This summer seems to be going by slowly, but as I sit and look at the calendar I only have 20 days until I go back to work.  Now I'm asking, where has this summer gone?  Crazy!!

Most of this summer has been spent nursing my husband, who fell over 8 feet from a ladder while cleaning out the gutters in our backyard.  He landed on his back and shattered his L1 vertebrae.  After being rushed into emergency surgery to remove the bone fragments from his spinal cord, he spent 5 days in the hospital and is now home recovering.  He has a long road ahead of him, but thankfully he is strong and in great health.  He will be out of work for 6 weeks to 3 months, but he's hoping for it to only be 6 weeks.  So, as you can imagine, we've been busy!!

I'm so excited about seeing my class list and getting to meet my kiddos on August 22nd.  I always love the first day of school.  I wonder if the students realize that the teacher can be just as nervous as they are?  I have always been blessed with amazing students and I'm sure this year will be no different. 

Enjoy what is left of your summer!!!

Semper Fi

You all know that I am a Marine Corps wife and today I just found this video by Trace Adkins.  How have I not seen or heard this song before?  Anyway, it was so touching I had to share on this blog.  It has absolutely nothing to do with school, except that my amazing students are the dependents of USMC and Navy service members.  For my Marine Corps parents, this is for you!!

Summer Fun

Ever wonder what some teachers do during the summer?  Well, for me it's relaxing by the pool, catching up on reading, and unfortunately, thinking about my classroom for the next school year.  Crazy, huh?  Shouldn't teachers be doing all of the above, except for thinking about their classrooms.  It's a strange phenomena!!
 
I've decided that it's time to make that 4 hour drive to Charlotte to visit the only Ikea store in North Carolina.  I sure wish they would open one in Raleigh.  It would make my life much easier, but my wallet much smaller.  Hmmm, maybe it's good that it is in Charlotte!  Anyway, I've decided I MUST HAVE the following items for my room. 

 

 

I'm sure I can find a lot more to buy once I'm in the store!  Guess I'd better get myself into gear and make that drive. 

Last Day

Well, we finally made it to the last day of school!  It's such a bittersweet day for me.  On one hand I'm ready for a break and some family time and on the other hand I miss my kiddos so much.  We had such a great celebratory day together.  There was a lot of laughter, fun, and sharing of food.  It was a perfect way to end our school year.

I am saying goodbye to amazing kiddos and their parents.  Some I will see next year, but most will move on to great adventures.  It is so sad to me to know that I may never see some of these kiddos again.  I truly hope that is not the case, but in our military lifestyle, this is the nature of the beast.  We move around and every now and then return back to a location.  Most times, we move on until retirement comes.  My wish for all of my students is that they move on and leave their mark on everyone they come into contact with.  That they share their love and caring with everyone they meet.  I want them to grow into productive adults who will go on to lead this amazing country that their parents serve.  I want them to always treat others with kindness, love and laugh often, and lead happy lives.  Every single one of my students deserve that.  They are amazing children!! 

Thank you to all of my parents that supported me this year.  Your love and devotion to your children shows and without that my job would be much harder.  Thank you for taking care of me this year.  You have shown me, countless times, how much I am appreciated.  Thank you from the bottom of my heart. 

Have a safe summer and I look forward to seeing some of you in the fall.  If you are moving on, you have my email address.  That address will never change, as long as I work for Department of Defense Schools.   Please stay in touch!

Hugs!!

End of Year Wrapup

3 days left!  We've had so many exciting things going on the last couple of weeks.  Our school-wide Eagles Run was a huge success.  The turnout was amazing.  Heroes does have a wonderful, involved group of parents.  Check out the Photo Gallery for pictures from the Eagles Run. 

We also ended our year with a 3rd grade performance.  I have pictures, but from where I was sitting, they did not turn out good, so I'm not including them in the Photo Gallery.  The performance was fantastic and I'm so proud of each and every one of my students.  Several had solo parts and they did an amazing job of memorizing their lines.  Thank you parents for helping out with everything!!

Murals

Near the end of our Reading Streets-Unit 5, we read the story "Talking Walls".  This is a story of how murals tell a story.  This ends up being the perfect end of the year activity.  For the past two years, I've had my students work in groups to create a mural of their own about our school.  Last year, my class donated their mural to the Principal, where she proudly displays it on the wall behind her desk.  This year, I've decided to keep the murals and display them in my room for next year.  They are so amazing and contain the hearts and souls of my awesome students.  I've included some pictures below.  The writing pieces are difficult to read, but I've included a couple pictures of them.  As I read their feelings about how the mural made them feel, I had tears in my eyes.  Their hard work and dedication showed in their mural and in their writing. 

 

 

 

Happy Memorial Day

On this beautiful, sunny Memorial Day, we should all be thankful for the service and sacrifice of our Armed Forces.  I am especially thankful to my Marine Corps retired husband, Marwan, for his 23 years of service to our amazing country.  He served honorably and faithfully!  I am also thankful for my nephew, Zach, who is also a U.S. Marine.  These two men are just a few who serve and protect us.  I am humbled by their sacrifice and thank God everyday for our military.
 
I also want to thank all of the parents of my students.  Your service makes me proud.  The service of your wives and children make me even prouder.  I am blessed everyday to work with your children and have them in  my life.  You all are my heroes!!  God Bless

MY HERO!! (Marine on the right)

 

Been a while!

Wow!  It has really been a while since I've posted anything.  I was so busy with preparing for our daughter's graduation and family coming in that I completely had to put everything on the back burner.  Now that she's graduated (see pic below) and family has returned to their homes, life is almost back to normal.  With the end of the school year approaching, I'm not going to promise normal for very long :)!

As the year winds down, I'm looking for any suggestions/comments on ideas for the blog for next school year.  My intention is to make it more like a classroom webpage so that parents can access classroom information (policies, procedures, etc.), as well as see all of the exciting learning happening!  I'm open to any suggestions/ideas. 

Have a great week!


 

STEAM Week-Final Pictures

Well, here they are!!  The final pictures of our STEAM Week-Roller Coaster Physics project.  I am so incredibly proud of my students.  They worked hard, all week, to make a coaster that included a loop, camel back, and one other manuever of their choice.  They spent the week working in teams to build, rebuild, and rebuild!!  They worked out all of the kinks and problems together.  They were motivated, dedicated, and patient with each other.  The best part was sharing their coasters with their parents and watching their faces when their parents marble made a successful run through their coaster.  It was amazing!  Have I mentioned how lucky I am?

 

 

STEAM-Day 3

We are rocking roller coasters in our classroom!  I have 18 of the best roller coaster engineers I've ever seen.  You know it's a great assignment when 18 students do not want to stop working and beg to give up recess time to continue working on their coasters!  It's amazing to watch and listen to.  I love standing back and observing their thinking process.  We are not completely done, but as each team adds a new manuever they have to test the coaster to make sure each component works.  Once they've successfully tested it several times, they can add a new manuever.  Each new addition adds added stress to their lives!  They are stressed and I am in awe.

Brainstorming and sketching (A in STEAM)

Building the first loop (E in STEAM)

Building (E in STEAM)

Testing and Correcting (E & M in STEAM)

Building
 

In addition to our awesome building, we were very lucky to have a real-life engineer come in and talk with all 3rd grade students.  Mr. Fulton, active duty Navy, took some time away from his job to spend some time talking with our kiddos about engineering and Newton's Laws of Motion.  Check out the video below of Mr. Fulton explaining centrifugal force.