Half of my heart....

Thank you The Blogger First Grade Parade! 

With Election 2012 being such a big current event I wanted to do something to make it more relatable for my class.  I had them watching videos and reading articles about the real candidates but it wasn't nearly as engaging or applicable for us out here in rural Alaska. So I found the awesome Pint-Sized Presidential Fun Math Literacy Mini Unit to help bring it to my kids level.  They loved the books.  They loved the reading response activities.  They ADORED the election activity!  I took some great shots of what my kids created and the final results.

In other news, there is a national holiday coming up.  It's almost my birthday!  Oh and Thanksgiving too.  :)  What is on my schedule for Thanksgiving break this year?  Well, start with the crew of friends from last year, add 3 new teachers to the mix, and blend them all together in an Aliaska ski lodge.  That's right, yours truly will be spending the holiday break with non-other than awesome teacher friends and maybe even some winter sports.

Finally, the countdown has definitely begun!  As of tomorrow, I will be "Back Home in Indiana" 39 days!  Yes I did just make a reference to my state song.  I know I'm lame don't rub it in....  Anyways, I'm excited that time has flown by this year.  It's incredibly difficult to spend so much time away from friends, away from family, and away from... you guessed it, Nate!  

 

I Put A Spell On You... and Now You're MINE!!

Happy All Souls Day!

Here's my rendition of how Halloween went in 5 words.

1. Sneaky:  I could hardly believe how fast the holiday snuck up on me!  I was prepared costume wise a month in advance, but... I didn't stock up on candy or plans.  That made for a kind of busy weekend for me. 
2. Sugary:  Halloween in an elementary classroom= massive sugar rushes and crashes.  The kids love you for bringing them sweets but tend to have stomach aches for days after.  I missing one today due to this!
3. Frustrating:  I planned fun events but wasn't able to get to them due to behavior issues or just plain timing.  That frustrates me to no end because I truly love celebrating holidays with my kids.
4. Rewarding:  There's nothing like dressing up in costume as a teacher and becoming a mini celebrity.  All day long I had K-12 grade students coming up and complimenting me or just plain staring and hugging!
5. Fun:  I love sharing Halloween traditions with my kids.  We watched "Are You Afraid of the Dark", "Goosebumps", and even "Hocus Pocus"!

We played Wrap the Mummy!

My single solitary boy in class...

Look how well this group was working together

This game went better than I originally thought.  I'm always nervous introducing my students to new games that they've never tried.  As a teacher there's many times where things can flop and cause issues that you don't want in the classroom.  On the brightside... this was not one of those games.  The kids enjoyed the goofiness of the game and were learning how to work together.  Always an important life skill if you ask me.

Minnie Mouse and Sheldon from Big Bang Theory (NOTE the Sheldon Joker smile)