Five for Friday

Vacation Do-Over

Now that I've been back from Mexico for a week, I feel like I need a do-over! In reflecting on the experience, I feel like Cuz and I were always on the go, but not in a good way. Hiking to breakfast, hiking to the beach, and searching for that perfect sun lounger that wasn't three inches away from someone else. Cuz really wanted to say in an all-inclusive, and it made sense to know that food and beverages were covered, but the price we paid in dealing with so-so food, finding our way around the vast resort, and the extra calories consumed because we felt like we had paid for it, so we had better get our money's worth, made it less than ideal. I learned a valuable lesson. Bigger isn't always better when it comes to hotels. 

The view from our room was pretty, even on the first rainy day.

Look at that! Built without the use of wheels or pack animals!

Such intricate Maya carvings at Chichen Itza

Girl's Night Out

One of my two cats got to spend the night out, last night. It's my fault. I didn't check to see if she was inside before I came in from the patio. She seems to have forgiven me, and there was shelter, water and a litter box out there. Of course, when I offered her a treat, a spoonful of canned cat food, she walked away. Cats!

Major Cuteness

Only 79 days until one of my neices and I celebrate her 18th birthday with this guy! I think I am more excited than she is! How adorable is he?

Adjustments

Preparing for the upcoming school year has been on my mind. There are several things I'd like to do differently. They aren't big things, but I think these adjustments will make things run more smoothly in my classroom.

First, I want to commit to sending home "signed papers" on Tuesdays. I've done this in previous years, but didn't do it last year. I always end up feeling frustrated if I do send Tuesday papers or guilty if I don't! So, I think it's better to do it, so that parents are informed. 

At parent info night, I always tell parents that they won't see many worksheets coming home from me. I explain that I don't believe children learn best from sitting and doing sheet after sheet. Second graders need to be up, talking and moving, touching and exploring, and interacting! I describe what the children do instead of "worksheeps" as one darling child called them many years ago in Memphis. One of the down sides of not doing many worksheets is that the pages that we do complete need to receive feedback and must go home for parents' review. 

Secondly, even while our director of schools is telling us that it is important to 'hit the ground running' with content-based lessons, and that we'll need to be fully operational (my words, not his) by the second week of school, I know in my heart that my second graders will need more time to internalize our classroom routines. My plan is to mesh, mesh, mesh! 

I have two responsibilities. First, to follow the directives from my district. (I'd like to keep my job!) Second, my responsibility is to my students. This is really first in my heart, so I'll integrate routines into content-based lessons. This isn't new to me, but I plan to be even more deliberate in planning and implementation, so that every minute of instructional time is used for content, with a side of routines. So, while we're reviewing sentence writing or math facts, I'll build in a couple of minutes to make an anchor chart of how we do those things. When we're getting ready for recess, I'll make a list of safe activities with a focus on capitalization and punctuation. 

Whew! I'm exhausted just thinking about those two things. Do you have plans to adjust your lessons or routines? I'd love to hear your thoughts!

Mysterious Me

I made it! I've thought of enough things to share in my second Linky Party! To celebrate, I am giving away a copy of my latest, revamped product on TPT. So, head on over to my Facebook Page to share it to win! 

I use Mysterious Me as a getting-to-know-you activitiy the first few days of school. I love it. Kids love it. Parents love it.

It's a great way to see the skill level of sentence writing and handwriting. It also gives me an idea of who is shy and who is bold, when it comes time to share. I display their items on a bulletin board along with their clue sentences. It  makes a beautiful display for open house! Be sure to look at the preview to see images of the Yoo Hoo! Guess Who! game that is perfect for getting-to-know-you time!

Have a great weekend!

Animal Research and Writing Organizers

Hello--

Did you know that the birds start singing between 4 and 4:30 AM? How do I know this, you might ask? From experience! 

