Five For Friday

Hey everyone!  

Okay so I used to participate in the Five for Friday by Doodle Bugs Teaching more last year but have not really had time this year with changing schools again (for the third time in three years).  So even though I have not linked up all summer, here it goes!

ONE:

My new teacher orientation begins next week followed by whole school orientation the following week.  Therefore, I have been trying to get everything that I need for class ready.  I have already started looking at lesson planning my first week of school (which is less than a month away).  I worked on creating a new lesson plan set-up and experimented with several different things.  I would be curious to see what other middle school teachers do for their lesson plans?  I prefer to just do them on the computer than write them in because with snow days and spur of the moment assemblies, I hate rewriting out plans.  I find it so much easier to copy and paste.  So this is what I currently came up with. 

I find it easier to read when I have the days of the week as my columns so that I do not have to look on two pages to see what my lessons are for the week.  I usually have my classes going down the side.  What I added this year (which I added late to mine last year) is the weekly notes section.  It is an area that I use to write down any school social events and usually I put any tests or quizzes on there so that I know to inform the students and when to make them in advance.  

TWO:

The second thing that I have done this week is created a sample of the project that I am going to have my students complete the first two weeks back to school.  I know a project due a week into school starting, what a mean teacher!!  Hey it involves math, learning about my students, and will be a great thing to display for back to school night which is the third week of school.  Check out this personalized Back to School Dodecaehdron.  

So of course it is a 12-sided polygon (for those non-math teachers) and each side has the students say something about them.  Things include facts about me, goals for the year, summer vacation memories, strengths, family, etc.  I must say that I did enjoy creating it, but gluing it all together was very difficult (even for me), so I am going to make one more and see if I can come up with a short cut on how my students can put the pieces together easier.  

THREE:

In the beginning of the summer, I spent much time organizing my binders and color coordinating them.  As I was beginning to look through my boxes (which fill my front porch), I stumbled upon file folders that contained worksheets, tests, and TpT products from the fourth quarter. Of course, I could not begin the school year without filing them into the correct binders.  I spent last night (with a movie and wine of course) filing all the important paperwork into their designated binders.  It was a lot easier since all my binders are now organized to find the binders and sections much quicker.  I only have one more binder to complete and that is my ISN/Foldable binder which contains all the original foldable templates and examples of each foldable.  

FOUR:

As the summer ends, my car needs to be prepped for the school year.  Of course my inspection is always due at the end of the summer.  Last time I got my oil changed, they told me that the tread on my tires looked low and to get them checked.  I went to SAMs Club to get my tires rotated and looked at and of course I had to get new ones.  When replacing my tires, SAMs Club was so nice to break my tire stem valve and wanted me to fix it.  Seriously, you broke it, you fix it!  After arguing with the sales associate and the manager, they finally told me that they would reimburse me, but that I would still have to fine a mechanic to fix it.  So I told them to put the spare on and off I went trying to find one that was open and had my part.  Firestone to the rescue!  After getting the stem fixed and going back to SAMs Club to get reimbursed, they made me wait 30 minutes until the manager was off her break to give me my money back.  Let me tell you, I was beyond furious after spending 6 hours of my day dealing with the mistake SAMs Club made.  See if I am a customer there anymore.  After a long, upsetting day, I decided I needed ice cream and headed to my favorite place to indulge in a bowl of Teaberry and Butter Brittle while watching the sunset.  

FIVE:

Lastly, after dealing with my car issue and spending three hours on the phone the next day dealing with doctors about getting a physical done before school starts, I was surprised to arrive at my friends house to see a beautiful bouquet of flowers.  I am watching his cat while he is away coaching at a baseball tournament.  Earlier in the week, he helped me deal with my car issue, and was there to listen to me vent about the medical issue as well.  The flowers were his way of saying thank you for taking care of his cat and a way to brighten up my week.  In the end I can tell you that my last week of summer vacation was beyond stressful.  I am hoping that my weekend is at least enjoyable before classes/orientation starts up on Monday.

I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend as we move into one of the most busiest months as teachers, August.