Five for Friday

I am happy to link up with Doodle Bugs Teaching for her Five for Friday post!

1.) This arrived for me in my school mailbox!  In my first years of teaching I was nicknamed "Super Teacher" for being the annoying teacher who made others look bad by being fantabulous  for always going over and above with my students in my classroom.  One of my team mates sent this to me and it made my week!!!!  Thanks Shannon for sending this sweet note and shirt over.

2.)  We went to the Riverbanks Zoo in Columbia, SC this week.  My Firsties LOVED it!!  We have been studying how animals communicate, so it was awesome to see STEM in action!  Spring has sprung and the animals got the message loud and clear!!    When we walked up on these tortoises one of my innocent sweeties said, "Mrs. Haywood, that big turtle is on top of the the small one!"  My response: LET'S MOVE ON! 

3) April means its time for the annual Egg Hunt!  The girls seem to really understand the concept this year.  It was tricky when they threw in, they could only find 8 eggs.  Telling a 3 year old they can't pick up every egg they see is VERY difficult!!!!

4) The Kindergartners and First Graders are putting on a mini Broadway Musical of A Year with Frog and Toad.  It.Is.Adorable.  We were asked to choose the lucky kiddos who would play Frog and Toad, and hot dog, they are both from my room!!  Watch out Hollywood, these guys are coming for you!

The Birds, Bees and Pond Creatures

 5) My Firstie Friend, Faith, is having an awesome giveaway over at her blog 1st Grade Fantabulous.  She is offering a DVD bundle from The Learning Station.  Head over there and enter to win!  http://1stgradefantabulous.blogspot.com/2014/04/the-learning-station-giveaway.html

That's my week in a nutshell!  One more till Spring Break!  I think I can, I think I can!  Head over and link up!

Five for Friday (or Saturday!)

I actually blogged....GASP!!!!!  This hasn't happened since October, and I feel horrible.  I am having a FAB-U-LOUS year in First Grade, but it takes all my spare time to make sure I am doing it right!  Let me tell you, there is NO pressure like teaching kids to read! Ok, ok, I know that every grade has their pressures, but I have a new found respect for primary teachers.  I am linking up with Doodle Bugs Teaching for her Five for Friday linky party.

Here are my five things that have happened to me this week:

1. Crazy Weather!  Here in the south, we are NOT prepared for winter weather. We don't usually get much, but what we do get shuts down everything!  In a 5 day week, I taught 1 full day!!!  We dismissed early on Tuesday, were out Wednesday and Thursday and had a delay on Friday.  I will admit I loved being home with my sweeties playing in our minimal amount of snow.  They still had fun, and let's face it, down here we don't know that having the grass stick up through the snow isn't normal!

2. The circus is in town!  My girls love the movie Dumbo and when I told them we were going to the circus, they immediately asked if Dumbo was going to be there.  We saw clowns, tigers and of course elephants.  The girls were so excited to see "Dumbo", but they did ask where the baby was!

3. We have been working on our nonfiction How To pieces in writing.  I had the opportunity to have my amazing Instructional Technology Facilitator, Sandy, come into my class for 2 days this week (the only 2 we were actually in school!)  We used Little Bird Tales to publish their writing.  It was so fun!  The kids took pics of their drawings using my iPad, then we uploaded them, and Sandy had the kids type in their writing.  Their favorite part was using the microphone to read their tale.  If you haven't used Little Bird Tales I highly recommend it. And the best part is, its FREE!!!! Click on the picture below to see the tale.

4. I have a Student Teacher this semester!  I have never had one before, and it is so exciting!  She has been adding on different subjects each week since coming back from Christmas break, and next week she takes over FULL TIME!!!  It is so weird to be in my classroom, but not be teaching.  She is doing great, but I thought this comic pretty much summed up Student Teaching!

