LOVE/HATE BATTLE WITH LESSON PLANS!

I will start out saying that I love my career. I LOVE TO TEACH. I love planning lessons that capture and hold my students attention with engaging activities and opportunities to talk and learn with others in a structured/non-structured sort of way. I love to get my students moving around the room to work with others or in their seats to the beat of the latest song that sings about the content they need to know in order to analyze, synthesize, explain, apply, and evaluate. I love creating power points and flip charts of the day's lesson progression to keep us on track especially when I can embed fun aspects such as magic ink, hidden boxes, and other technological innovations. I just LOVE doing this! 

Now, onto the bane of my existence: WRITING LESSON PLANS! Yes, I know I have to write lesson plans in order to plan everything I mentioned above. BUT COME ON!!!! I have my Bachelor's degree from an accredited college that solidifies the fact that I learned, very well I must add, how to write and teach from a lesson plan. I also have my Master's degree in Ed Leadership from the same accredited college AND my SLLC certification that further solidifies that not only can I plan a lesson but I can actually go in and evaluate other teachers' lesson plans and actual lessons. These thesis-length plans that include everything EVERYTHING down to the questions I MIGHT ask [I feel these should be prompted as the lesson progresses and catered to the knowledge and needs of the students being taught at the time] are taking up MY WHOLE WEEKEND. If I only had one subject to plan for it would be ok. But not only do I have 2 core subjects but 2 core subjects at 2 different grade levels. Some teachers I know share lesson plans with others at their grade levels which I WOULD LOVE TO DO but I can not because I am the only one who teaches what I teach at my school. If I use someone else's plans from my district I have to tailor them to fit into the template required for my school. This takes me FOREVER. I not only have to write my thesis, but also have to include tests [which I am supposed to work from to write my plans...called Backward Design aka Teaching to the Test] bellwork and worksheets which many times I have to create because I don't have the resources that go with the curriculum that I am to follow. 

So, as I sit here, in my living room, procrastinating finishing my lesson plans at 4:55pm on a Sunday evening of one of the most beautiful weekends ever of which I had to stay inside to do all of this to be sure is ready email for tomorrow morning I realize I still have a mountain of papers to grade!

But, I think back to what I started with...I do it because I LOVE the end result: how it effects my students and the flow of my day.

Oh the JOYS of teaching are certainly SCIENCE DIVA CERTIFIED!

VOTE FOR ME PLEASE!!!

My classroom is one of many in a competition to win one of 4 $500 prizes from www.classroomdirect.com!!! Please go vote @ http://woobox.com/gfebw7/vote/for/1165622 PLEASE! It's a close competition so spread the word!!!!

You know I wouldn't be doing it unless it's Science Diva Certified! :)

HAPPY TUESDAY!!!

Attendance....

Last year I had just a little more time on my hands than I do now. So, anytime that I can find to make things I maximize!

I have been longing to update my morning attendance flip charts but 1. I haven't had the time and 2. The external hard drive I had that contained all of my flip charts ever crashed! So I am working from scratch. JOY!

Just wanted to share this simple, little, SCIENCE DIVA CERTIFIED APPLE-ICIOUS attendance flip chart that I just finished.

It can be downloaded from my TPT store for only a buck...yep $1. Just click the picture to take you there! :)

Happy Saturday Y'all!

I Kissed a Pencil Sharpener and I Like It!

Ok....I saw a post on www.proteacher.net a LONG time ago about this awesome pencil sharpener found at www.classroomfriendlysupplies.com. I had put it out of my mind for a while until just recently when in my classroom the school-provided pencil sharpener decided to eat every pencil my students put into it. I knew there was one I saw that was GUARANTEED to work and RAVED about by many teachers. So when I found the pin I had pinned on Pinterest a while back and clicked, I knew I had to try it. So, like all teachers who love to get things for free, I requested one to try and blog about. Received my green one this past Thursday [very fast response and shipping by the way beings that I requested it on Sunday], tried it, and asked myself "WHY HAVEN'T I DONE THIS SOONER?????"

This sharpener is AWESOME! I had my children try it out. Here is a video showing it being used and reviewed by my daughter J'ai and her boyfriend Brandon:

So, I brought it to school yesterday [Friday] and let teachers and students try it out. One of my co-workers was actually walking to the office to use the electric sharpener and I told her to wait and try this one. After she sharpened the first pencil she was amazed and asked if she could use it for the wad of pencils she had to sharpen. I certainly let her use it and about 5 minutes later she came back totally in love with it! She says she will respond to this post so I want to save her comments for when she does! :) My principal even wants to order some; she wants a red one!

