cowboy boots

There was a lot of excitement last week in my classroom. We had been counting down the days until our pumpkin patch field trip for weeks! As the numbers got fewer, the excitement grew!!! Every morning last week I had a student ask if it was Friday yet! I had to remind him how many more days we had. I loved how excited they were!

Thursday when he came in he knew that there was only one more day. We did our usual morning routine and then halfway through the morning he came up and told me he had a secret. This is not unusual for him because he usually has a secret hug or a secret to tell me how much he loves me. This time the secret was a little different.

He asked if I could wear my cowboy boots to the pumpkin patch field trip.

He has a favorite pair of cowboy boots that are Buzz and Woody. They also have "Andy" written on the bottom of one of the shoes!

I thought for a second (mainly thinking if it would match my outfit already planned) and then answered by telling him I would try!

So not to disappoint my kinder I wore my boots Friday morning. Of course he came in wearing his boots (and his handcuffs)!

We had to take a matching picture!

Our field trip was great as always. My sister joined us this year so we had a great photographer!

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Sesame Street meets Glee!

My sister shared this with me today. 

Thank you Sesame Street for clearing up the correct way to make the G sound!

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"the" talk

Well...I had to have "the" talk with my students today! 

Love is in the air in Ms. Brown's class! 

On the playground today a kinder was pouting big time.  He had his little arms crossed and his bottom lip sticking out as far as he could!  So I called him over to me to find out what was so tragic in his life!  He said VERY tragically, "MY GIRLFRIEND BROKE UP WITH ME!"  They had been boyfriend and girlfriend for about a week.  I don't know why they broke up, but apparently it was not pretty, and it was not mutual!  I told him not to worry about having a girlfriend because they are trouble and now is not the time to worry about having a girlfriend.

There has been a lot of hand holding, arms around one another, and boyfriend/girlfriend talk!  This afternoon we were dancing and getting the wiggles out when I noticed 4 different "couples" hold hands!!! 
I started thinking..."WHAT IN THE WORLD?!?!?"

This was happening in centers the other day!

While it is pretty comical I thought this needs to be addressed before it gets too out of hand!  So we talked about being friends with everyone and that it was okay for you to think a friend in our class was pretty or cute.  We talked about that while it is okay to sit with beside their friend, holding their hand or putting their arm around one another is not!

I told them that they were way too young to be boyfriend and girlfriend.  I don't know how this gets started every year, but I guess there is something sweet and special about new friends at school!

around my room 2011-2012 edition

I have a new addiction...pintrest!  I found some great ideas this summer that got me really excited about decorating my classroom.  If you have not checked out pintrest you might want to!  Lots of great recipes, decorating tips, and ideas for everything!

I think it is important for your classroom to be comfortable and inviting.  I mean we spend so much time in there.  Even as a teacher I am in my classroom a lot more than my room at home!  I want it to be a place that I love!  I am beginning to feel that way about my room this year. 

First thing I found that I wanted to make were banners hanging down from the ceiling.  I went to a local fabric store and found cute Dr. Seuss fabric to match my room and got to sewing! 

 The cute fabric I chose to use.

 I cut the fabric into triangles and then sewed the two pieces together. 

 I then pinned the triangles into folded bias tape.

Last step was to sew the triangles and bias tape.

Very simple and it did not take me long at all.  These are very popular right now at weddings and showers.  I plan on sewing some more soon!

I also made some tissue paper pom poms to hang from the ceiling as well.

My boyfriend did an excellent job hanging it all up for me! I love the way it all turned out!

As you walk in the door, there is my book shelf.  I have personal favorite books and baskets from Highlights to keep stamps, stickers, and other teacher items in.  I also keep my Homework Folders on this bookshelf because it is right beside the cubbies so that the students don't have to move far when they unpack in the morning.

I have some important times on the wall by the clock because kinders always want to know what time lunch is and what time they go home.  This year I am hoping to help them be able to read a clock better and recognize the times better.

This is our behavior chart.  It is really similar to my behavior chart from last year, but I thought I would add a little more to it after reading this great resource, http://www.newmanagement.com/ebooks/clip_chart.html

It is a great way to be positive and remind students of their choices.  By starting at green it gives every child a chance to do his/her best.  Read the eBook.  You will not be disappointed!

I love the tennis balls on my chairs.  I regret not having them last year.  Such a wonderful investment!!

This is my teacher table.  I am going to use this table for centers, intervention time, and just a place for me to work.  I enjoy having this big space.  I bought the basket at Target.  It was for picnics but I thought it was a perfect size for notepads, pens, and markers. 

Now my favorite space in my room....

 

(You can see part of my magic carpet!  I love it!)

