George the Shark

Last week, I was contacted with an awesome opportunity! I was asked to review the book, George the Shark by teacher/author, Mary Dave. I was very flattered!

I read the book a few times just for fun, and then read it with my specific class in mind. Given the vocabulary level and length of the text, I would most likely George the Shark as a quick expository text read aloud (a great way to link science and reading) and then add it to my classroom library.  That whole train of thought set my brain spinning, so I began making a list (is that just me? Or do all teachers love lists?!) of...

 Reasons I Would Use George the Shark In My Classroom:

-It contains high level vocabulary, which I especially appreciate when teaching my students who are ELLs. There are plenty of words that are related to shark-specific content, but also generally useful, but interesting words for students to learn ("blotches", "tourists", "enormous", "social", and "cooperative" were some of my faves) use in and out of our science curriculum.

-The book provided lots of interesting details about a wide variety of shark breeds, so if you happen to do an animal research project or have a friend who has an obsession is very interested in sharks, this would be a fun resource!

- Each shark described had at least one "I am different because..." sentence. I love a book that celebrates the differences, especially in a classroom where we all VERY different! I could also see myself using this do to a little compare/contrast work (maybe even with a triple Venn for some differentiation?)

-At the end of the book, there are dry erase activities. One requires students to connect each shark to the type of hat it was wearing in the illustrations of the book. I could see this being a lead up to the "look back in the text to prove your answers" skill (something my third graders sometimes struggle with).

-The illustrations and layout are simple, which could encourage my students to be authors and illustrators.

If you'd like a copy of George the Shark, or want to check out some Mary Dave's other fun books you can check out her website here!

To be clear: I was contacted to do a review of this book and provided with a digital copy of the book to review. HOWEVER, the above review/opinions are MINE and they are honest!

Five for Friday... late.

i'm linking up with doodlebugsteaching for a fun week week review!

{one}

Looping is the bomb. I got the incredible opportunity to promote to 3rd grade with my 2nd graders this year and I am 5 weeks in and it has just been amazing. I love teaching this little group of nuggets so much and I am already devastated that I won't get to be their teacher next year. We are just chugalugging right along with small groups and Daily 5 and all that is good and wonderful and the students are continuing to make leaps and bounds academically and socially. I started my 2nd grade class with about 70% of students at a Tier 3 reading level and this year? 14%. Partaaaay, we are going to be doing book clubs all day erryday!

{two}

If you follow me on insta, you know that my Yeti cup is my new little boo boo. I am drinking at least 5 cups of ice cold water a day now and I am probably the healthiest teacher ever ever ever (because the water obviously counters the insane amounts of Smarties I'm consuming  from my candy jar because my lil smarties aren't earning them often enough... but that's a story for another time). However, then I have to pee during class, and ain't nobody got time for that. 

Ryan, you swing by anytime, boo. Actually if you are a moderately functional adult and it's about 2pm COME ON DOWN. SERIOUSLY.

{three}

Speaking of smarties, I pinned this little game and then a sweet friend of mine from college said she was using it and it actually worked, so I've been trying it with my little dahhhlings in the class that rotates in for 2 hours of reading and writing. My looped homeroom has their behavior on lock (and they are teaching me sassy phrases like that so I sound hip), but the other class apparently doesn't know how much I love them and want them to succeed and dream the biggest dreams they can and be authors and readers and extraordinary even though you best believe I am trying to tell them. Currently, all they seem to know is if their little mouths are not talking and their little behinds are in their chairs by the time I get to zero after counting down from 10, they get a point and are one step closer to some candy at the end of their block with me. I did read this sassy article about why not to do it and while I feel it had some good points, I am seeing success in being able to limit excessive chitchat and increase time on task. I definitely DO NOT celebrate "my" points, I just slap them on the board and move right along. And the only thing that gets us points is when the students are quiet and seated for a countdown from 10. I'm hoping to phase it out, ok?!

read about her version here!

