Back to school, back to school....

Oh, My, Goodness....Where has time gone?  Has it really been 5 months since I claimed I was back on the blog-wagon?  I'm going to do it this time, though....I'm in a new school due to not having enough students in my class to keep me at my old school, and I am NERVOUS!!  I'm still teaching Intellectual Disabilities (the new name for Educable Mental Disabilities) but being in a new school, with a principal who is also new to the school is always intimidating.  Teachers have been back for a week, and kids come to school tomorrow, yet I am not AT ALL prepared for the day.  Buuuuuut, here's what I do have planned for the first day, so far:

We All Fit Together, from Sub Hub

 I"m also using a Facebook Info page that I would LOVE to share with you, but I don't have the link for the file I am using, and upon checking my Pinterest, the link is broken....I'm so thankful that I had already saved the file to my computer!  HOWEVER, here are a few links I found on TpT with very similar files!  http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Facebook-Student-InfoQuestionnaire-Sheet-304171

http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Facebook-Get-to-Know-You-Activity-677651


There will be a giveaway very soon, so look forward to that!!!

EEEEKKKK!!!!

Yikes!!  It's been 9 months since I have written a new blog post!!  That's long enough to grow a baby (but I ASSURE you that was not what kept me away!).  I could blame it all on being busy in a new school and district, but I know you're all busy too.  Truth be told, I don't know what happened, but I am ready to get back on the blog-wagon! It may be just what I need to help me sort out some of the craziness that is my new classroom.  So, be on the lookout for some great stories from my EMD Self Contained classroom!

Almost August Already??

Ok, so I admit, I've done little to nothing this summer to get ready for the new school year.  I see all these other teachers on blogs and Pinterest that have been teaching beasts this summer, and I've dropped the ball.  I'm starting in a new district, and going back to my middle school roots, but I've not done much to prepare...yet, anyway.  New Teacher Orientation was held this week, so I did start thinking about my classroom for that....but then I had a wisdom tooth pulled and I've reverted back to master couch potato.

So here's the big question:  Is it wrong for a teacher to ignore school for a while during summer??   I keep hearing teachers say, "I work all summer getting ready for school!"  Well, I didn't.  Does that make me less of a teacher?

I'm going to get back on track....I promise.  And soon.  Definitely tomorrow....or the next day...wait, that's Saturday...Ok, most certainly by Monday.  I promise.  :/

Wow!!  I've been nominated for a Fascination Award: 2012's Most Fascinating Special Education Teacher blog for my blog about Leprechaun Repellent.  This makes me feel so proud!!  I'm glad that my ideas are getting out there, and I'm even happier that others are finding them helpful!  I would LOVE to win in this category, but I'm just happy to have been nominated (yeah, yeah, I know...that's very cliche....but it's true!!).  Hopefully I can keep blogging about things that other teachers find interesting and helpful!  So, if you get the chance....Voting begins July 2nd at 1:01 AM (EST).The blog with the most votes by July 9th at 11:59 PM (EST) will win the grand prize, a $100 restaurant gift card...and I think we all agree that would be a great prize!

Great Giveaway Linky Party!

The 3am Teacher blog is having an amazing giveaway over on her blog!  I almost hate to tell you about it because I want it so badly! :) Head over there, check out the giveaway, and take a look at all her amazing graphics!  She is also SUPER giving and always offering freebies from her graphic sets!

29 and counting...

There's only 29 days left for me with my kiddos this school year, and at least 5 of them will be eaten up by PASS, our state standardized test, 3 or 4 with IEP meetings, 1 for Field Day....what else am I missing?  Y'all know I'm new to elementary, so I need all the help I can get these last few days of school.  The Easter Bunny didn't visit my classroom (hey, it was Spring Break during Easter) and my 1st grade girls were so disappointed that they still look for any sign of the bunny each morning.  I didn't know he was supposed to come into my class!  Anyway, back to my reason for posting...With 29 days left, I want to make the rest of the year as fun and enjoyable as possible without adding stress and management problems to my day. So, I'm asking for advice here again....Tell me what you are going to do in the last days of school to help you feel like this:

Ac-Cent-Tchu-Ate The Positive

If I only remember ONE thing about elementary school, it would be my Music teacher, Mrs. Scurry.  She made sure we sang correctly, and didn't let our lazy southern speech get in the way.  I have never really thought of her as being a big influence in my life, but she really did make an impression on me.  To this day, I know that I will think of Mrs. Scurry when I sing "Silent Night" and I always make sure I pronounce the Ts, just like she taught me. She always wore black Reebok tennis shoes and made you sit on the edge of your seat, with a straight back, and sing from your diaphragm.  Something today made me think of the old Johnny Mercer song we always sang in her class, "Ac-Cent-Tchu- Ate The Positive", and I thought that was PERFECT for a classroom.  SO, I turned it into a printable for my classroom and decided the best thing to do would be to share my printable AND my story!  I hope you'll download it (just click on the picture to pull it up in Google Docs) and bring in a little Johnny Mercer and Mrs. Scurry into your classroom!  Now, I would LOVE to hear about a teacher that you've never thought inspired you, but actually did!