Forty is the New Thirty

In September, I hit it.  I wanted to hit it with a bang and all my friends, but frankly, I was way too tired!  So on September 30, 2013, I quietly turned forty.  Well, I guess I really can't say it was quiet.

The actual day fell on a Monday, so as a family we celebrated the weekend before.  Since I didn't have the giddy-up to host a party, my family just did whatever I wanted to do.  We started on Friday night with Macaroni Grill, including Italian soda,

 and a trip to the Guitar Center where I picked out my present:

a ukulele!!  I have wanted one for a long time, and so we just picked it out!  It was under $100, so I felt pretty good about spending it.  I have enjoyed messing around with it.  For the rest of the weekend we ran errands and hung out.  I didn't get to do everything I wanted to, which was mostly relaxing, vegging out at home and doing a little crafting, but it was good.  No school work done that weekend for the exception of the required.

On my actual birthday, I was quite honored.  I work with some wonderful people!  They snuck in getting the kids to sign a card for me, which they did right under my nose, and treated me with cupcakes, a gift certificate, and a big 'ol Dr. Pepper.  They spoil me rotten!  Then, at lunch, the entire 3rd and 4th grades sang Happy Birthday.  What a treat!  I was so surprised.  My sisters sent me flowers, balloons, and wax chips for the scentsy pot to school too.  It was wonderful.

When I got home, the girls made me a cake and I cracked open a bottle of Cupcake wine that I picked out.

 We stayed home and enjoyed being together.  It was a great way to begin my 40s.

The Bride of Frankenstein

So it's been a while.  School and life has happened!  Life is full and busy.  One of the highlights of the past few months was Halloween.  When I asked the girls what they wanted to be, Anna wanted to wear her red cape that she loves, so she was red riding hood.  Lauren, on the other hand, had big ideas.  She wanted to be the bride of Frankenstein!  The first thing I asked her was if she even knew what the Bride of Frankenstein was about.  She had no idea...none of us did!  So, for fall break, we found it on Netflix.  Here is a pic of Elsa Lanchester as the Bride.

In it's time, this movie was a horror flick.  It was completely tame compared to what is out there now.  The girls and I were quite surprised.  Part of it was funny even.  After we watched it, we figured out her costume.  We got some simple white fabric from Hobby Lobby and I made a tube skirt for her to wear.  Easy!  Now, the hair.  That was the hard part. We searched You Tube for tutorials, and there were many.  This is how we did it.

First, I curled her hair in ringlets.  I sprayed the fire out of them, hoping it would hold.  As curly as Lauren's hair is, it doesn't hold a curl when we do curl it.

After that, we took a cut coke bottle and bobby pinned it to the crown of her head.  I made it good and secure.

Oh and I forgot to mention that I put a hair net around the bottle before I put it on her head.  That way we could bobby pin hair to the bottle, which is the next step.  Leave down two pieces of hair (one on each side) for the white pieces.

Once we got the hair good and secure, we hair sprayed her hair black.  That was messy and stinky!

It took the entire can of black to cover those blond curls!  We then colored the two pieces left over white, which you couldn't tell very well they were white.  We pinned them up with the rest, and voila! The Bride of Frankenstein!

 

And, to top it off, we were in Petsmart the other day and found--wait for it--a Frankenstein costume just for Hagrid!!

It was the cutest Halloween costume we've done, except for this:

Ribbon Bulletin Board

This is something that I've wanted to try making for a long time.  I think these boards are beautiful, and they can be simple or fancy, and functional at the same time.  At the end of the school year, I had important papers (like checking out lists, etc.) that I needed to keep track of.  I had them in one spot, but there are eight other people who spend the day in the classroom with me, and they were accidentally lost.  I eventually found them in the recycle bin! (It sits right next to my desk.)  That is when I realized that I desperately needed a bulletin board-just for me for all those little papers I need.  What a good opportunity to make a ribbon board! So I did.

