Summer!

Summer has a special place in this teacher's heart. I get to recharge, get inspired, sleep in, clean my house, and love my baby boy. It's not to say I don't get to do those things throughout the year but they're just better in June. I'm also excited to start piano lessons today. I love being a student and the summer is a perfect time. My handsome man has started his carpentry work for the summer. It's such a blessing. He gets to spend time with family and earn extra money for his family. How did I get so lucky?

Tomorrow marks 3 months of Zoom being home. I can't believe its been 3 months already and then again I can't believe it's only been 3 months. I can't imagine my life without my son. A few weeks ago he had his check-up with all his specialists. His speech is improving and he doesn't need any services this year! He still has delays but we see progress every day. His impulsiveness is still readily apparent but he's so dang smart and works hard to understand behavior expectations. Poor little man is growing some teeth so he's been a little grumpy these past few days. He's been up a lot more during the night and we're wondering if he's having bad dreams or just in pain. Hopefully he'll get some good sleep soon.

I leave you with this gem this morning. My boys taking a little summer nap :)

Amen.

He's home! My baby boy is here. All 36 pounds of energy. For privacy sake, and because it fits him so well, I'll call him Zoom. Zoom is 2 and a half years old and the most handsome boy I've ever met. I think my husband will agree when I say it was love at first sight. But with love comes...bumps? And I have a feeling this is going to be a bumpy journey.

Zoom came home from day care this week with his first bad report - "He had a hard time listening." I tried not to smile when the delightful teacher said this only because I myself have said it to my fair share of parents of toddlers. Now, the defensive new mom side of me immediately said to myself (or yelled) "HE'S ADJUSTING!" However, the exhausted new mom of a child with special needs muttered to myself, "Yeah, tell me about it."

Because well, Zoom does have trouble listening. And throwing. And hitting. And standing still. And getting his diaper changed. And eating. And talking. But I went to sleep last night thinking about the things he doesn't have trouble doing. Zoom gives kisses like nobody's business. He can identify all his letters and colors. He can throw a ball farther than I can. He says 'bless you'. Every time. He can be bribed with a raisin. One raisin. And best of all...He's already learning how to say Amen. And if there's one thing I know, it's that Jesus hears the prayers of that little boy.

Stay tuned to hear about the adventures of our crazy new family :)

Class Rules

Classroom Rules. In my mind they're one of the most important aspect of classroom management. If the expectation is not clearly set then how can we as teachers expect students to meet it? One style of teaching I've been loving recently is whole brain teaching. Definitely check out the whole brain teaching website to see videos of this in action! 


As part of this style of teaching there are 5 rules that each have a hand motion associated with them. Attaching a hand motion helps students make a stronger connection in their memory as well as keeping them engaged! I decided to make rule posters this weekend to help my students remember these expectations. Here are the first four!

Student Snail Mail

Summer is already half way over?? I can't even believe it. I've started planning some back to school craziness and I really wanted a creative way to connect to my new students. What better way than a summer snail mail mystery?!


I found a template to make mini envelopes, chose some fun patterned papers and started tracing, cutting, and gluing! Inside the envelope the students will find the first clue to a riddle, a note from their new teacher, and a return address if they want to write me back :)


There are 6 more clues to go before the first day of school. I've been thinking about mailing some unconventional items that hold the clues. Maybe a flip flop? a water bottle? silly putty? It's amazing what you can throw some stamps on and drop in the mail box.


Stay tuned for a picture tutorial of how to make these cute envelopes.


What are you doing to say hello to your new students?

Pyramid Organizer

I saw this idea on Pinterest awhile back and I finally got around to trying it for myself!


Here are the supplies I used:


6 supply containers (I used plastic paint cans purchased from Target for $1.00)
Scrapbook Paper
Mod Podge 
Paint/Glue Brush
Hot Glue




1. Remove the lids from all your containers and clean the containers.

2. Using a paint or glue brush, brush a thin layer of mod podge onto the outside of the container.

3. Attach the paper smoothly around the container. Make sure there are no wrinkles.


4. Apply mod podge in another thin layer on top of the paper around the container. Make sure the seams of the paper are sealed well.


5. Allow your containers to dry. It seemed to take a few hours for mine to completely dry but I let them sit overnight to be safe.


6. Hot Glue the containers together. I used a minimal amount of glue to avoid all those pesky glue strings. 


7. Admire your handiwork :)


8. Fill it up with all your fancy supplies!

Adoption Is..

It's amazing how even before we've actually adopted, it has already changed our lives. From the first meeting last September we knew we were in for a long journey. And almost a year later we're still hanging in there! As we've entered into this current phase, the dark abyss of waiting, I find that I can barely make simple decisions without coming back to my future children! 


Hmm should I make cookies today?
Well I don't want a dirty kitchen if we get matched today...


I need to eat breakfast as soon as I wake up.
Wait what if we get matched and I have dirty hair?!


And on and on it goes. I can only imagine how difficult decisions will be when the other half of our family finally arrives. The thing about adoption is it makes you a better crazier, more stressed out person! I wouldn't change it for the world.

Alphabet Tracing

I've been working on various student materials and curriculum for the preschool at my school and this is one of my latest alphabet tracers. 


My original plan was to design images to attach to each letter but I decided that 2, 3, & 4 year olds are the best artists I know! 


If you look a this sheet for closely you'll see at least 4 different skills.
First is the straight line tracing, secondly the letter A, third counting fish, and fourth drawing a specific object. This allows the classroom teacher to differentiate for each student in the classroom. I didn't even mention color identification!


Let me know what you think!