Teacher Week - 5 FUN FACTS about Me!

Hello Friends,

http://imbloghoppin.blogspot.com/2015/08/teacher-week-5-fun-facts-about-me.html
It's Teacher Week over at Blog Hoppin and I am really looking forward to it! Today is FIVE FUN FACTS ABOUT YOURSELF...... When I was talking to my husband about this topic, I told him that I could think of nothing that was really fun about me. As I was moaning and moaning to him, he finally interrupted me and said "Cindy, you don't have to jump from an airplane to be a special person. Just be who you are and let it be..... " You know, he's right..... Even though we have not done anything really daring or made it on stage, that does not mean that we are not special people. I am always telling my kinders how special they are and I think it is time their teacher started to listen to those words, too! So here I go.....


 1.  When I was younger, I always wanted to wake up to a view like this.....


Instead, this is the view I see.... and it melts my heart to see my son becoming a part of it....


2.  I have visited Prague......

3. ...... and Rome......



 and I ADORE San Francisco......


4.  My husband and I have been married over 30 years and every year we have sent a funny Christmas card and each one has been different. That's a lot of ideas! Here are a few of my favorites.....




5.  My last fun fact is that I am obsessed with my school garden. Ever since my principal gave me permission to turn it into a butterfly garden to attract Monarchs and other butterflies, I have gone "geeky" with research on how to get it done! The cool thing is that we had almost immediate success this summer. There is a Monarch chrysalis presently hanging in my classroom that will be on its way to Mexico when it hatches and we let it go!


Make sure that you visit or link up to Blog Hoppin by clicking the image below!

http://imbloghoppin.blogspot.com/2015/08/teacher-week-5-fun-facts-about-me.html




Until next time!

Blessings, 




First Week Finished and Five for Friday!

Hello Friends,

This was our first week of school and friends, I am dog tired..... You would think that I would remember how exhausting these first weeks are, but I NEVER do! I know it will get better, but YIKES, right now, I am not there yet!

I thought I would join Doodle Bugs Five for Friday this week. I wish I had more pictures to share, but unfortunately, while taking photos for our Parent Information Night on Wednesday, I dropped my camera and it is unusable... so all that leaves is my phone, which I am glad to have, but it does not take the photos that my camera takes..... boo hoo...... Anyway..... on to Five for Friday...
1.  As I said, we had our Parent Information Night on Wednesday. This is time for the parents to meet the teacher. It is both a stressful and wonderful time because we stand in front of a group of parents that we have not really met and tell them what their child will be experiencing this year BUT we also get the opportunity to personally welcome parents to our classrooms. I like to give the parents a small welcome gift and this year, I used the idea of the fabulous Regan Tunstall. You can find the link to her idea HERE. It is simply a water bottle tied with a note and a Crystal Light packet that says "Here's to a refreshing year together."


2.  We had our first practice of Read to a Partner this week. The kids did a SUPER job sharing and reading their books with their partners.

3.  I have a locked door in the corner of my classroom that leads to the furnace/air conditioning unit. To liven up this corner a bit, my kiddos make these cute Mirror, mirror on the wall projects. This is a fun project based on an idea from Kim Jordano which you can find HERE.


Here is how that corner looks now....

4.   I know I have showcased this booklet in other posts, but I LOVE doing it with my kiddos! It is such a fun way to review preschool shapes and introduce new shapes such as octagon, trapezoid, and rhombus. It also follows the Math Common Core standards of understanding how to create shapes from other shapes. On this page, the kids learn that a square can be cut in such a way that it creates 2 triangles.

Here is the link to the booklet...

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Shapes-Can-Be-Many-Things-Make-a-Book-888792

5.  Finally...... We released one of our Monarch butterflies this week! We are raising one more in our classroom.....


Have a wonderful week! Make sure that you visit Doodle Bugs Teaching for more ideas!

http://doodlebugsteaching.blogspot.com/2015/08/five-for-friday-linky-party-august-28th.html
Also, join us at Blog Hoppin for Teacher Week. It should be a fun week of blogging!

http://imbloghoppin.blogspot.com/

Until next time!

Blessings,


My Classroom Photos - Teacher Week 2015

Hello Friends,

http://imbloghoppin.blogspot.com/2015/09/teacher-week-classroom-tour.html


(I actually wrote this post a few weeks ago, so I am tweaking it a bit for Teacher Week on Blog Hoppin!)

I met my new class on Thursday and they are just the sweetest! If the last couple of days are any indication of how the year will run, it will be a good one!

I thought I would share some photos of my classroom. It is REALLY similar to last year with just a few changes. I liked the setup of my room last year, so I kept a lot of it the same. My "theme" this year is owls, but honestly, it will really only be owls until I change bulletin boards!

