My New Class and Donors Choose

Hi all,
Wow!  We are on week 4 in school.  It is sooo hard to believe that these little ones have been with me this long.  The crying is less...and everyone is starting to understand and follow classroom procedures.  You might be asking right now why it takes this class four weeks to "get with the Kindergarten program?" 
Well, I have 20 little ones and over 1/2 of them speak a different language at home.  Represented in our class is Spanish, Japanese, Twi, Igbo, French, Danish, and Gujarati.  Some of these little ones speak fluent English, but most do not.  Visual cues and modeling....oh my. 
Although our school is considered Moderate Poverty, my class tips the balance toward High Poverty. 
Most of my parents are awesome and want to help their kiddos.  It is hard for them to help with letter sounds and word families, since they don't speak fluent English themselves. 
I created a Donors Choose project to help both my parents and my students.  Now, I need some advice.  How do you get your project funded?  I'm not having much luck and I don't have any experience with Donors Choose. 
Any advice? 
http://www.donorschoose.org/project/can-you-hear-me-can-you-hear-me-now/817548/

The Happiest 5K on the Planet

I haven't posted in a while...the start of school and all that comes with it drained all my energy and motivation.  This weekend I got re-charged.  I ran in The Color Run in Richmond with a team of 20 teachers, friends and family.  It was awesome.  If you have a chance to participate in this event...go for it. 
You begin with a white outfit...
At ever K, you get a mixture of cornstarch and food coloring thrown, squirted and blown at you.  By the end of the "race" you are a colorful rainbow.  Most of the color blows or falls off, but some stays around in the most interesting places. I still have a faint glow of green and orange in my hair.  I think it will come out with the next shampoo.  
I am planning on dipping my shirt in vinegar to save the color. 
Babies, children, teens, men and women.  Some old, some young.  Men in tutus, girls in fairy wings, kids in capes.  I saw it all and everyone was happy and colorific. 
I can't wait to participate next year.  It was the happiest race on the planet. 

Me after the Colorific Fun. 
 

Before the race...



The Color Festival at the Finish. 

The Color Run in Richmond, VA

Doesn't this look like fun? 



I have a team of teachers running walking this fun race on September 15th. It looks like so much fun and just the break teachers need after the first few weeks of school.
Come join me! You can register here The Color Run...Richmond.  If you want to join my team of educators...my team name is Cray-Ooh-La-La and the password is Moncure.  I can't wait!  If you dip your shirt in vinegar after the race, your colors will stay on your shirt and you will have an awesome...colorful shirt.  There are Color Runs all over the USA, so if you don't live close to Richmond, you can run in another one.  Just check out The Color Run website to find one near you. 

Virginia is for Sweet Bloggers and Sweet Tea.

I met the sweetest Virginia girls today. I attended the Virginia Blogger Meet-Up and it was sooo much fun. I learned a ton, found ladies who share my love of blogging, talked about the Virginia SOL's, shared ideas, and drank tons of iced tea. Yep, it was sweet tea. Virginia is a Southern state you know. If you have a chance to attend a blogger meet-up...do it! I have a page...Virginia is for Blogs and there are links to all the sweet blogs right there. Check it out! If you are a Virginia blogger and aren't included on my page, comment below and I'll link you right up. It is a work in progress.

Thank you to Karen and Kelly for putting this meet-up together and for the goody bags. So SWEET!

Virginia clip art from....

Linky, Swap and Pair Up (Glue problem solved!)

.....read to the end to see how I use this product in my classroom! 

Teacher Idea Factory
Kelley at The Teacher Idea Factory is hosting a Perfect Pen Pal Pair Up.  You don't have to be a blogger to enter.  You just have to have a classroom.  It is going to be fabulous.  I signed up my in-coming Kindergarten class.  I will finally get to use that cool mailbox I had my Dad make for me four years ago.  Click on the link and sign up. 

