1st day of High School

My little girl is a freshman now. I just can't believe we are already here. Let me tell you... it has been really hard for me to let go of her. I still want her to lay on the couch and talk about her deep dark secrets and funny stories with me. To hang out with me instead of those stinky boys. But I have to remember she is an amazing girl and I'm raising her to become a strong Godly women not a women who lives with her mom forever. As moms we have an important job and it's hard sometimes but what a great feeling when they succeed at so many things. She is loving school though and it makes me happy to see that. I'm so blessed that she is very smart and does great in school. 1st days of school are always great because we are both experiencing the same excited nervous feeling. Today my little precious kindergartners were fabulous ! For the first time ever I have more girls than boys. Wow! And you know those precious little ones love to talk. We are going to have some great conversations this year! They had a great day today and I even had one who said he had such a great time he would come back tomorrow! They say the cutest things! I love my job and love seeing my daughter grow every year. School is an awesome thing! We are lucky to live in a place with such a good school system! Praise the Lord!

August 18, 2010

New Addition

Well, our class has been really enjoying our chicks. They are really getting big! I had been carefully candling the two duck eggs that I have. One of them I didn't really see much movement but the other one I kept seeing it move. Then a few days ago I stopped seeing the movement and expected that they died. So, I haven't really been paying much attention to them except for turning them. Well, today I wanted my students to see the chicks one last time before they left for the weekend. So, they came over to look and then lined up to leave. While, I was standing their watching them, I noticed that the incubator had a lot of condensation on it. Which is very strange!!! So, I peeked in and was extremely surprised to see a precious duck!!! I quick got my students back to the incubator to see this amazing addition to our family! They were so excited! I am amazed at the difference (Chicks/Ducks) in the time it takes them to walk. This little guy is really having to practice walking. It is soooooo cute. His little legs slide out from under him but, he is learning. I brought him home for the weekend so we could bond and have a little bath play time. You know ducks love water!!! I'll have to get back to you with those pictures. So, here is my little baby!!! I'm thinkin this little one needs a name. Any suggestions......???/

This is our little one drying in the incubator.

He worked so hard to get out of the egg....he is tired!

And now he is hungry! His first food!

Spring Chicks

This is our class incubator. We have been taking care of twelve chick eggs and two duck eggs. The students love this and have so many question and things to learn.

We caught one hatching on video and one was born during class time so we got to experience the whole birth! WOW! What an amazing experience!

This little fellow was our first born. The students were expecting little yellow chicks so they were surprised by this little black cutie!!

This egg was a great visual for talking about the membrane and the blood lining the egg. It was a little gross but a great teaching tool!

This little chick was our one and only yellow chick. He is cute!

We are keeping the chicks in a box. So, of course we needed to make it home! So, the kids got paper and we made this our Chick House! Great idea....but don't use tape when a heat lamp is on it all day and night. As teachers we always are making notes of what NOT to do next year!

Isn't this chick adorable!

This is their lovely home! Their noises are a little disruptive. But this is the best teaching experience I can give my students. I love real life experiences that teach. The duck eggs take longer to hatch. So, we are patiently awaiting our little duck!

Classroom Clipboards

Ok- I was getting really tired of my clipboard looking so horrilbe. The students mark on them on accident and on purpose and they just aren't pretty! So, I had done some decorative clipboards for Christmas gifts but my friend Marie had a better idea....chalkboard paint. It is perfect for the classroom! So, here is how I did mine.


FirstI cleaned all of the surfaces that I wanted to paint. This helps the paint bond to the surface.

Then I was ready to paint the front of the clipboard. I painted the whole front side. They do sell chalkboard paint in the form of spray paint. I had a friend that sprayed the whole thing eventhe silver clip and they are super cute. So, it's just up to you. HINT: spray paint would of been faster!

I just painted the edge of the back because my plan was to put decorative paper on the back. So, I just put enough so that the edges would look nice.
When you are ready for your paper. I suggest a thicker paper. One of these was very thin and it wrinkled a lot! Make sure you put the Mod Podge on the back side of the paper first. Then lay it down and smooth it. This is REALLY important...I didn't do that at first and had trouble!!! Then I put Mod Podge over the whole thing. Finally, I put Mod Podge on the back and front of the star and smoothed it on. Some of the wrinkled ones I put several coats of Mod Podge and if I could of found it I wanted to put Glitter Mod Podge on it to take your eye away from the wrinkles.

And the finishing touch was the ribbon. I just tied matching ribbon around the edges of the clip. However, many people tie it all the way around the clip. I think both look fabulous! I think everyone needs some of these!

National Boards

Well, I just want to say that I have the best co-workers EVER! I enjoy going to work

everyday. Several teachers decided to work on their National Board certification together and I thought that would be a good step for me to take as well. I am very nervous about taking tests but thought it would be a great challenge and I am always up for learning more! I don't really think I knew what I was getting into! WOW! It is a lot of DEEP thinking! But through the journey I did learn about how I teach and reflected on what I needed to do differently. The best thing though was that I wasn't alone. There were others that I could call and ask questions, cry, laugh, or just use their ear to listen to me. They were always there for me! During this process several things happened in my life that were difficult situations but God gave me the strength to keep going on. So, through all of my circumstances I have learned that you might have a lot going on and maybe you feel like you can't do it but I assure you that if you stay positive and set little goals for yourself. You will be able to achieve anything.

Well, let me just tell you that we worked really hard on all of the papers and studying!! We spent so many nights typing, quizing each other on the sun porch, calling each other to make sure we were on the right track, and going to classes to ask questions. I felt like my brain was going to burst. And if the papers and tests weren't hard enough...you should see the packing list. Your papers go in a certain box with special instructions....We had a packing party..just for this occasion. Well, when it was all said and done let me tell you.....we were soooooo relieved....so of course we had to have a party...isn't that what you would do?

So, yes after all of that I DID pass! I'm a National Board Certified Teacher!!! WHOOP WHOOP!

I'm so thankful for ALL of the blessings in my life ~ GOD IS SOOO GOOD!

100 days older

This is what a 100 days of Kindergarten will do to you! Just kidding....This is what I look like after taking off my 100year old lady costume. We had sooooo much fun!


As I have told you before, I LOVE MY JOB! We have been in school 100 days! The kids have been couting down for this day. We had so much fun dressing as if we were 100 years old. I had a child say, "I'm a little confused. Are we suppose to dress like 100 years ago or 100 years old?" One little girl was standing in line and said, " hey you are the grandma of all the children." Aren't they too cute!



Well, another part of my job that I love is : MY TEAM
We have soooo much fun and look pretty dang good for 100 years old!