10 Awesome Things

I apparently decided to take a mini-blog vacation!  When the school year ended, my routine got all out of whack.  And if you know me well, you know that I thrive on routine.  When my routine changes, a lot of things change.  Thus, my absence.  But don't worry.  For your reading pleasure, a list of 

10  9 awesome things

from my life while I've been gone:

{One}

I said goodbye to my classroom.  It was a sad day because I am nostalgic and sentimental.  I wonder if my new classroom will have wood paneling as well?  That, I wouldn't miss!

{Two}

To celebrate the end of the school year, we took a weekend trip to Tampa.  Actually, it wasn't really a celebration for that.  It just so happened that a big soccer match coincided with the weekend after the last day of school.  We stayed in a cute hotel with a blue bathroom.  Oh, and USA lost.

{Three}

I started working as a assistant summer camp counselor at the preschool where I worked for two years before being hired by the county.  Although my dream would be to do whatever I want this summer, working here is definitely my second choice.  It's been great seeing everyone again, and it's about as un-stressful as a job can be.

{Four}

We have several parks with lakes around us, and we seem to navigate toward running around lakes.  On one of our training days, we found a lot of cute ducks.  This made my list of 10 9 awesome things because I have a picture of them.

{Five}

One day, I made a snack of toast, peanut butter, and a banana.  Jon made a snack of toast and jelly. 

As you can see, my summer has just been so exciting.

{Six}

My mom had taught me to knit several years ago.  I practiced by making a few scarves, and then kind of forgot how.  Lately I have been wanting to try my hand at it again, so mom re-taught me.  I am working on a dishcloth.  I have visions of sweaters, hats, dolls, etc.  But rectangles are all I can handle right now.  

{Seven}

Jon, my sister Sarah, Dad and I ran the Watermelon 5K on July 4th.  This is what we have been training for since May!  Jon and I stuck together, and we finished with a time of 36:25 - a little longer than our original goal, but we ran the whole 3.1 miles for the first time and are incredibly pleased with ourselves.    I loved the free shirt, and I already have another 5K picked out for the end of July.  I think I may become addicted - I had an absolute blast! 

{Eight}

We have watched all of the Harry Potter movies that are out up to this point, in anticipation of the "second half of the seventh book" movie coming out this coming week.  I have to confess, I'm still in the second book.  I obviously took a long break, but the other day I picked it back up again and am nearly finished.  To be honest, I never thought I would enjoy them as much as I am.  They suck you in.  And they have made me cry.

{Nine}

Sarah's birthday was at the end of June, but due to some of the kiddos being sick, we didn't celebrate as a family until just last Friday.  We went over to their house for a delicious ice cream cake and presents.  The girls really react strongly to sugar, and they put on a show for us for quite some time after they finished their cake.  Jon thinks that the person who invented the TV must not have children - with them to watch, there is just no need for further entertainment!  Jon (kind of) calmed them down by singing and reading to them.  

{The End}

I thought long and hard, but just couldn't come up with a ten.  

Thanks for catching up with me!  Next time, it won't be so long in between.  Pinky promise.

Graduation Day

Today was graduation day!

We put on a show for our parents, which went well despite the fact that I have a hard time loving those kinds of things. While I love having a parent in my classroom helping out, having 20+ family members in my little classroom, with my sugared-up kids, frays my nerves.  However, I tell myself to suck it up because I know these things are important for my families.

We sang 3 songs and recited 2 poems that we have learned throughout the year.  After the show, I called each student up and gave them a little certificate and shook their hand.  A co-worker had tri-fold diploma holders as well as a cap and gown, so I took a picture of each student in the cap and gown, glued it in the middle of the folder, then put a Kindergarten diploma on one side and the child's hand print with a poem underneath on the other side.  Unfortunately, I didn't get a photo of that, but they were adorable.

After the show, I only had 5 students left so I put them to work helping me take some things off my walls and  pack up.   The first thing that I ripped down was that calendar wall - it will fall down no more!  Ripping it down felt so good.  Only 5 more days to be all packed up and out of that room!

Butterflies, revisited

Here are the butterfly photos that I promised.  All four have been released into our Kindergarten butterfly garden.  My babies are all grown up!

The first two butterflies.  They were out last Monday morning when I arrived at work.

 Gorgeous!

We released them later that afternoon, after their wings had dried. 

Ready to learn to fly!

