Evan's 3rd Month

Three months have passed and Evan is doing great. We've battled a stuffy nose here and there, but nothing major. Putting a humidifier in his room has helped clear that right up. Evan is talking to us much more. His sweet coos just melt my heart. Evan's dad has started taking care of bath time, which has helped with his bonding time and freed up some time for me to get other things done...because there's always something to be done.

The biggest change this month is that Evan started daycare. I must say that I am extremely happy with the daycare we chose thus far. The teachers seem to be taking good care of my baby. They send me pictures and are recording all his milestones. His care sheet is always complete and they are sticking to my schedule as close as possible.

Weight: 13lbs 6oz

Height:  24 in
Size: still wearing some NB clothes
wearing some 0-3 month clothes (finally)
size 1 diapers

Eating: about every 3 hours, nursing and taking a bottle
now taking 5oz in bottles instead of 4oz

Sleeping: in the crib, wakes up once at night
sleeping through the night about 2-3 nights a week

Other:

returns smiles intentionally
doesn't scream in his car seat as much
falls asleep sometimes without being rocked
putting a few fingers in his mouth instead of his entire fist

Evan Talks with Daddy from Kim on Vimeo.

Did you miss the previous months? See them here!

Month 1 | Month 2

{What the Teacher Wore} Wednesday

I started out the school year with a goal of dressing better. I'm really proud of losing all of my pregnancy weight, and want to look it. I was introduced to StichFix and am looking forward to my second box next month, but in the meantime, I'm stalking Pinterest. I have all these outfits saved on Pinterst, but was doing nothing with them. So, what I've done is gone through my pins, and identified outfits that I have all the pieces or similar pieces to put together the outfit. Today's outfit was inspired by this pin.

Top (Target)

Blazer (Kohl's, similar)

Pants (NY&Co, similar, similar)

Necklace (eBay)

I'm so excited to be actually be getting some use out of my Pinterest style boards. When shopping, I now look for specific pieces to complete Pinterest inspired outfits. My goal is to wear one inspired look per week. I've achieved that goal for the first three weeks of school. I'm so looking forward to Fall and breaking out all the scarves. Texas summers are brutal. Never mind the fact that the calendar still says August...I'll be sure to fix that tomorrow! A teacher's work is never done...

Help for the Helper {Scripture Sunday}

God made me a helpmeet. It's in my nature to assist, nurture, and render care. Helping is exhausting. I seem to always be helping others. Sometimes I think "Who helps me?". Psalm 28:7 reminds me that the Lord is my help. When I'm weak, He is strong. When I am vulnerable, He is my shield. When I can't trust my own resources, I can trust Him.

source

There is no way I can help the people and needs that cross my path without the help of the Lord. My prayer is that I will realize that and draw on the Lord for strength and help. I pray also that I am not so burdened by the many tasks in my life where I feel like I need help that I miss the opportunities to help others and share His love.

What's New in F108 {Classroom Tour 2014}

This year is the first time in four years that I've stayed in the same classroom. I'm super excited that I don't have to start from scratch creating the classroom I want to live in. You can see last year's classroom tour here. Of course with less work in the area of classroom decor and arrangement, it gave me time to make some changes and additions.

One of the first changes is that my classroom now seats 32 instead of 24. Teaching Pre-AP comes with larger class sizes. With that, I've added 3-drawer carts at each table to hopefully limit that need for students to be out of their seats. The first drawer is supplies. The second drawer holds interactive notebooks. The third drawer was going to be for textbooks, but they don't fit, so it's a "work in progress" drawer for items that may not be finished and need a place until the next day.

This back board was blank most of last school year. I've added these "Assess Yourself" posters to encourage students to self-assess their work. I've decided to bring back the "A Team," but I plan to do it differently than I've done in the past. I like how this blogger uses sticky notes for his Wall of Champions. I have also added a tutorials schedule with request forms and posters for re-do deadlines since students have 5 school days to re-do assignments under 80 in our district.

There are a couple of changes in this corner of the room. My bulletin board now shows student birthdays for the month and a quote of the week. Then, there's the early finisher tic tac toe that was inspired by this pin. Students complete three assignments in a row to replace their lowest formative grade. I'm excited to see how this works with my students. This is by far the most addition to my classroom that most excites me. I've always looked for an early finisher idea that works for me. I hope this is it!

Not too much change in this corner other than the fact that there's a second weekly agenda since I'm teaching two preps.

The "CUBES Problem Solving Strategy" posters are new. Our new math standards require teachers to teach a problem solving method. I've always done this, but thought that posting it would be good for students. I found these posters free here. You'll also notice that there are a ton of textbooks on the shelf. Gone are the days of just a classroom set of books since with our new textbook adoption, every student gets a consumable textbook.

I didn't get a new desk, but I am determined to keep it cleaner and more organized this year. And you know that Evan's pictures had to get added to the wall.

This clipboard hangs next to my desk. I'm not the person who misses school unexpectedly. But, with a newborn, I imagine the chances of an emergency absence are higher. For that reason, I thought it wise to prepare some sub plans and emergency lessons. I've seen lots of sub binders on Teachers Pay Teachers and Pinterest that were geared towards elementary and way too cumbersome for me. This substitute flip book was perfect for my classroom. You can find it here.

I'm hoping that I've made changes that will encourage student learning and help me with organization. Remember, if you didn't tour my classroom last year, you can see it here.