2015

I have been busy, very busy.

5 kids and a full-time job has kept me from writing.  Just as the year was beginning, I was speaking with a co-worker about my hopes for the new year and one of them was to find my way back to this blog and make time for writing again.  It makes me happy and it serves as a great release.  So, here I am, full of good intentions.

It is easy to get caught up in the musts and forget about the cans.  I must prep lunches, show up each day to teach 16 beautiful first graders, take my kids home from school, wash lunch containers, prep dinner, run kids to soccer, make dinner, clean up dinner, wash a couple loads of laundry, look over the next day’s plans and spend time with Scott.  I can wake up early and make a warm breakfast.  I can write a note to a co-worker saying thanks for support they have given me and our school community.  I can send a message to Scott telling him a love him and mention positive things about my day.  I can text my mom and tell her I love her and miss her.  I can play a game with the kids when we get home.  I can carve out time for a workout.  I can text a friend to check in.  I can tell my kids I love them and tell them they make me happy.  I can write on this blog.  I don’t always try to do the things I can.

Happy New Year and here’s to thinking positive and doing more than we must.

3rd Grade Human Body Project

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Brayden and his fellow third grade peers have been studying the human body.  This past Thursday they had project share time for parents to come in and see what they had been working on and learning.

 

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Third graders used this book as a platform to talk about parts of their body that they like.  Brayden chose his leg and foot:DSC01402

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Our school is great about interdisciplinary work, this is a piece of art Brayden created with Lucia in Art class.

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Brayden was a part of the body ratio group.  He had folks measure how tall they were with yarn and then cut the yarn.  Then if you stretch the yarn from hand to hand and hold your arms out, it will be the same length.  DSC01396

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Update & Photo Dump

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Life is constant.  We are busy, to say the least.

The boys and I are 3 weeks into a new school year at Central Park School for Children.  I am teaching 1st grade and loving it!  I have the most amazing group of learners.  Working full-time, as a lead teacher, makes life full but I am enjoying it.  I am learning how to manage home life and more work.  I miss being home, but I have a peace about teaching at CPSC.  Yes, I am tired, but I am very thankful to be an active member of the learning community at our school.  There is so much to look forward to each day.

Kalen started 5th grade and Brayden is now in 3rd.  They are adjusting and enjoying the newness.

We are fostering to adopt a five year old diamond in the rough.  He has been with us since July 18th.  He stayed with us several weekends this summer to see if he would be a good fit for our family.  We all weighed in and decided to help this little guy out.  He is a little ball of joy.  He loves life and is very active, as are we!  He has some baggage, but don’t we all?  We are thankful to be able to love him right where he is in his life right now.

Madelyn, Kalen and Brayden are starting up soccer (we spent 8 hrs on the soccer fields today).  Julian is about to start high school, Maddie 7th grade.  Scott is revving up for another school year at Elon.

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Maddie was a part of a Collage Project at Duke School this summer. Here she is the night of the culminating event. This is her moose puppet she made.

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First day of school for Brayden, 3rd grade.

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Scott and I waiting for Maddie’s presentation for the Collage Project.

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July 18th. N came to stay. 🙂

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First day of school, Kalen, 5th grade.

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Kalen & Brayden

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Julian Jeremiah, awaiting Maddie’s performance.

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N practicing his numbers with my mom, not long after first meeting her. 🙂

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Kalen’s amazing fish

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Me this summer on a date with my Scott at one of our favs, Remedy Diner in Raleigh.

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Madelyn’s owl

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Some of my students right after lunch one day, during quiet time.

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The first week in my class. I love first grade!

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Last week, my dad took our whole family out for pizza and to a Durham Bull’s Baseball game. We had a blast. Maddie got her face painted.

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Brayden pointing out something to N at the baseball game. N had a ball that night!

Marks of Love

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Scott’s parents will soon be living in this new home above.  They have had a house built not too far from their current home.  Jan and Jerry have had their friends and family come by their new home and sign the wood frames.  Our family of six were fortunate enough to go by and be a part of this sweet and meaningful house signing.  Here are some photos of our time there.

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Summertime

It is finally feeling like summer.  I have been done with work for a week now.  I have been able to enjoy life at home with the kids, have some poolside relaxation and even take care of a foster kid.

We had the opportunity to provide respite care for a five year old boy last weekend.  He was unlike any foster child we have had come through our door.  He showed us he is an extremely capable child, full of life and a very good communicator.  Oh, and he is very bright.  He does have a very sad start to life.  We are hopeful for him.  We enjoyed our three days with him.  It had been a year since we had had any placements.

I have some news.  I mentioned in a previous post that I will be teaching 2nd grade next year, that has changed.  I am able to teach 1st grade and even keep most of my students from the kindergarten class that I took over for.  I am very excited about this opportunity and already planning for it!  I go back in the beginning of July, as we are a year around school.

For now, I am going to enjoy The Fault in our Stars, an amazing novel, fun and meaningful family time, sunshine and good food!  Yay for summer!

Teaching and Learning

I started teaching Kindergarten in April.  I took on a longterm sub job for a teacher I had been assisting all year.  She is on maternity leave.  I was nervous walking into this job.  I knew the kids, felt comfortable with the plans, love the school, know the staff… and yet I was nervous.  The transition was easier than I thought and I can honestly say now that I feel totally comfortable.  I love this.  I love leading kids and loving them as they learn.  A couple weeks into taking over I was offered a 2nd grade teaching position for next year.  I accepted and very excited about being a full-time teacher next school year and having my own classroom.

Of course, there are adjustments at home to be made with working full-time.  Supper time is a bit later, laundry piles up a little taller, and we visit school on the weekend to help me prepare for the following week.  My family has been amazing and I am so thankful for their support.

Our kindergarten class incubated 12 chicken eggs and now have 9 chicks that are 21 days old!  We are a project based school and this project has been very involved, but full of endless opportunity and learning experiences.  I have learned more about chickens than I thought I ever would.  Our school now has a permit to have these little beauties live on the school’s property.  The plan is to transition them out of our classroom, very shortly, to live in their coop.  In the meantime, our class continues to observe these chicks and learn as much as we can about them.

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The student below voluntarily decided to draw out the chicken life cycle in his journal.  DSC00025

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These two down below were camped out here beside the chicks observing.  DSC03169 DSC00046

 

One of the sweetest parts of this chicken project has been sharing these little ones with my own kids.  Here’s Brayden with one of our little chicks. Just today, I took Kalen and Brayden to school on this Sunday afternoon and we cleaned out the containers, fed and watered the chicks and took them outside for a little freedom time.  We are definitely making sweet memories.DSC03294