Middle School Math Moments (now Cognitive Cardio Math)

How can so much time go by between my posts?! I think of so many things to write about, but get caught up getting other things done, and never write about what I'm thinking:( Anyway, just a quick post to share what I'm "happy to know."  The other week, my husband and his friend were eating at a diner, and his friend starting talking to a family he knew that was also eating at the diner. After a bit of conversation, our last name came up, and the "girl" (woman, really....she's almost 30) in the family realized who my husband was. This girl had been in my 5th grade class during my third year of teaching, 18 years ago! A few years later she babysat our children, but as the years went by, I didn't see her any more. It turns out that she is now a teacher, and she told my husband that I am one of the reasons that she wanted to become a teacher!  I'm so happy to know that I had a positive influence on her:-)

This post has been moved to: http://www.cognitivecardiowithmsmm.com/blog/teaching-routines-the-first-week-of-school

Thanks to Bagby at Math Madness for the nomination for the Liebster award! Blogging is fairly new for me, and I don't get to spend as much time as I like, so I truly appreciate the nomination:) I didn't know what this award was about, so I was glad to find this on Bagby's blog: "The Liebster Award is given to up and coming bloggers who have less than 200 followers. So, what is a Liebster?  The meaning: Liebster is German and means sweetest, kindest, nicest, dearest, beloved, lovely, kind, pleasant, valued, cute, endearing, and welcome. Isn't that sweet? Blogging is about building a community and it's a great way to connect with other bloggers and help spread the word about newer bloggers/blogs."  Ashley and Jason To accept the nomination I must: 1.  Link back to the blog that nominated me  - I truly appreciate it, Bagby ! 2. Nominate 5-11 blogs with fewer than 200 followers - at the end of this post (be sure to check them out!) ...

I'm sad to share that one of my dogs, Bella, passed away last night. She was 8 1/2 years old. Bella as a puppy This is Bella the day we brought her home, meeting our other dog, Oreo. He was suspicious, but grew to love playing with her:) Bella relaxing Bella liked to flop herself down in many positions, just to relax!  She loved to bask in the sunlight... She just loved to be loved:) Bella in the middle. Oreo, Bella, and Lily, all buddies....it's hard to say if they know she is gone. Rest in peace, Bella. We will never forget you!

Greenhouse on my deck! I'm excited to share something that is not school related! One of the things I love to do in my spare time and summer time is work on gardening/growing plants. I'm not a fabulous gardener, but I'm working on it and I enjoy it! Inside the greenhouse last fall. Last year, I bought a small greenhouse that I keep on my deck, (fortunately the hubby doesn't mind it being there) to try to extend the growing season a bit. The greenhouse is 5 ft by 5 ft, and is portable! So, I can break it down and put it in its carrier over the winter. I bought it at The Home Depot in the middle of last summer and was able to keep quite a few different plants going into the late fall (I live in PA so it starts getting colder then). Normally, MY gardening season is from the end of school (mid-June) to the beginning of school (now the last week in August). This is mainly because I have 3 children, and up until last year, we had various sports, programs, etc. (pl...