Photos of the First Day of School

My girls were excited to be going back to school.

For the first time in 6 years, I didn’t have a lump in my throat on the verge of tears.

I was happy because they were happy.

But really I think I was giddy ready to be rid of them to be at home alone again with Little Lion Man and back to a regular routine.

When I picked the girls up from school on the first day, I asked about their first day.  They both exclaimed, “It was AWESOME!”  I was happy all over again for them.

I believe it’s going to be another great school year.

All Star

A few days ago, my girls and I were talking about school starting up again.  We got to talking about their teachers which led to me sharing stories about teaching days.

I told my girls how I would sing to my students my own version of Smash Mouth’s All Star when they made their reading goals associated with our computer-based Accelerated Reading program.  I explained that the words to my revised version of the song hung on a wall in my classroom and every Friday, we celebrated the students who made their weekly reading goal by singing the song and had a small party.  And then, I busted out the tune to my girls:

Hey now!

You’re an A.R. star

Get a book and go read.

Hey now!

You’re an A.R. star.

Get the points that you need.

All that reading is bold.

Strengthens your mind.

Make that goal.

 

“You sang that to your students?” Allana asked with a sneer.  “What grade did you teach?”

“I taught third graders,” I replied.

“Oh my God.  They must’ve have thought you were such a dork.”

“My students LOVED me! And you would have thought I was cool too if I was your teacher instead of your mom. So there!”

Boy, kids are tough these days.  Glad I’m not going back into the classroom again this year!

So with my girls returning to school today and ready to worship their cool doughnut-giving teachers while continuing to poke fun at their dorky, very uncool only-feeds-us-healthy-stuff former teacher mom, I thought this song only seemed fitting.

Visit AmandaXmas Dolly and Hairbows & Guitar Picks for more Music Monday fun.



Education

When I heard this week’s theme for The Gallery, I knew just what photo to share. This photo was taken back in 1996 when I taught third grade at Rodney B. Cox Elementary in Dade City, Florida.

Only my second year teaching and I had so much to learn and that school and those kids taught it to me.  Between old red brick walls, they taught me quite a lesson about myself and the world they we live in.

Academically and professionally, it was my toughest teaching year by far.  But it also the most spiritual, rewarding and uplifting experience in all my years of teaching.

I grew professionally and became a great teacher, thanks to Cox Elementary and those kids.  I believe I became a better person too.

I loved those kids and the person they taught me to be.

The Gallery: Every Wednesday

School Daze

Last Monday, we began the back to school grind.  Although the girls were excited to start the school year, I wasn’t ready to let them go.

 

 

Every August,  I always suffer with more anxiety and butterflies about the start of a new school year than my girls do.  Will Emmalynn behave?  Will Allana be challenged? But this year, I had even more mama guilt than usual because I felt I didn’t spend as much time with them as I should have.  Our last few weeks together had been pretty uneventful due to a never ending nursing schedule with a newborn.

 

My youngest daughter, who was once referred to as my baby before the arrival of our newest baby, entered kindergarten.  To prepare for the big day, we had countless conversations this summer about how kindergarteners behave.  Kindergarteners don’t pee their pants.  Big girls need to be responsible for their belongings.  Kindergartners need to know how to write their name.

 

 

Emmalynn has never been one to give a full account of her days at school and what she does remember always seemed so random.  Therefore, I learned to rely on notes from her teachers or other moms to share information or stories about what goes on in the classroom.  When I picked her up after her first day, Emmalynn reported that she did not get a lollipop and the details behind that situation are still uncertain.  However, she happily reported, “Mommy, Kindergartners do not have rest time.”

 

 

Allana enters third grade this year and she now faces FCAT (Florida’s standardized test – Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test) every academic year.  Over the summer, shifts and changes occurred at her school with the staff, including the principal which caused me to worry about her placement, because Allana needs a teacher who will challenge her.

 

 

Allana hoped for a teacher who was warm and friendly as well as challenging, but mostly she hoped that her best friend, Nikki, was in her class.  So far thankfully, everything seemed to work-out just as we hoped.

 

 

Even Emmalynn seemed off to a good start.  She may not have been given a lollipop, but a happy face, a sticker, a pencil and a new book made for a fabulous first day.

 

 

Until the next day, she “washed” her hair with hand sanitizer and by Friday, she lost her new glasses.  *sigh*  Looks like we need another conversation on responsibility and how kindergarteners don’t wash their hair at school.

 

In the end, the girls we survived the first few days daze of school and thankfully, it was a successful one.

 

 

*Proudly submitted at GMYBS, Photo Story Friday and Finer Things Friday.*

How I Made Summer Reading Hot

At the start of summer, I hooked the girls into books by having them apply for their own library cards.  They loved the grown-up responsibility of caring for their cards and selecting their own books.  Their faces beamed with pride as they handed over their cards to the librarian to check-out their books for the first time.  Since then, we’ve arranged bi-weekly visits to the library to make good use of those library cards.

