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Homemade Lemonade

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I’m not a huge fan of lemon, but my kids and hubby love lemonade.  During the school year, I did a cooking unit with my kindergartners and we made fresh squeezed lemonade.  (In all honesty, we squeezed some of the lemons and then used bottled lemon juice when we got tired of squeezing lemons.) Lemonade is really easy to make.  It’s just lemon juice, sugar, and water.  I thought it might be a good recipe to share with my bloggy friends, since the summer days are here and we might need a little cooling off!
Oh, how I love cooking in the classroom with my kids!  They were jumping with joy when they walked in the room and saw lemons and a lemon press.  Of course a few kids yelled, “What are we making Teacher?” (Yes, they still call me Teacher, even at the end of the school year.) I asked them what they thought we should do, and it didn’t take long for the suggestion of LEMONADE to come up!
I started by showing them an online book about lemonade that was on Reading Rainbow.  Our school has a subscription to the service, so I can’t share the link.  Then, we started squeezing lemons.  We needed 2 cups of lemon juice and all of our lemons made about 1/2 of a cup.  At that point I pulled out the bottled lemon juice and told them that we’d take the easy way out to come up with the rest of the juice.  (Although I think they would have squeezed lemons all day if I would have let them.)
Here is the recipe we used:
2 cups sugar
1 cup hot water
2 cups lemon juice
1 gallon cold water
Dissolve the sugar in hot water.  Add lemon juice and then cold water.  Stir.
We made our lemonade on a very hot and sunny (by Pacific Northwest Standards) day.  The kids were thrilled with the cold treat and really loved sharing with the recess teachers who are outside for most of the day.  
If you are interested in more lemon activities, here is a post I wrote for LeapFrog Learning Path with more ideas.  Lemony Learning Activities
It might be a good time to break out the lemonade stand and share some lemonade with the neighbors!
Happy lemon squeezing!

Classroom Chairs

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I just realized that I never actually pushed the “post” button on this one!    We’re heading way back to the lazy days of Summer when I had time to redo some old furniture!
What’s the first thing you do when you get the keys to your classroom?  Spruce up the furniture with paint and fabric, and get ready to move in!  I’ve been waiting all Summer to get the keys to my classroom and now that I finally have them, I have to overcome my fear of the security system at the school and move in.  One more little project needs to get finished up before I take the plunge. My chairs need a makeover.  Today, I hit the fabric store, bought myself some chevron, and purchased a couple cans of black paint.  

My friend, Crystal, gave me these chairs a few years ago.  They needed paint and new seats.  They’ve been a perfect “homey” addition to my classroom, but the fabric finally gave out last year.  I’m always impressed with the difference paint and fabric can have on a chair.  
Happy chair sprucing!

The Craziness of September

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You know you’re a teacher when your husband tells you, “You do this every June and every September.”

Yep, it’s that crazy time of year again – the time when I’m running around like a chicken with my head cut off, trying to figure out how I can possibly get my work done and still feel like a caring mother and wife. I tend to start questioning myself.  What on Earth made me think I could handle working full time as a teacher and part time for LeapFrog?  Will I ever have any time to do anything for myself again?  Will I ever make it home at a reasonable hour?  Will my kids look back on their childhood and wish I was home more during the school year? HAS ANYONE SEEN MY LABEL MAKER AND HOW COULD STAPLES POSSIBLY BE SOLD OUT OF LAMINATING POUCHES?

I’m usually very organized with my meal planning, but in June and September that all goes out the window.  Thankfully, my hubby has been saying things like, “I’ve already got the turkey burgers on the grill!”  That’s an awesome statement to hear when you walk in the door 15 minutes before your kids need to walk out of the door.  Any other month of the year, and I would have had dinner in the crockpot by 7am and a salad ready in the fridge.  In September, on the other hand, it’s all about school and all sense of home organization just feels buried beneath school work.  

Needless to say, the blogging has taken a back seat while I settle into my new school, new district, and get to know 34 little friends and all of their needs.  At least I have memories of Summer relaxation to fall back on when the going gets tough.

Happy September!

Moving… Again!!

