I'm One Lucky Lady

On Friday I had the chance to celebrate my birthday with my kido's and their parents. Although my birthday is December 27th I like to celebrate it in January after all the holiday hustle and bustle has passed. That way I get to party with my kids. Let's face it, who doesn't like an excuse to celebrate together?

I have been truly blessed with amazing parent helpers this year. Including a "Room Mom" that goes above and beyond. Once she heard that I was planning a party for the class she insisted on taking care of all the arrangements. What a great present, right? Well it didn't stop there. I was spoiled, spoiled, spoiled and it was so much fun.

Here are a few pictures of the party and of course a picture of the incredibly beautiful Thomas Sabo bracelet that I got from the parents and kids. Top it off with my absolute favorite flowers in my favorite color and you guessed it...I was in heaven!

I couldn't ask for anything more. Thank you to all my kids and their parents and a special thank you to Maria and Monika. You two really now how to make a girl feel special! [

Great idea from: Pammy Loves...: A Little Encouragement

Last year I taught at a Tittle 1 school in New Mexico. It was just about this time of year when my 2nd graders were asked to prepare a little encouragement for their 3rd grade buddies taking the "big" state test.  This is what we made.  Although I don't teach in a school that does standardized testing I wanted to share this with you anyway. Maybe this someone can use this idea to cheer up some nervous test takers.  Please share if you have a great activity that you use. 
Happy Teaching!  
Miss Pam

Click the link below to see the complete post!

Pammy Loves...: A Little Encouragement: It's that time of year where the atmosphere at most schools changes drastically.  The students and their teachers are on edge and under a tr...

And the Winner is...

My first giveaway is done and I'm so excited that I got a response.  It wasn't the biggest but I learned a lot.  Thanks to all of you who entered!

The winner is: Brittney over at TeachPrayLove!  
I'm looking forward to sending you your special prize.  Please let me know which of the two books you would prefer. 

 

I used the random number generator at Random.org to find the winner.

Woo Hoo - Giveaway! (With Chocolate)

I am so excited for my first Giveaway! I have been torn for the last week between doing a digital “gift” and an actual one.  I don’t know about you but I LOVE getting a letter or a package in the mail.  I thought there might be others out there that feel the same excitement at the thought of an unexpected gift arriving in the mailbox.

Once I decided on a real giveaway I had to find the perfect thing.  Since I live in Switzerland I wanted to give away something from here.  I also wanted it to be something a teacher would love.

Here it is.  (There is a choice of two books depending on the grade level you would prefer)

The two books are both classics from my childhood.

The first is A Bell For Ursli by Selina Chonz and Alois Carigiet.  It is a picture book from the Engadine region of Switzerland (the Alps). 

It has been translated into English and I still have the original version in German from my childhood.  I love this story!!!

The second book is a chapter book by Otfried Preussler. He was born in Czechoslovakia and the book has also been translated into English.  This is a GREAT book for ESL/ELL kids because it helps with English language acquisition. It has certain words bolded and includes definitions at the end of the chapter.   The story is lovely and I remember it fondly to this day.  

Both books are amazing!! They are brand new (new car smell) and ready for a home in your awesome class library.

Last, but certainly not least, the chocolate. I'm sending along a variety of swiss chocs including the two in the picture.  Just thought they were cute because they are wrapped like swiss army knives. =

So...how do you enter (WIN) this fabulous giveaway??

It's simple just pick an item below, each item is one entry to win. Please remember to post once per entry. My fabulous friend Maya, who is coming all the way to Switzerland to pick your name out of a hat, will select the winner on Monday March 19th. Ok, she's coming to visit me and we will use the random generator, but she may be your lucky charm.

1. Follow my blog

2. Follow my store

3. Post about this giveaway

4. Add me to your blogroll

5. Grab my button and place it on your blog

Once I've picked a winner I'll contact you to find out which of the two books you'd like. All you have to do after that is wait for your fabulous gift to arrive!

GOOD LUCK!!!!!

Currently and One HOT Bag

Good Morning Blog Land!!

I'm trying out something new today. I'm scheduling my first post. I'm really hoping that it works out. If any of you know how to change the time zone on my blog I would love to know. =

I'm liking up to do the March Currently!

The last 3 words are adjectives that start with the first letter of your last name.  They are also in a special order. So my students would call me Outrageous(ly fun!). My friends might call me Organized and my family would definitely describe me as Original.

Now it's your turn...

Head over to

to get the details on this linky event. Just remember the last blank is changed

every month so this month the rules for the last blank are....

ONE- every word has to start with the FIRST letter of your LAST name

so all of mine start with F

TWO- you can only have 3 words... that is it THREE words

THREE- you have to think of it as what would they say... so if your

students, friends, and family (in that order) could say ONLY ONE WORD about you

and it had to start with the FIRST letter of your LAST name what would the 3 words be..?

keep them in that order so everyone knows... STUDENTS, FRIENDS, FAMILY!!!

Hello my love!

Do you love Longchamp?  Do you know about Longchamp? I didn't before I moved to Europe.  I do now and I'm in love!  I just had to get my hands on this amazing Orange bag. Yesterday after my crap day (not with the kids but with politics), I went to Glatt (the mall across the street from the school. Literally across the street) and engaged in some retail therapy.  

Don't you just love?

Off to another great day of teaching and learning!

Until next time!

Miss Pam

 

 

It really is Award Season!

I had a pretty tough Monday and came home after a long day to find that Andrea McEvoy at One Teacher's Take has awarded me with my second award in just one week. I feel so special and am incredibly appreciative to her for the recognition.  

Here are the rules for the Lovely Blog Award:

1. Link back to the blogger who gave it to you.
2. Pass the award on to 15 followers.
3. Follow the person who sent it to you.

Here are the lovely ladies I am passing this award on to.  Check out their awesomely amazing blogs.

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Our Lorax Project

In the PYP we focus on Inquiry (More on that to come on Thursday's post).

One of our units of inquiry this year was about endangered species and taking a closer look at our responsibility in sharing our planet.

I started the Unit by reading The Lorax.  This Dr. Seuss classic is my all time favorite!!  My students fell in love with the story and made some very important connections to the key concept of responsibility.  As our unit was drawing to an end the students decided they wanted to share their message with the rest of the school.  They worked hard to come up with ideas and decided to perform the Lorax as a play during their assembly.  

I have never seen my kids work so hard.  I had students creating props at home and bringing in costumes they created.  In the end the assembly and performance were a huge hit.  

After the assembly the student body was asked to reflect on what they had learned.  It was so great to see that other students made the connection to our responsibility as well.

As it’s Dr. Seuss’s birthday coming up I thought I would share some pictures from our amazing assembly!

We told our story from the perspective of the old onceler and had the rest of the class act it out. 

I'm so proud of my kids for making such a beautiful backdrop.  They painted it themselves with a little help from me.

We had Barbaloots and Swanny Swans and Humming Fish.

SO FUN!!

I adapted the story to fit into a 15 minute performance.  If you are interested in a copy just email me or leave a comment.

Miss Pam

Linky Party - Free Font

Katie Lyon over at The Art of Possibility is having a Linky Party for free and fabulous fonts.

I am crazy about my font collection and this is one of my all time favorites.  I think I love it as much for it’s name as anything else.  I use this font for bulletin boards and displays that will be printed rather large.  It can be difficult to read when in small print.

Click on over and download for free if you like!

Miss Pam