 and welcome back to another Apple's NTR's vlog. It has been forever since I picked up this camera and vlogged for you guys, but I really wanted to get one out. Like I miss filming and I miss editing and I just, I'm in the mood. So anyway, I'm here at school. It is the day after Thanksgiving break. It is Monday. I don't know what the date is, but that's fine. I don't need to know what the date is to be a successful teacher and have a great day. Cause you know, I will learn what the date is eventually. I brought a whole load of stuff. One of these things is my Teacher Tuber Secret Santa box, I think. I tried not to look at who sent it, but I'm not expecting a package from anybody. So I'm pretty positive that this is what it is. So I might start opening it today and do like I'm supposed to do an open one gift per day and then have it all opened in a week. But I, you got them in there? Do you want to put them back in their cage? Okay. Cash is here with me. Say hi. I moved a couple of things around since the last time I spoke with you guys. I'm going to flip this camera and show you the change. So over here, I have switched my library. It used to be back over here and I will explain all of the changes. So I moved my desk to face the room again. And the reason why I did this was because when I'm taking attendance or like working on something at my desk, which is very uncommon, but when I do, whether it's like presenting from back here because my Chromebook died or something, I wanted to be able to see out and have my computer and my monitor facing this way so I can see out and be looking at my table. And so I did flip this around. And so it is kind of like it was last year, the desk is here and then I have all my stuff behind me, which I really like especially for like virtual meetings. This is a really cute background. And plus this little space, I don't need space for me. So it's pretty small and it's cozy and it's organized. And then I backed up my library because my library is pretty small this year only because I have three classes and I do not really check out books to all three classes. I check out books to my homeroom. And sometimes the kids from other classes will check out books, but I don't have like a whole class picking books out. So I have a small selection, but it's perfectly fine. I do have more picture books in the front. But anyway, so I did make this space more of a library space. And I think I'm gonna put my Christmas tree right here. And then over here, I kind of moved this because I have been doing more small group instruction. I've been pulling math groups for my math teammates just working with students in the morning with their math skills. And then also too, like this is a great project area. Hey, be careful with that. Dumping them out. I'm gonna put my FlexiSpot desk right here. I still absolutely love it. It does still rise and fall, but I found cashstone shaker, please. I found that I wasn't like standing at it enough. I think maybe next year, I'll try to move it to the front of the room. But I really don't teach from like a station. Like I'm moving around a lot. So I do have this little guy still up here rising and falling as needed. And then this back here actually is very, very useful for putting like my phone and my paper cutter, all the things that I don't want students touching back there behind. And then I have access to all my small group things, math manipulatives, and then whatever. And then the Chrome cart is back here now and my rat cage is over there. So anyway, that is kind of the change. Good morning. Hello. Good morning. They were just at the neighbor's house for like almost a week. Did you miss me? Did you miss me, teeny bit? She did, I'm sure. So I have quite a few things to unpack. And then I actually have duty this morning, but luckily I have like a 45 minute reach time in the morning. I have teeny right here. I have like a 35 minute block in the morning where my students are working on, okay. They're working on a math program. And so I have that time to kind of get myself together while they're doing that, and then pull my little small group. So I'm not gonna like totally rush and panic, but I do have about 10 minutes until I need to take cash downstairs and then my duty starts shortly after that. So I'm gonna get to unpack. Give these light bulbs a quick go. I said I'm thinking I can probably stick them in. Just turn all my lamps on and then we'll go and investigate which ones they'll fit in. Super bright though. Like there's that one and then here's this one. They are really cool though. So maybe what I can do is look into some different lamps. I wish they would go in here, but these bulbs are way too small. So maybe what I can do is find some more lamps that like Goodwill or something and put those together. And then that would look really nice. Okay, so it is about seven, 28. I'm just gonna get all of my technology turned on and my class dojo greeting up on the board. And then I'm gonna head on down to take cash to school and then go outside for my duty. And hopefully when I have my prep period, I'll be able to stop and explain to you guys what we're doing this week. Okay you guys, so it is now specials time and officially my prep period. So I wanted to kind of tell you guys what I've been working on with the kids. So we started a mystery science, mystery. If you guys have never heard of mystery science, it is a really cool science tool for all grade levels and is completely standards-based. Basically it provides a whole lesson, hands-on activities, videos, a lot of different activities for you for your science blocks. I haven't used it this year yet, but I've used it in the past and it is great. It's also available digitally for any people that are still distance learning or for any people who are working at home. So it's really cool. This is not sponsored by mystery science. I just really enjoy the program. Mystery science and generation genius are probably my two