Sleep is Overrated

Better Late Than Never!

July 22, 2012 by Sarah Plum(itallo) 9 Comments

I finally finished putting together my planner pack for 2012-2013! This project started out as just a personal project, but then I realized that it might be useful to other teachers, and so I kept going!

While I love my rainbow theme, I also know that it’s a bit ink heavy — which is why I ended up doing a blackline version of the planner pack to be printed on bright paper (this is what delayed it a bit).

I’ve already printed it out and set it up in my organizer for the year, and I am so so pleased with it! I’m a wee-bit of a post-it note hoarder, so this agenda (which is laminated for durability) is going to be very useful for me this year!

I’ve already started adding things to my August calendar because August is less than two weeks away! I cannot believe how quickly this summer has gone by, and really need to kick it into high gear because my to-do list keeps growing! I have my orientation on the second of August, and then my first day of new teacher orientation is August 22nd. (I just realized that’s a month from today. Wow.)

Despite how overwhelming my to-do list is, I couldn’t be more excited to see everything coming together. I worked so hard for so long to make this (my own classroom) a reality, that the late nights and sleepy eyes when my little guy is calling “Mommmmmmmmmmyyyyyyyy!” in the morning is just another part of this joyful process.

While I’ve listed this planner pack in my TPT store (it’s only $3.00!), it is the much-promised freebie for all of those that entered my giveaway! ~~I’m going to go-through the Rafflecopter entries tonight and tomorrow and e-mail it out in batches.~~ Check your e-mail if you entered the giveaway — I have officially sent them all out! I hope that it will be useful to those of you that entered!

The Post With the Most Bullet Points

July 20, 2012 by Sarah Plum(itallo) 1 Comment

I need to buy stock in:

printer ink
lamination pouches
cardstock
and raisinets (seriously, why are they so delicious?!)

I’ve been a busy-bee around these parts! I’m juggling about a dozen different projects all at once, including one that will be the freebie for all of those that entered my giveaway, as well as my Monday Made It for next week (what? you know you’re doing it too!).

Some of the decor-related items I’m working on:

cutting out all of the laminated bulletin board trim (It is taking f-o-r-e-v-e-r!)
mock-ups of bulletin boards (I’m using my empty classroom photos + photoshop!)
nameplates, labels, and other misc. organizational items

Some of the curriculum/management-related items I’m working on:

my teacher organizer (I opted to make my own, even though I *really* wanted an Erin Condren planner!)
long-rage thematic calendar (Themes! Oh, the themes!)
first day of school activities (I’m already nervous!)
classroom procedures + implementation w/modeling
positive behavior rewards
rough-planning of the first three weeks

Some of the books/websites I’m wading through:

Daily Five
CAFE
The Next Step in Guided Reading
Whole Brain Teaching

Whew. I’m totally beat just listing all of that! I’ve totally been neglecting Pinterest too, so I have to catch-up on all of my pinning and figure out what my next project is going to be!

I do have a few areas where I could use some support and advice, so:

If anyone could share some good morning meeting resources, or talk about their experience with morning meeting, I would love that! Same goes for experiences with whole brain teaching and how you began implementing that in your classroom!

I’ll leave you with the graduation portrait that just came in of Mr. Plum and I! This was taken within a minute after we were handed our (empty) diplomas; I’m still a bit in shock this moment happened!

My Ruby Red Danskos + A Freebie!

July 5, 2012 by Sarah Plum(itallo) 10 Comments

I wish. I totally wish I had a pair of ruby Danskos, or that this post was about me finding out they even make a pair of ruby Danskos — nope! This post is actually about my metaphorical ruby Danskos, or what a day in my life was like as a student teacher.

For reference, these would be the actual Danskos (my feet are so big and awkward I have to buy the men’s) that graced my soles:

5:00 a.m. – Alarm goes off, depending on how much sleep I’ve gotten (assuming I’ve gone to sleep at all, hah!) I may or may not hit snooze. I shower/get dressed/put finishing touches on lesson plans and materials.

