Positive Thinking & Throwback Thursday!

Now that it's Thursday, it's time to link up with Jennifer for: 

 In the summer, I need to do my chores in the morning or they don't get done.  That's because I get to do what I want in the afternoon.  My afternoon is my reward for all my hard work in the morning.

My "rest" means going in the pool, reading a book, watch a little TV,...I just love my summer afternoons!

I'm also linking up with Angela from "The Teacher's Desk 6" for her Throwback Thursday link-up:

This post was from September, 2013 after the first 2 days of school:

It's Friday, and the end of my 2nd day of school with my new students who are very wonderful, by the way!  We're off to a great start! 

Here are 5 random facts about my week:

1.  I managed to get most of my classroom library organized and labeled with colorful polka-dotted labels.  Here's an example of my science book bins:

I tried to use different colored labels for the different sections. 

2.  On the first day of school, my students had Art and Health.  Consequently, we had a terrific first day of school!

3.  Here is my first day of school outfit which I managed to find at the last minute in Marshall's.  I thought the dress reminded me of Claude Monet's painting, and the added bonus was the price - $25.

 4.  This year the district is implementing a new writing program - Six Traits.  We did the first lesson which involved pairs of students thinking of 4 food items that they would include in a bagged lunch - this process was compared to prewriting.  Then they drew the items (drafting); changed the items to make the lunch healthier (editing).  At the end, each pair of students shared their lunches, and we learned that even though each group had the same lunch assignment, each lunch turned out differently because we each have different ideas.

5.  This afternoon we did the Saving Fred experiment.  Fred is a gummy worm who sails around in his boat (a bathroom paper cup) without wearing his life preserver (a gummy lifesaver).  One day Fred's boat capsizes, and he finds himself under his boat while his life preserver is on top of the boat.  Each group of students had to figure out how to save Fred by using only 4 paperclips. 

I actually was wondering how the kids could get the gummy lifesaver to be wide enough to get around Fred, but they figured it out.  One group used the paper clips to squish Fred's head so it would fit inside the lifesaver; another group used their paper clips to stretch open the lifesaver so Fred could fit; and the other groups used a combination of these 2 strategies.  It was very exciting - especially when each group figured out how to save Fred. 

Make sure to rest tomorrow afternoon!