{four}

My new favorite cardigans: JCrew factory Clare. They are not totally cheapo but they last a long time and are the perfect 3/4 sleeve length and hip length if you are the height of your average 5th grader like me. I own them in four colors currently. If you click on the link, you're probably going to think I am an old lady, but they are super cute on. Promise! I would add a cute little picture of me wearing one right underneath this buttttt I am an absolute failure at selfies and I think we would just all be embarrassed.

{five}

I have successfully been working out three times a week for the last couple of months. I recently added ten minutes of running to that and I am daaaaaang proud that I can run 10 minutes without stopping. However, I am also slightly embarrassed because hello, I was a collegiate athlete not that long ago. I'm thinking of trying to work up to a 5k. Is that ridiculous? Too low of a goal? Are you a runner and if so can you please tell me how to run without feeling like I am going to hyperventilate?

may currently

I am recently obsessed with Downton Abbey. I'm on the third season and it just sucks me in. I'm usually in bed by about 8:30 (#promiseimnot50), but a few nights last week I was up until midnight! It's free on Amazon Prime if you have that option and need something to binge watch.

week-end: (n) a time to sit on the couch and follow the journal of the crawley family

My house has been awfully quiet lately, but my sweet puppies and cat are so fabulous at keeping me company. I won't lie, I used to judge people who posted zillions of pictures of their pets, buttttt, I've turned a new leaf... So here's a few of my little nuggets lately:

Agh. Currently, I have been given the opportunity (LOL) to remediate 5th grade students who need to pass a second administration of our state standardized test. I have mixed feelings. I love working on projects like this (plus I get to teach reading allllll daaaaaay). However, I am super sad that I only get to see with my little second grade besties for breakfast each day. I miss them, and I know they were sad when I told them that once again (more on that later...) they would be without me. Here's to hoping for a quick, but successful last week of intensive instruction, and then thoughts on how to spend my last three weeks with my little darlings.

Speaking of, I have heard lots of talk about where I might be going/what I might be doing next year. I am on a VERY strong team, and as much as I hate to admit it, I know that often the beauty of that doesn't get to last long. I have been pulled to work with 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade students so far this year, plus I was last one hired onto my grade level, so... Who knows. We have a staff meeting on Wednesday this week, so I'm hoping to hear some new information! I'd love to be able to plan ahead effectively. I hate starting out a year behind the curve!

AGH, I desperately need to incorporate a workout routine into my life. I am please with my shrinking figure, but I think now the time has come to focus on maintaining a +/-5lb weight range and begin building some muscle tone and losing some of my delicious bingo wings. Anybody have an recommendations for something I can do at home and still kind of hold myself accountable to?

my year... thank goodness i started paying attention to how i was living!

This summer, I am in a wedding, and attending three others. I got married a tiny bit young, and now many of the sweet girls my age are jumping in on the adventure, too. I am so excited for the showers/bach parties/dinners/ceremonies that are starting this month, especially because this is likely my last year to live in Texas (and so my last year to easily attend these kinds of events). I hope that my summer flies by, honestly. August is going to be an exciting month for my fambam and without working all summer, I am afraid it might drag on. I am going to a couple weeks of LETRS training, weddings, to see my parents and precious sister, and hopefully prepping for whatever is going to happen next year. I'm dreaming that I'll be able to squeeze in some kind of beach-y adventure before I have to go back to school at the end of August, but it will be a tight fit!

Currently: April

Let's begin by making it clear. I am the absolute worst blogger. I am joining Farley for the first time in months... and I'm joining halfway through the month. But better late than never, right?!

I have taken up binge watching The Office again ever since I finished listening to Mindy Kahling's audio book on my long drive back from my parents' house over Easter weekend. It cracks me up. I wish we could do a little documentary-style show about my classroom. I have some characters that are quite similar. Also, my injured dog is basically almost all the way healed, so I am enjoying listening to two sets of puppy paws prancing around my house again!

