Creative Projects

I have spent the last few weeks just enjoying my time with my family.  We did some home improvement projects this summer.  My son went to basketball camp for 3 days and we took a mini-cation to Chicago.  Now my mind, body and soul is ready to prepare for the new school year.

Objectives

I wanted a new way to display the objectives for the week.  I don't have a lot of white board space because of the Active Board.  I found these frames I could use to display the objectives on a bulletin board. (I have also debated on putting these on my classroom door so "visitors" would know what objective we were working on before they entered the room)  I can use dry erase markers to write on the glass.  I got the frames at the Dollar Store for $1.50 a piece.  They were frames for certificates.  I teach 3 different grade levels so I needed a frame for each grade level, one for science/social studies and one for the heading.  I took some decorative card stock I bought at Michaels for a decorative background.  I used Publisher to type the labels for the frame.

 Table Trash Cans

We spend a lot of time cutting things in my classroom especially with my kindergarten class.  The students believe this is the best time to get up a thousand times to throw away a strip of paper.  This year I decided to create table trash cans to eliminate this problem.

I found these plastic planters at the Dollar Store for $1

 I wanted to add a little color to the planters. 

 I found these stickers at Hobby Lobby.  They were originally $2.99 but they were on sale for 40% off.

I added a little ribbon at the top and this is the finish product.

Family Vacation

Well it was time for our annual Dieme Family Vacation!!!! (It really should be a Hollywood movie)  Oh the experiences we have had on vacations from always getting lost and stuck in a bad neighborhood to buying a microwave because our hotel didn't have one.  This is my favorite time of the year.  This year we decided to spend a few days in Chicago.  All my son wanted to do was go to the United Center to see the statue of Michael Jordan but we had a few surprises for him.

I have this terrible habit of completely cleaning the house before we leave town.  I don't mean just dusting and sweeping I mean cleaning out the refrigerator, wiping windows, and mopping the floor.  It drives my husband crazy but I can't stand coming home after a trip and finding the house a mess.  I also handle all the packing for the family.  Now that my son is older he wants to have his own luggage.  I found the cutest suitcase at this local store called Monogramming By Sheri. 

I have found the best way to organize my son's clothes.  I plan his clothes (including pajamas) for the week and I place the items in a gallon Ziplock bag.  It takes up less space in the suitcase and everything is in one spot.  I just take out a Ziplock bag for the day and my son knows what his outfit and pajamas are for the day. I am not searching through his suitcase trying to find socks and matching shorts.  When he takes his clothes off they just go back in the Ziplock bag and we get out the next bag for the day.

After packing and cleaning we made it to Chicago.  We took our son to the United Center so he could get his picture taken in front of the Michael Jordan statue but we also surprised him with a visit to the Lincoln Park Zoo.  It is a free zoo!!!  You just pay for parking.  We didn't see everything at the zoo but we were there for 3 hours.  I would recommend this zoo to anyone. The biggest surprise we had for him was a visit to Legoland.  He had no idea we were going.  We went about 2 hours before the place closed so we didn't have to be the bad parents who made him leave (all of us have had that experience with the crying child leaving the building).  He came home with a couple of Lego sets and I was able to sneak a special birthday present in the car.

Just Getting Started

I am so excited...I'm blogging!!! I guess I should introduce myself.   Hello my name is Reneta Dieme and I teach reading for kindergarten, 1st and 2nd grade students.  I have been teaching for 12 1/2 years now.  I can't believe how time has just flown by.  I want to use this blog to share ideas with other educators and get ideas from people.  I will also share some things about my life as a wife and mother.  That is my lifetime career and I love it. So let's get busy!!!


A little information about my personal life.  I have been married to the love of my life for 10 years this month.  I met him while I was student teacher so we have been together for 13 years.  We have an amazing son named Stone Douglas.  He will be 7 years old in July.  My family lives in Bowling Green, Kentucky.  I have lived in Kentucky all my life.  I always knew I was going to be a teacher.  My aunt was a teacher, my mom worked as an assistant, my grandmother was a cook, and my grandfather was a bus driver.  Education has always been a very important part of my families life.  I try to show my son that I am fully involved in his education.  I am the secretary for the PTA at his school (he goes to a different school from where I teach).  I try to attend as many of his field trips and after school activities as possible.  My son also plays basketball, tee ball, and soccer.  This season I had to be the soccer coach for his team.  That was an interesting experience since I have never played soccer.  When we have free time my family likes to travel,go bowling, and fishing.  The last time we went fishing our son was the only one who caught a fish.

Okay that is all for right now.  I will be posting pictures of the projects I'm working on for my classroom this year.