Important Ingredients

So far, my New Year’s Resolutions are going well… I am starting to find a balance… both mentally and physically!  This past week, I left work before 6pm every night, I made time to watch my favorite tv shows (Grey’s and Private Practice), I cooked every night (not the healthiest of meals every time, but it’s a start!), and I started reading a real book (Beautiful Child by Torey Hayden – love it!). 

Tomorrow, on my extra day off, I am going to conform and buy a gym membership.  I used to consider myself a gym rat all throughout college – I even worked at the campus rec center as a group fitness instructor!  Once I got my first teaching job, however, this all changed.  Instead of working out my normal 6 times per week, it trickled down to a maybe 1 time per week for the first couple months, and then 0 times per week for the remainder of the year.  Now, I’m going to get back to some old (but good) habits and join all my other New Year’s Resolution friends at the gym!  J

School was quite refreshing this week.  It was good to be back and see the kids!  I came to school sporting my new hairstyle (this wasn’t one of the 10+ hairstyles that I tried before winter break, but one that I tried during break and found that I actually liked!) and surprisingly, almost all of my students took notice!  Here are some of the comments I received:

“Wow!  You look beautiful today!”

“I like your style!” 

“I like your new hair… it brings out your beautiful side!”

Too funny!  That’s one way to boost your confidence!  J

Speaking of funny comments, here are some more that definitely put a smile on my face.  My Smile of the Week Awards go to… 

3^rd Place –What a Ride!

Student: “You’re going to be really jealous of me and what I got to do over break!”

Me: “Why is that?”

Student: “Because I know how much you love dolphins… “

Me:  “Oh ya!?!  What did you get to do?”

Student: “When we were on break, I got to go to Hawaii for a day with my mom and I got to ride a dolphin!” 

(If only I could travel to Hawaii for just a day *and* ride a dolphin! Haha.) 

2^nd Place - Catching Up

(This conversation took place during my cafeteria duty.  It was between me and a second grade student)    

Student: “Will you please bring me some ketchup?” 

Me: “Sure, but I think (the other teacher) is coming that way with the ketchup bottle right now.” 

Student: “Well I only want ketchup from my best teacher!”  So he waited until I was able to come down his row with the ketchup bottle. 

Since he was so patient, I decided to give him ketchup in the shape of a star on his hamburger. 

His response, “You gave me a star on my burger because I am a star student!  You really are the best teacher!”  J 

As he was leaving the cafeteria, I still had a ketchup bottle in my hands.  He shouted, “I hope you have a good ketchup (catch-up) day!  Get it – because it’s the first day back!”  Haha… so creative! 

1^st Place – Special Ingredients

Have you ever had one of those days where your class just gets the giggles… and everything you say or do just elicits more laughter?  Well, this was one of those times…

My first graders were reading a story about two kangaroos gathering ingredients to make a meal.  On the last page of the story, the kangaroos decide to enjoy their creation.  As we were reading the end of the story, one of my students claimed, “Boy, this story is making me really hungry!”

Another chimed right in, “Some pizza sounds really good right now!  Pizza is my favorite food!”  No more than two seconds after making this statement, he pointed to me and said, “If you were a piece of pizza, I’d eat you all up!” Then he started pointing to random students in the class, telling them that if they were a chocolate donut or a cupcake he would eat them all up too!  This continued until every single student in the class was assigned one of his favorite foods. 

At this point, the whole class was laughing uncontrollably… I had students literally rolling on the floor!  It was hysterical to watch!  Right as I started regaining control of the class, the office buzzed through, calling this student down to the office to leave for the day.  I told him to run and grab his coat and backpack from his classroom and then make his way quickly to the office.  He jumped up excitedly, ran towards the door and hollered, “see-ya!”  Right as he walked through the doorway, he raised his hand high up in the air, waved a silly little wave, and shouted in a deep voice, “Peace!”  I let a few more giggles happen for the next 15 seconds, then it was time to knuckle down and get back to business! 