favorite science programs that are online that I like to use to create my lessons. So anyway, today we're doing the mystery, the birth of rocks and it takes the kids through fossils, processes of the earth, volcanoes, earthquakes, things like that that are really fun. And so today they just kind of do a notice and wonder activity where they look at a fossil bed and they try and write the things that they're noticing or things they observe. They think about how the animals got there and then wonder like question, how did they die? What is the environment like? And so I had the kids do a notice, think and wonder wall. So after they were done filling in their own individual notice, think and wonder, I had a few of them, if they wanted to put their questions or their notices or their observations, I guess I could say, up on the wall, they were able to do so. So they're all here and we shared, we partner talked, we had a nice class discussion. So it was super fun. Tomorrow they get to do some volcano mapping, which is really fun. So they get to plot volcanoes on a map. And then when they put all the maps together, the ring of fire is exposed. And so they get to see like patterns of where earthquakes and volcanoes occur and stuff like that. So super fun. Because it's my prep time, I usually eat breakfast or lunch, whichever meal it is of the day for me. Sometimes I don't eat breakfast. Sometimes I don't eat lunch. It just kind of depends on if I'm hungry. I'm not starving right now, so I don't think I'm going to eat right now, but I am going to work on some planning. This mystery science thing will probably take me through this whole week and part of next week, which is great. And then when we're done, so I've been, so in the last couple of weeks, I have switched up my schedule and how I do science and social studies and how I balance the two. I've been doing 60 minutes of science and 30 minutes of social studies and it's been working out really well. And I don't know why I didn't do this before, I guess because when I'm like physically teaching social studies, I feel like I need a little bit more time. But the kids are working on their Native American tribe projects. They are basically just making a slideshow about a tribe and the culture and how that tribe lived. And so they're looking up things like what types of homes they lived in, what type of clothing, the type of food, inventions that the tribe had, things like that. And so I'm giving them 30 minutes of class time each day and I'm really liking the way that this is working out. It makes it so that by the time we get through an hour of science, they are able to transition to social studies and it's kind of like a break in our day, in our class period. And I really like it. And then on Wednesdays, because Wednesdays are one hour long, I've been doing social studies on Wednesdays, the whole period. So I'm having four 60 minute blocks of science per week and then they get at least, let's see, three hours of social studies a week total. So I feel like that's really good and I've really been enjoying the breakup of science and social studies. It's really working for me. So anyway, that's what I've been doing. I've decorated my room a little bit today. So I put up a few more lights and I need to fix one of them. I need to plug it into my remote control but I put some lights along this board and then I hung some battery lights on this which they'll probably die, but that's fine. And then I hung some battery lights on my thing here. And the kids have asked me today because usually the day we get back from Thanksgiving break an elf has appeared and Ginger's not here yet. So I'm curious to know why she didn't come yet. If she's coming, I'm not sure. But I'm thinking I'm probably gonna put up my Christmas tree. Maybe today, maybe tomorrow, I would like to put it up and just get festive and not wait for Ginger to bring a Christmas tree because Ginger usually brings it and she's not here yet. So I would like to enjoy the Christmas tree and because I'm living in a hotel right now I'm probably not gonna have a Christmas tree at home. So I gotta have one here. But I'm trying to figure out where to put it. I either wanna put it here in the library like maybe right here or up there. I feel like right here would be the less invasive option. I could even put it on that stool right there and take the books off and just put them on the floor next to the chair. So I think I'm gonna do that because mystery science is so great and it pre-plans everything for me I'm pretty much done planning. I just have to kind of click through all of the kids slide shows and make sure that they participated in the activity today. So yeah, maybe I'll do my Christmas tree right now. Hey you guys, so it is now after school and I wanted to check in with you because our check came in the mail which means that we can start construction on the fixing of our house. You guys are new here. My house flooded in September and I've been living in a hotel since then. And so our check finally came in the mail which means that we can start construction probably this or next week. Oh gosh, I'm hoping this week that would be so great. So the goal is to be home by Christmas. It might be slightly after but I am so ready to go home. I cannot tell you how tired of this hotel room I am. It is a hot mess right now but that's okay. We just got back last night from Prescott. So everything's kind of like unorganized and looking crazy but this is like finally the light at the tunnel that we needed to see because now we can actually do something. Our house has just been sitting there for two months empty and like totally torn apart and now we can actually move forward. So that's and I are getting ready to go to the gym. Everything's just playing with some toys over there. And then we have to grocery shop and then that is our day. So yeah, thank you guys for watching and if I don't end this vlog later, I will see you in the next one. Bye guys.