Michigan Blogger MEET up!

Are you in Michigan right now?

Are you going to be on July 29th?

 Would you like to meet other bloggers? (you know those people that your husband says aren't real people. . . they are just "CYBER" friends!!!)

Kimberly at Funky in First Grade,

Maria from Be the Difference, 

and Erin at Kleinspiration 

have made all the plans to meet at

Bigby Coffee in Northville, MI (that's near Detroit)

on Sunday, July 29th from 2-4:00 pm.

I don't know if they need to know who is coming, but it might be a good idea to let them know, in case our crowd gets so big we can't fit in Bigbys!  I think we could change the name of the meet up to Big Bloggers, (not big in size of body, but big in size of group!!!)

I plan on attending and hope that others in Michigan will also come. Pass the word along to others if you wish.

Patty

South Haven, a good distraction!

I SOOO love reading your blogs. . . you reinforce my beliefs. . . .

Yes you are all (or mostly all) teachers and you are as addicted to   love teaching as much as I do! Yes it is summer time and yes it is a time to take a break from teaching. . .. . . but are we? REALLY?

I guess my brain doesn't have the OFF switch some other teachers do. I can start a conversation at any time with any one about teaching.

Now both of my kids (who are teachers and very good teachers too!) get after me and tell me to NOT talk about teaching, because it is summer time!

How is it that they can let it go and I can't?

Maybe that's why my daughter Mackenzie suggested that we take a little road trip to South Haven and Lake Michigan today. It's only about an hour and a half drive  for us and it is a quaint and cozy town. If any of you live near there, I have one question for you. . . . do you get as big a thrill about seeing the beach as I do because you can see it every day?

We had a scrumptious lunch on a boat (that is not moving!). We got to sit outside and I LOVE eating outside in the summer time! The sun was warm and the breeze was perfect! We had a great lunch!

Isn't she a cutie-pie?

Then we strolled through some cute, adorable shops and found lots of things to giggle about and wish we could have one of each! The trip wouldn't be complete without a stop at Kilwins for some ice cream. We even sat outside to eat that and played a game of checkers while we ate!

She did beat me, but that's because I taught her some great strategies for playing when she was younger!

Then we walked down to the pier and the beach.

It got very windy and there were cool white caps.

Some people were swimming but the water temperature said 68 degrees!!! Brrrrrrr!!

The best part of this pier is the light house at the end.

We drove around looking for houses to rent for a future vacation. Mackenzie and I are both dreamers and love to make plans whether we actually follow through on them or not. There are beautiful homes with great views. Maybe someday we'll actually take some time to rent a place here.

And in the end, I didn't think of school stuff all day long. . . this trip was an uber distraction and exactly what I needed. (Besides loving the one on one time I had with Mackenzie!)

So for anyone who doesn't live on the west side of Michigan,

you have now been given a tour of a special part of our state.

Actually it would look even better if you came here and found out for yourself how cool it is!

I hope you enjoyed this NON educational vacation away from the ordinary!



THANKS Mackenzie! I (puffy heart) luv, love, LOVE you!

Patty

Exercising with Gusto! and my sister, too!

Do any of you use your summer break to "try" to get in more exercise?
I do, I feel that it's my best time because my schedule allows so much more freedom. Finding time during the school year to commit to an exercise regime is very hard,  work,   useless,   impossible,    tough to do.

I have a sister who teaches 4th grade in a nearby town. (Have I ever mentioned her? hmmmm ? I don't think I have. . . . but then again, I don't think she reads this, so I have no worries!)

We started out this week on Sunday walking up and down big hills on her road. We walked 4.5 miles and got quite a work out. So much so, she wanted to repeat it for the next day. . .  did I tell you that she is NINE years younger than me. . . .? AND that NINE years means a lot of difference in ability to work out!

Anyway we did that for 3 days this week. She had to cancel on me again this morning. So now that my daughter is home from Texas, (did I mention that either? Well she is and she's already very fit and works out all the time during the school year, AND she is a teacher! YES I know, we have a lot of teachers in our family. . . but that's another story someday!)

So today we decide to take a different course. . . . the high school track! Yippee skippee. . . 4 times around makes one mile. . . simple! RIGHT? . . . . WRONG! We decide to add a little "umpf" to our work out and climb the bleachers also. . . . and not just once. . . .we go up them, down them, up them, down them, up them, and down them one more time. . . and then back around the track and repeat the bleacher routine for a total for FOUR times.  By the time we walk there and home, we have put on 3.66 miles. (that's according to my Nike wristband that tells me how far I'm going and how many calories I've burned.)

Now I have to ask myself. . . is the walk up and down the hills better or worse than the walk up and down the bleachers. . . What do you think?

To add to all that exercising today, our cable went out around 11:00. Doesn't sound so bad does it?

So what . . . no TV. . . we can do that!!! But then my husband realized that the Tigers (as in Detroit) are playing at 1:00 and that tv better be back on! 

Not only was the TV out, but the house phone AND the internet were down. . . Now you're messing with me!! NO internet all day? What's up with that?
We survived. . . there were games played, lots of cooking and preparing meals for a couple days, shopping done, and even a few naps were thrown in for good measure.  Talk about dependence on the CABLE! It finally came back on around 5:45 and life is all good now.  I can blog stalk a bit more today before I try to make something for school to share with you.