I have turned my days into nights. Being single and carefree, I can do that. My cats don't mind, although, I think they've been a little confused as to why the 'thing with thumbs' is up at all hours. I love working when it's quiet and calm. I am definitely a night person.

I have updated and renamed my animal graphic organizers. I included three writing organizers that I developed with some struggling writers last year. Typically, my second graders come to me with a great writing foundation. However, there are usually a few who missed some skills, weren't ready for skills, or really didn't enjoy writing. These writing organizers grew from this need to shore up those students' writing skills.

I am working on several other things in an attempt to be ready for school. I have about five weeks of freedom left. I'm eager to share more vacation pictures, but I am saving them for my second ever Five for Friday Linky Party post! Since I know you're curious to see them, also, I'll post this one. It's from Valladolid, Mexico. We stopped there on the Chichen Itza ruins tour. This town square was tranquil and perfect for peoplewatching. Those rounded, white chairs (on the right) are sweetheart chairs. I loved sitting in them.

Five for Friday -- My First!

Hello! 

This is my first Five for Friday post! It deserves to be number one. I am excited to be doing this!

Chores

I have had a busy week. I returned from a vacation in Playa del Carmen last night. I've been doing laundry and trying to get things put away. It's no fun doing the end-of-vacation chores. However, the memories keep me smiling. Of course, when I have this fellow demanding all the attention that he missed while I was gone, it's difficult to work!

Vacation Speed Bumps

The vacation with my cousin was lots of fun! However, it rained the first two days we were there. I'm not talking a rainshower, and then sunshine, as it typically does when one is at the beach. I'm talking blowing rain and thunder. We were more than a little disappointed with the rainy speed bumps, but we managed to find things to entertain us and make us giggle. When the sun finally came out, we were thrilled. I spent two great days at the beach soaking up sun and sea air and another day on an amazing excursion. There is nothing better for me than beach time and learning time! 

I think this is a touching photo of the ladies who were selling souvenirs on the beach. Of course, Cuz and I made a purchase of bracelets and other items on our first trip to the beach. I hope that our purchases helped them more than buying in souveinr stores. We bought from the girl in the red top. She was lovely. Also, pregnant. I tried out my pitiful Spanish and asked her if her baby was a boy or girl. She understood me! It's a boy. 

Am I Vacationing, Teaching, or Learning?

I love to travel. About five years ago, I decided that if I waited for someone to travel with me, I'd be waiting a long time. My parents are elderly, and my dad hates the beach. My brothers are married with teenage and older children, so it's tough to coordinate trips with them. So, I took a trip to Turks and Caicos by myself. I was a little intimidated to travel alone, but I made it just fine. That was the beginning of travels for me. I have taken trips to Great Exuma, Bahamas, Belize (with my neice), Jamaica, the Florida Gulf Coast and Mexico. I love it!  

My cousin, who also loves beach trips, asked me to teach her to travel. I was flattered and amused when she said, "I want you to teach me how to travel." We went to Jamaica, last summer, and we had a blast. So, on this trip, I gave her some performance tasks. It may sound mean, but I purposely separated from her and let her go through immigration alone in Atlanta. She did it beautifully! I have been giving her advice about being guarded even with the friendliest of people. She is one of those people who never meets a stranger and has a bubbly, inviting personality. After lots of advice on traveling, I think she is ready for her first solo trip! 

When I put on my learner hat, I had an excellent treat! I took an excursion to Chichen Itza with a company called Mayan's Explorers. It was fantastic! They picked me up at 6:45 AM and I returned at 7:30 PM. There were eight of us on this excursion. There was a family from Canada and a brother and sister from London. We were an international group!

