surprise birthday!

Today was a student's birthday.  6 is such a special age!  I love when a student has his birthday during the school week.  I like to make a big deal about birthdays.  I give fake birthday spankings!  They think it is so funny because I pretend to spank them, but I do not touch them!  We sing, and I give each of them a giant pixie stick!  They love it!!!

After lunch our birthday boy's dad brought some cupcakes to share with the class.  As our birthday boy walked out the door he asked my assistant if the class could hide, and when he came back in everyone could yell "surprise!"  So of course we did!!!!  We all hid, and when he came in we surprised him and sang happy birthday!  He had the biggest smile on his face! 

Definitely the highlight of my day!!! 

teacher appreciation

This week is Teacher Appreciation Week. 

I know that I am appreciative of so many things.  So even though people are thanking me for my work as a teacher, I want to thank others for making my job so great!

I am thankful for...

my students...each one is so sweet and so special.  They make me laugh and make work not feel like work.  Almost every day they tell me they do not want to go to First grade because they do not want to leave me.  It makes my heart so happy.  I also love that they feel loved by me.  I have always wanted my students to feel loved and special.  I have a new student who tells me that I treat him like a Mama and when he leaves in the afternoon he likes to say, "bye Mama, I love you!"

my assistant...she is such a great help every day!  I am not very good at delegating and she just jumps in and does what needs to be done.  I am so thankful to have worked with her my first year.  I don't think my classroom would have been so successful without her help. 

my co teachers...each one is so special to me.  They support me, love me, encourage me, and share with me!  The Kindergarten teachers have made such a great team.  I am also thankful for each staff member at my school.  They have welcomed me in and allowed me to fit right in at our school. 

support staff...my principal and assistant principal are amazing.  They have given me so much support during my first year of teaching.  I love working for these two ladies so much.  I am so thankful that I can be myself around them. 

parents...I have been amazed by the support of my students' parents this year!  I have so many who have been willing to volunteer in my classroom.  They have sent in lots of school supplies, snacks and treats.  It means so much to me when I get an email asking what kind of supplies I am low on because they want to send in some things that we are in need of!  I am also thankful that they are taking part in their child's education.  Friday night we had Spring Fest.  It was a fun evening of each grade singing a song about America and playing on the playground and eating some great hot dogs and hamburgers.  I had 13 students come that night!  That is half of my class!!!! 

my personal parents and sisters...they have supported me every single day!  I have vented a lot to them and they have heard soooo many stories about my students.  Each have visited in my classroom and that means so much to me.  My parents have spent a lot of money on things for my classroom and different needs that some of my students have had.  My parents even spent their Friday night watching my students sing at Spring Fest!

I am thankful for my school system and the support of our community.  I am thankful for having a job and for having such a great first year experience.  I know that as this year comes to an end and I get sad (because sometimes I do not like change) I can look back and know I have SO much to be thankful for.  I know that these 24 students I will have spent 180 days with will always have such a special place in my heart.  I know that I have made an impact on their lives, but those 24 cute, sweet kids have made such an impact on my life!!!!

I have so much to be thankful for...it brings tears to my eyes.  

Thank you God most of all for blessing me in all the ways that you do! 

In honor of Teacher Appreciation Week there are some awesome sales that I will be taking part in.  You might want to check them out too!!!

http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Lesson-Plan-SOS-Teachers

http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Anna-Brantley-6

http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Primary-Perspective/

http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Erica-Bohrer

http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Kathleen-Pedersen

http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/One-Extra-Degree

http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Michelle-Oakes

http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Made-For-1st-Grade

http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Babbling-Abby

http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Cara-Carroll

back to it!

I was excited about going back to see my kinders this morning.

  We only have about 6 weeks left together and I want to make every day count!  I have treasured this year so much and I plan to treasure our last 6 weeks together even more.  These kinders have captured my heart.

Today was great.

Each child made my heart proud!

They were such busy little students and worked so hard!

