I had this vision of using yarn as a cord, and putting coloring page light bulbs all over it ... to make it look like Christmas lights. And hey, it worked! I'm so happy it turned out!  The students had fun coloring and cutting the Christmas lights out. They also used up a lot of free time coloring Christmas bulbs for the tree. I love easy ( Read more... )

Steve bet the middle school kids that the Cowboys would beat the Redskins. He said if the Redskins won, he would burn his Cowboys t shirt. Well, the Redskins won. He brought his trumpet for added drama. :) hahahaha.

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Here's a fun video from today, not related to the Redskins nor the Cowboys.

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This week, my students are learning about dependent and independent clauses for the first time. I never know how hard it will be for students to grasp a new concept, especially in grammar. They seemed to do well with compound sentences, so we moved right into complex sentences ( Read more... )

This email was forwarded to me from my principal:

Mrs. H***,

I'm sure you already know this, but I think Miss Szyd is a great teacher. She really wants the kids to learn and understand the material. You have a great group of educators, but I think Szyd is fantastic.

L*** H****

This morning, I had to be at the school so I could have my friend/coworker pin my dress to be hemmed. Then, since I was there, I decided to rearrange my classroom. I got so much organized, thrown away, cleaned up... it was a good day. Having all that done is nice because I won't feel the need to come back from Indiana early.  I can now spend 3 ( Read more... )

My students have been working on a paper for a few weeks now. This week, they are finishing up, and I've graded most of them. I have one D, but the majority have been A's. I think I have a couple B's and C's in the mix as well. Still, they did a great job. We wrote the introduction paragraph together, and we didn't bother with a conclusion, but all ( Read more... )

I just got home at 7:40.  I worked til 6 something and then I went to Sears to have a security tag removed from a sweater I bought on Saturday. I went to a different location, and they had a TON of clearance, so I ended up shopping.  I bought 5 work shirts (collared, button up) and a CUTE brown corduroy Land's End jacket (for my sister in law) and ( Read more... )

I had 2 eggs and then some apple sauce.

I've already drunk 32 oz of water.

For lunch (I eat early on Mondays and Tuesdays while my kids are in art) I had chicken breast, triscuits w/ cheese, and a diet code red

I have 2 rice cakes, a yogurt for my afternoon snacks.

I'll probably have more chicken for dinner, but I'm not sure yet.

We're doing geometry in ( Read more... )

• I like to think of myself as a fun(ny) teacher. I have a relationship with the kids that allows me to tease them in a way that they laugh, and know I'm just joking with them, and it makes them comfortable with me, I think, in a good way.

• Today, during testing, the kids moved their desks all around. Matt's desk was at the very front of the room, ( Read more... )

There are only 38 school days left. So much to do in so little time. Actually, I have plenty of time. I sat down this evening and plotted out all the things I can assess in the next couple weeks to make sure I have a fair amount of grades for the 4 wk progress report, and I have plenty! Yay!  By then, we'll be nearing May, and I will have almost ( Read more... )