Snow Day Rambles

I absolutely L-O-V-E snow days. There is just something about the unplanned (and therefor unbusied) day and the fact that you can't go anywhere any way that makes the day seem so marvelously relaxing. My absolute favorite part of these kind of days are the sssllloooowww mornings.

I am pretty sure that being rushed in the morning is one of the most terrible things in the world. I think it sets a unhappy tone for the whole day. Seriously drives me crazy ... to the point that I generally wake up about 30 minutes early so I can spend down time playing fetch with the dog, drinking coffee, or changing outfits 5 times ... you know, depending on the day...

But on snow days I don't have to get up early. I get to sleep in. And then, when the dog can't stand it any longer and just has to get up to go outside, I get to laugh at the cold and go back inside for a cup of coffee.

I love that I can sit and watch the news and drink coffee and start some laundry, maybe do a few dishes ... and then drink another cup of coffee. I love that (since I can't get my car out to go anywhere anyway) "getting ready for the day" becomes pulling my hair up and and putting on some sweat pants. I love that I get to actually make breakfast .. you know, more than just cheerios and peanut butter. I love that I get to sit and read my Bible. I love that I get to watch the snow out the window. I love that I get to just be in the quiet of morning. Well, if you can call the dog chasing the cat (who got promoted to house cat for a couple of days to escape the cold) and the bird screeching at the racket (and out of nerves thanks to the kitty cat...) quiet. But, lets be honest ... that's my kind of quiet.

I keep hearing people say how they are going stir crazy ... and I just don't get it! I could do this whole cooking 3 meals a day, watching the news a couple of times, cuddling with my cat and dog, walking in the beautiful snow, and playing games with my hubby thing all. the. time. And be perfectly happy doing it. Does that make me like 90 years old?

So, I guess what I'm saying is that if more of this beautiful stuff

means more of this beautiful stuff ....

then I am aaalll for it.

What I'm Bringing

Among all the exclamations of "Happy New Year", well wishes, and resolution sharing that happened on Facebook last night, one friend posted this: "What the new year brings you will depend a great deal on what you bring to the new year." Oh, how true that is!

So, as I jump in to 2014, here are some things I'll be bringing with me!

**Ever increasing patience and calmness. Because, lets be honest, we could all use more patience. And over reacting never really helps any situation. Especially not where 4th graders, or stubborn puppies, or husbands, or friends or ... well, any one, is involved.

**Increased dedication to health and wellness - physical and spiritual. Eating a little better, exercising a little more, reading my Bible more consistently, dwelling on the Word of God more. A dedication to spend more time with God. To love Him more. To be like Him more.

**Extra confidence. In God. In myself. In my ability to stand up for God. In my ability to create opportunities for God ... and then take advantage of those opportunities and do it.

**An increasingly positive attitude. That is not rocked by silly things. That doesn't get frustrated with people or self, but instead seeks out the best in others and situations. To not be stressed by all the things a day has to offer, but to embrace those things and make them work.

**A bigger, better, sense of humor. When you work with 10 year old hooligans kiddos  all day, you need a sense of humor. When you come home to a sometimes sarcastic goofball the best husband ever, you need a sense of humor. When the dog chews things up, you need a sense of humor. It never hurts to get a laugh out of things!

**Prayers for a little ... or a lot ... more wisdom. To know the right thing to say. To know the right time, place, and way to say the right thing. To know the right thing to do and to do it. To be more perceptive. More preventative. More ... wise.

**A better separation of work and life. I mean my work is my life. And I LOVE my work. But my work is also - at times - emotionally draining. Because I work with kids ... and while that is the most wonderful thing in the world, it can easily suck all your effort, all your time, right into the school and leave you with not much to bring home. And that isn't fair to my husband, my dog, myself, the dirty dishes in my sink ....

**A better use of time. To quit whining about how much time I don't have, and simply make time for the important things. To get my lesson planning and copying and class work done and then leave school. To not come home and sit on the couch thinking about everything I need to do, but to actually do it. To exercise. To clean. To study. To give of my time to others more. To give my time to God more. To blog more.

