Thoughts on Thursday: Are You Ready for Some Football?

I'm so excited that this is Thursday and my friend Kristi from Pelicans and Pipsqueaks and I are launching our monthly link-up of teacher thoughts!  Thoughts on Thursday is a weekly teacher blog link up where we talk about our thoughts on a specific subject. Sometimes we'll talk about classroom stuff, and sometimes we'll talk about life in general. You may even grab a freebie or two along the way ;)

It has been a wild month of August and I am beyond ready to get back into the swing of things. So this month - Football!!

So it won't come as any surprise, but living in Baton Rouge, I'm a little bit of a Tigers fan.

Just a little.

No, of course my closet doesn't consist of ALL purple and gold. There is some black. And pink.
I may or may not own solid gold shoes with purple laces.
I can neither confirm nor deny that when I go shopping I look for shoes and jewelry that match my game day outfits.

Yeah, okay.

I mean, just look at all this wonderfulness!

Who doesn't need a wine sippy cup? 

But it's Louisiana and in Baton Rouge LSU is EVERYWHERE! I literally live outside the North Gates of campus and we frequently walk to the campus bookstore or to visit Mike. It's very convenient.

It's a little over 2 days until my Tigers take the field in Wisconsin to get this season started! Sadly, I couldn't make the trip - okay I never get to make the long distance trips! - but I do know many down here who are. LSU Football is a religion down here.

This is true. The stadium, Mike's cage, the PMAC - all suffered no damage during the recent floods. Carly said we should have parked the car there. Now we know for next time.

Being inside the stadium on game days is indescribable. Watching the action, dancing with the band, cheering, and groaning with ups and downs of the game. It's the best feeling ever! 

A couple of years ago, Carly got the opportunity to dance on the field during halftime! 

Carly and her friend Jordyn

It was so fun! And so fast. The time flew by. It was for Jordyn's 13th birthday and Spirit Day coincided so the girls were signed up for halftime performance!

And who can forget Mike? He's only the best mascot ever. That tiger lives better than most Americans. Do you follow him on Instagram? You should! 

He has undergone radiation for his cancer - spindle cell sarcoma - so he has a purple patch around his eye. But he is still living it up. He has been treated at Our Lady of the Lake cancer center and they have offered to pay for all of his treatment. 

Fight like a Tiger, Mike!

While the home opener isn't until September 10, after this Saturday we will be in full swing of one of our four seasons. It is so exciting! LSU Tigers vs. Jacksonville State Gamecocks at 6:30 in Death Valley. 

AND because I love football so much, I've decided to throw you a FOOTBALL FREEBIE!!

It's a QR Code Scavenger Hunt. You hang the QR codes around the room. The kids start at START HERE. They scan the card and up pops a sentence, followed by a question. 

They answer the question and then hunt for the card that matches the answer. 

Scan and hunt! The questions are about nouns, verbs, misspelled words, end marks, etc. 

I've included a simple recording page, too. 

Grab your freebie HERE.

That's it for my thoughts! I do hope you consider joining us and sharing your thoughts. The link up is below. Here is the schedule for monthly linkups: 

See you next time!

An InLinkz Link-up

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How a Teacher Keeps Busy When Unexpectedly Off for Three Weeks

I have now been out of school for 11 days. We have another 5 this week before we return September 6th. I know a lot of you don't start school until this time anyway, but here in Louisiana we start in August and normally I would be prepping for the third week of school tonight. But I'm not. It is tough to sit around and do nothing after you have already gotten back into the swing of things. Needless to say, I've been going out of mind.

So what does one do when they are on extended unplanned break from school?

Help.

Bake.

I've made cookies for Mrs. Robinson, one of our first grade teachers, lost everything in the flood and I baked her some rainbows. She loves my cookies and I just wanted to do something special for her!
I've also tried out some new recipes. Like this chicken bacon ranch braid. Delicious.

Train.

Who says you can't have fun while training? 

Eating while training is essential. 

Knocked out the Ethics training, which channeled not only Game of Thrones, but also Super Mario Brothers.

Drink.

Coffee of course!!

Eat.

Everything and anything. I've eaten my house. It needs to stop.

Create.

I've made adorable benchmark training manuals for the teachers at school. And some brag tags.

Binge.

NCIS. There's 13 seasons now. And they don't get old so I can replay them and still love them.

Play.

Carly and I invented a game called Pineapple Go. You search for pineapples everywhere you go and Snapchat them when you find one using #pineapplego. And yes it's as complicated as it sounds.

Track.

On the Gulf Coast we take these here invests seriously and begin to track them when they are still just waves coming off of Africa. You literally cannot be too careful.  But it looks to be going to Florida so lots of prayers to you!!

I go back to school as a teacher Thursday, so things will start to get back to normal!! Thanks for reading!

