2 years...DONE!

I never thought I would have survived one week, let alone two whole years as a Baltimore City School teacher...but I did.  Bring it on summer!  time to relax and recharge...because now I really do understand why they have summer vacation...it is a necessity!

last day of school margaritas brought to you by Little Havana :)

Snowflakes for Sandy Hook, Peace on Earth & ArtSonia!

that is a long title!  but I haven't posted anything in a few days...and I am OFFICIALLY on vacation until January 2nd :)


today wasn't the smoothest day, and for some reason, the migraine of all migraines decided today was a great day to visit me...but, I don't have to go into work until January!  wooooooohoooo!



it was kind of a rough week, coming back to school after the events of last week, thinking what I would do in that situation, listening to the students talk about what they thought happened...it's amazing how many kids thought that everyone at the entire school was killed...more then one child told me that they were sad that only one person survived.  I tried to correct them, without getting into too much detail...how do you really talk to kids about something like that?



so my principal asked if I'd design a banner for the whole school to sign, and a parent who was traveling to Connecticut was going to deliver it.

we are also starting to create a stockpile of snowflakes to send to the school

this week my students talked about why they wished for Peace on Earth...since it's commonly talked about at Christmas- well and at Miss America pageants...haha- here are a few of their responses:

and last but not least in Art room news...I FINALLY...yes finally, have our ArtSonia site up and running...I wish I had got my act together sooner...and it is definitely time consuming to photograph, crop, rename and upload...but I was really impressed how many permission slips I got back so quickly, and how many parents went online and granted access themselves!

so go check out our site...it will only show the students whose parents have given access to publish...so it's small for now...but hopefully it will be a great gallery soon!!

grad school coma

Saturday, 8:30am...first final project is turned in.


Saturday, 12 noon...final test taken.


by 3pm on Saturday I'll officially be two classes into my certification/masters program.  but until then, I will be typing, reading, editing, retyping, and obsessing over my final unit plan that I have to turn in.

the cats are doing their best to help motivate me...

in case you were wondering, these are two different times...top one is Jack, bottom one is Kevin...



when I was in college, I think I might have pulled one all-nighter.  I am not good at working late hours into the night.  so here it is, 9:30, and I'm calling it a night.


but I'll be up by 7am, partly because I can't sleep in that much anymore, and partly because I'll be panicking that I haven't left myself enough time to finish my work...but...I have 6 of the 9 sections totally done, typed up, printed out, just ready to put into the page protectors in my binder.



so until 3pm on Saturday...I might be a little distracted...which means I might write a few more blog posts when I am procrastinating tomorrow...



I'll leave you with a cute penguin one of my 1st graders drew this week :)  more art coming...we are doing lots of cute winter projects!!

Monday Inspiration

so I usually post something inspirational that I've found out on the internet somewhere, but this week I thought I'd share something that happened in my classroom :)


one of the first big discussions we had this year, was the topic of "why is art important"...I had been having my students write their own answers, and I started to see them get frustrated, because a lot of my students have trouble with literacy on both the reading and writing end...


so when I had one of my 1st grade classes come through, I decided we'd make a poster, that I would write their answers on...and have them all sign it.

the kids did a great job, and their answers were so creative!  and it looks so pretty hanging outside my room!


got this idea from CMae - she's a great Art teacher in Arizona...I highly suggest you check her out!

"I smell poop"

so last year, I kept coming across other teacher's blogs, and they were so great at documenting the funny things that come out of their students mouths...

so this year, I am determined to write down some of those gems and share them with you :)



today, while spending time with one of our Kindergarten classes, a little boy said to me:

Student: "I smell poop."

Me: "do you?"

Student: "I know it's not me.  I stopped pooping on myself a little while ago."





I love my job :)

first day of year 2

whew!  first day with classes...it's one of those things where no matter how many days and hours you prepare...you really never feel ready...but then again...you just have to be...so I guess it's okay not to 'feel' ready...because OCD me could always do something more...change this, adjust that, re-make this...you get the idea


but as far as first days go, I have very little to complain about...three classes, a few breaks in my day to get things organized...had my rules and procedures already outlined and in poster form, had my seating charts pre-made...and when it came down to it, I was really impressed with myself that I remembered almost all the students names!


remembering 400 this year will be so much easier then 800 like last year...did I mention how much happier I am this year?  already, on day 1 I can feel the difference.

I also feel like being in my second year in the same building, I have a bit more credibility with my students...or "cred" as they'd probably say...I am really glad to prove to them that I want to be there, and won't just up and leave them like other teachers have...



happy school year to me and all the teachers out there!!

one of those days...