I let my students read in my rocking chair or in the bathtub, but only one at a time.  My favorite teacher, who inspired me to be a teacher, had a bathtub in her classroom.  I had to have one myself.  My parents bought it for me from Craig's List and I painted it.  The students are always in awe of it!

So here is my updated room!  I am excited about all that is in store for this school year!

Let's Go!!!

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school starts tomorrow!!!

Ahhh!  School starts tomorrow!  I remember how I felt the night before school started last year.  I was nervous and anxious.  I do not really feel that way this year.  I am more excited and anxious!  I am glad I know this year what to expect...if you really can predict Kindergarten, and I am so excited!  I have worked a lot in my room these past few days.  Special thanks to my parents, assistant, and boyfriend!  They have been a huge help!  I have changed a lot in my room, and I think that every teacher needs some new change to help get excited about the year.  At the end of last school year I made a wish list and included a classroom rug and a new bookshelf.  My principal bought both for me!  I was super excited to put those in my room.  I also had my desk removed.  I love having the extra space.  The new bookshelf now is home to cute baskets filled with my stuff and of course lots of books.  My new reading center is so cozy, and I can't wait to start reading to my kinders tomorrow! ( I will post some pictures of my room soon!)

"Meet the Teacher" was Monday afternoon.  It was great to put a face with a name.  I was so excited to meet the parents and the students.  I have a feeling it is going to be another awesome year!  I had some former students come back and give me big hugs.  It was such a great feeling for them to want to come see me.  I even got a seashell from one student! 

Tomorrow I have half of my class and then Friday the other half come.  I am ready to get this year started.  I can't wait to spend the day with my new students. 

Our school theme this year is Reach for the Stars.  Kindergarten put our own little spin on it.  We are doing Kindergarten Rocks/Kindergarten Rock Stars.  Here is the board outside my room!  I think it is pretty funny.  My assistant thinks I am crazy.  I am okay with that!

Here is to an awesome year in Kindergarten!  I know that each child is in my room for a reason.  I am excited to teach them and to love them! 

Honduras

My sweet friend, Lauren Wood, is moving to Honduras to teach for a year.  We went to college together and were in the same sorority.  She has been teaching for two years in Charlotte and last spring went on a mission trip to Honduras.  She fell in love with the people (she went to the same place I did last summer), and when she came home she felt the calling to move there.  She didn't know how it would work out, but God did!  We have another friend who got married over the summer, and while at a wedding shower, Lauren was sharing with the bride's aunt about how she loved Honduras and would love to move there and teach if it were possible.  She told Lauren that her husband had family who lived in Honduras and have a mission school.   The school was looking for teachers from America to move and teach down there for the next school year.  The Lord has been preparing her and her family for this transition time in her life. 

She is moving tomorrow.  Please pray for her and her family as they say their good byes, and pray for peace during this time that Lauren is away.  I know that the Lord is going to use her in so many ways.  She is such a fun, spunky, loving girl. 

We had a party Saturday and said some sad good byes.  We are thankful for technology and being able to stay in contact with her. 

She has a blog that she will be updating so please check it out, and join me as we pray for my sweet friend!

Lauren's Blog - Off the beaten path

Lauren, you are loved, and you will be missed this next year!  You are going to do great things in Honduras, and I can't wait to see how God uses you!  Can't wait to keep updated on your blog!  Praying for you!!!! 

expert

My sister, Emily, is an elementary school counselor.  She is so smart and creative!  Emily has a huge heart and is the most organized person I know!  She is great at her job and loves spending time with the students at her school! 

We just celebrated her birthday!  Happy Birthday, Em!  I love you and I am so so so thankful for you!

She was asked by a friend, who is a writer, to answer some questions for a magazine article she was writing about kids going to school for the first time.  I thought this would not only be a great time to brag about my sister but to also share with you.  She did a great job answering these questions, and it is perfect for those parents who might have concerns about their children going to school. 

Check out the article here.

Can I just say I cannot believe I go back to school in 6 days....I don't think I am ready for this!  I have not allowed myself to go to school because I have wanted to enjoy my summer....and I think I have enjoyed it too much!!!  I have been staying up wayyy too late and enjoyed not setting an alarm in the mornings.  I just got back from the beach with my parents for a couple of days.  It was a great time to relax and enjoy time with my parents.  We spent the days on the beach and spent the nights eating!  Calories don't count when you are on vacation!

These last 6 days I am going to a concert, running in a 5K, spending as much time as I can with friends, and laying out by the pool!

dead dog

Last school year I spent money on decorations for my classroom and other items I needed that first year.  This year I am thinking of practical things that I wasn't able to initially purchase last year for my classroom.  I am trying not to spend too much money because now I have a car payment! 

For some time now I have been wanting to purchase tennis balls.  The school had little protectors on the bottom of the chairs.  They never would stay on the chairs so there were a lot of chairs sliding, and the noise started to drive me crazy!

