Small Wins and a Recipe

I've had some great small wins this week and getting my babies trained and ready to go! I love breaking through with the "hard kids" and getting them to really trust me. I've had a couple of precious heart-to-hearts with some of my girls to let them know I'm on their side and we're a team. The results have been great. I highly recommend a "secret sign" to remind them to get back on track so their name isn't being said constantly...

Our Promethean Smart Board has had most of the kinks worked out so the kiddos and I are loving exploring it's capabilities. That is helping for engagement and motivation as well. Promethean Boards are the next generation Smart Board so they are a little different. Any advice? This is my first time with this technology!

Lots of little aha moments too which lets me know that in the midst of reviewing for our state tests (in Oct) and dealing with behavior/character training they are still growing and learning. Yay! Here's to more and more of that as our learning environment becomes increasingly effective!

Lastly...I took out some of my stress on baking last night. I made the most delicious and surprisingly healthy Fall Cake! Seriously only 5 ingredients!

Mix 1 box of cake mix (any flavor but I used spice) with 1 15 oz can of pumpkin- beat for 2 minutes and pour into a greased 11 x 7 pan. Bake at 350 for 30 or so minutes.

While it cools mix 1 cup powdered sugar (although this was a bit much so next time I'll reduce it) with 2 T apple cider and 1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice. Drizzle over cake and serve. No eggs, oil, milk, or butter needed. I even ate it for breakfast this am and it made my morning ;-) The original recipe is here: courtesy of Babbling Abby, one of my fav blogs.

Happy first day of Fall,

Retreat

It's been a little quiet on the blog front because things have been a little, err loud, on the school and health front. Last week was pretty insane. My kiddos (whom I love) had behavior challenges, admin changed our schedule/literacy plan (and as the lit coordinator for my grade level it freaked me out a little-it's a lot of responsibility!), and my body was on strike. Needless to say I was at the end of my rope at the end of the week. Perfect timing for a women's retreat with my faith community. I was so blessed to get some advice from veteran Urban Teachers, Let go and let God, and get some great prayer and worship time in. I came home so rested and peaceful!

I didn't do ANY school while there, other than praying about my role this year. I am so thankful that God gave me some insights into the potential reasons for these challenges and I have a renewed energy to help teach, model, and practice appropriate citizenship and learning behavior this coming week. We will get there, it's only week 3! I am again so thankful for my job, my co-workers, and the special little lives that are entrusted to me this year.  Have a wonderful week y'all. Remember to breathe, remember who's in control :-)

25 Blessings

Can't wait to catch up this weekend and share about my first week teaching my 5ths! For now, in honor of my 25th b-day today, I'm going to share 25 different blessings in my life!

25. Many great teachers who have inspired me to teach others
24. My years of dance
23. Being a UM Alum- Wolverine!
22. My apartment- love my introvert time
21. A reliable car for my commute
20. Diet Coke
19. Facebook birthday love
18. The teacher blogging community
17. The adoption blogging community
16. Foam Rollers and Heating Pads
15. My life journey- especially the past 4 years
14. My JOB!
13. Summers off to refuel
12. The ability to teach with the arts, each and every day
11. Faith, Hope, and Love
10. My kittens, Margaret and Samuel
9. My SCS
8. Music
7. My high school youth group ladies
6. Word of Life- my wonderful faith community
5. Amazing co-workers and admin at my school
4. My fabulous new students
3. My wonderful friends
2. My family who lives nice and close
1. My God who makes all things possible with grace and strength

Lots of love. To all the teachers out there- hope your first week (or more) is going well!

Word of the Day

My word of the day is...t.i.r.e.d.
I've been putting in 16 + hrs a day on back-to-school prep if you add in my commute.
Did anyone else do that your first year...or now...the week before?

Every time I look at my classroom there's more to do- but it's looking and feeling like a fabulous place to learn. My school is also changing up the Unit Planning Process (I co-plan all the Literacy- Rdg, Writing, Word Study, Language test prep for my grade level). A lot to learn and do this year but it will surely pay off over time. I'm glad that there are 5 on my 5th grade team so that we can share and plan together!

I know this prep will be so worth it for those 25 fifths next week. One of my kiddos was at parent orientation night tonight and I took her up to my room. Just the look of joy as she looked around and immediately started browsing the library made me so happy! We are ready to get down to the business of learning.

