going to the dogs...

Saturday afternoon was an auction gift gathering party in the PAR at school so I packed up a couple of dogs (only two) and headed over hoping that no one there was afraid of or allergic to dogs...the kids played so nicely with Emma and Sally who were perfect little angels as always.  However...when it got close to the time to pack it up and in, the kids decided they wanted a photo op with "the girls"...so... 

...Nia decided she would be brave and up went Emma.  Nia is a little cautious around big dogs but Emma was the perfect size and temperament for her.

Of course two heads in a picture are better than one!

Ben, his new brother Nathaniel and Sally...I don't think this was a gang sign that Nathaniel was throwing but we decided to try for another...

...and got this one.  Sally is one relaxed dog...considering these two squirmy boys!

Anna wanted both dogs on her lap at one time but frankly...her lap isn't all that big.

Ah...we have a guest first grader on our blog.  Vanessa is in Mrs. Evans' room but her mom gave me permission to put her on my blog...two beautiful girls.

Then today I took all four of "the girls" to Molly's studio for a shoot...Molly had great reservations about this whole thing but I think it turned out great...

...for a comedy shoot of one great escape at a time!

swagger...

I'm coming down with a fever...AUCTION FEVER!  Each year in November,  St. Chris has an auction to raise money as a Third Source Income to keep tuition reasonable for our wonderful families.  It is a HUGE endeavor and definitely a labor of love for our hardworking committee.  I snapped a few pics of some of the auction donations coming from Room 7.  

My friend, Maria Rippetoe of Clothesline Kids fame (and mother of Emalie and Ava), made this stunning coat to donate this year.  Her daughter was a little on the shy side yesterday so I recruited another model to step in!

This was Kate's "runway" pose...picture this with a pair of jeans and some cute Mary Jane's and you have a a great look for fall.

Kate pivoted so we could get a good look at the  detail on the back...I've already put in an order for my little faux granddaughter Tess.

...and for those of you who think I'm just a pretty face...I am donating three felted wool purses I knitted.

Talk about attitude and striking a pose...look at these lovely models...didn't know any of them had this much "swagger"!

Anna's Mom is one of the co-chairs of this event so she was an easy pick to model this purse.

Kloie (have you ever seen so many vowels in a 5-letter name) called this the bumble bee purse.

Nia's mom is one of the first grade chairs so of course she needed to be a model too.  Nia REALLY liked this particular model Mom (fyi).

Next up will be our class project (which I think is fabulously awesome) so stay tuned!

P.S. The auction is November 10 and tickets are only $60.00 per person until October 12th.

bloody wednesday...a docu-drama

Brady has been working on this loose tooth for some time now.  Well...Mrs. Rippetoe was helping me out today and she has been dying to pull a tooth because her two girls won't let her near their teeth.  This was a match made in heaven!

She starts a little tentatively but Brady is in it to win!

Her confidence now rising...she goes in with the right hand against Brady's face (?) to get a little more leverage.

I think this is the point where Brady MAY have been having second thoughts...his eyes look a little beseeching...or he realizes I am now about to make him a blog star.

Whew...we could all unclench!

Bloodied but victorious...and I must say...Mrs. Rippetoe may have been enjoying this a tad too much?!?

...and finally, another jack-o-lantern to add to the patch.

Mrs. Essex is usually our resident tooth puller but move over Debbie...Maria is in the house!

truly shocking photos...

Fr. Mike has been working hard this year with the two first grade classes on Mass behavior.  We have come a loooooong way and now every time we go to church we get Fr. Mike compliments for our improvement....and I don't know about you, but we live and die by Fr. Mike compliments!?!

It's been a bit of a challenge because we are in the temporary church until our beautiful St. Christopher's Church gets finished with all the repairs from "THE FIRE".

You have probably all seen pictures where you are to find "the mistakes".  You might not have to look as hard for "our mistakes" in our reenactment but I think you will enjoy it.

No...I did not give them all Benadryl before this picture.

Hands...get them where I can see them!

Legs...NO WAY

Feet...double NO WAY!

Every time I see this you can hear an audible loud gasp from my seat. 

"What?"

This has really happened...but not by Ben.

And...because we all know that girls are PERFECT...they are pretty darned shocked about the whole thing!

Note the rosary slash necklace on Ava...will have to check with Fr. Mike on that one.

But of course now we are all...

...perfectly behaved at Mass.  Although if you listen closely...there are still audible gasps coming from my chair occasionally.

Everyone of these pictures is a true reenactment of a "moment" that has occurred this year at one Mass or another.  The children depicted here were not the culprits...I am protecting their privacy (except for Case sitting forward with the chair tipped...he does that at least once a Mass!)

some more kiddos...

It was a good week in Room 7 and we are half way through the first quarter (or so says my calendar) although I find that very hard to believe.  We've even survived the first spelling test!  Here are some more of my kiddos up close and personal...

