So, summer happened...

Wow. I can't believe that I did not post much all summer.It flew by. It was so-so. I had wanted to post a bunch, but then something would happen!

Lets see... it was crazy hot and humid, and before you can say "You live in Florida..." it got hotter quicker this summer! We didn't get to the beach as much as we wanted. I still can't believe I live at the beach.

In June, my oldest daughter graduated from high school! I am so proud! Our next high school graduation is in 2017, and then... 2032. She was accepted to two universities, however, she is going to community college for the first two years to save money and to decide what she really wants to do. Now that I am a parent of a college student, I can say that when I had friends or former students say, "I am going to CC because I want to save money and university is too much..." I can guarantee that the parent was most likely the driving force behind that decision (unless the student is paying for their own education...)

At the end of June we went up north to visit family. I was so excited. We had such great lofty plans. Well, that didn't happen. We had weather issues, distance issues, teething issues, sleeping issues, people issues. I think I got to do one thing on my list. One. I will say that going to the Orioles double header in Baltimore was awesome! We visited my hometown of Pittsburgh and my husband's home area of Northern VA, where we used to live. We were so ready to be home that we did the VA to FL drive in one day, yes, one day - with a baby, two teens and a dog.

July - for the fourth we laid low. Our across the street neighbors just randomly moved out of nowhere, didn't say bye or anything. My youngest daughter had summer school. We had doctors appointments out the wazoo. My sister's family came down for the end of July. We did some fun stuff like go tour the USS Alabama, visit Foley & go downtown. I got to hold and snuggle my baby nephew, until the green eyed monster came out in my brown eyed boy.

Oh August, you come so fast... the first week we were in a Kagan training. It was a lot of fun! I highly recommend looking into Kagan as another strategy to use in your classroom!

This past week was our work week, and it was crazy. I felt like my classroom was never going to be finished. I am doing a Dr. Seuss theme this year - but I felt like the Cat in the Hat had just come to visit and mess up the place! I moved from 4th to 1st, so there was a change in building.

As always, my husband &  girls came to help...

Having bulletin boards done is one way to make me feel better.

The board lies... I have 21 kids now!

The beginnings of my "happy wall" - I always choose a space behind my reading table (desk) where I hang things that make me happy. At this point I only had my first Kinder class at my old VA school. (I felt weird blurring their little faces, like some kind of horror movie!) They're going into 4th this year! I also have my wolfpack. I love those girls more than anything! We are now in three different states, but they're my sounding board, my place to vent... I <3 them.

Today we did home visits for families that did not make it to our Meet & Greet. It was nice to see where our kids live, and also nice to meet parents and kids!

I am so excited to have precious new little ones, I am excited for a new team (I've found some kindred spirits! But miss my 4th grade sunshines!) and new curriculum! However, as always, I don't feel ready! But, ready or not - they come Monday at 6:50am!

Well, keep it happy y'all and be kind,
Alison :)

Things I love: My Teacher Planner

I wanted to start blogging about some of my favorite teacher things - and OF COURSE, my first post had to be about my right arm - my Erin Condren Teacher Planner. As I post this, however, I just found out they are sold out and re-launching... I don't know if I should cry or not...

Well, I will still go forward with my original plan - I will talk about why this planner is so important to me, and why I need them to come back!!!!! (yes, five exclamation points.)

First- the personalized covers are so incredibly cute.

 This is my planner from the 2013-2014 year. You can get your school on the planner, as well as your name, but at that point, I didn't know where I'd be - we were up in the air on if we'd be moving to Florida or not. This past year, my cover was just rainbow-y colors with my name in script. However, it is currently in lock-up at school. These planners make it easy to turn in your plan book and grades each year. I just wrap some tape around it (because I ALWAYS have other things shoved inside, like grade level planning calendars etc.) and turn it in! No worries!

The second reason is:

Long. Range. Planning.

As you can see, I didn't use this as much that first year, but I do now! I can look at the dates, look at the year and jot down ideas! This is a planner MADE FOR TEACHERS! It is arranged for the school year (who functions January - December anyway? I don't get it.) and is PERFECT.