I loved watching them come in and smile and catch up with their friends. 

We had lots of eventful things happen over break!  We had 2 girls come in with both of their front teeth missing.  One got her ears pierced.  One turned 6. 

I am telling you BIG things!!!

I received lots of hugs and I didn't mind it one little bit!  I had missed them so much.

During share time I let each child say one thing they did over Spring Break.  My favorite, "I was just lazy."  My kind of Spring Break!

important question

It is things like this that make a Kindergarten teacher's day! 

Translation for those of who you don't read Kindergarten...

I have a question. 

Ms. Brown can you be my best friend? 

I love my kinders!!!

teach like your hair is on fire

Last month I went to a "support" meeting for the first year teachers in our county.  I really enjoyed getting together with other beginning teachers to talk about our first year experiences.  We discussed excitements and things that we have struggled with during our first year.  We were given the book Teach Like Your Hair's on Fire by Rafe Esquith.  I have enjoyed reading the first few chapters.  Makes me reflect even more personally on my first year experiences.  The author talks about his classroom being a "different world."  He says, "It's a world where character matters, hard work is respected, humility is valued, and support for one another is unconditional."  This is my goal.  I want my classroom to look like this.  I am eager to finish this book and learn some more of how he accomplished this "different world."
We had another follow up meeting this past week.  We had assigned seats and at each of our seats was a frame with a note from a student in our class and a photograph.  It was such a special surprise!

Little notes like this at the end of a day can make a teacher happy and proud!  We all need a little affirmation.  This is one of the best!   

The presenter at our meeting also read the book The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein.  He said he read it on the first day of school and last day of school.  I liked how he related it to the classroom.  I found it at TJ Max last night and plan to read it Monday to my students.  I might have to hold back the tears while reading because we only have a few short more months till our school year is over.  It is so hard to believe! 

Reflecting on this past year has been really good.  I am proud of my accomplishments and most important proud of each of my students accomplishments!!!

happy birthday, mama!

Like mother, like daughter!

I am such a mama's girl!

I love my mom so much.

Today is her birthday!!!!

Happy Birthday!!!!

She is my biggest fan.  She is my best friend.  She is my prayer warrior.  She loves me no matter what.

She has loved my sisters and me with her whole heart and much more. 

She has given up so much of herself for her girls. 

We are the girls that we are because of her.  I know that she has prayed for me every day of my life and even before.  I know that she will support me and be by my side no matter what I do. 

She used to tell us that we were stars, and we picked her to be our mommy.  But I know that God picked her to be my mama because He knew that I would need her...BIG time!

I love her so much, and I know that I would be so lost if it were not for her.

p.s. Thanks Mama for always reading my blog and fixing my typos and grammar!!!  Another reason I couldn't live without you!!!

taking care of business

I got a new student the other week.  I am sure you have all felt the same way about new students.  The first few days your mind is mean to you and you begin to think the worst!  I have said it before and I will probably say it about 50 more times before the year is over just because it is the truth....I have the best class!  They love to learn, they love anything we do, and they love me! 
My new kinder fits right in!  He is a great student and has the best manners!  He is kind to everyone and is so smart!  I am so lucky to have 23 great kinder friends in my class now! 
The other day there were some boys in the bathroom being loud and so another assistant went to check things out because they know the rules about the bathrooms!  When she went in she found two boys in the same stall!  One of the boys was my new student, "A," and the other student was from another class.  So of course she began questioning their business.  The boys explained to her that they went to preschool together and that they had reconnected!  They were excited to be friends again.  That didn't really answer her question though!  So she asked why they had been in the same bathroom stall!  "A" told her that he was going in the stall to use the bathroom that his preschool friend had just come out of and noticed there was some pee on the seat!  "A" was not going to use the bathroom with that all over it so he had his friend come back to clean up his mess!  "A" apparently didn't think his friend would do it or meet his cleaning standards so he felt the need to stand in there and watch to make sure it was done properly! 
I love the fact that he was just trying to make sure things were neat and clean.  He knew he didn't do any thing wrong!