Unfortunately, none of things I plan on bringing to 2014 are easily attained one day and then kept forever. I guess that's the thing about things that matter ... they take time and work and effort all the time. You don't "get them" and then "have them" ... you develop them, and then you keep developing them. And some day people will notice you've "got it", but you'll know there is so much more you can work on. Because when it comes to being all you can be and all you can be for God the work is never done. It's just beginning. So, here's to embracing that challenge and serving God with all that we are while we are here on this earth.


And, if you're looking for a recap of 2013, here's one Google+ put together for me (it's a slideshow of just a few of the pictures I took on my phone during the year, randomly chosen by Google+ and e-mailed to me as a pleasant surprise). 2013 held a new (and our first) owned home, a great job, a sweet puppy, a wonderful husband, amazing friends, and the best family a girl could ask for (complete with a fantastic vacation with them). I am truly blessed beyond measure. Enjoy.

Beginning of Year Craziness

        Today was an absolutely beautiful day. It was a chilly fall day ... 60 degree weather, foggy, cool and damp ... beautiful. I came home from work, my hubby was just starting laundry (amazing all on it's own!), we took the dog for a walk, and then came home and had waffles and eggs for dinner.

        And I think I felt like a regular person for the first time in WEEKS. Like since school started. Don't get me wrong, after dinner I still graded a stack of papers and spent an hour working on my Grad class homework ... BUT, for that brief moment (and this one!) I got to remember what it is like to have a life outside of school. And it was marvelous! ha!

        Don't get me wrong, I am LOVING every minute of school ... well, okay, almost every minute. There have been a couple moments I could have done without, but that is to be expected when you hang out with 9 year olds all day! :). Seriously, over all this year is great. My homeroom is fantastic, each of my classes is an adventure all it's own, my kids are great, my colleagues are wonderful, and I get to wake up and go do what I love every day.

        There have been a ... few ... moments our room has been full of craziness, a couple of times my co-teacher and I have had to just look at each other and laugh, one lesson I stopped completely - reworked - and tried again the next day, and a time or two I was pretty sure we weren't getting anywhere ... but guess what, we WERE getting somewhere.

         And there are moments that prove it ... like today we started guided reading and the kids were marvelous. And when the kids got excited at the news that all their prewriting strategies have payed off and then get to start actually drafting tomorrow. AND today we got to bring out "Skelly" the skeleton! I brought him out for my two ELA classes, but my homeroom was so excited we decided to study him as well! So, we decided to do some research on skeletons and the human body ourselves :).

This is my homeroom filling out KWL charts about Skelly the skeleton -- they are excited to learn more about him!

        But, no matter how much I love my job, 4 weeks of 10 hour days (7-5) + 2 or 3 hours in at school each weekend was = one stressed out me ... which isn't fun for anyone involved (including my students! and my poor husband!). So, today it was nice to "get away" for a bit, take a deep breath, and remember that this "beginning of the year craziness" really doesn't last forever =).

I should...

I should be working on school stuff. Studying and processing our new writing curriculum. Prepping to give a writing assessment tomorrow. Reviewing the reading lessons I will start teaching. Tweaking my seating arrangement (there are a few cases where that is a definite necessity). Lesson planning (you know, past tomorrow).

I should be cleaning my house. Doing dishes. And laundry. And someone (anyone!) is seriously going to have to sweep the floor.

I should be writing a better, deeper blog-post than this one :s.

I should be doing a lot of things. But instead I'm laying on the couch. Because I'm exhausted. But it's the same kind of exhausted I am after a trip to 6 flags or the river for the day. Or the way you feel when you get back form a great vacation. It's a fulfilled kind of exhausted. A 'too much fun' kind of exhausted. It's a 'my class was awesome today and we had a blast and I really do work at a great school' kind of exhausted. And also a 'my other two classes are going to keep me busy busy busy and I am 50% terrified and 90% excited and 100% determined we will make progress quickly' kind of exhausted. And an 'I didn't sleep last night because I was to filled with anticipation' kind of exhausted.