Miss Whiddens Sweet Seconds
Lacey at Miss Whiddens Sweet Seconds is hosting a Post Card Swap.  She is a second year teacher and a brand new blogger.  She still has lots of states left.  You will need some stamps, post cards and labels.  I am so excited to use that cool mailbox again this year.  I signed up to represent the state of Virginia. 

Now I am linking up to share my favorite teaching supplies.  This is also being hosted by Teacher Idea Factory.  Ths girl is a do'er.  Woo Hoo! 

Now for my top five can't live without classroom resources. 
1.  I LOVE this glue.  It doesn't run, there is a little clip for the kids to hook the lid onto the bottle during use.  (NO more lost lids) and BEST of all...no clogging!  There is a little tip on the lid that slides into the bottle when you put the lid on.  It keeps the glue bottle from clogging.  I purchases a bottle for each kiddo and I refill the bottle with glue the kids bring to school.  I didn't believe that this would work so last year I purchased four bottles and gave them to my four little stinkers.  It worked!  Buy a bottle and try it. 

2.  Yep.  Me too!  I love these markers.  The don't bleed through the chart paper and I can use them to help teach the five senses.  They make me happy!


3.    I use these for everything.  Reminders to me...reminders for my Para.  Graphing projects with the kiddos.  I use them for everything and they come in pretty colors.  What Kindergarten teacher doesn't like pretty colors?


4.       I use my Activboard for so much.  I use it for calendar, for center time, for lesson introductions, to show movie clips, for bus call...everything.  I love it. 


5.        Gotcha didn't I?  I love velcro, but no I don't stick the kids to the wall with it.  LOL  I use velcro to hang up stuff on my walls, cubby tags, coat tags, book box labels and for table name tags.  I can move kids in an instant.  Just pull the nametag and move it to a new space.  No tape.  I always put the fluffy side on the table or wall and I always put the rough side on the paper.

Thanks Kelley and Lacey for organizing all these fun activities.  You are both awesome! 

The Happiest Time of the Year...and the Saddest Day

I love Kindergarten screening. I get giddy meeting the new kinders for the first time. They are so excited about starting school. I like being able to meet them one at a time and having a chance to speak to parents one on one too. I don't know about you, but back to school night, the first day of school and open houses are stressful and exhausting. All the parents want to speak to you and ask individual questions, and the kiddos want to have your full attention (which I give them much to the chagrin of the parents.) Today was my first day of Kindergarten screening. I had a blast.

On a much sadder note, my 12 year old daughter's friend passed away on Monday. What do you say to make it all better? My understanding is that this sweet girl went into cardiac arrest at school. I'm not certain what cause the cardiac arrest.  This happened before school (the very last week of school) at an extra curricular activity. The nurse had not arrived at school since school hadn't begun. CPR was administered..however the sweet 13 year old was taken off of life support and died this past Monday.    I believe everyone should know CPR ; especially teachers. Those moments when someone is gathering the nurse (who wasn't at school yet) could make a big difference in the final outcome.   Now my baby is scared to be away from me. She has lots of questions and I am answering them the best I can. I am encouraging her to attend the visitation...just to give her some closure and so she can support this sweetheart's family. Thirteen year old little girls shouldn't die.  If you have the opportunity, take a CPR class this year in memory of one of God's cutest, sweetest and kindest little angel.  You can purchase a personal kit for only $34.00 and learn CPR anywhere in 22 minutes.  Check it out.  The American Heart Association


After screening lots of little kinders and comforting my daughter today I am reminded how parents place their babies in our care every year.  They trust us to keep their babies safe and to teach them all about the world.  What an awesome responsibility gift we have been given.   I LOVE my job! 

Second Chance Postcard Exchange

I don't know about you, but I was very disappointed that I didn't get to participate in the postcard exchange sponsored by Primary Graffiti. (Cue violins and cellos) Now for the WooHoo....Mrs. Whidde is sponsoring another one. Virginia always goes quick, but I made it! She has lots of states left. If you are interested in participating you can e-mail her. MissWhiddens2nds@gmail.com She also has a brand new blog. So new that she is still in the design process. http://misswhiddenssweetseconds.blogspot.com/ Check it out.