My Friday

Randy and I will be leaving very early in the morning to travel to southern Arkansas to be there when they set my parents gravestone. It will be an emotional day but one we have planned for for a while. Following that, we will attend a family reunion. This will be the first one since my mom and dad passed away. This time last year we were all there. Tough stuff ahead ....

On to happier things !

Most every day after lunch we " journal." We do this mainly to make sure that every child has the opportunity to write each day. Some children would never chose to pick up a marker or other writing tool- they would rather build with blocks or play house. This makes sure atleast once a day they get exposed. The only thing I ask the kids to do is TRY to write their name and then they can draw whatever they want. It is amazing to see the difference between the three year olds and the P4's. P4's will go to kindergarten next year and most this is their second year with me. Look below at the names on their paper, their drawings and how they are holding their crayon. Many of the three's still grip the crayon or maker in their fist. Eventually it comes..... when they are ready.

Today we took a first aid kit and went through it piece by piece. This one had cool stuff in it like a blanket that was folded in a tiny little pouch and glow sticks!

Malia pretending she is a nurse !

When you come in breakfast is on the table - on good days! :) You might think that the toys you see is all the kids play with all day. That is hardly true. Not only do the toys in the other rooms get rotated out but there are activities added to the tables. They are generally learning type activities. As I was walking around helping this morning, I noticed how full and busy the tables were. This is free choice... they come when they want. I took a picture to show you how busy at the tables activities they all were.

I use a wonderful math program. New parents there will be a book in your cubby this afternoon that explain more what I do. Parents that were here last year, received this last year.

Noah wrote mom without help !

I dont know when I will get to blog tomorrows day. I will try to talk to Jodie and Devin and do it while I am gone. If not, it may be Sunday night.

Thanks everyone, have a great weekend and say a little prayer for me this weekend !

Monday Morning Comes Early

This weekend was a blast. I think I enjoy doing conferences more than I do the children's concerts. Maybe it is the energy of having so many people on a room that all love the same thing - teaching preschooler ! Randy and I did a workshop / concert at the North West Arkansas Spring Providers Conference. We all had a great time!

Randy singing a version of BOOM BOOM CHICKA BOOM !

The big news of the day was our completed sink area in the classroom. Pam, my sister in law even made a cute skirt to hide the pipes with a matching curtain and lamp shade cover. TOO CUTE! You cant even imagine how much easier this makes our day.

Our friend Danny showed up today with a cool new haircut !

Ms Debbie got a cool new teachers center that we love!

We played numbers BINGO !

We stayed active all day. Mr Randy even asked " why it was so quiet?" They were BUSY !

Jaxson was playing with the worms and said " Look Ms Debbie , what I did! " He was so proud that he had sorted the worms by size ! Right after that he took off outside to dig and look for more worms.. real .. worms.

I was impressed by the girls block structure !

But the highlight of the day was the flower garden. Last night I got a basket of flowers and put them near the garden. Randy added gardening tools, gloves and watering cans ( with WATER!) Everyone loved this area. It was a hit !

Mondays arent so bad.

( I almost forgot . We also had a visitor today to observe. Angie is our Al's Pals Social and Emotional curriculum trainer. She came to see me do a lesson brainstorming. In order to teach this to the kids, I wanted to tie it in with what we were already learning - SPRING! I took a balloon and we passed it around the room ( raindrop ) and we sang Rain Rain Go Away , Come Again Another Day , Little _____ wants to play. " Who ever the raindrop stopped with had to brainstorm and think of ONE idea of something to do if it is raining outside. We made a list. The kids seemed to get RAINstorm and BRAINstorm a little confused , but finally they were able to hear the difference. After that we read a book about a little girl named Sarah and her favorite boots. They didnt fit anymore. She tried everything to make them fit. She BRAINSTORMED. We talked about how sometimes we run into a problem, it cant be helped. So, instead of getting frustrated we need to brainstorm different ideas on how it can be fixed. Thinking outside the box to other solutions ( rather than the obvious ) is a great skill.

Happy Birthday to me!

A few nights ago I was bored in Walmart. Rarely am I the one waiting as Randy checks out, but I was. So.. I took his picture in Aisle 10. On facebook some of my friends commented that they didnt see flowers in his hands, or it would have been a perfect shopping trip. I replied that " He dont bring me flowers.. he dont sing me love songs..."

So today as I wake up he gets his guitar and starts singing that song to me... and hands me tulips ( I got the pictures a little messed up... )

Then I go in the bathroom to find a bouquet of roses on the vanity. Then I went downstairs to find even more.. begonias!

We are having a new sink in the playroom installed . Whitlee's grandpa is doing it for us! YAY! You cant even imagine how much easier this will make our life!

I was a little worried about moving the shelf over to make room for the sink and causing the block center to be too small, but I think it's gonna be all right!

Dont you just LOVE the look of determination on that face !

I have read about SPRING STICKS. That is what we made today. The kids loved it. I just put it all on the table and let them have at it. I got a basket to hold them. I think the idea is to let them run with them outside, but after putting them in the basket I LOVED the look of our bouquet of sticks. So.. there they are for now. It is my birthday ya know! :)







This is it, isnt it BEAUTIFUL!

Geneviette being silly with the bird!

My brother stopped by before leaving to go to the base in Tulsa to bring me a trumpet vine and a birthday card. I am pretty sure it said something about being hot. Not sure how I feel about that....

On to our next adventure. Today we planted seeds in food service gloves . It really wasnt so easy to get the cotton balls in the glove. And it really wasnt easy AT ALL to get a different seed in each finger - so we gave up and just " put the seeds anywhere you want them!"

Part way through the morning a balloon octopus was delivered for my bday! My more mature friends ( ALL older than I am ) had this sent to me for my birthday . The kids loved it !

This is how our gloves with seeds in the ended up. We tied them on a tree branch with name lables and will watch them grow.

It has been a good day.. only to get better. Can you think of a better way to spend your birthday than with 13 little kids that love you and want to hug you all day? PERFECT !