I want a playhouse!!

My best friends little girl "C" turned two this weekend and what fun was had preparing for this special day!!   C's daddy and uncle made this precious homemade hideaway and we got to decorate it for the birthday princess. I do believe that sweet girl loved it and will spend many hours cooking, cleaning, drawing, and checking out critters with her binoculars.   Friday morning, Susannah (C's future aunt and one of my school best friends) and I headed over to begin the decorating process.  Walls had to be painted, curtains hung, plants planted, and more. 

 

C's mommy then added the extra special touches to make it perfect.  

 A tin roof and all!

 What little girl wouldn't want to spend the WHOLE day in a playhouse like this one?

 C's 2nd birthday party was centered around bubbles.  All of the food was round and LOTS of bubbles were blown.  What a cute idea!!!  

The kiddos loved the cake pops and cinnamon pinwheels!

 Goodness I love these girls!  Erica (in orange) and I have been best friends since high school.  J and I actually set her and her husband up MANY years ago.  We were in their wedding and they were in ours.  Our boys team rope together and we just cherish our friendship with them.  Susannah (in pink) is one of my school best friends.  She is going to marry Erica's brother in December.  I also had a hand in setting them up too.  Just call me matchmaker, I know:)

 C loves her Sue Sue!

 C with her mommy!

 J and Auntie love that girl too!

 The birthday girl with her daddy!

 Check out those sweet girls having fun!

Getting the bubble guns ready...oh man they were fun!

A sweet little cupcake in a teacup for a sweet little girlie:)

We sure had fun celebrating C's birthday!  

School starts back this Thursday and I guess I'm ready.  I am really ready for some coffee time with my sweet coworkers and to meet my Giddy-Ups.  I'm hoping for a great school year:)

I've gone a little crazy...

So thanks to Pinterest and my new Cricut...I feel like I've gone overboard in my classroom.  I say "Oh, I'm done" or "I'm not going back until August 16th", and then I'm making something else and making a trip to Bell's.  What is it with this summer???  As you know my husband broke his leg and is doing soooooo much better so I can't blame it on him anymore.  It was fun crafting around the house with him down and out but now I think I'm just obsessed with finding new, cute things to do in my classroom.  Here are a few pictures...

Um yeah...how cute are pictures going to be with sweet smiles of my kiddos using this oversized picture frame!?!   I always like to celebrate our 2nd day of 2nd grade day with activities like...counting by 2's, writing stories/reading in pairs, making words with "second grade", discussing famous pairs like peanut butter/jelly, and measuring items around our classroom that are 2 inches or 2 centimeters.  I try to have a snack centered around this too...not sure what I'll do this year.

Bell's Crossing is a Baldrige school.  We collect lots of data and use many tools to help students organize their thoughts like Lotus diagrams, Affinity diagrams, and more... Here is a picture of my classroom data station.  Right now I have up an AR chart and math chapter pre/post test graphs.  I'll probably add more throughout the year!  Each student has a data notebook where they graph their behavior, test scores, set goals, and more.  

We also use Covey's 7 habits.  With our garden theme this year, I thought some tissue paper flowers would be cute with the habits.  

Birthday flowers with crazy straws!  Thank you Pinterest!

Thanks to Amanda at Teaching Maddeness...my dear, dear friend, I created my own "Kiss your brain" and "Hug your heart" candy jars.  

And last but not least...I decided to change my behavior system this year and try the clip chart.  I found the cutest apple clothes pins at Michael's this week and they turned out to be the perfect size. I just added numbers.  I'm excited about this little change.  

A few more trips to my school will probably happen in the next two weeks. 

My classroom just won't be complete though until it becomes home to my Giddy-Ups!

Aside from doing school stuff...we're completely in awe of the Olympics.  I just cannot seem to peel my eyes away from the TV.  Gymnastics, swimming, diving, volleyball...holy cow!  We have some talented athletes:)  It just makes me so proud to be an American.  I cry EVERY. SINGLE. TIME. they are receiving their medals.  I'm going to miss the Olympics when they are over.  Can't wait for the individual women's gymnastic finals tonight!  GO TEAM USA:)