Reason three:

Calendars.... I love 'em, I use 'em. I count down to important things... I love how this planner has open calendars. I almost had to save it for the next year, that is possible! You never know what will happen in life - so this is fantastic! 

Each month has a section to write notes - I LOVE this too. I can turn to the new page for team meetings, faculty meetings, thoughts... its great! What was said in October? Let me flip back to my notes... 

Stickers. For. Days. As you can see, I didn't use these much... but now I just have more! I love how they're colorful, cute and actually have things like "IEP Meeting!"

Reason four....

 LESSON PLANNING.....

GRADING....

IT IS ALL TOGETHER! I hated having two books before. I have also used binders and printed lesson plans on the computer. I LOVE being back to this... I can circle things, erase things, and again, it is ALL TOGETHER.

By all together, I mean - my year plan, my calendar, my notes, my plans, my grades... you can also add in plastic sleeves and keep parents numbers, school info - anything. It is a one-stop-shop. I can just grab one thing and be ready. For someone with three kids, and who is just naturally disorganized, I can't explain how helpful this all is - and with it NOT being a binder, you're not worried about rings bending (my nemesis,) papers ripping out and carrying something big and bulky! Now, if only they can magically add in my data binder...

Well - let's hope the teacher planner comes back, let's hope its amazing. I'm crossing my fingers!

'till then- keep it kind, 

-Alison :)

Mixed feelings

So, I am posting for my phone, so excuse any awful mis-spellings.

Why am I using my phone? Because I am too lazy to go get my computer! Little baby boy L is teething something fierce. He also has a cold. This makes for some awful nights! Last night he was up every hour. I also have some down with some kind of stomach thing... So the rest of the family is watching the Os cream the Phillies, I'm reading blogs.

So, mixed feelings. Yep, I've got 'em. I've had some set backs lately, and it's hard to not get discouraged, but my husband just reminds me that everything happens for a reason. I keep telling myself that- I must have a purpose for where I am.

More feelings come to the surface as I think about my trip north. I am going to visit my old schools. I helped open PineyBranch  in 2011. Now there are no founding K team members in K. There have been so many changes since we opened, it's crazy. 

I'm also going to visit the replacement for my first VA school, a nice big K-8 building down the street from the small, old, center of the community 1929 building. I LOVED this school. I loved my principal, I loved my co-workers and experiences there. That school gave me the confidence to be the teacher I am today. It shaped me more than 5 years of college. Plus, I met one of my best friends there :) I CANNOT wait to see her! (Oh, of course we both moved to the new school too, and I constantly try to move her here... Did I mention we are both from Pittsburgh?! But we didn't know each other until VA!)

So, my mixed feelings there are really about all of the changes... I keep these Camelot memories in my head, sugar coat the bad and emphasize the good. 

I also am about to post my first TPT items, I'm nervous about that- I have a friend proof reading them, she's my grammar queen and I am thankful for her! I know she will be honest!

I guess I'm having all sorts of feelings right now! We are about to embark on a 16 hour (who am I kidding, maybe 20? We have three kids and a dog...) trip north to the DC area and Pittsburgh. I haven't been to PGH since September 2013, and we left VA in November 2013. Baby L hasn't been out of our little Florida/Alabama bubble! 

Well, he's crying again! Poor guy! I'll be back tomorrow hopefully! I want to share one of my FAVORITE, MUST HAVE teacher items!!!

-Alison :) 

Be kind to someone today!

AHHH! I am SO EXCITED!

I was bound and determined to make my own clip art. We are kinda broke, and if I want to make things for TPT I needed to do it without having to buy clip art (well, also if I want to attempt to spend money on my classroom next year...)

So, after many long hours searching on the internet, I found this tutorial: How to make clip art from your own drawings and I've had Gimp before, so I wanted to re-download it.

First - DO NOT FORGET to download things like Gimp from CNET or somewhere else safe. In my excited frenzy, I forgot. I got malware. I got viruses. I got bad stuff. Luckily my husband saved me.

