So, its really hard to believe that we are in December. I love this month, I just wish there was a way to slow it down. My kiddos are currently counting coins, I have discovered that most of them don't really understand counting coins. I can't help but wonder if its because so many of us use our debit cards now.  We are also working on traditions around the world, making inferences, and of course I have found ways to add some fun crafts. They are going to be so excited to write How To's papers.. They are! Because its all about making a snowman and making snowman soup!
Update on our desks! The kids love them so much! I moved them around because in case you haven't been following this blog, I like to change things around at the beginning of every month. So, I found on Pinterest a really cool look and that is making them into horse shoe shapes! So, cool people!
We only have 10 days of school left and of course I'm not crazy enough to tell them that. My amazing teammates have agreed to have a Grinch Day and a Polar Express Day! I love those girls.. I am so excited!

 This is what I have been doing for the month of November. Report cards snuck up on me way to quickly. Then, I made it through conference week(once again)! I gotta tell ya, my second year teaching second graders is going much more smoothly too. I have been blessed again with great parents. I have one who shall remain nameless, but holy moly people she spoils me! This year is going by way to fast.. I mean seriously one week left until Thanksgiving. My classroom has been like heaven every since I got my student's desks. We have so much more room, we now have a nice space for our class meetings and other areas for small groups to work together. We did manage to make our classroom turkey. What is so cool about my teammates they joined in on the fun. Currently my kiddos are learning all about communities and double-digit subtraction. I'm loving it!

Second Grade Class Turkeys!

 Sometimes as teachers we need to take a break from all the hustle of teaching this.. ok now teach this.. ok now teach more of this.. ok.. wait.. now teach this… It's so exhausting and stressful! So, I did just that! I literally put the brakes on teaching at warp speed. For the whole morning I dedicated that time on contractions. We became surgeons and nurses. I have exactly 30 kiddos so they got to pair up with their friend (which btw is huge!) Then, they took turns becoming a nurse or surgeon. There was a lot of talking about which letter has to go.. and some oh no's! We lost a patient Mrs. Packard! Of course many shouts of we did it! This is a moment I will treasure for a long time..  Have I mention how much I love teaching second grade? This is me and one of my amazing kiddos demonstrating the correct way of performing a contraction surgery. 

More Pictures Coming Soon!

Hello Blog Land,
It's been a few weeks since I last blogged, but thats okay because things have been going great! Life certainly keeps me busy and I am not complaining people. Last was amazing! First we went on our first field trip. The weather was gorgeous and the butterflies were out and about. My kiddos were so good of course it helps when you keep them busy with scavenger hunts, life entertainment (thank you very much my parent volunteers!) and taking a quick walk to the beach. Don't worry my friends we kept them everything aligned with the state standards. Here is a picture of one of the many things my kiddos had to finish by the end of the trip.

On Friday our school had their third annual Panther Prowl Run. Our second graders are full of so much energy (if I could only have just a little of that) sigh.. Again, the weather was perfect, and the popsicles

were refreshing after walking for 20 minutes. Whew... Here is a picture..

Now, for the best part... we had our first art cart and we had so much fun! Yes, I said we.. I just had to join in. It was so cute, I couldn't resist. Here's a cute photo of what it looks like..

We have also been working hard on finishing our Animal Reports, at least the writing part. When we are done they get to make their animal habitats, this should be very interesting since I have never done it before. Keep your fingers crossed for me. Okay, folks thats all for now!

It's Only Wednesday

Even though we are in the middle of the week it feels like the week should be over. It has been crazy busy but in a good way. Monday, I celebrated my daughter being on the honor roll. We had a great day together that I will treasure. Tuesday we had a really cute assembly and of course the kids were so excited. Today our school celebrated Unity Day against bullying. It was so cool! Almost the entire school wore orange and our parents were amazing putting this whole thing together! In my class were are continuing to work hard making scarecrows, leaves, and soon bats! Don't fret! I have been tying this all in with reading, writing, math, and creative thinking. Have I ever mentioned how awesome second grade is?? I love telling my kids that their teacher does normal things.. like going to the dentist. I didn't tell them that my tooth was cracked and I was okay with it until I saw my dentist. He cracks me up! He looks in my mouth and says wow! thats really cracked! So as I am typing this up I am just now starting to have some feeling come back. You know that horrible kind where you want to itch your face off. The good news he saved my tooth!  I promise I will not tell my kiddos the horror of the shots, the drill, etc.. They did give me encouraging words about don't be afraid.. and maybe he will give you a toy?? So darn cute!!

Scarecrows!