My students were especially tickled by it, too! Of course they wanted to sharpen EVERY pencil they could find. Some even tried telling me the point broke so they could come up to it again. BUT being the OBSERVANT science teacher that I am, I knew better [it was completely obvious they broke the pencils themselves....LOL!] so I challenged them with this: Anyone who's pencil was still intact by the end of class would get to sharpen it for the next class before they left. VOILA! I had no broken pencils to contend with...this sharpener makes the point VERY STURDY...no loose lead or anything. The couple minutes right before class ended were awesome; the kids sharpened their pencils in no time...it is really a fast sharpener regardless of how fast you turn the handle! So, one of my gifts to myself  [and my classes, too, of course] is a set of three...can't have enough of them!!!!

So, go ahead and order you a trio...the best bang for your buck! I most certainly have to say that the CLASSROOM FRIENDLY SUPPLIES pencil sharpener is worth the price and is absolutely SCIENCE DIVA CERTIFIED!

P.S. I will be hosting a contest on here for one as well....check back soon! :)

Thank Goodness!

We are finally back in the classroom! YAY! The new floor is white....makes the room seem, as one of my student's said, "Like a REAL Science classroom!" LOL! Kids are so funny! So now we get to, hopefully [fingers crossed here], stay put and enjoy our room!

When I was in there the other day putting everything back in place I was kinda wishing I could redecorate....LOL! As I've mentioned before I am teaching Science & Social Studies to both 4th and 5th graders. I really wished I'd have looked at the curriculum [knowing I was teaching that to begin with REALLY would have helped] to see that I needed lots of AMERICA stuff. So I am trying to find creative ways to include some Americana in with my frog, black/white chevron/polka dot/quatre foiled classroom. Also, the work load in planning for 2 grade levels is very brain-draining. I was so used to teaching one subject, creating a flip chart for the day and perfecting it as I taught it to my 5 classes. But now, it's a one shot deal....have to be good to go from the get go. It doesn't help that my planning is at the end of the day. So I just need to get creative with my time management

Also, all this in the room /out the room madness has me having to reteach classroom procedures all over again. I think this the 5th time having to do this. Organization seems to be a BIG problem with my students as well. The interactive notebooks are taking on a life of their own [I actually think they are devouring anything the kids put in them] so I am totally rethinking that as well.

I hope to post some things I'm using in class soon.

I can share this little SCIENCE DIVA CERTIFIED tidbit: Regardless of the setbacks or negativity I may encounter, NOTHING can snuff the fire inside of me....you know that fire, the one that makes you get up day after day with a brand new perspective and brand new hope that today will be the BEST DAY EVER, the one that even though you feel like throwing in the towel to go work at Target or the fruit stand down the street that flame consumes those thoughts because the main reason you do what you do is to light a fire inside someone else....Yep, that's why I do it. That's why I teach.... To see the big invisible light bulbs go off on the tops of the heads of students who didn't think there was a light bulb to light! I see them....

Ok...enough of my ranting. Hopefully next time I have an awesome download for you! Until then....

Just keep swimming....

Hey y'all! This Science Diva has been through the wringer since a few weeks before school began! I think I've been putting off telling this little diddy because I know it will be a long one. So. grab your drink of choice, sit back, relax, and enjoy my little LONG story if you dare!

Can't remember for the life of me if I mentioned that I switched schools AND grade levels. But, YES I did. I decided to spread my wings from a place, spot, home I never EVER thought I'd leave for one main reason: to gain experience that hopefully will help me when I move up the ladder [you know, to use that hard earned Master's degree in Ed Leadership that I worked my derriere off for]. Well, the phrase Be careful what you wish for rings so, so true!

I accepted a 3rd grade teaching position at a cute little school with cute little kids and a cute little staff of administrators and teachers. Imagine my excitement getting a 3rd grade position teaching Social Studies about my state only AND  my ultimate favorite subject Science while gaining experience within an elementary school setting! So stoked! Well, this cute little school, as of May, was unanimously voted, for budgeting reasons, as one of 4 in my district to be closed and merged with the what I thought was a not-so-cute middle school in the neighborhood from where the students lived. But me, with the I-want-experience mindset did not see this as a challenge at all. I was ready for this setting because I was coming from a middle school.

