Back in Cute Shoes! Back In Our Room!

These shoes remind me of gladiator shoes!  So comfy but so cute, too! I can wear these when I am not moving desks.

If you read my previous post, you know that my class and I had to move (temporarily) due to an AC problem.  We moved into a room next door that had AC but nothing much else. 

After a day in the room (which was a disruption of routine, but actually a great adventure, too), my AC was repaired that afternoon.  We moved our desks back this morning, and we were able to continue with our day! Great!  

After a day like that, I need a little treat:

(My Sonic choice is usually a Rt. 44 Diet Coke with Lime, Easy Ice. Got that tip from a friend!)

So we wrote (following Lucy Calkin's Small Moments strategy), and we made 1,000 Books in Math. The kids did a lot of thinking here, and the kids could easily see how much a thousand was!



My class is also doing really well with Reader's Workshop so far, even though we've just learned the guidelines. 

Tomorrow will be another good day filled with AC and Sonic drinks and yes, cute shoes. 

What's your favorite Sonic treat? 





Change of Venue

Before I write about my shoes, I have to write about my classroom.
Specifically, how I have to move out of it for 3 days. . . .


It seems our AC unit isn't working. A new compressor is needed which means 2-3 days of repair. 

So, with some help from my student intern and my wonderful teammate, I moved 23 student desks down the hall to an empty but air-conditioned room.  So grateful I have somewhere to go!

I will have to teach without my classroom library, my writing center, color-coordinated teacher's desk and accessories, and my cute classroom helpers display. 
I will have to teach without my Smartboard, my document camera, or my projector. 

But we will be fine. 
And I am undeterred.
We will learn our place value.
We will continue our Special Person stories (ala Lucy Calkins).
We will have Reader's Workshop.
We will continue building our classroom community.

And I will continue to wear cute shoes. 

(Today I wore my very athletic and comfy Asics with burnt orange stripes--which ended up being a good thing since I had to push desks down the hallway!)

Have you ever had to move out of your classroom?

Weekend Shoes

These shoes are also from Yellow Box.  I love the bling on them! 

WHY I WORE THESE SHOES: 

This weekend, I, of course, wore weekend shoes!  They are cute and glitzy, and I only wear them to school during the summer when I go work on my classroom.   
I also wore them to school today. Yes, I sometimes work in my classroom on Sundays.
(I wasn't the only teacher there!)

WHY I WENT TO MY CLASSROOM:
When you design your classroom setup before the year starts, you think you know how things will work out.  But when real students come into the room, and start making it their own, you realize what works and what doesn't.  My groups of 4 and 3 just didn't leave enough room for all of us to move around as comfortably as needed. So I had to regroup into 3 larger groups.  It's not the ideal, but in a real classroom, you have to be flexible. The upside is I have a larger area by my classroom library. So, the lesson here is that adjustments are always okay and always necessary when it comes to creating the best environment for your students.

HOW I REWARDED MYSELF FOR MY HARD WORK MOVING DESKS:
Yes, I do buy shoes.  But I especially love a trip to Barnes and Noble. (A teacher can NEVER have too many books.)
I always head to the picture book section where I keep my eye open for great mentor texts for writing.  I have been looking for a particular book for quite a while now.  I know I can order it, but there's just something about finding it and picking it up, paying for it, and carrying it home.  This time, I found EXACTLY what I was loooking for:

Scarecrow, by the wonderful Cynthia Rylant, is a beautifully written story about: scarecrows.  I attended a session with Penny Kittle this summer, and she modeled the use of this book to teach a writing lesson. (I cannot say enough good things about Penny Kittle's book: Write Beside Them.)


I walked out of that store as happy as can be in my glitzy Yellow Box sandals!

Have you ever had to make adjustments in your classroom setup? 

The First Week of School is Over!

My Friday shoes:  A pair of much-loved, much-worn Zebra mules by Yellow Box. 
They go perfectly with our school shirt and jean capris. 

 

 Wow! A Whole Week Just Went By!

Well, the first week of school is over!  It was excellent but exhausting! And it seems that the to-do list keeps growing.  I keep a to-do list on Penultimate on my iPad, but also find myself using sticky notes and bus-shaped notepads from the teacher store.  If I don't write it down, there's a good chance it will get forgotten.

What did we do today?  

We had a fantastic Friday!  My classroom is coming together like a new little community. We made our Time Capsules that will be 'buried' until the last day of school, we wrote in our Writer's Notebooks, and we talked about Easy, Just Right and Challenging books (from Fountas and Pinnell).  (We also finished setting up our Science Notebooks.)

 My Little Freebie:

In our Time Capsules we included:

• sealed notes written by parents
• trinkets that represent hobbies and interests
• a list of goals for the year
• photos
• a piece of string that represents the student's height (which we measured with yardsticks thereby compelling a very happy teacher to HAPPILY teach conversion of inches to feet).
• a list of favorites: (movies, books, songs, foods, etc.)

I know many of the great teachers out in Blog Land use this activity with their students, too! 

Another great day in 4th grade! Now this teacher REALLY deserves some shoe-shopping this weekend!  

Mrs. Alaniz 

 

 

 

 

 

Three for Thursday!