I am half way done with CCSS training and it feels good. My amazing team have been brainstorming on how we are going to use common core into our existing textbooks and such, its so much fun. Don't get me wrong, its a lot of hard work (secretly I love it!) but it will be worth it. Here are a couple of recent pictures that my little ones did. Have a great night my bloggy friends!

Can you read this?

Hello Blog Land,

My Awesome Kids Together!

Well things are settling down for me. My back to school night went extremely well. I love my second graders! I showed them the powerpoint presentation that their parents were going to enjoy. They loved it and promised that their parents will smile at me, which they did! So, now its time to share what my class will be learning this month. We are currently learning all about double digit addition ( I love Amy Lemons math lessons) and we are just starting our animal units. Which I am very excited about because we are starting to integrate common core into our units. I also want to celebrate fall because its my favorite season, so I will be having them do some writing first and then they can make their scarecrows!

On a personal level, I keep having these last-time moments with my daughter. I'm not sure what to call it?? I just know that when we go to her games, I find myself saying that this is going to be the last time I see her performing... yep.. I got it bad people.. She's growing up way to fast for my comfort..sigh..
So I want to share a few photos that I recently took.

Back to School Night

The other side

IT'S BEEN FOREVER!

Hello Blog Friends,
It's been a very long time since I last blogged. SIGH.. My school year started out rough, I think it was a combination of things and then I just went into survival mode. We are on day 21 (I think) and things are going much better. So this year I plan on sharing my personal life too, since apparently my precious baby girl who btw is a senior!! Gets a little upset when I post pics of her on fb or instagram. LOL. Lets see how long it takes her to figure out that she's on my blog. I can't help it though, I am so proud of her and I can't believe my baby girl is a senior! I know! I know! Those of you that have taught her or watched her grow up its hard! So so HARD! sigh again.. Okay so now you know where my mind has been ( at least part of it). My class kiddos are coming around to my way of thinking, cause you know its all about making smart choices! My whole team is so awesome and we are all over loaded with boys this year. WHEW! So, we are also starting common core this year. Did I mention how crazy been its been? I used my favorite colors to decorate my classroom. I love purple, blues and greens, I love my classroom, I call it my happy place. BTW I hit the jackpot again with having an awesome room mom who is like my super hero!

This is my beautiful daughter on her first day of school (which also happens to be her last time going to school with me) and yes that is her driving herself to school! Yikes! 

I promise now that I am getting the swing of things again, I will blog more often. Except for this week because I have Back to School Night and my daughter has a game  Saturday night and I will be a common core training day all day Saturday too! Good Lord! 

It's July and yet..

Even though its still July let the decorating and all the other stuff begin! I had fun today I re-did a table and if I do say so myself it looks awesome. It's on my Instagram if you wanna take a peek. I am still working on my "Love to Read" board for A.R. and I fell in love with the idea of doing brag tags. So, of course I'm working on a new board to accommodate my BRAG TAGS.. This is so exciting! More teachers are coming back to their classrooms and its so nice to see my friends. I just love this time of the year.

This will hold 32!

Here's what it will look like 

So, this will be short and sweet. The lazy bug got me! I mean for real, I have been sleeping in, reading, napping, watching lots of reruns, and pinning. It's been awesome! Today, I decided to get some work done so I went back to my class AND I finished 4 projects from Pinterest. I really love crafting..I will show some of my stuff tomorrow ..

My Own Project

What a great day I had! I did some reading, gardening and I made my own behavior pocket chart for my classroom. Now, in my room I have to have everything look pretty AND it has to match the colors in my class. So, I found this great little pocket chart for jewelry and knew that it was going to look perfect in my room. I was so close toward buying this one.. which is cute but it does not go with anything in my room.

Being that it is summer and I absolutely love Pinterest! I decided to make one of my own. I had a lot of fun making this one of a kind, Behavior Chart. Purple means you are doing awesome, blue means feeling kind of sad (not making good choices), and green means Oh No You Didn't! ( yep, a note goes home and no Fun Friday). Now, I hope you know that I won't put that on the chart. Lol. So, in case you are wondering I used my cameo on this little beauty and thats it. 

before

After

Its summer..

