Where is the summer going?

Yikes!  My last post was May 31st and I was glowing at the sight of a full summer ahead of me!  What happened, whew...now it's July!  I guess it's true, time flies when you're having fun.   We have filled our days with swimming, fun with friends and family, Vacation Bible School, art camp, summer football workouts, a great beach trip and several trips to the lake.  I LOVE summertime!!

Here are a few pics of our summer so far....

Fun with friends at VBS.

Lake fun!

on the boat

about to take a nap on the boat

Britt had a great time at art camp.

Riding the waves at the beach.

my little mermaid

Allie loved everything about the beach!

Fun and food at Lulu's

My three favorite babies!

cartwheels on the beach

art time!

sprinkler fun

beach fun

Reed playing frisbee on the beach

Welcome, Summer!!

It is officially the first day of my summer vacation!  I am so thrilled to have lots of time to spend with family, enjoy my kids, tackle some home projects and read!!   I love my job and am blessed to be so passionate about my work, but what a blessing to have the time for family and home also.  The best of both worlds.

One of my favorite professional mentors, Lester Laminack, posted this today.  I love it and had to share it.

On The Eve of June

On the eve of June…

School bells sleep

Yellow buses stand at ease

Alarm clocks rest

And homework hassles fade into the horizon of last year

Children stretch the muscles of freedom

As bicycles roam the streets like free range ponies

Sprinklers shower lawns and squealing kids

Pools fill again

White-nosed life guards in red swim suits perch atop their watchtower chairs

Burgers sizzle on backyard grills

Fireflies signal more sand is working its way through the hourglass of summer

And we know, dear friend, you will slip away as swiftly as you entered

I love you June

[Lester Laminack--5/31/11]

I hope you are enjoying your summer, too!   Let's enjoy every moment, because we all know how time flies when you're having fun!!  And, because pictures always make a better post, here are a few of my favorites from the weekend.

8th Grade Banquet-A Red Carpet Affair

Reed and his beautiful date Anna Catherine.

So grown up!

Great group of friends!

Reed, Anna Catherine, Brooke and Barrett

So great being able to watch these boys grow into great young men.

What a great looking couple!

Last night was Reed's 8th grade banquet.  It was such a fun night.  It all began with pictures with all of his friends, most of which he has been friends with since kindergarten or earlier.  We are so blessed that Reed not only has a great circle of friends but that we have made so many good friends in their parents.   After pictures, we went to the banquet where they had a red carpet ready for all of the kids to walk in and take pictures.  The cafeteria looked so great....not even like a cafeteria.  The PTO did such a great job.  It was a great night....wonderful dinner, awards, and then the kids headed to the dance in the gym.  It was a great but emotional night.  Looking at all of these kids, how grown up they are....still picturing them on the little league field or in kindergarten.  Time has gone by so quickly, but we have soooo many wonderful memories.   And, now we ready ourselves for high school (sigh!).

The Power of Language

Today I had the privilege of attending a conference with Lester Laminack.  If you don't know him, you should.  He is an amazing teacher, person, writer and speaker.  This is the third time I have seen him speak in the last 4 years and I left once again so inspired.   I left there a different person with SO many ideas in my head, on my heart and on my tongue.  Luckily, two of my favorite teacher peeps went with me and we went to lunch and "broke it down" for almost 2 hours.   All he shared is more than I can coherently share in one post, so there will be more later.

One resounding theme of today was the power of language for children.  Young developing readers need to be surrounded by the rich language of literature and engaged in discussions with caring, attentive teachers and treated with kindness and respect simply because they breath in and out.  Readers need more than decoding strategies.  They need to know the language of literature....the rhythm, the phrasing, the vocabulary and so much more.   The teacher is the facilitator in this relationship with reader and text.   It is our job, as teachers, to do everything and anything we can do to  create a classroom that is the hinge between the language of the child's life and their school language.   We can't simply throw our hands up or dismiss them because "we tried and they aren't getting it....that they are just not receptive to the excellent instruction we are delivering."   We must continue to try to change "the how", to search for more literature, to build a deeper relationship with the child in order to reach them.   In all of this the child will at the very least learn that they matter and that they are loved and they are worth your time.  

