Holiday Snaps and Freebie!

Hulloh! I'm baaack!

After 2 wonderful weeks of sunshine, sangria and fabulous times, I'm now home. Apologies for the long absence, especially so close to my blog 'début' but in all honesty I feel no regret, the holiday was just fabulous! I thought I'd take the opportunity to share some snaps and highlights and so give you my first little hello from the real me! I'm also going to take this opportunity to link up with Blog Hoppin's Teacher Week: Meet the Teacher...

...and hope you enjoy some insight into the behind-the-scenes of the blog! Here goes:

MJK welcoming me to the Puerto Banus harbour. What beautiful weather after grimy UK!

No judging - my family and I play tabletop role games when we're on holiday. It's so much fun! This time, my sister and her boyfriend got a little too much into their character: Shikage, and went all out with their costumes! He even made origami Ninja Stars!

Some of my 'beautiful' family gurning at me on a night out for a yummy dinner (see the yummy dinner below!)...

Yum! The.. best.. paella.. ever!

On the final night, we had a disco party. As MJK and I forgot to bring costumes (hits forehead), he decided to don one of my maxi dresses. There ensued much mirth and merriment! :)

The next stage of our holiday was in the county of Bouillon, Belgium. We went on a little wander around this beautiful town...

 

The view from the chateau was incredible!

 What a sweet set of in-laws I have too :D

The town was so wonderful, we went back the next day for more...

The best moules-frites I've ever had (which is saying something as I'm french!) and...

swan pedalos!!! Luckily, I didn't have to pedal, the men took care of that :)

We finished off our two weeks with a romantic 3-day break in Amsterdam. It was my first time but MJK had been several times before. I think he enjoyed playing tour guide a little too much. He even had the accessories down...

Luckily, we protected ourselves from the rain through other means!

 Yummy waffles (we had 2 - very greedy!)

At the Amsterdam Museum above a 'Walk on Art' carpet. Tens of individual squares of art from different local designers printed into a long runner carpet. Fabulous!

 Beautiful little sets of bowls at the market. How I wish we had a car with us :(

 Croquettes!! These and Febo fed us for the three days pretty much.

Delicious lattes at a bar in the Red Light District. I love that they were served in glasses!

After three brilliant days (and lots of googly-eyed stares at the sights of the city) it was time to go home. MJK, ever the sailor at heart, was super excited to see our boat...

Isn't he cute!? The boat was fabulous but the most glorious view was that of England in the morning as we came into harbour.

As they say... "There's no place like home."

Hope you enjoyed this little insight into my life and that you accept my apology for my digi-absence. :) As a little thank you for reading, take these Guided Reading Rotation cards that I made in my first few days of holiday. I'm looking forward to using them in class (I get into my classroom on Monday!!!) and hope you enjoy them too!

UPDATE: Just remembered that I got the inspiration for the cards from 4th Grade Frolic and her oh-so-generous Facebook Fan Freebie of a Daily 5 Rotation board. Big thank you to her for all the ideas and inspiration. Head on over and check out her fab Classroom Reveal that she's just posted. Super jealous!

Teacher Area Optimum Organization {PROJECT CLASSROOM SERIES}

It's that time of the week! Optimum Organization time! 

I'm sorry to say that, for the second week running, my organization is going to be planning-based with nothing concrete to show for it. We don't break up until Wednesday so at the moment my classroom is completely stripped of any paper, furnishings or trimmings and the kiddies and I are decamping to the field outside for all our lessons whilst another class uses our space. Therefore, I thought I'd use the opportunity to take some time to consider the organization of the central hub of our room - the Teacher Area.

Last year, my old room didn't have any space for a teacher area. I just ended up with a battered old desk tucked against the wall. This year, I decided to take action and commandeer an entire corner of our classroom as MINE! 

The only problem is, that corner of the classroom was pretty spacious and I consequently became pretty complacent about the space. I kept telling myself that it was neat and ordered and tidy and organized and shiny and beautiful and exemplary... You get the picture. That is, until I saw this photograph:

Aaargh!

Feel free to turn away now. I won't be offended if you never return. Who am I to provide organisational  tips with a command centre like this?! It doesn't get any better in my surrounding area either...

