Thanksgiving 2013

Happy turkey day! There are so many things to be thankful for it would take me hours to type.  I am so thankful for a career where I see the good in the world on a daily basis.  I am blessed beyond my wildest dreams with a fabulous husband, amazing kids, loving family and friends.  Thank you one and all.  Every year November's family project is to disguise the turkey so the hunter won't make him Thanksgiving dinner.  The creativity of the families is my favorite part.  This year tops last year so sit back and let these fabulous firsties explain how their families disguised the family turkey. Happy Thanksgiving!

Veteran's Day

When I was little and people called me an "Air Force brat", I thought what I am not a brat! Little did I know that I would take for granted what people in the military have done for us for so many years.  This morning my husband and I stopped at the Veterans Nursing Home after Crossfit to drop off some pictures from the students.  There were people getting ready for the annual cook out, lining the grass with flags, and getting ready for friends and family to visit.  I made the comment to my husband Tim, "It really is a shame we only celebrate Veterans like 2 days out of the year."

My dad served in the Air Force for 22 years and I LOVED growing up on Homestead Air Force Base. There were so many happy memories and it makes me tear up now thinking how precious life is every day and how thankful I am to live in America!  Well after a lifetime, my parents are moving up here to live in Port Orange.  I know it will be difficult because they built a lovely life in Homestead and left behind many loved ones from work, the neighborhood, and church.  However, they are moving here to see their grandchildren and me :) Seriously my brother lives like 4 miles from me and my parents are moving like half way from each of us. I am so excited!  I was able to take my favorite Veteran out to lunch at the Olive Garden today.  YIPPEE!! and it was so yummy.  Thank you Olive Garden and my dear sweet dad made sure to stop at the hostess station and thank them for a lovely lunch. What a thoughtful gesture and genuine role model for my son.

A big BONUS is that my firsties and I made some super cute American hats and waited out front to take a picture with my favorite Veteran.  Can't wait to say thank you more as the year goes on…Happy Veteran's Day to all the vets out there and thank you from the bottom of my heart for being our real heroes around here!
God Bless America!

Thank you daddy for everything!  I am who I am thanks to you and mom and the values you taught me! I love you more than I could ever tell you!

Pumpkin Patch 2013

LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the fall weather… we are in Florida so we wait for this time of year and then there is the annual trip to the pumpkin patch.  It is so much fun and I just love lunch with the firsties and  picking pumpkins.  I can hardly wait to get all the pictures together.  Watch as our firsties and moms have fun at the pumpkin patch!

Family pumpkins 2013

Each year the students take home a pumpkin worksheet and using supplies laying around the house, they decorate it as a family pumpkin.  The project is to encourage family time and it is so much fun to hear what goes on during the creation of the family pumpkin.  I wanted you to get in on the action so I video taped the kids while they shared.  Aren't they the cutest firsties ever?!?  A BIG thank you to Ms. Aubrey for making pumpkin crispy treats so we could enjoy a snack while sharing.  It took me a while to put it all together but oh so worth it.  Sit back and watch as they share their family pumpkins.



Our county holds an annual food drive through our School Way Cafe-cafeteria :).  So our caring community came through with 69.5 pounds of canned foods.  WOW!! We won our grade level challenge but really everyone won because our 1500 pounds from Cypress Creek Elementary went to fill pantry shelves throughout Volusia County.  YIPPEE!  Thanks for being the school that cares!

Mathematicians use strategies!

Yeah, but we don’t even know what strategies are?

Mia you are so cute but really we have been learning them since day 1 of 1^st grade.  Let me explain.

Cameron has 9 Legos and some fell on the floor.  How many does he have to look for...there are 5 on the table.

Kids were given a whiteboard and a marker.  We reviewed what we knew and what we needed to find out.  Then I let them use any “strategy” they felt could best solve for the number of Legos.  Some drew pictures, some used subtraction, and some even used addition to find the missing Legos. 

So Mia here drew 9 and then drew circles with lines through them like she “sees on signs” to subtract 4.  She then walks through how she minuses 4 to get to the 5.  She even uses a related addition fact to help solve.

Shaner uses his knowledge of the 10 frame to help him find the missing addend. He knows that 5 and 5 would make a ten frame. He also knows that 5+4 would equal 9.  5 is the number of Legos on the table and there’s 4 on the floor.

I am so proud of these kids and their ability to reason.  They are using connections to things they know from their world, like how Mia sees it on signs and Shaner knows 10 frames.  We will continue to keep working on their reasoning and explaining to justify their answers. Make sure to check back and see how we grow as mathematicians!

New York, New York!

Today was filled with mixed emotions and yes I am in New York, New York!  I met up with one of my oldest, dearest friends from junior and high school.  She made reservations and I was so excited to visit the 9/11 Memorial.

Now the hard part, what an emotional place.  The place was filled with people taking pictures, remembering the day, and then a moment of silence to reflect.  I told the group about Michael Roberts and his family.  Did you know you can google his name and it tells you where his name is on the Memorial?  We were standing right there taking pictures.  When I saw his name I had to take a deep breath and say a prayer.  Thank you to all those represented on the Memorial.  

My friend Amy and I are here in New York to attend the Teacher Town Hall tomorrow at NBC Education Nation.  I am so excited! You know Education is near and dear to my heart.  I am so excited about teaching using the Common Core Standards.  The next 50 years are going to be different in so many ways and we cannot continue to teach the same way as the past 50 years.  We need to raise problem solvers that can collaborate and create.  I am excited to hear the message tomorrow and get back to my chickens! I can't wait to get back for Monday morning.

Apple Day 2013

Johnny Appleseed's birthday is big news in 1st grade.  A day filled with apple stations and apple tasting!!  YIPPEE Anything with food is BIG hit.  We enjoyed parents donating apple goodies and some moms even found time to help us out with apple centers.  I tried to capture the day's events and ended up with 133 pictures.  I know a sickness I have.  The funniest thing was at the 5 senses station, there seemed to be loose teeth after eating some apples.  Well low and behold 2 kids had a tooth come out.  Check out the video and see that Isabella and Logan lose a tooth on Apple Day 2013.  Extra special surprise was the cupcakes, singing-cha, cha, cha, and present from my class.  Soooo sweet and can you believe these 6 year olds kept a secret?  Thank you to all the families because it was a great day!  Check out the video for the pictures.