Here are my owl bulletin boards. I used a ton of Carson Dellosa stuff. I just rolled up brown paper to create the nest and branch. I added my students names to the owls. They are not shown in this photo.


This is my good behavior bulletin board.


On this bulletin board, I added real life photos of my students which are not shown in this picture. I created the owl from brown construction paper and rolled up tissue paper for the branch. Once again, Carson Dellosa saved the day with these cute little owls.

I used this beach umbrella last year for a reading nook. This year, I simply recovered the seats and added foam letters along the bottom spelling out the word READ.

 This is the front of my classroom.

I love these letter posters above my window. I got the idea for using wrapping paper for curtains from Schoolgirl Style. It is simply wrapped around a spring rod and secured at the bottom with border trim. Easy peasey!

Here is another reading nook that is located in our classroom library corner.
This organization idea for storing colored paper idea is from Deanna Jump. I LOVE using these drawers to organize my construction paper.

Here is my little corner of the classroom. I don't have a desk, but I needed SOMETHING to call my own, so I set up this small table. I covered it with wrapping paper and laid a clear desk mat on  the top to create a smooth surface. I made the "Mrs. Feeney" sign on my desk from my Silhouette cutter a few years ago.


Finally, here is a view from the opposite side of the room.....
So that's it for now..... I hope that, perhaps, you found some inspiration from these photos. You can see that I do not have an elaborately themed classroom. It is child friendly, organized, and happy.... and that makes my students and ME happy! :)

Make sure that you hop on over to Blog Hoppin for some AWESOME classroom setup ideas!



Until next time!

Blessings,

Random Five for Friday thoughts... good-bye summer, garden, butterflies, laminating film, and a Messy Classroom!

Hello Friends,

Yay! Time for Five for Friday! Here I go....

1.  We start back to school in 10 days..... ten....... days........ So hard to let go of summer.... I had such a wonderful one! We took no BIG vacations; instead we drove to Eastern Michigan and Southern Wisconsin enjoying the lakes and some well needed family time!
2.  I had the pleasure of working with a couple of my former students (and their little sister)  today. They came over to the garden and helped me paint some signs and make a scarecrow. Such a fun morning!







3.  I was able to capture this pretty picture of a Monarch butterfly in my crab apple tree today. I THINK it is a male because of the lower black spots on his wings. Females do not have these black spots.

4.  This year I invested in MATTE laminating pouches. They are SUPER expensive! Almost $35 for 100 sheets. BUT, I bit the bullet and purchased them because I really wanted my student to be able to see the alphabet posters in my classroom this year without a glare. They worked great! Here is a (not so good) picture of the posters that were laminated with matte pouches....


Here is another (not so good) photo of posters that I laminated with the shiny (more affordable) pouches.

You sure can see the glare on the shiny sheets!

These are the matte laminating pouches that I purchased. As I wrote, they are expensive! They are very nice and I do not feel like my money was wasted BUT I will only be using the pouches for things that I want to keep for a really long time!
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0028P96G4?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00

5.  Finally..... this is how I left my classroom today... ugh...... so much work to do!

I DID manage to get a bulletin board KIND OF completed.......


So.... that's it for now, my friends! Make sure that you hop over to Doodle Bugs Teaching for more Five for Friday posts!

http://doodlebugsteaching.blogspot.com/2015/08/five-for-friday-linky-partyaugust-7th.html

Until next time!

Blessings,

Back to School Giveaway on iTeach Kinder Blog!

Hello Friends!
http://www.iteachkinder.com/2015/08/BacktoSchoolGiveaway.html

I am blessed to be a part of a new collaborative blog called iTeach Kinder. We are hoping to bring you useful and developmentally appropriate information for everyone who loves kindergarten! This week, we are pleased to announce that we having an amazing giveaway to celebrate the "birth" of our new blog! See the details below..... :)

iPAD GIVEAWAY
One lucky teacher will win an iPad Air 2 with a cute owl-themed case, stylus pen, and a $15 gift card to iTunes.You can use this iPad as a personal device, to lead whole group activities, as a small group learning station, an individual choice time, or as an enrichment activity. With so many great educational apps available, the possibilities are endless. No matter how you use it, we know it will become a favorite item in your classroom this school year.

HOW TO ENTER To enter, click the image above to take you to our blog. There you will find more detailed instructions as to how to enter.  We are accepting entries from Sunday 8/2 through Saturday 8/8. A random winner will be selected and announced here via the Rafflecopter on Sunday 8/9. Best wishes on this new school year and may the odds be in your favor for the giveaway!

Until next time!

Blessings,