I have been looking on ebay and didn't realize how much tennis balls cost!  I think it is a good investment because they will last a long time on my chairs.  I ended up ordering some from Walmart.

Friday when I walked outside to go to lunch with a friend I saw this....

....little chewed up pieces of a box.

I was not happy.

I began to look around for the box and a dog to kill, but couldn't find either!

I found some of the cans of tennis balls around the yard that were chewed up. 

At this time I really thought my dog was going to be dead! 

Luckily my Dad found the box and no tennis balls were damaged.

No dog was injured either!!!

How could I not forgive this sweet girl!

new!!!!

Yesterday was a big day in my life! 

 I purchased a NEW car!!!!!!!

I could not have done it without my Dad!

I am so thankful to have a job for next year so that I can now make payments on it! 

I am thankful that God allowed me to be patient and wait for the right time to buy a car. 

I am just thankful that God has blessed me!!!

2011 Toyota Corolla

She is quite the beauty!!



a life of loving

Tuesday my Grandmother went to be with Jesus.  She had Alzheimer's for many years and had been in a nursing home for a little over 7 years.  Today we had her memorial service.  It was such a sweet service in memory of her.  Her life was ALL about love.  She loved her husband, her church, her friends, her family, and most importantly she loved Jesus.  

This is one of the very first pictures of grandma and me!

My grandmother was such a wonderful woman.  She was so giving.  She wanted to serve people. 

My grandmother loved to cook for us when we came to visit.  She always fixed us homemade pizza, pancakes, biscuits, cookies.  She always had ice cream in her freezer and would fix Cheerwine floats.  One of the best memories I have of my grandma is of her in the kitchen cooking.  

My grandmother loved her grandchildren.  My mom had my grandma fill out a special memory book for each of us girls.  She filled it out with her special memories about her childhood, my mom's childhood, and things that she loved.  This week is the first time that I have really read the book.  I was 7 when she gave it to me.  I didn't appreciate it then, but now I do.  I have loved reading her handwriting and have pictured her sitting at her kitchen table writing in the book.  I was able to share a couple of favorite things from the book at the memorial service.  One of my favorite stories is that an aunt of hers had come to visit when she was younger.  She gave her some advice that I agree with and love!  She said, "Lina, every morning, wear earrings, they brighten one's face!"  I love wearing earrings and like to think that grandma told me this at a young age and it has stuck with me.

My grandmother was a teacher.  She taught home economics and Sunday school.  I know my grandmother would be so proud of my teaching and she would have been my number one blog follower if she could!  She supported us in everything that we did.  She would always take time to come to awards day, our piano recitals, and birthday parties.  She would play with us, color with us, and even sit in the bathroom with us while we took care of our business.

My grandmother always smiled.  My sister and I made a slide show of pictures of her childhood, my mom and her sisters growing up, and the 7 grandchildren.  I have loved looking at the pictures and remembering her smile and her laugh. 

Today I am smiling for my grandmother because I know she is smiling.  She is smiling so big because she is with my granddaddy and Jesus. 

I am so happy that my grandmother can now walk, talk, eat, sing, and smile.  I rejoice that she has a new body and a new mind.  She doesn't have to depend on others to wheel her around or feed her.  She now gets to sit at Jesus' feet and worship him like she always longed to do!

I can't wait to be there with her, worshiping and praising Jesus!

We will miss her, but I am so thankful for the 25 years I was able to spend with her!



catch up!

I cannot believe it has been so long since I have posted!  Sorry to my faithful followers!  The last couple of weeks have gone by so fast, and I just keep putting blogging on my to do list for the next day, and now it is two weeks later.  

I will try to catch you up a little bit on life!

The last week of school was a little sad for me (and my students).  I was just sad because the year was coming to an end, and it seemed like it happened too fast.  I was also happy because I finished my first year of teaching!!!!  I can't believe how fast it went.  I feel like the year had just started.  As I write and I think about the past school year, it is crazy to think about all that was accomplished during the year. 

I loved my 23 students so much and it was just hard to let them go!  Maybe this will get easier each year I teach!  I keep reminding myself that the group of Kindergartners I will have next year will be special, and I will love them just as much.  I do think that this class will always have such a special place in my heart because they were my first class.  I love thinking about how these little children impacted my life so tremendously, and the great memories that were made!   

I got so many sweet cards, pictures, and gifts during the last week of school.  The compliments that some parents gave me were the best and highest compliments I have ever received in my life!  I received an awesome photo scrapbook with pictures from the school year.  I had already been planning on making one myself this summer, but it was already done for me, and I will treasure it so much more because it came from two students and their mothers who helped in my classroom so much!  I have spent some time looking at each sweet picture and just reflecting on the year and the growth that each child made.  I know that my mind will forget some names as I continue to teach so I went ahead and wrote names by each picture so in 20 years I will remember their names! 

