Store Week

Today was the end of "The Best Week of the Year" in first grade. Today was the conclusion to our store unit. Despite the huge amount of work and stress that go into this unit of study, it's (hands down) my favorite to teach. Our kids LOVE it and they learn so much!

Here's what the week looked like:

Tuesday: Introduction Day

• Review money (something we've worked on the past couple weeks)
• Discuss goods and services and brainstorm list of goods and services in the community
• Explain how the store will work
• Brainstorm a list possible stores that could be run by students on "store day"
• Students choose what good or service they'd like to do (I have students write down their top 3 choices and then I choose one of their choices for them so we don't have too many of one shop)
• After figuring partner groups, let students know which store they will be doing
• Have them make a list of supplies they will need to make their good or provide their service

Wednesday: Creation Day

• With the help of parent volunteers (couldn't do it without them), students make their goods. I provide a myriad of craft supplies and ask parents to bring in hot glue guns if they have them. Sometimes kids bring things from home.
• Students who will be providing a service use this time to make a brochure
• Make a poster to display in front of their shop including the name of their shop, a picture of their product, and price (anywhere between 5 and 30 cents)
• Write a script for a commercial
• Practice script
• Decorate banks (made from coffee tins, oat canisters, etc)

Thursday: Finishing Touches Day

• Guest speaker - We had a parent from our school who recently opened up a restaurant. She came and spoke to the kids about the process.
• Record commercials - We don't actually video tape the kids. Instead, we use a program called "Photostory". A picture of the kids' poster is displayed with they record their voices. The result is basically a slideshow with the kids' voices talking about their product.
• Watch other class' commercials and write a journal entry about what they want to buy on store day.

Friday: Store Day

• Two of the 1st grade classes set up their shops out in the pod.
• The other two classes come and shop. They each bring in $1 in the form of 5 dimes and 10 nickels. They are encouraged to spend all their money.
• After the first group finishes shopping, they set up their shops and the other 2 classes get to come spend their money.
• Count money
• Decide how to use the profit. We donate our money to the KC Zoo. We adopt an animal which we go see when we take our field trip in the spring.

This is something we've done for the past three years. It's something I'm quite proud of, as I helped come up with the idea and put it all into place.

Some popular shops this year:

• Pet rocks (rocks decorated with googley eyes, paint, pipe cleaners, etc)
• Stress balls (made with flour-filled balloons)
• Fancy pencils (decorated with pipe cleaners, ribbon, bells, etc)
• Origami
• Jewelry
• Popcorn stand

Again...a lot of work for the teachers, but it's SO worth it!

His. Mine. Ours.

I'll be honest...the hubby and I watch a lot of TV. Not to say that we don't do a lot of other (more productive) things too, but let's just say our DVR gets a lot of use. I've come to notice the shows we watch fit into 5 different categories:

1. Shows I watch that he hates - Gossip Girl, anything with the Kardashians


2. Shows he watches that I hate - UFC, anything on the History Channel (Modern Marvels, How It's Made, etc.), non-KSU sports (excluding the Chiefs)


3. Shows I watch that he doesn't particularly like nor dislike - Biggest Loser, Glee, Grey's Anatomy, Chelsea Lately


4. Shows he watches that I don't particularly like nor dislike - American Pickers, Pawn Stars, World Series of Poker, The Daily Show, Tosh.O


5. Shows we both like to watch - Jeopardy, The Office (kind of), Chuck, Mad Men, Dexter, True Blood, It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, Modern Family, K-state sports

I'm sure there are more, but I just now realized that I have resorted to blogging about TV.

A Very Special Day

Over six years ago (maybe seven) I was living in Manhattan. I was an elementary ed major and thus worked at Northview Elementary as a lunchroom/recess supervisor and a staff member of the after-school program there. I met some great friends through that job, one being my friend Kara. Kara and I have had many fun shared memories with one another. We've laughed together. We've cried together. We've worked out together. We've drank (a lot) together. College simply would not have been the same without here.

Around this time (6 years ago), I invited Kara over to a BBQ at "The Boys' House" (otherwise known as James' friends). I had enjoyed spending time with James' friends....they were all fun guys. However, I thought that particular night would be more fun with some estrogen. So Kara came along with me. She met Ben that night. The two of them hit it off immediately and quickly made plans to get together the next night...and the next night...and the next night.