PS- I will be posting my Thurs/Fri posts of Teacher Week this weekend- just got too busy! I want to share my resources and freebies though so check back soon.

Where it All Goes Down Wednesday!

I had new teacher orientation today where we played the M&M game (one fact about yourself for every M&M)...and 2 of my facts revolved around none other than blogging and TEACHER WEEK!  I now owe links to your fab blogs to several of my colleagues. :-)

Anyway, today's post is "Where it All Goes Down Wednesday," aka Classroom Tour! I love getting peeks (and ideas) from your classrooms. If you haven't already, link up at Blog Hoppin'!

Since I've only been in my room a couple of days it's definitely A Work in Progress.  I apologize for the cell phone pics but I wanted to document my first classroom's transformation. I'll take better ones once it's complete :-) My theme is: The Big Apple (think NYC/Broadway)!

This is what I walked into:

All of these pics I was standing in the doorway- so definitely small but I am determined to make it work with both table groups and carpet learning areas. I LOVE the shiny new Promethian Board- next generation SmartBoard. For an Inner City School getting this grant was huge- it's going to open up the World and so many resources to our kiddos.

Thanks to these lovely ladies- I am mostly moved in- we got a work out carrying my library and bookshelves up to the 3rd floor!

As of tonight- this is what you'll find in Room 302:

Right inside the door- It houses my fav quote by Nelson Mandela- the Let Your Light Shine Quote. The Statue of Liberty also fits into our Social Studies- of Early Immigrants.

 

Lockers and my number line. I think my Word Wall will go up above. I'm debating separating my Literacy Word Wall from Content Areas Words- any thoughts? To the right of the lockers (covering a few) are 2 huge cabinets. 1 is unlocked and houses student textbooks, supplies, games, etc. The other is lockable and where I will keep materials that I don't want out all the time.

 I arranged my desks in groups of 5. Once I get the rest of my desks I'll have 25- love that it worked out so even. :-) I have a freebie up of my table group jobs. You can find that here. I find it really helps facilitate group work. No pic of those because they are currently in line to be laminated (with a huge pile of other things). I set the desks up so that I can use either the white board to the right or the white board/smart board up front for direct instruction.

My desk/Guided Reading Area. If I had it my way I'd get rid of both and just use a rainbow/kidney table. However, due to the lack of elevator in my building they highly discourage moving big furniture in/out. Either way it's going to work! I have a set of shelves/bins behind  to store guided reading/math group materials and I can fit 5 chairs around the table. All that stuff on the window sill is from the teacher who left- next up on my to do list is to sort it!

You also get a peek at my carpet area which runs the front of the room. I'm not used to having the group area up front but with the Promethian board it is going to be great. I have a director's chair up there as well to go with the theme.

And last up for today- My Library- Easily my fav part of my classroom. I LOVE books. All the white magazine files (yet to be labeled) hold my Nonfiction collection sorted by topic for easy browsing. The buckets are labeled by Author, series, genre, buddy reads (my duplicate books), etc. I lucked out finding the 3 bookshelves on the right for a total of $4!

Behind the library you see my Stage Board....yet to be titled. I am laminating yellow construction paper now which will go up with paper clips so that I can mount student work easily- actually I like the kids to do it so they are in the practice of evaluating and choosing their best work to share.

So there we go- it's coming along well. Hope to put in a couple more days this week and then add final touches next week (our Professional Development Week). It's finally starting to feel like home- can't wait until I get the rest of it up and organized. Any questions? Email or Comment :-)

Teacher Talk Tues

Today's Teacher Week post is dedicated to Advice for New Teachers. I can't wait to read all the great advice from the veteran teachers! I'll be back tomorrow with pictures of my classroom. Off today to buy some more bookcases for my library area (thank you Craigs*list) and work a bit on my room.
Welcome new followers!

Meet the Teacher Monday!

Hi, Welcome to Grace Falls Like Rain for Teacher Week 2011! I'm linking up at Blog Hoppin'- an awesome collaborative blog of some of the best teacher bloggers out there. So excited to join this amazing education community. First up, Meet the Teacher Monday.

Tell us a little something about you...

