Happy Halloween!

Every year that we can, my TA plans a fantastic Halloween party for our classroom.  This year was no different, so at the beginning of October I mentioned to her that Halloween would be fast approaching, was she going to do a Halloween party for us again?  Sure! was the answer.

The week before Halloween, Chris handed me a sheet of paper with the activities for October 31.  It looked like a jam packed day of fun - for us and the kiddos.  And, I'm a fan of stepping across the policy line every once in a while and if I can go a day without wearing my uniform shirt - I'm all for it! :-)

I started thinking about what I would dress up as, and no sooner had I figured on being a butterfly (again - since that was the only "costume" I had), I came across a picture on a Facebook page of a child who was dressing up as Chicka, Chicka, Boom, Boom.  Ah-ha!  Ideas starting flowing... 

I knew I needed brown pants and a green top, and foam sticker letters.  But, how to make the branches of the coconut tree...  A trip to Michael's craft store and I had it all figured out.  It turned out like this:

It wasn't too bad, if I say so myself.  And a few of the parents actually knew what I was.  Some of the kids "got it," others didn't, and some realized who I was when I played the cassette tape with the book. 

Although I was pleased with how it turned out, I ended up becoming a butterfly once again for my afternoon class.  To hold the branches up, and out of the way, my shoulders and arms started hurting.  And...I could not function.  Not at all.  Some ideas look better on paper, I guess! ;-)

Overall, our party was a great success.  And Chris introduced "Spookley the Square Pumpkin" to me.  She had been telling me about it a week prior to our party, and I thought it sounded good.  Then, I found the book with a CD, and a stuffed "Spookley" square pumpkin to go with it at a Books Are Fun display at my Mom's work.  Disappointed that it would not arrive (if I ordered it) until a week after our party, I saw a phone number and name for the man who was taking and delivering the orders.  AND, he was only about 20 minutes away!  After contacting him and sending him my order, I came back with not one, but two Spookley books - one for me, and one for Chris.  It worked out perfectly!

Want to Know When the Next Full Moon Is?

Ask a teacher.

Generally this question will be answered as "within the week."

Every year I think "oh maybe this year will be less affected by full moons."  WRONG.  It seems my theory that teachers can tell when the next full moon will be always stands true...  The same goes for this year.

This has been a wild week to say the least, today just topping it all off.  Let me just say, I Thank God for Thursdays (because where I work, Thursday is the new Friday - since I only work a half day on Friday to take care of odds and ends and paperwork stuff).

We've had illness, fevers, behaviors, tantrums, tattling, noisiness, spills, you name it...  If it could change plans in an instant - it's happened this week.  I love my little dears, truly I do.  But, I must be honest and say the full moon coming up on Saturday night will be a welcome sight to see...

It means I have about another month before this will happen again! :-)

Guyette Farms.

Every year I take my class to Guyette Farms in Mantua, Ohio.  If you refer to my post from last year, you will notice the tradition, and how highly I speak of them.  Larry Guyette is always so welcoming to my preschoolers - this year was no different!

This year, "Farmer Larry" (as we affectionately call him) built a new barn that houses an indoor hay bale maze, slide, obstacle course, corn box, and the friendly farm animal petting zoo.  We normally try to do this trip around Halloween - but with Famer Larry's wife expecting a baby this month, we scheduled for early in the month so we could be sure to have the great experience of his farm!

Our trip was Thursday.  Weather was forecasted to be 80 degrees with a chance of thunderstorms.  (Thank goodness Farmer Larry planned ahead for us with his new barn! ;-))  The morning group hurried to finish their breakfast to get on the school bus for their field trip.  And we set off...

As we pulled into the farm, it was turning into a beautiful morning (note: I said MORNING).  We navigated through the first part of the corn maze (Farmer Larry has made several exits since our first visit a few years ago, to accommodate our short time schedule - I told you he was great!).  Then, the kids were split into two groups - one group would visit the petting zoo while the other group played on the hay bales and in the corn, then we would switch it up.  The kids had a great time, and so did the adults!  We even got a hay ride from Farmer Larry and his wife (yes, the wife who is due on Tuesday!). 