These photos are from our first release.  Unfortunately, I did not get any photos from our second release of the other two butterflies on Tuesday.  They came out on Tuesday morning, while we were at school.  We didn't get to see either actually come out, but we noticed within minutes after it happened.  Everyone got to hold the first one that came out, because when they first come out of the chrysalis their wings are wet and they cannot fly.  It was so exciting for the kids (and I'm not going to lie, it was exciting for me too.  Kindergarten is too fun!)  I will definitely be doing this project every Spring from now on!

Butterflies

Two of our butterflies came out of their chrysalis today.  They were there when I got to my classroom this morning.  It was such an exciting time, for both me and the kids!

I have some beautiful pictures of them, but, again, I am not able to post photos.  Just a little frustrating!  I will try again tomorrow.  I want to show of my new babies.

The Caterpillars

I decided to catch up on some blogging while Jon watches very important soccer game.  I had written "soccer match" first, because he usually corrects me when I call them a game, but then he told me that this is a game because it is in the US.  I just can't keep up.

But, on to more exciting things.

Meet our new friends, The Caterpillars.

These four caterpillars joined our class on Thursday so we could experience their life cycle.  We ordered them from a butterfly release company in Winter Park, and they came with these huge milkweed plants.  They came two to a plant, with a little net bag around them so they would not get lost.  Since we only have a few weeks left of school, we ordered caterpillars that were very close to the chrysalis stage.  These guys were huge.

One of the caterpillars inside the net.

Beautiful!

This is the first time I have done this, but I was advised by my more experienced colleagues to take them home with me over the weekend in a little butterfly net (provided by our science curriculum) in order to make sure they have enough food and to clean out their poop (these guys can really poop).  So I brought them all home with me, as well as one of the milkweed plants, to make sure they survived the weekend.

However, as soon I brought them home they began the process of becoming a chrysalis.  Three of them were already hanging upside down and starting to curl up when we got home from dinner at Jon's parents house last night.

They were still the same when we woke up this morning (early, to do our third day of 5K training!).  When we got home and I got out of the shower, one of them had already become a chrysalis.  After I dried my hair, another had.  The third was complete when we got home from helping Sarah and Justin move today.

The last one just started tonight, and he is now hanging upside.

I am so bummed that I missed watching the other three become a chrysalis.  It happens within minutes.  Hopefully I won't miss this one, but if my guess is right, it will happen while I am asleep.  What is even more disappointing is that the kids are missing this.  All of the excitement is happening while they are in my living room.  Oh well.  You can't control science!

We took some time on Thursday to brainstorm and vote on names.  The winners were Jake, Michael Jackson, Melody and Justin Bieber.  Not necessarily what I would have picked, but I went with it.  All we could think about on Thursday and Friday was the caterpillars, so at all times I would overheard strange things like "Michael Jackson is crawling!" or "Justin Bieber is eating a leaf!"  Those kids make me laugh.

Mother's Day Cake

"Publix" came to our school today.  (Paying) students had the opportunity to decorate Mother's Day cakes and take them home.  One of  mine decorated his cake, and his mother had him give it to me.

Thanks, buddy!  It's the most beautiful, best decorated cake ever.  I love it!

Jack Hartmann

I feel like the luckiest girl in the world.

Jack Hartmann... yes, THE Jack Hartmann (I'm sure few of you know who that is) came to my school today and put on a concert for ME.

Jack is a singer/songwriter for children.  His songs are educational and fun.  Some children's songs are fun for kids, but his songs are fun for teacher's too.  I find myself singing from his CDs on my way home from work.

Anyways, he came to my school today.  The kids loved it - he had them dancing, moving, and singing.  He even had the teachers up on stage singing and dancing like chickens.  We will never forget this!

Penguin Jack

 Rock n' Roll Jack

Hip Hop Jack

Thank you, Jack!  We will be rockin' to your songs until we grow up and think we're too cool!

Nemesis

This wall is the bane of my existence as of late.

The back wall of my classroom is covered with chalkboard, and since I don't use it, I cover it up with bulletin board paper and tape other things on it.  The bottom half of the green part (the paper is not wide enough to cover the whole board, so it takes two layers), for the last few months, falls off almost every day.  Attached to the green paper is our helper chart, daily news, calendar, tally mark chart, and weather chart, so when the green paper falls, these fall too.  I usually come into my classroom in the morning and the first thing I do is re-tape and re-stick. I am counting down the days not only until I have no more students, but also until I can rip that green paper down and crumple it into a giant ball.  Oh, the satisfaction.

