Check Out My Kicks!

Hmm... what do you think of me and my ruby slippers? Are they me?! <wink> I was reading blogstalking the Lifelong learning blog and came across another great blog to stalk... err... read: Ingles360. Here's another random fact about Mr. B... Yo hablo un poquito de español. Back when I was using the language on a regular basis, I could actually hold a decent conversation, but alas... over the years my conversational skills have atrophied and I can stumble my way through a conversation here or there. Anyway, I digress... Ana at Ingles360 (also with Teaching Blog Addict) has this linky party going on where you share what a "normal" day looks like. 








 For starters, I'm in desperate need of new shoes. I'm sporting flip flops right now, but now that I'm wanting to go back to the gym and school is starting back up, I need some new kicks. I was looking around online and found a pair of Nike tennis shoes from Lance Armstrong's LIVESTRONG collection.

 Nice, right?! I wish I had the $$ to buy these, but I'm sure I can find something like it at Shoe Carnival or something. Anyhoot... on to the meat & potatoes of the linky. Here's what a day looked like for me last school year:

5:30am - Alarm goes off and I hit snooze.

5:45am - Alarm goes off again, and... I hit snooze again.

6:00am - Alarm goes off and I drag my lazy rear to the kitchen, turn on the Keurig, and stumble my way back to the bedroom to get ready for the day.

6:20am - Make my coffee, gather my things, and meet up with the carpool by 6:35am.

7:00am - The carpool makes it to school and we head to our classrooms to get prepped for the day.

7:30am - Students arrive. Most of them will go eat breakfast in the cafeteria, but some will stick around the classroom to get started on morning work, or head to the library to check out books.

8:05am - Tardy bell rings and we start our day with Morning Meeting. Check out the link to Morning Meeting if you don't know what this is. It's a great way to start the day! You can also look at the Responsive Classroom website for more information.

8:30am - Spelling/Word Work - The school district I worked for had us to a spelling list out of our basal series. I taught the spelling pattern, the kids studied, and we had a test on Friday. I really didn't enjoy this part of the day, but we got it done.

8:45am - Writer's Workshop: mini-lesson, independent work, and sharing, if we had time. Also threw some grammar in here for some good measure.

9:15am - Guided Reading/Daily 5 Block - I started with a strategy mini-lesson and then went into guided reading/D5 choices (Word Work [spelling], Work on Writing, Read to Self, Meet with Teacher). This changed a lot over the course of the school year because we just started this, but I am excited to work with experienced D5 teachers next year. 

10:30am - Science - I have to admit a lot of times reading spilled into our science time. We were lucky to get 15-20 minutes of science in each day. Wednesdays were a little different because we had an extension program come in and do some science enrichment with our kids.

11:00am - Specials - Break/Plan Time for Mr. B! Each Tuesday our team meets with our principal and instructional coaches to collaboratively plan and go over assessment data.

11:55am - Rush to get the kids from specials and take them to LUNCH!

12:30pm - Math - I tried a guided math approach with my 4th graders last year, and I'm hoping I can do this next year in my new school. We did a mini-lesson on the concept, then broke off into math stations: Independent Work, Rocket Math (math facts), Computers (math games), and Work with the Teacher.

2:00pm - Recess - I had duty 3 out of 5 days, but on my off days, I tried to get as much grading, planning, and communicating done.

2:30pm - Social Studies - A quick Missouri History lesson and activity.

3:00pm - Get ready to go home! Take bus riders to their lines, make sure car riders are where they should be, and get my tutoring kids for tutoring on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

3:30pm - Pack up and head home with the carpool!

4:15pm - Honey, I'm home! Wait, she's not home yet. Let the dogs out and time for a nap!

4:30pm - Ok, I really should think about getting dinner started.

5:30pm - The wife enters... Honey, I'm home! We eat dinner and spend the rest of our night working on our Pampered Chef business, grading papers, and catching up on a few of our favorite shows.

10:00pm - Mr. B is ready for bed!

Hopefully by this time next year, my wife and I will have our own little one to add to the schedule, but this was a typical day for me as a teacher. Share your craziness with the rest of the world by linking up at Ingles360 and show some "cowabunga" (comment) love down below! :)