Today one year ago my grandson was born. He has filled our life with joy. They say you'll never know love until you are a grandparent. He is the cutest, smartest, and most curious little boy ever. The happiness he has brought to us is unmeasurable. Happy Birthday little boy!

The joy of life

My baby birds grew and left the nest. I documented every day of their life with my camera.
I hope you enjoy the pictures I took. The day I took the last picture.....the empty nest...I felt sad. I philosophized this bird experience. It gave me an analogy of my year of teaching. My class started out as little eggs ready to hatch and they grew into birds who could fly. They became eagles and are soaring. At the end of each year, I find myself so worn out and ready for my summer break. I pray you give yourself time to remember what has happened this year with each student. Thank you Lord for the talents I have used this year. I feel the joy of being a teacher today, because of my little eagles.

Miracles

You won't beleive what happened to me! I'm a GRANDBIRD! My two cardinals were trying to announce the birth of their two chicks and that's what the fuss was all about on Sunday. When I finished my blog Sunday I went outside to the pool and watch those crazy birds. I finally realized there was a nest in the rosebush and quietly walk over to see. Much to my jubilation there was the first baby out of the egg and one more egg to go. I had taken my camera with me and I took the most incredible
picture of my first grandbirdbaby. Wow isn't God fun. He is always listening and knows our every moment. The surprise came on Mother's Day after I wrote my blog. God, you are something else. I hope I can post the pictures of the birdies. I've named them Twedlle and Dedelle. Listen when it's silent and maybe you can hear the words from God. Trust me he is always there.

Mothers Day

I'm sitting in my breakfast room at 8:00a.m. on Mother's day and listening to my two red birds Twidder and Twidde (Boy and Girl). They are trying to get me to come outside to the pool area so that I can see them sing. No, I am not crazy. Come over sometime and you can meet them. They are very social. What does this have to do with Mothers Day? I think it is being aware of your surroundings. Maybe to your inner self. Quiet...... Motherhood is so noisy. Kinda like the classroom. We have to stop the noise and smell the roses or here the birds. How often does this happen to you? I joined Facebook and I' m doubting my membership, it's just to noisy. I love blogging because it gives me a chance to think out my thoughts and feelings. So often as mothers or teachers we miss the little "I love yous" and miss the moments of tenderness our children speak to us. Thank you God for all the sounds, smells, and feelings we can receive from you through our children. Help us to hush the noise and feel the moments of your grace and love. I pray that the last few days of school I can listen and enjoy my students fleeting moments of joy.
In Your name Amen.

Days of joy

Sunday was my birthday and I joined Facebook. My girls were shocked. I got so many Happy Birthday greetings that day. I loved it. We will see how it goes. I enjoy writing on my blog much more but, no one reads it or comments. If you want to comment you can go to anonymous
and post. I would love to hear from more of you. Yesterday and today I am in a workshop on Autism. I didn't know I knew so much about the subject. My two years of Inclusion did pay off, although those were really tough years. Now I know why little Johnny did the things he did. Kinda..... I of course would rather be in my classroom with my Kids. We are still in outer space and studying the planets and the stars. I'm missing out on all that. I mention this to the presenter of the workshop and her reply was "Get over it". She has a mission.......Autism. I think she's a burned out teacher whose found another area to associate with. Thank God we have people in our profession who want to do this job. I can't get over the hugs and kisses I receive each day. Also, I would miss the daily communication with my four year olds. I guess it's a gift or vocation each one of us have. Different strokes for differ folks. Thank you God for all the gifts you have given us. Teaching is not and easy job and you bless us all the time with your grace and strength to do great things.

I will be attending a workshop on Monday and Tuesday next week. I had to prepare my class for my absence because usually when I am gone they do not behavior for the sub and my assistant. At circle time at the end of the day I warned them that, if Mrs. Sandoval called me with a problem, I would have to get another teacher to come in to take care of them. This teacher has black hair , a big nose with a warp on it and is really mean. They were looking very suspicious at me (some were laughing). One student said" she's like a witch". Oh no, I said. Mrs. Sandoval told them that if this teacher came she would not want her around and they would she the only teacher. I told them her name was Viola Swamp. They were still half believing me when one girl said "she's like a devil"!
I quickly said "No, no,no she's just mean. I had to do a fast change of subject.....I think they finally got the message. We will see. The same morning our library hosted a quest character, Miss Wishy Washy. She has a farm and she is always washing her animals. It's a darling series of books. This particular book, the animals ran away from the farm and went to the city. Of course they get into trouble and get thrown in jail.......Miss Wishy Washy recued them and took them back to the farm. One of my students stood up and said "When the animals got back they said"HOME SWEET HOME". I was so proud. She was thinking out side the box! In our profession, this is one of the new cliches. We are striving to teach our students to think in a higher order. What's new about that? I thought that's what I was always suppose to do. I guess that's why everyday I pray to God to help me do the best job I can. I'll leave it to the HIGHER ORDER to guide me. I pray that you too pray for God's help everyday you go into your class to begin your day.

Time sure flies when you're having fun. This week we started our Trip to Outer space. Yes, every year I have some frantic student ask the big question"How far are we going in outer pace"? Concerned about this imaginary trip they will tell me their mom or dad does not want them to go. I can't laugh,they are dead serious. I explain that it is in their imagination and we are going to PRETEND to go to outer space. That takes care of that problem. I have collected at garage sales and thrift stores over the years all kinds of space toys. I have a whole plastic tub full of ideas and books. Only a few years ago, I started putting my material in tubs and marking them. Sure makes teaching allot eaiser. The only problem is storage. Oh well it's worth it. Next week will be even more fun when I pull out all the books on aliens and they get to make their own alien book. Fun, fun, fun, what can I say. May will be here and our unit on the ocean and vacation land will wrap it up. Every year I choose and island theme and really go all out. I have often said that my students haven't had the opportunities of most four and five year old so......
That's my job, to bring it to them. Here's some questions I ask myself today. What is my personal spiritual creed? What beliefs sustain me through difficult times? What does being a child of God an heir with Christ (Romans 8:15-17) mean to me? My answer to all of these is......
Being the best teacher I can for the love of God and his people on this earth (especially his little ones). Maybe my love for God will spill over and I can show his love through teaching. I pray that you as teachers can see and feel the love of God when you are with your students doing the best job you know how. Praise God for all your gifts. And.....use them!