So, its been almost a month since school is out and its been quite busy. First of all I am still going to teach second grade. Can I say, AHEM! Also, I moved classrooms so now I will be next door to my teammates, poor things. Lol.. So far I have been cutting, coloring and pinning away to come up with a new theme for my classroom. One thing I love is seeing how other teachers around the states create such great looking rooms. Friends and coworkers always ask me how do you make your classroom look so cute? I am not afraid to say this, I let the room talk to me. Don't laugh! I am not crazy. My plan is show my new room in baby steps. I have almost completed one small part of my wall and I am very pleased with it so far. I am leaving the wall blank for a special reason. BTW, I love decorating and since my husband has begged me to leave our house alone, I really have no other option but to have fun with my room.  One more thing, to see if I have any friends out there reading my blog here is my dilemma. If you can see the ugly and I mean ugly (unless you happen to like mustard-like orange) counter tops should I redo them or not?

The adorable houses came from whimsy workshop

Frog Race

I have only one more day with my second graders. I can't believe how fast this year has gone by. Today we had our project cornerstone mom read the last book of the year. It's about change and how change is good. It's true, but... Whaaaaa I wanna keep this year going on forever! So, moving on.. I know that I love teaching second grade and I have the best team mates ever, and I made my students promise me that they will come see me next year. Otherwise I might break down in front of them and cry. I gave them an example of what it might look like and they totally promised after seeing my "little show". Lol.
We also had a frog race today (Megan you rocked it girl!) hopefully we will have time to finish it! Next thing I know the bell rings. We had so fun and I yes I did the frog race.. Tomorrow is our pizza at the park day, along with passing out their emergency packs, report cards, and anything else I find that I didn't hang out yet. So, there you have it.

Well its been awhile since I last blogged but people its been crazy! We barely finished the testing and now our team is really working hard to create this darling musical for our second graders. Okay, I will be honest I was also to busy getting spoiled by my parents. Yep, you heard me. Last week was teacher appreciation week and boy was it awesome!! Monday, I went into withdrawals but don't worry I'm okay now. Then it was Mother's Day which was again awesome. Today is my baby girl's birthday. Also, my kiddos and I are trying to glam up the classroom because the night after our second grade performance is our Open House!! I really don't want to hear from people how days of school are left? I just start singing I'm a little bit country.... because otherwise seriously I will start to cry.. Even just typing that part I'm shaking my head no no no no...
Finally here's a project we just finished today. I got the idea from a gifted teacher on teachers pay teachers ( her name is Jaime Pink).

I also have my tool boxes that I got from Pinterest 

AMAZING MONDAY!

Today was an amazing day people! First it started out with every student of mine giving me a purple rose. Yes, there was also a vase to go with it, along with a couple of gift cards. I couldn't stop smiling all morning. Then lunch time comes along and one of my parents comes in with a yummy sandwich and a starbuck's drink. Can we say holy moly people? Am I lucky or what? I am so grateful for my families at Paradise. I really hope they know how much I appreciate them!
So we are back at being busy learning but also having a lot of fun doing it. I have to share a comment one of my kiddos said at the end of the day. We just finished our play rehearsal (I am still not sure what to call it, I mean they sing and talk and dance a little) and as we are walking back to class, I was telling them you are only allowed to write two sentences about what you learned today. Because there wasn't enough time to write more than that. Oh boy! The complaints came loud and fast. Are you kidding Mrs. Packard? That's impossible! We did to much too write only two sentences! Oh my gosh I love these kids.. BTW excuse any grammar, spelling, etc.. errors I'm off the clock..I just had to write about my incredible day!

Not only are they beautiful my room smells so pretty!

We did it! No more testing! I am so proud of my class, they worked so hard. Everyday they received a treat after each test session, they received razzles ( candy that turns into gum), a chocolate crunch bar, and a mechanical pencil. Now I only have to focus on wowing my families for our open house night. That's two weeks away. Oh, did I also mention the night before our second graders are having their musical showdown country vs. rock n roll? Yep, no pressure people. Nope..none.. nada..

They loved this treat!

I had such a fun Monday we read, did some writing (which I totally love reading their weekend journal memories), review math strategies for our STAR test and just chatted with my kiddos until the end of the day.. I really wanted to end the day without any stress ..I was so close people!  The bell rings and I'm saying goodbye, get plenty of rest, eat a healthy breakfast, and then a little voice says.. Mrs. Packard what about our homework?
 Argh!!! No way I didn't!! Yes, I did! I forgot their homework!!
Half the class is gone and the others who heard started to yell,"Yeah NO Homework!" I mean seriously people there was no way I was going to chase down my speedy second graders to hand out their homework folders. It was 87 degrees today! Its still April. So tomorrow I will let them do their Monday night homework in class. That seems fair. Deep Breath Alice... only 4 more days..

Did I mention we have a raccoon visiting us again?

