Being Thankful

This post is long overdue, but November was a busy month for me for some reason. Anyway, my students' work on being thankful turned out really great. What are my kindergartners thankful for you ask? Well, they are thankful for their parents, friends, food, house, me and some less common things as well, fishing, blankets, and dogs. I think over all my sweet five and six year olds have a pretty good idea of what is important.

So what is their teacher thankful for? I have much to be thankful for this and every year, here is the tip of the iceburg:

my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ

my husband

my family

my church family

my job and the sweet children it allows me to love on

and I'm even thankful for dogs too and my cat Tebow for that matter.

I guess I'm not that different from my kindergartners after all!

Enjoying Fall Break

Some people might wonder what teachers do during fall break. Well, one thing that this teacher didn't do was step foot into her classroom! This is the first fall break that I have spent relaxing and vacationing since I became a teacher. I have always taught fall intercession or been on mission trips. Anyway, I have had a great fall break! It began with having my sweet neighbor friends over for a slumber party. Since one of them is in kindergarten and loving every minute of it, we did spend some time "pretending" we were in school, go figure! They are a hoot and we had an eventful evening of crafts, coloring, playing games, pillow fighting, and watching one of my favorite movies, Enchanted! We watched it last and the kids were actually in the beginning phases of falling asleep when the "That's How You Know that You Love Her" song started, which led to me cracking up laughing, like always. Needless to say, I woke both of them up and then realized that I would have to finish watching at a different time. :)

Nathan returned on Saturday from a mission trip and we spent the day vegging out. He slept for 14 hours straight and I watched football, which wasn't too bad since my Gators beat LSU! Sunday my jet lagged husband and I left for the Smokies! We actually won a 2 night trip thanks to my husband having somewhat of an addiction to car lots. A certain car lot in town sent us a scratch off with the chance to win various prizes and we ended up with a vacation! Works for me! Anyway, Nathan was such a trooper and we had a great time reconnecting and enjoying each other's company without the distractions that sometimes come with being at home. Oh, and we also got to go to the Dixie Stampede! It was spectacular (and also free by the way)! If you are planning a trip to the Smokies anytime soon, you will not be disappointed if you add this show to your agenda!

When we got back, I had some appointments and spent some time catching up on masters work. I'll finish off my fall break with a trip to Indianapolis to visit Nathan's family and to help paint his sisters house. I'm sure this will be a ball since Nathan's family is just as fun and hilarious as he is! I'll also get to see my niece and nephews, one of which started kindergarten this year! I can't wait to hear all about it. All in all, this teacher has had a very well rounded, much enjoyed fall break!

North Pole

Have you ever had one of those days when you really don't want to go to work? Well, I had one of those days today. I have come down with some sort of cold that has made me almost lose my voice (great considering I talk about 90% of my day). Anyway, I was having one of those days. I walked down to the gym to meet my class for the morning meeting and immediately noticed that one little boy had his hand raised. Great, I think, here begins a whole days worth of talking! I bend down and kindly ask the child what he needs. Let's just say that here is what I got from him:

"I'm not gonna be here tomorrow."

"Really, why?" I say.

"I'm going to the North Pole." His finger shoots up in the air at the mention of the North Pole, as if it's somewhere in the rafters of the gym.

Now, that is why my "I don't want to go to work days" never last too long! Children can bring a smile even when it seems to be buried. :)

Inside an Apple

Every year when we study about Johnny Appleseed we read a story called The Little Red House. Check out the story here : http://falcon.jmu.edu/~ramseyil/storyapple.htm . Well, this has quickly become one of my favorite lessons of the year because of the reaction from the kiddos. For the 2-3 minutes it takes me to read the story the children are completely quiet. Someone walking past our classroom during this time might wonder if class is even in session; I mean there is not a noise (which is strange for five year olds). When it comes time to cut the apple and I look out at those little ones just waiting and watching, I get chills! The revealing of the "star" inside the apple is something that can't really be put into words. The ooo's and ah's last for a while and some students even offer a hardy round of applause! That is the joy of children, they are so excited about the "little things", but is the fact that the seeds of an apple make a perfect star really a "little thing"? I don't really think so. I just hope and pray that I can be as in aww of the "little things" as the five year olds in my classroom!