Parties, Pinterest, Promises of Wine, & Paragraphs

Whew!  That's a lot to tackle, but here goes:

Today Claire had not one, but TWO birthday parties...her morning started off rough...she was a wee bit sluggish and quiet...she even considered staying home--but like a true trooper she hit them both and reconnected with all her school chums...it's sad, but my five year old has a more active social life than I do...

HOWEVER, today, Sabrina was coming for a visit (which may have brought on Claire's moodiness about going away from home...big sister, Brina is not often around...We had big plans, BIG plans, HUGE...we were going to craft and create...we spent the morning sharing Pinterest ideas back and forth before she even headed over...

We were also going to drink wine...two bottles to be exact.  I was ready--wine glasses were brought down from the top shelf--dust chiseled off of them..."What are those?" Payton asked...haha...yes, wine drinking, or ANY drinking seems to have faded away in my grown-up world.  But not tonight...

Needless to say...nearly midnight...and I have to confess...none of it happened.  No crafting, no creating.  And certainly no wine drinking.  What did we do?  Well...we LOOKED at Pinterest...does that count?  We snacked and ate...we watched...let's see...Herculeus, Up, Despicable Me, Matilda, an old school Mickey Mouse show...and some random hockey (that I tried my hardest to ignore)...we sat on the deck, and most of all...we talked.  Good times regardless...

Oh, and what else did I do?  I worked on a paragraph writing printable booklet....was not planning to--it just popped into my head and I ran with it:

There are four different topics: object, animal, food, and place.  Each one has the following pages to complete:

This one is to fill in about a specific object.  This is the prewriting...

Then the ideas on the sensory sheet need to get turned into sentences in a paragraph.  Because students usually have trouble beginning and ending, I gave them a little guidance...

And finally, there is an illustrating page:

Because I ended up making four topics, I was thinking about having my students do one a quarter--then I would keep them to compare student growth.  I will probably start out with the animal sheet, because students are usually not blocked when writing about an animal.  I think that I will save "place" for last, as it could get more in depth than some of the others.

So during the over-does of tv-viewing...I was really, being productive...Now the rest of my family...not so much...  :)

Ten Pin Linky

I have been meaning to do this for days now...but so goes life!  I'm joining Just Reed's Ten Pin Linky Party on Classroom Decor...because what teacher is not combing through Pinterest for such ideas?

This is what I chose:

I just LOVE this poster and sentiment!

I love everything about this job board--the look, the velcro names, the  ribbon!  Awesome!

I am so ready for a change from my bathroom passes.  I think these boy/girl plates are too cute and would look great by my door!

I have wanted to do this awning since last summer...and I swear one of these days, I will!

In my classroom, my bookcases are old, beat up, and non-matching.  I think this would be the perfect way to camouflage and unify them...but do you think lamination would be enough to keep them from getting bent up?

I am also someone who gets cluttered shelves...I think adding curtains on tension rods would be a great solution!

I LOVE Ladybug's Teacher Files Alphabets--they are SO modern and cute--will be buying before fall!

Using the back of a shelf and file folders for extension activities is an awesome idea!

I wish I could find a good rocker at Good Will so I could personalize it like this...super cute.

And finally...

I know this is mine, but this is the angle I really want to go this year...black and neon--I love this look!  I'm trying to rid myself of red this year, as I had TONS of red in my classroom last year...moving on to pink.

Thanks again to Just Reed for hosting the party!

Claire + House = Disaster

     Like other people I know, I am slightly obsessed with Pinterest and TeachersPayTeachers.  I'm not going to lie...it has sucked away entire days of my summer vacation.  However, I am at least obsessed with something that could possibly make me a better teacher, right?  So it can't be that bad.  Until I look around the room.  And I think...BAAADDD....you see I have been somewhat glued butt to bed, laptop on legs...Pandora cranking out teenie-bopper tunes...while the children have been left to their own vices.  Now, it is not as if I have been ignoring them...Claire has been happily buzzing about the room all afternoon.  Hence the problem.  My bedroom is suddenly an insane collision of all things "Creative Claire" has deemed entertaining:  floor cushions, piano stool, spare keyboard, high heels, markers, tote bags, stuffed animals, lotions, cow flashlight, heating pad, at least five pairs of sunglasses, six or seven random shirts of mine....the list goes on and on...getting off the bed becomes a potentially dangerous land mine.  And the sad thing is I know my child...these items under no threats of punishment, coercion, or begging will ever be picked up by her.  Which now makes my afternoon of laziness a cruel joke on me.  Now, in addition to the normal household chores I have been neglecting, I have the five-year old cyclone to deactivate.  And that, my friends just seems overwhelming...I think I hear Pinterest calling me....