Currently in March

Hello :)  I am so excited to be linking up with Farley for a "Currently".  I have read so many of these and am excited to add my first one to the mix!

Listening:  Of Monsters and Men in iTunes.  They are a fun band to listen to.  Do you like them?

Loving:  I got an amazing call today from dear friends of ours who just adopted.  They went to Ashland (they live in Portland) this past Wednesday because their baby boy Will was born.  It was a last minute placement and now they are home with their beautiful baby.  I can't wait to go and meet him and give them a warm hug.  They are so blessed!

Thinking:  Report Card Assessments.  Are you with me????  This time of year is crazy!!!  Kindergarten is mostly one:one assessments and this time of year is not my favorite.  But, I am excited to see their growth on paper!

Wanting: My husband and I are in an adoption pool and today stirred up a lot of feelings.  While we are so happy for our friends who just adopted (and my sister-in-law who just announced she is pregnant, and my husband's colleague who did the same), we are ready to start our family and have a sweet little baby of our own!  I didn't mean to get so "serious" in this blog post, but, this is "Currently" what I/we am/are wanting.

Needing:  Time!!!  I have so many things I want to do and just can't fit it all in.  

Spring Break Plans: My husband is presenting at the American Chemical Society.  My brothers and their families live in Denver.  It will be a fun mix of business and pleasure.  I hope to see some snow since Oregon has decided to go into an early spring!

Happy March everyone!

Five for Friday (Saturday Style)

Hi There!  Phew!  This has been a busy, yet fun filled week.  I couldn't seem to do anything except what was right in front of me this week though.  I wanted to link up with a Doodle Bugs Five for Friday to share a bit about what has been going on.

Our 100th Day of School was this past Tuesday!  It was loads of fun.  The children were so excited.  My colleague and I worked late on Monday night putting up the car wash and big 100 for the children to walk through with the help of her student teacher.  I will do a blog post about our 100th day soon!

It is fun to have a TpT sale as a seller, but I am also a buyer!  I bought loads of clip art, plus a few more items.  I am so excited to start creating new things for my classroom and TpT store and to also implement the things I bought for my classroom that I need to print out and prepare.

I attended a conference in Eugene, Oregon this week.  Oregon is having Full-Day Kindergarten next year and I am thrilled!  It is tough trying to cram all of the content, plus extra kinder fun, in 2 hours and 45 minutes each day.  The conference was great and I'd like to do a separate blog post to share with you some of the interesting information I heard.

When I returned home from the conference on Thursday night my husband told me it was pizza night!  Yes!!!!  What a sweetheart!  My husband makes delicious homemade pizza and it was such a treat to return home after a conference, and a long drive, to such a delicious vegetarian delight.  

Love that man! 

Hat Day!  Need I say more?  Ha! Ha!  My school is kicking off Read Across America with Hat Day on Friday!  Next week we will have spirit days everyday.  Each day is paired with a book by Dr. Seuss.  Friday was The Cat in the Hat and so we all wore hats.  I was tired after my conference so it was wonderful to wake up and not have to deal with my hair.  My friend made this super cute "slouch" hat for me.  I will blog more about our spirit days.

For now, I am happy to be catching up on everything from last week.  I hope you have a great weekend!

Making Things Legit!

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Hi There!

I am so new to the blogging world and am figuring things out as I go.  I want to "claim my blog" on Bloglovin' and also add my blog to Pinterest.  When I investigated both of these things, it seems like I need to post a link in my blog for both of these things.  So, this post will have two links.  If I should be doing this differently, will you please comment and let me know!  Thanks so much :)

Five for Friday! (My first linky party!)

Hi again!  I am so excited to be linking up with Doodle Bugs Teaching for a Five for Friday linky party!  I have read so many of these and am happy to share my very own - finally!  I am having a lot of novelty being a beginning blogger at this moment.  Bear with me!

It has to be my new blog!!!!  This is a very exciting step for me and it is one that I have contemplated for a very long time.  I have not been certain I would be able to keep up with a blog because I sometimes feel that my time is already taken up with so many other things, but a blog is something I have wanted to do for a long time - sooooooo, here I go!  I am so incredibly excited with the look of my blog.  I was thrilled to work with Shanon from Blogs Fit for a Queen.  She was amazing to work with and was so patient with me as my indecisive self kept changing things.  She is so talented and made sure I was 100% happy with everything.  I couldn't be happier with how the blog design turned out and how easy Shanon was to work with.  If anyone is looking to update their blog, or even start one, I HIGHLY recommend Blogs Fit for a Queen!  

