Back to school

It's almost that time of year again!  I'm having very mixed feelings about going back after spending all day, every day with my sweet Rae.  A huge part of me just wants to stay at home with her and, not going to lie, homeschooling her through kindergarten has crossed my mind.  I'm so in love with showing her new things, making her nutritious breakfasts and lunches, reading whichever books she hands me, and just watching her grow up in front of me.  This summer has been so rewarding and I don't want it to stop.

But I know that I love teaching kindergarten.  I remember being so thankful for a career that I love and being surrounded with children that I love even more.  I remember the times that I laughed so hard my principal peaked her head in to see what was so funny.  I remember feeling the love from heartfelt "thank you's" from parents and former students.  Teaching really is the most rewarding career I could have chosen and I am forever grateful for the opportunity to touch so many lives.

I decided to take a walk down memory lane today to try to bring all of those great memories to the forefront again.  Trying to help myself prepare for the weeks coming up ever so soon.  These are a few of my favorite moments from my classroom...

This is one of my very favorite back to school activities where the kids listen to No David then write about what David can do in the classroom.  This student thought that David can play and listen to the teacher.  Precious!

These are a beautiful way of teaching the children about community.  Each layer is a different part, starting with "self" and ending with "state".

Experimental play is so crucial in kindergarten!  I like putting magnets out in the beginning of the year.

Real world objects are fun and what can be more fun than comparing and contrasting pumpkins at Halloween!?

I loved watching my students complete my first worksheet that I ever made for Teachers Pay Teachers.

My favorite graph of all time!  I still have this folded up in a cabinet.

 Fostering a love of books is one of my main goals as a teacher of young children.  Here, they are drawing the covers of their favorite books in preparation for book reviews.

This is my all time favorite bulletin board display.  We started off our Spring unit on plants with a reading of the book Tops and Bottoms and made our own garden with descriptions of what each plant is, like "flower", "root", or "stem".

 This was a Pinterest victory!  Sight words scroll by on a digital picture frame. 

 These chick glyphs are so silly, what's not to love?

 I love to listen to students working cooperatively.  Here, they are writing about their favorite part of Bear Snores On.

Our countdown to the last day of school is legendary with a small strip of paper inside each balloon detailing a quick and fun activity for the day.  

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Summertime

This summer has been a wonderful summer.  I have never experienced a summer quite like this one before in that I'm not bored and lonely at all.  I've kept myself busy with birthday projects, painting rooms in our house, taking trips with friends, enjoying family visiting from Michigan, and playing with my lovely Rae.  This summer has been absolutely perfect.

Here are a few shots of our summertime fun.

Having some fun at a local splash pad.

Rae's favorite animal at Old McDonald's Farm.

Kerbey Lane cafe was our favorite breakfast place in Austin.  Cinnamon roll pancakes were out of this world!

About to go into Longhorn Caverns, excited!

The entrance to Longhorn Caverns.  Rae didn't make it much further than this, haha!

I painted over the hideous 'Venetian plaster' job in Rae's bathroom.

Rae helped.

I tore down the crazy tea-stained paper treatment that was in the game room upstairs and got very brave with this new color, 'Expressive Plum'.

Finally, I made these fun decorations for Rae's party.  The lemonade stand was so easy to make it shocked me.  Can't wait for August 9th!

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