The weather was fairly crappy through February, and I seriously wonder if I have a little bit of seasonal affective disorder. I am generally a pretty happy person, but overcast, rainy weather brings a sister down. I would not be awesome at living in the Northwest, I think (even thought I did live there a couple years when I was little... probably not my best years). BUT, Praise the Lord, it has been fairly sunny the past few weeks and I've been feeling SO much happier!

We are having a concrete patio poured and a sprinkler system put in to basically complete the amount of work we are going to put into our yard before we get ready to move (OMG) next summer. I am super excited for it to look nicer and be more user friendly, but since the projects are being done in stages it is basically unusable right now and that makes me want to go crazy. I have to take both dogs out front on the leash any time they have to go outside and let me tell ya... they would not be good apartment dogs. And I would not be a good apartment dog owner.

Have I said this before? I would love to have a chef. LOVE to have a chef. I have been cooking for uno a lot lately, and by cooking I mean eating Chiobani for one a lot lately. I finally found some Amy's frozen meals that didn't seem super incredibly unhealthy, so I'm excited to try them the next couple of weeks. I also made these ten freezer meals that I found on Pinterest with my mama over Easter break. They are good, but I am still trying to figure out how to adjust the crockpot cook time. 

I need, truly, very little. I like that this always gives me some good time to reflect on how blessed I am. I mean, what do I really, truly need? Very little, my friends, very little.

Uh. My last name is Bean (no joke, my current students LOOOVE to call me "señora frijole"), and I teach. So... there ya have it!

What if Everybody Did That?!

In my classroom, we have 5 simple rules, inspired by whole brain teaching. 

1. Follow directions quickly.

2. Raise my hand if I have something to ask or share.

3. Treat my teachers and classmates with respect.

4.Make smart choices.

5. Always keep your dear teacher happy.

Though number 5 probably sounds a little narcissistic, any one of my 22 students could very clearly explain that keeping me happy only requires two things- that they stay safe and learn. No need to bring my gifts or tell me I'm pretty or perform any other brown nosing action... Just stay safe, and learn!

Earlier in the year (October-ish), my sweet students' behavior began backsliding a tad... I was becoming frustrated, and our Daily 5 and intervention time were becoming increasingly less effective because it seemed as though every 5 minutes I was having to redirect behavior of yet another student. Finally, in desperation, I pulled back out the book I used at the beginning of the year to introduce our five simple rules. It is a little beauty called What If Everybody Did That? We read it again and chatted a little and then I had a streak of inspiration. I scrapped my afternoon plans and we made our own class version of the book!

We began by brainstorming some of the issues we were having in the class. I was surprised to hear that almost all of the troubling things I was noticing, they were too! We made a bubble map and did a class example with "I just followed Mrs. B around to ask her a question instead of raising my hand one time. Mrs. B fell on me and smooshed me to bits, then turned around and said, 'What if everybody did that?!'"

Pairs of students got together and followed the pattern of the book to write their own set of two pages based on one of the bubbles off our map. They pre-wrote the text, then revised and edited it with another pair. After that, they copied it onto nice white paper, and used the illustration style of the book as well to draw some pretty hilarious pictures.

I bound all the pages with one of those old school punch-and-bind machines and put the book in our classroom library.

The little novel is super popular during Read-to-Self for Daily 5. We also pull that bad boy out whenever we are on the struggle bus and read it together. It is an awesome reminder because THEY wrote it. It's not me trying to lay down the law once again, it's THEIR words and ideas and illustration. My sweet students tend to remind each other and even remind me of the things that are truly important to keep our classroom functioning successfully. 

Currently: JANUARY

I know I've been a little absent, but what better way to start the year off?!

I'm currently at my precious grandparents' farm with my parents and my sister and my husband. The week has been full of relaxing and catching up (now that we ALL live in different places) and watching football. Love it. (:

I am so thankful for my new job. I seriously was thinking even before I started working on this post how incredibly thankful I am to be in a position that I love and that allows me to spend Christmas break only thinking or planning ahead because I want to and I'm excited... Not because I am so stressed about what is coming up when I get back. That being said, I am also grateful for my experience last year because I'm not sure I would have understood what a blessing this is without it!