Upon arrival for the meet and greet in June, I was pleasantly surprised. The school is set in the older part of town to the back of an older neighborhood that is really quaint and quiet. The meet and greet was held in the cafeteria, the only place I've seen so far. In my eyes this meet and greet went well. Some of the staff from both schools knew one another, but still had many questions about the "goings on". I could sense there was still a bit of a divide among them, you know a merger is more like a crash of two worlds. More about this later. Anyway, important information was clarified for us to an extent, rooms were assigned, had pep talks from administrators and school board staff, refreshments, then we were off to take a gander at the school and our rooms.

The layout of the school is simple: bright open foyer/office, wide lower hall and upstairs hall [library and computer lab up there], nice-sized classrooms, a nice teacher's lounge, cafeteria with a stage in its own building off the main building, nice, big yard with a portable classroom out to the back of the lower hall...overall great looking school.

<Sigh>

And my classroom you ask? Yep, that portable classroom out to the back of the lower hall. Honestly, I didn't understand why I was put out there when the two classrooms I would be blocking with were upstairs. UPSTAIRS! So, with my positive nature I looked at its location as an opportunity to lose a few pounds since I'd be the one going up and down the stairs at least 6 times a day!

Ok, so the big reveal of that portable [wish I had pictures for this!]: It was jam packed, JAM PACKED with stuff. Could barely walk in it to get a gander at the space, walls, slanted ceiling, anything that I had to work with. So, I was told that it would all be removed during the next month and would be ready for me to work in when school was opened after cleaning, painting, and waxing. Great I thought, I can work with what I had a glimpse of! I can make things, design how I want things to work, decide on my theme. Heck, I was excited that I was going to be in my own building! My students and I will be able to make all the noise want...which I love since I love to use music and have the kids move around doing jigsaws and lots of Kagen strategies throughout my lesson. This will be GREAT!

<SIgh> T minus 1 month and counting....

Fast forward a month. We had another lunch where we learned of changes to our teaching assignments...I will as of now be teaching 3rd and 4th grade Writing, Science, and SS. Great! I'm happy with that. BUT, the classes I will  NOW switch with are not only upstairs [YAY...still get to lose weight!] but at the opposite end of the hall! YAY, more weight will be lost???? Hmmm. Well, at this point I'm worried about the loss of instructional time moving upstairs and down that long hall and back to my room when switching. But, it'll all work out right? Not to worry about it right? K.

<SIGh> T minus 3 weeks and counting....

Decorating time! Ordered all of my cute stuff with inspiration from Melanie at Schoolgirl Style and her Inspired in Style blog for Creative Teaching. Spent a good chunk of change getting it all together, but I LOVE decorating a classroom! So, I go on the first day that we can get in our rooms. Had all my stuff in what looked like suitcases, armed and dangerous! Well, I go to get in my room and guess what? All that STUFF was  STILL IN THERE!  NOTHING had been done. It would be another week before I can get in there! The walls still needed to be painted and the floors still needed to be waxed as well. I was assured by the next week it would be ready. Ok!

<SIGH> T minus 2 weeks and counting....

Yes, it was ready the next week....it was all cleaned out, the floors waxed, but no paint. This is what I walked into:

                                                                  View from door:

Turning left....

Continuing around....

Last turn....

LOTS of potential....just needed it painted. Don't know if you can make it out but the walls are paneled and ripping apart. Underneath the heater in the second picture at the floor board is a hole that goes straight out. Birds built a nest and were using the room's map [in the bottom picture] and high window sills by the a/c as perches so there was a lot of bird doo doo that needed to be cleaned. BUT IT HAS POTENTIAL!

Needless to say and don't ask why, I had to paint it. I had to patch that hole so no more birds or anything else could get in. I fixed the blinds as best I could. I WORKED MY BUTT OFF THAT WEEK! Experience, lesson 1.

<SIGH!> T minus 1 week and counting.... [in services 3 days and first day of school on Thursday the next week!]

So, I got there early on Monday morning and started working my magic. I had tables and other things being moved in while I covered those fonky chalk boards with bulletin boards and began to add my touch to the whole room. By Monday afternoon of the next week, this is what I had done:

Of course I still had some things to do like straighten my desk area and hang words, etc...just last minute stuff aside from planning and finishing everything else.

<SIGH!!> T minus 2 days and counting...