I'm Kathleen, I teach 5th grade at a Performing Arts Charter School and I love the arts. I just finished my Masters in Educational Studies with Teacher Certification K-8 (Go Blue!) Before that I completed my Bachelor of Fine Arts in Dance while teaching and dancing semi-professionally. While I'm not dancing anymore, I love using the arts in my classroom every day! (Once an artist, always an artist :-) There are so many benefits to using the arts (accessing the whole brain being a major one) that I can't wait to share throughout this year.  I am so glad I decided to go into education, teaching is my passion and I can't imagine doing anything else!

How long have you been teaching?

This is my first full year in a classroom, but I did teach arts-integration classes in several local schools for 4 years. My freshman year as a Dance Major I started a program called Mary's Movers, a Dance Arts Ed Class for K-3rd graders. Half the class was ballet/creative movement and the other half was reinforcing academic content through movement. That experience changed my life, not only in discerning that I was supposed to be a teacher, but also in how I teach. I student taught in 3rd grade and can't wait to work with my fabulous 5ths this year!

You might not know...

(Let's see how random I can be, in no particular order)

That I love diet coke, working for a high school youth group, cats (yes that's my cat in my profile pic hanging out in the splits), Grey's Anatomy, Make it Or Break It, Bachelor(ette) Nights with the Girls, Facebook, Blogging (and Blog-Stalking), Listening to worship music, Adoption advocacy, Musicals, Researching and Teaching Dancer Health and Wellness, and my latest summer craze, Harry Potter (yes, even though my generation grew up with the books, I just now read- and loved- them!)

 

What are you looking most forward to this school year?

So many things! Working with kids in the city- loving them, inspiring them to set goals for the future, learning lots from them, creating with them, Being a part of the fabulous 5th Grade Team at my school, Creating some new literacy and art units, and hopefully taking my 5ths to my University for a Field Trip.

*Fun Story- 4 years ago (right around the time I was deciding to teach) my English class had a component of teaching Creative Writing to Inner City Kids. It just happened to be in 5th grade at the same school I'm now working at! We took the kids back to our University for a field trip, to inspire them to add college to their goals. It was an amazing experience I hope to share with my students again this year! 

What do you need to improve?

As a new teacher starting out I have a lot I want to grow in. A couple of my goals are time management- not only during the day, but nights/weekends as well and to add in guided math groups to better reach my students at their level. I'd rather add in more goals or responsibilities later rather than to bite off too much at the beginning.

What teaching supplies can you *not* live without?

My Laptop- I have a SmartBoard this year so know that this is going to be an important tool in creating fun lessons for my kiddos.
Sticky Notes- I have them everywhere! Love to use them for exit slips/mini assessments.

Chart Paper/Mr. Sketch Markers- I love making anchor charts with my kids during mini lessons

Diet Coke- Enough Said :-)


Anything else you want to know? Please feel free to leave a comment or email me- (on the right).
Look forward to "meeting" more of you,

Freebie to Kick Off Teacher Week!

A year ago when I was first beginning to blog I discovered the wonders of Teacher Week. I learned so much from other fabulous teachers and added many blogs to my Google Reader! This year I'll be participating. You can check it out here!

There will be another freebie on Friday but to kick it off I'm offering my Upper Elementary Table Jobs Printable. I was introduced to table jobs during my student teaching and I loved how it supported group work (which I do a lot of). I generally have 5 students per group and the jobs rotate every week or so. I have a NYC/Broadway theme because I teach at a Performing Arts School. The titles also introduce my students to other jobs in the theatre/movie industry, but you can re-title many of them to fit your theme,  I've even included an extra blank one.

Here's the link to the Google Doc: https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&pid=explorer&chrome=true&srcid=0B4i0LVMryMrlY2YwYWM5NjktZTA3NC00MTFjLWIyYTctY2M1NjI4MzQxNjM2&hl=en

Enjoy! Hope to see you at Teacher Week,

Teacher Camp Resource

I just got back from spending last week at Saginaw Valley State University (SVSU) for the New Teacher Institute...aka Teacher Camp. SVSU is the university that charters my school and 17 others across Michigan. I was impressed, not just with the prep/support this year, but with all they are teaching/researching. As all you teachers well know, this is a challenging time to be a teacher with all the many changes- common core? decline of teach to the test? (fingers crossed on that one) funding-where/what? politics? technology?....it's good to have additional training and support.