I absolutely love this fabric!! I originally bought it for curtains for the house in Woodward, but that just didn't happen.  Now I'm glad it didn't.  It gets to go to school with me now. Anyway--

Here are the materials:

Bulletin board

Batting

Fabric

Ribbon (I used grosgrain)

Upholstery tacks

Hammer

Staple gun

Tape measure

Pins

Hot glue gun

1. Cut the batting and fabric large enough to cover your board and wrap around the back for a finished edge.  I left the fabric a little bigger than the batting so I could fold it over the batting when attaching it to the board.  Use enough batting to give your board some puffiness when the ribbons are attached.  I think I used four layers.  This is the part I fumbled.  I didn't put enough batting in, and it wasn't padded enough.  I had to start over.

2.  Fold the fabric and batting around to the back edge and using the staple gun, staple it to the board.  I did one or two on each side so I could get the fabric tight and smooth on the front.  Once I did that, I went all the way around.  I left the corners for the end.  I trimmed the batting and fabric a little because it was super thick.  Then I folded the fabric like a present and stapled it.  The back turned out to look fairly neat.

3.  Figure out where you would like your ribbons.  I think I did mine a little differently, but I like how it turned out.  Make sure they are parallel with each other.  That was hard with this fabric, but I accomplished it!  Pin the ribbon down on each end until you get the upholstery tacks on.  Also, leave enough ribbon when you cut it to wrap around the back.

4.  Once the ribbons are pinned, gently tap in the upholstery tacks at the intersections of the ribbons.  Make sure the tacks are in straight lines vertically and horizontally.  Take out the pins.  Be careful that you don't hammer the tack all the way through the board.  I did this a couple of times.  This is when the padding will really start to look cool.  

5.  Take the ends of the ribbons and hot glue them to the back of the board.  I tucked mine under the fabric if I could. 

6.  Add your mounting hardware.  At this point, I added a ribbon to hang it from.  I think it might need a frame to go around it, so this is still a work in progress!

I was amazed at how easy this was. I will probably make one for the girls also.  They will be able to do a lot of this project on their own.  

Oh! Here's a little side note.  When you've got a cute board, you need cute tacks, right?  So I made some!  I had some large head thumbtacks and some of those glass beads on hand.  I drew flowers that matched my board with a sharpie on the head of the thumbtack, hot glued the bead on, and voila! Cute tacks!

 

Paper Doll Designs

I love the things Paper Doll Designs makes!  A friend of mine showed me her business and got me a mirror as a gift for Christmas one year.  I love it!  She makes spirals, rulers, candy wrappers, cell phone covers, flags, you name it, she can do just about anything.  I think I might have to make an order for school just to make the girls and I smile.  Here are pictures from her latest post:


 

These photos are from Paper Doll Designs.  Go check it out!

Flashlight Derby

Every teacher tries their best to help their students learn.  I am no exception.  When I was teaching preschool, I wanted to be able to review what they learned in a fun way.  That is how I tried to teach everything--masked in fun.  You have to with a special needs preschooler just to keep their attention.  Anyway, we were studying the letter F and I came up with the idea of Flashlight Derby!  We reviewed colors, shapes, numbers, and letters.  It was a wonderful success in preschool and the idea stayed with me.

Now that I teach elementary school, I wondered if I could make it work for my guys now.  So we tried it.  I still had the same cards I used with preschool, plus I added words and names, since all of them are reading!  We tried this in May, so we had lots of material we could use.  Here's what you need:

Flashlights (I asked the students to bring their own, and I had ones from the dollar store just in case)
Masking tape
Bold marker (I used a black Marks alot)
Paper/Index cards (I used 1/2 sheets of recycled copy paper or construction paper for the colors)
A bit of time to put it up

The premise is simple.  Make the sheets/cards using what you want to review, and tape them to the ceiling.  Put them randomly in one area (across the room is hard to see) where the students can be on the ground.  Then make sure everyone has a flashlight.  Have everyone lay down on the floor (YES, Teachers too!!) and turn off the lights!  I was the caller, and I would say, "Find the number 30."  The students would have to shine their flashlights on the number.  Do this for all of the items, or until you run out of time or patience.  My boys found this extremely relaxing and fun.  They were really good at it too!  We put all of their names up there, as well as the teachers, principals, and their sight words.  It was loads of fun.  In preschool as a prize to the "winner," (they all did well) I let them pick from the treasure box.  My elementary class was happy with just playing it.  Here is what my ceiling looked like.