Tuesday morning, I get there early to get some things done before our inservice and low and behold I walk into a HOT room. HOT air is blowing out of the a/c. Yep, it's broken...well something is! After the inservice it still wasn't fixed and was told it should be by the first day of school. So , I tried with like 4 fans to stay in there [mind you it is like 100+ degrees outside...remember that heat wave?] and get things done. I can NOT stand being hot. I sweat so much in 30 minutes that I know that weight I wanted to lose was coming off. I had to leave. Upset. Positive it would be fixed.

<SIGH!!!> T minus 1 day and counting

Still not fixed. Was assured it will be fixed by morning. At this point I am completely beside myself. Imagine planning for your first day, new school, new grade level, LOTS to prove and your room is inaccessible due to the heat. Yep, I was worried. I've never not welcomed a class of students in my own room on the first day. Fingers were crossed as I left to go home and rest for the next day, the first day of school.

<GRR!!!> Liftoff!

Still no a/c fixed. Had to move things upstairs into the library. Sweating, frustrated, and feeling ready to quit an anxiety attack, something of which I have NEVER EVER HAD, began. Seriously I was about to walk out the door and not look back. Shakingly I found the bathroom and as I hyperventilated I cried like a big baby! A hard cry. Never had I questioned my move until this point....10 minutes before I had to go meet my third graders in the cafeteria! What the heck did I do? I left a place where I had the best of everything to come to a place that I had to fix, clean, paint, piece together a semblance of what I previously had! I was wondering how stupid was I to have grandiose ideas that I needed an experience like this!!! But then in the midst of all that crying and not being able to breathe I thought of who I was and what I was good at. I remember thinking "Wait, I am me [said my name at this point], this self proclaimed Science Diva who can do whatever she put her mind to doing and not only do it but do it with bells on! I am not a crier, I am not someone who feels defeated just because things aren't working out exactly how I planned it! I am me, I am bigger than this! It's just a room. We can have our first day when it is ready. My cute little students will be more scared coming to a new bigger school and I had to be prepared to assure them that they will be fine. They needed me to be me." At this point a few of my coworkers were a bit concerned but I did what I always do, put a huge smile on my face that I fixed up with my makeup and went into the cafeteria. Once I saw the faces of those scared little 3rd graders and made them smile as well, I knew all would be ok. It was GREAT! Experience, lesson 2.

<sigh>

Today, [well not today, it's Saturday but at this point in time is what I mean] we are in the library again. Experience, lesson 3. Have been for a few weeks now. The flooring in my room was crumbling and had to be replaced. I had to pack it up like the last day of school so that they can fix it. Thank God I didn't have to fix that! We should be back in soon. I'm not worried about it....it'll happen when it happens. I'll go back in on my own time of course to put things back to their rightful places so that we can pick up where we left off. The floor is looking good though...white tiles and new floor boards. Makes the room look bigger!

Also, I am no longer teaching 3rd graders. Experience, lesson 4. We had low numbers so the district cut a 3rd grade spot, not me but someone else, so now I am teaching 4th and 5th grade Science and Social Studies. Glad to have kept my 4th graders and to have my 5th graders. We are having lots of fun [yes, I have fun when I teach]. We are behind an little bit due to the 2 week gap in transition, but we are looking forward to moving back into our room. It is more spacious and we feel cramped in the library.

I have lost about 10 pounds in the process as well. My clothes definitely fit so much better and I can run up and down those stairs like they are a flat piece of hallway. LOL!

All in all, I am getting the experience of a lifetime. I am seeing what it is like to build a school from the ground up. Being a part of the creation of the culture, vision, and mission of our school is truly a plus that I didn't bargain for at the get-go. These little lessons in patience and flexibilty are all very humbling and I am assuming needed in order to make me an understanding administrator some day. I know there are more lessons to come and this experience is just in the beginning stages. Bring it on! It would not be SCIENCE DIVA CERTIFIED if I wasn't a willing participant, right?!?!

Have a Happy Saturday and Happy New School Year y'all!

HELPERS, FROGS, FREE PRINTABLES, OH MY!

I am so excited because this coming school year I can have helpers! Well, I did have "helpers" in my 6th grade classes but it was a limited role in that I only had one person do everything and used "little jobs" as rewards or motivators for my students to look forward to. Who'd a thought that sweeping my nasty old floor would be a reward? It must have been the candy that was earned behind all that sweeping....LOL!

