I'm alive....

I'm alive....I'm just buried under all of these papers to sort and what is the first two weeks of school.  I have so much to update you guys on....class pictures, my amazing kids, the fun of having my own class this year- that will have to wait because well...let's be honest I've been caught more than 5 times (by the hubs) falling asleep while typing and grading papers. That's right ya'll with laptop on my lap mid type...so shameful. It was fun explaining to D(one of my kids) why his paper had a big red mark slashed across it. I could have blamed it on ladybug and her love for pretending to be a teacher, but I was honest. D thought I was odd, but he got over it. :)

So while I keep you waiting...I thought I'd share my thinking stems that I recreated. I have these posting on my Reading board in the class. I heart them!



Thinking Stems

Meet the teacher: Ms. Tinez

Hi my wonderful friends, Today was the first day of school and although I am beyond exhausted, I just had to participate in Teacher Week 2011 at Blog Hoppin'!

A little about lil 'ol me....

I'm a whopping 30 years old.

I am married to my college sweetheart.

I'm a cheerleader by heart no matter how old I am or how many pound heavier than I was when I actually cheered- it's natural for me to cheer people on. :) 

I have an amazing soon to be 3 year old daughter Cammy who is all "daddy"

I have a furry little friend that i adore named Bandit. He is a siberian husky. 

I'm the daughter of a teacher and electrical supervisor, sister to an incredible girl living her dream in Cali working for MOcean film company.

I'm truly a sports fanatic and way too into my sports. 

Loyal to a fault and doing what I dreamed about all my life....(don't laugh it might sound cheesy but it's true-teaching)

I'm thinking about starting graduate school for my master degree in Educational leadership & administration in the Spring b/c I'd love to become an AP and work with students with behavior difficulties. 

how long have I been teaching?I have been teaching for 4....wait maybe 5 years. I don't know I lost track. (It's the turning 30 thing)
I started my career in education as a special education assistant and was lucky enough to get a job at the school I was an assistant at. :) I taught kinder/1st resource & special education and then started teaching kinder/1st co-teach after that. 

4th grade wasn't my first choice- I was switched to it from kinder and nearly went into shock.

I'm so happy to be in 4th grade now- a complete turn around from my original feelings, but I wouldn't have it any other way. It's in my heart & I love it! 

This year is my first year in general education and having my dream of having my own class. I don't miss all of the sped paperwork and ARDs. I'm in love right now....ask me later what I think about this change. 

something you might not know...I used to own my own custom invitation design business. I was pretty good at it too.
I decided that I'd rather deal with kids and the craziness that teaching brings than crazy brides...oh the crazy brides....how i miss them (enter my "seriously" face here)

what am I looking forward to...
I am really looking forward to this year because
ONE....I finally have my own class. I have always been in gen. ed classes, but even though I worked with all the kids I was bouncing all over the place from class to class- so it never felt like my own. 

TWO...I have so many great ideas I can't wait to share and so many things I want to teach my amazing class. 

i need to improve...
my dietmy stress
my spending

My game face...man i'm bad at it if you say something dumb

my "seriously" look
my ability to tell it like it is
my sarcasm
A LOT

I can't live without...
My diet dr. pepper....you can bet that I have the sign that says "This classroom runs on laughter, love, and lots of diet dr. pepper" Yup the kids already took note that the way to my heart is diet dr. pepper. It's a sad, sad situation. I'm addicted- note to friends I do not function or answer questions before I have my diet dr. pepper (shameful I know- I'll hang my head now)

My smelly markers...let's be honest that was the first thing on my list of teacher supplies when I first started teaching. Forget the pencils & organization supplies- I need my smelly markers ya'll!

That's all I've got for you friends...I've gotta get back to making my charts and list and looking up lessons for historical fiction. 

Lots of teacher hugs!!! -m

Classroom Pics and a birthday freebie

Hey ya'll!!!

I hope you all are having a great weekend. It's my last weekend of freedom. :(...tear....but I can't wait to learn who is in my class and finish up setting up for Meet the Teacher on Friday. Let's be honest, if I could be in my class right now....I would be. Don't worry I'm still at home doing work. I've been on a cutting spree due to my obsession with laminating everything. Yes...it is true...I, Ms. Tinez, love to laminate. So much so that my friends called me the "Lamination Queen" Sad but true.