Approximately 2 minutes later, the student that left to go home burst through the door and shouted in desperation, “I couldn’t leave without giving you guys hugs!!!!”  That was the breaking point - the class about lost it!  I sent the student on his way, made a desperate attempt to recover, but there was no getting back to where we started.  I guess this just goes to show that you have to have a little humor in your day everyday! J  

Of all the things that I’ve discovered about finding a balance in life, this is one that I believe to be among the most important: laughter.  Laughter is good for the soul.  It warms you up from the outside, in.  Laughter always makes any situation brighter, any experience more enjoyable, and every day worth living.  It is a key ingredient to a happy life!

Have you laughed today?  J 

~Chelsea 

Another Award?!?! Thanks!

I was nominated for another award in the wonderful blogging community… the Versatile Blogger Award!  Many thanks to Caitlyn for nominating me!  (Also, be sure to check out her cool blog at Sliding into First!)

The rules for this award are as follows:

1. Thank the person that gave you the award and link back to them.

2. Tell 7 things about yourself.

3. Pass this on to 15 newly discovered blogs and let them know they received it.

So… here are 7 random things about me:  J

1.       I’m tall and I have big feet. I’m 5’10” and wear size 10 shoes to be exact.

2.        My favorite color is blue. This includes any variation of blue… navy blue, royal blue, sky blue, teal blue, turquoise blue, ocean water blue, etc. I love them all!

3.       I am a health nut and I have a sweet tooth. This is a weird combination, but I try to make it work. Usually the sweet tooth wins me over.  My weakness is ice cream - I *love* ice cream! My favorites include: dark chocolate ice cream with gummy bears or raspberries and blackberries, mint chocolate chip ice cream with strawberries (weird, I know – but I love it!), and banana splits with pineapple, chocolate, and strawberry toppings and peanuts (hold the whipped cream and the cherry on top).

4.       I don’t watch a lot of tv, but I do have a few favorite shows that I refuse to miss.  My all-time favorite tv show is Grey’s Anatomy. I started watching it in college and now own every season.  I am officially a Grey’s junkie. My other favorite tv show would have to be Private Practice, a spinoff of Grey’s Anatomy.  Both shows are highly addicting with a good mixture of love, friendship, and medical drama.  If you don’t watch them already, watch one episode and I promise you’ll be hooked!

 

5.       Life is an adventure!  Everyday opens a new door for opportunity to try or experience something new.  I believe that you should always take these opportunities as they lead to places of endless possibilities!  I have had the wonderful opportunity to travel to places all around the globe.  My favorite of those have been trips to the ocean, where I’ve had the chance to swim and scuba dive with dolphins.  I can’t wait to see what adventures await in Australia and Costa Rica – places where I plan to travel in the near future.   

6.       I am fortunate to be living my dream as an elementary school teacher.  I absolutely *LOVE* my job!  Not many people can truly say that, but I take pride in the fact that I can.  I am thrilled to have the opportunity to make a difference in the lives of others and I believe that this is a good way to do so.  I’ve had so many teachers that have changed my life and have shaped who I am today.  My hope is to do the same thing for my students. 

7.       I have the best family and friends in the entire world!  Without them, I would not be the person that I am today.  Thank you all for impacting my life in such a positive way!  J

Last, but certainly not least, I would like to nominate another new blogger for this award.  This is a blog that I have recently discovered and is brand new to the bloggy world: 

Sue @ SOS Supply

Be sure to check out Sue’s amazing and inspiring blog!  I’m always on the lookout for others… so if you’d like to share, leave a comment!  J 

In other news, Monday is my first day back to school (it seems late, but we didn’t get off until the 22^nd)!  I can’t believe how fast my break flew by, but I really am excited to get to see the kiddos again.  I’ve missed them!  I hope all my teacher friends out there had a great first week (or good luck to those of you who will be returning back next week like me).  Enjoy your weekend! 

~Chelsea

Hooray!