I always say "Knowledge is Power." 

They gave us a binder full of resources- printed and web along with a few books. The First Days of School and Teaching with Love and Logic are old classics of course but we also received  

A Framework for Understanding Poverty by Ruby Payne.

 Oh.My.Gosh. has this rocked my teaching world. I am teaching in the inner city and this book is a God-send. It goes through the differences between lower-middle-upper class and how it relates to American Schools (which follow middle class conventions). Knowledge is Power. I have marked this baby up and know I will be turning to it all year to help my students grow and thrive. If you teach in areas of poverty I highly recommend it.

They also gave us some great math and science internet links. I'm so excited that I will have a SmartBoard this year- to tap into these great resources with my kiddos.  I'm including them below- there are hundreds!

Math Internet Links
Science Internet Links

I have a little less than 2 weeks to get my classroom up and running and then a week of PD before the kids start back. What PD have you had this year? Do you have any SmartBoard resources?

Are you Smarter than a 5th Grader- Library Edition

It was finally time to tackle the boxes of books and get them sorted into my library.
A 5th grade library to be exact...
Yes, that wasn't a typo, my grade-level switched this week!

I am not too worried, still have time to plan since our kiddos don't start until after Labor Day-
I'm just so thankful to have a job! Pray for all those teachers still looking!

Anyway, my good friend C and I spent the day labeling/sorting/and picking off price tags.
I ended up with 51 book bins thanks to my year-long thrifting hunt.
I think the most I paid for a book was $1.00- most were 3/$0.99 or even free :-)

Here's a picture of my sorted library sans-labels (they currently take up a wall of my living room).

The tan bins are my chapter books. I got a set of 36 at Walmart.com for $32.

The white file folders are my non-fiction/informational books. I got sets of 5 from Ikea for $1.99.
The red bins are mixed chapter/ picture books. This is the shelf I talked about here!

I made simple labels out of Name Badge Stickers that I also got at the thrift store :-)
Microsoft Word has those great label templates where you can type in your Avery label number (5146), import a list from Excel (my Book Basket Titles), and Voila! Customized labels.

They are white labels with a gold border and I used a red font. I'll upload a picture here later.
If anyone wants them, email me at Gracefallslikerain@gmail.com and I'll email you the document. Some are by genre (Fantasy, Mystery, Historical Fiction etc.), some by author (Roald Dahl, Noel Streatfeild, C.S Lewis etc.), and some by topic (Space, How-To, States/Government etc.)

I think it's more important to sort books this way then by level- we as adults choose books by interest and then find a good fit within that, so why should we teach kids differently? I don't want my kids obsessed with what letter book they are reading (Fountas and Pinnell A-Z). Rather, I want them to enjoy reading and develop the ability to select appropriate reading material on their own!

Do you agree? Disagree? How do you set up your classroom library?

Staples Steals

Teachers: Staples has some rocking sales this week!

If you didn't know already, with your teacher account you can get 25 of the Sun-Wed extreme deal items (instead of the 2-3 limit). The new catch is that you need to spend at least $5 to buy extreme deals. So spread out your more expensive supply purchases and hit it up! They have had lackluster deals this summer but this week is making up for it!

The penny deals include:
2 pk of Sharpie Accent Highlighters
8 pk of #2 Pencils
100 pk of 3x5 index cards

Yes, for a whopping 75 cents you get 50 highlighters, 200 pencils, and 2500 index cards. For realz. 

Another fav of mine is the Expo two-sided dry erase slate (1 blank, 1 lined). It includes an expo marker! This week only $2. Can't wait to add to my guided rdg collection for a classroom set. If I spread them out on different trips I may get a whole lot of penny deals this week :-)

Happy Shopping,

Trash to Treasure Teaser

I have been so busy lately getting ready for my first classroom....well that and reading Harry Potter for the first time (I know, about time, right?) Anyway, I have thrifted a ton and blog stalked some AMAZING teaching blogs.  There are some fantastic ideas/resources out there- thank you Blogging Teachers. I hope to get some of my arts integration stuff up here soon to contribute to this growing community.