We said our farewells and see you laters and headed back to school for lunch before going home.  Then the afternoon class arrived at school. 

As they bus pulled into the parking lot and I was getting the children off of it, dark clouds starting looming in on us....OH NO!  We quickly ate our lunches, excited to get to the farm, and set off.  Just as we pulled out of our parking lot rain drops began hitting our bus....  Disappointment grew on everyone's (mostly the adults since the kids really had no idea what awaited them at Guyette Farms) faces.  How were we going to make the most of this trip?!

Well....I should have known...with the group of children I had with me that we were not going to have a problem "making the most of it."  Once we dodged, or tried to anyhow, the raindrops from the bus to the barn we split into two groups again.  A "play group" and an "animal group" and again we switched after a little while.  I think the play area was the highlight - when my group was with the animals they wanted to play.  We spent the afternoon rolling in corn, sliding in the tunnel slide, and climbing the hay bales.  It was great to see my kiddos having a great time despite the rain ruining the full plans for the day (thankfully they really had no idea what was in store for them in the first place - there was no disappointment to be faced).  We thanked Farmer Larry and headed back to school for a quick snack before going home.

All in all it was another successful day spent at Guyette Farms!  We hope to see you again next year, Farmer Larry!

We Can Cut!

I was brave this week.  Very, very brave!  In only the second week of school I got out the scissors, fit them into my children's little fingers, and placed my hand on the page they were about to cut...

Well, I am pleased to report that I still have all ten fingers, and so do each of my students!  Whew!

I gave a brief scissor safety lesson before arming my three, four, and young five year olds with these TOOLS - they are not to be called or treated like toys in my classroom.  And since weapons are not permitted either, we will call them tools.  My children giggled at this concept.  :-)

Also included in our safety lesson was how to safely hold scissors and walk with scissors - now, this may seem elementary to you readers....but I dare you to put yourself in a classroom full of energized preschoolers armed with scissors.  Bet you go running for the door before I would!  So, hold the shiny part of the scissors with the scissors closed, covering the unsafe part, and WALK.  Never run with scissors.  I believe my children's mouths dropped open as I demonstrated how to hold scissors and proceeded to stab myself in the opposite palm to show how safely holding the scissors would not hurt me or anyone else.  No.  I did not demonstrate this concept on anyone - I happen to enjoy my career choice and do not need accusations of stabbing children with scissors.

Next, how to hand scissors to a friend.  Hold the shiny part (obviously with the scissors closed) and hand the scissors, with the brightly colored handles facing your friend, to your friend. 

Once this brief lesson was completed at circle time (and I perhaps put a true fear of scissors in my children's minds), it was time to cut! 

"My mom doesn't let us use scissors at home!"  My response to this little dear...  "Well, it is your lucky day because this is not your home, it is MY classroom and your mom is not here to make the rules, I do.  And in my classroom we use scissors - safely.  So, here you go!"  This was greeted with a giggle, smile, and excited little boy.  A little boy, mind you, who is not allowed to use scissors (so naturally my thought was oh boy, here we go, I'm going to lose a finger or two), a little boy who was ever so careful and cut so gently along the lines of his shapes that his shapes were nearly cut to perfection - with very, very little assistance.  Maybe his mom should allow him to use scissors at home now. :-)

With each child armed and ready, and the two volunteers, my assistant, and myself strategically stationed to supervise and assist....we set off to cut!  We had children who were naturals - whether it be because they use scissors frequently at home or have attended school before doesn't matter; at preschool age using scissors nears rocket science.  We had children who needed subtle reminders to "open, shut, open, shut," or turn or hold the page, or put their thumb on top while cutting.  And we had others who simply enjoyed snipping the edges of the paper, fringing them.  A few children became frustrated - nothing unexpected.  And a couple needed my special pair of hand over hand scissors. 

Hand over hand scissors.  These are perhaps my favorite thing to use with a new "cutter."  They are child sized.  And have four holes to put fingers in - two (top and bottom) for the child, and two more on the outside of the first two (top and bottom again) for the adult to put her fingers in.  Then, cut, cut, cut....with the chant of "open, shut...open, shut...open, shut..."  My youngest of students enjoyed these as much as I did.  However, he also enjoyed snipping fringes into his paper's edges by using two hands to operate his own pair of scissors...  At least he wasn't going to lose a finger doing it that way!