I would love some prayers for my sweet old man "puppy". To keep a long story short, we left him to be taken care back home, and he was hurt this week. Even though I know he is a dog (vs a child), I have been so upset that I left him in a situation I wasn't a hundred percent comfortable with and now I can't be there for him. Maybe pray for both of us?

Looking back on my year and thinking about all that I have... There is not a single thing that I truly NEED.

After I finished my challenging year, I knew one way this school year could improve was by taking care of myself. So I did the Advocare 24 day challenge and pulled my act together. I have lost 23ish pounds from my first challenge and about 30 from my heaviest weight during last school year... And I feel awesome. Not just because of my clothes fitting (some are even too big now?!), but because my skin feels good and I don't feel greasy and I rarely have tummy troubles (which now I can almost always track back to an abundance of friiiiiied food). But now I need to get my exercise on. My primary exercise involves walking the dogs... That's better than the nothing I was doing previously, but being an ex-athlete, I know I can do way better. I'm debating CrossFit. Thoughts on that?

My goal last year was to make $50 on TPT. I didn't achieve the goal, but I also didn't work very hard at it last about... February. Oops. So maybe I will push up on that.

Last, I hope and pray and wish that my family and I will remain happy and healthy this year. I think it's going to be our best one yet!

knocking out bullying in october!

October is National Bullying Prevention Month. My very first ever See Bean Teach post was about that very topic, so I thought it would be a nice throw-back to look at some more anti-bullying ideas! Here, I've listed three lessons I've taught so far this month and two more I plan to teach. I like to be able to to link our content with talking about social skills type topics (just so we can make connections between what we learn and the real world)...  I also feel like lessons that help build our classroom community are a tool to help prevent bullying because I've notice that it is much easier for students to pick on those they know very little about... but when they know another's story and where they come from and who they really are, they find it easier to choose to say and do uplifting things. Pacer.org is a great online resource for some facts, along with Stomp Out Bullying.

(1)

As mentioned, my very first post, many moons ago was about a lesson I did with a kindergarten class during my senior year of college. It all focused around The Legend of Spookley the Square Pumpkin and how to avoid bullying. It went over really well, so this year I decided to whip that baby back out! My class had a bunch of fun listening to the story on YouTube and then making their own unique pumpkins a couple weeks ago. Of course, I added in an attempt at some academic content and had them make a verbal text-self connection before they could craft their own Spookly, but it was a much needed afternoon of creative thinking and fun after a week of 6 weeks tests (BOO ON THAT.)

(2)

We learned about adjectives in language arts this week, so we combined that with a lesson I saw on good ol' Farley's blog a while back. We described my "friend" that I'd drawn on chart paper using adjectives. When the children slung out unkind words, I crumpled it up. When they said kind things, I uncrumpled the paper. We noticed that the wrinkles were still there, and even after we tried to smooth the paper out by saying nice things, the wrinkles didn't totally go away. I think it made a bit of an impact, because after the lesson we did a full on "share you feelings circle" for about 10 minutes. I made sure to end it by asking all of the students to share something that has been a positive interaction with another person in their life so that we could have some emotional closure and a way to bring our thoughts back to a happy place if they'd traveled a little away from there.

(3)

We also drew portraits of a classmate (they had to draw out of a jar so it was random!) and described them using 10 adjectives. I was so pleasantly surprised that no one had unkind things to say on their drawings AND they were all excited about who they got (even when it wasn't there bestfriendevereverever). I am proud of how close-knit and sweet my students are. We even had a "special visitor" from another class in another grade our room that day (yep, I get to be that teacher) so I threw his name in the bucket too and my sweet little nuggets just acted like that was totally normal and drew him a beautiful portrait as well!

