Two More Wake-Ups!

What a week it's been!

Between returning on Monday after a substitute on Friday, a few behavior issues and resulting phone calls home, Galileo testing in the computer lab that was way over the kids' heads (ideal benchmark to show growth??), the dog getting skunked, trying to juggle Project Read, Words Their Way, Reader's Workshop, Writer's Workshop with limited support and time constraints, and a lock down drill, it's been a long week.

Here's a peek at our week, a few teacher steals and deals, my sweet girl, and what Bucket List event is in just two wake-ups.

• Our little bunny at the corn maze on Sunday.

•  Because I refuse to believe summer is over.

•  A messy face is the sign of a happy toddler.

•  Getting creative emphasizing punc"shoe"ation courtesy of $2 "grab bags" at Michael's stores.

• Creative writing from Friday's personal day for a friend's wedding. 

•  Ellie de-skunked.

• Starfish Syllables from Sailing into Second which I discovered through a SoCal blog hop. 

 

•  Our September Scholastic book order came in! Hooray!

•  We sorted our Words Their Way short o and long o words on paint strips.

•  My sweet-tooth loving munchkin

•  Perhaps the best snail mail I received all week: news that my request for a Pets in the Classroom grant was accepted!

•  Successfully printed on Post-Its last night! It was so incredibly easy, I may never write on Post-Its again!

•  A two-column note organizer to help us stretch a sentence about a favorite fall activity. (The magic of this profession is that 7 years in to the same grade in the same classroom at the same school, I'm still creating, tweaking, and modifying.)

• Halloween-themed prizes from Walmart for next week's BBQ Buck auction.

•  Walmart back-to-school clearance
  

•  A visit to our local teacher supply store resulted in two posters, place value block magnets, magnet circles, and a Scholastic close reading resource I've been eyeing, and they paid ME $2.24! Ah, the glory of gift certificates!

• And in two more wake-ups....

 

Hooray!

Next up, I'll be sure to share pictures from my first annual Back-to-School party for teacher friends.

Hello Summer!

I've had blogging on my daily to do list for days now, and on my mind for weeks.

Particularly with the recent gorgeous weather (with the exception of Arthur), I find it harder and harder to bring myself over to the computer to sit and blog. (Not to mention the comfy, cozy, relatively-new leather couch we have that I tend to pass out on after a long day of third grade and mommy duties or more recently summer camp, errands, mommy duties, house chores, daily excursions to the splash pad, local Y, play date, lunch date, playground--you name it! By 6:30/7 when Lady K is off in Dreamland, or adorably babbling to Mrs. Owl, Puppet, Lola, or Hippity, I am EXHAUSTED.

My "me" time is spent catching up on blogs, updating my third grade classroom blog for parents and families-- mrsmacksbatchofthirdgraders.blogspot.com,  finding new places to explore courtesy of mommy friends and 365ThingstoDoontheSouthShore.com, running when I muster up the energy, and chronicling our days on instagram @thirdgradecupcakes. Oh, and baking for my up-and-coming bakery Sweet Mack Bakery. (Shameless plug: Like us on Facebook and follow our sweet treats on Instagram @SweetMackBakery.)

Here's a snippet from the start to our summer...

• I run my first half marathon with Kelsey, a teacher friend of mine who is getting married next weekend.

• Mr. Lovie and I FINALLY enjoyed a movie date night. (It had been our third attempt, and well worth it.)

•  We enjoyed a neighborhood stroll with Memere and Grammy.

• Kensington had a play date with sweet Kaelyn in Hingham. 

 

• This little girl was sickie and enjoyed a Mommy/ Daughter day at the outlets.

  

• In the world of third grade we began our balloon surprise countdown to summer. Oh boy, did we have some fun!

•  Never a dull moment during mornings with Momma...

•  Playtime with our little family.

• Enjoyed Kelsey's "I Do" BBQ and baked for the occasion. 

And that's only a wrap-up of the end of May!
 

Teacher blogger mommas, how do you do it all--they're all 25 hour/day jobs--teaching, blogging, babies! Any advice is welcome!!

Two new year's summer resolutions are to blog more consistently and make more time for me and Mr. Lovie. The school year is too often consumed by planning, grading, creating, laminating, and prepping, that I want to take full advantage of these summer months for family and Mr. Lovie. I couldn't do this ride without him.

What a difference

I'll be honest. 

I hit a rough patch last fall, and had an awfully difficult time seeing far off in to the distance to June.

Each day was a challenge, and I longed for Friday. Weekends were a physical break from the classroom, but hardly a mental break. The challenges and anxiety consumed me. I wanted to do it all. I wanted to be the doting wife, loving mom, attentive daughter, thoughtful sister, and talented teacher. Yet I felt constantly defeated and craving a few more hours in each day.

It took time.

It took talking.

It took patience.

It took perspective.

It took the support of my family and friends.

It took hormones to get back in balance. 

And what a difference. 

I now look forward to my classroom. I look forward to my kiddos, their silly stories, their handdrawn illustrations, their homemade crayon candles. I look forward to the crowd of kiddos around me with questions, anecdotes, stories, and concerns. (Okay, maybe not that crowd that follows me at the start of the morning bell...)

But I'm having fun again. As odd as it seems, I knew I was feeling better when I started baking again, when I started crafting, when I took time to see friends again.

I'm back.

And here's a peek at that fun I've been talking about..