Hello Friends!
Time is just flying by! I am so proud of my class. They have 3 more days of testing and I know they are ready. After every test they get a treat. This was made possible by my awesome moms. They spelled out the word STARS! ( for the 6 days of testing). I went to my first parents night out fundraiser (made possible again by my parents) and it was so much fun. I did freak out a little when I discovered I had to go up in front of all those parents to auction off my class project and the crazy part I had a parent bid for our art project and she wasn't even one of my parents. It sold for $375.00 WhooHoo!!! The food was yummy, the music awesome and I laughed so much, it was a great way to relieve the stress of all this testing business. I plan on surprising my kiddos with root beer floats and a movie on Friday. So if I don't blog this week you'll know why. Here is a picture of the bags..

Skippy our class mascot is watching over the bags.

It's Tuesday again.. I'm feeling a little bit run down for some reason. I should be feeling great.. sigh.. it could be that STAR testing starts next week for my kiddos (a week from today). I just want them to do really good on this test. So, if you know me when I'm feeling blue I either clean or rearrange. I decided to do both in hopes of getting out of this funky mood I'm in. Here's some results: Second Graders are so Awesome!!

A New Look!

Kite Fractions! Found this idea on Pinterest.

Super Cute! Another TPT!

Thank You Niki Taylor

We are back!

Yesterday was rough. I'm not sure if it harder on me or my little ones. We were all so out of it. However, today was it! We were on our A game. It feels good to be back. I'm gettin my classroom wall ready for the STAR testing. In fact my whole team is doing it. I will have a picture very soon to show you all. I started talking to my class about how I will be covering the walls with cool table clothes (if I can find some at the dollar store) so they won't get distracted. I want to get them excited about using their very own private offices  (yep I made at least 16 of them during our break). This week they will get to use them for spelling tests, math test, or anything else I can think of. Just thinkin out aloud here folks. I am wondering about having a snack for them to eat before the test. I am worried though that someone might get sick on the test paper.. Any thoughts out there?? Okay the GIANTS are calling me back to the tv to watch my boys play.. LETS GO GIANTS!!!

My Very First Project!

So, even during my spring break I can't stay away from my classroom. Of course, it could be because I got this new toy from my incredible awesome husband. I love my silhouette cameo! What cracks me up was at first I was so afraid to use it. That didn't last long. I made some new signs for my kiddos and I plan on creating phrases to get them excited at "Show What They Know" during our STAR testing. I picked my favorite colors and then went at it. I will forgive my errors because it is my first project.. I am still doing things around the house..like taking naps with my cat and dog, cleaning the backyard (yuck), reading a book, staying up pass 9 pm., visiting with my mom, and maybe I will get my hair done.. (this is for my hubby who likes to read my blog). So, I am off to create another project and as you all know by now I have to do my research first. Here I come Pinterest!

We had such a beautiful weekend! I meant to go outside and take care of the backyard. You know pull weeds, pick up doggie presents etc.. but then the mail came. An amazon box with my name on it and in it.. was this wonderful straw dispenser that begged me to change it! Again I had to do some serious research (Oh how I love Pinterest!) I found this really cool pin from a teacher of course! I'm really good at recreating things I see.  Once I made the decision AND going to Michaels I was ready and boy I was so nervous at first, I didn't want to mess it up. It only took me a couple hours to complete. I have to say how much fun I had and that I absolutely love it!!! I can't wait for my kiddos to see it come Monday morning..

Over the Weekend Journal

Hi There Folks,

I know that I was going to show you my cute little surprise for my kiddos, but I had to change my post. I can't remember if I have ever mentioned that I love having my class write about what they did over the weekend. What I love about this cool idea is that I no longer have 32 kiddos trying to tell me what they did over the weekend. So, this little guy who is my most reluctant writer totally surprised me!  I had to share with my teammates and now I have to share with my fans.. All 5 of you..lol.

So, today was day 1 of the 4th benchmark testing and I have to say, I'm so proud of those kids! That was a great way to start off the week. I can't wait to see their faces tomorow when they get their little surprise waiting for them. I will take a picture of them Tuesday. For some reason I have decided to redo the daily schedule and I have never been happy with my calendar wall. But, now I feel better because after reading teacher blogs  doing some in-depth research on my problem I found out why! Its because I am using my smart board for almost everything, so all I need is my calendar for dates, a behavior chart, and my daily schedule. So, you see its all good. Well its almost 8:30 pass my bedtime. Lol. Night All.