In December of 2008, shortly after James and I announced our engagement, we had the honor of attending Ben and Kara's wedding in South Carolina where they both now live. It was a beautiful occasion and it was kind of fun to think that we were the ones who introduced them.

Today marks a very special day for both Ben and Kara. Today they became parents to a beautiful baby boy, Jackson Paul. Jackson is 9 lbs 5 oz and 20 inches long. Big boy! I wish SO badly that I could be there!

Happy Birthday, Jackson! I can't wait to meet you!

A Beautiful Day

The weather was beautiful this weekend. I must admit, Saturday the hubby and I were both kind of lazy. We pretty much sat around the house all day looking real estate online then spent the evening playing poker with some friends. But yesterday, we took full advantage of the gorgeous weather. We randomly decided to go to The Legends to do some shopping (with our eyes, not our wallets). We spent a couple hours at Nebraska Furniture Mart...looking for items that may look nice in our future home. Then we walked around outside a bit. I made him suffer for only a short while so I could find a new pair of jeans then we headed home. Despite it almost being dark, we took the dog on a nice long walk. At that point, the weather was cool but it felt perfect with a hoodie on.

I could get used to this.

Of course today...it's 31 degrees. No, thank you.

Happy Valentine's Day to Me!!!

84-68...'nough said.

Go Cats!!!

Life is good today!

Yesterday goes down in history as the most worthless day of my life. Friday night I drank WAY too much and I spent my entire day yesterday suffering because of it. I was either in bed or on my couch 90% of the day and logged like 10 hours of television. Pretty lame. However, my husband DID win $400 in a poker tournament, so I guess the day wasn't a complete bust.

Despite my worthlessness yesterday, I redeemed myself today. I woke up this morning and made biscuits and gravy for my husband. We relaxed for a while then I went up to the school for a bit to get my kiddos' Valentine gifts ready. When I got back, I was so excited about the beautiful weather that I insisted the hubby, dog, and I go on a walk. We walked until poor Kahlua couldn't go any longer. When we got back we played a very competitive game of Big Buck Hunt and gave the dog a bath (not fun...but much needed). Afterwards we decided our 40 minute walk wasn't enough and we went to the gym. I had a great work out at the gym and felt great as we were leaving. On our way home, we started discussing what we wanted to do for dinner. We realized a quick trip to the grocery store was in order. So I dropped James off so he could hop in the shower and I went to the store and spent $40 on produce. On my drive home, I decided I was going to make salmon lettuce wraps...something I've never made before. So I did what everyone else does when they have no clue how to make something...I made it up as went along. AND...they turned out to be amazing! Yay! I concluded my night by taking a way-too-long hot shower and then watching the Grammy performances. They had some really good ones this year (LOVED Mumford & Sons)!

And that is that. Time for bed, kids!

Valentine's Dinner

Since Valentine's Day is on a Monday this year, and will interfere with our weekly poker plans (and the KU/K-State game), the hubby and I are celebrating this evening. Tonight we are going to dinner at the new(ish) La Bodega in Leawood. I've heard great things about the La Bodega on Southwest Blvd. but I've never been. Recently I saw that they got another one in Leawood...much closer to us. AND it's in the building where J.P. Wine Bar used to be, which is where James and I ate for Valentine's last year. I'm very excited for lots of sangria and tapas!

I'll also get to cross off another "Top 100 KC Restaurant".

Suffering Sinuses

I hate winter for a variety of reasons:

1. I don't like being cold.
2. Anything more than 3 days of snow on the ground in a year's period of time is too much.
3. I can't exercise outdoors.
4. Chronic sinusitis.

Chronic sinusitis: a condition in which the cavities around nasal passages (sinuses) become inflamed and swollen. Chronic sinusitis lasts 12 weeks or longer despite treatment attempts.