6:45 a.m. – Wheels up and out of the driveway.

8:00 a.m. – Drop William off at daycare. (Depending on traffic, we have about an hour commute to his daycare!)

8:30 a.m. – I get dropped off at my school and Mr. Plum drives to his two miles away. (Both of us completed our internship at the same time — a mere two miles apart in the same school district!)

8:45 a.m. – Shovel a hardboiled egg down while writing the morning message and laying out the days’ materials.

9:05 a.m. – Kiddos walk in, announcements start, and I pretend I am well-rested and totally energetic!

9:25 a.m. – Language Arts block starts; guided reading happens, center rotations, mini-lessons, etc. We do a big word study focus on Monday, and then are pretty flexible the rest of the week.

11:25 a.m. – Science or social studies starts, depending on the day. About half the time these two subjects gets integrated with language arts, which I loved doing.

12:20 p.m. – Time for lunch! I drop the kiddos off, heat up my lunch (assuming I didn’t leave it in the car — which is two miles away — d’oh!) and eat lunch with the kiddos and my cooperating teacher.

12:50 p.m. – We head out for recess (and I try not to burn with my near-translucent skin).

1:20 p.m. – We head inside and start math, and try not to roast like chicken in our un-air-conditioned hotbox. Sometimes we’d do centers or small group, but this bunch of kiddos responded best to whole-group math instruction.

2:20 p.m. – SPECIALS TIME! I do a happy dance and hope the kiddos don’t see.

3:05 p.m. – I pick ’em up from specials, we wrap up with some fun activities, and do a few administrative tasks (notes, signing agendas, reviewing homework, afternoon annoucements, etc.).

3:30 p.m. – I wave bye-bye and get some much-appreciated hugs from the kiddos.

4:30 p.m. – Mr. Plum picks me up, and we swap war stories from the day on the way to pick up William.

5:00 p.m. – We pick up William, he immediately demands snacks, and we oblige. If we’ve remembered them. Hopefully.

6:15 p.m. – We roll into the driveway, and immediately collapse. Just kidding.

7:00 p.m. – We eat dinner… well, William eats dinner. Mr. Plum and I just try and stay awake. I most certainly drink coffee.

9:00 p.m. – William hopefully is in his room, putting himself to sleep. I’m starting to sift through my massive to-do list, finish writing another four page lesson plan (torture, I tell you!), grade student papers, and write a reflection for each lesson I taught that day.

12:00 a.m. – Snack break. I’m probably on my second episode of Hoarders on Netflix by now.

2:00 a.m. – Generally finished creating/writing and printing, and now just laminating. I’ve moved on from Hoarders, and am probably watching Toddlers and Tiaras so that my outrage keeps me awake.

2:45 a.m. – Finally in bed. Usually.

By the time the weekend hit, both my husband and I were beat. Totally wiped out. When I look back on my final semester of graduate school, I honestly marvel at how we did it because the entire thing was one long blur. I do remember thinking about mid-way through that the days were just melting together and that it was best to “go with the flow.”

One thing is for certain — the experience solidified just how much I love this profession and could not possibly do anything else for the joy it has given me. Despite the complete and utter sleep deprivation (which I know everyone has experienced — a rite of passage!), I never wanted to give up. I never felt like the tasks before me were insurmountable, or dread getting up in the morning. That was a great feeling.

Now it’s your turn — tell me about a day in your shoes! Head on over to Ingles360 and link up as a part of TBA’s celebration of International Blog-Hopping Day!

And while you’re at it, you may as well head on over to my TPT store to grab this:

I’m celebrating with TBA by posting another freebie from my stint during student teaching! This freebie is a teacher “big book” and student booklet that can be used as basic reference or review for plane and solid geometric figures.

Do you have a freebie you’d like to share? Head on over to Kreative in Kinder to link up and share one!