Blog Swap and Hop!

I don't know about you, but I'm super excited about today's Blog Swap and Hop!  You can find me over at The Convenient Teacher today!

I was so excited to have the opportunity to post on Ms. Preppy.  I love Caitlin's blog and when I made the arrangements for this blog swap, I sorta, might have, selected myself to go onto her blog because I love it so much.  But then, it came time to write my post.  I froze.  I blanked.  Not only do I have big shoes to fill, but now she's an ABA therapist.   That means that I should talk about behavior management or something, right?    Well, I've done a couple of those lately, and I'm kinda tapped out.  So, I tried to brainstorm for some common ground.

Organization!  Doesn't it seem like no matter what, we all could be better organized?  When I was student teaching, my cooperating teacher used folders to keep herself organized.  She had a different folder for every day and she would store things in those folders.  I loved that idea!  I decided to use letter trays myself.  I have a different tray for each day, and since they come in packs of 3, I have a spare one for long term files.  My desk is still a disaster, but it's the best system I could think of.  I created some file folder labels for you if you'd like to try that system out.  I have a black and white one and a pink and green one since I know color printing isn't always an option for some people.  And they're polka dots because, well, I'm a big fan of polka dots!  Click on the pictures to download the file.

Last year, I started the year with a calendar that I wrote to do lists on.  Then I started using little yellow pads.  No matter what, I never could keep a system going.  I had post it notes all over the computer with reminders.  I don't want to be a disorganized mess this year.  My position is changing and it won't be as crazy (please don't let it be as crazy!) and so I've resolved to be clean and organized!  I created this weekly sheet that I think may help me.

Again, I created a color version and a black and white version.  I like having a To Do list because I love crossing things off.  Don't we all?  I want to put the dates on the bottom with information on important things that week or in the next week or two.  And I want to use the follow up circle for things I need to follow up on from previous weeks.  Plus, there's a little bit of space left over for notes if I need to throw a phone number or something down.  The files are images.  That way you can right-click and save the file.  Then you can paste it into Publisher, Word, or whatever program you prefer, insert a text box, and then type straight onto it.  I like to have my lists written out by hand, but I know many of you prefer the neatness of typing.  

Finally, a while back I bought myself a super fancy Erin Condren planner with some super coupons.  I hope to spend some time this year figuring it out, planning things out, and getting my money's worth.  If you haven't seen those planners, go check them out.  Tons of people love them.

I hope I've given you some resources that you can use to get organized now and for the next school year!

Tessa Maguire is a former reading teacher and differentiated instruction coach.  She currently is in a dual role administration and curriculum coaching position.  She spends her days helping her K-3 teachers find what works best for them and their students.  She blogs about the resources she finds and creates and she shares tips and strategies for effective instruction.  You can find out more information on her blog Tales from Outside the Classroom: http://talesfromoutsidetheclassroom.blogspot.com

When in Doubt: Ignore!

Now that I'm out of the classroom and working as a behavior therapist, I'm able to utilize something I've always been good at: ignoring.  It's in my job description to ignore.  Never thought that would happen!

A kid is throwing a fit?  Ignore.

Now they're waving their hands in your face?  Ignore.

And then they start banging a toy on the table?  Ignore.


I do a pretty decent amount of ignoring every day.  And the fits and noises and banging of toys are easy to ignore.  But let me tell you what's NOT easy to ignore: hilarious repetitive questions and statements.  One of my new friends frequently engages in repetitive questions and statements.  A lot.  And they typically require me to turn my head for a second while I regain composure.  On Friday we were working and all of a sudden he blurted out, "Friskies Seafood Sensations.  Feed the Senses."  And he said it just the same as the commercial.  And I had to turn away.  And then he repeated it 6 more times.  And I had to turn away.  Six. More. Times.  Here's a snippet of the commercial, just in case you want the full effect.

Can you imagine having to ignore that?  It was hard!  I'm getting better at the whole no smiling or laughing thing. But I still have some work to do.

What's the funniest thing you've had to ignore in your classroom?  Or the funniest thing you should have ignored, but couldn't control your laughter?

What a {first} day!

It's been about two weeks since starting my new job as an ABA therapist (applied behavior analysis), and I must say...it's a blast!  It's also probably the closest I'll ever get to being a behavior analyst a la Criminal Minds.  I'll take what I can get.  And here's what I've got:

Six kids on my caseload.

