Day of Rest???!!!

I thought Sundays were supposed to be a day of rest...anyone else?  There has been a yucky cold going around my school for the last few weeks or so and topped off with the stress that I had from trying to get the house in tip top shape to rent out it all caught up to me.  I spent Saturday curled up in bed hoping that I would be well enough for church on Sunday, but alas...bedridden it was for me.

I was out of bed for a total of one hour on Sunday...it was AWESOME!  Except for one, small thing...

I spent the day surrounded by a M.O.U.N.T.A.I.N. of tests, sticky notes, notebooks and fun-filled magazines and newspaper inserts. If you think it doesn't look bad, take a closer look at the middle...that is a stack of tests equaling MORE THAN AN ENTIRE REAM OF PAPER!!!!!   Blech.

I just wanted to be sick, people!  I know that this is just preparing me for the world of children and NEVER getting to have another sick day to myself after they arrive.

Oh, Parade Magazine...you had me at "Sandra Day O'Connor".
And yes...that IS Spiderman 3 in the background...love!

Laters!

Mrs. B

10-card Flip and Addition Tic-Tac-Toe

Friday was a celebration day for second grade.  We took a bajillion assessments this week and our kids were F.R.I.E.D.  The poor nuggets were asking if we were going to have one in computer lab!  Those poor little nuggets. :(

As part of our celebration day we did some reading centers with word work to start the day and a couple of...uhhh...interesting chapters in The Invention of Hugo Cabret.  (One of my students had a WICKED funny (and wicked loud!!) Freudian slip.  I was able to hold it together for about 2 minutes until I lost it...My principal came in and saw me laughing so hard that tears were streaming down my face while the kids were staring at me like I had two heads because they had NO IDEA what was going on!!!)

From there we moved onto math.  We played addition Quizmo and then my students had their choice of 10-card flip or addition tic-tac-toe with a partner.  They love these games and they help them practice their math facts.

10-card flip:

Each child needs a set of cards (ace - 10, all the same suit).  They lay them out in order from least to greatest.  One person rolls two dice and then adds them together to find the total.  They then flip the cards over (in any combination that makes sense!) to make the total.  The first person to flip all of the cards over first wins.  However, if one student gets a total that they can't make, they lose their turn and the other person goes.

Ace through 10 of the same suit.  (They don't HAVE to be the same suit, but we've found that it helps the kids keep them organized.)

This student has flipped some over because he has been making different totals.

A sample game.

We also played addition tic-tac-toe as well.  This one is pretty self-explanatory:

Each pair of students gets one piece of paper and 2 dice for themselves.    They write their names at the top and which symbol they want to be (hence the reason the top is folded over on this one :)).  The first student rolls both dice and adds them together to get the total.  If the total is on the board they are using and available, they either circle it or place an X in the square.  If the total is not available, the student loses his or her turn and the next student gets to go.  The game is over when one person wins or it's a draw.

Have fun practicing math facts y'all!!!

Laters!

Mrs. B

High Five For Friday!!!!

TGIFF!!!!  (Thank Goodness It's Frickin Friday!)  This has been a long week with all of the assessments that we had to do this week (9!!) so we decided to have a celebration day today.  We haven't had the time to have a whole lot of fun with our kids, so today was the day!

1.  My room E.X.P.L.O.D.E.D. today.  I swear it was like the scene from Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows where they are in the vault at Gringotts.  They are looking for something and every time they touch something it multiplies!  No joke...I think things were multiplying!

2.  10-card flip.  My students LOVE this game!  Directions to come...

3.  Addition Tic-Tac-Toe.  This was given to me by my friend Lindsay back when we taught together.   Directions to come...(pretty self-explanatory)

4.  The students decorated miniature gourds this afternoon as part of our celebration/fall day.

5.  Hermie came home with me for the weekend!  I think the car ride flipped her out!  Handsome Husband suggested that I get her out tomorrow, bring her into the sun porch, close the door and let her run around for a while.  Good husband :)

Handsome Husband and I have NO PLANS for the weekend and we are P.S.Y.C.H.E.D.!!  The only thing we HAVE to do is church on Sunday and possibly a matinee tomorrow...any movie suggestions????

Don't forget to check out Lauren's post over at From My Grey Desk!