I am pleased to share that I was nominated for my first blog award, the Liebster Award!  Hooray!  Thank you, Kylie for nominating me for this wonderful award.  I am so honored!  J   Please be sure to check out Kylie’s new blog, Miss Smartie Pants! 

Now that I’ve been nominated for this award, it is time to pay it forward! 

Here are the rules:

1. Show your appreciation to the blogger who nominated you by linking back to their blog.

2.  Nominate other happy little blogs (200 followers or less)

3.  Post the award on your blog.

4. Make sure to check out what these up-and-coming blogs have to offer.

So… I would like to nominate some other wonderful blogs that I’ve just recently discovered for this award.  If you’re looking for some inspiration, be sure to check out these blogs:

Sally @ Elementary Matters

Dianne @ Hopelessly Devoted to Teaching

Lisa @ Live, Laugh, and Love to Learn

Jane @ The Learning Curve

Sue @ SOS Supply

Please check out these amazing blogs! 

Thanks for your support!  Happy blogging!!!!

~Chelsea

A Balancing Act

Happy New Year!!!!  I hope that everyone had a safe and enjoyable kick start to the New Year!  I have a good feeling that 2012 is going to be a year rich with opportunities and excitement.  Coming into this new year, I can’t help but reflect back on the previous 12 months and smile at what a wonderful adventure 2011 was.

I did my student-teaching in a first grade classroom at an amazing school with an absolutely phenomenal mentor teacher.   I’ve had many classroom experiences, but this is the experience that really ignited my passion for teaching – I got to observe and help learn to instill a passion for learning in my students and see the joy that learning brings, as well as witness the determination, excitement, wonderment, discovery, and magic that could only happen with the help of my amazing mentor and 27 eager kiddos.  To put it simply, it was pure bliss!   Shortly after my student-teaching, I graduated college!  Then it was “welcome to the real world!”  J

At the start of the summer, I went on several interviews and was offered the position of a Reading Interventionist at a magnificent school.  I was a little reluctant at first knowing that I would be giving up the opportunity for my own classroom for my first year of teaching, but I accepted the job.  After interviewing and meeting with some of the staff, I had a hard time walking out the doors, knowing that I might not be coming back.  It was then that I realized that I was making the right decision – and I am so glad that I did! 

Shortly after, I was promoted to a pool manager at my summer job.  Even though the pool was a little further away than the other pools I spent the majority of my summers working at, I was willing to make the effort knowing the opportunities that existed.  As a pool manager, I was in charge of all the lifeguards, scheduling, pool parties, and creating and maintaining the swim lesson program.  It was a lot of hard work, but I met a lot of incredible people and got to do what I do best – teach!  J 

Once August arrived, my life had switched from the summer sunshine to the dull drone of air conditioning.  I had begun my training for my “big girl” job.  I spent countless hours staring at the muted, windowless walls of the district training building, dreaming of what my first day in the classroom would actually be like.  Finally, after 2 straight weeks of training, the moment I’d been waiting for and dreaming of my entire life had arrived…  My first day of teaching! 

What a roller coaster ride the rest of the year was!  So many ups and downs, sorrows and delights, challenges and celebrations… to sum it up in one word = WOW!  I have learned SO MUCH from this year and feel like I am a better teacher because of it.  I am continuing to learn and grow, but I am glad to have had these experiences to allow me to become the best I can be.  Thank you 2011 for being such a *big* year! 

Now onto 2012… Woohoo!!!!

As with the start of every New Year, it is a tradition that I make a New Year’s Resolution.  Instead of trying to come up with little goals that I usually follow for about a month and then forget about (eg. working out, eating healthier, etc.), I’ve come up with an all-encompassing resolution – one that I am going to continue working on for the entire year… (drum roll, please)…. I am going to find a balance!  This means that I am going to balance my work life with my personal/social life.  I am going to make time for my friends and family, as well as enjoying a little “me time” to myself.  I am going to be a healthier person overall – making time to cook myself dinner, workout, read a book, etc.  I am going to continue being the best teacher I can be by putting forth 100% effort no matter what obstacles land in my way, but realize when it’s time to take a break, relax, and rejuvenate.  After all, stress free is the way to be!  J 

