Help My Classroom ACHIEVE Excellence!

I want to make sure my students have the materials they need to succeed, so I created a request for my classroom at DonorsChoose.org: 2nd Grade: Journey to Success! 

Why Should You Donate?

• You are AWESOME!
• Your donation can be matched (so $5=$10, HOORAY!)
• You will be helping kids who often come to school hungry and don't have supplies necessary to succeed.
• You will be helping a teacher (ME!) who lacks resources (I spent last year begging another teacher to use her pencil sharpener because mine broke and the budget was spent!)
• You will be helping students become globally aware readers and writers....children are our future, right? 
• If you chip in to help my students, you'll get awesome photos and our heartfelt thanks.
• Did I say, YOU ARE AWESOME!

Give to my classroom by July 29 and your donation will be doubled. Just enter the code INSPIRE on the payment page and apply at checkout and you'll be matched dollar for dollar (up to $100).

--Kat

(If the link doesn't work: http://www.donorschoose.org/project/2nd-grade-journey-to-success/1260898/)

2nd Grade: Journey to Success!
Mrs. Pittman High Poverty, Houston, TX	"The journey of a lifetime starts with the turning of a page." --Rachel Anders While my students are motivated and en... read more My students need two book racks, read-aloud books, supplies that allow them to create interactive notebooks, and maps to develop global learning. Help my classroom

Awesome Austin...

We had a weekend with no obligations so we headed to Austin.  Last Saturday, we threw the kids and the dogs in our van and headed north for adventure!  We couldn't have had more fun! Here is what we did:

Saturday:

• Austin Downtown Farmer's Market where we purchased fresh veggies and blood sausage. 
• Stopped for lunch at Barton Springs Food Park and ate a "Mighty Cone" which food star favorite Adam Richman once enjoyed.
• Walked along the Lady Bird Trail and found dog beach where we let the dogs swim (much to Shyla's distaste but Emma loved it!)
• Stopped for beer and ice cream at Phil's Ice House where the kids played on a playground and Dale and I relaxed.  
• Shopped for books at the BIGGEST half price books I have ever been too.
• Swam at Barton Springs in beautiful cool water. The kids didn't dig the cold but I LOVED it!
• Stopped at Whole Foods Downtown and made our own trailmix.
• Ate at LoveBalls (Japanese street food...It was worth the drive, I suggest the mushroom with ponzu)
• Stopped at In'N'Out (YES!!!) for a late night snack!

Sunday:

• Went canoeing down the Colorado River.  The kids loved this! We saw turtles, water snakes, and tons of birds.
• Ate at Gordough's gourmet dooughnuts (also featured on Bizarre Foods with Andrew Zimmern)
• Went to Mueller's Farmer's Market where the kids got a free mini-train ride and we got locally roasted coffee and duck rillete.
• Shopped at HEB and enjoyed beer and pizza in their outdoor cafe (Cafe Mueller)

Clearly, we ate and played our way through Austin.  There was so much to do and we can't wait to go back! 

Summer Goal Progress

Much to my own surprise, I have actually tackled my summer goals pretty well despite all our summer distractions! Here is my progress:

Summer Goals
1.  Buy a couch (DONE---and I got it for FREE)

2. Unpack boxes 

3. Set up the den/piano room 

4.  Read at least 1 book per week (I have read 9 books so far!)

5. Start early morning running again (I am back to running 3 miles, pacing 9 minutes/miles)

6. Go to Discovery Green's Flea by Night (SO MUCH FUN! We saw lots of cool trinkets!)

7. Date night at Red Lion Pub and a movie (We actually walked out of Red Lion because it was SUPER expensive and the service was non existent, so we had date night at Haymerchant instead!)

8. Take a trip to Austin and eat at Love Balls (AMAZING! We LOVED Austin, more about that coming soon!)

9. Go camping! Either at Inks Lake State Park.  (We ended up camping at Lake Livingston and had a great time!)

10.  Go to Corpus Christi and drive on the beach

11. Sleep as much as possible (I am sleeping tons but there is never enough sleep!)

12. Organize and level my classroom books My living room is covered with books.....

13. Make workstations for next year (mostly done!)

14. Plan the 1st nine weeks of school (probably won't happen....but I want to try!)

15. Go to the Museum District and see the Menil Collection, Weather Museum, and MFAH.

16. Grow tomatoes (planted and growing!!!)  We had tomatoes but then some tomato hornworms ate them :(

17. Go back to 100% paleo diet (we are having too much fun making our own pasta and eating at new places....oops)

18. Write more.  Blog more. (obviously, getting started on that one)

19.  Enroll the kids in swim lessons They start next week!

20.  Drive to the Louisiana border (just to say I have been!)

21. Buy a second car (it has been rough only have one car to make our daily commute!)

I have actually done a lot more as well, like:

1. Cool Nights at the Houston Zoo

2. Explore Houston's many splash parks

3. Shopped at Farmer's Market

4. Set up a donorschoose project for my class

5. Procurred donations from my neighborhood like bookshelves and bean bags

6. Got the kids haircuts

7. Went to a train park

8. Shopped at the fish market in Kemah

9. Cooked some amazing meals like hand-rolled pasta with cilantro pistou and house-made ricotta stuffed roasted chicken!

10. Met some awesome teachers at trainings!