Laters!

Mrs. B

I'm Here!!! I swear!

Oh. My. Heart.  School is kicking my butt!!  I realized that it's been forever since I have posted anything.  School and all of it's components have kind of (ok...totally) taken over my life.  I just sat here grading papers for THREE HOURS.  I hate grading...and being the writing teacher for second grade I see 66 pieces of writing a day!  That's a lot...especially when I get behind.

Oh well...Maybe I'll find more time tomorrow.  Here are some of the things I've been up to since then:

My new favorite nugget...baby Jayde 

Dinner with good friends and yummy food!

A project to be posted soon!  (I swear!)

Cleaning the house because we rented it out for the weekend...not sure how I feel about that.

Nutter Butter Balls!

New door mat...one that doesn't look like a postage stamp with our HUGE front door.

Putting some miles in.

Wine with momma.

Chasing flies.

Watching horrible scary movies while getting ready in the morning.  (Scream 2:))

Ok...now I'm off to bed...woot woot for an 8:30 bedtime for me!  I NEVER thought I would say that.

Laters!

Mrs. B

The Boss

As an early birthday present for Handsome Husband I bought us tickets to see Bruce Springsteen at Wrigley Field in Chicago.  The Boss is Handsome Husband's F.A.V.O.R.I.T.E. musician.  When we got married last year I recorded a Springsteen song for our first dance...he loved it!  Here are some pictures from our adventure:

The big man himself.

He was SOOOOOO excited!

Our yummerific dinner at Cheesies.

 We never thought that our upperdeck seats would become the BEST SEATS IN THE HOUSE!  It started POURING in the middle of the concert and we stayed nice and dry.  Thanks, Bruce!

How was your weekend??

Mrs. B

Dots

Today was one of those days where I felt like I was an hour behind the whole day.  I started the day by getting out of bed a little late, taking forever to get a coffee at my neighborhood Dunkin Donuts, getting to school a little late-ish, having Cluster (TAP people in Indiana feel my pain) and starting the day 5 minutes after Cluster ended.  I couldn't sleep last night because I was thinking about the amazing time I had this weekend!

I finally got home at 6:45 and found this waiting for me in the kitchen:

Ok...I guess it was 6:40...I can't tell a lie!

Handsome Husband knows that I love ladybugs (they remind me of my Pepere ((grandpa)) so I totally love them...) and he found it at the Hallmark store when shopping for our friends' new daughter.  I thought she was A.D.O.R.A.B.L.E. and was about to compliment him on his find when I decided to open the TY tag and check the birthday.

I have a few Beanie Babies and know that they have both a name and a birthday listed on the inside of the tag.  I have an otter that has the same birthday as me.  Since I know this about Beanie Babies, I decided to check and see what the name of my new friend was..........

I discovered that it's name is Dots and........................it has the SAME BIRTHDAY AS ME!  Not kidding.  I yelled up the stairs at my husband that this coincidence was too funny and he was totally stumped.

The only reason he bought the Beanie Baby for me was because it was a ladybug, but it turned out to have my birthday, too!  I love when things come together.

Dots is going to look wicked cute in my classroom! :)

Laters!

Mrs. B

Burlington, Vermont!

I had a B.L.A.S.T. this weekend!  I flew to Burlington, Vermont with my mom (and met up with my dad) for my cousin's wedding.  I got to hang with them all weekend and very much wish that Handsome Husband and I lived closer. :(

Here is my weekend in pictures: (most were already posted to FB...oh well!)

All my bags are packed, I'm ready to go....

Wine with mom in the airport.

Pretty little gate.

Memories...although standing outside the "new" Nectar's was depressing....I want the old one back!

I really wanted a haircut and COULDN'T wait until my appointment next Monday.  I feel human again, though.

Lake Champlain

Mert sure loves her some beef.

Cousins!

My favorite picture of the bride and groom.

Mom and dad.

Bathroom art...excited!

My old straightener...I sent Handsome Husband a picture of it and he went and bought me a new one today!  He's the best.

Rockin with mom in the Burlington airport.

Had a great weekend, but I'm very excited to be home and sleeping in my own bed without the noisy fan!  I'm totally missing the company, though.

Have a great week!

Mrs. B