On Wednesday he ate through....

the valances in the classroom windows!

Aren't these the cutest?

Eric Carle is my one of my favorite authors...and with the decals above that Daughter #2 found, the curtains just complete the Very Hungry Caterpillar look in the classroom.
My sister found the fabric and made them for my windows...she also made dresses for my little niece who loves that book.

*LIVESTRONG*LOVESTRONGER*LAUGH HARDER*EAT LIKE THE VERY HUNGRY CATERPILLAR*

It's almost a classroom and wing....

Today I worked for 5 hours in my room...I got almost everything in the wing that is the play area.

There is a play kitchen, table and baby with a crib at the far right...I have never had this much room just for play!

Then I took a 4'x6' piece of butcher paper and put it where my white board will go so I could see how to set up the rest of the room...and the janitor will know where to put the board if it arrives while I am gone.

Then I will be able to put up a word wall, the alphabet and number line...and some color on that wall.

Tomorrow is the teacher's rummage sale with most of the proceeds going to Camp Okizu.

*LIVESTRONG*LOVESTRONGER*LAUGH HARDER*LOVING MY NEW CLASSROOM*

Off to college again....

This morning BIG Foot took off for his Grandmother's house....2/3 of the way to his college town.

Thank goodness he did not have to travel 800+ miles alone...he had his Rasta monkey that he won at the county fair.

After good-byes I walked 5 miles with my former coworker and then rode to school with the Captain. It takes 2x as long to ride and there is more up than just the BIG hill to my old school. I also rode a little slower because I had 2- 64 quart Rubber Maid tubs on the back of my bike.

I was excited to find I now have enough tables to sit the kids at!! AND the ballast is fixed so the lights don't flicker...and the wonderful janitor found a cart for the T.V. he salvaged for me. AND I have brand new chairs!! I have never had brand new classroom furniture or a new white board (that I ordered today!) You know you're a teacher when silly things excite you!!

It took all day to paper these walls and put up border...but I did manage to set up the "stuff" you see here into a configuration that I am very happy with.

The Captain was too tired to swim today so I stayed longer to finish a few things- then I rode to the BIG DOWNHILL......
but first I took a picture of the view leaving my school...

The fog is pouring in from the coast and over to the reservoir.

Then to the hill....where you can see the Oakland Bay Bridge and the San Mateo Bridge....and if the trees were cut down some you could see the Golden Gate. The fog is engulfing The City too....but it is the 2nd real day of summer here at my house!

*LIVESTRONG*LOVESTRONGER*LAUGH HARDER*RIDE THE DOWNHILL*

You know you're a teacher when:

...something as silly as a paper cart makes you happy!

It's been 15 years since I had a paper cart...I had to roll posters and put them in a box in a closet...it was so hard to find the ones I needed I usually just skipped using them. My seasonal decorations, tracing patterns and borders were stuffed in places where they did not fit. So I cleaned this cart out, and emptied 4 boxes of stuff into it!- Doesn't take too much to make me happy!

Notice the vacuum in the back? I vacuumed where the dead mouse was and sprayed the area with Lysol...several times. The mouse was behind a cabinet...and he died...then all of it was eaten away by some things...that left their pupas behind after they flew away...along with a very clean mouse skeleton ...that I put in a jar for Daughter #1's science class.

*LIVESTRONG*LOVESTRONGER*LAUGH HARDER*LOVE A PAPER CART*USE LYSOL*

Another Day Another Classroom

Today I spent helping Daughter #1 move into her new classroom. The back, "permanent" removable wall is huge...and had tons of staples in it...and the new paper had to be put up with a staple gun....and that was pretty much all we accomplished today. Pulling staples with pliars and putting up new paper...Whew!

Then to celebrate we went to the pool and swam a mile.

*LIVESTRONG*LOVESTRONGER*LAUGH HARDER*DECORATE THE WALLS*

It was awesome...

the ride down the BIG hill on my bike today...1.4 miles of pure d.o.w.n! I met my friend, who does that ride 3 times a week to work and back. I wasn't sure of the exact route so I met her on her way home and she showed me the off road route. The BIG hill is a busy street with minimal bike lane. This route goes past a small lake and is quite a pretty ride without all the traffic. We rode up to my classroom and peeked in the windows, then rode over to her house. I had several options for the ride home...but I didn't want to take the off road route as I don't have mountain bike tires on my bike and I am afraid I would slide on the way down hill. SO I chose a route with a few UP hills and then a major downhill....Club Dr. for your locals....what a thrill.

This morning I took the dog...the one Daughter #2 is babysitting...and headed to my classroom to work. Puppy dog was in heaven in the little fenced yard and wore himself out:

I put the shelves in the "new" green bookshelf and filled it with 10 boxes of books! Then Daughter #1 came to help...we got the calendar board almost finished:

And the Wall Story board is finished:

...and best of all my "new" shelf:

I cannot for some reason rotate this photo...the books which were in copy paper boxes for 14 years in a cabinet, are now shelved....so I need to get better markers than the file folders I have shoved in there now. But I am so excited that I can see all of my books and manuals instead of pulling boxes out from a cabinet.


I am also excited that I have wall space and just as soon as the other teacher's stuff gets moved I can set up the playhouse and blocks in the wing...and get the P.E. stuff outside and get my supplies in the outside lockers.


Funny, for years I have dreamed that I was at school and I found another room, office or work area that I hadn't known about...and I would wonder why I hadn't found that space before and how cool to utilize that space now. Well now I am not dreaming...I have found extra storage, an office and a workroom all in my wing....for real!

*LIVESTRONG*LOVESTRONGER*LAUGH HARDER*GO UP AND DOWN THE BIG HILLS*DECORATE AND ORGANIZE*