This resolution will come especially handy when it is time to start my Master’s degree.  Yep- you read that correctly – I want to pursue my Masters in Reading!  I found the perfect program that works with my school schedule and is nearby.  Not to mention it is pretty cost-effective (for being a Master’s program).  I haven’t officially applied as I have a lot of paperwork to get in order first (3 professional letters of recommendation, official transcripts, possible loans, essays to write, a resume needing to be updated, etc.), but luckily the program doesn’t begin until this summer.  I really hope that it works out, as literacy is one of my biggest passions and there is always so much to be learned about how to best teach it (and how kids best learn it)! 

Although I am unsure of what this next year will bring, I do know that it will be a joyous adventure!  Cheers to 2012, a year of hope, joy, and most importantly, balance!

~Chelsea 

Information Overload

I only have one more day of school until I can officially say that I survived a half year of teaching!  Hooray!  J  As my wonderful teammate put it (or sang it, rather), “It’s the final countdown…”  Can you tell that I’m ready for break?!? 

I’m sorry that it’s been so long since my last post.  Life has been stress-FULL (and that’s the understatement of the year – ha)!!!!  Here are some statistics for you:  In the past two weeks, I’ve spent 7 days Dibels benchmark testing all the students in our school.  If you take roughly 600 kids and divide that by 4 (how many people that were available to help with testing), you get the number of students that I tested (about 150 or more).  Multiply that number by 3 (because you have to give each test 3 or 4 times) and you get 450.  450+ tests.  That’s reading the standardized test directions 450 times, listening to the same stories being read 30 times each (5 grade levels (1^st-5^th), 150 students, 3 stories per test), and having to score and input all that data into the computer.  Not only did I memorize the test directions this time around, but the first three sentences on each passage as well.  Can you say brain-fryage?!?   See- I don’t even know what kind of word that is?  Noun?  Verb?  Adjective?  Adverb?  Point made. 

Besides testing, I have been adjusting to my new first grade reading group (and they have been adjusting to me).  I was lucky enough to still get to teach them during my crazy week of testing, but it made for even more of an interesting week.  I have a wide variety of behaviors in this new group and am finding ways to best handle them so that the maximum amount of learning can take place.  After spending a few days with this group, I quickly realized that I was going to need to come up with a new management system – one with instant gratification.  So… here’s what I came up with: 

I spent two hours after school this week making die-cut shapes for this new behavior management system.  What I decided is that students can earn a sticker every time I catch them doing an exceptional job being on-task, engaged, and ready to learn.  Once they earn 10 stickers, they get to trade their die-cut shape for a HOWL ticket (our school’s positive behavior support (PBS) model).  These HOWL tickets are saved and can be spent on cool prize items.  The students in my class were thrilled when they earned their 10 stickers and were proud to flaunt their completed, sticker-filled die-cut shape.  However, what I quickly realized is that I was going to need a lot of stickers!  And this sparked my need for a trip to the Dollar Store!

Let me just say one thing:  I LOVE the Dollar Store!  You can buy so many neat things for the low, low price of $1!  Amazing- I know!  J  The Dollar Store closest to my apartment has a fabulous selection of teacher supplies (all of which I think I need), so I tend to go a little crazy when I walk down that aisle in the store.  Not to mention the super-duper sticker section!  I ended up spending a total of $42 in my wonderful little trip to buy stickers.  How do you even do that?!?  $42!!!  I feel like that might be a little ridiculous, but I guess that I can justify it and say that I got 42 items for $42.  J  I always end up buying way more than I need.  Next time, I know what aisle I’m going to avoid going down.  Haha. 