I also have to say a huge thank you to Belen Martindale from pixelpaperprints for creating such amazing clip art and allowing me to use it for my Teachers pay Teachers logo, Facebook page, and blog design.  Her work is adorable and I found her on Etsy.  

All of this came together so nicely and it just feels good to be able to write about these talented artists as my #1 in Five for Friday!

This sweet and thoughtful note was on my desk this morning.  I wasn't sure who gave it to me and asked my students if anyone gave this to me.  They all said no.  I found out that someone started this at my school - anonymous "love notes/thank you notes/I appreciate you notes" and it is brilliant!  Just write a thoughtful note to someone letting them know what you like about them and - BAM!  A bucket is filled!  It made my Friday and I am excited that I was given a blank paint chip to do the same to someone else.

Though the picture is grainy because it was taken on my cell phone with poor light, I had just gotten my hair cut!  I think all of you reading this can appreciate what an amazing feeling that is!!!!  I cut my hair short in December and this was the first time I had gone back since my first cut.  It was a much needed appointment and a great experience at an Aveda salon with my hair dresser that I have been going to for years.

My Fitbit is so wonderful!!!!  I can sometimes get into things for a brief moment, but then my enthusiasm fades.  The Fitbit has kept me motivated for over 2 months now and that might be a record.  The goal is pre-set to walk at least 10,000 steps each day.  It has been very curious to see how many steps I walk while teaching and it has also gotten me out to walk the track by my school most days at lunch for a few laps.  The only day this week I was not able to reach 10,000 steps was Tuesday and that was because I had to leave right after work to go get my haircut (see #3) and then I had dinner with a friend after.  I do so enjoy walking.  It is an exercise I have always liked and so the Fitbit seems like a great fit for my lifestyle so far.  I am very inspired to get at least 10,000 steps each day.  Do you have a Fitbit?  Or, what do you do to stay active?

This pile of goodness has been growing in my room above our cubbies.  Our 100th Day of kindergarten will be Tuesday, Feb. 24th and so I have been getting activities ready and prepped. The snacks are also coming to school.  It feels good to be prepared and ready, but I am also ready to celebrate and have our counter cleaned off!  I am trying to keep this organized, but it is taking over the space and I miss seeing the clear top of the cubbies that I normally see.

Here you have it :)  My first ever Five for Friday!  This is an exciting moment for me.  Thanks for reading and I will hope to see you again in cyber space very soon!

Blogging World, Here I Come!

Hello there!  I'm Suzanne and I am a kindergarten teacher at Kindergarten Planet.  I am so very excited to be starting an educational blog, and truth be told, a little nervous as well.  I have been reading so many blogs over the past few years.  There have been wonderful ideas shared, touching stories, and moments that allowed me into the classroom, and life, of other teachers.  The idea to blog has been on my mind for quite some time, and recently, I decided to make the leap.

I would be honored if you joined me on this new journey!  It would be great if I am able to share some ideas and tips with you that will be useful to your own classroom.

I decided for my first post that I would include a freebie!  There is a fun President's Day Directed Drawing in my TpT store.  I know, President's Day is over.  But, if you are anything like me, the theme for the first two weeks of February was all about friendship, love, and Valentine's Day!  This week (and probably next week) will be devoted to President's Day, and specifically, George and Abe.

These directed drawings are easy to follow and fun for the students.  They CAN successfully draw a former President!  I recently updated the file to include a white background with the step-by-step directions.  I had requests from teachers to have a white background so the printer would not use as much ink.  I totally get it!  I still left the black pages in because it just looks better to me on the black background.

We drew our portraits on yesterday.  I put my students in centers and had half of the class draw George Washington and the other half draw Abraham Lincoln.  They turned out so cute!!!  My students walked by our hallway bulletin board so.........very..........slowly today so they could gaze at all of their artwork!  Here are a few pictures of their art.

After all the drawings were completed, I turned them into a pattern on my hallway bulletin board.  Kindergarten Art is pretty cute!

The students were allowed to have some freedom with their coloring, and some went all out!  If you'd like to try this with your own class, you can find the directed drawings here.

Well, here it is.  My first blog post.  It feels pretty good so far.  I hope I will see you again soon. :)