 

In our area, the local libraries and retailers have made it easy to encourage my girls to read throughout the summer by offering prizes and rewards.  We started with Barnes and Nobles Summer Reading Passport because my oldest, Allana, was very excited to win a free copy of 39 Clues and last week for Wordless Wednesday, I shared a photo of Allana enjoying some hot cocoa and her new book.    Once she got the sweet taste of success by completing the Barnes and Nobles passport, it was easy to keep her motivated with other programs such as Borders and Taco Bell, especially when she learned the Taco Bell reward would be a free taco and burrito.

 

 

However, we have found the summer reading programs a bit more challenging for my youngest, Emmalynn.  Although she loves books and reading, she reads at an emergent level (very basic).  Most of the books added to her reading logs were books Allana and I read to her.  When Allana reads a book to her sister, I allow her to list the book on her summer reading form.  Of course, this was another way to encourage Allana to keep reading as well as way for her to model good reading to Emmalynn.

 

This summer, I made it my goal to teach Emmalynn to read.  As a former elementary school teacher, I have several samples of emergent books from a variety of publishers.  The simple, repetitive text and picture cues in the books build word recognition as well as success.  Using sight words and some basic phonics, my daughter has developed the ability to recognize the words in print as well as in her environment around our house.  When she successfully reads one of these emergent readers, we added it to a summer reading form.  In fact, she finally completed her Barnes and Nobles summer reading passport and earned her first free book too.

 

 

Years ago when teaching Allana to read, I stumbled upon a wonderful resource: Mrs. Jones Free Printable Mini Books and decided to use the mini books once again teach Emmalynn to read.  Each week, I print out a book related to a field trip we took or a topic we’ve discussed.  We assemble the book and read it together.  Then I’ll ask Emmalynn to read the book, pointing to the words as she reads.  If she struggles with a word, I’ll ask her to use the picture cues to drawing meaning or use the beginning sound of a word to help her.  After she successful reads the book independently, she colors the book as a reward.

 

Recently, I found another website that offered free emergent printable books: Making Learning Fun.  Some of the books listed are simple versions of your children’s favorite stories.  I know my Emmalynn will enjoy learning to read these books!

 

For other tips, tricks and strategies to get your kids to embrace summer reading, visit the discussion at TwitterMoms.

 

“I wrote this blog post while participating in the TwitterMoms blogging program to be eligible to get an “I Can Read!” book. For more information on how you can participate, click here.”

The Taste of Sweet Success

30 Things I Vow to Do This Summer

#19 – Participate in the various summer reading programs through our local library, Barnes & Nobles and Borders.

 

Allana and Emmalynn finished their Barnes & Nobles Summer Reading Passports so we visited the bookstore for them to claim their free books. To celebrate their accomplishments, I treated the girls to hot cocoa and cookies. They truly loved their sweet rewards.

 

Next, we take on the Borders summer reading program.

 

 

View the rest of the items I vow to do this summer here.

 

A Precious Preschool Graduation

Last Friday, Emmalynn graduated from preschool.  Nine months of preschool have passed in a blink of an eye.

 

 

Emmalynn has grown and matured so much this year.  It’s hard to believe my little monkey managed to sit quietly in circle time and not swing from the ceiling and somehow she learned to read and write too.

 

 

 

I remember a similar bittersweet feeling when Allana left preschool four years ago.

 

 

Miss Sharon and Miss Barbara offered me words of comfort when they promised to still be there when Baby Run DMT #3 starts preschool in 4 years.

 

 

I really hope so.

 

PhotoStory Friday
Hosted by Cecilyand Mamarazzi

Photobucket

Earth Day Lesson: Be Good to Bugs

For the seventh year, I hosted our annual Earth Day play date for our mommy group friends.  As in past years, our Earth Day tradition included making dirt cups.

 

 

To keep it simple, we used small pudding pots, Oreos and gummy worms.  After the food craft, we used our spoons as shovels and filled our pots with real dirt and wildflower seeds.

 

 

This year, Emmalynn brought along her bug catcher to the play date, which seemed like a good idea as there were all these furry caterpillars crawling about the park.  When we went on our nature walk, she created a small caterpillar community inside her bug jar.  Emmalynn was so proud of all the “pets” that she collected and she couldn’t wait to take them home to feed them and watch them grow into butterflies.

 

 

She collected more caterpillars at the tower and the pier, but I was too busy noticing the effects of this winter’s rainy season which had gradually grown a lake once again at our favorite park and I began reminiscing of walks along the pier when the water sat at the shore nearly submerging the dock.

 

 

 

 

 

 

At the end of the day, we pack up our pots of sowed seeds and Emmalynn’s pets.  Unfortunately, on the way home, she opened her bug jar and some escaped.  Thankfully, we hadn’t left the park so I calmly pulled the car over to save a dozen creepy, furry caterpillars crawling around in my mini-van surprisingly without skeeving or hurling.

 

But, I missed one. One creepy, pissed off grouchy caterpillar slinked across Emmalynn’s car seat.  Emmalynn assured me that it was o.k. because she could simply let it crawl around on her arm until we got home.

 

 

However, once we were on the highway, it “stung” and she started screaming.  Frantically, I pulled over and flicked the little furry bastard pet pest off of her into the grassy shoulder along the highway.

