I'm embarrassed that it's been this long since a post. But it's worth it. I promise.
Between launching Reader's Workshop, launching Writer's Workshop, understanding the new Common Core standards, meeting the requirements for the new teacher evaluation system, presenting Web 2.0 tools to a packed crowd at the Massachusetts Computer Using Educators conference at Gillette in October, staying on top of my growing Google Reader count, and incorporating many new TPT activities and goodies into my class, life in Room 16 has been NON-STOP.
Not to mention, we're having a baby! :)
Amid the baby excitement, there has been much to celebrate.
Last weekend included a delicious dinner at Hooters with the hubs, Sarah, Dan, and some best girl friends, a day in the city with my mother-in-law to celebrate her November birthday with handbag-designing, lunch and cupcakes on Newbury Street, some quality time with Leah (and a sleepover), a birthday brunch with favorites at Cheesecake Factory, and a family birthday celebration with homemade cake and ice cream. Yum!
No rest for the weary-- family dinner last night, a birthday dinner for a friend at Lolita's (tapas, pop-rocks covered cotton candy...) tonight, the Jingle Bell 5K tomorrow morning, a girl friend's ornament/beer Yankee Swap party tomorrow!
Excited for this week in third grade. I've got Holidays Around the World and some creative ways to meet the standards all while promoting the holiday spirit! (Composing tweets from Santa Claus and Dan the Dreidel's point of view? You bet!)
4 days until our school's holiday party...
5 days until we see our sweet babe again in an ultrasound...
6 days until our family holiday extravaganza...
and 6 days until school vacation and time for wrapping, gifting, and a whole lot of nesting!
Time to hit the gym-- we've got 6 weddings and I have a whole lot of dresses to fit into in 2013!
It sure is easier to create/ post/ sell/ blog in the summer months.
School (and a whole lot of changes) make for a busy September!
We're launching Reader's Workshop and Writer's Workshop and teaching ourselves along the way.
We're teaching an updated Common Core version of enVision math--less a textbook. [Another challenge...] But we're keeping our heads above water and doing our best!
I hope to create more TPT and Teacher's Notebook items aligned to the Common Core in the coming weeks. I admire my fellow teacher bloggers who maintain, manage, and update their blogs and stores daily! Pipe dreams! :)
Beyond the walls of Room 16 I've...
+ climbed stadium stairs with the November project [a free fitness program in Boston]
+ attended a friend's wedding in Rhode Island Labor Day weekend
+ explored Wompatuck State Park in Hingham on bikes
+ registered for a 10K in October, a 5K on Thanksgiving, and a 5K in December
+ admired the handiwork of the hubs and dad as they transformed our bathroom from this...
to this...
+ went apple picking in Stow
+ biked 44 miles in Northhampton with the hubs, a few good friends, and my younger sister
A birthday cake is in the oven, and it's time to prep dinner...
Be back soon!
I would love to see a brain scan of my mind...not simply during the day but during the night too! I've woken up in the middle of the night the past few nights thinking about morning work and Literacy centers. I can't seem to shake this funk I'm in...eat, sleep, work--the classroom is all I'm thinking about, and boy can it be overwhelming and draining. (Is it dedication...or crazy?)
My mental to do list and jumbled thoughts are...in no particular order...
- tomorrow's faculty meeting
- presenting our school-wide mail system at said meeting
- our Thanksgiving potluck on Sunday (I get sucked in to Pinterest in my quest for new desserts..and then subsequently get overwhelmed by the options...ingredients..level of complexity given this weekend's packed schedule...)
- Reader's Workshop Professional Development day Friday in Middleboro
- sub plans to leave for Friday in the hope that the mild chaos that ensued last week when I was out does not repeat itself
- drafting the invitation for the school's faculty holiday party of which I am a co-committee chair
- my mother-in-law's birthday dinner here tomorrow night
- acclimating a new student to our class (after our previous new student left us after a mere 2 weeks...)
- report cards next week
- creating a literacy unit test from scratch
- completing homework for Tuesday's math class - getting back in shape post Vegasbut alas... no matter the chaos and unpredictability of the workday...
It all comes down to this...Vegas on 11/10/11