I also wanted to learn how to make my own backgrounds/digital papers. I found this wonderful blog:
Mel Stampz and she has some really cool overlays that you can use in Gimp to make papers!

Now, all of this went down at about 10:30 last night. I wanted to go to bed. I wanted to stay up and play. I was torn. Finally, sleep won, because today was baby day at the zoo.

Last year when I was pregnant, I met a fantastic first grade teacher at baby class. She was due around the same time I was and we kept in touch. Fast forward to the first few months after baby and my husband put me in touch with another mom at his work who had just had a baby a few months before me. The three of us get together and then add in two more mamas. We had a great summer with the roly-poly newborns and fun get-togethers.

We now have babies that are one and fun! Today's adventure with the munchkins was the ZOO! We fed animals, we rode the zoo train... I got licked by a gigantic, black, slimy giraffe tongue. I'm not one to shy away from nature, but I was not expecting the slime!

Fast forward through me losing my purse, the long-ish drive home, finding of the purse, paying the water bill (its old fashioned, we can't pay online... really...) I finally get home. Gimp is open, baby is napping, I am READY.

I made two cute cliparty things. One is a monster, one is a dinosaur. I. WAS. SO. STOKED. I am not the best artist, but I can do my "third grade" art. I tell my students that I was an AWESOME artist in third grade, but that's when it stopped. I also happen to have my very artistically inclined step-daughter... mwahahaha (picture Mr. Burns.)

I had to interrupt the fun to take M to her eye therapy appointment. I will have to write a post later about this - it is AMAZING and life changing for M and teacher-me.

Later I worked on some papers using the overlays I mentioned above. So much fun!

I also called my grandma - it is her birthday. We have determined that she is most likely 26 years old. It seems about right! But in all honesty, she is in her 80s and amazing. She is my hero and such an inspirational lady!!! Everyone should have a grandma like her!

Things I need to learn:
-how to make my own overlays
-how to make fonts (yeah, I know this one is super technical, a girl can dream.)

I will post some fun things I have made tomorrow! For now, I am so worn out!

Have a super night, hug and kiss someone and tell them you love them! Be kind!
Alison :)

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Summer in full effect!

Hey all! It is sweet summer time - I am so thankful for a break and time to hang out with my little guy! My son is 14 months old and so much fun (except when he is tired!) I also am excited to be with my big girls - one will be in college this coming year, the other is going into 11th grade! I am a step-mom as well as a "tummy-mummy" as a friend coined it long ago. I love being a parent, it has really helped me to understand the parents I work with as well as my own mom and grandma!

This summer so far has been full of "surprises." We became homeowners last September. We LOVE our house (I will talk more about this later...) but OH THE JOYS of homeownership. We have had issues with the garage door (when I had to text my principal - "I will be a bit late, I am trapped in my garage!") earlier in the year. This time we were going to bed on Saturday night and my husband noticed that the thermostat was set to 72, but the temp read 74. He fiddled with it, the AC, breaker box etc., and figured out around midnight that we were in for a hot one, our AC was broken! Now, when I lived in PA, and sometimes even VA, a broken AC for a day or so isn't awful, its bearable and annoying, but not entirely awful. Well, in FL it is awful. The night wasn't too bad, but Sunday was pretty rough, especially for baby (L)!

The highest we got was 84. We had the fan running on the AC and the ceiling fans on high. I luckily was going to meet a sweet friend at Starbucks, so off L and I went!

When we got home, baby had dinner and my younger daughter (M) was home - so she decided to give him a bath. Bath time now consists of one of us jumping in the big tub (in a bathing suit, or old clothes) and giving L a bath. M LOVES to do it. It was a great way to cool the poor guy off!

Bath aftermath

Today the AC guy came and it was a simple fix! We are now enjoying the cool air - I can have my front door open, blinds open, its such a relief! (Plus, I can continue my "A Different World" binge watching obsession - Oh Dwayne and Whitley!)