March Madness

So, in room 10 the madness has started! I have a new face on my door, a rainbow that has real chocolate coins at the end, (yummy..) and I see purple everywhere. We having a lot of fun with our poetry unit. I let the kids do a Acrostic Poem with my first name. I gotta be honest I was worried. I will take a picture of it when its complete of course. Here's my pics.. Of course there is no way this could be completed without my fabulous mom Nikki!!

Its been awhile

I know its been awhile, since I last blogged. Its been just crazy. This is the last day of my break and I got a lot done! I took a nap everyday, went for walks (btw Rachel our walk almost killed me!). Created 3 new beautiful scarves, went to Monterey with my hubby. Did yard work.. it had to be done people! Let me tell you finding 3 dead little birds from our cat was no picnic! YUCK!! Finally, I'm going to wash my little dog and then get my nails and toes done Saturday. This week went by to fast! And here's some super cute quotations by my amazing second graders..

We Are Done!

I am so happy to say that the kids in room 10 have finished their nonfiction unit! I had a great time hanging them up and yes I did read them all. I am very proud of my kids they all worked so hard and it shows.

It's been over two weeks since I last posted anything. Its amazing how fast time goes by. We celebrated 100 days of school, finished our nonfiction unit, and more importantly we are having a blast learning. Now here is our new look for the month of February.. thanks again Niki!

I was right!

Well, my friends I was right! Tuesday was such a great day. Seriously.. Before taking the "test" I had the kids rock out with Taylor Swift. They were so adorable! Then after much huffing and buffing they sat down and really did their best (I hope!). From then on we just continued on with the fun of learning. Here's the best part of my day.. So the bell rings and I open the door to let the kids in, now remember this is our school WIN time so I don't have all my kids. I look to my left where all the jackets and lunches are kept. I am used to having to push some lunches out of the way to let kids in. Much to my surprise they were neatly in a row and all the jackets were put in the blue crate! I asked who did this and no one knew, so of course when I picked up my kids and we were all sitting down I had to ask who cleaned up the lunches? My Emma and Catharine did! They had such smiles on their faces.. They made my day! So, in case you are wondering they earned their groups 5 points and went to my star jar. I am still not sure how to get my picture on the bottom of my post. Maybe I finally did it..

Monday Blues

So, here I am excited that its Monday and then it happens. My class wasn't. Why? Maybe if they knew how hard I work to make those cool looking anchor charts, or spend hours on pinterest looking for the perfect science project, or I don't know taking a nice nap. Anyway, I had 5 tardies and 4 absent. Then.. I told the ones who did make it, guess what? You get to take a benchmark test! I tried real hard to sound excited, but they didn't buy it. Can you blame them? I mean come on its Monday and all. Poor things. The good news, by recess it was all forgotten and I got to teach for real. Tomorrow.. will be a better day. Because I have a plan! Before they take the second part of the test I will have them exercise to some music to wake up their brains. I just know it will work. It will!

What a great way to start the New Year! Thank you Niki!!! Now my room is super duper cute!

Wait....

The past two days have gone by so fast! I thought my room looked cute before the break, but now..

I have to mention this wonderful title was created by my TALENTED niece Megan. She was amazing at cleaning out all my cabinets. So many of my co-workers are fooled at the outside of my room. Lol, if only they looked inside those cabinets! So, tomorow is the first day of school and I'm just going to say FINALLY!! Yep, you heard right. I need to be back in the classroom. So, my friends have a restful evening..

Thank you Rachel!!

So my awesome and talented friend, who also happens to be my teaching partner made it so easy to change my bloggy look and more importantly get my link on Facebook. I wont't tell you the hours I spent trying to get my blog on my Facebook, because its simply to embarrassing. Oh, but wait I just did and since this blog is all about me and my teaching moments I can! So, in you are wondering did I go back to my room today? You bet I did! I love this classroom! Here's a picture of what I did today.. Hmm wonder if I will go to school tomorrow?? I have this cute name tag idea that I got from pinterest! Lol life is good people!

Yep, I moved my room again!

Okay, I really do love moving things. I think its the teacher in me. My original plan was to just go in collect my Christmas trees and to revamp my walls. But, noo.. I had to move my tables, my desk, and my meeting area. So, I will revamp my walls tomorow for sure.. I have to admit my room rocks for the new year!

New Year Resolution!

Its 2013 and I am determined to start my blog.Again! Even though I have this week off, I'm still going to my classroom to visit and maybe to do a little house cleaning. Okay, let me just say I miss my classroom, my class, and just plain ole teaching! I know my husband misses me teaching. Apparently moving some furniture around is a bad thing. Lol.. So any who I hope this gets post and more importantly I can log back in. Yes, here's my girl Macey if only my daughter will let me take photos of her...