So, as I'm moving room again this year (4 years teaching, 4 different classrooms!), I get an opportunity to rethink these areas and have them ready mentally for when I move back into my new room in 3 weeks' time. (The setup there is very similar, with only the position of the shelves being different. I will still have the same amount of storage thank goodness!)

To do this, I'm going to use my 2 stars and a wish system that I use to mark the kiddies' books. (Although I definitely won't limit myself to those numbers!). The stars are what I like and the wish is what I would change. Here goes...

- The amount of storage I have! It's fab having all this space for the things I need and to have everything in one handy place.

- My hanging file organizer. This has revolutionised my paperwork organisation and general day-to-day life.

- My Teacher Toolbox. I heart this. See above :)

- My red and blue trays for homework and notes/lunch money to come in (although I'm definitely not precious about the trays themselves - just the system!)

- Baskets, baskets, baskets!!! For all the shelves, everywhere, lots of them.

- Labels!

- Some sort of the system for my maths resources. We don't have many manipulatives as we use a scheme that requires just a set few but I can't seem to find a good system to get them ready when I want them in lessons. Maybe tubs? Here are some ideas from some other brilliant bloggers:

Shelves and drawers from Fourth Grade Studio

Clear plastic tubs from A Cupcake for the Teacher

Rolling drawers from Mrs Freshwater's Class

What do you think? Probably clear tubs are the way to go for what I have mind.

- Contact paper/paint for the back of the shelves to cover the old walls

- Maybe some curtains to cover up the top/middle shelves. I don't use the things on there so much and  the curtains might cover and smarten things up.

So that's it for my rather measly contribution to an otherwise fab linky. Thanks to Kristen (Ladybug's Teacher Files) and Elizabeth (Fun in Room 4B) for hosting! I'll be off for the next couple of weeks on holiday but will hopefully have more to show after a few days in my new class. In the meanwhile, I'd love some suggestions with your thoughts on what I could do. Please let me know if anything springs to mind! :D

See you soon!

I love my Liebster Award! (and quite a bit About Me!)

Yesterday, when looking through comments from my first Monday Madness post I was absolutely gobsmacked to find two nominations for the Liebster Award. I am so utterly flattered, amazed and grateful to Katie and Mary for thinking of me and my newest venture. Let's hope I do them credit!

As I understand it, the Liebster Award is presented to new bloggers, with fewer than 200 followers. Liebster, a German word, means...

What a lovely award to receive! I feel all sparkly and twinkly. Thank you ladies! My part of the job is easy. :) I get to answer some questions about myself, which were posed by Mary and Katie, then list 11 random facts and nominate 5-11 further new blogs as my Liebsters. Here I go...

Questions from Mary

1.  How did you come up with your blog name?
My classroom always used to be known for being the messy one and although I'm getting better at it, I will always sacrifice short-term tidiness for the enjoyment and learning of the kiddies and that's the way I like it. :) I really wanted my blog title to reflect my personality and teaching priorities and explain how fundamental the children are to my classroom. Focus on the learning, not the teaching! 

2.  What type of music do you like?
Anything and everything. My iPod on Shuffle is one of the most hilarious/embarrassing things you will ever hear. Who doesn't love a blend of Killswitch Engage/Craig David/Taylor Swift?!

3.  What is your favorite sport to watch/play?
None. I am definitely an indoor gal. Unfortunately, my otherwise wonderful MJK is a devoted sports-lover and so I would have to say, my favourite sport to watch has to be football (soccer) when his team, Tottenham Hotspur, wins, as it ensures a very lovely evening in the Messy household :D.

4.  How many siblings do you have?
3! How lucky am I?! I have 3 fabulous sisters and I absolutely love it. As I grew up they were my playmates and now that I'm older they are my confidantes, cheerleaders and best friends. Huge thanks to my wonderful parents for all their devoted love, support and care which turned us into the people we are today.



5.  What is your favorite restaurant?
Farmer Brown's in Norwich. I love wandering into town with MJK on a balmy evening and enjoying some delicious local Tapas in this eclectically-designed and laid-back treasure.



6.  What do you enjoy doing most when you are on vacation?
Chatting, reading, laughing, singing, hugging, catching-up and spending time with people that I don't get to see nearly as often as I would like.

7.  What do you enjoy most about teaching?
The people I spend my day with. How amazing is it that I get paid to spend all day with 30 sparky, interested, kind, caring, supportive, polite and interesting kiddies?! What an amazing opportunity!

