Paris and London

Wednesday, December 9, 2015


Hi Everyone,

Over Thanksgiving break my sister and I took a trip to Europe to meet up with my oldest daughter who is studying abroad this semester.  Lauren is studying in Germany but has been traveling all over Europe on the weekends, so we met her in Paris (a city she hadn't been to yet) for Thanksgiving.

My trip with my sister started in London.  We had a direct flight from San Diego to London on British Airways.  We flew business class so the 11 hour flight was pure joy.  I had a little pod all to myself that aligned with her pod so we could visit.  My seat reclined into a bed and had it's own little TV, blanket and pillow.  Did I say it was pure heaven?



We landed in London and did all the touristy things.  We ate in a pub, shopped on Oxford Street, took a bus tour of the city, saw the Queen, ate fish and chips, had high tea at Fortnum & Masons, visited the Tower of London, and saw the Horse Guard.


The Royal Life Guards


The Life Guards on their way to Buckingham Palace.


The Queen just drove past us!


Cozy afternoon tea.


You can see Big Ben through the London Eye.


Buckingham Palace


Dinner at the Barley Mow Pub.


The Court Building


The Tower Bridge


Fish and Chips


To get to Paris we took the EuroStar through the Chunnel!  This was a first for my sister as she has always been on airplanes when she travels.  It's not easy to do "firsts" with her as she has been all over the world and done so many things so this was a real treat for both of us.

At the train station.

We met my daughter Lauren in Paris and did all the touristy things there.  We ate lunch on the Eiffel Tower, took a bus tour of the city, visited the Louvre, the Musee d'Orsay, the Musee de l'Orangerie, the Catacombs, Notre Dame, Sacre-Coeur, and ate Nutella/banana crepes.  I was able to check off most of the things on my todo list.  I wish we could have stayed a few more days.

Our hotel was right by the Arc de Triomphe so this is how we started each day in Paris.


It rained off and on so we always carried umbrellas.


Notre Dame Cathedral


Our Thanksgiving Dinner. Croque-Monsieur sandwiches.
Standing under the Arc de Triomphe.  


Our first stop in the Louvre was to see the Mona Lisa.


Musee d'Orsay


Walking along the Seine.



On the Eiffel Tower.


Sitting on the steps on the way up to the Sacre-Coeur.


Montmartre's art square.  We bought a few oil paintings here.


The Eiffel Tower at night.  It actually sparkles for a few minutes each hour!


Nutella and banana crepes from a street vendor.  YUM!


Diving into one of Monet's giant water lily paintings.


All wrapped up and ready for the outdoor christmas markets.


On the Eiffel Tower


Macaroons


Eating macaroons on the Eiffel Tower.


It was all so much fun and such a whirl wind.  I loved both cities and am hard pressed to decide which I liked better.  I would definitely love to go back to both cities- we'll see.  There are so many other places that I would like to visit as well.  Who knows where life will take me next.


Glyphs

Tuesday, November 10, 2015
Do you use glyphs in your classroom?  I love to use glyphs in my classroom.  Why?  Well, glyphs are a great way to collect data about my class.  I ask kids some questions, and based on their answers they build a cute art project.  You display this art in your math center and go back to the art to collect and analyze the data.  Here is my view of what a glyph is in a nutshell...
why use a glyph?

I make seasonal glyphs:





I connect glyphs to my units of study.


I also love to make glyphs just for the fun of it.
My kindergartners always need more cutting activities to strengthen their fine motor muscles and glyphs are a great (and fun) way to do that.


Here is my latest glyph... a Teddy Bear Glyph.




It comes with all this and will be available for only $1 for the next 3 days.  


If you have never made a glyph before, this is the perfect opportunity to give one a try.  Kids love them, they make an adorable bulletin board, and the bulletin board is not static; you will revisit it time and time again to collect and analyze the data displayed.  Administrators love it!





Currently November

Monday, November 2, 2015





Can you believe that it's November already?
My youngest turns 17 this month.  Wow!

Here's what's current with me...

I'm listening to my dogs run and play.  They are Pembroke Welsh Corgis and the breed is the smallest  of the herding dogs.  They love to chase each other around the house and yard- but especially the house.

Lucy is the oldest.  She is the boss.

Headed outside.  Don't you love the corgi butts?

 Cooper.  He loves to get dressed up- no really, he does!


I'm loving my class this year.  I have 28 TK kiddos and they are all amazing kids.  Every day they make me laugh in some way.  They are kind, thoughtful, smart, funny, busy, inquisitive, talkative, friendly, and so much more.  
This is always the time of year when I realize that I've bonded with my kids, and they are no longer my students, but my kids.  I'm sad that I have to give them over to a new teacher in January.  They are part of our TK Dual Language Program and alas, I don't speak a second language (but they will soon).

I'm thinking about my upcoming trip to London and Paris over the Thanksgiving Break.  My oldest daughter is doing a semester abroad in Germany and she will meet us in Paris for a bit.  I've never been to Europe so I'm beyond excited.  I wish the trip was for a longer duration, but it is what it is.  I will just have to narrow my sightseeing list to something more manageable. (Can that be done??)

I'm wanting my toe to heal.  I broke my toe last week at school and I've been hobbling/crutching around campus.  It's such a drag.  I'm desperately hoping that it heals by my trip!

I'm needing to work on report cards but I've got to finish assessing first.  In kindergarten, each assessment is individual so they take forever!  I am learning a lot though and can use that to guide my planning.  Next weekend is my daughter's birthday and sadly, that will also be my major report card writing time. (I wish we were given time during the work week to get these done).

Yummy- Pumpkin Bread.  
I have a great recipe for pumpkin bread that I will share with you.  It's moist and oh so delicious.  I'm not a big fan of other pumpkin breads, but this one I can't get enough of.  I hope you like it!

Thanks for stopping by!  






A sweet get well gift from a student

Saturday, October 31, 2015

I broke my toe this week and one of my sweet students made me this get well bag. It has everything a teacher needs to...
Posted by Kinder Irick on Friday, October 30, 2015



Oh Snap! It's Almost November!

Thursday, October 15, 2015


Oh Snap! It's Almost November!

It feels like it October just started, but when you look at the calendar, November is right around the corner so it's time to start planning.

I'm linking up today with the bloggers over at Teacher Deals and Dollar Steals for their fabulous monthly linky party.  I don't know about you, but I absolutely LOVE that blog.  It's a great place to get deals on some wonderful products.

Thinking ahead to November, here is one of my favorite bulletin boards.  It's my TURKEY GLYPH.
If you don't know what a glyph is, it's a pictorial way to collect and organize data



Kids answer questions and based upon those answers they build a turkey. The turkeys come out really cute and they make a beautiful bulletin board.  We like to decorate the front office with ours.  All the parents who come into the office get a chuckle from the signs the turkeys are holding.

The Turkey Glyph contains:
 directions and black line masters for making the turkeys, a glyph key, a glyph book, a poem, a literacy center idea, a data collection sheet, and photos of completed turkeys.

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I also have a fun Turkey Tail Patterning activity.  

In this activity, kids use pattern blocks to make a circular pattern around the turkey tail.  Then they glue the turkey body on top and add the beak, eyes and legs.  This also looks great on the wall and covers so many skills.  Kids have a lot of practice making patterns in a straight line, but can they transfer that knowledge to a circular shape?  You will be surprised at how this simple activity really stretches their thinking.




Aren't these cute?
Grab them now and get ready for November.



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