Yes.  Six.  Let's compare that to the 90 kids I tackled each day as a teacher.  No comparison, right?  I don't even see all six kids in one day.  Usually just 2 or 3 of them.  I love it. They range in age from 3-17.  And they're all very interesting characters.  I'll share some stories later.  Right now I wanted to tell you a bit about my first day of work:

As I was gathering my things to head out the door and to the office, I got a phone call saying my first kid cancelled.  Great!  First kid on my first day cancels on me!  She hadn't even met me yet and she didn't want to come.  Now that she knows me, I'm sure she doesn't want to miss a session...

Then my next kiddo showed up, we get to know each other {which was interesting considering he's non-verbal and doesn't know any signs yet either} and I quickly discovered he loved to swing.  LOVED to swing.  Even more than that, he loved to SPIN on the swing.  We spun and spun and spun and do you know where this is going?  Why yes, you're right, he did throw up!  Success!

You know what they say... it ain't over til the cute little blondie throws up on his new therapist.  Wait, do they say that?  Well, they do now.  So luckily the day was over after I had a brush with barf.  Now it was time to learn all about the paper work that comes with this new job.  I was sitting in my rolling chair in the office and bent over to plug in my laptop when all of a sudden...BAM!  I was in the floor.  Yes.  That's right.  I completely flipped out of my chair and onto the floor, scraping and bruising my arm on the way down in front of two of my new co-workers.  We decided it would be best to trade my rolling chair in for a chair with four stable legs so I wouldn't be a liability.  It's been two weeks and I still stay away from rolling chairs.

So, yeah...  That was my first day.  Cancellations, vomit, and injuries.  Some people may look at that and think, hmmm...is that a sign?  But me, I love crazy.  It makes for good stories.

Haters to the left

Aren't you all just the sweetest?  I get one nasty comment and my sweet friend Jennifer calls in the troops.  That's what I love about this great community of teacher bloggers.

Unfortunately for Anonymous, I have a really good sense of humor.  Even if I'm a b*%^* who doesn't have a f%$^$%@ life.

My game plan was to delete and move on without mentioning it on here, but then I got this comment.  For your reading pleasure {I bleeped out some naughty words}:

{The comment he removed said, "Come at us b------!!!"}

What I love the most about this is that dear Mathew is all, you're never going to have kids, will for ever be alone {Mathew must not know that for and ever go together here to make forever.  Otherwise it seems like he's getting something for ever.  I don't really know what you get for ever.  I digress.}... and you probably "might" {why did you put might in quotes, Mathew?} be living with your parents {FYI, I don't.  I live on my own.}  Back to what I love most.

Ready?

This part:

"Anonymous is my friend and we are one of the best athletes and smartest people at our high school (we do have a life)."

{Mathew, I put quotes around that because I lifted it from your comment.  That's when you use quotation marks-- in case you were curious.  Who am I kidding?  You're the smartest person at your high school so I shouldn't have to tell you that.  Silly me.}

So let's get this straight:

Anonymous is one of the best athletes at his high school.

Mathew is one of the smartest people at his high school.

And they both have a life.

Which is why they were reading a teacher blog.

On a Saturday night and Sunday morning.

Because they have a life.

That makes total sense.

Thanks for the laughs, boys.  Now listen to your mothers and go clean your rooms.  Because you probably "might" still live with your parents.

The Little Young Lady Who Was Afraid of Everything

I'm a scaredy cat.  Always have been, always will be.

When I was little, Santa came to visit me at my grandparent's house and it was such a terrifying event for me that I would ask, "Ho Ho coming?", anytime I walked past their front door for a long time after that fateful Christmas day.

As a teenager, when all of my friends were getting their driver's licenses, I was bumming rides because I was absolutely petrified of being behind the wheel.  I know, right?  Way weird.  I didn't get my license until I was 18.  Maybe even 19.  I don't remember exactly when.  All I remember is that it took threats of being forced to use city transportation from my parents before I broke down and learned how to drive the route from home to school to work.  I've gotten better about driving, but I still don't drive unfamiliar roads and I definitely don't turn across traffic or drive on the busiest street in town.  I know...the crazy--it runs deep.

My friend Jennifer over at Rowdy in First Grade keeps after me to see the movie Fear because she thinks I need some more exposure to Mark Wahlberg...  Well, I'm afraid to see that movie because it's called Fear.  HELLO?!  I'm afraid.  Why would I want to watch something called Fear?!  That doesn't make any sense!

