stalker and learned a lot about The Daily Five.  I caught the fever.  I was so disappointed with my reading block last year that I knew I had to change it up.
I bought the book, read it in two days.

 I was SOLD.

I didn't know how I was going to do it.  I just knew that I was.  I was beside myself with excitement. 
So much so, that I convinced my bestie co-worker to take the plunge with me. 
She caught the fire too. 

We are smoldering!!!

We LOVE LOVE LOVE The Daily Five!  It is the best thing since sweet tea!

We love D5 so much that we tossed the idea around about implementing something similar in math.  (We use Go Math)

Well, my bestie co-worker (Adventures in First With Mrs. Key) came to me yesterday and said, "Let's Do It!"

I agreed. 

She was willing to jump with me.  Who am I not to return the favor?! :) 

Here we go, wish us luck!  If any of you implement something similar to D5 during your math block, I can use ALL the help I can get!

 Resources are WELCOME!

Please share! 

On another note:
I put together a Go Math Chapter 3 Review/Study Guide (2pgs).  Thought I'd share just in case you might be able to use it.

                                                      Chapter 3 Review









 Things My Kids Say:   Mrs. Forehand announced, "Boys and girls, we don't have time to stop by the bathroom before lunch. So, I'm going to give you a squirt of hand sanitizer.  The alcohol in it will kill all those yucky germs."

"Mrs. Forehand, my momma drinks alcohol.  I didn't know beer could kill germs!" exclaimed a very bright little girl.

 Many hushed whispers went around the room.
("Her mom drinks beer?"  "What's beer?"  "You can drink alcohol?) 

Mrs. Forehand smiled ever so sweetly, "Sweetie, it's not the same kind of alcohol.  Now, let's go eat lunch."

Yep! My Cheeks Froze

It was cold Saturday night! Oh my goodness! I didn't think daylight was ever going to come!


But with that said, the boys had a blast! And so did I!

It was back to school today. ROUGH!!! Being spoiled for nine days has its consequences!

I missed my kiddos very much.

For whatever reason, I told my kiddos my first name! The look of shock was PRICELESS!
"Mrs. Forehand, We didn't know you had two names!"

Such simple things mean so much. It's all about building relationships. My students would travel to the moon and back for me, just as I would for them.

Have you ever told your students your first name?

Freezy Cheeks!

 We are up and at 'em this morning getting ready for our primitive camping trip! Very excited! However, I might be rethinking this whole thing tonight when it's 48* outside and I have to go "you know" in an outhouse type device... Whew! my butt has chills just thinking about it!



Things My Kids Say: "Momma, when I grow up I'm going to be a gambler." 
"You are going to be a what?" 
"Yeah, a gambler.  I heard daddy say that he used to go with his ex wife and it was a lotta' fun." 
"Oh, you did.  What else did daddy say about his ex wife?"
"That she was prettier than you.  Hahahaha momma, I'm just kiddin'! Daddy didn't say that!  No, momma don't call daddy!!!"




P.S. We do not support gambling nor have I ever been gambling.  And I hope my son does not follow in his father's (pre-good wife's) footsteps.