Today I hit the mother-load with thrifting/garage sale-ing. At the garage sale I met the two sweetest older ladies, one of whom  had taught in the inner city where my job is for 15 years! It was so great to have her advice. Once we got talking, I found out they used to belong to the Christian community I'm part of and we had a ton of mutual friends. Small world! They prayed with me and for my students and gave me some great materials! It was definitely a blessed time. I happened upon the ad on Craigs*list about an hr before it ended and decided to zip over there. So glad I did.

It's similar to this, but mine is the old version.

Then I hit up the 2 thrift stores I've been frequenting and had another unexpected surprise. There was no price tag on an item I was eying and when I went to ask about it I just happened to throw in the "I'm a teacher in the inner city" and the guy gave it to me for $3.99! This wasn't just any little item-

It was a 4-tier shelf/organizer with 12 thick plastic bins...in good condition. This just happens to retail for around $60! 1 bin alone is more than $3.99!


Someone's trash was definitely my treasure today. The bins are light pastel (yellow, lavender, baby pink) which reminds me of a 1980s dance studio (and definitely don't fit my Broadway/NYC theme). But never fear- I will be armed with spray paint tomorrow and transform this baby into something amazing for my library. Stay tuned for a tutorial....

Lots of love,

Out of the Mouths of Babes Linky Party

I have had so much fun lately visiting other teacher's blogs and learning from them.
Thought I'd join in with this"Out of the Mouths of Babes" funny story Linky.

I have shared this one before but it STILL cracks me up.
My 8/9 yr old students seemed quite concerned that I was not married (YET). While the girls logically tried to figure out my age all year  through the use of notes in my mailbox (aka "circle yes or no" :-), one of my boys went the more direct route.

Child: Ms. Wright, are you a "Ms" because you lost your husband at D-Day?
Me: Um, excuse me, what did you just say?
Child: Did you LOSE YOUR HUSBAND at D-Day because you know a lot of girls lost their husbands there.
Me: Well that is true but, when was D-Day?
Child: 1945...
Me: Yes and it's 2011....do I look like I'm over 80?
Child: Well, where's your husband then?
Me: Good Question....

Another one comes from the book of Treasured Goodbyes my students gave me at the end of Student Teaching:

Dear Ms. Wright,
I will shrivel up and die with boredom without you.
(Insert very graphic and dramatic stick figures)

Gotta love small children. They make even the hard days so very worth it!
 If you want to link up go here:

Thankful Thursday!

I have a lot to be thankful for right now!


1. I have a JOB for next year!!! Thank you God for opening that window :-) I will be a 4th Grade Teacher at an Inner City Performing Arts Charter. I am so excited! I taught at this school 3.5 yrs ago as an undergrad for a creative writing partnership and I LOVED it. It's a good school doing some pretty GREAT things in the city. I will also be starting an after school dance club for the itty bitties...K-1-2's :-)

2. Because I have a job, and grad school is over, I get to take a break! Well, I'm trying too....in and around planning, shopping for, and prepping my new classroom :-) There is a certain art to doing nothing...it's tricky but oh so necessary at times. I need to be refueled by mid Aug!

3. I have/had a lot of weddings to attend this summer. After a few crazy years (including that 1 yr intensive masters :-) it's been SO nice to catch up and spend time with old friends! What a blessing.

There it is friends, my big news and my top 3 pics for Thankful Thursday.
Happy Weekend,

Open Windows.

My poor neglected blog. 
It feels like I start every post lately with something along those lines- my apologies!
I can say I'll try harder but I don't want to jinx it lol.

I went through a bit of a rough patch with my job hunt- long story short, a job I thought I had in the bag fell through. This economy is pretty frustrating. Yet, I totally believe that everything happens for a reason-

I am sure that the perfect teaching job for me is still out there!
I've been rocking the quote "when God closes a door, somewhere He opens a window." (Sound of Music anyone?)

Speaking of Sound of Music- 3 years ago two friends and I took an amazing, once-in-a-lifetime backpacking trip around Europe. We went to 10 countries in 7 weeks. Of course being the musical-obsessed person that I am, I had to visit Salzburg. It just happened to be the opening of the EuroCup that day so the city was overrun by mad futbol fans (well that was cool too) but I managed to see a few of the movie locations. Here's my proof :-)

Look closely- we were rocking the "hide from the Nazi's pose"- what Tourists:-)

Anyway...the window.
Yes, a new school popped up and I had my 3rd interview there today.
It's actually not new to me because I taught there 3.5 years ago with a creative writing partnership. The same semester when I knew I had to be a teacher. Coincidence?
I think not.