Semester Calendar

As you are probably noticing, I have a thing for calendars. Small ones, big ones, flippy ones, I love them all. There are many times when I find myself needing to see a month or two in the past and a month in advance for the same task. Just a quick glance-something that drives me crazy to have to pull out the big planner for. I decided that I would like to have a semester at a glance calendar in my room. And--why not make it awesome? That's what I did.

I just took an extra frame, fabric, and styrofoam from a package that I already had at home to make this. I cut the styrofoam to fit the frame, wrapped it in fabric, and installed it in the frame, using the original backing to hold it all in. I was going to put the months directly on the fabric, but it got lost in the pattern. So I put the calendars on a piece of black scrapbooking paper and it works. The calendar is pinned on with straight pins. It will be easy to change out the calendars or even change the format if I like. Just print and pin.

The "In" Box

This past year I finally found the perfect inbox for turning in papers.  I was using a wire stack-able letter tray for turning in work, but it just wasn't fitting what I needed.  That's when I found this.

The lid fits underneath, and the student's completed work fits nicely in it.  The best thing is--when I need to take papers home to grade, I just snap the lid on! And--It was just $3 at Wal-mart.  Score!

Now, as I sat at my desk, thinking about how I could make my classroom look and feel better, I realized I could cover it.  This is how it looks.

I cut my fabric the width of the sides and Mod-Podged it to the inside of the container.  I really didn't need to do the bottom (I was afraid papers would stick to the fabric if I did), but if I covered the lid, it would show right through the bottom.  That's what I did.  I measured and cut out a piece of fabric that would cover just the top of the lid.  I used Mod-Podge to adhere the fabric to the inside of the lid.  I did a little bit at a time, and I used a straight edge, a plastic putty knife, to push the air bubbles out and make sure I got the corners stuck tight.  I love how it turned out!!

Perpetual Calendar

My students are getting in the habit of writing the date on all of their papers.  I have seen the flip calendars with the month, day, and year spiral bound on an easel.  I didn't want that.  I wanted something I could hang on my chalkboard where the big calendar is.  So I made a calendar the way I wanted it.  I made the months one color, the days another, and the years yet another.  Then I laminated, cut them out, and punched holes in them for rings.  It is such a help in the classroom!  Last year I didn't know what to put it on, so I found something on hand--half and curtain rod and fishing line.  I didn't like it, but it worked.  I figured out something even better.  I put it on a hanger!  Then of course, I had to cute it up.  I took off the hook part of the hanger off because I didn't need it, but it would be just as cute with it on.

The Comment Box

There are many things I would love for my classroom.  Some of them are crazy expensive, some take time, and some are simple and easy.  This one falls under simple and easy.  I found this idea on Pinterest and I knew I needed it!  I have a student that can never stay on the subject, and I hate to tell him he has to wait to tell me or not at all.  Enter the comment box!  Now my students can write notes or draw pictures to my assistants and I without interrupting class, and do it without the rest of the class hearing if they choose.  I will set it up on the counter near my desk with paper and pencils.

Materials:
unfinished wooden tissue box
acrylic paint and brushes/sponges
paint pens (optional)
Mod Podge sealer (optional)

First, cover your surface.  I couldn't find a wooden tissue box cover, but I did find a box with a hinged lid with a wire mesh inlay.  I took out the wire and it's perfect.  My classroom is done in black with multicolored dots, so that's what I painted it.  I painted the box black then used different size circle templates to make my circles.  I used a pencil to lightly trace them on.  Then I colored them every color of the rainbow.  I wrote "comments" on the lid with a paint pen.  Done!