Anyway, as I looked around Pinterest this past month I noticed a few good resources about helpers and figured I had to decide what I will do. Since I will have 3 classes [exactly what I will have I still don't know, to be honest] I decided that the best way to tackle it is to have one boy and one girl from each class as helpers of the week. I like the application process I pinned somewhere in Pinterest Land and will certainly use that....kinda like a "get-to-know-you" activity in the first few days of school. Which students won't want to do that? Imagine reading these some time into the school year and possibly even opening up the application process again using it as an editing activity? Hmmm....need to write that down.

Anyway, I was, at one point [haven't yet ruled it out], considering going with the black, green, and gray chevron with frog accents theme as seen on the awesome Inspired In Style blog. I made these cute helper posters to hang somewhere in my room if I just-so-happen to go with the frog theme:

I plan to hang a cute black or green or gray ribbon from each and either use color-coded [by class] clothes pins with names on them or coordinating name plates color-coded [by class as well] to display who earned the coveted roles for each week. Cute, huh? :)

Well, that's all I have for now! Go on and check it out, download it for free if you like .... just click on the pictures! After all, it is SCIENCE DIVA CERTIFIED!

P.S. The frog clip art comes from www.mycutegraphics.com! :)

FREEBIE! A Binder Design for a Teaching Diva....

You know, after reading my posts from a long time ago, I said I was not going to jump on the "pay-me" bandwagon...we are teachers right? We need to share right? So go ahead and read on....

Well...since I am moving schools and grade levels I decided to jump on board with all the rage...Diva Designer Classroom Accessories. I love what I have been seeing online and figured I can make one for myself. I'm loving the black, white, and all that chevron I keep seeing everywhere. So I made one. Here are just a few snap shots:

There are many more pages/designs in this download that are ready to be customized by you. If you are interested, I have them on my TPT site. This is free...yep FREE! :) 

Go ahead and get you one Diva...after all it is SCIENCE DIVA CERTIFIED!

CH- CH- CH- CHANGES....

ARE FABULOUS! 

June has left me in a bit of a peculiar-feeling state. I am changing schools this year [my choice and a good one I might add] and, YES, subjects too...well sort of like adding on! I will be teaching 3rd/4th grade [as of right now] Science AND Social Studies. I am soooo ok with the Science part, of course! It's the Social Studies that will have me learning along side with my kiddoes. But I'm game for it. Of course my room will be totally different. GONE is my HUGE, AWESOME room with my HUGE, AWESOMELY-SPECTACULAR Promethean board only to be replaced with a smaller, earlier model. I can definitely live with that though. :) Yea, I'm flexible like that [patting myself on the shoulder].

Content-wise, I know that a LOT of what I used  previously [Science-wise] with my 6th graders will sooo have to be watered down. A LOT. But, with holding my expectations still sky high, I'm certain my little boo-boos will be able to hold their own and learn and grow as the CCSS and other governing guidelines expect. 

I am in the process of deciding if I will use ISNs [the new Science text is an interactive workbook, so I need to decide if its worth the time] as well as HOW I want to approach the Social Studies aspect. And to be honest, my room! Oh my, what will I do with my room!

So while I get my thoughts together, I will leave you with this SCIENCE DIVA CERTIFIED quote: "Never let your past dictate your future." - Zig Ziglar

Hello World...It's Me, The Science Diva!

Well, well, well! Yes, I know. I haven't posted or shared ANYTHING in what seems like FOREVER! I understand that. But, like the rest of you, my time this past school year has been spent going through CHANGE. Between new administration [BOY did I MISS my former principal this year!], COMPASS/SLTs [the new method of evaluating teachers in Louisiana], having a student teacher [whom I loved soooooo  much!], and, well, overall EXHAUSTION....you see where this is leading. NO extra time. 

Well, thank God for summer...at least the 2 months I will have to gain back my sanity, change schools AND grade levels [my choice...heck I figured if this year has been about change I may as well go all out!], become a part of the Leadership Academy for my district, go to Disney again, and catch up on the many tv series and movies I have either missed or plan to watch . Yep...it will be a very BUSY 2 months! But, I do plan to update you on how my centers unfolded, how the ISN worked out, how Mr. Parr added a special rhythm to my lessons, how I had to say a heartfelt goodbye to my state-of-the-art Promethean board, and the many new things that are certain to bring that special BLING to next school year! 

Check back soon because I promise it will all be SCIENCE DIVA CERTIFIED!