I should be thankful. Thankful that I am only exhausted because I got to spend the day doing what I love. Thankful that I have  job, period. Thankful that my kiddos are sweet and fun and ready to learn. Thankful that I have great coworkers. Thankful for another day full of opportunities.

I should do a lot of things -- not the leas of which is say a prayer and go to bed. And so that, my friends, is exactly what I'm going to do.

Pray Out Loud

http://www.ksdk.com/news/article/391819/3/Priest-comes-out-of-nowhere-to-aid-accident-victim

Read this story. And let it move you to think deeply.

I don't want to discuss angles with you, or even miracles, or "stranger priests", or coincidences, or luck ... at least I don't want to discuss those things right now. 

Here is what I want to tell you:

This story brought tears to my eyes and a prayer of thanks to my lips. Because it reminded me that God works - in our lives - on a daily basis. Because it reminded me to be thankful for each safe trip to and from Jefferson City (and all my safe trips to and from anywhere for that matter). Because it made me thrilled for parents who weren't separated for their too young daughter. Because it made me think of God. And made me (and probably more people) thank God. Because it made me examine my faith.

Because it made me wonder: would I be saying "Pray with me and pray out loud" ... or would I be crying, or screaming? 

You can never know how you will actually respond to a situation until you are IN that situation. And sometimes even then I am not sure you realize how you are reacting until after the fact. 

I'd say this young lady reacted well. I'm sure she touched many peoples hearts with her simple, yet strength filled words. Could I say them in a moment like that? Is my faith that strong, my whole mind that reliant on God? Is yours?

Recharge

There is a reason my classroom had to come together so quickly (granted it is STILL coming together...): I have other things to do!

Because even though school is consuming, I don't want it to completely consume me. And even though teaching is my passion, it isn't my only one.

Because I still need to time to play.

I mean, seriously, is this pure joy or what?!

LOVE these girls (and how much they love to read!)

And celebrate.

This is my sweet cousin's fiance, Emily ... can't wait to celebrate their wedding next weekend!

And relax.

After all, teaching is consuming. And being passionate is tiring. So it was great to recharge this weekend! ...now, back to SCHOOL! And figuring out what I'm going to teach these precious kiddos! =)

Ready, Set, Go!

If "procrastinator" has an opposite ... I'm that. At least on the things I enjoy. And turns out I enjoy "playing" in my classroom!

I realized quickly last year some things I could have done to have the room set up "better", "more functional", etc. So, this years goal is to be more functional, more organized, and more efficient -- but still tons of fun! ;)

Soooo, since our building opened on Tuesday, it has been a productive couple days as far as classroom setting up goes!

With doing the inclusion room we found out last year that it would have been SUPER nice to have two "pull tables". This will be my table - it's right next to my desk. *hopefully* It will eventually have exercise balls sitting around it to experiment with!

This is the filing system (found on pinterest) I'm trying ... folders for each thing: "to copy", "take home", "grade", etc. HOPEFULLY this will keep the countless papers from each day organized instead of in a giant pile on my desk! We'll see....

Here is my whole desk :) hopefully it will stay this clear....

On top is our team tubs the kiddos will pick up each morning with supplies for the day (sitting in them now are white boards I made by cutting apart the cheap cardboard folders from wal-mart and laminating them!) AND one of our new adventures this year, the student data binders, will sit on the shelves below! Right now they are in pieces - binders on the left, inserts on the right ... hole punching, here I come!

I loved the Kagan workshop I was able to attend right after school got out in May ... but I definitely need to review Kagan before school starts! To help me out, I put up cheat sheets of some of my favorite structures.

We always have kids absent and in and out of the room. Here is our new "While You Were Out" board - we'll put the papers we do that day in that days folder so kids will always know where to find them. And that's the second pull table - Angie's table! =)

Reading corner =)

Writing Center

This is the AR wall - kids will move their little surfer dude along the wave and to the beach as they work towards their goal.

Surfers for the AR wall - we'll put pictures of the kids faces so they won't be headless surfers ... and the kids can decorate!

I think we are off to a good start ... except I have nothing ready to actually teach! So, here's to getting familiar with our new writing program, reviewing our reading units, and getting my grading system up and going! =) Happy end of summer!