Five "random" things....

Tis the season to start linking back up with Doodlebugs for Five for Friday. I am essentially too exhausted to give this post the time and attention it deserves, but I will attempt to pound out a few important points (five of them to be exact) before I fall into bed for a few hours of bliss, er, I mean sleep.

 1. Finding a tribe. It's not a tribe I was born into, it is my teaching tribe. A smallish group of women that I am able to talk to about teaching, ideas, successes. It's a place to glean knowledge and find friendship and camaraderie. I love that I found this band of women and we can lift each other up. Do you have a tribe? A band of people who are tied to you, that you trust, that lift you up and fill you with enthusiasm and renew your passion? Go. Find a tribe and reap the rewards!

 2. My room is not ready, so no "big reveal." *sigh* and "aw....." But it will be ready for students by Monday night for open house/meet the teacher night.  Here is a "before" picture. Improvement actually has been made since this pic was taken.

 New Year, new partner. I am really excited about this year and teaching Kindergarten again. I am excited to teach with a conscientious, energetic partner who wants the best for the kiddos as well. My thoughtful new partner got me an adorable little organizer apple and a sweet note to go with it! I feel blessed.

Is this not the cutest thing you've ever seen?! I put paper clips in one and google eyes in another one.

Here is the note that came with.

I love feeling welcome!! Hooray!! So excited to have a teaching partner!

 4. More random love!! I was crying (not literally) on social media about how expensive it is to get a classroom ready to go! Last night when I got home I found the following gift in the mail! Wow! What a great thing! This is from a friend that I worked with a couple years ago, a seasoned veteran of the teaching profession, and one of the most positive people I know. I love this!

C.H.A.M.P.S.
I've been desperately trying to implement CHAMPS while trying to sort through and organize that mess of a room too. We received CHAMPS training and were asked to implement it this year. We are expected to display 4 posters (well, I am using pocket charts) of CHAMPS expectations during activities or transitions. I wrote them out in a staff meeting, now just to get them translated to those charts! I got stickers from TARGET to help with these posters so I can post what letter of the acronym I am meeting (I love school supplies, I love having to buy stickers). Putting the CHAMPS procedures into place will simplify things for me and I won't have to wonder if I am giving a clear expectation. We also had the privilege to hear Dr. Randy Sprick this week. He is the founder of the CHAMPS program. If you are not familiar with CHAMPS, look it up! It is overwhelming at first, but I am optimistic about what this will bring.

This is a CHAMPS procedure/expectation chart created by in our district by a former teacher who is working to implement the program district wide. Mine will look similar to this one when they are completed.

A bonus round thought. There's a twitter movement to find the good in our profession and display it for all to see. Telling the good things that happen in our rooms and sharing those fantastic teaching moments. So go to #happyclassrooms and read something good! If something good is happening in your teaching world, share it! Hashtag it! :-) Last night I shared my good things and I put the hashtag: teachersencouragingteachers. It was retweeted. That attention and cyber-love is really neat. Makes me want to share more stuff!

And I leave you all with this. I was ecstatic to find out that we are going to have the option to wear jeans for a 3rd day every week (hey, I teach K!). But it actually means I need more jeans/t-shirts. So here's what arrived in the mail today:

The back! Super cute!

The front!