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As I shared a few months ago, I moved from the Edmonds School District (my home for the last 18 years) to the Snohomish School District. I was hired to teach a second grade classroom for the 2014-15 school year in a small school in Snohomish.  I spent many years in a second grade classroom in Edmonds, so I felt totally comfortable with the idea, but my passion is teaching kindergarten.  I hoped that, eventually, a kindergarten spot would open up and I’d be able to move back to teaching the little guys. 
The first day back, for teachers, was Wednesday.  There were meetings, time to work in our rooms, and time to do a little planning with grade level partners.  I didn’t have too much to do in my room (organizing, moving furniture, or creating bulletin boards) because I had spent many, many, many hours over the past few weeks in my classroom.
If you are my friend on Facebook, you saw this picture that my friend Ceres posted about my gigantic mess.  You see, teachers hoard have a lot of stuff – 12 bookshelves and hundreds of boxes to be exact.
That pile wasn’t even ALL of my teacher stuff. I’d already moved a ton of things to my three car garage, where it would wait patiently all summer long.  
Back to Wednesday…
We finished our meetings and I was just packing up for the day when our principal let me know that she was 99% sure that I would be able to make a move to kindergarten.  The previous teacher had moved to a new school.  We needed to hire a new 1st grade teacher to reduce class sizes.  The current first grade teacher (who formerly taught kindergarten) was ok staying in first grade, and this all meant that I could have my dream job!  My principal checked, again, with human resources, and by 6:30 on Wednesday night it was a done deal.
Here’s the catch:
The kindergarten class had to be on the other side of the building.  Hours and hours of work setting up a second grade classroom, and I was going to need to magically transfer my things to a new room and set it up with the needs of kindergarten students in mind.  
Thursday consisted of meetings in the morning, a full half day of cleaning out the room I was planning to move into, Meet the Teacher at 4pm, and then moving an entire classroom after that.  I called in The Help (my family and my friend who totally gets “family status” now).  It took 6 kids and 6 (very strong and helpful) kids – between 4 and 5 hours to complete the move, but my kindergarten class is reading for learning! I can’t even believe it!  I would have taken a picture of the new room, but I was too exhausted to even lift my phone.  My kids rolled into bed close to 11pm and they are really hoping that Mom never moves again. Moving and setting up a classroom is like moving and setting up a small home.  I can’t even begin to tell you how much I appreciate all of the help.  I could NEVER have done it alone!
Happy Back To School Time!!! 

Baking With Kindergartners

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We started our cooking unit in kindergarten today.  I always like to start with something really fun and really yummy.  They were literally jumping up and down when I pulled the chocolate chips out of the bag.  Our project involved math, reading, writing, and an experience that some kids had never had the chance to participate in before.
 
When I bake with my class, I always bring extras for my coworkers.  Last night I made a double batch of chocolate chip cookie dough and then put it in the fridge.  I used our portable oven in the classroom to bake them up.  These were the cookies “untouched by kid hands” that I offered to my friends.  The email usually reads something like this:
 
There are warm cookies in kindergarten today!  The cookies on top of the oven are up for grabs.  Kid hands have not touched these cookies.  Help yourselves.
 
It takes about 2 minutes for the teachers to start wandering in. 
 
 
Want to know why we make sure to have cookies untouched by kid hands?  I sent each table group to wash their hands before helping with the measuring, mixing, and baking that we did in the classroom.  One of my little boys had just finished drying his hands when I turned to look at him and I said, “Oh, Pumpkin, can you go wash again?  We don’t want to bake with our fingers in our nose.”
 
Even though I’m sure those germs all bake out, I’ll always have your backs Friends.  There will ALWAYS be warm cookies, untouched by kid hands.  Always.
 
Happy nose picking baking!
 
 

The Class Quilt

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Most of you know I’m a teacher and most of you know I work in a job-share.  I feel so lucky to be able to have a great career and also have one extra day off each week.
(So thankful for great teaching partners too!)

Today I spent the day in my daughter’s second grade classroom.  I taught second grade for many years, before moving to kindergarten, and I really do miss the independence and confidence that second graders bring to the classroom.  Well, it’s auction time at my kids’ school and I’m helping out with our class auction project.  We’re making a Friendship Quilt, with Moda’s Double Chocolate fabric line.  Oh, how I love those colors!

I pulled out a few of my favorite fabrics from the bundle and precut the squares that we needed for the project.

After a quick introduction in the classroom, I started pulling kids out to the hallway to start sewing with me.  They LOVED sewing!  I’ve gotten pretty good at sewing sideways.  I let the kids sit right in front of the machine and they really do the sewing.  I just make sure to sit right next to them, looking sideways at the machine, and help guide them when they need support.  No one will  be sewing their fingers into the quilt on my watch!!!