Today I was packing up my classroom and I came across this book:

  

I should probably start calling myself The Little Young Lady Who Was Afraid of Everything.  My Nana gave it to me when I was in kindergarten. Now, the majority of my classroom library consists of books given to me by my Nana.  She was a kindergarten teacher.  And like any good kindergarten teacher, she gives books for gifts.  And they all have inscriptions.  This is what's inside:

And as I sat there with that book, those words, and the boxes, I realized...

I am brave.

Brave enough to take a risk.

Brave enough to change.

Brave enough to do something for myself.

Brave enough to start a new chapter.

Brave enough to leave teaching.  Which is something I never thought I would do.  I've been a teacher since I was four years old, with stuffed animal students and lessons that were a repeat of whatever my preschool teacher had done that day.

But sometimes things change.  I resigned from my teaching job a couple of weeks ago to take a new position as a behavior therapist.  I'm going to spend my days working one on one with special needs children.  And I couldn't be happier about the change.  I wasn't actively searching for something else.  It just fell in my lap.  In such a way that I couldn't say no.

There is such a bittersweetness to these last few days of school.  I am so excited to start something new.  But I am so sad to leave my babies and the girls who have truly become my family over the past three years.  And I'm probably going to suffer from withdrawals during back to school shopping time.  But like I said, I am excited and it truly was laid out in such a way that saying no would have led to regrets.  And I'm way too young to have any of those.

Ms. Preppy definitely won't be dealing in primary anymore.  But I'm sure I will have plenty of kid stories to share and maybe even some resources that I use with my therapy kiddos.  And I have some other blogging/writing plans in the works right now!  But I couldn't keep you guys in the dark any longer about this big change!  I hope it kind of explains some of my absence around here.  Wrapping up the school year and trying to pack everything up is just wearing me out!  Will you guys come over for a packing party?  I need some help.  Because you see, I'm also afraid of throwing things away...

In case you haven't heard...

There's a ginormous sale going on over at TpT!  Everything in my store is 20% off!  Use the promo code to get an additional 10% off!

I was excited to find the time to update some of the items in my TpT store to include 3D shapes!

Bee, Bee: A Book About Flat Shapes

Bee, Bee: A Book About 3D Shapes

Dragonfly, Dragonfly: Number Words

Butterfly, Butterfly: Time to the Hour

Bunny, Bunny: A Book About Flat Shapes

Bunny, Bunny: A Book About 3D Shapes

Bunny, Bunny: Number Words

Bunny, Bunny: Time to the Hour

Spring Numbers: Counting to 10

Spring Numbers: Teen Numbers

Happy shopping!  I know my cart is FULL...and I keep finding more!

A Thousand Little Things

It's been a long time, friends.  A. Long. Time.

But here I am!  Aren't you glad?!

Whew.

We are in state testing mode.  And last 9 days of school mode.  And my air isn't working again mode.  Basically, survival mode.  And I could probably write you a book filled with snark and complaints and insanity.

But--

This popped up in my Facebook feed the other day and I listened to it.  And it is upbeat.  And happy.  And good.  And who couldn't use a little something upbeat, happy, and good?  It also reminded me that there are a thousand little things that make my heart smile every single day.  Even when my classroom is 83 degrees and the kids are bouncing off the walls because OMG, did someone say SUMMER?!

Listen.

Now.  I would so love to list the thousand little things that make my heart smile.  But we'd all be here forever if I did that.  So how about I just pick ten?

The first sip of a Sonic cherry coke at happy hour after a long day.  I close my eyes for it and let out a little Aaah afterward.

Watching my students blush after they realize they just slipped up and called me mommy.

Putting on my eyeliner just right.  {That is one thing I just cannot do consistently.}

Hearing my teammates fill the hall with laughter...and the anticipation that builds as I make my way to the door to figure out what has happened now.

Finding actual mail in my mailbox instead of junk or bills.

Realizing the outfit I chose to wear doesn't need to be ironed.

A Saturday with no plans.

Light bulb moments--for myself, my students, or just anyone.

Finding little pockets of time to clean out my DVR and catch up on my favorite shows.

A good hair day.

What about you?  What are some of the little, everyday things that make you happy?  Maybe if we all share, we can get to a thousand!