Lester affirmed something all good teachers and parents know.  Kids just want to be loved and understood.   They want to know that they matter....that they are worth it.   It is so important that we as teachers give every ounce of effort to show these children that they matter and they are loved....simply because they breathe in and out.  Children go through so much in their families, with friends, with emotions....they need to know that their teacher is on their side.   There are so many things that are out of our control as teachers....but we can love and listen and inspire and converse and build relationships with students no matter how many challenges we have with money and curriculum and paper work.    One teacher can change a child's life.   Most of the time we spend one year with them.  It's a year of their life-of their short childhood-that they will never get back.   We can't afford to give them any less than our best.

Another blog I follow, A Teaching Life, posted this video of an 8th grade girl who is bullied.  As I watched her heartbreaking plea for help, I couldn't but think of how much a caring teacher(s) could help her.  Hopefully her teacher(s) know her well enough to know she needs help.  

Sorry for the long ramble.....there's so much more on my mind from today.   I'll write more soon.  For now, I'll leave you with Alye's powerful, heartbreaking language.

Thanks for sharing your powerful words with us today, Lester!

This Girl Cracks Me Up

I was so excited to come home to a box from Amazon.  I ordered some new books....children's books, of course.  Tonight Britt and I sat down to read them and I thought it was so cute that she started to read them to me before I could get settled.  So, I grabbed my camera and thought this would be the perfect picture of the day for my Project 365.  I snapped some really sweet pictures.

Then, we got to the last book.....to this illustration.  (I love Mo Willems!)

(from We Are In a Book! by Mo Willems)

Now, it is well known in our family that Britt is obsessed with being able to raise just one eyebrow.  My sister in law can do it about as dramatically as Piggie above and we all get a kick out of watching Britt try.  When she saw this illustration tonight, she started to giggle and then it was on!  She began to twitch and contort her face, giggle and turn her head....it was hysterical.  I picked up my camera and started snapping.  I wish I had been able to video her reaction to looking at the pics on the camera right after.  She was so sure she had gotten that brow way up there.  She must have said, "That is freaky!  I thought I was doing it!  That is freaky!"  about 10 times.   We were both rolling in the floor laughing.   I love her persistence!

She keeps us laughing!

So much growing going on......

Brittney has grown and changed so much since the first day she joined our family.  She has grown in confidence, life experience, as a student, emotionally, physically.  She has learned so much.   We have been able to witness so many firsts with her.....her first trip to the beach, her first birthday party with friends, her first time to be a cheerleader, her first sleepover, her first bike, her visit from Santa and so many more.  We missed so much, but we've been blessed with so much!

The first picture I ever saw of her.  2008

Visiting our house.  Spring 2009

The day Britt joined our family. 5/29/09

One year with our family.  We celebrated by getting
her ears pierced.  5/29/10

Waking up birthday morning. 2009

Waking up birthday morning. 2010

Birthday Girl 2009

Birthday Girl 2010

  

 We love her with all of our hearts and thank God for bringing her to us and making her a part of our family.

Spring Break 2011

Spring break has been just that.... a break!!  A break from the rapid pace we keep daily.  And, boy did I need it.  The weather has been perfect and has allowed me to pretend as if summer has arrived!   It has certainly been a great preview.  We have spent lots of time outside, grilled out and played with family and friends, gone to lunch with grandparents, visited some of the local sights here in town, and the kids went to grandpas at the lake and spent two days.  While they had "lake" fun this was an ultimate break for mommy!   I got a mani and a pedi....went shopping....lounged around....read....got a few things done....and we went out with my brother and sister in law for St. Patty's.  It has been a great break and it's not over yet!!   I will enjoy the last 2 days and then I will enjoy a day back on Monday with time to prepare and then will be energized to welcome the students back to lots of learning yet to be done in the last 9 weeks!  (ok....the energized part....a girl can dream, right? :)

And, because pics are always fun.....a few from the week!

Riley barrowing the Bitty Twins' stroller.  

Nothing like driveway bball with dad and uncles.

Painted nails and mad skills on the court.                                                                  

Enjoying the beautiful weather.

Love this boy!

fun at Vulcan!