Are you tired of only receiving bills in your mailbox?   Are you sick of pitching junk mail into your recycling bin?   Do you want to connect with teachers all over the country, and even some across the ocean?   Does the idea of  having a mystery package arrive on your doorstep every month appeal to you?     Would having a pen pal who is also a teacher-blogger add a new dimension to your current circle of friends? Then participating in   Jameson's SLANT BOX EXCHANGE   is  "just the ticket"  for you! I stumbled upon this FUN monthly link up while surfing through cyberspace one night, and was intrigued enough to participate!  Being new to the whole blogging realm, I figured it would help me learn, network, and build relationships with fellow writers and educators.  Receiving a package of personalized goodies would just be a bonus! Betsy from Battle Creek, a K/1 looping educator, was my SLANT Box "designer" and sh...

Raise your hand if you are wearing your favorite Beatles t-shirt and puppy pajama pants and it is only 8 o'clock on a Friday night!   Raise your hand if you are physically WIPED OUT after trying to manage a classroom full of students who would rather talk with or tattletale on each other than listen to you. Raise your hand if you feel like this.....   Raise your hand if you are about ready to throw all of your test results, progress reports, and piles of papers to grade out the window and retire with me to this grand place in Tennessee called the Old Dog Sanctuary.  We can commune with this grand pack of senior dogs and live our twilight years free of all things data-driven!   Raise your hand if you would just like me to get to my   DOODLEBUGS post and stop asking you to raise you hand! Ha! As you can probably surmise from the tone and content of the above comments, this week has been a true test of my endurance and patience...

Woo hoo!  We are 8 days away from summer vacation and I am linking up with the lovely Christina from SUGAR AND SPICE   to share the highlight of last week! After many years of not hosting an author/illustrator visit, my school welcomed Steve Harpster on Friday, May 23rd!  His method of creating animals, monsters, creepy critters, dragons, and sea creatures from letters and numbers absolutely mesmerized both our staff and students, and we all came away from the day feeling like accomplished artists!    As the coordinator of the event, I was BEYOND tired, stressed, and over-stimulated about all of the details involved in coordinating the day's activities, but this conversation with one of my second graders at dismissal time made every minute of time and planning I'd invested absolutely worthwhile.....   T:     You know what, Mrs. Reynolds? Me:   What, T? T:     Today was a GREAT day! Me:  I'm so glad you thought so!  What was your favorite part? ...

Greetings Holiday Weekend Blog Hoppers ! I know that you are anxious for me to reveal the identity of the blogger I admire, but please indulge me just a little bit longer while I share a story that explains the reason I chose this particular person to rave about!    Just a few weeks ago, I'd written in either a FIVE FOR FRIDAY or CURRENTLY link-up post about my continued self-doubt about the worthiness of my TpT products and blog posts.  It was one of those days where both undertakings seemed overwhelming on top of my everyday school and family life, and I was wondering if I was up to or worthy of the challenge.  Later that day, I received a notice that Jayne Gammons from Smart Kids had left this comment: KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK! Those five simple and straightforward words meant so much to me--especially with the "avalanche" of the end-of-the-school-year" responsibilities and activities weighing heavy upon me at that particular point.  Th...