8.  What are your hobbies?
Crafting!! Reading, shopping (does that count? :D), baking, travelling and most recently, blogging!

9.  What is your favorite children's book?
This one is so hard! I suppose it has to be A Place To Call Home by Alexis Deacon. It always makes me cry and think about everything ahead of the little people that I teach and all the things they will achieve and places they will go!

10.  What do you enjoy most about having a blog?
The community! I've received such a wonderful, warm welcome and it's such a pleasure to share in all your great ideas and voices. 

11.  What do you like best about where you live?

That it's quite and safe yet vibrant and lively. That I get to live the city-life but am a 7minute drive from the countryside and 25mins from lots of glorious beaches. The very, very best bit is that MJK lives there with me! What a joy it is to wake up next to someone you love. :D

Questions from Katie

1. If you could hop in the car and take a road trip anywhere right now, where would it be?

To my parents' house. Although I love where I live, I really miss being so far from them and my sisters. I really can't wait until they invent the teleporter!

2. What book/magazine are you currently working on reading?

At the moment, I'm reading Bartimaeus, which was recommended to me by one of my kiddies. It's fab!

3. How did you choose to start a blog?

I was tired of sitting on the sidelines! I was so impressed by all the wonderful ideas and suggestions out there but felt that I couldn't really join in or even say well done until I had put in some work myself. Turns out I'm absolutely loving it!

4. If you could get paid to do anything, what would it be? 

Teaching! I seriously adore my job, love Mondays and can't think of anything better to do. I can come in on anyday with a grump, feeling tired and within 5 mins of being in the classroom I feel energised, positive and so happy. Where else would I be able to combine that with a reason to buy a corner rounder I ask you?! :D

5. Favourite classroom theme?

All of Schoolgirl Style's designs. She is fabulous! At the moment, I'm all about the navy/coral combination (see my Classroom Breakup post to learn more about this dilemma!) but, if I lived in the States and could find a wider range of bulletin board papers and trims, I'd love to go for Tattoed Teacher's new Vintage Chalkboard theme. It's just so pretty!

6. Best teaching moment?

I couldn't possibly pick! One of the most recent moments however was this absolutely dear message from one of my boys, who had had a bit of a tough time in previous years. He and I have absolutely meshed this year and he has grown and shone and exceeded everything we could ever have dreamed for him. He hid outside the classroom one afternoon and came in with this note. Needless to say, I sobbed...

He even accessorised it with glitzy polka-dots for me!

7. If you had one wish, what would you wish for? (And none of that wishing for more wishes nonsense!)

Health, love and happiness. That's it. I feel so blessed that I don't need to wish for them at the moment. 

8. What is the strangest food you've ever eaten?

I'm pretty gastronomically boring and mellow unfortunately. Maybe frogs at my grandparents' house?

9. Who was your favourite teacher growing up and why?

Mr Pashby - because he had a reputation as the fiercest, strictest teacher in school and was actually the most fun and engaging teacher you could dream of. I try to emulate him in my teaching and wish I could go back and watch him again. What an inspiration!

10. What is your favourite trait about yourself?

Empathy (MJK calls it my scary stalker mind-reading!). Although sometimes I have no idea how to support people with their worries, I like knowing that I'm aware of the people around me and that I will always put the people I love first.

11. If you could have any animal as a pet, what would it be?
A golden labrador. What a loyal, gentle, happy creature. Who wouldn't want one?!

Phew! That's it for this huuuge Q&A About Me section. Well done if you made it to the bottom of this section!

What I'm going to do (and I hope Katie and Mary don't mind too much), is pop one of my 11 random facts into each of my next 11 posts, instead of making you read through another huge section all about me.

Instead, let's now celebrate some other fabulous new bloggers and give them their chance to share in this virtual circle time. :) I have to admit, I've broken the rules here. I haven't been able to limit it down to my 5 favourite blogs under 200 followers, but instead I've looked at some brilliant UK-based blogs, which contribute lots of resources and ideas to the system. Under the radar stars! :)

So, without further ado...

My nominees are:

Congratulations to all of the above. Brilliant blogs a-plenty and I hope you all enjoy discovering some new blogging adventures. :D

See you all soon!