Mo' Chevron...Mo' Problems.

So Stella got her creating/teaching/crazy groove back....

I had decided that I wanted to organize all of my binders this summer, now that I have my Common Core life semi figured out.  Shafer inspired me with her awesome teacher binder. (which you can buy here...she also made me one that is hot pink and black chevron, which you can buy here ) After I printed, laminated and hot glued it together, I was hooked.

So, I started creating binder covers, spines, tabs, etc. for all of my subject areas.  Except, I kind of got carried away. And made five sets.  Different colors.  Different awesome colors. And now I want to use them all.  But I can't.

I think I'm going to go with the hot pink writing binder, which you can get for FREEE here. It is just for first grade Common Core writing, but oooh I love it!

 Then of course, I needed a Language Arts binder. We use Houghton Mifflin in our county, so this set is specifically designed for first grade. I am sooo excited to get my themes organized for this year!  I am not so excited about choosing which set I'm going to print and use.....thoughts? You can purchase any of these sets by clicking on the one you want below!

I guess there are much worse problems to have.  

Bloglovin.

Holy moly what an amazing word. BLOGLOVIN. That sums up my heart. Also, I've never done this before. Two posts in one day...GASP. What a loser.  But did you know google reader is leaving us?!?!?!  Sadness. But check out Bloglovin for our ever lovin blog lovin needs!

First Step liebster...Next Step Miss Teaching America!

Ahh!  You wanna hear something crazy? I was nominated for a blogging award!  And, yes friends, I was nominated by one of my dearest teaching friends...but I didn't make her do it! I was so excited to read her blog post here all about the award.  I think it is so cool to connect with more bloggers out there.  We are all so similar, but we each bring our own quirkiness to the blogging world.

Now, of course because we are teachers, there are rules for these nominations!

1. Link back to the blog that nominated you

2. Nominate 5-11 blogs with fewer than 400 followers

3. Answer the questions posted for you by your nominator

4. Share 11 random facts about yourself

5. Create 11 questions for your nominees

6. Contact your nominees by commenting on their blog or sending them an e-mail to communicate the nomination

Here I go!

My teaching bff Shafer nominated me for this wonderful award.  She is awesome and you would be missing out if you didn't hop on over to Shafer's Shenanigans.  Seriously. Go Now.  And then come back here. 

And the nominees are.....(insert drumroll...please)

-Karen over at An Apple a Day in First Grade She is amazing and I adore her.  I have a very small blog and small following, but every time I write, Karen comments.  And they aren't just hey look at me and my blog comments, they're meaningful.  And I do notice! 

-Ashley over at Sparkling Second I really enjoy her blog and her comments so much! We have been teaching for the same amount of time and she reminds me of myself! 

-Molly at Shining and Sparkling in First Grade.  This girl is my hero because of the AMAZING Houghton Mifflin packets she has put together for every theme!  I have bought them all. Love. Love. Love. 

-Laura at Over the first Grade Rainbow I have grabbed a lot of her language arts centers off of TPT!

-Lora over at http://www.mrswebsterscc.blogspot.com/. I buy her stuff too!

Ok, now to answer the questions Shafer asked!

1. What grade do you teach and how long have you been teaching?

I am a first grade teacher (whoop whoop!) I will be starting my third year of teaching...I can't believe it. 

2. What is the best thing about where you live?

I can't say enough about where I live.  St. Michaels, MD is a place where people come to retire, vacation, and shop.  It is a small waterfront town filled with shops, bed and breakfasts, seafood restaurants and so much more.  I have to say the best thing about it is the fact that pretty much my ENTIRE family lives here. During a 3 mile jog, I pass two of my uncles and usually get beeped at by three other family members. 

3. What is the last book that you read and what are your thoughts about it?

The last book I read was "The Storyteller" by Jodi Picoult.  I adore her anyway.  But this one was one of my favorites!  

4. What technology can you not live without?

I cannot live without my iphone. Seriously...you can do anything on it.

5. What is your favorite healthy treat to eat? How about your favorite guilty pleasure?

My favorite healthy treat would have to be yogurt....maybe this isn't the most healthy, but I love me some yogurt. My favorite guilty pleasure is licking the bowl after baking. 

6. What is your classroom theme this year?

My classroom theme is going to stay the same with the paisley sets I have.  I am adding a new border to my chalkboards, which will be chevron with the same color scheme. 