Sweet Andrew...I had his sister Julie and have known this kid since he was very little...I always gave him candy when he would come to visit but he hasn't gotten into my secret stash...yet.

Abby started the year with a cast and is now down to a splint which is or isn't on depending on the day...I think it's become more arm bling than anything else...or yeah, and she is the author and illustrator of the dinosaur party.

Tawawa is new to St. Chris this year and is a little dream student.  I l.o.v.e. her picture...especially that cute little nose!

I had Ethan's mom in first grade (whoa!) and I brought a very big smile to his face the other day when I told him he was waaaaaaay easier than his mom...sorry Melissa...but it is TRUE!

...and my redhead!  I always envisioned myself as having a little redhead of my own (and there were lots of redheads in my family) but alas...only a blonde...although my little girl has since "blessed" me with many shades of red (some on the color spectrum and some not on the color spectrum) since she discovered the magic of hair coloring.  I love Alli's shade of red.  

Stayed tuned for the final five!

cocktails and sierra mist...

Catchy title for a first grade blog...huh?  Well...you will see that it fits very nicely.  Mrs. Allspaw was working with one of my reading groups this morning and decided to "change it up" a little and do some writing.  When coaching the kids on how to handle the topic of a funny thing that may or may not have happened to the dinosaurs,  she encouraged the kids to have fun with it and go for the whimsical...I do love me some whimsical! 

Abby got right into the spirit of the assignment  and picked a dinosaur party theme complete with "funky" masks...

...and (I am convinced) a little cocktail sitting on the back on this particular party animal.

You've heard of product placement...Anna went for a little of that in her story...

...and away they go!

A good quickie blog for a Friday night...and now I'm off to see the Fever play some basketball!

weirdness...or trolls in room 7?

It's been weird in my room lately...the kids say my Promethean board has trolls in it (I think it has just taken on a life of it's own)...and then I discovered this picture on my camera...what the heck!  I didn't take this but there it was...my life in a nutshell.  A dollar, a diet coke and a Phonics reader...as I said weird.

Then during a "stirring" and powerful lesson on naming parts in sentences...I put Tawawa to sleep.  I was sooo envious...

To be fair...she had been in Boston for a four day wedding and was suffering jet lag...I was still envious.

...and then this.

...along with a text from her mother that said
"Yes my child came to school with one sock.  Don't judge:)"  Hello...have you met me?

i love my job...

Anyone who knows me, knows that I am ALWAYS saying...I love my job!  They also know that I say I can hardly wait every morning to get to school to see what the day will bring (I'm just not overly fond of the getting out of bed at 5 a.m. part)...and anyone that knows me also knows I enjoy the going home for a nap part!  And anyone that knows ANY elementary teacher knows that we get gifts...lots of gifts...gift cards, mugs, lotions, etc.  We also get many other tokens of affection from our kiddos.  Yesterday I received several of those tokens from two of my students. 

I adore this obviously lovingly hand-crafted card...

...and the heartfelt enclosed sentiments...it's what we educators live for.
 

Oh...and I also love the black rat from my other student!

Like I said...I love my job and can hardly wait to see what tomorrow will bring...

self portraits...and a random act of kindness

At the beginning of each year the kids get their own "homework" folder...or as stamped on the folder, THE TEACHER...PARENT COMMUNICATOR.  Who thinks of these fancy titles?  Anyway, as a first or second day activity I have the kids make self portraits to slide into the front of these folders (actually it's busy work to give me about 5 minutes to breathe by myself).  Sometimes these pictures are so "spot on" I can't help but admire their self awareness...I still am at the stick figure level.  See if YOU think they've captured their essence...

I love the glasses...and Elijah always is wearing that smile!

This is going to be one of my glamour girls...I think I have that shade of lipstick Nia (check out the hair accessories both in Nia's hair and in the pic).

Speaking of glamour...check out that curl.  She is such an "Ava".

If this isn't Dennis the Menace I don't know who is!
I'm showing my age here.

I love how Anna depicted her ponytail...and speaking of lipstick...whew...I think that's my Mom's shade...in the 50's.

I think Ray got her curls "just right"...and what a smile!

Case usually is bright eyed and bushy tailed...just like his picture (he's being shy here and as far as I can tell...there is not a shy bone in this boy's body).

...and now for our random act of kindness...meet Jackson.  Today after lunch recess, a lady who was enjoying the park with her two small children, approached the recess teacher and pointed Jackson out.  She said he was so sweet, patient and nice with her young son who was looking for someone to help him with some of the playground equipment.  She said, while she is always impressed with our children when she is at the park, Jackson really stood out as a special child.

I think he captured the hair-do.

Well done Mom and Dad Roesler...I always say that good children don't just happen.