(4)

We watched the BrainPop Jr. video on bullying and then did a class sort to clarified the difference between true bullying and teasing someone of having a "mean moment" using the phrases I cut from a chart that I found on Ms. Sepp's Counselor Corner. It sparked a lot of great discussion about what kinds of things we could problem solve on our own or by talking with the person who offended us, versus what kinds of things we couldn't solve unless we got help from an adult.

(5)

We read The Recess Queen, Chrysanthemum, Giraffes Can't Dance. Then we practiced making Text-Self connections. We talked about how we felt and how the characters felt, and experiences that we had that we similar to experiences the characters. We used Venn diagrams to compare both our life experiences and that of the characters AND the characters in the books. There's a freebie in my TPT store- it's not fancy by any stretch of the imagination, but it works! (:

I linked up with Doodle Bugs Teaching to share these five ideas! You should participate, too!

P.S. Real talk- this post contains Amazon Affiliate links. Check out my About Mrs. B page for more info on that!

liebster!

Kaitlyn at Third Time's A Charm nominated me for a Liebster Award!

This award is for bloggers who are new to the game and trying to grow their readership!  I have to answer the 11 questions from Kaitlyn, and then nominate 11 blogs of my choice that have less than 200 followers!

1. Why and how long ago did you start blogging? I started this blog twice, actually. Once in 2012 as a project for one of my classes in college, and then I picked it back up again in June of 2013 right before I began my first year of teaching! I started blogging because I'd always gotten such fantastic ideas from the real teachers and wanted to be a part of this beautiful, giant professional learning community!

2. What one word sums up the heart of your blog and why? Honest. I am secretly terrified that someone I know in real life reads this baby because it is really more like a journal for me.

3. Is there something you learned late in your blog journey you wished you knew before? Hmm... I feel like I am still pretty early in my blog journey... but I wish I'd known that I could pay someone a fairly nominal fee to make it look nice! (: I am also about to start focusing in on learning how to take decent pictures, so that will probably be something I look back and wish I'd known earlier! 

4. What is your favorite past time other than blogging? Ugh, I'm not so awesome at "favorite" questions. My answer is always different... So here are a few of my faves: I coach swimming a couple days a week, which is fun! I like to binge-watch series on Netflix with my main squeeze. I really like to read, but I am one of those obsessive readers (think like the way you watch a stereotypical 13 year old boy with an xbox... that is me with a good book) so I have to save reading for pleasure for Thanksgiving, Christmas, summer... I want to make exercise a favorite pastime, but I am still working on finding enough time to fit more than walking the dog in!

5. How many hours per week do you dedicate to your blog? Yikes. Maybe like 2? More in the summer, but I haven't reached that point in my career where I have a ton of down time!

6. What category of blog posts do you enjoy the most? I totally have to agree with Kaitlyn on this one- I like real-life, nitty-gritty, nobody's-perfect blog posts that share highs and lows so I can feel like it is ok not to be a Pinterest-perfect teacher. However, for quick reads, I also like EASY, healthy recipes and wish list-y kind of posts!

7. Where does your blog inspiration come from? Initially, it came from all of the big names Abby Mullins, Farley, Cara Caroll, etc. While I still L.O.V.E to read the hilarious and inspiring things those chickadees write, I am trying to find my own voice and be more inspired by my life and my students!

8. Which post that you've written are you most proud of? Oh man. My most popular posts come from my how to interview series...  But I think I'm most proud of this post because I pretty much just let it all hang out and it showed the side of teaching that isn't always so fun.
   
