Balance and a Time Saving Tip

As many of you know this year has been a HUGE adjustment for me! I absolutely love being a mom to Aubree but it has kind of thrown my world into chaos. I am trying to figure out how to balance being her mom, a wife, friend, daughter/daughter-in-law, sister/sister-in-law, and a teacher ALL at the same time! I know that I am not the only one who goes through this or has gone through this, but let me just says it is SO MUCH HARDER than I ever thought! I have spent a lot of time trying to figure out the best way to balance all of these things, I have come to the realization that all I can do is the best I can each day at each thing and I have to be okay with that. That is very hard for me because I have very high expectations for myself and when I don't meet them, I kind of, for the lack of a better term, have a meltdown. While I was thinking about what to write I realized I am probably not the only one who feels very overwhelmed and on the verge of a meltdown. So I am here to say you are not alone!

Through this though I have learned some things that have really helped that I thought I would share my favorite, Dropbox! Let me just tell you I LOVE Dropbox! For several years I have carried around a flashdrive or external hard drive (and I still do because I haven't switched everything over), but so often I would forget it at home or at school and not have what I needed to finish some of the things. Now I have all of my files literally at my fingertips all the time no matter where I am! I have an app on my iphone, ipad, my laptop, my NUC computer in my room, and any computer that has a connection. I can use it on windows, android, or MAC! All I have to do is login and access my files! This has been a huge help especially now that I have 2 computers in my room I'm not having to flip my flash drive back and forth between computers to open files! If you want to know more let me know! This is a great tutorial on how to use Dropbox!

I hope everyone takes time in the next few weeks to enjoy your family and friends! Have a very Merry Christmas!

Jacque

COOKIES IN MY JAR!

Hello and Happy December!! I hope all of you enjoyed your Thanksgiving holiday but it's time to move into the next one - CHRISTMAS. There are so many things that I enjoy about this time of the year. Decorating the tree, shopping for gifts, spending time with family and baking Christmas cookies. I started baking Christmas cookies on Sunday afternoon and as I started looking at my cookie cutters there were several of them that reminded me of the students in my classroom. The angel reminds me of the children that are so sweet by giving me hugs and working at the top of their game everyday. The gingerbread boy reminds me of the students that work very quickly and then want to keep moving at full speed to learn even more. The little drummer boy are my ones that like to whistle while they work it's such a sweet sound to my ears. The stars remind me of those that are happy, cheerful and have a shining little face each morning when they walk into the door and want to go above and beyond with everything that they do. And my favorite are the Christmas trees they are so wonderful and different in every other way and that's what makes my job the most rewarding. I love and appreciate all of them just like Christmas cookies, all so different but sweet as can be. It wouldn't be Christmas without them in my life. Take a little time in the next couple of weeks to find the sprinkles in your classroom and fill your cookie jar.

I want to say Thank-You to all of the Kindergarten teachers for sending us an assortment of cookies that are wonderful and well prepared for First Grade. A job well done. I hope all of you have a wonderful Christmas and a Happy New Year. Enjoy all the blessings that come your way.




Sherry

Touchscreens and Babies

For my 8 month old granddaughter Sophia, tapping and swiping a touchscreen has become second nature.  She went to Olive Garden with her Papa and Mommy.  Olive Garden had a ziosk on the table with games to play while you wait for your food.  Papa noticed that none of the games were free but the screen was colorful and bright and Sophia liked touching it.  Seeing no harm in letting her play with it, Mom and Papa talked and Sophia played with the ziosk.  Papa soon realized she was very focused on the screen.  Papa looked and our little Sophia had passed the menu, passed the “ok to add $1.99 to your bill”, chose a game, and started playing the game.  She was drawing a picture in an art app that was available.  The waitress offered to take the charge off the bill but Sophia was enjoying drawing so she got to keep playing.  This is a brave new world for babies, parents, and especially grandparents!

New apps I have been trying lately are Story Kit, Placing Numbers on the Numberline,  Popplet, Number Pieces Basic, by the Math Learning Center. and Doceri.  As I learn to use them, I show my kids how the app works.  They always pick it up faster than I do and think of more ways to use the them.  The more I use technology the more I love it but it is also humbling because the more you learn the more you realize how little you know. It’s a journey.

pinilla_thinks...

I have been wanting to blog for a long time, but I have been afraid. Technology and I are not very good friends, so I don't use it as much as I know I should. Having people around me that feel the same way I do has helped me understand that I am not alone. My family LOVES technology and EVERYTHING it stands for! They are not afraid of the unknown like I am... I decided to observe the students I see on a daily basis in how they use technology in their classrooms:

• They really like going to the computer during their station time to check out "Wonderopolis" because it's cool! We all have those students that are always wondering about everything, and this is the place for them! You can read a non-fiction text and then use this site as an extension to the lesson! Check it out: http://wonderopolis.org

• Needing a different way for students to practice math facts? Check this out: xtramath.org is a simple, easy place for your students to work on mastering  basic math facts! It only takes about  10 minutes, the kids can rotate through it throughout the week during their math station time. The first time they visit the site, the students need to take the quiz in order to place them at their level. This may take a little more than 10 minutes so plan accordingly so they have time to finish their quiz. 

• QR CODES, tablets, e-readers, and so much more!!! Some students have their favorite books stored in their tablet or e-reader and pull it out during independent reading time! Others have books in their tablets!

Technology! It's so much more than what I mentioned above and it's here to stay friends, so we might as well embrace it! I will end on a funny note- I got an early Christmas present and it caught a 4th grader's eye. He started talking letters and numbers to me, how it was the one he wanted, but he got the blah blah blah instead. He continued asking me all kinds of questions wanting to know if I use it for this, that, and the other. I didn't want to sound old fashioned, but I didn't want to say something that didn't make sense either (since I had no idea what half of what he said meant) so I played it cool and said, "Well, I like my big new cell phone because I can see my emails better, when I read the words are bigger, and when I check the weather the numbers are larger." He looked at me and smiled while tilting his head to the side with sad understanding in his eyes... 

Pinilla