Slowly cooling down

So I had mentioned that I'd tell you more about my house. I LOVE my house. It is my dream home! Living in Northern VA was such a bummer at times because even with good jobs, we couldn't afford to buy the house we wanted. It was too expensive. Now, living in FL, we can! 

One place I love is our office. A lot of our rooms are still works in progress, the office is one of them. We do have a big desk where the desk top computer is located (where I am right now, so if any words are missing the letter "f", blame the computer, that key hates to work correctly!) I also have our old computer desk with my sewing machine and crafty stuff - I really want a Silhouette machine... really, really, really. I need more time to be crafty. Can we add about 8 more hours to the day and have them also coincide with naptime?

Don't let the  yarn fool you, I cannot knit or crochet

My FAVORITE place in the house (note I said "in", I LOVE my back yard... and would love it more with a pool. Hey, a girl can dream.) is my bedroom. I told my husband that my goal was to have the bedroom feel like a hotel, like a retreat. I wanted to be able to escape the toys, kids and stress and be able to relax. We needed new furniture when we moved and we got this amazing beach-y, tropical looking set from Rooms-to-Go. Its so pretty. We had to get the matching lamps and pictures. It too, is a work in progress, but it makes me so happy.

Some of the stuffed animals are mine, some are L's... okay, most are mine.

So this summer, when we are not away up north, I will keep trying to get this room looking amazing. Oh, and get some fun things made for first! I started a board on Pintrest (don't get me started on how I feel about figuring out Pintrest... I feel so old) but that just got me panicking and feeling like there's not enough time to make/do/plan... 

Luckily, I have a great team and also one of my best friends is also teaching first back in VA! Be prepared for some "twin" posts! I am so excited. 

Have a happy summer day, I know I will! Be kind to someone!

Alison :)

P.S. I found my coconut scented SPF 50 sunscreen. I search all year for this! Woohoo!

Back to blogging!

Hooray, I am finally back to blogging! Life has been a bit crazy since I first began at Kitchin's Kinder. We have moved from Northern Virginia to Northwest Florida... the panhandle! So far we LOVE it, but it has been a big change. My oldest step-daughter is graduating TOMORROW, it is crazy! My youngest will be in 11th grade, and I now have a 14 month old SON, I told you a lot has changed.

I also have changed a lot in my teaching. I moved from my fantastic kinder job at a brand new school, where in the 13-14 school year I taught one quarter - to teaching in an older school here in Florida (hello multiple buildings and breezeways) and teaching fifth grade! Not to mention, we started in VA after labor day, but when we got here we were almost done with the second quarter and we had just started it in VA!

That first year was a bit nuts! I was pregnant, learning a new curriculum (and the NGSSS/CC/FSA craziness,) still unpacking, mom and mother-in-law moving down, washing machine flooding, freezing with days off, Pensacola flooding, having a baby... it was just one thing after another!

This past year I was moved to fourth grade, but I stayed in my room. I LOVED my team this year! I missed little kids, but my fourth graders were amazing. We had so much fun, and we learned a lot! My husband and I finally bought a house in September, and things settled down. It was a great year!

I now am moving to FIRST grade! It is a new adventure and I am so excited! I am back with little people. I do have to move my classroom to another building... pretty much the FARTHEST one away from where I am now. I am going to be working with an awesome team and I am ready for the fun!

I am hoping to pull inspiration from my blogging friends, post things I find and make here, and just share and gather ideas from other teaching experts!

In other news...
I packed up my room the fastest I have ever packed in my life. I used to take a week or so... last year I had it down to two days... this year?  ONE DAY. ONE. Yeah! Miss Diana would be proud.

Miss Diana was the most amazing custodian. She was a great friend and took me under her wing when I moved to Virginia. She talked to me about life, she was excited about my successes, helped me through some tough times and was just so sweet and genuine. She passed away this past week, I had lost touch with her when we moved, but I did send her a card with pictures of my son a few weeks ago. I hope it made her smile to know how much I loved her and how much she changed my life.

I hope you all have a fantastic week, please be sure to let someone know how much they mean to you - you never know when you won't get another chance! Be kind!

Alison :)