Random thoughts..

Random thoughts and things you should know about your teacher…….

 I want you to know that I will love your children and protect them each day they are at school as if they are my own. Through fieldtrips, fire drills (or the real thing), tornado warnings, bomb threats or whatever the world may throw at us….I will be there, holding on to them as if they were of my own heart…….because in my mind, they are. For the first 7 years of my marriage, “my school children” were the only children in my life …. until we were blessed with the birth and adoption of our son Grayson. We had to wait almost 9 years before we were blessed as parents again with the birth and adoption of our sweet Annelise in late January 2010. I think about school stuff all the time, “How can I do this better? What would make this more fun for the children? What new trick can I use to teach this lesson?” I really, really enjoy what I do. Most days, I think…”I get paid to do this!” I have never taught a child who was not in kindergarten or first grade (except for UofA students). I believe that play is a child’s work. Commercials make me cry.  I spend at least 1 afternoon of most weekends at school for several hours, just to make our class run more smoothly!  I discovered Disney World for the first time when Grayson was 5. It was as magical for me as it was for him. I secretly think I should have been a forensic detective! I love to read. I love to collect perfect children’s books to go with all of my lessons. I love to write. My secret desire is have a children’s book published. I do NOT drink coffee or eat anything that swims! I love lots of different types of music. I love to sing with the children. I love to go to the beach and do nothing except play in the waves and the sand with Grayson and nap with Brad and Annelise (she went to the beach for the first time at 5 weeks!). I love teaching children how to love reading and add/subtract and do science experiments. I am thrilled when they get excited about their world. I like flowers and the outdoors and most bugs. I do not like to go camping! I am scared of spiders and suspicious of snakes. I do not like to eat meat with bones still attached. I love caterpillar bulldozers and big equipment. My comfort foods are sweet tea and chicken and dumplings. Fresh cut grass is one of my favorite scents. I believe wholeheartedly that napping is a hobby. I wish I would have invented post-it notes…..and Sharpies. I love Alabama Football. Walking across the Quad and hearing Denny Chimes ring makes my heart swell up and spill over. I believe that children should be taught to “fish” (if you show them how they can do it themselves). I miss my brother Brandon so intensely that it seems the pain is like a real thing in the room with me that won’t ever leave. I never wanted to be an only (surviving) child. I got to see firsthand that God will surround you with people who will pick you up and carry you, and who will tell you the words, when you have forgotten all that you know, due to personal tragedy. Children are the reason I can get up and go on with life, even when my heart still aches…. everyday with the loss of my brother and then my father. I love Fall weather, Fall colors, Fall sights, smells and sounds. September 26th and January 23rd are my favorite days of the year. Those are the days I became a Mommy. I love watching birds and deer in the woods near our house. I love to take photos of the children busy at their work. HGTV is my favorite TV channel. I could spend hours in the children’s section of Barnes & Noble. Not a week goes by that I don’t buy at least one or two books. I love to watch thunderstorms but I am fearful of tornados. I am very nostalgic and keep way too much stuff! Germs freak me out. I love Clorox Wipes, Lysol Wipes, and Pine-sol!  HA!  I am the unofficial dentist at Rock Quarry. I am an advocate for children. I believe that being loved, fed, tucked in safe and warm and being read to every night is the undeniable RIGHT of every child and not a privilege of birth. I love room mommies. Recess should be a required subject because I believe that strongly that children NEED.TO.PLAY….One of my favorite places in the whole world is our classroom. I love to host student teachers and teach them how to do what I do and how to love doing what I do. I also tell them that if they don’t just love it they should get out now ‘cause I don’t want them teaching my child or yours either….I’m just honest like that…..My favorite phrase for procrastination is, “straightening chairs on the Titanic!” (I straighten a lot! Ha) I am insanely loyal. I am very calm in serious situations and tend to fall apart later on when I am at home. There is purpose in everything we do in our class. I believe that each new day is a fresh start. I love playdoh and that new crayon smell. Being called “Teacher Nerd” is a compliment. The sight of new school supplies at Wal-Mart in the summer makes me happy. I believe that if it is good enough for everyday then it is good enough for “company”. I do not do “dog & pony shows” for visitors. What you see is what you get and in our class we think every day is an awesome day! Come on in! In the choice of doing what is right for a child or telling a parent what they want to hear to keep them happy, I’ll side with doing what’s right for the child every time. I believe that snow is magical and I wish we could see it more often. Art and Music are very important subjects. Blogging is a fun thing to do. I get grossed out at Go-Gurts and will go to great lengths to NOT open them myself. ..Yuck. Sometimes I teach college girls at The University, but little children are my favorite age to teach…I like Basenjis and Poodles and Corgis and Border Collies….We will have fun everyday….I am not a huge fan of homework…….I will teach your children to love to read, read, read….I dislike handheld pencil sharpeners and don’t allow them in the classroom….same goes with mechanical pencils…. I think that as a society, we are taking away the youth and the childhood of our children by pushing too much in regards to test scores and the like. Teaching is not what I “do” it is part of who I am. There is nothing wrong with being a big fish in a small pond. I think making mud pies and fingerpainting and playing with puppets should be part of the curriculum (which is why I moved to PreK)…good manners are required from adults and children alike…… and I really believe that…….

childhood should be a journey……..not a race.

2 thoughts on “Random thoughts..

  1. Thank you for sharing your heart. A tear just rolled down my cheek! There was A LOT in there I needed to hear! I knew you were good, but greatness comes to mind!!!!

  2. Thank you allowing us a sneak peek into your world and heart. I can relate on so many levels, maybe one day I can share with you.

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