I didn't realize how much work went into wrapping up a school year for teachers.  So many little things that have to be done!  There are so many things that you do NOT learn in college...this is one of the many!

Two days after the last day of school we started Ready, Set, Grow.  In our county we have a program for incoming Kindergartners who need a little prep for the school year.  It lasts only 12 days (excited that I still have a long summer).  I am teaching this so I have had to quickly wrap up the school year, and I have now jumped into Ready, Set, Grow.  I have 15 pre Kindergartners who will come to our school next year.  We help them with colors, shapes, letters, numbers, etc.  It is very basic but a great preparation for these students. 

On the first day of Ready, Set, Grow, I got the nasty stomach bug!  I had not been sick all school year (thank you, Lord), but the night before it hit me!  I hated to miss the first day, but my principal is great and worked every thing out for me!!!!!

I just can't believe it is already summer!  I am so proud to have this year behind me, but I still miss those students!  I am now praying for next year's class to be as successful and awesome!

A little example of how great these kinders were to me!

new york, new york!

Last weekend I went to New York with my sisters.  We had this trip planned since last November.  I have been looking forward to it for a long time!  Appalachian State University, where I went to college, has a loft in NY.  Students and Alumni can stay for CHEAP while visiting the city.  It was so much fun.  I had never been to New York.  We had so many things we wanted to do and see.  We flew in Friday night, got settled in, and then got up early Saturday to get tickets for Jersey Boys.  It is the story of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons.

 

 After getting our tickets we walked around Times Square.

Visited Toys R Us and rode the Ferris Wheel!

Did a LOT of walking around the city from Ground Zero, Chinatown, Little Italy, SOHO, NOHO, and 5th Ave. 

Saturday night we saw Jersey Boys and walked around Times Square.  It was so neat to see how alive Times Square is late at night.  I had never seen any thing like it!

Sunday we spent the morning at the Statue of Liberty.  I loved walking around the museum and learning about how Lady Liberty was built and other interesting facts about her. 

We spent the afternoon walking across the Brooklyn Bridge and shopping on 5th Ave.  I loved shopping at H&M!!! 

One of my favorite stores we went in was Dylan's Candy Bar. 

The store was so fun.  My favorite things were the cupcake booth seats in the cafe and of course all the candy!!! 

That night we ate dinner at the Shake Shack.  It was a little restaurant in a park near the loft.  We noticed the day before how crazy long the line was.  We knew it must be good so we had to try it out.  We were starving and waited in line for an hour, but it was very good!  Loved experiencing eating hot dogs in the park!  Felt like it was a New York thing to do!

Monday we walked MORE!  We went to the piers because it was Fleet Week and we wanted to see the boats from the Navy.  It was neat to be there on Memorial Day.

We walked to Central Park and then visited a couple more stores on 5th Ave. that we had not had time for on Sunday.

Tuesday back at school, I told my students all about my trip.  I showed them on the map where North Carolina is and where New York was.  I showed some pictures that were on my phone and also shared some candy with them from Dylan's Candy Bar. 

Video highlights by my sister!!!

It was a great trip with my sisters.  We made so many great memories that will last the rest of my life!  I am so lucky to have such fun sisters to go on trips and spend time with.  I am so glad that we were able to experience the big city together. 

I am already planning my next trip!  Who is in????

butterflies

Our caterpillars arrived 3 weeks ago.  We enjoyed watching the caterpillars grow every day, turning into a pupa, and finally coming out of their pupa as a beautiful butterfly!  We studied each stage of the butterfly life cycle, and the students made a little book about the different stages. 

 Day 1

 Day 3

 Pupa Stage

 Butterflies!



We also did some fun stuff with Eric Carle's book The Very Hungry Caterpillar.

In college I did an author study on Eric Carle.  One of our assignments was to pick a book and make something that connects with the book.  I wanted to make something that would last through my teaching years.

My mom and I worked together to make a felt board.  I shared this with my students.  I gave each student a felt illustration, and when I read about what they had, they came to put it up on the board.

  

I put this in a center after we did it as a whole class.  It was a huge hit.  They loved retelling the story.

We also wrote about the hungry caterpillar. 

"If I were a hungry caterpillar..."

...I would eat 1 apple, 2 cakes, 3 lollipops, 4 cheese, 5 cookies, 6 pumpkins, 7 oranges, 8 chicken, 9 pie, 10 pears, 11 grapes.

She made sure to include it ALL in her picture!

...I would eat carrot, cupcake, pizza, cheese, and an apple. 

He had drawn a lot of other foods but ran out of time and room on his paper to write it all!

Today we let our butterflies free.  It was exciting as we watched each one fly away!