5. I am spending my Saturday at an Emmaus team meeting.  Emmaus is a Christian movement where men and women commit to spending 72 hours with God and other believers.  It is a great time to remove yourself from the distractions of this world, and focus on all that God has given us.  I attended my original walk in 2005, and have been blessed to be chosen to work on several teams since then.  My faith is a huge part of my life and I am excited to spend time with God today, remembering the multitude of blessings He has given me.

Make sure you head over to Doodle Bugs Teaching and link up!!

Five For Friday

I love linking up with Kacey at Doodle Bugs Teaching for her Five for Friday!  This week has been so busy, and I am glad it is finally Friday!



1. If you've been following me for a while, you know that I took a leap and moved outside of the classroom into a Instructional Facilitator role.  This has been so challenging for me and has proven to be a difficult transition.  I was beginning to think I was never going to gain my teacher's respect, trust, understanding that they could use and abuse me.  It happened this week!  I had several veteran teachers ask me to model in their room next week!!!!  SCORE!  I did 2 models this week for some of my newbies and it was awesome and I can't wait to do more next week.

2. I attended a Pampered Chef party last weekend and got the burning sensation to begin selling.  Well ladies and gentleman, I decided to take the plunge!!!!  I will be having my launch party on March 7.  I must confess I am just as nervous as I am excited!  All this is about to be mine!!!!  I'm going to be cooking up a storm!

3. Our new small groups started two weeks ago and let me just tell you, this one is GREAT!  We are doing Beth Moore's Believing God and boy is my faith being stretched and tested.  Before doing this study, I thought I had faith, but I now realize, I was just scratching the surface. 

4. One of my sweet Kindergarten teachers sells Thirty One products and gave me a free bag to show her thankfulness for helping her this year!  Shut the front door!!!!!  How awesome was that??  This is the keep it caddy in one of the new prints for this season.  Love It!

5. Lastly, this week has  been super long and ended on a not so great note.  One of my teachers has been telling me since the beginning of the year that no matter how bad things seem, I am always so optimistic and happy (are we sure she is talking about me?????) She even gave me a nickname....Rainbow Brite!  This instantly makes me feel better, even on the worst day.  Today she told me that in my job I am my own island, but my island is in their lake, and they (teachers) love me!  Who can ask for more???

That's my Five for Friday!  Head over and link up with Kacey!

Five for Friday (on Saturday!)

Ya'll know how much I love a good linky!  Kacey over at Doodle Bugs Teaching has a great one with Five for Friday!  

1. The hubs and I took Raegan back to the Dr. for her 2nd checkup visit.  We got great news that she is healing great from her surgery and she only has to wear her helmet another month!!!  Our next checkup isn't unit April :)  Yay for good news!!!!

2. I am back in full Taco Monday swing!  We had to stay away from my Monday staple while Raegan healed from surgery.  It was so hard to miss out on yummy tacos and the convos we have with the staff.  After going there almost every Monday for the past 2 years, they are like family.

3. We have a big PD coming up Tuesday for our district and I am presenting Math Investigations for 3-5.  I worked on that with our District math Curriculum facilitator this week.  We ended up working from 1:30-6pm one night, but its all planned and copied, so its worth it!  I LOVE Investigations!!!!!  If your not teaching it, your missing out!

4. We got a minuscule amount of snow, which resulted in a 2 hour delay Friday.  I was able to get some paper work done during this time.  I finally finished the Kindergarten math folders for the class I have been helping out in.  We finally have a certified teacher subbing in K!!!  I have been pulling double duty since November teaching in K and doing my Instructional Facilitator duties.  So happy to be back in my original role :)

5. My biggest news of the week.....I am going to see Lucy Calkins and Marcy Cook in March!!!!!  Our district is sending several Instructional Facilitators and teachers.  I am super excited about the Calkins one because it is in Columbia, SC and I am getting a hotel with 2 other IFs to stay the night!!!!  Girls night, whoop whoop!!!!  

So there ya go!  My Five for Friday, or in my case, Saturday.  Head over and link up your Five with Kacey!