After each child cut four shapes (square, rectangle, circle, triangle) they glued them to a piece of construction paper to show off their great cutting skills.  They couldn't wait to show them off to their parents at pick up time - luckily no one wanted to take them home right then.  These will be on display in the classroom and then go into portfolios.

Week 1: We'll Call It A Success!

I've just finished my first week of the 2013-2014 school year with my new students!  There have been some tears (by the children, of course), giggles, frustrations, and outright laughs.  The tears have been slowly fading to non-existent.  The giggles became more and more frequent between the children as the week went on and friendships began to form.  The frustrations are being handled more easily.  And the outright laughs have occurred longer and louder each time.  I think it is safe to say we are becoming quite a little family in my classroom!

Either I have grown as a teacher past the first day jitters, or I am just blessed to have such great kids for another year.  This week has overall been relatively stress free.  Routines have been learned quickly, and rules are being enforced by the children.  I will be getting a few more new children next week, and I am sure they will fit right in with us. 

I can't wait to see what this year holds!

Bunnies! Bunnies, Everywhere!

This was my second week back to work.  Last week was filled with meeting the many news faces I will have in my class this year and catching up with the old ones at home visits.  My co-worker and I completed 20 visits last week - and when you think about the many miles in between some of them that's a pretty good record!

This week my assistant returned and we spent about half the week in trainings, meetings, and lectures....not my idea of fun, but it must be done...  The remaining half of the week we spent at the center, preparing our classroom for the arrival of the children!

On Monday afternoon I had the great idea to start clearing out some of the furniture we weren't planning to use at this time.  We have a storage shed out on our playground so I found the key and went outside to look for unused space.  As I went down the ramp and around the corner to the shed, I noticed a little brown bunny sitting next to the ramp.  I have to admit, I was startled by the little guy!  I quickly returned inside to share this news with Chris, my assistant.  She had heard there were two, maybe even three bunnies hopping around our playground - and they were domestic, floppy-eared bunnies!  (I had not even noticed his ears were floppy).  When I returned, the bunny had fled under our ramp.  I immediately set to work to find the other bunny - not a hard feat as he was simply under the other ramp (go figure!), and of course, finding domestic bunnies on the playground meant these guys were dumped here, and that of course meant I HAD to catch them.  I set to work...

"Grandpa, can I borrow your have-a-heart traps?"  (Obviously, he said yes, how could he not tell his granddaughter she could borrow his traps to catch the stranded bunnies?)  After retrieving the traps, I set to work, setting traps and being the worst "watch pot" ever!

Tuesday came and went and no bunnies were caught.  Wednesday, same thing.  We had seen them, chased them, and learned some of their entrances and exits to under the ramps, but to our disappointment my co-workers and I could not catch those bunnies!

Finally, as I sat in my training Thursday morning, I received a text from my boss that they had caught one of the bunnies with a blanket (yay! :))!  I was so excited to hear this!  She also told me a man from the local fair board promised to pick the bunny up and find it a home (whew, he would have a home now that he's been caught!)  Wrong!  By the time the center closed for the day the man still hadn't showed up to take the bunny.  I was not going to allow this bunny to sit, trapped, with no more food than a few broccoli clumps and little water all night.  Not after he had sat like that for over eight hours already.  My husband was on his way past the center to come home and I detoured him to pick that poor bunny up and bring him home with him.  I had already gone to get an extra dog kennel from my mom and dad, and had it set up as bunny haven.

My husband arrived home with a terrified little bunny and we put him in his new, temporary home.  I set to work trying to find the bunny a forever home....what better way to do this than post on Facebook?  And finally this morning a co-worker from another center in our agency said she would like to have the little brown bunny for her children.  Yay!  Now I can even get updates on the little guy I advocated for to be rescued!

