Random thoughts from the airport

So. . . . . . .my Dad has this irrational fear of missing flights, so he insists on getting to the airport ridiculously early, which is why I am sitting here, an hour before my flight boards.  I think it stems from almost missing his flight to Appleton {the home of Lambeau Field and the Greenbay Packers} a few years ago.

Anyways, I am headed back to the frozen tundra that I call home.  It was 50 degrees here yesterday and 10 degrees in Anchorage - brrrrrr! Here are my random thoughts.

* My Christmas gifts to myself {yes, I buy myself presents} were a new nose stud {I really needed one} and some clipart from KPM Doodles.  I can't wait to play around and create some new things for my kiddos and to share them with you.

* My sister went to school for Graphic Design and she is pretty darn good.  Here is handmade swag I'm brining back with me.

2 shirts, one that says "Kindergarten Rocks" {and kind of matches my new life planner} and one that says "100 Days of School". Plus a new bag for Pigeon to travel back and forth in.  Cute, huh?

* I'm excited to get back to school and see my kiddos, but not so excited to get back to the drama that is my school this year, does anyone else feel this way?

I only have 20 minutes of free wifi here{what's up with that?!?!}  and I want to check out Cara's 3 dollar sale on TpT, so I need to do that before my connection expires.   Next time I post I will probably be wrapped up in a blanket with a warm beverage trying to readjust to the frozen tundra.

I went to click publish and my connection had expired. . . . .seriously!!!!!!!  But. . . . . . .my roommate's aunt gave us passes to the Alaska Airlines Board Room, so now I am sitting in a comfy chair and enjoying a nice drink before our next flight.

11 in '11

I'm linking up with Hadar and Kristin (two of my favorite teacher-bloggers). for the 11 in '11 linky party.

11. Favorite movie you watched: Probably Breaking Dawn, I <3 me some sparkely vampires.

10. Favorite TV series: Glee or Criminal Minds (2 complete opposites, I know!)

9. Favorite restaurant: Lahn Pad Thai, a tiny hole-in-the-wall place that makes the best Pad Thai!

8. Favorite new thing you tried: My tattoo, it was my 30th birthday present to myself.

7. Favorite gift you got: A tie between my Erin Condren planner and my new Danskos.

6. Favorite thing you pinned: I’ve been pinning lot’s of wedding shower ideas lately that I <3 (my little brother is getting married in august)

5. Favorite blog post: I’m not sure, I don’t think I’ve been blogging enough to have one.

4. Best accomplishment: Creating a classroom community and setting up routines and procedures with my kiddos this year.  Last year (2010-2011) was a tough school year and none of those things really “gelled” with my class.  This year is 10 times better, in fact I had the best observation I’ve ever had this past November!

3. Favorite picture:

My BFF's Kiddo C.G. with her brand-new backpack

2. Favorite memory: Getting to spend a week in Kotzebue (a village on the Bering Sea), renovating the Boys and Girls Club and hanging out with the kiddos up there.

1. Goal for 2012:  I have 3:

1.To be more organized within my work/personal life and to have more of a   balance between the two (hopefully my Erin Condren planner will help)

2. Spend time in my Bible everyday.

3. Do a better job teaching Math.  I am very confident in my ability to teach Reading, but I know that I need to work on my Math lessons.

What have I been doing?

This is what I spent my day doing - checking out my new Erin Condren Life Planner, watching some Real Housewives (Beverly Hills) and working on some stuff for school.

I created these cute snowflakes to help keep track of the books my kiddos read at home

Snowflake Reading

I've been blogstalking to get ideas for Martin Luther King Day and my penguin theme and am working on some cute projects to go along with my Reading Curriculum (Houghton Mifflin).  

I hope you are all enjoying your time off, I know I am!

That crazy Pigeon and my 1st award!

Pigeon with my BFF's kiddo C.G.

I have a stuffed Pigeon {from the Pigeon books by Mo Willems} that goes home with my kiddos on the weekends.  He has been snowmachine-ing {snowmobiling in Alaska-speak}, played in the snow, decorated trees, seen multiple movies, flown from bunk beds and been attacked by a baby sister {this required surgery to repair his leg}.  Pigeon came home with me over Winter Break.  I have been taking pictures of him {at a dance recital, at the airport, dentist and in the dollar store} and I can't wait to share them with my kiddos.  He is currently spending the night at my BFF's house with her 5 1/2 year-old C.G.  When I get my book put together I will post so you can see it.  Do any of you have travelling buddies that go home with your kiddos?

And. . . . . . . . . . . . .

I got my 1st award!  Thanks to Chrissy at First Grade Found Me.