 

Since Emmalynn is highly allergic to bees and wasps, I wasn’t sure how her little system would handle a caterpillar “sting”.  Having grown up in Florida, I know that there are certain breeds of caterpillars that are poisonous and hoped that these vile creatures were not one of them.  I nervously watched the red bump for signs of swelling and anaphylactic shock.  At the first sign of a reaction, I was prepared to administer her EpiPen.  As we waited Emmalynn said in her saddest voice, “We can let that one go, Mommy.  He’s mean and not as nice as the other caterpillars.”

 

After a few minutes, the swelling went down and there was no need to administer the Epi.  When we continued our journey home, I explained to Emmalynn how some small animals and bugs use stings and sprays, such as a porcupine, a skunk or an octopus, to protect themselves from larger animals that want to eat them.

 

“But, I didn’t want to eat him, Mommy.”

 

Once we returned back home, I searched the Internet for Emmalynn’s pests pets, which are called White Tussock Moths.  Moths.  Oh for the love of Mother Nature.  They’re moths.  Gross.  And they have urticating hairs (barbed hairs like tarantulas - double gross) which can cause an irritation and a reaction on the skin.   Really?!  No kidding.

 

 

During my caterpillar research, I also learned that White Tussock Moths feed on oak leaves (not sugar water like butterflies).  I used this newly acquired knowledge to persuade Emmalynn to release her pests pets back into the world.  She could watch them feed on the oak trees in our yard.  Yay.  Hooray for ugly moths swarming our garage lights like…well like a moth to a flame.

 

Besides a lesson in conservation this Earth Day, Emmalynn learned a valuable lesson in insect defense mechanisms.  Although Miss Spider has been saying it for years, Emmalynn understands firsthand why we need to be good to bugs.

 

 

PhotoStory Friday
Hosted by Cecilyand Pam

 

Photobucket

Growing Green Girls

When my kitchen counter became too cluttered with recyclables, I cleverly devised a plan to encourage my children to help me clean up.

 

Like many northern states, New York’s Returnable Container Act charges consumers five cents for bottled beverages.  Although Florida doesn’t currently charge its consumers for bottles, I thought I could institute a five cent deposit policy in our home by paying my girls five cents for every recyclable container they tossed into our recycling bin.

 

However, before implementing our recycling program, the girls needed a quick lesson in how to determine which items to recycle.   I began by showing them the #1 and #2 triangle   recycle symbols on the bottom of the plastic containers. Other number plastics were tossed into the trash or we found find other ways to reuse them, but all glass containers and aluminum cans could be recycled with the #1 and #2 plastics.

 

Each time they tossed an item in the recycling bin, the girls would mark a tally on our recycling chart.  Each tally would represent five cents and therefore, five tallies would equal a quarter.

 

When my eight year old would have four sets of five tally marks, I would pay her a dollar, an idea she suggested.  My four year old loved the idea of getting a big shiny quarter for a set of five tally marks.  In turn, I would be teaching my oldest to skip count by twenty-five and my youngest would be learning to skip count by fives.  Plus, for all their efforts, the girls would receive a small lesson in earning and saving money.

 

 

I implemented this task and teaching tool about six months ago and our recycling program is still going strong.

 

In fact, we recently finished one side and had to start a new chart on the back.  After all, I had to demonstrate another type of recycling.

 

Preserving Brooker Creek Preserve

One of our favorite family pastimes is visiting Brooker Creek Preserve for its hikes, story time and hands-on education center.

 

 

 

 

While visiting the center the other day, I heard some heartbreaking news.  Brooker Creek Preserve faces closure due to budget cuts. Pinellas county commissioners have drastically reduced the staff and the operating hours of the center despite the facility already relying heavily volunteers to run its programs.

 

 

 

As a resident of a neighboring county, I would gladly pay an entrance fees to keep the gates of Brooker Creek Preserve and Weedon Island open to support these invaluable resources and the many lessons taught there.

 

 

Both centers offer wonderful lessons of our delicate ecosystems and local history.

 

 

 

 

I would rather share with my children lessons of conservation rather than sad stories of bureaucrats not seeing the beauty and educational value in such wonderful places.

 

Since Pinellas residents already pay significant taxes to support these centers, county officials should promote both centers as points of interest to tourists and draw revenue from its visitors and residents outside of Pinellas rather than closing its gates permanently.

 

 

If you live in the Tampa Bay area, I urge to support these centers by asking Pinellas County Commissioners to reconsider their position or contact The Friends of Brooker Creek and The Friends of Weedon Island to learn how you can help.

 

From the Friends of Brooker Creek Preserve website:

 

The Friends will continue to provide as much support as possible for programs and other needs at Brooker Creek Preserve. We are in the process of finding ways to raise funds to that end. To succeed, we need YOU! We are looking for ideas, event planning assistance, and some energized hands. If you are interested in joining us in this important mission, please contact us at 727-934-2680 or info@friendsofbrookercreekpreserve.org.


 

PhotoStory Friday
Hosted by Cecily and Momma

 

Photobucket