For the last few years I've noticed that I'm sick virtually all winter long. Usually, it starts around October or November and lasts until February or March. I'd go to the doctor, get diagnosed with a sinus infection and start of round of antiobiotics...but they would never really help. It's already tough to get out of the bed in the morning when it's cold and dreary but it is so much harder when you wake up every morning feeling miserable. However, that's become a sad reality of my life these days. I have not had one morning out of the past three months that I've woken up feeling normal. Every morning I feel miserable: stuffy nose, headache, the feeling that my face is going to explode. I'd had occasional toothaches lately too. I just recently discovered this is also a symptom of chronic sinusitis.

People have offered suggestions for treatment and remedies, but nothing I've tried has seemed to work. I've tried:

• antiobiotics
• allergic mediation (tried Allegra D and Zertec)
• over-the-counter drugs
• nasal sprays
• Neti pot (irrigation system)
• humidifier

Though, I'm sure these things have probably helped to a degree, none of them have made me "feel better". I've been feeling really discouraged at this point. I'm thinking the next step for me may be making an appointment with an allergist to find out if there is a specific allergy issue I'm facing that's causing my problems.

Have you or someone you know had similar sinus problems? What's worked?

Thin Mints

I got a call earlier this evening from my 8 year old niece. She called from my sister's cell phone and I was eating dinner at the time, so I didn't answer. Then James' phone rang and I got kind of worried. Anytime someone calls both our phones I assume it's bad news.

So I answered James phone and it was Maddie. She reprimanded me for not answering my phone then asked me if I wanted to buy girl scout cookies from her. I told her we'd buy a box of Thin Mints. She replied with "That's it?" I told her, "Yes, we're on a diet". And she replied with "But you're not fat." So then I told her we didn't have much money because we're saving to buy a house. She squealed (literally) with delight over this statement. Who would've thought an 8 year old would be so excited about real estate? Then she says "So you're going to have babies soon!?!"

Too funny.

Favorite Books

I'm currently reading "The Art of Racing in the Rain." This is a book told from the perspective of a dog. Though many would find this idea silly, this book is BEAUTIFULLY written and has just wrenched at my heart. I'm about 2/3 of the way done and plan on finishing the book later this afternoon. However, from where I'm at in the book right now, I think I can probably say this book may end up on my list of favorite books.

Among that list (in no particular order) are these books:

• Stuck in Neutral - by Terry Trueman
• A Time to Kill - John Grisham
• Amazing Gracie - Dan Dye & Mark Beckloff
• Marley and Me - Josh Groban
• Sharp Objects - by Gillian Flynn
• Glass Castle - by Jeannette Walls
• The Kite Runner - by Khaled Hosseini
• Water for Elephants - by Sara Gruen
• The Time Traveler's Wife - by Audrey Niffenegger
• The Twilight Series - Stephenie Meyer
• The Hunger Games Trilogy - by Suzanne Collins
• The Help - by Katherine Sockett

Being (positively) recognized is important...even when you're 27

As a teacher, I am constantly telling kids how smart, fast, or creative they are. Kids love to feel like they are awesome. If they do something well, they want someone to be there to see it...someone to tell them how proud they are of them.

Adults really aren't much different. We crave praise just as much as those 6-year-olds do. However, with most jobs, you probably don't get recognized unless you've screwed up. How often does someone come up to you and say "You're an amazing (insert job title here)"? It just doesn't happen very often.

For the past 4 weeks I've had a practicum student (we'll call her "D") in my classroom. She's on her way to becoming a teacher and spends everyday during our reading block in my classroom observing and helping out. Yesterday she had to teach a lesson on her own. Her university supervisor came to observe her lesson. This superviser lady ("Dr. M") was totally my number one fan. She came up to me before the lesson and introduced herself and said she thought I would've been older. When I asked her what she meant by that, she said that from reading D's daily journal entries, she was really impressed with the things going on in my classroom and that she just assumed I was a veteran teacher who'd been in the classroom for 20 years. "You're doing all the things we're teaching our incoming teachers to do!" She then asked me if she could add my name to their list of mentor teachers who help other students in the MNU program.

Right before she left my room, Dr. M said "I just wish I could spend all day in here watching you!" And honestly, it made my day. It made it a little easier to stay an hour past my contract time...knowing that someone, even for just a moment, recognized the hard work I put into my teaching.

Thanks, Dr. M!