Once it dried, I looked at it and realized that I probably should seal it, since some of my students have a hard time keeping their fingers clean.  I gave it a quick coat of Mod Podge and we are set to go.  I decided to just paint/glue the lid shut since the opening is wide. I hope this will be effective at school.  If not, it's darn cute!

Summer is NOT Just a Vacation!

Every year as the school year goes on, I have a list (shocker).  When I run into things that would be great to have in the classroom that requires some time to do, I add it to the list.  It is my summer list!  Then, when I am at home during the summer, I take the time to do all of those things I didn't have time to complete.  This year, the list was on my iPad.  It was four pages long!  I think it was longer because it is a new classroom (to me), and I need more school age things. And--it needs to be cuted up!! So, I've been working on making things to make my classroom run smoother and cuter too.  As I finish things, I will post pics, the how and the why.  Just in case you wanted to know.  I love summer--so I can sleep in, be with my family, and do stuff for the classroom.

May 20, 2013--Snow Cones, Students, a Bathroom, and a Tornado

It was the first day of the last week of school. I had so many fun things planned for my students! The day before a huge tornado ripped through Shawnee, Carney, and Little Axe, leaving lots of destruction. The entire state knew that the weather would be favorable for severe, even tornadic weather on Monday too. The dry line stalled, so we needed to be ready.

I had been preparing the students all day that we might not be able to walk to the snow cone stand. If we couldn't, one of the adults would go for them. Two of my students were having a hard time staying calm (which should have been an indicator) so we decided to stay in the classroom for music. We looked out and saw that it was clouding up. I went to tell the office that we were going to go, and to ask what kind of snow cone they would like. This was right at 2:00. It was very warm and humid-unusual for Oklahoma. The air felt electric. I was a little concerned because that is how it feels when a big storm is coming. Anyway, when I went to the office, they told me we were under a tornado watch and the students could not leave campus. That was fine, since we had been prepping them all day. When my assistant and I left, the wind started to pick up and the temperature began to fall a little. As our order was finished, the first thunder sounded. We looked at each other and hurried back to school. This was approximately 2:15.

It wasn't five minutes and the parents began to come. They came quickly. Lots of them. It got to the point that Mrs. Gifford asked everyone to turn off the movies and smart boards and all equipment so we could hear dismissals. She read a constant list of names. She was very calm. At this time, it was the normal time my students were leaving. We were frantically trying to get everything ready for them to go, get the room together, and get ourselves together because we knew we would be doing our procedures soon.

My daughter called and said they kept her at school. All of my students but one were checked out or left like normal before the first siren sounded.

Our procedure is to go to the Kindergarten room, line the inner walls with Kindergarten and Sixth grade. At the beginning of the year, the other teachers and I had decided that if the real thing ever came, that we would pile into the bathrooms between the two rooms. That is exactly what we did. My student didn't really understand what was going on. He just knew that I wanted him to come and sit on the bathroom floor.

We were there a few minutes and my student's mother came to the door to take him. I almost didn't let her leave with him, but the sirens were not going at the moment, so I did. At that point I left the Kindergarten room and went to the office to see if I could help. The line of parents was long. Staff had clipboards and had them sign out as Gifford was saying their names as fast as possible. Toni, our assistant principal, asked me to listen to the tv or radio and give her updates, away from the office. I went back to my room and listened. That is when I heard Mike Morgan say it was a wedge tornado, heading straight for Moore. I tried to text Toni but it wouldn't go through so I went and told her. The sirens began again. I went back to Kindergarten to help.

The sixth grade boys were doing alright with being in the situation, but some of the girls and the Kindergarteners were scared. They began to tear up. We kept reassuring them that it was going to be okay. We were together, we took cover, and we will be fine. Mitchell and I went and got the crash pad from my room to put over them if it veered to us. We were all in the bathroom, waiting and listening. Pelley had Gary England on her phone, and he said it was at Orr Family Farm, coming straight for us. We kept telling the kids it was going to be okay, we were safe right here and we were together, and they were doing great. Inside I was pleading to God to watch and deliver us all.