It's a perfect fit- a performing arts school. They equally value academics, character, and the arts.
I won't give too many details yet but my interview today was led by someone pretty famous.
That was just the icing on the cake for an already GREAT school.

Join me in praying it works out?
I'm ready to jump through this window into the next stage of my life.
Whatever that holds for me-

My Love For...

I have some big news to share...hopefully in a couple of days!

For now, let's talk about my love for...

IKEA!

For those of you who do not live by one, I'm sorry! Definitely check out their website here. It almost rivals my love of Target. Almost. Anyway, it's a warehouse full of wonderful finds on the cheap. The quality of most things is pretty fantastic for the price, plus there is a huge variety! I have bedroom furniture, rugs, organizers, and kitchen goods in my condo all from Ikea. They also have great resources for parents and teachers. Don't forget the amazing warm-from-the-oven cinnamon rolls for $1.

Here are some finds that work well in the classroom:

Magazine Files! 5 for only $1.99. These work great for organizing your classroom library. I think it's important to model to students that as lifelong readers we choose books by interest and then find a "best fit" book from there (as opposed to leveling out the classroom library completely). I plan on separating my nonfiction books by topic in these. Colorful labels and sharpies a must.

Aren't these storage containers cute? I have several ideas to put them to use. The rectangular ones are $6.99 and the round ones are $4.99! How would you use them?

Many classrooms have an easel, usually next to a rocker on a large carpeted area. I love it as an additional learning space and opportunity to get the students out of their seats. If I can't find a larger one off craig*slist or from a garage sale, I will start with this. At $14.99 it's definitely a good start (it has a whiteboard surface on the opposite side).

 This chest has definite possibilities! I can image storing reading pillows or indoor recess games inside, plus putting a cushion or two on top to turn it into a reading nook. I may decorate according to my classroom theme or paint quotes on the sides. Again at $14.99, it's a steal!

 I'm playing with the theme idea: The Big Apple. This lampshade would be pretty fab in my reading corner...for $7 at that :-) What do you think?


If you are a preschool/K teacher- they have great resources for sensory tubs and fine motor skills. Check out this amazing blog for ideas. 

This is what teachers do in the summer...definitely take a break, but also plan and dream about the next year. My plan definitely includes a few trips to Ikea,

Why Everyone Deserves the Chance to be Someone

Tonight was Tony Night, celebrating the many amazing performances on Broadway this year. I had 7 friends and classmates from University of Michigan, (GO BLUE!) perform. They killed it! It was amazing to see their joy, to see them living their dreams so soon after graduation. Two of them, Shina and Kevin (who was my dance partner in a show way back when), were part of the Tony winning cast of Anything Goes. I am so proud of them. It made me think about all the amazing training in the arts we've been given, and all of the hard work and sacrifice that goes into the dream. I think back and there's no way I'd be where I am today if it wasn't for the love and support of many people- family, friends, teachers, believing in me along the way. I think my friends on Broadway, in Dance Companies, or wherever else life has taken them would feel the same.

Then I just saw this video.


I am in awe of this kid's talent.
Yet, my heart aches for him.
NO ONE should have to live the life he's lived.
Abandoned. Abused. Alone.
No one to support his dream in the arts. No one to love him.
He was considered a "nobody." 
My heart broke for him.

This is why I want to adopt.
Every child deserves the chance to be safe, loved, and the opportunity to become

Someone.

No matter where they came from, whatever their abilities, and certainly despite what the world says.
Will you be the one? To give the chance for an orphan to become,
Someone.

Unexpected blessings

This is my first time blogging from my phone...hope you can read it! I'm still getting used to typing on the touchscreen, my old phone had a keypad too. But this phone has this weirdly cool function where you slide you finger across the letters, tracing your word and it picks  it up. Kinda like t9 meets the twenty tens.

I digress.