This award is for newbies, and it's goal is to spotlight up-and-coming blogs with less than 200 followers.  If awarded, you must:

copy and paste the award on your blog

thank the giver and link back to them

reveal YOUR top five picks and leave a comment letting them know

hope your followers will share the love with them :)

Here are my top 5 picks - 

A Little Kinder Told Me So

Simply Centers

Cole's Little Pups

Going Nutty in Miss Squirrels First Grade

Connecting the Dots: A Kindergarten Blog

Fire Drills at 18 degrees. . . . . . . .

Picture this . . . . . . . . .it's the Wednesday before Winter Break.  I am {finally} done with my assessments and can work with small groups during Work Stations.  I send my TA down to the work room to finish up our calendars {gifts to the parents}.  My kiddos are doing fabulous, working hard and following directions and then the dreaded sound. . . . . . . .the fire alarm.

My kiddos line up at the back door, I grab our two emergency backpacks and we head out.  As we are round the corner to head to the front of the building and our line up spot, my TA meets us and whispers "it's not a planned drill", which means that we now have to wait for the Fire Department to show up. . . . .  outside. . . . . . . .in the cold. . . . . .the snow. . . . . . .and the wind.

We line up, I pull out the green "everyone's here" card and we wait. . . .and wait. . .and wait.  We have fleece blankets in our emergency packs, so we pull those out and wrap them around kiddos.  My TA {thank goodness she was there} and I each take half of the kiddos and have them huddle up and we turned our backs so the wind was hitting us, instead of them.

Thanks to some quick thinking by our BPO, we were able to call off the Fire Department {he accidentally set off the alarm}, but we were still outside in the cold and wind for about 10 minutes.   All in a days work teaching in the frozen tundra of Alaska {thankfully it was on the warmest day that week}.

Currently. . . . . .

I'm linking up Farley at Oh' Boy Fourth Grade

{and now, I really do to get to bed!}

Beginning. . . Middle. . . End

I was shocked, my kiddos were amazingly good today.  I was thinking that with it being so close to Christmas, a short week and the day after a snow day they would be a bit CRAZY but they were awesome!

We are taking a break from our reading series so this morning I got to do a reading response/comprehension lesson with an actual story {don't get me wrong, some of the stories in our program are great, but some - yuck.  Plus they are really hard to teach with since they don't grab the kiddos attention}.  We have been talking about retelling stories and using the words beginning, middle and end.

I made up this chart to help my kiddos retell stories.  It's just colored paper and black poster board laminated.  I use post-its to write the words {later on, I will have them write} and then I have the kiddos draw a picture to go with the words.   Today we retold the the story The Gingerbread Cowboy.

Tomorrow is our Holiday Program - wish us luck!

Surprise Snow-Day

I was woken up this morning {at 6:30}, by my phone and about 5 text messages.  We've been having some crazy weather, it's been warmish which causes the snow to melt, then freeze at night which makes for some slick roads.  I was not expecting for it to be a snow day so it was nice to stay in comfy clothes all day and get stuff done around the house  umm, watch trashy reality TV. I did get some laundry done and started packing for my trip home over Winter Break {I can't wait to see my BFF and her kiddos and go wedding dress shopping with my future sister-in-law}.  I also inputted some grades into our reporting system and created this sight word activity for when we get back from break.

Winter Sight Word Game

Is it weird that I'm really hoping we have school tomorrow? {they've been out plowing so I'm sure we will} We have a lot of stuff to get through this week, but only 3 days to do it.

It's Beginning To Look a Lot Like Christmas. . . .in my classroom!

Here's a peek at what has been going on in my neck of the woods, you know, apart from assessing my poor Super Stars to death. The other day I called a kiddo to my table and they were like "Can't we just do reading group? I already did this!" {believe me sweetie, I feel your pain!}

Despite all of this, we have been able to get in the Holiday mood ~

1.) Our tiny tree {waiting for kiddo-made decorations} and our "Holidays Around the World" books we are making in Social Studies.

2.) Snowflake pattern whirligig thingys. The kiddos cut out a spiral then used snowflakes {die-cuts} t0 create a pattern. Super simple, and super cute!

3.) Handprint turkeys drying {for our handprint calendar gift}.

4.) Gingerbread man Write The Room.

5.) Snowflake gel clings on the window by my door.

6.) Gingerbread glyphs

7.) It's staying dark most of the day, I think we are down to about 5 hours of daylight right now. Seriously, it's already dusky when we get out at 3:30.

8.) Holiday wreath on my door handle.

It's going to be a busy week! I still have a few assessments to finish up {uggh}, we are performing Wednesday afternoon for our parents, and Thursday is our Pajama and Polar Express day. Friday, the kiddos are off, but teachers have to be at school {grade-reporting day}