Halibut, Marshmallows and a Freebie

No . . . I'm not sharing a gross recipe that combines marshmallows and halibut (thank goodness)!  They are just two unrelated things that I want to chat about. (Warning - this is a really long post but if you hang in until the end there's a freebie and a quick giveaway.)

The first thing you need to know is that I'm a closet Big Brother fan. It's my summer guilty pleasure, I admit it.  Anyone else?  Well, even if you don't watch the show, you'll understand my extreme reaction to, and subsequent dislike for one of the houseguests.  Twenty-something Danielle is a nurse from Alabama whose incredibly offending strategy is, "I don't want anyone to know I'm in the medical field or that I'm working on three different degrees including a Masters," she confides. "I plan to lie and say I'm someone not that smart like . . . oh . . . maybe a kindergarten teacher. I mean, how can someone who works with Play-Doh all day and reads The Bernstein [sic] Bears be that much of a threat, right?"
I don't even know where to start! I could go on for hours about how incredibly insulting and misguided this ridiculous twit young lady is, but I'll just rant about a few things:

1. Play-doh all day, really? With increasing curriculum standards and heightened accountability, when was the last time you broke out the play-doh for an all-day fiesta?
2. Most teachers also have multiple degrees, with many states requiring a Masters within the first few years of teaching.  It's something we do as teachers to hone our craft and become better at what we do, not to wear as a badge or to announce to the world on reality TV.
3. Ummm. . . It's Berenstain Bears, not Bernstein Bears. If you're going to insult us, at least get it right.
4. On Sunday's episode, when the houseguest cooking dinner said he was making halibut, Danielle asked, "What's halibut?" Now, I might not be a nurse, but at least I know what halibut is!  (No offense meant toward nurses, I know that they are as hardworking and dedicated as teachers are!)
5. Lastly, I'd bet my left arm that the love of learning that propelled Danielle to pursue her many degrees was first cultivated by her kindergarten teacher. I'm just saying. . .

Okay, I'm done with the halibut, on to the marshmallows.

Back to school time means teaching and re-teaching rules and procedures to set the expectations for the whole year.  Looking back at the tough year I had with last year's bunch, I'm finding myself wondering if I spent enough time in the beginning of year doing this. I'm going in guns blazing this year, and I'm going to spend a lot more time really focusing on making good choices.  If you're a regular follower, you know that writing my own emergent readers has become quite an obsession a hobby of mine, so I've been working on some to help facilitate this beginning of the year "boot camp."
One thing I want to focus on right away is hallway expectations. Using the well known "Marshmallow Toes" gimmick, I came up with a cute emergent reader to share with my class as we practice walking quietly in the hallway. I also made a matching pocket chart sort and classroom poster to support what we'll learn from the book. Then, I made a matching take home version so the parents can reinforce the expectations at home. (You can grab this freebie down below.) Finally, since we can't play with play-doh all day but we still need a little fun, I created a craftivity (that uses real marshmallows!) to go with it.  I'm excited to use this mini-unit when school starts, and I think it will really help set the tone for the year. You can check it out in my TPT store (here) if you think you'd like to have a fun little boot camp of your own.

Grab the student take-home book here.

Thanks for reading all the way to the end of this really long post. Now for a quick "Halibut and Marshmallows" Give-Away.  I'll send a copy of the Marshmallow Toes packet to the first five people who can name a Big Brother houseguest that I would like to see take Danielle out of the game (any houseguest will do). Make sure you leave your email and no fair repeating a name that someone already answered with!

Have a great day!