Spring Break Reflections

Spring Break did not turn out how I expected. 

Warning: There is nothing school related in this post.  

We were scheduled to go to San Antonio Monday through Wednesday. My son was scheduled for surgery Tuesday morning. We were glad to be doing this during Spring Break so he and I wouldn't miss more school. 

Tuesday morning we woke up at 5am and headed to the surgery center. Thankfully the hotel we were in was close, but it was early! 

Long story short here. My son had a low grade fever and his oxygen levels were low so they wouldn't do the surgery. Obviously, we wouldn't take a chance for complications, but I was disappointed. 

We decided not to go home and just stay in San Antonio like we had originally planned. I made an appointment with our pediatrician for the following day and we just hung out. We couldn't do much, but we did go to the movies. That Mr. Peabody is really cute, at least the boys liked it. 

We came home Wednesday afternoon. Saw the doctor and just hung out. His oxygen was fine. He has a lower respiratory infection and is being treated for that. 

Thursday was a wasted day. I had to help my husband with something and it took all day. 

So, it's Friday. It's Pi Day. I love this day. We are always on Spring Break on Pi Day. It kind of stinks. My 16 year old wants me to make a pie. He's comical! 

I have so much to do. I had hopes for getting so much done while my son was recovering. I have today. I am hoping to make it productive. But, the youngest has woke up a little sick. I feel kind of yukky. And the to do list looks a little overwhelming. 

Emotionally I am drained. 

And now, its Saturday... 

I did work yesterday. Actually went to school for a few hours and copied a bunch of stuff. My lesson plans are done for next week. 

We now have a new surgery date. March 25th, which is also my birthday. 

This is a Tuesday. I will miss four more days of school. Hollister will miss four days of school. I am not happy. Now I have four days of sub plans to write. The state test is inching closer, I am starting to panic!  

Not only am I emotionally drained, I am now officially sick. I have two days to suck it up before school on Monday. 

Spring Break has not been enjoyable, it has not been relaxing.

I want a mulligan! (That's a do over for you non-golf people!) 

I am being a downer, I know. I am in a funk. I have to get out of it. 

I am blaming the weather. 

Spring break means, SPRING, not two weeks before Spring officially begins. I am blaming our state colleges. They are the ones who determine when their Spring Break break is and our districts match theirs. 

If you actually made it through this miserable post, I am  so sorry. I promise to be more upbeat with my next post. 

For now, this is where I will be: 

Pi Day Cuteness- Just for Fun

This is my youngest. This was two years ago. 

We aren't in school on Pi Day, so I involve my own kids. 

I found these and thought they were so cute. 

Happy Pi Day! 

Tried it Tuesday- Pi Edition

I'm on Spring Break! 

I am sharing an activity I tried last year. 

We aren't in school on Pi Day (3-14), we are always on Spring Break. It kind of stinks for having a fun "Math Day Theme".  We also don't teach circles around this time, so we have actually already completed this activity this year. 

I created this activity last year when I taught circles. I had to have something fun. My kids loved it, except they said it made them hungry. 

Click here to get this activity free. 

Last year we also blew bubbles to find circumference and area of circles.  This was super fun! 

Click here for a free bubble recording sheet. 

Saturday Motivation- Battleship Game

It's Saturday and I am officially on Spring Break!!! I don't like that it is so early, but I am so glad for a break! 

I'm linking up with Joanne to share how I survived the day before Spring Break with sixth graders. 

This past week, we were all wired, teachers mostly! 

We had benchmarks to keep our students focused! It worked for the most part. I knew Friday I would have to be creative or go crazy. 

I purchased this game during the big sale at the end of February. I have seen many out there, this is the BEST!!!! 

source

This game comes with the option of using one quadrant or all four. 

I made all the boards and they were magically laminated in a days notice. 

(That never happens!) I lucked out that the aide who laminates had some extra time. 

As I was at home tossing and turning at 5am one morning, I started thinking, "How is this Battleship game going to work?" I don't have enough dry erase markers, I need erasers (socks in my guess), students need different colors, etc... I started panicking.  Then, I thought, they can just write it down, we can use x's and o's for hits and misses. I finally just got out of bed and started my day. Am I the only teacher who brainstorms in her bed? 

Friday comes, first period, I explain and it all goes well! I played with a student, we had so much fun! 

Second period, I played again with a student, it was still fun. 

Third period, I didn't want to play, I had reached my fun-o-meter . So, I made a group of three. It worked! I was surprised, but they totally got it. 

Some of the kids didn't though. I needed to be up and moving around. In retrospect, I should have done this class with quadrant one only. But, the challenge was good for them too. 

My afternoon classes went beautifully. It was a little loud, but heck, they were playing a game, that's to be expected. 

My afternoon classes also came up with a solution for the folders falling. They used our privacy  folders. I thought it was pretty smart of them to pull them out! 

This is how my board looked for game two. I marked all the misses and hits I guessed.  

This is how one of my boards looked for my ships. I only had to mark when they hit my ships. 

The beauty of teaching math is, it can fun. Games are PERFECT for math. Students were practicing ordered pairs. They were engaged! I was hoping for a walk through. But of course, glad it didn't happen. 

Plus, it was a great way to keep sane the Friday before Spring Break!!! 

Tried It Tuesday- Flies, Flies, Everywhere!

Today for Tried It Tuesday, I am sharing a lesson I got from another blog. 

This lesson comes completely from Math = Love. I pretty much read her blog and copied how she taught coordinate pairs and a coordinate grid. She has all the PDFs on her blog. 

My students LOVED it. 

These foldables were so fun and easy to make. Plus,  they are full of information. 

  

The following day, when they came in, yellow flies were all over the room. They loved coming in and seeing the flies everywhere. I made them bright yellow on purpose. My room is covered in posters and stuff, so I needed them to stick out. I wanted them to walk in and know something was different. One student even walked in from the hallway who I have later in the day and said, "What are the flies for?" I made her wait until 6th period to find out. 

Some of them, honestly didn't even notice them until I said, "Go get a fly from the wall." 

Every student had a ordered pair to place on the grid. It worked so well.  When students made mistakes, i would just ask, "are they correct?" At least one student knew they weren't. I just facilitated, they taught each other. It was really a great activity. 

Afterward, one student said, "Now, I get it." 

Another said, "This is fun." 

Those of course are words that make me love what I do. It was cheap to make, really cheap. It took an hour of my husband's time.Yep, my wonderful husband made the grid for me. He is a perfectionist and it really bothered him that it wasn't perfect, but I think it is awesome! 

He isn't into my school stuff. He stays far far away from it normally. But if I ask, he always helps. 

I bought a cheap shower curtain and my husband already had the electrical tape. I had the duct tape at school. Seriously, cheap! 

 He is such a perfectionist! Don't tell him he's on my blog though. 

He wouldn't like it. It'll be our little secret, okay? 

The almost finished product. I had the duct tape at school so I added that before class. 

I love it and I love the activity. It's a keeper! I found it in December, and kept reminding myself I wanted to do it when we finally got to coordinate grids. The grid held up with 130+ feet on it and all types of shoes. It folded up nicely and neatly and it made for a wonderful Monday activity. (The Monday before Spring Break, I might add!) 

Don't forget to link up and Holly and share what you are trying! 

And, go join in Diane's March Madness Giveaway. It looks like so much fun! She is recruiting for players right now and there are so great prizes to be won during the tournament!