Disguise a Pumpkin

Look how creative and fun my students are :)

Their job was to disguise a pumpkin so you wouldn't know it was a pumpkin! This was a family project and the kids and their families did a fabulous job!

 

the one with the long hair is the character from Tangled :) 

the one with the straggly red hair is apparently a "waiter". haha isn't it obvious?

i was having to hide my laughter.

 

Hello Kitty!

 

Batman!

 

Camo Pumpkin!

 

Pirate!

 

A hot air balloon! So creative.

 

it's a KITTY MISS INHOLT! (as Allie would scream it :)

pictures of my classroom, FINALLY!

I am finally posting pictures of my classroom! Take a look :)

 

my pencil cup :) I made it with my friend Clara in college.

 

A "Pinterest" inspired anchor chart I used to help my students find a "Just Right" book to read during Reader's Workshop!

 

another "Pinterest" project I made to work on spelling color words during centers. the letters were made out of lids of water bottles. i asked my mom to set out a note at her work and SO MANY of her coworkers brought in lids! I still have TONS of them! This folder game cost me NOTHING :)

 

a big view of my classroom (at the end of the day, thus the chairs on the desks).

 

 

where I do most of my teaching

 

calendar area

& a KWL chart on firefighters :)

 

news area. it includes class jobs, the season, newsletter, specials and birthdays.

yes, i know. the apostrophe in the "whats" is missing. it fell off...

 

my messy desk! usually it is pretty clean but I was working on some guided reading projects and it got messy. behind the bookshelf is my wall of students' drawings, calendars, pictures, notes, etc. i also tend to use A LOT of post its! notice the frame of my computer :)

 

my A.M. kiddos giving me a thumbs up and smile. this was used for my "Goldilocks and the Just Right Book" anchor chart for the sentence "I like it!" haha

I will try and post more pictures of things I do or use in my classroom more often!

the pumpkin patch and more.

i survived my first field trip as a kindergarten teacher :) i took all 35 kiddos to Russell Farms. i had help obviously with about 14 parents, thank goodness! i am so blessed to have great parent volunteers for my classroom. i have sooo many who want to help, volunteer, take work home to do, donate materials... it gets tough finding things for them to do sometimes!

the kids had a great time learning about different farm tools, doing "chores" on the farm and picking out their pumpkins. it was the PERFECT fall day as well. almost a little too hot, though.

 

bus trip to russell farms!

 

beautiful yellow mums.

 

two of my PM kiddos working with the little tractors.

putting the corn into the silo

 

sammie excited about cleaning eggs.

 

scooping the straw into the wheelbarrow

 

time for the hayride to the patch

 

cheesin it up on the ride to pick our pumpkins

 

hannah and her pumpkin!

 

pumpkins on the vine

 

the Ava's :)

now that my camera is up and running, i will take some pictures of my classroom this week. 

tim  was here this weekend for a quick 48 hours. we had an amazing time at the zoo, eating pizza king, dinner at weber grill downtown and some shopping.

favorite quote of the weekend, came from a homeless man in the city:

"oh i know why you are with her! she looks like she from hollywood. and i know why you are with him! he look like a linebacker for the colts!"

thank you?? haha :)

44 days until i am in CT for thanksgiving with his family and then NYC for my birthday!

did i mention Tim bought me tickets to see Wicked on Broadway for my birthday???

he is so great and an amazing listener! i told him this back when we first started dating that i would LOVE to see it in NYC. well, he remembered and we are going :)

he's a keeper my friends.

pumpkin

The last few days have felt absolutely fall :) I do not miss the heat at all and am glad to see it go. 

I did some cooking today & am very proud of my creation (well, i didn't create it, i found the recipe)

I made pumpkin butter! I found this recipe on Pinterest (my new obsession).

 

Ingredients:

• 3 1/2 cups pumpkin puree, or 1 (29 ounce) can (not pumpkin pie filling)
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 3/4 cup apple cider or juice
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 2-3 cinnamon sticks
• 1-2 tsp pumpkin pie spice (to taste)

Directions:
Combine pureed pumpkin, vanilla, apple juice, spices, cinnamon sticks and sugar in a large saucepan; stir well. Bring mixture to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer for 30 - 40 minutes or until thickened. Stir frequently. Adjust spices to your taste. 

My mom also made baked potato soup. I won't take credit for that one. My house smells AMAZING and my belly is VERY happy right now.

Also, my camera is fixed! Now, I can take some pictures of my classroom and post them for all to see. Hurray :)

i'm still alive!

to my few and far between faithful readers,

i promise i am alive! i have successfully (depending on if i survive tomorrow) survived 2 full weeks of teaching kindergarten! I celebrated this almost there victory by buying a new shirt and boots at Target. congratulations to me!

i hope to post some pictures of my classroom soon! it's very cute if i do say so myself, yet thoroughly still disorganized and a little messy.

i love my students. i love my school. i love my co workers. everyone at durbin is fabulous!
once i get more settled, i will be return to the blog world.

i will leave you with a quote:

when setting my kids up with 4th grade "book buddies" (older students who read with my kids each week), one of my little girls (who got a boy buddy) says ... "ohh so i get a boyfriend now!" :)

love my job!

welcome to the real world

I think I just might be an adult now.
I have officially entered the real world.
Within 24 hours I went from frustrated graduate who just taught abroad and can't get an interview and has no clue what is going to happen, to...
the new scared, nervous, overwhelmed, excited kindergarten teacher at Durbin Elementary whose class starts a week from today and whose parents and students visit Monday night!!!
Talk about lack of sleep recently.


I got a phone call on Monday from a friend who works at Durbin offering me an interview for an assistant position at her school. This message was sitting in my voicemail, and I had no idea. I see my phone an hour later and there is actually 2 voicemails. I check them. One about the assistant position, and the following one about a position that had just opened up for an A.M. and P.M. Kindergarten Teacher. An all day Kindergarten rule was just passed so most schools will have full day classes and then one section of half day. (Thaaaaat's me ladies and gentlemen.)
So, I went ahead and took the plunge and decided to interview. In no way did I feel ready to interview, or quite ready to start my first year to teach. Hello! I'm Miss Organized. Miss Needs-her-Time to plan, decorate. But, I could not pass up an opportunity like this.
I interviewed at noon yesterday, got a call at about 3:30, and accepted the position right then.


Wow. I still can't believe it. I am so thrilled and excited to be a part of Durbin Elementary. I have heard wonderful things about the school and the staff I have met are SO nice! I've also noticed that all my dreams are coming true.
I'm gonna go ahead and take the liberty since this is my blog to get a little sappy ...


{I have an amazing boyfriend who means the world to me! Who is moving to Indiana for me. Who I know would do anything for me.}
{I landed my dream job!}
{I will soon have my own place!}
{I am achieving my running goals.}


life. is. good.
scratch that, 
AMAZING :)




School starts ONE WEEK from today. Parents come MONDAY night and TUESDAY night with the kids.
It's gonna be one heck of a whirlwind week. I better get busy... :)

just because

who doesn't need their asian babies laugh for the day!



this little girl's laugh is so cute! at 46 seconds i can't get OVER how cute this laugh is and i can't stop laughing.



love the one singing... doesn't know the words.



this little boy is so cute!! i love it.



just can't stay awake. too adorable.