Sunday, September 14, 2014

School Days

 
Oh my Wow!  School is going full swing.  We are B-U-S-Y as bees!  I LOVE it!  L-O-V-E Love it! 

I have the sweetest little class you can imagine.  Every single one of them is pure SWEETNESS!  They have their moments, so does their teacher, and can be little rascals BUT each one of them is a really nice kid.  I just LOVE them!

The first day of school one of my little sweeties brought me an apple.  How cute is that?




The teacher across the hall is WONDERFUL!  She answers my gazillion questions.  She watches my class when I need a potty break.  She is such a nice person.  I really like her.  My own children LOVE her.  They all run up and hug her at school....not me!  For real.



The first grade has been working hard!

We have been doing lots of training in: line walking and circle sitting and not swinging our lunch boxes while in line and in using our inside voices.....



We've also worked on our....penmanship....sometimes with pretzels or bubbles.... 




Reading Groups.  Every. single. day.


 But these kids are learning to READ!!!!  That is exciting!

We do Phonics.


Math....


They LOVE to play Around the World with their Math facts. 


They are learning about American Symbols in History.



Of course they all love iPad time!



They do a LOT of work but....we do make times for games.



 and painting,


 and having picnics with our Teddy Bear's

 

 



 and we dream of our futures.....

cause that is just fun!


We read lots and lots of stories.  I LOVE to read!

We play outside a lot!  Fresh air is so important!

And sometimes after a long day....we all take our shoes off....
 


because that just makes life more comfortable. 

And Friday we are going on our FIRST FIELD TRIP!!!!  I'm a little excited.

As for MY kids......
Lets see.....they LOVE their teachers.  They LOVE their classmates.  They LOVE Technology time, and Art, and PE and recess, and the cafeteria, and Library, and Singing, and Chapel, and Spanish, and Story time, and Reading Groups, and they HATE getting up early and homework and going to bed early. 

Jackson's famous quote, "I love everything about school........except the learning!" 

But learn he has.  His reading has exploded.  I think school has put a positive peer pressure on him and he is working harder and it is paying off BIG time.  My sweet boy has made 100, 95, and 100 on his spelling tests.  Not bad at all for a kid struggling with dyslexia.  Soooo proud of my boy!

Sophia's famous quote, " You were too easy on me mom."  She L-O-V-E-S school and has tried to make me promise that "No matter what the rest of you do next year, PLEASE let me go to school!" 
Was I that bad?  I'm not going to ask her!
She had strep this week and had to miss two days.  It was a bit overwhelming making up all the work she had to make up but she sure did enjoy all the cards from her classmates.  She is Ms. Social.


Audrey misses Mindy and her blanket she says.......but she sure does seem happy all day at school!  She is doing so well in school and is making friends very quickly.  Her classmates LOVE her.  She's a social butterfly!
 



Lydia.....was born to go to school.  She loves her teacher.  She loves her class jobs.  She loves her work.  She loves her desk.  She loves her lunchbox.  She loves doing book reports.  She loves history.  She is my school girl.  She does think some of the boys in her class are a bit annoying and noisy! 

Randy thinks school is great.  He has been wonderful.  He cooks dinner as often as I do.  He grocery shops regularly.  He still helps with the laundry.  He's always been helpful with the laundry.  He visits school weekly on his day off and no surprise here, ALL the kids classmates LOVE Randy.  He is soooo funny and soooo nice!  He also is very helpful.  He goes outside the fence (the kids are not allowed to) on the playground and rescues all the stray playground balls and Frisbees.  Instant Playground Hero Status!

I love being there with my kids and seeing them with their friends and on the playground and at lunch.  I love that they are getting what they need educationally and I don't feel all the pressure to give each of them everything.  I was STRESSED out!

As much as I love it I will admit I am exhausted.  It is a lot of work to get a classroom up and running!  My class parents are wonderful so that has been a blessing!  They buy stuff for me and for the class!!!  They volunteer for field trips.  They organize events.  They help me figure out what is going on.  So that has been a blessing.  My co-workers have been life savers from teaching me which side of the hallway to walk on when, and about our heating/air system, and what to do when kids get sick, and who to talk to about what, and how to get the pesky map up.  LOVE all the people I work with.  However, getting 4 kids in the swing of going to school for the first time, getting used to homework, getting used to school hours, starting to work full time after being home for 16 years is an adjustment.  Getting used to not seeing my big kid so much and slowly loosening my grip has been difficult but so far so good.  So tonight I'm nursing the ends of a cold and staying home from Home Fellowship with Audrey who is also on the mend.  She's eating soup and I'm sipping Hot Strawberry Chocolate Tea and taking it easy.   Reflecting on the year so far....and feeling really happy.  God knew what he was doing.  So glad he directs my path and has a plan for our lives!  He really does know what we need and when we need it!

Love,
Kim