The Browns' Hilton Head Vacation

Christmas vacation was a blast! Lots of good family time. Hilton Head was perfect. Lots of good food, shopping, and resting! I LOVED riding our bikes on the beach! Such a fun experience!

I am glad to be back at school though! I missed my kinder friends! All but two had big smiles on their faces yesterday. One was mad that he had to come back to school and one cried a little but they both got over it fast. I loved hearing what Santa brought them and the funny stories they had to tell me about their break! I really loved to hear that they missed me!!!!
Can not believe that it is January and the year is going so fast! I have to remind myself to treasure these last few months. Everyone has told me that I am going to be so surprised about how much growth they make this semester! I can't wait for that!
Hope everyone is having a great start to 2011! I am excited for what God has planned for me this year!!!

lunch money

As I greeted my students at the door this morning with hugs and remembered how I had missed each child, the children were busy unpacking and getting settled into our semi decorated classroom and discussing each little change and seasonal decor!  During this time I try to talk to each student, give lots of hugs, and listen to their cute stories.  It is routine that they come in, get unpacked, put lunch money on Mrs. Green's desk, and start on their morning work.  Sometimes they don't remember to put their lunch money on Mrs. Green's desk or they don't have a bag with the money.  They hand it to me and then I frantically find a bag because I don't want to forget who it belongs to or lose it! 
As students were coming in a student came up and told me she had some lunch money.  I told her just to give it to me and I will take care of it.  So she handed me her lunch money....it was 3 pennies!  Not what I was expecting!  I couldn't wait to give Mrs. Green her "lunch money!"  We got a kick out of it all day!  She told us she found her lunch money in her coat pocket! 
We never broke the news to her that she didn't have enough!  At least she was trying!!!

 

t is for thanksgiving

I have so much to be thankful for every single day of my life!  I am thankful for my parents.  They love me so much and are so generous and giving...every single day of their life.  I am thankful for my sisters.  They are my best friends.  We are all so close and I am glad they love me and we can be silly together!  I am thankful for my students.  They are so sweet and I am thankful they are my first class!  I am thankful for the school I work at!  I love the Kindergarten staff and how we all get along and feel like family.  I love the other staff at the school as well.  I couldn't ask for a better school to be working at my first year.  There are so many people there who are so encouraging and uplifting.  My principal always has positive things to say and she really loves my blog!!!!  I am thankful for my relationship with Jesus.  I am thankful that I live in America.  I am thankful for life, food, and a day with family!
This morning my family got up and participated in the local YMCA 5K Turkey Trot!  We did dress up!  I was a Pilgrim, my sister Amy was a Native American, and my other sister Emily was a Turkey!  We all finished under an hour!!! 

The family after the race!  It did rain...but fun was still had by all!

We then spent the day at my cousin and his new wife's new house.  We painted and cleaned windows.  It was so great to spend time with them and help them out!  It made me feel more thankful today to do something productive and meaningful for my family!

Now...Black Friday shopping with my sis....just because!!!

leaf party!

This afternoon we went outside to enjoy the sunshine and our Fun Friday snack.  We have a couple of trees that we have enjoyed watching change colors and really enjoyed watching them pile up on the ground.  Some students went to the playground to play after they ate but some decided to stay under the trees and play in the leaves.  They first began to make a huge pile then they starting squealing and throwing them in the air.  I sat in the sun close to the playground and watched them run and laugh and play.  I love to just watch and be close enough to hear their conversations.  One of my kinder friends came and sat with me for a little bit and we were talking about the weekend.  I was turning around to watch the students playing and my friend (who is always making me laugh) said, "Oh man, they are having a leaf party."  Then she jumped up and ran to join in the fun.  Never heard of a leaf party but I am glad it is the little things in life that make them so happy!!!