Summer's End

Well it has finally hit me...we're going back to school on Tuesday! I visited my friend's 1st grade classroom the other day. She is teaching in a very quaint school. The building is small. It is 100 years old and there are only 8 classrooms from grade 1 to grade 4. There is a very homey feel to the school and everyone seemed quite welcoming and pleasant. We helped her do a few things and visited for a while. She showed me a bit of the curriculum she has to cover and I was amazed. It is so much more than what I was expected to teach when I was in that position over 10 years ago. It makes me wonder what all this pressure does to our kids. So much is mandated by the federal and state government but funding isn't there to support the mandates. I just don't get it. I guess that is why I joined Stand for Children in the hopes to change how programs are funded and to improve things for kids now.

On Wednesday the kids and I went to my school. I hadn't been since the end of July. I have to say I've felt guilty not going in this month, but I think it was good to have that break. It was great to see my colleagues and get into my classroom. There is a lot of work to be done this year as we are going for recertification by the NAEYC. It is a rigorous process and will certainly focus us on what we are doing well and what we need to add to our program to ensure the best results for children.

Last night we had an interesting sight in our back woods! I'll back up a bit by saying over the past month we have enjoyed seeing a family of turkeys stroll through our back yard and up the wooded hill behind our home. We have quite a bit of 'greenbelt' land surrounding our property. It is unbuildable land that provides the home to many kinds of birds and small animals. Now apparently it is also home to the turkey family. So back to last night...R was outside on the deck and the kids and I were inside, it was about 7pm, suddenly I hear R say "Turkeys in the trees, turkeys in the trees" So out we all go to see this unusual sight. Sure enough there was a large mother turkey with her baby turkeys three roosting high up in an oak tree. What a sight! I took some pictures. You will have to click on them and zoom in to get a good look. I'm hoping to crop and enlarge them at the printers so that I can share the pictures with my students in late October/early November.

The Fair!

Well the end of the summer isn't the end of the summer without the fair. Last night we went to our local fair. A friend was supposed to be in the motor cross race and that was the catalyst that sent us out and on our way last night. We approached the entrance and sat in traffic for a while but it was fine. We parked and set off on our adventure, camera in hand. The kids were excited. There was fair food, rides and games to experience.

We started off getting tickets. The first ride was the haunted house. I passed on it and took some photos instead.

I was lucky enough to ride the ferris wheel twice once with each child.

I also had a turn on the merry go round. So much fun! I have to say that when I was a kid I went to this same fair, but I don't remember having as much fun as I did last night with my husband and children.

Now as I write, the air feels much more like fall than summer. Sigh... Love so much about fall; the weather, the coziness, the holidays, but the return the regular school schedule...not so much!

Peace!

Bittersweet

Well once we have celebrated all the August birthdays, Papa, hubby and kids(Whew!) the truth sinks in...the end of summer is upon us and it is time to get ready to go back to school! Many Moms are thrilled when time comes to send the wee ones back to school. I guess I'm a bit out of the ordinary as I enjoying having that unstructured time to be with my kids. As much as we get on each others nerves; I just love being with them. I remember being a kid and thinking the summer was just so long. Times have changed and even the children think that summer went by to fast. It is also time when I start gearing up to go back to work. It is interesting even with the experience I have I still get nervous when I have a new group of children coming into my class. When I think about it rationally I know I shouldn't be nervous: I know what I'm doing, I'm teaching preschool so the children enjoy school, parents are usually very supportive and wonderful, and I have a fabulous teaching partner and work environment. All of this being said, just typing this part of the post gives me an upset stomach! Oh well. We will all get through it and it will be fine. I picked up a cute outfit for open house with the parents so that's a help.

On another note my computers are giving me trouble. The laptop has power port issues...soon to be fixed thanks to my QVC/Dell 3 year extended warranty! And the computer that I am working on now is a dinosaur and in desperate need of updating. It is a little frustrating when I am used to my quick laptop. So it may be a few days before I can visit all my favorite blogs :(

Hope everyone is enjoying these last lazy days of summer. We are and will be slowly returning to our school year schedule over the next two weeks...earlier bedtimes and up earlier in the morning.

Peace!

Strange

Hey there, I checked my email today and found an odd email comment from lotto someone. Then I checked the blog and saw that there have been 48 views today. Something must be going on because on a good day I have 4-5 visits at best. I'm going to enable the comment moderation just because and ask if any of my regular readers know what might be going on?

We're off for a couple of days so I probably won't check back in until late Thursday night or Friday am. Have a great couple of days.

Peace!

Birthday Pics

The kids had a blast at their parties this past weekend. It was a lot of work but it was so worth it! Thought I'd share a few pictures. N's Indiana Jones party was one big adventure... And n's party was a beading bonanza!

Birthdays!

This is a busy time for our family. We celebrated n's birthday yesterday. She is 8! I can hardly believe it! Sometimes it seems like just yesterday that she was born and then at times it seems like a lifetime ago. Anyway our family tradition has been that on our actual birthday we go to a local bakery and pick out a treat. It can be a breakfast treat or an after dinner treat. n decided on a beautiful white frosted chocolate cake. I'll be posting pictures as soon as I download them. It was fun to sing to her and then share the yummy cake. Starting tomorrow we will be celebrating with friends. N is turning 10 early in September so he is having his party tomorrow night. Indiana Jones theme including a 10 clue treasure hunt. It should be a blast. I just finished writing the clues. I hope that they are just right...not too hard not too easy. We'll see. We are also making homemade pizza again and watching one of the Indiana Jones movies. The party is due to end at 9pm. I'll be tired but it will be so worth it I'm sure. Celebration continues on Saturday when all the girls come to celebrate n's birthday. We will be beading necklaces, playing games and having cake and ice cream. n's little friends are so cute. Last year none of her friends were able to come...it was kind of strange actually but this year all but 1 of the children will be coming to our house to celebrate. She is so excited to have her friends here to celebrate and play with her on Saturday. Ocean is the theme of her day. I can't wait! I'll post pictures as soon as I can.

Peace!

Summer Sun

Well we are blessed to have a beautiful sunny day today. The temperature is just right. Little to no humidity and a lovely blue sky with scattered white puffy clouds. My only wish is that I had some more energy to enjoy the day. I have been fighting a summer cold since N came down with his ear infection. All I really want to do is sleep. My head is congested and both my shoulders and head are achy! Unfortunately as everyone knows you can't just go to bed and not get the things done that must be done. So I've cleaned the kitchen, cleaned the bathroom, done a bit of yard work, made a grocery list for hubby and made a mental list of all the stuff I have to get done before the kids parties next weekend. I'd love for the yard to be perfect with fresh mulch, stone and beautiful flowers everywhere but that is just not realistic. So I think I will work on making sure that the yard looks the best it can without those things and try to remember that it is about the kids enjoying the day and not about the state of the yard. R's Aunt once said to me that if people or friends come by to see her they are there to see her not her house. I try to remember this but I am not always successful. It must be my personality.

Peace!

Summer Sun

Well we are blessed to have a beautiful sunny day today. The temperature is just right. Little to no humidity.

Summer Sun

Well we are blessed to have a beautiful sunny day today. The temperature is just right. Little to no hu

Site Meter Problems

So this morning I tried to access my blog and IE continuously aborted my attempt. Very frustrating and I have a feeling others are experiencing this as well. I did some research and it seems that Site Meter is causing the problem. So the solution...remove Site Meter from your blog. Too bad. I did enjoy checking out how folks found my blog. Now I'll have to rely on my Live Traffic Feed. I just hope all my other blogging friends figure out what to do so that I can continue to visit their lovely blogs.

Peace!