By this point Gifford wasn't dismissing anymore, but telling us to be in position, that it was on its way. She was very calm. On the phone I heard them say 4th and Broadway. That was close to my oldest daughter's school. I stepped out of the bathroom for a sec to get myself together so the kids wouldn't see me upset. Gifford came on again and said, "Take your positions now!" And we did.

The lights began to flicker. It was very quiet. The girls whimpered. We reassured them. I prayed. Gary said it was past Bryant. I popped my head out of the bathroom and I saw it. It was huge. I prayed it would steer clear of my youngest daughter's school, Bryant. It did. 

We knew we were in the clear, so we let the kids out of the bathroom and into the class. We fed them some snacks and calmed them down. There were a few sixth grade girls quite shook up and crying. I held them for a bit and let them cry. They were in shock of it all, I think, and one was worried about their family. I helped them calm down a little, and then I got a text from my sister.

She had no idea that we just had a tornado go through. She knew about storms, but that was all. Then she asked about our other sister. She lives in a group home on Santa Fe between 4th and 19th. So all of my family could possibly be injured, for the exception of Lauren, because I saw it pass her by. I had no idea about anyone else at this point. 

I helped bring all of the kids up to the main building for dismissal. I stayed for a bit until Toni said that if we needed to go, we could. I went. My truck was filthy with small flying debris. It was all stuck to it. I headed home.

Then my husband called. He was safe! He fled the pharmacy, grabbed the pugs, and went to Crossroads. He said he had Lauren and she was safe. He was closer to getting Anna than I was, so he went to get her and I began to call the family. Our house was still standing, no damage, and even had power, but no water. When my family came home we all hugged each other tight. The next task was to find out about my sister. It took a bit, but I finally got a text that she was fine. 

Later on we found out my husband's work was spared by yards. He works in the pharmacy between Highland East and Moore Schools Administration. There were damaged cars and lots of debris in the parking lot. Not a window was broken in the pharmacy. They still do not have any power or Internet to do business. They have been renting a generator to have power. My sister's home is in the quarantine area, and they were evacuated Tuesday morning. She is still with us. She was quite shaken up when I got her, but she seems to be recovering fine. When utilities are restored, I'm sure she will want to go home.

I am extremely blessed. I hurt for my neighbors and my hometown that we are going through this again. But one thing I am positive of is that God has been with us, and he will continue to bless us with this indomitable spirit and we will recover, rebuild, and grow. We are an amazing community, and I am proud to be a part of it. 

5/22/13

Spring After School Fun

Since the weather is finally becoming pleasant after school, the girls and I have been spending time outside playing. We leash up the pugs, and the girls ride their bikes and scooters. Sidewalk chalk comes out, and crazy pictures appear. Hagrid loves to go running along the girls as they ride, while Penny would rather watch from the driveway. 

Normally we play four square with Calvinball rules, since there's only three of us. We haven't done that yet since all of our balls are curiously absent. Instead, we have been playing darts!

Allen received a dartboard from a friend one time, and we have played it off and on. Now Lauren is old enough to play too, so the girls and I are a little more interested (besides the fact that it is sitting at their level!). Here are a couple of snaps from today:

This is my last turn. Lauren beat me!

One of Lauren's rounds had a rogue shot that went down on the shelf below. It made a little hole in the keyboard! We had a good laugh at that.

The Puglectric Blanket

Good for cold winter nights.