I had to stop by my classroom on Saturday, and Jon came with me.  I walked in to the bottom half of the "wall" on the floor, and so began my ritual of stomping, grumbling, and taping.  Jon had the idea to use tacks to stick the top half to the wall above, so we did that, then re-did the entire bottom half of the wall.  I thought for sure this would last me at least a week, but I walked into my classroom this morning and saw this - worse than ever before, both the top and bottom on the floor.

Beautiful Day

It was a beautiful day for the playground today!

And an even more beautiful day for chocolate.  Oh, if only this were true!

Bacalao y verduras

Before I get down to business, I just have to share this photo. The student that helps me practice patience more than any other created this calm, peaceful working environment for herself today.

Is this what a desk at school should look like? I think not.

On a less frustrating note, Jon's parents had us over for dinner tonight. We had bacalao and verduras (codfish and root vegetables). Some of the root veggies included celery root, sweet potatoes, and beets. There were more, as well - all delicious! My favorite were the celery root and beets. I was stuffed afterwards. I think I sometimes forget that eating less has made my stomach shrink a bit.

A tour of dinner: In the front you'll find the beets - not from a can, mind you! Next to the beets is the bacalao, with cilantro and tomatoes. In the background we have our root vegetables, as well as some corn and plantains.

His parents have also started growing a few things in their backyard, like bananas, peppers, tomatoes and some herbs. They gave us some peppers and rosemary, which we can't wait to cook with!

Look at the color on those babies!

Any time spent with family is a good time, and even better when it starts off the weekend!

Kindergarten Cards

Nothing like a card from a kindergartener to boost your self-confidence!

Birthday Book

I made a birthday book at the workshop that I went to last week. It goes along with a song from one of the CDs that I got there as well. Each month has a page, and you put a picture and the name of those students whose birthday is in that month, on that page. When we sing their month, they stand up and sit down. I finally got around to cutting it out tonight (oh, lamination!). Tomorrow I will punch the holes and bind it.

This picture means that cutting this book out was the most exciting thing that I did all day.

Sea World, and more!

I haven't posted anything in a few days, and the reason is exhaustion. My excuse for one day's exhaustion is valid - my field trip to Sea World with a class of Kindergarteners. My excuse for the other day isn't - I stay up too late some nights and then am too tired for anything the next day after work.

Yesterday, all of the Kindergarten classes at my school took a day long field trip to Sea World. This was my second time having the privilege of experiencing this. Last year wasn't as enjoyable as it could have been, so I was a bit apprehensive that I would be stressed out this time. However, everything went as planned and there were no major mishaps. I had a few children who liked to just take off, but when I noticed the chaperone in charge of them couldn't get them to stay put, they just ended the day glued to my side. It also rained throughout the day and the bus ride back to school smelled like wet dog. But we came back with the same amount of children that we left with, the kids had a blast, and I didn't have a migraine at the end of the day, so I count it a success!

The first show we went to as soon as we got there, Blue Horizons. We ate an early lunch at the show (we are used to these, seeing as how our lunch time is 10:35 in the morning on a normal school day).

Believe, featuring a few Killer Whales and a lot of talking and animal pictures on the screen. I got a little bored - it wasn't quite as exciting as I remember.

Seymore and Clyde, or The Pirate Show, as my kids called it. This was always my favorite show as a kid.

The Dolphin nursery. The dolphins were putting on a show for us. One even kept peeping his head up right in front of us, but I kept missing that photo op.

The flamingos.

We also went to the show A'Lure - The Call of the Ocean. It was my favorite of the day. It is in an inside theater, and there are no real animals, but in a way it kind of reminded me of a Cirque de Soleil show. Kind of! Of course, we also saw the sharks, penguins, polar bears, stingrays, etc. One of my chaperones bought the fish to feed to the stingrays, which the kids absolutely loved. That was a great way to end the day. We didn't get back to school until about 6:15. I slept about 10 or 11 hours last night.

Then tonight we headed over to Sarah and Justin's for dinner. They made a delicious dinner of soft tacos/burritos (technically these are the same, depending on how you fold your tortilla, no?), chips and salsa, with cookies for dessert. I tried to eat in moderation, but it sure was hard.