First, before I share my shoe choice today, remember that it is the fourth day of school, I teach upstairs, and I have lunch duty.  So FLAT IS  THE WAY TO GO! But my selection is cute!

These are a pair of super-cute Toms that were custom painted for me.  They were a precious gift from a sweet mom of one of my wonderful students a few years back.  They are comfy and cute, and I LOVE LOVE the cause of TOMS and all they do to help children.

Back to my favorites:

My favorite font:
I am still trying to get techie with fonts, but my favorite font on Microsoft Word has to be:

Minya Nouvelle

Once my schedule settles, I will take the time to download some more cute fonts.

My favorite blog:

There are so many great teacher/education blogs out there!  How can I pick one?  Answer: I can't!  I read so many of them!  So instead, I will say how much I enjoy reading Ree Drummond's The Pioneer Woman.  Her blog is so creative and I get the best recipes from her!  Plus, she blogs about manicures and perfume, so it's an all-around win!

My favorite resource:

A mainstay for me throughout all of my teaching years has been Scholastic. It's a great source for just about any lesson topic, and they are great about hosting webcasts throughout the year.  My class and I loved the webcast they hosted from the Plymouth Plantation last year.  Great history lesson!

I hope you enjoy my favorites, too!  Thanks for reading my blog today!

(P.S.  We had another awesome day in 4th grade:  We set up our Science Notebooks, played a fun place value game, wrote lists in our Writer's Notebooks, and earned two compliment cupcakes for our class reward!  SWEET DAY! )

Where It All Goes Down Wednesday

My room is upstairs and it is one of the bigger classrooms in our school. But I still always need more space! 

This is the outside of my classroom. I like to use a western theme since we are in Texas and our fourth graders learn all about Texas history.

I love to use technology in my classroom, so I decorated my door with the names of tools I have used in the past and will use again.

This is the front of my classroom.  I LOVE LOVE my Smartboard!!!  I am so grateful to have one! 

I have to also share this nice desk set I picked up at The Container Store in my favorite color: orange. 

I got the teacher discount, too! 


This was the third day of school. Today, I introduced Book Nooks, showed how take care of our classroom library, introduced another writing strategy from Aimee Buckners Notebook Know-How, and made sure we all completed our Neighborhood Maps.

Today I was happy to wear my silver Nine West flat sandals. They are flat and cute and you just can't beat that!  They also matched my white capris wonderfully!

Teacher Talk Tuesday

The purpose of today's Blog Hoppin' post is to provide advice for new teachers.  Though I have been teaching a while, I still want to learn all I can.  But here are some things I always try to remember:

1.) Talk to other teachers.  Get advice, think aloud, and bounce ideas off of other professionals.  They will always think of things you didn't!

2.) Read professional books.  Many talented teachers write books on so many subjects: writing, classroom management, motivation, etc.  Read and learn!

3.) Create your own bag of tricks.  There are many books on classroom management and so many different ideas.  But you have to find the ones that work for you!  Ultimately, they should inspire children and create a sense of excitement and purpose!

4.) Remember you are a learner, too.  In your classroom, you are the lead learner.  If you can't picture yourself doing your own project, then your students won't find value in it either. 

5.) Never stop learning!  There are so many things to learn that will help you become a stronger teacher.  The more you learn, the better teacher you become!

Today was our second day of school!  We received textbooks, created maps, covered our Writer's Notebooks, and had our first silent reading time.  I had to remove some tables in my classroom because there wasn't enough room to move around.  I designed the classroom in my head before the kids arrived, but now that they are here, I can see what works and what doesn't.   I love that!  I can keep making it better!

(P.S. Today, I chose a pair of Bandolino silver flat sandals.  They were super cute and super comfortable (which was great for outside car duty)!

Meet the Teacher Monday!

Today was the first day of school, and I am SO exhausted! So much I needed to do, and so much I want to do!   My class is awesome, and they are willing to work hard and get to know each other. I am trying to not overload them with everything!
(P.S. I wore my b.o.c. Wedges today, but I had to change into my Asics sneakers by lunch time!)

Tell us a little something about you!

I love teaching 4th grade, and I am proud to be a Texas girl!  I have taught 3rd grade and 5th grade but my favorite grade is 4th. 

How long have you been teaching?

I have been teaching for many years,  but every year seems like the first because I approach each as a new adventure! 

What are you looking forward to this year?

I am looking forward to incorporating more tech tools this year, and I hope to share more with the staff on my campus. 

What teaching supplies can you not live without?

I love my Smartboard so much!  When I got mine after the winter break two years ago, I considered it a holiday gift. 

Books are also VERY important to me!  Books begin conversations and friendships. Books teach us about life. 

I just got my own iPad, and I look forward to using it in my classroom.  So many great apps!

Low tech I know, but I also love sticky notes!  In every color and shape!


Another great tool in the classroom for the teacher:  a really GREAT pair of shoes!  

First Blog Post

Although these shoes ARE cute, I will not be wearing them on the first day of school.  These are my fancy banquet shoes!

I am so excited to join the teacher blogging world!  It took a while for me to create my blog, and it isn't perfect, but it's done!  I have been reading some excellent teacher blogs this summer.  With the first day of school tomorrow, it is a great time to start. 
I look forward to connecting with teachers around the country.