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100 Books to Read Before You Die

The ladies I work with are a hoot.  Everyday we discuss with my class what we did the night before, or anything they would like to tell us.  One of those days three of us had read a book.  We started talking about different books and all of a sudden we had a book club.  It is my very first!  I have done a Bible study group before (and I love all of you very much) and it was amazing.  But discussing a book just because is going to be fun.  The first book we decided on was #1 on the bestseller list for that week.  I think we will have our first meeting soon.  We've decided the book was too easy and that we should do something a little more challenging.  One of my friends heard about the list of 100 books to read before you die.  Perfect!  We will pick a number and read it.  When I went to find this list, it is interesting because there isn't just one.  There are quite a few of these lists floating out there.  I picked one that had a mix of everything.  So far I have read 23 of the things on it.  Kinda fun!  Here is the list:

100. On the Road by Jack Kerouac
99. Atonement by Ian McEwan
98. The Color Purple by Alice Walker
97. Animal Farm by George Orwell
96. Birdsong by Sebastian Faulk
95. The Screwtape Letters by C. S. Lewis
94. The Lost Valentine (The Last Valentine) by James Michael Pratt
93. The Lonesome Gods by Louis L’Amour
92. Angels Everywhere by Debbie Macomber
91. The Help by Kathryn Stockett
90. Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden
89. Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier
88. The Time Traveller’s Wife by Audrey Niffenegger
87. The Divide by Nicholas Evans
86. Lolita by Vladimir Nabokor
85. Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
84. The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath
83. Walden by Henry David Thoreau
82. Like Dandelion Dust by Karen Kingsbury
81. The Red Book by Deborah Copaken Kogan
80. The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown
79. The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood
78. The Complete Calvin and Hobbes by Bill Waterson
77. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl
76. Vanity Fair by William Makepeace Thackerey
75. Paradise Lost by John Milton
74. A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens
73. Persuasion by Jane Austen
72. The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
71. Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger
70. Catch 22 by Joseph Heller
69. Barchester Towers by Anthony Trollope
68. Bridget Jones’s Diary by Helen Fielding
67. Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas
66. Watership Down by Richard Adams
65. Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad
64. The Sound and the Fury by William Faulkner
63. The Hobbitt by JRR Tolkien
62. The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas
61. Charlotte’s Web by E B White
60. Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
59. David Copperfield by Charles Dickens
58. Life of PI by Yann Martel
57. One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
56. Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen
55. Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert
54. Pride Runs Deep by R. Cameron Cook
53. The Little Prince by Antoine De Saint-Exupery
52. Facing Your Giants by Max Lucado
51. Dracula by Bram Stoker
50. Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens
49. How the West Was Won by Louis L’Amour
48. Having a Mary Heart in a Martha World by Joanna Weaver
47. Winds of War by Herman Wouk
46. Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoyevsky
45. Bleak House by Charles Dickens
44. The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoyevsky
43. A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens
42. Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll
41. Grimm’s Fairy Tales
40. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
39. The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame
38. Middlemarch by George Eliot
37. Leaves of Grass by Walt Whitman
36. Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
35. Ulysses by James Joyce
34. Education of a Wandering Man by Louis L’Amour
33. Anne of Green Gables by L. M. Montgomery
32. The Five People You Meet in Heaven by Mitch Albom
31. The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett
30. Complete Works of Shakespeare
29. Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
28. Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte
27. Brideshead Revisited by Evelyn Waugh
26. Little Women by Louisa M. Alcott
25. Great Expectations by Charles Dickens
24. Tess of the D’Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy
23. Les Miserables by Victor Hugo
22. Moby Dick by Herman Melville
21. The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne
20. Gulliver’s Travels by Jonathan Swift
19. Anna Karenia by Leo Tolstoy
18. Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe
17. Pilgrim’s Progress by John Bunyan
16. The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer
15. The Fairie Queen by Edmund Spencer
14. The Odyssey by Homer
13. Aesop’s Fables
12. The Sound and the Fury by William Faulkner
11. The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
10. 1984 by George Orwell
9. The Shack by William Paul Young
8. War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy
7. Harry Potter Series by J. K. Rowling
6. Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell
5. The Chronicles of Narnia by C. S. Lewis
4. Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien
3. Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
2. The Bible – King James Version or NIV
1. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

Pugs are wonderful!

This is from Bah Humpug- a blog about a lady and her pugs. I absolutely love her drawings! She has a new book coming out in February. It's called A Pug's Guide to Etiquette. Check it out!




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