Fall Break 5 for Friday

Friday 5- I haven't joined in on that in forever!  Since we are on break I have time to rejoin the living. :)



I am so happy it is fall break because I have sooooooo much to do!  Besides cleaning the house like crazy....I have a lot of school work to do.  I feel pretty disorganized compared to my usual self.  I need to use this break to get life in order again.  So, thank goodness for the break.  Once the break is finished, I can start thinking about scheduling my first observation for the year.

Right now in NM, we have International Balloon Fiesta going on and traffic is pretty wild.  There are many tourists (which I don't mind) checking out our great state, yay NM!  Unfortunately, this year my family is so super busy that we just don't have the energy to go to the fiesta and see all the awesome balloons.  It's an amazing experience....we just need to experience sleep instead this year.  Ha!  Here are pics from last year at the fiesta.

My blogging buddy over at A Teaspoon of Teaching has an amazing time lapse of the Balloon Fiesta event we have here.  Check out her page.  It made me tear up.  It truly is a great life experience going to the event.  

I work at the same school that my daughters attend and I was walking down the hall when I saw this on the wall.

Wow!  I loved seeing this.  It made me feel so good to know my kids really see me as a person of worth in their lives and other's lives.  I'm not really a hero- but I love knowing my youngest sees me that way.   

Yesterday my wonderful husband set this up for me!

Makes me feel like a grown-up and all professional to have a real desk.  I love the style too.  I am sure it will take about a week before I have that lovely thing piled high with papers, but for now, it's perfect.  :)

Remember in #1 I said I have a ton of work to do- here is what I brought home to sort/grade/file/etc.

Nope, not even kidding that the entire tub is full of papers and binders of stuff to do.  Sigh, wish me luck that I get it all done and organized. 

Happy Friday Everyone!

Currently October, yay!

It's time for the October currently already.  If you wish to join the fun go to:

Well, I am ready for the weekend people!  How about you?  Here in the land of enchantment, aka New Mexico, we have International Balloon Fiesta starting this weekend.  It's a major deal here.  People come from around the world to see hundreds of balloons lift off during mass ascensions or enjoy the warmth and soft glow of the evening balloon glowdeo.  I LOVE it.  It's one of my favorite things about this state.
Anyway, we are working on balloon joy right now in class and I will post the fun next week (hopefully) when we get it all wrapped up.

One trick I use in the classroom is taking something that makes them crazy and using it to make the kiddos work harder.  They will be excited about Halloween for the next 30 days- just know it and deal.  Go with it, don't fight it...it's futile!  I get items that would normally ramp them up, pumpkin stuffed toys, bats, spiders, etc and I sit the items on the desk of the quietest/hardest working kiddos to have for a chunk of time.  This works really well for hats but stuffed toys work great too.

Happy October!