Okay...back to blogging. I wanted to post updated pics of my classroom for you guys. It's nowhere near done. It's funny because apparently some of my teamies are waiting for me to be done with my class so they can see if I carried out my entire theme. :)

**Let me apologize ahead of time for the awful pictures- I took them with my Evo**

View from the front towards my door...this is my exit strategy in case the kids go crazy...haha kidding ya'll

view from the door towards my desk

Towards the back of my room 

My Science Board...maybe me Math board. I'm still deciding

Word Wall Board

I actually have made more progress than this, but I don't want to post too much stuff right now and overload you guys. It's getting there. :) 

I created these cute little birthday signs that I am going to hang on the cabinets above the sink with with each months birthdays, cute little cupcakes with the students' names, birthdate and a pic of them. Don't laugh but I got the little saying from a Beatles song I love and I run around on ladybugs birthday and the hubs' birthday singing this to them. For some reason and I have yet to convince the hubs that this indeed took place I remember going to "Showbiz Pizza" (comment and let me know if you remember that place) now known as Chuck E Cheese and the little robot band played this song. I loved it as a kid!!! So I had to use it ya'll....it was a moment I couldn't pass up. I know, I know....I'll go hide in total geek shame now. :/

 I wanted to share them because I absolutely love them. :) 

Birthday SignsBirthday Signs

It's the final countdown....(enter music here...)

Hola my lovely friends!!!

I hope you all are having an amazing end of the week!!! My countdown has begun....1 week and counting until the official start of school or well until I meet my amazing fourth grade friends. I know I've been a total slacker and promised you all pics of my classroom. I promise I've actually been in my classroom working...sometimes talking to my old teamie Drake or running around looking for paper for my bulletin boards (because of course when it's needed most bulletin board paper is scarce :( ), but for the most part working hard in my room. It's a sight for sore eyes so put on your cool shades before you view these:

View from my bulletin board...it's messy I know

View from the door into the restroom area & class

My desk area from the door

View from the door towards desk

start of library area

Start of Word Wall Board

These pics are from Day 2 1/2....please excuse them for being blurry. I'm planning on taking more detailed pics of my rules, core virtues, and all that jazz for you guys. Nothing fancy yet.... :) Till the post ya'll!

A to Z of Me Idea (saw this on Wiegand's blog)

This is a super cute idea from dandelions and dragonflies. Love it! I think it would be a cute idea for a linky party to get to know fellow bloggers. :) 

A. age :: the big 3-0! As of May...so far so good ya'll

B. bed size :: king.

C. chore you hate :: folding clothes....oh how I hate folding clothes. They might stay in the dryer until needed..that's how much I hate it. 

D. dogs :: 1 super adorable Siberian Husky named Bandit aka "Coots, Brobee, The Coots, Cootsie" poor dog has way too many nicknames, but he's spoiled and super loved :)

E. essential start to your day :: Sonic Diet Dr. Pepper

F. favorite color :: Tiffany Blue

G. gold or silver :: Silver or white Gold

H. height :: five two and a half (that half matters)

I. instruments you play :: on guitar hero I play the bass...that's the extent of my musical talent 

J. job title :: Fourth grade teacher

K. kids :: Camryn aka Ladybug, buggy or Cammy

L. live :: The Lonestar State 

M. maiden name :: Garcia ( I didn't get a cool new last name- you think the Spaniards could be more creative on names)

N. nicknames ::  Tinez, Bubs, The Boss (from the hubs), Mars, Missy, Rissa

O. overnight hospital stays ::when I had Cammy

P. pet peeve :: bad drivers

Q. quote :: "If you bungle raising your children, I don't think whatever else you do matters very much." Jackie Kennedy

R. righty or lefty :: Righty

S. siblings :: one amazing little sister (Doing amazing things in LA) 

U. university attended :: Which one...I'll list the one I graduated from University of Texas at San Antonio

V. vegetables you dislike: tomatoes

W. what makes you run late :: Cammy

X. x-rays you’ve had :: dentist, my wrist, various things for my stomach, knee

Y. yummy food ::Chris Madrid's burgers

Z. zoo animal favorite :: I'm a fan of monkeys...fitting 


Your turn friends. I'd love to see your A to Z on your blog. :) 

Happiness is....

Hi my incredible teacher friends!!!

Happiness is....