Once we had the triangles pieced, the kids started arranging the squares into the Friendship Star.  

It always amazes me the way some kids just “see” how shapes fit together and others really have to work at it.  I’m one of those that really needs to work at it, so I think I’m a bit envious of those people who can quickly make beautiful arrangements with shapes.  I love the conversations the kids have as they are arranging their shapes too.  Working with these little guys just makes me happy!

Once they figured out how to arrange their pieces, we were ready to sew the small blocks into a larger block.

I’m kind of in love with the colors in this quilt!

Some kids talked about how their moms or grandmas sew, and others had never even seen a real sewing machine before.  Some kids talked about the old fashioned foot pedal machines that they had seen in cartoons, and others talked about family members who own multiple machines.  Regardless of kids’ experience sewing, they all had a great time!  There were happy giggles, lots of questions about how the machine works, and lots of kids who were eager to convince their parents to let them sew at home.  One little boy even said, “I’m totally going to ask for one of these for Christmas!”  How cute is that?

Twelve little Friendship blocks are ready to be sewn together.  I’ll be spending my next day off finishing the blocks with kids who were absent, and working with kids to sew the blocks together.

The quilt will be auctioned off at the school auction, in March.  I can’t wait to hear which lucky child will get to take home a quilt made by all of his or her friends!  I think it’s turning out pretty enough that the parents will be excited to have this in their home too!

Happy quilting!

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A Few Favorite Teacher Gifts

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I’d like to say that I took the time to have my kids make gifts for their teachers.  The reality is, that I barely got the gift cards stuffed into envelopes and delivered on the right day.  My students and their parents, on the other hand, made some pretty cute creations for their kindergarten teacher.

First up, the melted snowman ornament.  LOVE!

These little candies were delicious.  I wish I could show you what the peanut butter meteorites look like.  They didn’t make it to the end of the school day.  They were very tasty.

One of my girls described how she made soap with her mom and sisters. I’ve never made soap before, but it sounds like fun.

How cute are these little elf shoes?  

In addition to these cute little creations, several parents went in together on a gift, and I also received many cards, treats, and gift cards to a few of my favorite stores. Oh, and my favorite gift of all was an email I received from our assistant superintendent.  She had been sent an email from one of my parents, who just wanted to share a few things about my teaching and our classroom.  I can’t tell you how much it brightened my day teaching career! I have fabulous students and parents! I feel truly blessed.

Happy Holidays! 

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Guys Only Cookie Exchange

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I popped into the school library this morning, and this is what I saw.
The men in our building decided to have a guys-only cookie exchange.  They had to bring 5 dozen cookies.
 AND
They had to do all of the baking on their own.  
I love this idea!  I’m sad to say, I didn’t get to try any of the mouthwatering goodies, but I’m trying to practice a little self control when it comes to sweet treats this season.  I was very impressed with the variety as well as the quality of their cookies.  I hope this is the first year of a great tradition for these guys!
By the way, our staff had another cookie exchange over the weekend and the girls were invited to that one too.  So, please don’t worry that we were feeling left out!
Happy baking!

Rocking Chair Pillow

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I was browsing through pictures and ran across a few photos from my classroom. I don’t think I’ve ever shared these on my blog before.  A few years ago, I decided that my classroom needed a makeover.  My mom recovered my pillows for me and I had lots of fabric leftover.

I decided to make a chair pad for my rocking chair.  I tried a few things that I hadn’t done before, like adding a little trim, machine quilting, embroidery, and working without a pattern.  

Not too bad, considering I was totally winging it!

I used the scraps to make a few floor pillows for my listening center too.

There’s just something so heartwarming about seeing little people feel like they’re “home” when they are in the classroom.  It’s truly a happy place for these little guys!
Happy sewing!

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Gingerbread for Kindergarten

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Why, hello there, little Gingerbread Man!
 
Did you say you want me to bake you up and take you to meet the kindergartners on the first day of school?  They love it when you surprise us during our gingerbread hunt.  You’re always the yummiest little treat on the first day of school!  I’ll bake you up now and save you in the freezer for the first day.
 
Did you say you want me to bake your brothers too?  Enough for all of the kindergartners at Hilltop?  Well, ok, if you say so!
 
Run, run, as fast as you can.  You can’t catch me I’m the Gingerbread Man!