Delicious food!

And of course some pictures of Ezra. He weighs close to 12 pounds now. I love that little guy!

Slurpee

Husbands are great, blogging for you when you are sick or sleeping. His days are much more exciting than mine, what with chasing down unicorns and all! I was pretty tired last night, but I'm not really sure why. I had a workshop yesterday, which, compared to what I do on a daily basis is practically a day off, but then last night we had Math and Science night at my school, and I was in charge of the Kindergarten math table along with another K teacher. We were bombarded because our activity came with a baggie of Fruit Loops. We had a great turn-out. It's nice to see parents and families getting involved.

Now onto more exciting things, like my Slurpee. I have been craving one since last night at about 11 (ok, so it only felt like ages). I drank it too fast, and now I feel like I might vomit.

Could my life get any more exciting??

Brown Baggin' It

I survived the white lunch bag drama, sucked it up, and used the brown ones. They turned out cute enough. I was tempted to go to Wal-Mart this afternoon just to see if they had restocked their white lunch bag inventory.

I gave each table hearts to cut out and candy sweethearts, and they wrote various phrases from the candy hearts onto the paper hearts. It started conversations about kissing and girlfriends and I felt like I was teaching the 8th grade or something, but it was all good. They had fun, and even though I dislike the taste of candy hearts my room smelled delicious so I kept the hearts out all day. Excellent air freshener.

After dismissal I had a post-observation meeting with my principal, and when I went into the conference room she had two giant red cabbages sitting on the table. Odd, no? The 4th grade team has some people from 4-H come every Wednesday, and they have vegetable gardens behind the 4th grade classrooms. The gardens are tiny but stuffed full of things like cabbage, cauliflower, tomatoes, and more. Apparently these cabbages were ready to be cut so they gave them to her. She didn't want both, so gave one to me. I got a cabbage from the principal!

It doesn't get more local and organic than that!

80 days to go!

Yesterday, February 4th, was the 100th day of school, and what a wonderful day we had! The majority of the kids came with 100 things on their shirts. I had one little boy who had an iron on of every number up to 100, as well as this awesome hat that he attached 100 pipe cleaners too. Then I had another boy who pinned 100 shapes, with numbers up to 100, all over his shirt. Several of them put 100 foam stickers all over their shirts. If I was able to (or knew how? I might be able, I don't know) fuzz out faces, I would post pictures of them because they were just so cute and proud of themselves.

We'd been working all week on various math and writing activities centered around the number 100, and we put some of them up on our bulletin board for the month.

The chain across the top is a chain of 10 strips in 10 colors. The caterpillar across the bottom has 100 body parts, in a pattern, and we counted by 10s then put the numbers up. The list above his head is a list of 100 things that he might like to eat (the very hungry caterpillar!) Above his head we have 10 rows of 10 strips of paper. They did this activity with my sub on Tuesday. The heart was going to be much cuter but we ran out of time. We did that as our last activity yesterday, and only had about 15 minutes before dismissal so we counted out 10 groups of 10 candy hearts and I gave them glue bottles and they went at it. They loved it because it's not every day I hand them a glue bottle and tell them to have fun. Yikes!

We also did a few simple writing/creative activities. For one of them, they had to draw a picture of how they look now and then a picture of how they think they will look in 100 years. We discussed some of the physical features of the elderly, such as wrinkles, gray or white hair, balding, big ears, etc. There were some hilarious results. This is one of my favorites!

Another writing activity...

" I wish I had 100 dollars. But I'd never want 100 bears."

And it wouldn't be the 100th day without a special hat. I cut out ten trips of 10 different colors, and the kids put 10 thumbprint on each strip. They turned out great (they look super cute when being worn) except for a dumb mistake I made. Can you spot the typo??

I'm so embarrassed that I'm going to send a "recall" letter home on Monday. I didn't notice until right before they were walking out the door. I'm so ashamed! We also made fruit loop necklaces with 100 fruit loops. At the end of the day, there were much less than 100 fruit loops around their necks.

The day was fun, but I'm glad it, as well as the majority of the school year, is over. Woohoo!

After work, Mom and Dad invited us out to dinner. We had dinner at Flippers and then walked across the street to a frozen yogurt place. They had red velvet cake yogurt - oh my, was it delicious! It was a great night. Thanks for a night on the town, guys!