A New Classroom for a New Year

As I have posted before, our school has been undergoing major renovations. Two old buildings were torn down, a 3rd old building was taken down to the stone walls and completely transformed from a damp and drafty gym to 5 beautiful new classrooms. A new wing has been built to connect the old gym to the main building. The new wing is completed so everyone is moving into it so they can update the main building. I spent three of my winter break days packing up my room. I was going to move a few of my boxes that I didn't want to get squashed. Delaney went up with me and she ended up moving all of my boxes to the new room. She worked so hard all day. Anyway, school starts back on Friday, January 4. My principal will be at school on the 2nd and 3rd so we can try to get our new rooms together. This is what is facing me when I come back.

 

I think I have my work cut out for me. To make matters even worse, I have a 3-day workshop I have to go to Monday through Wednesday after coming back for one day. We will have all kinds of new procedures to go over. No one can say that teaching is ever boring. ; P

12 in 12

I am finally linking up

12 in 12 Linky

12 favorite things!

12. Favorite movie you watched: This is really sad, but so far, I have only seen one movie this year. the only time I go to movies if when I'm taking my daughter to one. We went to see  Mirror, Mirror at the beginning of the year. We both loved it!

 

11. Favorite TV series: My daughter is always asking me why I like to watch people being murdered. haha I love crime dramas. My current favorite is Criminal Minds. I still watch reruns of Law and Order Criminal Intent. On a lighter note I also love Drop Dead Diva and Psych.

 

10. Favorite restaurant: I'm addicted to Mexican food. My favorite places to eat it are Chelinos and El Chico. My favorite fast food is Taco Bueno.

 

9. Favorite new thing you tried:
I started on TPT this year. I still have a lot to learn, but I've got a few ideas kicking around in my head for some products to make.
 

8. Favorite gift you got:
My daughter writes me little notes all of the time. these are just a few. She loves me more than cupcakes AND chocolate ice cream!

 

 

 

 

7. Favorite thing you pinned:

This is one of my pins that I am actually using in my classroom. I have a ton of card games for my class. These index card holders work perfect to hold the games. I made labels for each game so I can find the one I need quickly.

 

http://www.tealandlime.com/2011/07/flash-card-organization/

 

6. Favorite blog post:
My most popular post this year has been Finally a Freebie  It was my first attempt to share a freebie on my blog. I shared my vertical number line.
 

5. Best accomplishment: I was selected Teacher of the Year at my school.

4. Favorite picture:
I love this picture because Delaney has such a look of pure happiness on her face. She had gone down to the neighbors house to gather eggs from their chickens and they let her keep them. She came home and promptly made scrambled eggs at 2 in the afternoon.

I love this one because the photographer caught her pretty blue eyes to perfection.

 

3. Favorite memory:
This is my favorite memory from school. Last year I had several low readers that I was tutoring after school. One was a little girl, Mia,  that didn't know a single sight word except for "a" and "I" when I started the tutoring. Another was a little boy, Julius,  who was a lab student that also only knew "a" and "I". As time went on, Mia started picking up some of the sight words, but I was not having any success with Julius. We would play the same sight word card game over and over and over. One day when we were playing, Julius got the word "can". Mia said, "You know that one, Julius, you know that one. Listen, I CAN do it." Julius said, "Can?" Then later he got another word he didn't know, again Mia says, "You know that one Julius. Watch." She got up and walked across the room. He said, "Walk?" Mia said, "No, watch." She walked back across the room. Julius said, "Run?" Mia said, "No, it's go." What makes this memory so special was watching how Mia had started to see herself as a reader for the first time and she was determined to help Julius to find success too. 
 

2. Goal for 2013: Get healthy. Exercise, eat better and get some sleep.

1. One Little Word:
Care. I need to to make sure I am taking care of my loved ones and my students, but I also need to make sure I am doing what I need to do to take care of me, my spiritual life, my health, etc... I will be a better mom, friend, teacher, etc... when I am remembering to take care of myself.