Lately I’ve been a bit impulsive… buying things that I don’t need, such as blue and silver crackle nail polish (and yes, I painted my toe nails blue and put the silver crackle over them – and even bought some deep magenta for my fingernails! – I almost never paint my nails, so this is a very rare occasion!!!!), 3 bags of candy for the new candy dish that I bought to put inside my desk drawer (another impulse buy from the Dollar Store – I’ll probably regret this later), and an entire large cheese pizza just for myself (I ate it as I drove home from the Dollar Store – Little Caesars was right next door).  I even styled my hair 10 different ways in the past 10 days, which if you know me at all, I style my hair pretty much the same exact way every single day (I just got a haircut and can’t decide what to do with my hair… I’m trying to figure out a style that works best).  I guess I was just trying to spice things up a bit… Maybe it’s all the stress that I’ve been under. 

On the upside of things, I found my grade book that I thought I misplaced, finished report cards, re-organized my room (both at home and at school), created 4 different binders to help organize the paper catastrophe that kept coming home with me in my teacher bag, and got the vast majority of my Christmas shopping done.  Yeah!  And the best news of all… break is only one day away!!!!  I’m going to miss my kiddos, but I think the break will be refreshing for everyone.  J 

So… on that happy note, I’m going to get ready for my last day of school for the year and get some sleep.  I might even try going to bed before midnight tonight!  Good night!!!!

~Chelsea 

To Infinity and Beyond...

It was frigid out today… a high of 12 degrees (and I’m not even sure it made it to that!).  Right now, I’m sitting in bed, wrapped in all the blankets I can find.  My hands are still thawing out as I type this.  Can you say BRRRRR?!?!?  Anyways… that’s beside the point.  As some of you know, this past week was the first week with my new first grade reading group.  I spent many, many hours at school (and at home, plus the past two weekends (eek!)) preparing for this group, but let me just tell you, things definitely did not go according to plan!  But first, let me catch you up on the big events up until that day last week…

I wanted the last day with my “old” reading group to be special.  They had worked so hard and I was distraught that I would no longer be their teacher anymore.  L  We had grown so close after spending so much time together!  So, I decided to surprise them with a class “party.”  J  I usually have cafeteria duty during the time my kids are at lunch, but I got it covered and brought my kids to the classroom for lunch.  And they loved it!  But that wasn’t the only surprise I had up my sleeve…

For weeks, my kids had been begging me to bring them Takis (a type of spicy chip, like Hot Cheetos, but “better” – ha).  I couldn’t find Takis the last time that the class earned their party, so I went on a mission to find them.  Sure enough, I found the shiny purple bag staring at me down the chip isle in the Walmart right by school.  I bought two big bags and concealed them in a large canvas bag.  I told the kids I had a little magic trick and VOILA – 2 bags of Takis mysteriously appeared!  The group went wild!  It was like they were seeing snow for the very first time.  J 

Lunch was coming to an end, so I sent everyone back to the cafeteria to dump their trays.  Little did I know what a mess it would leave behind!  There were little red fingerprints everywhere (even after I gave them hand wipes!).  I guess I learned that lesson the hard way.  Lol.  Even with all the mess, I wouldn’t trade any of it for the world!  The look on each of my student’s faces was that of pure joy!  It made everything worth it! 

We finished up the day with a class picture (or I guess I should say pictures).  We did a few normal ones and then saved the funny ones for last.  And, let me tell you, the “funny” ones were hysterical!  So many different facial expressions and poses (but so characteristic to each one of my students)!  Love it!  I gave each of my kids a hug goodbye.  One of my first graders put it perfectly...  She gave me a huge hug and said, “I’m going to miss you to infinity and beyond!”  How precious is that?!?  I will miss that group “to infinity and beyond” but I know that they will go on to do amazing things!

