Happy Birthday Molly Kate!

These are some pictures of a little girl who is very dear to my heart. It is her second birthday today and I don't know what I would do without her in my life! I love my niece :)

Sorry Dog!

Hi, blog world! Once again, it has been quite a while since I posted anything! So much has happened since February! I started and finished a maternity leave in second grade. I have interviewed for job positions for the fall and started a new one for the summer. I am working at Canterbury UMC in a 4k class for the summer. The children are so precious and the staff has been so nice! I went to the beach for Memorial Day weekend and am getting ready for a for a friendly visit from Miss Rachael Jean before heading to Ft. Payne, Alabama. I can't wait to see the soon-to-be Mrs. Teel and friends! If I can do better with my posting, I will provide more in- depth details in the future! :) Until then here is a cute recent pic!

Second graders all dressed up for Dalmation Day! Wait until you see Spirit Day, it was hilarious! We had a teacher tug-of-war and my team won! I'll have to put that picture on the next post.

Fun at the GA Aquarium

In Case You Missed It....

I'm sure you all have been introduced to General Larry Platt at this point. If you haven't, maybe you haven't been online this week or don't watch very much television. Maybe you've been out of the country? Taking a break? Whatever the reason, if you haven't seen the original go find it now! I ran across this remix of "Pants on the Ground" and thought I would share. :)

"OMWP"

This weekend was a long one with the MLK holiday this Monday. I spent the majority of the weekend in Birmingham where I hungout with visiting guests, Cameron Butler and Mac Gibson. We had a fun night Saturday night going to Jackson's for dinner and the Blue Monkey afterwards for drinks. The Blue Monkey was an interesting venue where we sat by the piano and made a new friend. We didn't know his name, so he was deemed the "one man wolf pack." This ginger fellow danced alone to the oldies playing on the piano and had a certain fondness for Mac. Unfortunately, "OMWP" was asked to sit down or leave and the atmosphere grew a little dull. Suffice it to say, we left soon after and I wish we had asked him to join our group. Then maybe his wolf pack would have grown from one to six...a six pack.

Mac and Cameron both left on Sunday. So, Monday morning I decided to go to Carrollton for the day. I was in a hurry to get there and meet my mom, dad and brother for lunch at a decent hour. I always hate losing an hour on the way there but it's so nice on the way back to gain one! It is a little under two hours on I-20 where the speed limit is 70 the whole way. Or so I thought. Guess who got a speeding ticket? Yep, a little upsetting.

Now I am back in Birmingham ready to start preparing for the maternity leave I am taking over in March. I am excited about being in a second grade classroom and really feel like I am going to love the school and system. Lately, I have been babysitting my little cousins and substituting in the schools close to my apartment. I also took the MAT again for the second and final time! Woo hoo! It should be a blast applying for grad. school and looking for jobs simultaneously(sike!). But seriously, I can't wait to see how it all pans out for the fall. Who knows where the Lord will take me?

It's Hard to Say Goodbye

Wow! It has been so long since I've blogged! This semester has been so much fun! I don't even know where the time has gone!

Here are a few of the highlights:

1) Seeing the Little Red Hen at Children's Theatre at the BJCC

2)Learning how to use technology like a Mac instead of a PC, the Promethan board, ActiVote, ActivSlate, AlphaSmart, make a flipchart, podcast, using Bookflix and Safari Montage

3)Johnny Appleseed Day, Halloween and our Thanksgiving feast

4)Sending home my first progress reports

5) Teaching 20+ solo days

6) Reading books, making crafts and "flipping cards"

7)Learning Alabama history along with my kids!

8)Getting evaluated and applying for jobs

9) Turning in my final projects and portfolio

10)Crying my last day of school and saying goodbye

It has been such a whirlwind but I have loved every minute of it. Below is some artwork I captured in a picture on the last day. Some of the students wrote me messages on our "Packing Up" list.

busy as a bee!

I have officially started my internship and it is SO wonderful! Liberty Park or VHELP is great and I know I am going to learn so much. I began by coming in on the first teacher work day to meet my teacher and get a feel for the school. We had corresponded through email and decided that would be the best time to meet. Since then we have had “meet the teacher” or open house, the first day of school, parent orientation and day two of school. Although most students in education conduct their internships during the Spring semester, I feel lucky to be able to see things from this perspective. It is wonderful to see how a classroom starts from day one. I already feel like I know the parents and students in a different way than I would coming in the second semester. Each first grade class has a special name and ours is the “busy bees.” Our hive may be small (fifteen kids) but it is fierce! I know I will have more to share later but for now here is a picture of me with my teacher and bee-utiful students!