Ok, I'm done, go read someone else. . . and I will too!

Patty

Manic Monday Freebie

http://www.classroomfreebies.com/2012/06/welcome-to-manic-monday-at-classroom_18.html

Today I'm posting the flashlight poem for anyone who might have missed it before. It was a big hit as far as those who left messages said. So I thought I would put it up again on Manic Mondays in case someone missed it.  Go to this link to read more about it. Freebie

Patty

200!!! NO Kidding! + Blogging updates

HOLEE SAMOLEE!!! Look at my followers!

A couple days ago, I had 130. Then Christina announced her Blog Birthday party and wa-la! I'm up to 200.

I guess that's what friends are for! So THANK YOU Miss Christina! You Rock and ROLL! After she has her give away later this week, come back and visit me and I'll have a free gift for all of you, just for joining my blog!

Did you know that once you click on FOLLOW to follow someone's blog, if you go into the layout of your blog and update the blogs you follow, all those new blogs you are now following will be listed in the blogs YOU follow on your page. . . .?

Do you follow?

 That's a lot to follow so if you need more directions to follow, please let me know and I'll figure out another way to let you know how to specifically do that. 

I know that sometimes I forget to do that and I miss out on a lot of good ideas and good writing.

Another thing I'd like to remind you is that when you are following new people, check out what they have created. Go back in their files or freebies or subjects that you are interested in and see if they have something you'd like.

And ONE more thing. . . Don't forget that Classroom Freebies offers a lot of free stuff on Mondays. So check out her page tomorrow all day long and maybe you'll find some new blogs or an idea that you'd love to have.  And YOU can submit your freebies there too so others can find you and your awesome ideas.

I can tell that I'm finally on summer break because I took two, not one, but TWO naps today. . .Who does that during the school year? Not me!! But since I knew I could I did. Did anyone else get a nap in today?
Patty

Locker Fairy Freebie (it's a repeat!)

Last week our library cleaned out books that weren't being checked out much. They stamp them with DISCARD and let the teachers take what ever they'd like. I grabbed a bunch of them and stuck them in the lockers of my kids with a note attached that said, "Just for you from the Locker Fairy!

When the kids returned the next morning, they were so excited to get something from the Locker Fairy!

One little guy even said, "Yea, I got this cool book from the Locker Fairy and I think she stole it from the Library!" Too cute!

The kids have their suspicions about who the Locker Fairy is, but I never let on! You can get your Locker Fairy notes here. They are created in color, but if you print them in black and white they do just fine.

I know that it's the end of the year, but if you're cleaning out cupboards and find stuff that you know someone would love, stick it in their locker with this note and see their faces glow. Sometimes we give to everyone and sometimes, it's just a couple kids.

I am going to become invisible for the rest of this week.  I feel attracted to blogging, but I really must push myself away so that I'm not up till past midnight on Wednesday night. I have report cards to finish as well as assessments to complete.

Tomorrow after school I am bringing 10 of my students to my house because they have completed or are currently working on Divison facts in our Rocket Math. They will come just for an hour and a half, but they love it a lot. I live next door to a park which has a community playground that everyone likes to play on. Plus they like to see my house and where I eat and where I check papers and where my bed is. . . it's a very fun experience to watch their eyes light up.

Plus I must leave time in my schedule to see my granddaughter. I am already in love and am such a sap over seeing her. She's changed so much already. 

Here's my favorite picture. . . and then I'll quit. . . .

 Have a lot of fun whether you are done or near done!


I AM counting. . . 4 days with kids, one with staff! Boo ya!

Patty

She's HERE! And so worth the wait!

This is my first granddaughter. She arrived this afternoon and we are so happy to have her.

Her Mom and Dad are doing very well. 

 Now I'll have to turn into one of those grammas that only talks about their grand child!

Doesn't this picture make you just want to go 'aaaaahhhhhh!!'

She feels like the skin on a peach. . . oh so soft.

And her butt is so little and round.

Can you hear my voice when I'm writing? Can you put a picture in your mind?

If so, then I've done my job and I can quit teaching for the year!

 Enjoy the view. . . I'll be back in a few days

with more activities for school,

but for now,

I'm on gramma break!

Patty

Stay tuned... Something big is happening!

Can't say much now....just hang in there for more info later tonight! Patty

You're GOING To Hawaii! For FREE!

Have you ever been to Hawaii?

Me neither.

Wanna go?

Me too!

Did you catch that it's free? Yuppers, no money, no credit cards, and no checks.

You can get there by the tips of your fingers.
Here's how.  . . .

My friend Corinna at Surfin' Through Second is having a virtual tour of Hawaii. She's even sharing the language too. Imagine having to teach your students a new language? I know many of us do with the many different nationalities we teach, but this just seems very fascinating to me.

If you visit today, she's telling about the island of Oahu that she lives on and how there really is a difference between the country and the town people!! Very cool.

So hop on over  to see Corinna. Tell her I sent you and enjoy the weather while you're there.

I don't know that I will ever get over there, so for now, this virtual tour and our friendship is going to have to hold me over. Won't you join me in this adventure?

P.S. Still no baby. . . She is 3 days over due right now. . .Mom is ready to go. . . but that baby loves her mommy hotel so much she may not come out for a while!


Patty