After school, it was time to get down to business.  If I were to rate my stress level on a scale of 1 to 10, it would’ve been a 31.  Haha – not really, but it would’ve been right around an 8.7.  I was feeling a wee bit overwhelmed with all that I had to have done before the arrival of my new group.  I spent about 10.5 hours at school that day, plus another 12 hours at school the next day preparing.  I felt like I was repeating the first day of school!  *Rewind!*

Definitely an interesting day!  Let’s see… it started with the kids not knowing where to meet me in the hallway, plus only half the group being there at our meeting time, so we had to go on a little scavenger hunt to find the other kiddos that were going to be in my group – there was definitely no way that they would’ve found my room on their own (you have to go through the office and through the workroom to get to the conference room – A.K.A. my classroom!).  Once we arrived, I had the kids sit on the carpet, while I learned their names, shared a little bit about myself, and started discussing rules/expectations.  In the middle of my class read-aloud, a student raised his hand and said that he had to go to the bathroom.  I dismissed him from the group and reminded him to take the pass before he left.  No more than 10 seconds after leaving the room, he came sprinting back in the room panting, “I don’t know how to get to the bathroom from here!”  Hoping that someone could show him, I asked someone to be his buddy, but, as it turned out, no one knew how to get there!  Class Field Trip!

We finally made it back to the classroom after a class bathroom break.  My students thought it was the coolest thing that they got to use the 2^nd and 3^rd grade bathrooms (the 1^st grade bathrooms are too far of a walk from my room), which meant that students were “needing” to use the bathroom as much as possible.  I can’t tell you how many kiddos wanted to go use the bathroom after our class field trip/bathroom break just because it was down a different hallway!  Haha.  Only in first grade!

That afternoon continued to be filled with fascinating endeavors.  I had a student who kept forgetting my name, so every time he wanted to get my attention, he would yell, “Miss I-don’t-remember-your-name, I have a question!”  So funny!  Then in the middle of one of his questions, he lost his tooth.  It just came right out!  The entire class was astonished by how this could’ve even happened, so they all decided to investigate the situation further.  I can tell who is going to be a future dentist in my class!  J  I sent the student to the office to get a container for his tooth.  You can only imagine the uproar and excitement when he came prancing back into class sporting a brand new tooth necklace! 

After we finally regained our focus, 2 students waved their hands with their fingers crossed (meaning they had to go to the bathroom).  When I told them that only one person could go at a time, they both exclaimed that it was an emergency and if they didn’t go right then, they would have an accident in their pants (and it did look like they really needed to go…)!  Reluctantly, I let them both go use the bathroom, hoping that they could help each other find their way back to class and told them they had to come back within 4 minutes.  What was I thinking?!?  They ended up being gone for over 10 minutes when I finally called someone from the office to go search for them.  And guess where they found them?  Dancing, twirling, and spinning down the 2^nd and 3^rd grade hallway!  Seriously?!?  I just had to laugh.  It was that kind of day.

Even though we got off to a kinda-sorta chaotic start, I realized what a truly wonderful group I have.  They say and do some of the funniest things and always give me a reason to smile.  I’m so fortunate to have the opportunity to work with this new group and help them become readers!  I have lots of learning to do, but isn’t that what teaching is about?!?  Lifelong learning!?!  I think so!  I’m so glad that I get the opportunity to learn and grow right alongside my students.  It’s going to be a fantastic year! J “To infinity and beyond!!!!” 

~Chelsea

The 3 Rs

If you’ve been reading my blog lately, you would notice that life has been a little bit on the crazy side of things for me (but when is it ever not?!? Ha!).  Lately, there have been oodles and oodles of changes and new things for me to learn and all of this, at times, can be overwhelming.  However, with Thanksgiving break happening this past week, it’s given me a chance to rest, relax, and reflect.  With all of this “extra” time, I’ve made quite a few realizations.  I’m thankful for… EVERYTHING!!!!  Life is simply wonderful!

Life is loaded with challenges, but I’m so glad to have encountered each and every one of those challenges.  I would not be as fortunate and grateful for the life I lead today if these challenges never presented themselves.  Each and every experience I have had in my life has shaped who I am today and has made me proud to be here on this earth doing exactly what I’m doing.  I can’t help but feel blessed every single day for my family, friends, students, career, and good health to be able to enjoy all of these things.  I am inspired each and every day by these blessings! 

I am truly blessed!

~Chelsea