Tuesday, November 19, 2013

Fun times at conference!!!

Ok so I feel a little rejuvenated-well, at least enough to get me through til Thanksgiving break.:) I had such a wonderful time at the Tennessee Kindergarten conference. I learned a lot and got some new ideas just hoping some time will magically appear in my daily schedule to be able to do some of the things I learned. The best part was visiting with old and new friends. On Sunday night, me, Deanna Jump, Kim Adsit, Elizabeth Hall and Greg Smedley went to Chuys for dinner.  If you don't know them, they are amazing teachers and have great blogs to follow. Chuys was yummy!!! We had a great visit and it was fun to visit and catch up on each other's lives since we met this summer in Vegas. Last night Kim and my new friend Wendy Gilstrap went to J. Alexander's for dinner. Always a favorite of mine to eat at and it made me think of my teacher friend Tracy who has been w me to the conference before and we always eat there.:)
I've said it once and I'll say it again SDE conferences are by far the best-their presenters are the best of the best. Every school should send their teachers to these conferences. It is where we learn those tips and tricks to pull out of our hats when all else fails. At a time when there is a lot of teacher burn out, this is a great way to rekindle the fire.
Looking forward to returning to my sweeties tomorrow. I'm sure they will meet me at the door with all the things that happened while I was gone.:)
The race is on now to get everything done that needs to be done before Thanksgiving break. Lots more thanksgiving activities to do and books to read!!!
Hope you are all having a great week!!!

Thursday, November 14, 2013

I am tired.

I have no idea why I am writing this other than the fact that I blog as more of a journal for myself. I am tired. I am tired of assessments, I am tired of having to come up with new ideas all the time, I am tired of doing and doing and never feeling like its enough. I am tired of feeling like I do more testing than I do getting to know the students. I am tired of feeling that I can never get everything done at school or at home. I am tired of not having a solution to all the previous statements that make me so tired. I am tired!!! And the sad part is that I can tell my sweeties are tired too!!!! I am all about doing some new things but there comes a time when you just have to realize that We are all doing enough. It is time to let enough be enough. At least for now.
Ok well that didn't make me feel much better but at least I got it all out. On a happy note, even though there is a full moon coming and things got a little bit crazy today it warmed my heart to see the sweeties show kindness to a fellow student who was having a really rough day. They were giving this child hugs and encouraging words when they could tell things just weren't going too well for them.
Looking forward to playing with Elijah and Annalesa some this weekend. We haven't seen them in over a week so we have missed them. Marty is in Atlanta for some guard training. Kara has a 10 mile run on Saturday. Kirk is at titans game tonight and will be home late and then work some this weekend. Kali will have her BFF over so we are all looking forward to the weekend. On Sunday I will be heading to Franklin for Tn Kindergarten conference. Looking forward to dinner Sunday night with some special teacher friends.:) I am really excited to go and get any new ideas I can and I think The Lord has perfect timing as I need reviving and these conferences are pretty good at refueling me. Blessings to you and yours!!!!

Sunday, November 3, 2013

Field trip and Fall Festival and Halloween activities... Oh My!!!

It has been crazy coming off this week! Lots of fun and lots of sugar!!! We started off the week with a trip to the Dixie to watch a play of The Ugly Duckling and The Tortoise and the Hare. It was PHENOMENAL and the students loved it!!!! Tuesday night was our annual Fall Festival at school. I worked the cake walk and let me tell you folks will dish out a dollar numerous times to win a cake.Lol!!! Thursday the students brought their costumes and we put them on before our fall parties. It was a lot of fun and a GREAT party! I have a precious group of sweeties and their families are the best!
I am very proud of the progress my class is making. They are doing great with their reading and math and most of all they are well behaved! Very proud of their hard work!!!
November is one of my favorite months at school. I really enjoy the Thanksgiving holiday and preparing for it! I always dress my class as Indians and we will have a traditional Thanksgiving feast in our classroom on our last day before Thanksgiving break. It is such a special time and allows all children to experience a traditional Thanksgiving meal.
I am so excited that I will be meeting up with several of the BESTEST teachers EVER 2 weeks from today for the Tennessee Kindergarten Teachers Conference in Franklin!!!! Some of us are meeting for dinner Sunday night and then I will attend classes on Monday and Tuesday. I can't wait to see them again since our last get together was in Las Vegas at the national conference in July.:) they all inspire me so very much and they are the nicest people you will ever meet!!!
All of my K's are doing well! Kirk has decided to make some changes next semester. He is transferring to the U of M campus at Lambuth after Christmas and changing his major to English. He will living on campus there in the same dorm I did as a student there! I am so excited that he is attending my alma mater. Even though it is now under University of Memphis, it still has a lot of the same feel as it did when I was there. We are very pleased with his decision.:)
Kara has been busy finishing up cross country meets and preparing for the St. Jude half marathon that she is running in December in Memphis. She is always doing something related to school activities
her babysitting jobs, and service projects. :)
Kali enjoyed trick or treating for Halloween and I imagine we are close to the end of her wanting to dress up and trick or treat. Sniff! Sniff! They sure do grow up fast.
This past weekend we kept Elijah and Annalesa since their mom as band director was busy with the band and state competition. Our band placed 3rd in the state!!! Woo hoo! Congrats!!! Our football team won as district champs Friday night. Hoping for another trip to state with them also! Go Mustangs!!!
I hope you are all enjoying a blessed beautiful fall! It has been beautiful here in good ole West Tennessee! Such beautiful colors on the leaves this year.
Let us not to forget to thank all the veterans in our life for their service to our country! Thanks to my hubby of almost 20 years for his service in the Army and his continued service in the Tennessee National Guard. :)  Blessings to you and yours!!!