9. Is there any post you have been planning to do, but have postponing it for a while now? I have been planning to do more writing about the focus I've put on a healthy lifestyle this year and how I make it work with teaching... but often lesson plans and life are calling Five for Friday is a much easier way to brain-dump! #oops

10. What is your favorite aspect of blogging? Um, I swear Kaitlyn literally took the words out of my mouth. I am literally going to quote her, because there is no way to even paraphrase my thoughts better "I find it very cathartic, even writing posts that I might never publish. I feel that I express myself much better in writing than I do verbally, so sometimes typing something out helps me talk about it better with others in person." I am the kind of person that will type out notes on my iPhone before a conversation about a sticky-issue before opening my mouth... I would ALWAYS rather send an e-mail or text than call... Not because I am rude, but because I am much more eloquent when writing! Side note- Kaitlyn, I feel like we may be having one of those blogger Step-Brothers moments...

11. Which recipe, project, or idea on my blog would you be most likely to try yourself?  I really want to try to make the White Chicken Chili recipe... Sounds like a great fall Saturday "cheat meal" (: I am also really excited to get my TPT store up and moving (one day!) with all of your awesome detailed tutorials! I started some this summer, but I am going to do a better job narrowing in next summer!

My Liebster Nominees:

Charley's Classroom

Courtney @ Miss Crafty Teacher

Mrs. R @ Fourth Grade Fizz
Krissy @ Krissy's Kindergarten
Kristin @ My Carolina Classroom
Jennifer @ Stories and Songs in Second
Jennifer @ Teaching With Grace
Sheri @ The Early Years With Sheri
Northern Mama from the South
Paige @ Paiges of Learning
Sarah @ Run Teach Save

Some of y'all are blogs I follow... Some are great Currently finds... and some follow me! Can't wait to learn more about you! (:

Now that you've been nominated, here are the "official" rules for accepting:
1. In your post, link back to the blogger who nominated you as a thank you and "shout out."
2. Answer the 11 questions given to you (the ones I answered above).
3. Nominate 11 blogs of your choice that each have less than 200 followers. Provide them with 11 questions to answer or have them answer the questions above.
4. Let your nominees know that they've been nominated and provide them with a link to your post so that they can accept.
5. Send your nominator a link to your post so that s/he can learn more about you as well! (You can just put your post link in the comments below!)

Y'all have fun! (:

Five for Friday: October?!

{one}

Are you in an end-of-first-six weeks slump? Or maybe almost-end-of-nine-weeks funk? I read this last week when I was feeling a little tired and a lot little just... well... OVER IT and it totally turned my mood around. The post has great tips for teachers specifically, but you could apply it to your life in another profession or your life as a college student. It will also probably make you breathe a sigh of relief to know that you are not the only one feeling like you are under pressure all the time! A few of The Second Grade Nest's suggestions were promises I made to myself this summer so that I could feel more like myself this school year. I planned to leave school at a decent hour, do things other than teaching or crafting for teaching or planning for teaching and pay attention to maintaining a decently healthy lifestyle. It has made SUCH a difference for me this school year. Scoot over and absorb this post. Maybe read it two or three times if you need!

{two}

Speaking of healthy lifestyle... have I mentioned that I am really working hard in that department? I am about to do another 10 day Herbal Cleanse and I am super excited! A couple of friends and I are starting on October 13th and you can join us- shoot me an email at losdosfrijoles@gmail.com or click on the link above to order. I mean, for $31.50, you could buy a meal at the Cheesecake Factory... or you could put some focus on your health. Check back in a couple of days for a post with some tips for how to manage the cleanse during school!

{three}

My vice-principal sent out this video this afternoon. Add that to the fact that totally unprompted a student put on her Open House sheet that her favorite part about school is that "our class feels like a family" and I was a puddle this afternoon. Get some tissues and watch. You make a difference. You matter. Don't forget that.

{four}

I need a pencil solution. I hear a lot of good things about a pencil challenge- can someone explain that idea to a sister before I go crazy?! (:

{five}

We skipped pumpkin decorating last year, so now I am totally planning to make up for it... Pinterest seriously has the cutest ideas. I was originally thinking something like this:

But then I saw this post that has some fantastic no-carve ideas compiled! Can't wait to convince B that this adventure is happening tomorrow!

Five for... well, you know...

