school...school...and more school...

So I am now on my 4th week of teaching and I think I am slowly getting things under control, and getting use to the curriculum. I hope that the kids are learning something. This week (well Friday and I volunteered my time) I got to rearrange my classroom again, but it looks so much better now. I was able to take out a ton of things that were broken, ripped, missing pieces, or didn't want anymore. It was so much fun. The classroom now looks like a kindergarten classroom that school age children use which is the goal. This weeks goal is to get things on the walls and start running Catch the Wave ( our after school program). When I am not working and teaching school I am going to school, and loving it but there are times I wonder why I decided to go back right now, it hasn't been easy at all to get everything done in a day that I need to and still have a little bit of time for me so I don't go insane. I keep looking at the end result and know that its all going to be worth it in the end.

Survived first real week of teaching...

On Tuesday I started my actual first week of teaching, and it was so much fun. I loved every minute of it, but I only have 7 kids at the most all week during school hours helps. Monday we start working on the letters and reading high frequency words. We also start a 7 week unit on Now and Then. We will be creating life size children, and talking about the passing of time. I am so excited. I only hope that making the bodies goes better than it did this summer cause right now I am seeing a train wreck.

Oh, and to update everyone. When I was hired in April it was to teach Kindergarten and then be a floater in the afternoon and also drive one of the buses to pick up the school age children. Thank goodness that's changed. I am now also the teacher for the school age children and get to still work with some of my children from this summer. Its been fun to be with them still, and its so much easier also since they aren't at the center that long, and a lot of it is outside for right now until I figure everything out for the after school program and get it up and running, but there are still a few that I miss, and will always miss. Some of them though will be coming back to visit on days when they don't have school. I can't wait for those days! Although I am excited for the school year, both in and out of work (for those of you who don't know I am also going back to school) I can't wait for summer to have all of my kids back again.

Following promptings

I am so grateful for following the promptings that I had today, before I get into why I should say that this is something that I don't always do and my father and I are always telling each other to follow the thoughts that we have, for example if I had done this last week I wouldn't have forgotten the bag in Bountiful that had all the papers in it on how to make her cake and a ton more. Thanks so a great roommate who was home I was able to get some of it over the phone. Anyway onto today.

This morning when I woke up I had a ton of different errands to run, and I usually wonder to myself if while out I will run into anyone that I know. When living in Twin I would all of the time but in all of my times living in Utah I never have so I didn't think much more of it and proceeded with my errands in Salt Lake and Midvale. While going to the stores I wasn't able to find any notebook paper for journals I am making for my Kindergartners, something that I thought was a little odd but I decided I would finish out my looking by going to Walmart in Centerville and if I couldn't find any there then the children would just have to wait for a while before they got them. When I arrived at Walmart I knew that they still had the school supplies up in the front of the store but decided that I would first look in the office supply area, and I am so extremely grateful that I did. Once I got back to isle that the paper would be in I ran into Nick. Who is one of the children who I had to say goodbye to early this week and it hasn't been easy at all and after talking with the assistant director yesterday even harder, but that is another story. The excitement he had when he saw me was priceless and I am so thankful that I went back there, even though the paper wasn't there. Had I gone just to the front of the store I would have missed out on the chance of seeing him, and getting to talk with him and his mom.

I have reflected on this all day long today and tonight while attending the adult session of my stakes conference. In our lives we all have promptings to do things but how many times do we put them aside and say we will do them later. Sometimes later is to late. After leaving my bag in Bountiful last week and talking with my dad I have tried even harder than I did before that when I have a prompting to do it and write it down. In my car I have a small note pad and pen, and I also carry one everywhere I go so that when I have them I can carry out what it is I feel impressed to do. Who knows when that prompting could affect another persons life.

First day of school!!!!

Even though I technically haven't started teaching kindergarten, all of my school age children are now gone and it has been extremely hard on me. I have watched tons of children in my life and I have never had anything be as hard as having to say good bye to the children as I did yesterday as I said goodbye to Nick and Erik. These two boys have had more influence on my life in the short 3 months that I have been there teacher than any other child ever has. Not that other children haven't had an huge impact on my life because there are way to many that have, but I honestly didn't want yesterday to end and each time the door would open my heart would drop a little more knowing that our time together was ending. Finally when it came and I was told to clean my room and go home I went to tell them goodbye and give them a hug...but they wouldn't let go. I know I spent a good 5 min. trying to help them to let me go so I could leave and doing this all without crying, a task that wasn't easy at all. My eyes were filled with tears and my heart ached so bad to be able to spend more time with them. They were so helpful. Whenever I needed anything done all summer long I could count on them. They always reminded me to not worry about the small things and it really is OK to laugh at yourself. Being twins they helped to remind me the importance of family and reminded me more than once of me and Katie. Nick also reminded me a ton of Joe (my new brother in law.) He was always trying to pick on me like Joe. It made being a way from my family a little easier. They would clean any mess up that I asked them to clean even if they didn't make it, but the one thing that I will miss the most is the participation that they gave in class and the encouragement that they would give not only to me but to the other children in class. Especially Nick yesterday when helping me fill out the student of the week for me for next week on the question what do you do best and with out missing a beat looked at me and said....teach. Thank you Nick and Erik for helping me this summer.

Katelyn's wedding

WOW! What a weekend. I went home Wednesday night to help finish up all of the last minute preparations for the "BIG DAY" on Saturday. I also had to gather a bunch of things for the first day of school on Monday. Not a wise thing to be gone 2 days before school starts. Planning for everything has been crazy, but it was good to be home, and everything went smoothly and we had a lot more time to relax and enjoy the time than I thought we would. Katelyn looked absolutely gorgeous and its hard to believe that my little sister is married. Here are just a few of the pictures from the weekend.

First week

My first week of my new adventure/chapter went great. I love my job at KinderCare. It was a great week. The kids are for the most part are really good and have great parents. Some of the kids did try to test the limits to see what they would be able to get away with, and when they didn't I wanted to laugh at the mumblings. At times I would have to say that I felt like the wicked witch of the west. I only hope that I don't have to be like that all summer or it could be a very long summer. School age children are so much fun. I don't want the summer to go by fast at all but I can't wait for school to start again so that I can start teaching my Kindergartners. They are too cute!

My roommates are great as well. I have been so busy trying to get things put away and organized that I haven' been able to get to know them very well but I am sure that will all change now that I am pretty much done with all of that.

New Chapter/Adventure begins

I moved down to Bountiful yesterday and start my new job tomorrow. I am excited, nerveous, and scared all bundled into one. In other words I am a nerveous wreck. The move yesterday went great. Thanks to the help of my parents, Katie and Joe. I don't think that I could have done it without them. I won't lie it was very hard to tell them goodbye. You would think after telling them goodbye so many times that it would get easier, but I almost think that it is harder. Part of that could be the fact that Katie is getting married and I will no longer be around to help with the wedding plans, which I thought for a while I would be ok with but now I am not so sure. Here are a few pictures that my sister took of my new house, sadly though she didn't get any of my 3 roommates. Outside bedroom
Kitchen

Dining area

Bathroom


Living room

trying to get the couch downstairs. It didn't work. Its now upstairs.