Sunday, February 9, 2014

Monday Made It that Sparks Student Motivation...Valentine's is on the way...

This week has been a blur.
I'm behind on readin' blogs and commentin', but
I know all my sweet friends out there will let it slide.
You see...this week somethin' very sad happened
for my school...we lost one of our own 
to the awful "C word".
Mary Martin's laugh could be heard
anywhere in the school.  
She had the best sense of humor and
was the strongest person I've seen dealin' 
with this sickness.
She came to school every single day without a complaint,
even when goin' through chemo.
Mary dedicated her life
to all the babies she ever taught, her daughter,
and the rest of her family and friends.
On Friday, her sweet second graders let go 
of ballons with a message to Mrs. Martin in Heaven.
Their sweet innocence while gigglin' left many
teachers and older students with flowin' tears.
Yesterday we celebrated her life and it was beautiful.
Mary was a huge Auburn football fan.
Everyone wore orange and blue and it made my heart smile
when everyone shouted "War Eagle, hey!" for Mary.
She will be missed, but never forgotten.
This was hard, but I was happy to see 
my school band together, as they always do
when one of our "family" is hurtin'.
To any of my co-workers readin' this...
I love you!

Since I'm behind...I am doin' two link-ups at once.
Thank you Tara for hostin' Monday Made It

http://4thgradefrolics.blogspot.com/

and Joanne for hostin' Spark Student Motivation Saturdays.


Love these ladies.

I wanted to do somethin' sweet this week for my babies
that would cheer everyone up and keep them motivated throughout
the week of Valentine's Day.
I made a little pit stop at Dollar Tree today 
and picked up a few things (Joanne...are you proud?)
I got enough for our 3rd grade buddies also.
 I'm goin' to have the kids write their names on the lil' heart boxes
where they will store the pink heart gems 
they earn throughout the week.
I don't really have a set plan for what they will earn them for,
but I'm sure they will have some ideas when they see them.
The table scatter hearts are for the tables durin' our 
Valentine's celebration.

 On Valentine's Day I will let them buy a special treat
with their gems.  
Maybe these will work?
Again, I will let them choose what 
the gems are worth.
The kids are more creative than I am
and it will be interestin' to see if they agree with me or not.
1 gem=treat bucket
2 gems=ten minutes free time on device
3 gems=extra recess time
4 gems=free choice
I am goin' to let them keep the gems to take home.

 I also bought these pink glitter stickers and a
 photo frame to stick them on.

I'm goin' to give this to my best friend's niece
just because I love her and she likes sweet treats.
We took this picture yesterday on our way to the funeral.
She was adament about goin' with us.
She was ready four hours before we left.

Here's a Valentine's freebie for any of you that use 
Behavior Beads 
in your classroom.
Don't know what Behavior Beads are?
Read about them here.
"You melt my heart!"
"You're top dog in my book!"
"I'm "berry" proud of you, Valentine!"

to see everyone else's ideas.

Have a great week friends!
Hug your loved ones and your babies at school!

21 comments :

  1. I'm so sorry about the loss of your co-worker. Your poor school family has really been hit hard this year. Cancer sucks! I'm glad, though, that your school is such a supportive environment because I'm sure she felt so much love from you all through her fight. xoxo

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  2. I'm so sorry to hear about the loss of your co-worker. That is so difficult. Thinking of you guys this week.

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  3. That is really hard on everyone. I'm sorry you and your school had to go through losing Mary. =(

    I love the behavior heart gem idea. I am sure they will stay motivated all week!

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  4. Oh Alison! I hate this for you guys! My teammate is dealing the the C word as well, so I can understand the struggle, but I couldn't even begin to imagine what y'all are going through. I'll be thinking of y'all this week!! Your Valentine ideas are ca-ute!! Love ya!!
    Rachel

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  5. Hugs to you my sweet friend! I am so sorry for you and all of your kiddos and co-workers. Sounds like you area all bonding together in the perfect way. I will keep you in my thoughts and I am sending you some love! I really love your Valentine idea and think your kids will really like your idea too! xoxo

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  6. Alison, I'm so sorry to hear for the tremendous loss your school community has lost! I can't begin to understand what you all are going through on a day to day basis at school while you're putting on your brave smiles for all the kiddies to see.
    XOXO
    Erin
    Short and Sassy Teacher

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  7. I am so sorry for your loss! We had a few tragedies in our town right after Christmas (we lost 3 young lives in two different incidents) - it is always hard to explain death to students, especially young ones. I love how you are trying to bring some sunshine and light to your students!

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  8. I'm so sorry for your loss Alison. I love the way you celebrated Mary's life! She's laughing through the halls of heaven now. She's blessed to have worked in such a strong network of friends and co-workers. :) I {heart} your Valentine's Day ideas and I'm very proud of your successful trip to Dollar Tree! I agree that kids are more creative than us, and you allowing them to decide how they will earn the hearts will give them buy in and ownership...you're going to have a great week! Thanks for sharing and linking up!
    I'll be thinking of you! xoxo
    Joanne
    Head Over Heels For Teaching

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  9. Wow. You have had a rough week. So sorry to hear about your friend and colleague's passing. That's really rough on a staff and the kids. Glad you were able to celebrate her the way you did. I'm sure that's exactly what she would have wanted from all of you.

    Thank you so much for making those cute lil' valentine tags. Downloadin' 'em now. My kids will be so thrilled!
    Have a good week, Ali!

    Ali
    Teaching Powered by Caffeine

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  10. I'm so sorry for your loss! Love the idea of releasing balloons!

    I'm sure your students will love earning the hearts this week!

    Rissa
    Keep Calm and Hoot On

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  11. So sorry for your loss. That is hard for adults, I can't imagine how hard it was for the kiddos.

    I love your valentines and I am sure it will help the kiddos!

    Thinking of you and your staff!
    Elizabeth
    Hodges Herald

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  12. I am so sorry for your loss Alison. I am glad that you have such great people that you work with and that you are honoured Mary's life in such an amazing way. I am sure that you are all trying extra hard to show the love to your students too. I love the Valentine's frame. Keeping you in my thoughts and prayers. Huge hugs to you my friend!

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  13. I am so sorry for your loss. The way your school came together sounds fantastic and Mary's life was certainly honored and remembered in such a special way. I hope you enjoy your week with your cuties!

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  14. I am so sorry to hear about the loss of your friend and colleague. It gave me goosebumps to read about the kids sending off balloons for their teacher. I'm glad you have a close knit school that is supportive.

    Stephanie
    Forever in Fifth Grade

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  15. I am so sorry for your loss. I will keep you and your school in my prayers.

    Thank you for sharing your Valentine's Day motivators. I love that idea.

    Mary
    Fit to be Fourth

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  16. Oh, I am so sorry for your loss. I will keep your school in my prayers.

    Sending you a hug from Korea!
    ~Angela
    Southern Fried Teachin

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    Replies
    1. Thank you so much! We will take those hugs all the way from Korea!!!

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  17. Prayers for you and your school. It takes such a toll on the school when something like this happens. We had a 3rd grade teacher pass away last year, and the poor class was all out of sorts. Seems like y'all have come up with some great ways to honor her memory at the school!

    Don't Let the Teacher Stay Up Late
    Follow me on Bloglovin!

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  18. Alison- I'm so sorry for the loss you and your entire school are dealing with- it sounds like you are all doing a great job working together to remember all she had done for your school.
    Hugs from IL!
    Aylin
    Learning to the Core

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    Replies
    1. Thank you, Aylin! I truly appreciate the hugs and kind words!

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