7. Do you have any pets? What kind? What are their names?

I have my baby dog child Cami.  Cami is a Golden Retriever that I bought from Lancaster, PA the summer before I began teaching.  She is a lap dog in a 60 pound large breed dog body.  She has every ailment under the sun and is super high maintenance, but I would be lost (and a little less covered in dog hair) without her. 

8. What is your favorite thing about teaching?

My favorite thing about teaching is that every day is a new adventure.  I walk into work and I have no idea what the day will bring.  I leave work and say to myself "well, if I had known that was going to happen, I wouldn't have come in today."  I will never be bored in this profession. 

9. Do you have any special talents?

I can dislocate both of my shoulders. Kind of gross. Also...I can change the lyrics to any song to fit your needs.  I kid you not. 

Example:

-During our safety unit I changed Taylor Swift's song to "We will never ever ever talk to strangers" with all new verses. 

-For our school Christmas concert I rewrote the words from "Call Me Maybe" to "Presents Maybe" and performed it with other teachers in front of 1000 parents and students. 

10. Where did you go on your last vacation?

My last vacation took me to Rochester, NY to stay with my best friend, her husband and her brand new baby boy!

11. If you could choose any career (other than education), what would it be?

I would move to Florida and be Belle at Disney World.  

11 Random Facts! 

1. My middle name is Paige. 

2. I lOVE Hanson. 

3. My sister is Korean. 

4. I HATE pickles. 

5. I run like Pheobe from friends. 

6. I can cook a mean meatloaf. 

7. I have to read every night before I go to bed. 

8. Jesus is my rock. 

9. I hate to be alone...I scare easily! 

10. I can usually make anyone laugh. 

11. My favorite tv show is The Cosby Show. 

Now for your questions!

1. What grade do you teach and how long have you been teaching?

2. What is the most challenging thing about being a teacher?

3. Why did you start blogging?

4. What is the best thing about your family?

5. Where is your favorite place to go to buy things for your classroom?

6. What is your favorite book to read to your class?

7. What is your drink of choice during the school day...coffee, water, soda?

8. Do you have, or are you getting, your Masters?  If so, in what?

9. What is the last movie you went to see?

10. Do you exercise?  If so, what do you do?

11. What is the best thing you have ever purchased or downloaded from TPT?

WHEEEW that was a lot of typing, but so worth it!  I can't wait to look around and see who else was nominated and meet some new blogger friends!

Fabric. The fabric of our lives.

Happy Sunday friends! I love Sundays. Love them from the tip of my toes! Such a time to plug in and recharge. And I love me some sunday morning worship surrounded by my church family. I then love having lunch w the family and running errands w mom. And by running errands I mean target. Duh.

Today, mom and I got crazy and ventured to the local fabric store because I have decided I want to re-cover the stools I created last year (Pinterest inspired...project pictures later...I have to drive to school to get them) I wanted brighter fabric and a fresh look for a new year. (My dad, who spent many hours w this project last summer, thinks the old fabric was perfect.) 

I also searched for fabric for the curtains mom is making me this year!!!! "Wait, Cait I thought your classroom didn't have a window?" You might ask. Oh, you're correct, these will be real life curtains for my fake window!

I scoured that fabric store, looked at and touched every fabric in that place...and nothing spoke to me. See, I can't just buy ANY fabric for my windowless window curtains...it has to be perfect! That window is like my alias, my theme song, my thang. 

So, I left w out curtain fabric, but snagged some cute stool fabric and a nifty two inch hole punch :) 

I hope you're plugged in and recharging for the upcoming week! Let me leave you w some words that spoke to me today. 

Everyone has something he/she is totally crazy about, addicted to, fixated on. What if we all took that zeal we have for that thing and applied it to our faith? I mean holy moly what could be accomplished if we focused our fixation and our crazy towards The Lord! I need to work on this, because ill tell anyone who has ears about my laminator...but I shy away from talking about my faith. God blessed me and all of you w the zeal for all things teaching, lets give it back! 

I'm alive.

Happy summer friends! I am soaking up every bit of it :) I spent an amazing week in Rochester, NY with my best friend and her new baby boy...that baby will always be 2 months old in my heart. Also, I like the sound of Aunt Cait so much more than Ms. Spurry...can I get my masters in being an aunt?

I also chose again to teach summer school. Eh. Enough said. Although I'd rather be by the pool, our first grade unit is on building bridges and I'm kinda becoming a beast at index card construction. 

In other news, we rocked out July 4th in true eastern shore style...