I am knee-deep in my portfolio, which is due on Sunday, by 9pm...but I saw this, and it can not be more true at this point.  10 school days...14 calendar days from today it will be glorious, summer vacation, and I don't believe I've ever deserved time off from work more!

to all those teachers out there...we can do it...hang in there!!

we really are special...

just a quick rant...because it's almost the end of the year and while I have had really great experiences...I had a thought, that kind of made me a little irritated...when I was in Elementary school- maybe even Middle school...we called our classes like Art, Music, Home Ec (do they still have that any more?) and Gym- Specials...because that was how they were treated...special times to get out of your regular classroom, and learn something different, new and something that would make you a well-rounded individual...

now they call them (at least in Baltimore City) Resources...doesn't have quite the magical ring to it that Specials has...maybe that's why the kids take it so much for granted...

I know I can be a bit of an overachiever...wish I could instill that quality in a few more of my students...




sigh...at least it's Friday and a long weekend!  hooray!

What a summer!

so I've been missing in action, or MIA as they say, for quite some time...honestly, the last thing I truly remember is the couple of days I took at home with my family before my training for BCTR (the Baltimore City Teaching Residency) began, and now it's the end of August, and school is about to start!

for those who might not follow along regularly, I've taken the long and winding road to becoming an Art Teacher for Baltimore City Public Schools...which really is the job I've wanted to do my whole life...so it took me 29+ years to get there...excited about it nonetheless! 

since I went to school for Marketing (thanks VT!) and then for Graphic Design (ala the Art Institute) I didn't have a traditional education education (haha) so I chose to apply to an alternative route program, and enter BCTR...the interview and admission process was quite extensive, but it was nothing compared to summer institute...I think all in all, I slept about 20 hours in the five weeks the program ran, and to spare the gory details, I taught 5th grade math...which was interesting, but not really any preparation for Art...

but the best thing about it was making some great new friends, who were all in the same, non sleeping, learning how to lesson plan boat that I was in, and I can't believe how fast summer 2011 went...

then it was on to my schools to set up my classooms...that's right, there's an "s" in there...since Art is a resource and budgets are very tight in Baltimore City, I'll be working part time at two schools, so that means two classrooms, two administrations, two sets of co-workers, and twice as many students to get to know...I definitely have my work cut out for me, and I am not going to lie...I am nervous! 

but I do have a classroom in each building, which is more then some people have, so for that I am grateful...of course the excitement came one day, when during set up at one of my schools, we felt...well the earth moving...a bulletin board fell over in my room and thankfully, nothing else was loose enough to move, but we experienced an EARTHQUAKE in Maryland!  apparently it was felt as far north as New York and south as North Carolina...crazy!  first the tornado, then the earthquake...

and just when we thought school would start on time, Hurricane Irene made its way towards Maryland...my mom was not thrilled with the name :p ...even though there was very little damage in our area, the hurricane definitely wreaked havoc other places in the state and the country...so instead of school starting on Monday, it will be Wednesday...it's going to be quite a first year of teaching!

Saturday's Photo

this one's a 'two-fer'...

the last days of our afterschool program at Wolfe Street...really going to miss these kids!  I definitely will never forget my first class :)

Passing Score!

all that studying has paid off...the Praxis is just another step conquered on the way to becoming a teacher!  so the study guides are going up on the shelf, and the Fiction Project and jewelry inventory are back up to a first priority!

HOORAY!!!!!

this is the post-it that I stared at for the last month...with the big 304 on it...the score I needed to pass...and below is my score report...314- yeah!!!!!!!

my talented students

getting into the swing of things and teaching an art program to the older kids at school each week has me working on more 'fine art' projects then just crafty ones...although the crafts are fun too :p  so this week, we studied (and yes, I use that word loosely) pointillism, and had the kids make cute valentines cards using the technique...and here are some of my favorites...

 

I know one of them is not covered in cute little dots, but I loved the way it turned out!  the kids love to paint, so I'm trying to work more projects in like this one...of course the potential mess in a classroom that isn't mine is definitely a terrifying thought!  but at least they're having a good time :)

art project idea

now that I'm in my fifth month working at the after school program, I've done a few cute art projects with the kids that I'm pretty proud of...this one in particular turned out really great...

snow paintings (of course, with glitter) have been one of the kids favorite crafts so far!  we all drew pictures, and then added white paint for snow, and some glitter for sparkle and shine...

here are a few of the finished products

and the kids who created them :)