(second) FIRST BIRTHDAY PARTY!

Okay so their twins right?! They got two parties: one where we live now (my fam) and one where we used to live (with shug's fam).  So the party went spectacular and made lots of cute cute CUTE decorations! My phone is freaking out today so no pictures posts today! Hopefully tomorrow! Technology is SUCH A BEAUTIFUL THING when the operator knows how to work it, am I RIGHT OR WHAT?

The X-Men (as we lovingly refer to them due to their names both having x's in them) had a blast! They loved their new toys and even did a good job at sharing them!
So...
I guess you're wondering where teaching falls into this...well I thought you would never ask! ;)

Since our theme is Dr. Seuss this year! I was able to make all these wonderful decorations to use the the birthday party that will DOUBLE as classroom decorations when I go back to teaching! You can make them too! They are not hard AT ALL to make and with everyday stuff too! That's just my style! I've made truffula trees for the library, banners for the walls {if they'll stay up on those cinder block walls}, bulletin board cut outs {I cheated, I bought those}, and lots of wonderful ideas for learning games, too! The boys also got a large selection of Dr. Seuss books so I'll have some to take to school during Read Across America day (although we like to celebrate it in the classroom for a week)!

Can't wait to show you pics...hopefully tomorrow!

Now off to the beach...the twins can't wait to eat some sand! :)

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While this isn't teaching related...IT''S DEF TWIN RELATED!

Good morning wherever you are...it's 2 am here! And I just love staying up late and preparing things for my little ones! It all started when I was a new teacher and my nasty habit of procrastination caused me to have to stay up all night to get something done but now...NOW...it's all about preparing for the excitement! My Shug (my hubs) thinks I'm crazy and can't understand it...and I'm not sure I understand it either but it gets me all worked up over the next day's upcoming event!! Now that we have our own little ones, the all nighters occur more frequently! Thanksgiving, Christmas, Easter, and now their very own ONE YEAR OLD BIRTHDAY! Well, actually this is their second ONE YEAR OLD BIRTHDAY PARTY but still extremely exciting none-the-less. This years theme is none other than Dr. Seuss himself!

image from here

Yay!!!! And all of our food is linked up to a book of his! How exciting this was to create for the boys! I enjoyed every single moment of creating this gathering for them! And it was a great excuse to buy/create some Dr. Seuss decor that I may be able to use in my classroom when I go back! Super exciting! It's like a two-for-one expense!!! 

I got the original inspiration from this wonderful blog post by kristi @ kristi.makes. 

I am not as talented as she but I did make a valiant effort! :) 

And the boys will love it (or not notice it) anyway!

I'm still making some things so I'll post some photos of the party tomorrow...meaning Monday! :) 

Truffula Trees:

Banners:

Fish Bowl:

Dr. Seuss Bulletin Board Set:

Books:

Picture Book Linky Party with First Grade and Fabulous

MY FIRST LINKY PARTY! SOOOOO EXCITED! 

click here if I didn't link up correctly!

I was just browsing when I stumbled upon First Grade and Fabulous and her love of reading children's books and I swear I was looking in a mirror! In fact, my husband and I just went into Barnes and Nobles today and where did I head immediately...THAT'S RIGHT, the CHILDREN'S section! :)  It's so warm and welcoming there just like we all want our classroom library to be!

ANYHOW, I am sharing the book, "Oh, the Places You'll Go!" by Dr. Seuss

There are so very many wonderful activities to do with this book! I like to read it at the beginning of the year and get the children excited about the prospects of a new school year! We usually have a discussion about GOALS and ask the children to set two goals for themselves: one to accomplish before Christmas (short term) and one to accomplish by the end of the school year (long term). Usually this consists of something to do with the HONOR ROLL since second grade (which is what grade I last taught) is when they can start receiving this recognition in our schools. The next time I do this activity I'm going to have children record their goal in their data notebook so they have a constant reminder. 

Hope you enjoy using this book at the beginning of YOUR school year! Happy Reading! :) 

Polly 

Hello To You All!

Well, where I'm from, we'd say "y'all" but don't want my southern accent to steer any one away!! I am an  licensed elementary teacher living in North Carolina who has...TWIN BOYS! You guessed it! :) They are the most beautiful angels that ever walked the face of this Earth (Can you guess I'm a proud mommy?) and I have been blessed to stay at home with them for a year and maybe two! Yay! But I miss my teacher family so much! I love organizing, creating, planning, and the CHILDREN! So I am starting my official teaching blog today! TODAY! Yay! I'm so excited!!!
2010...I learned about blogs from my wonderful professor while in graduate school! She reminded us that it was important to have an online presence in the teaching community. And to have the opportunity to share with teachers across the nation or world for that matter! For one of our class assignments, we were to create a blog and post to it once a week and comment on our cohort's pages as well! At the time it seemed to tedious due to other assignments, lesson planning, etc! You all know how busy our lives can get! I completed my assignment by posting and commenting but only to my other colleagues.
LET'S FAST FORWARD TO THE PRESENT...I'm staying home with those beautiful boys and I need my teacher fix! Don't get me wrong...they keep me quite busy but you know how us teachers are! We crave learning new stuff and tricks of the trade! I have been so inspired by all of you teacher bloggers out there! First of all, to find the time to whip up these phenomenal blog posts and interesting ideas to try in the classroom is AMAZING! I applaud you 100%! And I want to join in the world of blogging too!! You have inspired me!!  And I hope maybe I can inspire you at some point! Right?! That's what we all do! INSPIRE...maybe they should change our names from TEACHERS to INSPIRERERS!  LOL spell check is having a fit over that word! :)
So my goal is to post at least once a week and to read teacher blogs at least 15 minutes everyday and make a comment or two as I go!
Please follow me on my journey!