{one}

Since I've been on the Bountiful Baskets train, I've been trying really hard not to let produce go bad... so I was devastated when I found two bundles of celery that was like flubber in my fridge. ): But low and behold, did you know you can firm it back up?! Check it out! This is real life. I was so jazzed. I wonder if this works for any other veggies...?

Also, check out my haul this week below. Everything pictured for 15 smackeroos.

{two}

Week FIVE of school is in the books. WHAT?! I am 100% in LOVE my students. They are precious and I am already sad that they won't be mine for more than a year. I am still working on managing my time well and I spend the first three-ish weeks about to go nuts because I did not have a working computer monitor. That meant no BrainPop, no doc cam, no projector, no Go Noodle.... It was alllll song and dance for this tired teacher. I finally found relief and now we are technological wizards up in Room 16!

{three}

Speaking of technology: I have a couple sweet nuggets in my class that are still having a tough time with letter sound correspondence... I'm talking basic consonant sounds and short vowels... in second grade. While I am obsessively casually taking data (#formerspedteacher) and spending time wondering how they got this far without anyone else documenting their struggle, I have been using the Orton-Gillingham app with them while we are building our Daily 5 stamina. The app is FREE and I downloaded it after I attended the LETRS training this summer. I just kinda set them up and let them run it on Friday with very minimal instructions, and my heart was just singing as I walked past the sassiest of my two totally engrossed in the app and heard her proudly repeating each letter, sound, and key word. I think the best part of the app is the video option. After the students touch to hear the name of the letter, the sound, and the key word, they click "video" and it shows the mouth/face of a real person saying all of the things again. 

{four}

I am so darn close to getting Daily 5 up and running. My darlings can Read to Self and Read to Someone like champions. We still need to introduce Listen to Reading (my start up has been a little off of the sister's plan due to the technology snafus early on...). I have been doing some basic intervention and pulling kids here and there, but I am itching to really get my guided reading groups going! Any great suggestions for second grade higher level book study books? 

{five}

I mentioned that we adopted a little (OLD) monster, right? Well, we have been slowly working on getting him adjusted to normal living (aka, not being on da streets)... I left him in the house unsupervised for about 20 minutes yesterday and this is what I came home to:

I love bossy lady watching to make sure he doesn't get off his bed!

Currently: September 2014

Thanks for Farley for the ORIGINAL ;) and always fun link-up!

I am happily listening to my husband mow the lawn while I do "inside chores"... lol I am thankful that he is willing to be out in the sun. It is still triple digits most days here.

A couple weeks ago, B saw a dog almost get hit by a car out of our window. He went out to check its collar and return the poor guy to his home... and long story short, there was no room at the local rescue, so Walker ("Dubya") is now enjoying living the good life in the Bean house. The vet says that he is an older gentleman who is really malnourished (he gained 4lbs last week though- partay!) but otherwise in decent health for his age... and we just love him!

I adore my new class of sweet 2nd graders! SO sweet and very respectful for the most pat. They also love to learn. I had students asking me for homework on the first day... and then again on the weekend! They are a liiiiitle chatty, though, so I am looking for new ways to arrange their desks- any ideas? We're currently in groups of 4, but I'm open to just about anything!

I would love to have a personal chef. I am enjoying the effects of my healthy eating lifestyle (all of my teacher clothes fit again! hallelujah!), but sometimes it is really hard to come home after a long day at school and want to whip up a meal that is nutritious and delicious. Shockingly, those are hard to find in my neck of the woods. Especially on my budget...

After one of my sweeties told me last week that she didn't have a toothbrush at home because they had to wait for her mom to get paid again, I am thinking about this "needing" question in a whole nother light. I do not need anything. Not a darn thing.

