A targeted outlet for my summertime restlessness

I've decided to do it.  My thoughts and ideas towards teaching are spoken to my teammates, teacher friends and family on a regular daily basis, but the absence of reaching out to a digital community has nagged at me for quite a while.  

As a teacher, I'm known for my themes.  These themes always somehow point in the direction of one central company that helped mold my childhood and let's face it, most of my life so far.  This company would be of course....Disney.  With the accompanied support of my family morals and ethics, Disney movies always managed to instill some important life lessons every time I had the privilege of watching a new flick.  I would sit mesmerized (however not fully knowing it at the time) at the underlying stories of bravery, knowledge, loyalty, friendship and love.  About the time that Pixar merged, I was hooked on anything that came with a Disney label attached.

My first experience with Toy Story sparked a flame that has long since been burning inside me since '95.  I was hooked on the characters.  I loved the quotes.  I laughed at the humor and wit in the banter.  And my heart was forever roped in by a loveable cowboy named Woody.  Slinky, being a close 2nd favorite.  

By the time that I had gone through the second movie and was sitting in the theater watching the third installment with tears streaming down my face by the end, I knew this particular trio of movies had gotten me.  It appealed to all ages, and yet again I was touched by the amazing story lines and morals that Pixar had incorporated into its characters.

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I began my first year of teaching in the Fall of 2011.  I racked my brain all summer for what "theme" my first classroom was going to carry on through the year.  I wanted something that appealed to both genders, and also would have a strong presence of good character and strong knowledge for my students.  I decided to go with a Toy Story theme.  As first I became discouraged after browsing for endless hours online trying to find some examples of how this theme was incorporated in previous classrooms.  What I realized after quite some time was that, it hadn't.  So I started to create my own components to add to my room.  With the help of my mom and girlfriends, we had everything colored, laminated and cut by Open House.  

My room quickly become The Toy Story room.  I had kids coming by just wanting to peek in to see what it looked like. 

 I've done the Toy Story theme for 2 years now, and it is time to move on to something new.  After some careful thought and consideration, I've decided my new theme is going to be:  Up.

But, more to come on that later. ;)  

Use Potato Heads as a PBIS idea for students to add different pieces to their potato head for positive behavior