For me...apparently it's staying up late creating your classroom postcard. :) I'm nerdy excited about this and I have been brainstorming since my little one went to bed (3 hours and counting..) on a cute Peanuts/Snoopy related quote to fit my theme. Here's a little preview of it: (It's not perfect yet)

Classroom Postcard


What do you think? Please tell me I didn't spend 2 hours for a "OMG that's not that cute!" LOL :) I owe you guys some pics from my progress at school. I've been there all week so it's looking better. Hope you all are having an amazing week friends!!!

Classroom...the beginning

Hey friends!!! 

Hopefully, you're getting back into the swing of things & enjoying your last bits of Summer. 

Today was the day for me. The Classroom...the beginning...dun, dun dun duuuunnn. Okay it's not that serious, but still. 

The beginning of the year is always hectic and crazy. I walked into my classroom today to new and shiny tile floors, but also the trouble of not being able to move furniture in my room without approval. :( Boo!! I've been lucky enough to know which classroom I was going to be in since the end of last year. So as you could imagine I've been thinking and thinking and thinking (all Summer long when I'm supposed to be relaxing of course) of how to decorate my class and where to put furniture. But of course, I get there and my mind goes blank and I'm a total loss. 

Here's how my class looks so far with nothing done. :( Cover your eyes it's not pretty.

View from my desk with the cubbie and bathroom door & of course little Miss Ladybug helping Momma.

View from the door towards the back of the class. It's an average size

View from the door towards my desk area. **Don't laugh, but the first thing I did was put the little polka dotted bow on the projection screen for pull-down. It's my thing. :) **

The door & sink...nothing fancy 

There's so much to do. I probably should have started the day we were allowed to go back. But the comfy feeling of my bed and my toes in the covers...along with Cammy not feeling to hot helped me to decided I could wait. We will see if that comes back to bite me. :) Back to finishing up stuff on the computer tonight and back to working in the class tomorrow... I'll keep you guys updated. 

Empowering Littler Learners is having a linky party of everyone's classroom. Don't worry friends you are not alone is this craziness they call the beginning of the year. :) 

Check it out!! It's fun seeing all that you guys have done in your rooms. 

Advice for New Teachers Linky Party

Fun in Fourth Grade is having a Linky Party on advice for new teachers. Oh how I wished I would have known about all of these blogs when I first started teaching....heck, 4 years in and I still need them now. :) One would think that having a momma who has taught since before I was born...I would have known as much as possible. Times have changed and continue to change so the best advice I could give for a new teacher is the following:

-Never be embarrassed to ask for help.

-Beg, Borrow, & ask to steal whatever you can from great teachers that you meet. (don't steal and take the credit for yourself, but steal an idea and make it your own)

-Never stop learning from past years. Your first year isn't going to be perfect. They never are, but keep your head up and know that you will learn from this and do things differently or better the next year. As long as those kids know you love them & you're doing the best you can for them that's all that matters (Unfortunately, some districts also look at your scores, but it's the kids that matter)

-Be consistent.

- Be a teacher before their friend. The love and admiration for you will come with the respect they have for you.

We are always here to help. We've ALL been there and will do whatever we can to help.

Schedule Freebie

My theme this year involves polka dots so I was super excited when I found Polka Dot Labels by Karen Cox (Click on her name to visit her site). I altered them to make them bigger and added my own fonts. Feel free to add your own fonts & copy and paste to match your color theme. I LOVE them!!  Click on the link to download. (This is my first time trying to post these so if they don't work please let me know) I couldn't get it to show how I made them in a pic. :( If you would like me to make some that adjust to your schedule please let me know by emailing me or leaving a comment. 

Click here for the Agenda Link

4th Grade Schedule Labels

Attempt # 2..

Sadly, yesterday was a failed attempt at heading to school. I decided to wake up early and thankfully the little one slept in so I had time to get ready. I was READY....it was the day I was headed to school to get my room ready. But, long gone are the days that I could just pick up and grab my stuff and go. I have a cute little pig-tail almost 3 year old right behind me. She was all about helping in mommy's classroom, but didn't make it far.  Poor Cammy got sick on our way to school. :(

We spent our afternoon nursing her and our evening sorting thru all of my teacher boxes putting away my Kinder and 1st grade stuff (hopefully it will come back out one of these years). Today is our attempt # 2 to heading to school. So far....we're running behind- oh well...we're trying! Pictures coming soon!!

Welcome new followers!

