SOL Spotlight 4

And finally, our final slice showcase! This one made me giggle knowing the family and how things go down at home sometimes.

As I stated before, I felt that this project was a success. I hope to do the same thing again next March.

Big thanks to the girls. I will post about our party once it happens.

Monday, March 3
Today was the first school day my Grandma was watching my siblings and me.When we woke up we didn't watch t.v. for 30 minutes like normal. When my mom would be at home in the morning she let us watch t.v for 30 minutes every morning. Today instead we got ready and watched t.v. at the same time. With this I was able to be ready for school without rushing to the car without shoes on.

SOL Spotlight 3

Welcome back for the third SOL showcase! You can read one and two if you missed them.

One reason I liked this project is that I got to know the girls a little better through their writing. This was a peak into the world that I don't normally get to see. Rarely did they write about school and what happened their.

Here is another peak into this slicers life:

March 22, 2014

Wizard of Oz

I watched Wizard of Oz today for the first time. It loved it so much. I loved Tinman, Lion, Scarecrow, Dorthy and Toto. The wicked witch of the west was a little scary. I liked the munchkins in Munchkin land. The nice which was so pretty. I would rate this 4 1/2 stars our of 5 stars.

SOL Spotlight 2

Here is the second installment of SOL Spotlight! If you missed number one, you can read that here.

I told the girls that there were no rules, they just had to write about something every day of the month. Through this process, one of the girls discovered that she preferred poetry. Here is her favorite slice.

March 27th

Fish

Swim! Swim!

black! orange! blue!

Water! Water!

Gills! Gills!

fins! fins!

Swim! Swim!

SOL Spotlight 1

During March, I participated in the Slice of Life Classroom Challenge with a few of my students. I had four girls finish the whole month with me and promptly roll on into April (even with knowing that there wouldn't be any prizes this time.)

I was very pleased with the way it turned out and was even told by their parents at conferences that they too enjoyed the project and reading their child's writing. The girls were always excited each morning to get their stickers and read over each other's writing. Success!

I asked each girl to pick their favorite slice and this week I am going to share with you a little slice of their lives. I have changed names to protect the innocent. Also, I have written it EXACTLY as they have written their slice. There were no rules or demands. I did ask them to look over it before they gave it to me, but there may be some mistakes, some of which I will face palm myself because I know I taught them that, but remind myself that this was not the objective of the project. 

I hope that you enjoy these slices as much as I did.

March 5, 2004

When I was watching full house it made me laugh. It made me laugh because Michelle was pretending to be a boy. It was also funny [because] Michelle was working out with Jesse. She had mini weights and had a leotard on. Then when she was done she showed her "muscles." Michelle is my favorite on full house. Full house is also my favorite show.

March Sweet Summer Fling Update

Here we are at the end of another month. It feels like we just started. It has been a busy month and I haven't completed much of what I wanted to, especially in the book area. Here's my recap for my Sweet Summer Fling.

This is the only book I finished this month, and it wasn't even on my list. I am very much ok with this though, because it is spindiddly. I am now reading it to my students and they are hooked!

As for my list, I am making my way through...

I am enjoying it, just haven't had the time to sit down and just read it. I have slept more this month than I have spent exploring the Amish land. I hope to finish it either before or during spring break. Then I will promptly watch the Lifetime movie staring Mariska Hargitay, which is really the only reason I am reading the book.

Slow month in my challenge, but hopefully once state testing is finished and I am not drained as much, I can pick up the books again.

What books have you read this month?

Neela Girl

Every once in awhile a student comes along that just reaches into your heart, grabs on for dear life and won't let go. Neela is that student for me. I call her "Neela Girl" based on Anne of Green Gables (my favorite book.) when Aunt Josephine calls Anne "Anne Girl." It just seems to fit her.

I have known Neela for a few years before she entered my classroom. I had her older brother and sister and will have her younger sister in a few years. Her mom is my beauty magician and the whole family is pretty smashingly rockin! I took this picture of Neela on the Fourth of July when she was in kindergarten for my 365 picture project. It was one of my favorites and I even framed it!

So why is Neela my Neela Girl? Her attitude mostly. I don't know if I have ever seen her in a bad mood. She always smiles at me when she walks in my room, she is funny and she works hard.

She is participating in my Slice of Life project and I have enjoyed reading her honest slices and learning more about her.

On Monday, St. Patrick's Day, she walked in to get here sticker for SOL and exclaimed "Happy St. Patrick's Day!" and promptly flung homemade shamrock confetti. It made me smile. She did it again when she came to my reading group that afternoon, and that time, it made me smile even more because it was perfect timing.

Today, the first day of spring, she brings me a flower made out of her hand with a, "Happy first day of spring!" that was so catching you couldn't help but to smile.

Every time I pull out the read-aloud book, she gets so excited.

Such simple things, but they make such an impact on my day.

I love my Neela Girl and the kindred spirit that she is!

We were playing cards, I look over and she has the soda
box on her head. Crazy thing is, she rocked it! 

Perfect definition of *heart flutter* to the fullest!

Guest *Heart Flutters*

I have come to the conclusion that guest posting could be really cool! I was a guest blogger over at Brielle and Me and you can check it out here if you missed it.

Today my team teacher/good friend told me that she had a *heart flutter* for me. So I got the idea, that maybe she would like to be a guest blogger! She said yes!

First, I want to tell you a little bit about Kris. She is my Yoda. She is my voice of reason. She is my sounding board. She knows my weaknesses, my fears and has caught many of my tears. Most of all she is my friend and so much more.

We started teaching 4th grade together six years ago and have lots of stories to tell. We work well together and where I have weaknesses, she is has strength and visa-versa. Every Friday we celebrate making it through the week with a breakfast burrito and a frappacino. Best. Part. Of. The. Week!

Rival colleges and annual College Friday Kickball game.

Ok, now onto her *heart flutter*

You know the kid.  The one that won’t stop talking.  The one that can’t sit in his seat for more than 15 seconds at a time.  The one that always has a story to tell you about his weekend, and insists on telling you about it at the most inconvenient time.  The one that always brings some memento to school from ______, even though he’s been told repeatedly not to bring toys to school.  The one that NEVER has his spelling packet turned in on time.  The one that consequently stays in from PE or recess to finish that assignment every week.

So there we were in my classroom, just the two of us.  I was grading papers, and he was working away on the spelling packet, music playing from the Pandora Frank Sinatra Station on my computer.  Suddenly I heard a voice quietly singing “What a Wonderful World” along with Louis Armstrong.  It was a surprisingly sweet voice that was even on key!  I listened for a few lines, not really sure what to say or do.  I don’t think he even remembered that I was still in the room.  Pretty soon I said, “It makes me happy that you know this song.”

He replied, “Oh, I have Louis Armstrong on my iPod.  I really like him.” 

Every once in a while a *heart flutter* happens when I least expect it.  THAT is why I love teaching.