Busy last day of school!!!

      The last day of school = WAFFLE morning :) I always make yummy waffles for the kids at school. Everyone is invited, and it's in honor of all of those who have summer birthdays.
      This year I made over 200 waffles!!!! I love that I have kids who even come to school to just eat a waffle, and then head out for the day at the lake or whatever.
      Then we had the retirement lunch for Pat Messinger. This, of course, was bittersweet. SO, sweet that he is able to retire and do the things that he will enjoy doing (hunting, fishing, spending time with his family), but so sad to no longer have his smiling face wish me good morning every school day (along with every person in our school that he welcomes and wishes a good day!).
      It felt good to be a part of this experience! I feel so lucky and honored to have worked with Pat, albeit only five years.
      I have learned so much from him. He's such an amazing teacher and friend. I hope that I can impact students the way he did, as I continue teaching for the next twenty years.
      I owe a lot to Pat, too, on a personal level. He has been such an incredible inspiration to both of my sons.
      Back to school after the lunch (and some tears), and I spent the afternoon cleaning and readying my classroom. It feels like I am preparing for hibernation from teaching :)
      Of course, the last day of school also equals our end of the year school BBQ. I love this event because it's fun to hang out with the people we work with and also all of their families. It was fun to watch all the little girls play dress-up, run around, and plan super cute "shows" for us!! LOL It's nice to have entertainment at our BBQ!
      And, what about the food?!! Holy cow! I always say every single time that we should create an employee cookbook!!!! I love, love, love eating at the BBQ every year because I try something new that I just love to eat, LOL!
      We did end up leaving the BBQ early because we headed down to the fairgrounds to watch the famous Lipizzaner Stallions! Fun! And, there were several ever people who also left early to caravan down to see the show.
      I was so impressed with the skills of the stallions and their riders. I am not overly familiar with dressage, but it's impressive!

Ahhhh...the last week of school

     Life is busy (big shock, I know), but I THINK it's winding down.
     I love the last week of school for all sorts of reasons:
1) My birthday almost always happens near the last day of school! It's tomorrow :)
2) I always put on the big WAFFLE breakfast on the last day of school to honor all those kiddos who have summer birthdays. I have been doing this as long as I have been teaching! It's so much fun!! Last year I think I made 250 waffles!!!
3) We do lots of fun end of the year activities. Yesterday my sophomores joined their first grade buddies for their picnic at Alma Park! We had so much fun, and I swear the big kids are even bigger kids-at-heart than the first graders! I loved watching them all play!!!!
4) We pack up a year. We reflect. We celebrate.
5) We have our end of the year BBQ as a staff. I always look forward to this, as we spend time outside of school enjoying each other, and there are TONS of kids who hang out, too!!! (And, the food always rocks!)
6) We make plans to enjoy summer! Swimming, horseback riding, hiking, exercising, losing weight, camping, writing, watching baseball, catching up on movies, sleeping in, reading, cooking, going on girls only trips, vacationing (Disney Land here we come!), all of it :)
7) We re-charge!

Summer...here we come :)

Love livin' on a farm!

     We have quite the menagerie here at our place, and we are always adding new animals!
     I need to take some pictures of our new turtle, Slow Mo Joe! LOL (Soon I promise)
     I was able to get these pics of a Mama Robin and her babies in our tree :)

Volunteers Light the Way!

     I wasn't able to attend the Volunteer Party last week at Virginia Grainger because I was busy in a union negotiations meeting, but I did receive my Volunteer certificate and the cute little keychain flashlight that says, "Volunteers Light the Way!"
     It's so true. Whatever little time you can give, it does make a big difference.
     It's so rewarding for me to work with kids one-on-one and give them extra support! I love doing little things for the teacher, too :)
     Another added benefit is KNOWING the kids with whom your kids attend school!
     As well, I have always been of the philosophy that parents and teachers should be partners in education!
     And, actually my volunteering experience when my boys were young and in preschool and elementary school, truly is what motivated me to become a teacher!
     Parents can volunteer in all sorts of ways. I am able to go in weekly, but I know some parents cannot do that because of their schedules.
     But, you can volunteer to go on field trips, bring snacks to class, help with special parties or activities, create a bulletin board, or you can even volunteer to take on a craft project at home (preparing it, cutting it, etc.).

Here Comes Graduation!

     It’s that time of the year again…graduation! I can’t believe that it has already been two years since Cody graduated!!! It seems, at times, like only yesterday.
     Now, my youngest son will be a senior! Class of 2010!! OH DEAR, I don’t know if I am ready for that!! This time next year, I will be a mess. Graduations are so bittersweet.
     You are so proud of the kids and excited for what is to come, where they will go, who they will be. But, you are sad to see them leave, to not be around on a daily basis anymore, to have so much change so quickly. You will miss them so much.
     I will greatly miss some of our seniors this year. As a teacher, you grow close to these kids, and you watch them become adults right in front of your eyes.
     Sometimes it's hard to say good-bye, even if that's a good thing!!

Downright disgusted!

     I know that I am being judgemental. I know that I am not perfect. I know that I have made more than my share of mistakes.
     But, I am sick and tired of people making excuses for people who make mistakes that affect other people!
     I have a friend who is close to a family that lost their 9-year-old daughter due to a drunk driving accident!
     The father of this young girl was also critically injured, and he even had to have his leg amputated.
     Here's the kicker...THIS KILLER HAD 6 DUIS!!!!! (That's a link, click on the lighter colored font to read the latest.)
     Allow me to step up on my soapbox. Am I OK with even one DUI? NO, to be candid, not really. But, I could at least understand it, if a person had a DUI and then s/he changed her/his ways, NEVER, NEVER driving drunk again.
     I know people who have two or three DUIs, who have to have those machines in their cars to allow them to even drive. That's wrong. More than one DUI, and I say SHAME ON YOU, no more driving. You've proven that you don't care about the danger in which you are placing the innocent others out there on the road.
     Maybe I am bitter about it because it hits so close to home. I lost a close friend to a drunk driving accident the summer before my senior year. The pain of losing someone you love doesn't ever go away. Then to add to that a death that should've never happened, but did because one person made such a selfish decision.
     All I know is...Lisa, I am sorry that your friends have been dealt this tragedy. Thank you, though, for sharing the story with me, as it reminds me of how strongly I feel.

Donuts for Dads!

      I love the parties in elementary school!!! Such a different world, than teaching up at the high school.
      Today was a special day in first grade: Donuts for Dads!
      Rick was so excited to go in this morning, and I was fortunate to see some pics of the event, and how much fun to see all those dads with their little ones :) YEAH!
      The bulletin board is PERFECT, showcasing the Dad All-stars!!! I still think Mrs. Attridge should make a book and sell them to teachers!!