And in more personal news...I haven't blogged in awhile because honestly I've been in a funk. A funk that is apparent in this blog post full of random snapshots of life in the last couple of months. A funk that has found me unmotivated and lacking excitement about teaching...I'm just tired of all things teaching and school right now. I need to recharge! And I know I'm just complaining at this point, but it's so true. The silver lining...I am SOOOO looking forward to getting that kick in the butt come August when I jump into back to school mode, the rush I get when I walk into Target's back to school supply section and the endless Pinterest and blog stalking nights I will spend to inspire this coming year's classroom design. But for now, I am plugged into good books, poolside tanning, tv and naps. And after two years of teaching, I'm kind of sort of understanding that this funk is ok and normal.

I talked to Shafer today for the first time in a few weeks and I felt that little spark of ohh the possibilities of a new school year. She is a motivated mama and she reminded me how we roll! And I forgot to thank her for that...so, thank you! 

 I think this funk may be God saying "Cait, take a breath, you're allowed to not print, plan and laminate for a month" and I thank Him for that, but I also thank him for inventing personal laminators, card stock and colored ink....see I still got it deep down :) 

It's Summa Time!

Ok, so technically we still have a week and a half.  But, come on its 90 degrees outside!  (also, side note, I know I suck at blogging...it's possible I bit off more than I could chew with blogging, but it's like the friend you can call even after months of not talking and she still gets ya)  I was super excited about these last couple of weeks of school, because they are fun!  However, I got sick.  Super sick.  I actually had a fever sick.  I have had to miss the last two days of school which breaks my heart and causes me lots of anxiety, but fever free I am and returning to my windowless classroom tomorrow.

Next week we have a week full of fun planned...career day, beach day, game day, talent show, awards...fun, fun, fun!  I made it through our first year of common core, first year of homogeneous language arts grouping, first year of a windowless classroom, first year of grad school and HEY I'm done my second year of teaching.  Am I burnt out...yes.  Am I still going to teach summer school and keep taking grad classes through the summer...yes.  Ask me how this works out in the fall and if I will keep doing all this next summer.

I honestly have to say that I have enjoyed this group of kids immensely.  They are full of personality, humor, and WOW they are bright.  I will miss each of these kiddos a lot!  Because they are so awesome, and beyond amazing writers, I decided to give them my address and let them be my pen pal this summer.  Will I receive hate mail or random knocks at my door...highly possible. But the idea is super fun!

Here is what I'm sending home with them on the last day of school...

Taking a Dump.

Yea, you read correctly.  I titled this post Taking a Dump.  Honestly though, that's what it feels like I am doing.  I was so so so into blogging (and truly still am into the idea of it), but honestly it is sometimes so therapeutic to just read blogs.  I get so wrapped up in reading my usual line up, that I don't get around to doing anything on mine.  So here I go....dumping away.

We went on a super (I say that loosely) fun field trip where we allowed six year olds to take dipping nets to a pond.  I was a nervous wreck.

We developed a new habit, which the mother hates and may kick us out for.  

We held an American Heroes Wax Museum based on the lessons I used from an American Heroes Common Core Unit that you can purchase here.  Thanks Teacher to the Core! Go buy it...sooo worth it. All of my students researched, wrote and typed up a speech as one of the American Heroes I covered.  Then they dressed up and presented their speeches to parents and some staff.  I was so proud.

I went gluten free for a hot five minutes.  Actually, true story, I did do almost a month....but not so much anymore.  I really didn't see a huge difference in my digestion (no pun intended with the title of the blog).  I bought, I baked, I ate.  I'm over it. 

We celebrated Easter (Yes...I know I'm super late on this one.)

I started running/training for a marathon.  My goal is to do another 5K in May, then a 10K and then a half marathon in October (kinda already signed up for the Baltimore Running Festival to motivate my training) I'm currently doing the 5K to 10K app on my Iphone and am loving it.  P.s. I love running in my town...I mean do your views look like that when you run?

Oh yea, back in the beginning of April it went from winter to summer overnight here in Maryland. Seriously!  We were having 80 degree days there for a couple of weeks.  Shafer and I had to bust out the toes!

Now most important piece of this dump...I BOUGHT A LAMINATOR.  Holy Awesomeness.  Enough said.  

Actually, more importantly than the most important thing I mentioned above....my best friend had a baby!  I am so excited to go meet him in June!  

Also...because I suck...I started this dump a month ago, but forgot to hit publish.  Went to take another dump tonight, realized I hadn't published my first dump, so I've postponed my follow up dump for the near future.  Stay tuned friends.