Three trips I would seriously love to take are: (1) Machu Picchu (I've been dying to visit ever since I learned about it in my 8th grade Spanish class!) (2) Euro Trip (I've never been anywhere in that part of the world!) (3) American Landmarks (I lived in Australia when I was little, and you best believe I saw just about every historic and/or amazing national landmark they had... However, my American adventures are lacking! I'd love to visit the Grand Canyon, NYC, Mount Rushmore, D.C.... just to name a few!)

first day of school

a wise, wise woman once said:

“I love the second grade… It’s so much better than first grade where you don’t know what’s going on, and definitely better than third grade with all the politics and the mind games.” –Phoebe Buffay

happy first day of school, friends! 

Monday Made It: August 4

{one}

see the difference?! the entire thing is done now, don't you worry!

Ok, so we did not actually make the fence. A kind gentleman who spoke primarily español did all of the construction (and did a fantastic job, if I do say so myself!), and then quoted us a pretty high number to seal it. Both B & I decided that was a project we could take on ourselves to save some money, so we marched up to Home Depot, purchased materials and weather sealed that bad boy. BY HAND. 

...until I realized that a sprayer is less than $20 (and our brushes were like $9 each...) and picked up one of those to use on the second coat. We worked two days + one morning with my darling father and sister on staining/sealing/whatever, and both days it was well over 95 degrees. Probably closer to 105. Brutal. And of course, we did it between like noon and 5pm each day. The whole time, I told B that when we list the house I am FOR SURE insisting that the phrase "hand-sealed fence" be added in. His response every time was a variation of "Um, we'll see when the time comes..."

{two}

My second project of the week is my teacher planner/organizer/binder. I mentioned in my August Currently that I am fighting off mild feelings of panic and overwhelmingness about my classroom. 

Let me tell ya what: when I printed out that lesson planner and started filling it up with all of my grand schemes and plans for the sweet nuggets that will waltz into my room and demand that I fill their heads with knowledge (... a girl can dream, right?) I felt better. This is what it's all about y'all. My classroom will come along. It will be reasonably acceptable by the time school starts. BUT my kiddos will have things to learn and do that are super fun and engaging and they will all become a part of our classroom community because I will be intentional about it. That, my friends, is the part that I am truly jazzed about. 

Back to the "MADE IT" part: (which again, I didn't actually make BUT I did put together!) Check out this cutie planner from A Modern Teacher. I am loving it. I downloaded one from her last year, but it just didn't fit my needs as a special education teacher so I rarely used it. Nothing against the planner- it was awesome!* I couldn't find the file from last year to reuse it, and I just loved the new colors and patterns + I wanted the forms that matched so I went ahead and bought this year's version. I put it in a 2" binder (overkill? We'll see...) and I really like the way it looks. I also like the options I have for layout, and I LOVE the small group planning sheets. 

*If you are a multi-age/multi-group special ed teacher, I might recommend this guy. I haven't used it, but it would have been a MUST HAVE for next year if I stayed at my last job. It looks like everything I was missing in my life and more.

#healthyteacher: Bountiful Baskets

Y'all, I had the best experience picking up my Bountiful Basket last Friday! The whole pick up process ran like a well oiled-machine, and I really think the baskets are going to a) make it easier for me to eat healthier during the school year and b) push my boundaries when it comes to cooking! I got the "conventional basket", and for $15 it came with:

-6 bananas

-5 figs

-a large bag of seedless red grapes

-7 limes

-4 large navel oranges

-8 tomatoes

-1 head of lettuce (cabbage?)

-4-5 radishes

-1 clamshell of cherry tomatoes

-1 large avocado

-2 heads of broccoli

-1 box of mushrooms

I also ordered a bag of cherry pecan granola (an extra fee, of course, but it came with TWENTY-EIGHT servings), which I immediately began putting into portion control ziplocs because it is SO delicious that I would not be able to stop chowing down if I ate out of the big bag. 

Apparently there was another someone in the house who enjoyed the process almost as much as I did...

My meal plan for the coming week looks like this to try to accommodate some of the fruits/veggies that I received:

How do you maintain healthy eating habits during the year?! Let me know!