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After the Storm {My Louisiana}

It has been a tough couple of weeks here in Baton Rouge. Since August 12, it has rained every single day. Nothing like we had August 12-13, but the rain comes nevertheless.

Friday morning, about 6:30 am this was my courtyard. School was canceled maybe 15 minutes later. Carly and I stayed in. I drank coffee, read some email, thought nothing of the rain. I had forgotten to grab my backpack from the car so I went to go get it. 

Then this happened. VERY SHORTLY AFTER.

That's my front step. I opened the door and that's what I stepped in.  

I turned back on the news and listened more closely. All of the surrounding parishes and school systems had closed. One school system waited until after 7 to cancel and children were on a bus. That bus was overcome by flash flooding and was pushed off the road. Thankfully the children and bus driver were unharmed. 

The meteorologist zoomed out the map and it looked like a miniature hurricane had situated itself over southern Louisiana and Mississippi. It just kept spinning in the one spot, not moving. She said expect downpours all day and most of the weekend. 

While my courtyard drained fairly quickly, it only went to the parking lot. 

Yeah, this was around 2 pm. 

And later, about 6ish. 

Yep. That's me going to move my car to higher ground for the third time. 

Carly's like, "Mom, how's the water?"

And I'm like, "The water's great."

I honestly don't know why I wore boots because the water just flowed inside them. 

The water kept coming in. 

Saturday morning. 

The water is up to the top steps. Parking lot is completely flooded. I'm beginning to slowly freak out. 

My parking lot. This side got up to those tiger's legs. We evacuated shortly after that. A friend of mine sent her husband to save us because it was super close to entering my apartment. We picked up stuff from around the floor that I didn't want to get wet, unplugged everything, packed a bag, and left.

The phones were safely sealed in two Ziploc bags, wrapped in a Glad ForceFlex garbage bag, and then placed in waterproof duffels, so I don't have our journey through the water. The water came up to Carly's waist. She is 5 feet tall. You can do the math. We waded carefully in the water because, well, it's Louisiana and the water isn't that clear and pretty and there are all sorts of animals that I really don't want to think about. Carly tripped over a curb and almost went under. Luckily I caught her and just her backpack got dunked. But I'm telling you! Glad ForceFlex garbage bags are the bomb! Her laptop was wrapped in one and it was bone dry when we took it out the soaked backpack. Spend the $10 and buy those bags. 

Yeah, that's the street where you get to my apartment complex. Those houses are elevated off the ground about 3 feet. See that stair to that blue-gray house? It was about up to the top step when we left. We are standing in the Raising Cane's parking lot outside the Northgate of LSU during a brief respite from the rain. 

We got one of these at least once a day for a whole week. 

Oh yeah, and then one of AT&T's substations flooded so we were without cell service almost two days. It wasn't their fault, it could've happened to any cell provider's substations. This time it just so happened to be AT&Ts. But they are offering credits to their customers so that's a plus.

Thankfully, the apartment did NOT flood. I don't know how, but it didn't. My car however wasn't so lucky. It did flood. And now it reeks. Waiting on State Farm to determine what they are doing with it. There are so many people who weren't as lucky as me. My heart goes out to them.

But life goes on.

Now comes the hard part. Cleaning and carrying on.

 Streets all over Baton Rouge, Livingston Parish, Zachary, Ascension Parish, and all over south Louisiana look just like this. Some streets you can't even drive down because of the trash piled on the side of the road.

A friend and I made sandwiches and delivered them to those who are working to clean out their houses. It is so heartbreaking to see people pile their belongings on the curb because they are ruined beyond repair. I feel useless and then I feel guilty and then I want to just give everyone a hug and tell them that somehow it will all be okay.

Carly also helped out by making Sticker Sacks and bringing them to her school for those who have been affected. Her school, St. Joseph's Academy, collects sack lunches each Tuesday and delivers them to the shelters. They're called the "Red Stickers" (Baton Rouge = Red Stick) so they call the lunches Sticker Sacks.

Louisiana is strong and we will bounce back. I've got to focus on the kids and make sure they are doing well.

Sending you all the Louisiana Love!

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Things to Re"MEME"ber!

Hi guys! How has your week been? I've had a fantastic first two days of school. I actually had school canceled today because of severe weather, so I'm just catching up on all the things!

Just a quick jot here today to share with you my Things to Re"meme"ber board!

I love memes and I think they are hilarious!! I'm pretty sure I covered all the basics here, but I am going to be updating with new ones throughout the year as I find relevant ones. The other teachers, too. 

I hung it up on the wall in the 6th grade hallway. It gives me a laugh every time I walk by. I think the kids like it, too. 

Want a copy for yourself? Grab it free HERE. 

Thanks, and happy TECH-ing! 

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