Happy Birthday Part II

I was very blessed to get to go out to dinner with many of my friends here for my 41st birthday. We hit Burger Story and had some great burgers and fries. The plan was to then go to an apartment and watch a movie. The party just sort of morphed into a highlighting-hair party. I'm sticking with my solid brunette look, but I got to play around with doing highlights on some friends. We had a great time. I am blessed with friends!

Happy Birthday!

Friday the 9th was our (CC's and my) birthday. He's 4 years older than me, almost to the minute. It was also his last day to be here before flying out for 2 weeks. It was a very happy day. These sweet little girls in my class surprised me with cheese popcorn and cupcakes to celebrate with our class. I was told they had picked strawberry since they knew I liked healthy foods. That straight-sugar-strawberry-flavored icing was amazing, and I am sure, very healthy.

 The staff sang to us, and Twinkle Toes' teacher made us a cake.

The rest of the day was a blur. CC was packing and finishing up loose ends. Even at 11PM, he was running over to school to print something for me that needed to be mailed. He insisted on taking the car out (late at night!) to fill it up with gas for me. We went out for a quick bite to eat together to celebrate our birthday and say goodbye. By 1AM, I hit the sack, but I don't think he ever went to bed before his 4AM pick up for the airport. He gets home tomorrow, should be boarding a plane now! 

100 Year Old Lady

Just before CC left, our birthday, and Valentine's Day, Oasis had our 100th day of school. The lower elementary really celebrated! The teachers let the kids dress up to be 100 years old. This little girl really got into it. We put powder in her hair. The glasses came from the lost and found years ago (It sometimes pays to be hanging around in the summer, long after school is out!) She bent over and made her way to school with her cane, proud as punch to represent a 100 year old lady!

My Tree

The tree I bought at the teacher supply store last summer (and mom got laminated for me) was the best purchase I made all summer. In August, it held summer t-shirts, decorated with pictures of what each new third grader did over the summer. In the Fall, it had multi-colored leaves. When Winter came, snowflakes clung to its branches. Before the end of the eyar, we'll have cherry blossoms and green leaves with some Haiku poems around it.

I found this idea on teacherspayteachers. It was just a freebie with cards to teach story elements. I blew them up, laminated them, added a couple of birdhouses and birds, and now have a bulletin board.

An Idea for Multiplication Facts

Third grade is the year to learn multiplication facts. This year, I started a reward system for my students where they could "build" a pizza party. As they learned and passed a timed test for each set of facts, they earned more and more parts toward a pizza party.

2's were the plate, 5's were the sauce, 10's the cheese and so on. We got all the way up to 7's, 8's and 9's with a cookie, coke, and free homework pass. It was a fun way to do it. And this smart teacher made the reward land on Valentine's Day. We knocked out all the wild stuff in one day!

Monstrous Valentine Idea

This year I collected old tissue boxes and let the kids turn them into monsters. They'll hold the valentines they exchange.

They've been awfully cute to look at in my windowsill these past two weeks. I think I'll be sad when they eat all the valentines and are taken home this week.

Maybe I'll keep mine on display for anyone who wants to pass me a love note later on!

Mr. Campbell is....

...by the second grade.