Adjusting

Adjust per Webster's dictionary:

: to change (something) in a minor way so that it works better

: to change the position of (something)

: to change in order to work or do better in a new situation

My horseshoe table and the meeting table.

I would say that all three of those definitions apply to life lately. First, I had to change rooms at my new school on the very first workday. It went from being in a secondary building in the morning to being in the main building that afternoon. It was exciting and stressful to know that I would have a full-sized classroom. I've even expanded my classroom furniture vocabulary thanks to the lead custodian.

It's still fairly un-decorated at this point as I wasn't expecting anything more than your typical therapy closet. Eventually, it will have an Inside Out theme going on. My favorite feature is the huge window. We also have a really awesome projector connected to the computer. I cannot wait to show my new students the "Biscotti Kid" video for our whole body listening lesson.

Another really awesome surprise is the therapy I-Pad. I'm slowly learning how to use it.

If learning a new district's system wasn't enough work, I was also crazy enough to let my husband talk me into getting Buddy a friend. We ended up bringing him home TWO. The little one in the picture has stolen my husband's heart. Unfortunately, we've had to deal with the lovely issue of fleas, deworming, teething (on every electrical devices they can find), and some type of bacterial infection that puppies from breeders often get. I haven't had much time to work on freebies with the three of them running around in a destructive cloud of teeth and claws. Puppies are a great source of exercise. :)

Life is sweet

I am in the mood to do a little celebrating today. I finally got to sign my contract with my new school district! It is such a huge relief to have the paperwork done after all the craziness that took place with my job hunt over the summer. Why?

Well, I got TWO phone calls from other districts that I had interviewed with previously on the day that I moved to my new town (while I was in the midst of the 2.5 hour drive with two days before my wedding). I had already accepted a position with a large district after giving up hope on the job that I really wanted. Life; however, has a funny way of working out and I was able to get the job with my "dream" district. It is much  more similar to my previous one and that makes leaving a place that I loved so much a little bit easier. I also get the bonus of having a much better commute to work. It just goes to show you that a little bit of patience goes a long way. 

Since I am not quite sure of what I will be facing at my new school, I am trying to create some very generalized activities that I can use to hit multiple goals. Word Collector is aimed at syntax goals.

There are several ways you can use this activity. 

1) You can have students sort the words into the different parts of speech bags.

2) You can have students describe the word. (I would use the Expanding Expression Tool for this.)

3) You can have students formulate sentences using their words.

Grab your copy of Word Collector here!