It was a day filled with exploring Maya ruins up-close and personal. Our guide, Murux (pronounced Maroush), a professor of archeology, was so wonderful. He was animated and passionate about his ancestors and heritage. He called us Mayas when he wanted our attention. "Okay, Mayas, walk with me." He asked probing questions about what we thought. He challenged us to put ourselves THERE in the time of the Mayas. I loved everything about this excursion. It was hot and humid, filled with walking and climbing, and absolutely exhausting. I was filthy when we finished, and I had the... um... good sense... to wear white! Yet, I learned so much! I think I have a new interest -- archeology! There's this city called Palenque that I think I'm going to have to visit next summer. :-)

This temple is not open for climbing. It was straight up with very narrow steps!

After learning and sweating at Chichen Itza, we headed to Ik Il, which is a popular cenote [suh-noh-tee] . My definition of it is that it is a vertical cave, formed in limestone, and filled with fresh water. And little fish that nibble on you. I was nervous about walking all the way down -- 100 feet underground! I don't particularly care for cave-like areas, but it was not so bad and, oh, so worth the walk down 90 wet and slippery stone steps! This picture is from the view at the top. This is one of several meaningful experiences that I had during this trip. 

Those are roots hanging down! Talk about adaptations!

Post Vacation Energy

When I got home, I threw in some laundry, spent time with my needy cat, and sat down to drink a Diet Dr. Pepper. My other cat is sort of reclusive, and she didn't come out from under the bed for a couple of hours. It's a good thing Raleigh is low maintenance, because SkippyJack is the opposite!

I had quite a bit of energy, so I started revising one of my back-to-school activities. It has taken me all day to get it finished. If you'd like to check it out, here it is:

Whew!

I've done it! My final thoughts go out to all the fathers out there. Happy Father's Day! I'll be going to see my pop this weekend, and I hope you have someone special to spend it with, too. Maybe I'll see you around the linky party! 

Adios!

Guilt and A Forest of Kings

Hola!

(See what I did there? It will make sense a few lines down the page.)

In anticipation of The Beach Trip to Playa del Carmen with Cuz, and a tour of the Maya Ruins, I ordered A Forest of Kings, by Schele and Freidel, thinking I would front-load some knowledge about the Maya culture. So far, I have learned that this culture is referred to as Maya and not Mayan. I have also learned that the book focuses on the kings and royalty of the Maya's importance in history. (Let's overlook that little calendar-world-coming-to-an-end incident.) I look forward to learning much, much more. 

However, we have decided not to take the tour, and I am feeling guilty, so this is going to be my flight and beach reading. That is, unless I stop binge-watching Suits and start reading, so I can finish 544 pages before Saturday morning!

I'm on page 40, and I can say that I have also learned how to pronounce vowel sounds in Spanish with some exceptions to these pronunciations. It's nice to learn that ours isn't the only language that has lots of exceptions as to how words are pronounced. Learning Spanish is on my bucket list, so I would say that I am killing two birds with one stone!

What's on your summer (pleasure) reading list? I'd love to know! Leave a comment below.

Nouns and Other Stuff...

Hello!

It is 5:48 AM, and I may or may not have been up all night. I'm on vacation. I can do it. I actually love working in the late night hours. I feel like I'm in a soft bubble of quiet, peace and calm. It's kind of magical to hear the birds start to sing about 4:30. Not to worry... I always get my days and nights mixed up the first week or two after school is out. I think it's a little revolt against the alarm clock and rigidity of our school schedules. Funny, though, I'm working on school stuff!

I am also excited. Many of you know that I am a travel bug. My cousin and I are going to Playa del Carmen next week. Actually, this time next Saturday, I will be waiting to board the flight. Cuz and I had dinner last night to finalize our plans for tours. It was a tough decision, but we are not going to visit the Mayan ruins on this trip. That means that another trip has to be planned in order to see Chichen Itza! We opted for a boat excursion with snorkeling. I can't wait to see some turtles!

Anyway...

I am a little ashamed to say that I started this nouns set back in September of last year. I remember working on it in the dreary days of winter, but I don't remember that I began it so far back. The good news is that it is finished! AND, it is going to be priced at only $1 for the next two days. So, if you're needing set of materials to complement your noun lessons, check it out.