The first two days of school are now behind us and I am happy to report that we survived!!  I sent home 19 beautiful 3rd graders on Thursday looking like zombies.  They came in so full of life, but by the end of the day we all looked, and probably felt like, zombies.  I look forward to next week and getting into our regular learning routine, now that we are past all of the policies and procedures stage.  It will be another week or two before things are flowing smoothly, but I am confident these kiddos will have no problem picking up on our structured environment and moving forward successfully.  It is going to be an outstanding year!!  Next week I will officially pull out the camera and start taking pictures!!  I cannot wait to post all of the exciting adventures we will be doing this year.  Have a great and restful weekend!!

2013-2014 Classroom Photos

After many, many long hours, I think my classroom is now ready to receive 17 awesome sweeties next week.  I still have a few minor things to do, but for the most part, I'm done!  You will notice that many items in the pictures were borrowed or purchased from other teacher blogs that I found on Pinterest.  I need to give credit, where credit is due, but I have lost track of who made what.  If you see something and I did not give you credit for your amazing work, please leave me a comment to let me know and I will fix that.  Enjoy!!






















  





  

10 Days!

I'm so excited to be getting closer and closer to the first day of teachers returning to work!  I know.....what teacher really says that?  It's been a long summer with taking care of my husband, but he is getting stronger and stronger everyday and I'm looking forward to being out of the house.  I'm looking forward to meeting my new kiddos and learning all about them.  It's going to be a great year!

I'm hoping to have pictures of my classroom up sometime next week.  All of my desk and bookshelves are arranged, curtains on the cabinets are back up and now I'm working on changing bulletin boards.  I've made some changes this year, but not a whole lot.  I can't wait to share classroom pics with you.

Enjoy your last week!

20 Days

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)