Let me take you back to June 2013....
Last year ended with a bang for us in PreK- 1. Our whale watching trip was a tremendous success, filling an entire boat with family, friends, community members and a whole lot of fun! We saw porpoises, humpback whales, eagles, and to top it off we had a beautiful day to do it! Our kids amaze me every day; being on the water was no exception. We witnessed a lot of really great things that day: community involvement, leaders stepping up, adults demonstrating pure joy as if it was their first grade trip, and so much more. The energy on that boat was indescribable. This was by far one of my favourite days.
Left: WE ARE THE FUTURE. LOVE IT. Our class and their wonderful, fabulous parents with Miss D's sign that was made by her class for Idle No More!
Bottom Left: Some highlights from K Graduation/End of the Year Assembly! I am a lucky teacher to have such thoughtful parents!
Bottom Right: Besties on their K Grad!
OUR K GRADUATING CLASS OF 2013 <3
Highlight of my summer: Witnessing my two best friends promise to spend the rest of their lives together. It was a fantastic day and I was honoured to be a part of it.
Anyway, back to the kiddos! This year our classroom is VERY different! We have 10 Grade 1's, 3 K's and 7 PRE-K's starting next week. Our classroom theme is PASSPORT TO LEARNING: Around the World or "The Ultimate Class Field-trip" :) So far we have taken a trip in a hot air balloon (see pics), had a Welcome Back BBQ, and been working VERY hard on rules and routines. This year we also started ReadWell on Wednesday, September 4, 2013. THE SECOND DAY OF SCHOOL. This year is already looking so much better than last!
Back to school! Our bulletin board outside our room!
Our FLOWER POWER clock :)
Two MUST HAVES! Self-control MAGIC bubbles (Watch this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XCe4AJmKE40 - its AMAZING) and Magic Healing Lotion Potion (AKA - cucumber hand lotion from the Dollar store) - If a student has an "owie" they can go to my desk and put a little bit of the lotion potion on and it magically heals them. The best part, you ask? They do it quietly without telling a teacher. :)
My new "chair" - a stability ball... the kids love it, I love it... its a win-win!
Our "hot air balloon" - Note to self: Helium balloons DO NOT LAST. Get them at the very last moment possible!
Cute :)
Our little explorers!
The Dollar Store didn't have enough explorer hats, so the PREKs got Cowboy Hats that say "EXPLORER" on them ... worked like a charm!
Miss C ready to fly away!
On a personal note, I've decided its time to put myself first (or at least tied with my job). I've always worried about other things (i.e. school, school, school, work), people or silly non-important things and made that a priority. Well, no more my friend! Don't get me wrong, I still love everyone very much I just want to focus on me. I've been eating better, working out a lot and I must say I have a LOT more energy, and I've been sleeping better. Its a new me, and I'm loving it :) It makes handling the kids easier too. Working on myself also means writing in this blog more often - another goal of the year. Its therapeutic for me to write it down, plus it will help me in the long run I'm sure (i.e. remembering good ideas, what worked, what didn't).
All my Love,
Miss C