Call me nerdy, but I always get excited when I see we have new followers. :) So welcome new followers- I'm so glad to have you. Please be patient with me as we get this blog up and running. :) So happy to have you.

THINK WRITE SHARE LINKY PARTY

Oh Boy 4th Grade is having a

THINK WRITE SHARE 

linky party. Come and Join...it's fun!!

listening:  To Sportsnation talk about Spanish soccer (one of my favorite things in Sports)

with Umizoomi in the background (the usual Nick Jr. background noise)

loving: Pinterest and linking up on Facebook with teachers

thinking: about what time I want to head up to school tomorrow....I'm tempted to sleep in...of course if the Ladybug allows. :/

wanting: a Scotch laminator, my 4-runner already and some more vacay

needing: a Sonic Dr. Pepper

stalking:  First Grade Blue Skies

The Schroeder Page 

The Daily Cervantes (non-teacher)

Your turn friends link up at Oh' Boy 4th grade! :) 

Good Grief!!!

Theme! Theme! It's all I can think about.

To understand why I am putting so much thought into my theme...you must know my teaching past. I have taught for the past 4 years a Special Education teacher. Most of my days were spent pulling students for small group at times, but mostly as a co-teacher in kinder, 1st and 4th. For the past 2 years, I have dreamed of having my own classroom with my own group of 22 students. Let me say that I have had some of the most amazing co-teachers,  but because my juggling 22 kids in various classrooms I sometimes felt like a visitor in all of my co-teach classrooms. So this year- I FINALLY have my very own 4th grade classroom as a general education teacher!!! Yay!!

So that brings me back to the present- from the moment I found out I was going to be a general ed. teacher I have been brainstorming,searching, and stressing over what theme I want for my classroom. I'm girly and let's be honest I love my polka dots. So I knew from day one I wanted dots and polka dots as part of my decor. But thanks to my little ladybug Cammy, I have fallen in love with the Peanuts characters. So I decided after finding these cute little Woodstock cut outs that I wanted a Peanuts/Snoopy theme in my class mixed in with polka dots.

At first, I was worried it might be too childish for 4th grade, but let's be honest some of my 4th grade babies from this past year loved anything that had Snoopy and Charlie Brown. :) They are still kids. So that's it- I'm going full force and creating a Peanuts/Snoopy theme. Here are some of my ideas for my room:

Poster in the class

posters with cute little cut out characters to place thru out the room

My helped board cut outs. I've created super cute labels to create my helpers board.

Outside bulletin board with little Woodstocks with the students' names.

I've created cute little t-shirts to resemble Charlie Brown shirts for the students to use as their lunch choice symbols. I'm nerdy and can't wait to see how it comes together. Currently, my little house is a Snoopy/Peanuts wonderland and little buggy (Cammy) couldn't be more excited. :)


I would love to hear how you are decorating your classrooms? Do you have a theme? What have you done in the past? Share all you want! :)

Great Giveaway for my blogging friends

Head over to Kristin's blog for a great giveaway.  A teeny tiny teacher is having a giveaway for her followers, fellow teachers, and bloggers.

$20 @ Barnes & Noble

A Teeny Tiny Teacher

If you are nerdy like me then you are all about books for your classroom. I often find myself struggling between choosing books for my classroom and for my babygirl Cammy. I'd love to win this to buy new books for my new 4th grade class. Stop by and visit Kristin's blog by clicking on the pic.

Awesome Giveaway

Little Miss Kindergarten is having an amazing giveaway. If you are the BIG winner of the giveaway, you will get $50 of free Creative Teacher Bulletin Board Products from my favorite line... ARTSKILLS! 

Stop by her blog and enter for a chance at this great giveaway. I will make sure to. :) 

http://www.littlemisskindergarten.blogspot.com/

Linky Party!!!

Kinder Fun is having a facebook linky party. Come join in!





Like me on Facebook and join up.

Join me on Facebook and like my page

I'm totally late on this linky party, but I'm joining anyway. :)

You will find this in my class

Because everyone that knows me knows this is indeed truer than true. Mine actually says Diet Dr. Pepper, but it won't post on here. You can ask one of my former students now known as MM that if Ms. Tinez didn't have her Diet Dr. Pepper it was going to be a rough morning. He would say "Ms. Martinez? Did you not get your drink this morning? Do I need to go get you one? I'll call my mom" <3 him!