Whirlwind Extravaganza!

The title of this post is really the only way I can describe this year so far!
I hate that I haven't been on to post and I really hate that I come home from school at 5:30 and fall asleep on the couch by 8:30. It's definitely sad… However- I am absolutely LOVING it! I truly cannot picture myself anywhere else and all I can say is that I just keep running full speed ahead until something stops me! I love the satisfaction of "lightbulbs" going off in my wonderful students heads. It just blows me away how much information these kids know and retain! Teaching in the magnet program has it's pros and cons- my students are definitely the pro! :) 

As for everything else in the classroom- I currently have two grant projects going right now. One is at a local program similar to Donor's Choose, called Find It Fund It Alachua. You can view that project here: http://finditfunditflorida.com/mygrant.php?action=editform&grant_id=3480 ), and share if you can! :) 

I also just got my grant request approved over at Donor's Choose today! (Check it out here: http://www.donorschoose.org/rodriguezteachon ) Woohoo! I am super excited about this one because it is for a writing project for my students. Y'all, these kids can write! Oh my golly, I have NEVER seen third graders with such a passion for writing! I was shocked the first time I had them write in their journals. I wanted to jump up and down and celebrate, but I would have totally disrupted them :) Anyways, my goal is to completely walk them through the writing process starting with prewriting and ending with publishing. That is where my awesome project comes in! I'm trying to get a binding machine, binding materials, and laminating supplies so that students can publish their work. I'm so excited and I hope it gets funded! :) The other project is based on my need for iPads in the classroom. I believe my kids need that added challenge and support being in the magnet program. I need technology to keep these kiddos engaged! I'm hoping a business locally will help me out with this project! :)  Please share this if you are willing! :)

Well, I know this is a short one friends, but I think it was a good one! I hope you guys enjoy reading about my projects! :) I will leave you with a few cute pictures from our Science lab when we were dissecting a Lima bean :) Cute!