Now, don't forget, we had another bunny running around our playground.  I set to work today - I was "wabbit hunting!"  Just imagine three women running around a playground, then field, then yard, chasing a bunny with blankets, traps, and a net....  We were quite a sight to see I am sure!  As I left for the day, I felt so defeated but also concerned, what would happen if that bunny was trapped by the traps over the weekend?  What if he didn't return under the ramp?  What if something got him?  What if he ran in the busy street and was hit? ....I didn't want to think about it anymore.  And finally, a text from a co-worker - THEY CAUGHT THE BUNNY!  YAY!! :)

Come to find out, the last three staff members at the center today were trying to catch the bunny when a random car with two women in it pulled in  questioning what my co-workers were doing (or perhaps it was their sanity in question).  As it was explained to the new women, these ladies joined in and were successful in catching the bunny!  After the debacle, they expressed wanting to keep him - so he went home with "Holly" and "Christine."  Apparently, these women crawled under thick, scratchy trees and shrubs and weeds to catch him, and they still wanted him.  I think he will have a good home.  And all of my worries have been put to ease....  I have a feeling this one will be spoiled!

I'll be saying good-bye to our little house guest any moment now as my co-worker will be arriving with her family to surprise her children with the little, brown, floppy-eared bunny.  I have known her and her husband since high school, so I know this bunny will have a loving home to go to as well.

So far, this school year is off to an adventurous start!

Let's Try This Again....

So apparently my goal of keeping up with a blog didn't quite pan out as I had planned last year...  I made it to November.  Woot!

So, let's try this again.....

I am down to my last few days (I can count them on one hand) before I head back into the daily grind of teaching preschoolers.  Although I am excited for what this year holds, I must say, having to go back to work on Monday is not the best birthday gift I could think of (Monday also happens to be my birthday)!

This summer has been full of fun...

First there was the "Summer Beach Vacation to Chincoteague Island, Virginia."  This place is really heaven on Earth, paradise, the best place ever!  I have grown up going to this little island, and regardless of whether we visit in the summer or the winter, it really does feel like home away from home.  We went with some very good friends of ours this summer, and although the weather wasn't the best - we still made it fun and adventuresome!

Then, my "little" brother visited from South Dakota.  He moved there a little over a year ago and now has a girlfriend, who he brought home with him.  We did everything we could squeeze in during the 10 days he was here.  From picnics to winery day trips to Put-In-Bay and even a dual-First Communion party for our very good friends' children...we did it all.

Finally, I spent a few days in the Blueridge Mountains in Virginia with my parents.  This is my other most favorite vacation place.  It has something for everyone...  It is only about a half hour (at the most) from Charlottesville, where you can visit presidential homes and learn a lot of history.  There are also the mountains, where I love to hike and enjoy nature, and of course look for bears!  And finally, there are plenty of wineries, breweries, and cideries.  This year, I took my dog with me to hike and visit wineries.  She was a great travel companion as my husband spent his vacation days at the beach earlier in the summer.  This is my wine stock up trip, too; this year I brought back eleven bottles of wine.  Each one from our favorite Virginia wineries!

Throughout the summer, my mom and I took our dogs for training hikes in our area.  I had to make sure my little Cocker Spaniel could really hike in the mountains since I was planning to take her to the Virginia mountains and hike.  Boy was I ever surprised when we started hiking and learned my little Maggie not only enjoyed (duh!) going to wherever we would hike for the day, but she absolutely loved hiking!  The more she had to climb to get through the trail, the faster her little nub would wiggle and the more pep she had in her step! 

I also took the plunge into starting my Master's Degree this summer.  It is an 18 month program, and at the end I will have a Master's of Education degree in Curriculum and Instruction, with a concentration in Literacy.  I am almost done with my first class (it ends Sunday) and have a 99% as of now.  I get a week off from class (which is perfect timing since I am starting back to work Monday), and will start up again August 26 with a new class.  Classes are five weeks long, so a lot is crammed into a short time, but I am finding that I am actually learning and able to make connections. 

I must say, I am truly sad to see the summer break end.  However, I am excited to see what the new school year has in store for me.  There have been rumors of big changes in store, that seem to have a positive impact on how the year will go.  So, here I am, making a pledge to try to keep up with this blog thing yet again...