Gerry Brooks.

Have you heard of this man? He makes me laugh right. out. loud. 

He is a principal in Lexington, Kentucky, and he makes short YouTube videos I think ALL teachers can relate to. 

I first stumbled onto him when a colleague shared a video. 

THIS video is one of my all time favorites, and it goes out to all the kindergarten teachers out there!

I also love this one about faculty meetings.

I hope these videos make you laugh as much as they make me laugh.

Thank you, Gerry, for reminding us that the struggle IS real, and that we are not alone! Don't get caught T-U-T-T-ing! ;)

Cheers friends!

Updates :)

What a week! Tuesday was Election Day, and we had a district-wide professional development day, while the students were off. It was a productive day, and not having to plan lessons was a nice break. 

While we did not speak about the results of the election in my classroom, we did watch President Obama address the nation live. The kids loved watching and being part of history. They especially loved when he addressed the "young folk." I explained to them that this is really the first election of their lives that they will remember, and went on to explain how historic and important it was. I am not sure they *quite* grasped it, but if a woman running for president is their new norm, then great! 

Today is Thursday and tomorrow is Veteran's Day, so we have no school. I have a jam-packed day filled with a(nother) doctor's appointment and then a 4+ hour drive north to Syracuse for a wedding Friday night. So today is our Friday, which is nice! My poor kiddos have been sitting through assessment after assessment today though. Seems like all of our subjects hit at once, and they're being tested in math/spelling/science all in one day! (They'll survive!)

We had a bus safety drill today - does your district do those?


I've picked up a two tutoring jobs this week, which is great (especially right in time for the holidays - extra spending money!). 

I leave you with this <3 


Thank you to our Veterans, and happy long weekend friends! 

Election 2016!

Our fifth graders are very excited for the election. While I have avoided talking about the personal political opinions of my students, we have discussed how elections work, the background of the candidates, and what the election means for our country. 


Earlier in the year, we read a story called "Elizabeth Started All the Trouble" by Doreen Rappaport who visited our school. We learned all about women's suffrage. I came across this short video clip about women putting "I Voted" stickers on Susan B. Anthony's grave. My class loved watching it. Here is the link: I Voted

We were able to also have a "mock" election to reinforce the importance of voting. The class got a kick out of it.

Did you discuss the election in your classroom? How did you do it? How did it go?

Science.

I do NOT like science. I didn't enjoy it as a child, and I don't enjoy it as a teacher. I don't like the subject matter, and I don't like hands-on activities in the lab. Science is an area of weakness for me as a teacher. 

In my experience, science and social studies unfortunately take back seats to subjects like ELA and math. And also in my experience, because of this, science and social studies curriculums are often pieced together and not every user friendly. I have had to create, unpack, and organize science and SS curriculums in the past.

The district I am in currently thankfully has established science and social studies curriculum. We alternate teaching science and SS for weeks at at time. Unfortunately for me, we started the year off with science (I enjoy SS!). We dove head first into a world of microorganisms (my nightmare) and different types of cells. Luckily for me, I have all the lessons and materials I would need. It really makes such a difference teaching when you have an established curriculum than when you're scrambling to find materials for a subject you're note even comfortable teaching in the first place.

We are nearing the end of our microworlds unit, which means I can start teaching SS soon. As an end project, the students will be given an assessment, but at home, they have been required to create 3-D models of either a plant or an animal cell. Being 5th graders, they are very excited for this. 

Here is a sample of one of the models that has come in early:

Do you teach science and social studies? What curriculum do you use? Do the students enjoy it?

New Student! + Chip and Joanna Gaines

Today is the 9th week of school, and our class welcomed an adorable new girl this morning. Her and her family just moved to our district this past weekend from NYC. She visited on Friday and said she was nervous and sad to be leaving her old school, but she seems to be getting adjusted just fine this morning.

I am so proud of the girls in my class. All on their own, they have taken our new student under their wing and made her feel just like one of them. If you walked into my room you would never know it was her first day. I have 18 of the cutest, sweetest fifth graders. They make my heart melt on a daily basis. It is amazing how adaptable children are. 

Having a new student start today was a great way to refresh my original students about our rules and routines. We spent about 15 minutes before our first lesson going over our rules and the way things work in our room. 

Does this happen at your school? New students register after the start of the school year? How do you get them acclimated? 

In other news, my husband and I dressed up as Chip and Joanna Gaines last night to pass out candy. Do you watch "Fixer Upper?" It's a show on HGTV that we enjoy. My husband reminds me very much of Chip, and Joanna is very likable. How do you think we did?