Two inspections ? Really ?

What a day. It started out SO wonderful. There was a nice breeze blowing and the kids were all in our " happy place." Then..... I look at the door and there is my ABC ( Arkansas Better Chance ) coordinator. He is such a laid back nice guy but he is here to pick apart my weakness - paperwork. Why can't I just do what I am good at and forget the rest ? I know... it all works together and someone has to tend to the business end but if you really... really understood how much of it I have, you would feel my pain. Yes, I am off most holidays, off at 3 pm and all summer. Ok.. that does make up for it, I will stop whining.

Luckily I had Jodie come in today to work with me so that Randy could finish painting the upstairs bathroom. As it turned out, he helped Jodie while I shuffled paper and answered questions.

For the most part I am very pro child- centered teaching. I am not a "worksheet teacher" and feel kids learn the best hands on. But.. ever once in a while a child or combination of children seem to miss what I am trying to teach and to be totally honest, it is usually boys. They are so into wrestling, cars and trucks and more aggressive forms of play, that they dont slow down long enough to play a counting game I have provided . I decided this week that I need to be a little more proactive with teaching my boys that are headed to kindergarten. I do still want to do this in a way that they will enjoy it and be engaged. So, one thing we are doing is these letter mats that have a road on them. Thanks to a kindergarten teachers reminder about the www.makinglearningfun.com website and these road alphabets ; today we met in the middle. They drove their cars on the A's. We wore cool glasses while we had fun writing an A.

HA! I am not sure when this picture was take or what they are doing, but it cracks me up.

We played a math game today with the dice.

In celebration of veterans day we have patriotic stuff everywhere!

In the midst of the chaos we even had a wedding.

And just when I thought it couldnt get any better another inspector showed up with the USDA food program to make sure I was feeding the little munchkins right and .... the paperwork.

All in days work.

I need a cheeseburger.

McDonalds?

Did you ever have one of those days that you KNOW you are doing what you are supposed to be doing with your life but it is so challenging you think McDonalds might be a better option?

Welcome to my world today.

At 7:45 a USDA food program inspector was here . It was downhill from there. The inspection went fine - it was other circumstances with children that made it awful. I am sure that " Miss Patty " will never forget her visit here today. We still have kiddos transitioning and some challenges to overcome but we will get there - just not today. Baby steps, we are in the 2nd week of school. Lets just breathe.

Today I started the Dial 3 Assessments on the kids. I got most of the P4 kids finished. ( Those are kids that are going to kindergarten next year. )

Screens three early childhood areas

Speed DIAL contains ten items from the DIAL-3 screener that cover the following areas:

• Motor
• Concepts
• Language

Because of the screener’s brevity, Speed DIAL provides only a total score. This score’s solid reliability and high correlation with the DIAL-3 Total score make it possible for the examiner to determine whether the child needs further assessment.

We made the news ! Did you see ? Each person has a complimentary copy in their cubby , thanks to Gary Burton - Williams dad . :) Gary, thanks for bring these by, I needed a little sunshine today!

When I have inspections of any kind I leave the report on the sign in table for you to see. No secrets here. This is what today's looks like. It is yellow if you look for it when you come in.

In your cubby is also a September Calendar. The field trips on there have not been confirmed yet but hopefully will work out. As each event gets closer I will give you more information.