Happy Weekend!

We survived the first week of 2012! Well, actually it was only a 4-day week but it totally felt like a full week! The next two weeks are four day weeks too! YIKES! So much to do!

I have to admit something...I like a little anonymity in my life....okay...maybe more than a little. :) For example, there's maybe only a few of my colleagues that know that I have started blogging. It's not because I don't want them to know...it's just that I already share what I'm doing in my classroom with them. And it's not because I think I am an amazing teacher...I do what's best for kids and after blog stalking all summer I decided to start sharing in the blogosphere as well. I have loved "meeting" and sharing ideas with all of my new "digital friends" and am so grateful for all of their posts...whether it's a vent, celebration or a share. They've all made me think differently about what's happening in my own little first grade world and I love it! Due to my anonymity...I have several emails for different things...family, junk mail (like when a store asks you for an email address), school, etc. but this also means I juggle between 3-4 email accounts a day...which is okay and not really a big deal thanks to my iPhone and iPad but I woke up this morning and wanted to switch the email address that's associated with this blog from my school email address to a different email address....just to make things a little easier...maybe. In doing so, I now need to go back and re-follow all of those blogs I've been following. I haven't lost them on my google reader, thank God, but needless to say I have a little tweaking to do this weekend. In my profile it says that I only follow one blogger...which is so untrue. There are tons of you I follow. Here's the link to the website I used to help me "simplify" things this morning:

"How to Change Email Address for Blogger Login"

Speaking of my one follower...First in Maine is aiming for 50 followers! I actually stumbled across her because she was listed on another blog I follow. Head on over and give her a shout out!

This week we've been reading the Tacky the Penguin books and we spent Friday morning making Tacky. We started off by creating the Penguin from Kaye @ TLC Lessons. I love her art projects and totally recommend them! They are awesome for following directions and they turn out so stinking cute! Each project involves pre-cut paper by you but it's so worth the extra prep. The kiddos learn how to turn a square into a circle by cutting off the four corners and then rounding the edges as well as other shapes...obviously. If you're interested, I'd order the seasonal books ("Fall", "Winter", "Spring") first to give you a taste. I think you'll be hooked! She also posts a sample lesson or two on her website. Right now there's a Barack Obama and a semi-truck lesson.

Anyway...here's her penguin lesson from her "Winter" book:

We added googley eyes...because it's going to be Tacky, of course!

And here's Tacky...complete with his Hawaiian shirt!

My amazing friend copied the Hawaiian shirt patterns for me, but you can make a simple pattern using scrapbook paper too.

That's all for today! Usually my neck of the woods is buried in snow this time of year, but the sun is shining and I want to get out and enjoy it!

Take care,

Jenn