Anyway, my power is out, as it is for 2500 ppl. No storm, just out. At first I was really annoyed. I mean this is finals wk and darkness, low computer battery, and no internet is a prob. But, I think of most of the world who experiences this or much less every night. And I think maybe God has a blessing for me in this. I can set aside my mountain of stuff, crawl into bed with a book, journal and flashlight, (a la childhood) and just rest.

The work will still be there, but I will come back to it a little bit different. More rested, more peaceful, more thankful for the hidden blessings that pepper our lives.

Maybe power outages aren't such a bad thing afterall...

Blast from the Past....

I needed a break last night, a distraction from a current injury and my mountainous to-do list.

First, I ate my dinner of Ice Cream from the Dairy (Michigan Black Bear if you want to know...like Moosetracks, only substitute dark choc covered raspberry cups instead of PB, yeah, it's that good)
all while sitting on the swings of the park.
(My excuse- It had been a 12 hr work day and I needed to decompress and soak up some rays)

Next, a phone call with a friend in which we discussed the weird things we liked or did as children.
This led to what I call "YouTube Magic."
I am the master of distraction.

I confess. I was a child of the late 80s/early 90s.
We had some spectacular toys and tv shows. Light Brite, Skip It, Talkgirl (Think Home Alone), Legends of the Hidden Temple, CareBears, Full House...
We had some terrifying ones.

Enjoy the ride through the Tunnel of Surprise. (Zoobilee Zoo reference anyone?)






Puppy Surprise. I was all over this, Easter 1991. There was a baby doll version too that came in this backpack you wore on your stomach that had a heartbeat.  You opened it ("giving birth") to see what gender you had- sometimes it was twins. That was not as creepy as this Magic Nursery Doll....the Gender Neutral one? What.the.heck?

Zoobilee Zoo- Loved this show, this mouse-ish dancer was my fav. Now...it's terrifying.

Mousercise- I used to do these workouts at 4 yrs old using my baby blanket as a yoga mat. I also loved Barbie Dance Workout. Intense child? Yes, no wonder I became a dancer.

What were your favorite toys/games/TV shows as a child?

What I'm Loving Wednesday!

I'm back from my month-long blog hiatus...unintentional of course :-)  May is really the craziest- busiest month of the year especially if you have or work with kids! Only a few more weeks of school then job hunting and wedding season...err summer. I can't wait for some days with NOTHING on the agenda, preferably several of those in a row ;-) To tide us over until then, here's what I'm lovin' right now:

The BEAUTIFUL weather- the weeks of cold and rain have passed, it's sunny, warm, and green! This kind of weather makes up for the long winters in my state. Thank you God!

Diet Coke with Lime- a summer twist to my fuel that's keeping me going

All of the new babies that friends of mine are having or adopting. There really is nothing quite like an infant falling asleep in your arms. Or tiny baby feet... Check out these friends of mine- some serious cuteness going on with their little Noah.

My new phone- a sweet graduation gift from a friend. It is helping me stay SO much more organized. I have much better coverage with this new provider and it has some pretty fun features too. I am blessed.

And of course- my precocious third graders. They keep me on my toes but always laughing. Some of their recent quotes to brighten your day:

"Ms. Wright, my glass slippers (clear jellies) pain me with every step but it makes it (Cinderella Dress) complete, get it?"

"Hey, remember when we talked about the REVELATIONary War? The one where we smashed the British? That was cool."

"Ms. Wright, I need to talk to you, not teacher-to-student, but dancer-to-dancer."

"The cause of the French/Indian war: British coming and taking over the land by Lies. The effect: Bloodshed, Cruelty, Betrayal, and Downright Unfairness."

"Ms. Wright, is this what school was like when you were little? Did you have your own slate pencil?" (On a Pioneer Village Field Trip)


"I think (dramatic pause) we're real explorers now." Me: What are we going to find? (On our field trip to the Pond) "Trees, Land, Monkeys, and the unknown."

Make Way for Ducklings: Forest Edition

Happy June,

All Things New

 Matthew 27: 51-54
At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook, the rocks split  and the tombs broke open. The bodies of many holy people who had died were raised to life.  They came out of the tombs after Jesus’ resurrection and went into the holy city and appeared to many people.
When the centurion and those with him who were guarding Jesus saw the earthquake and all that had happened, they were terrified, and exclaimed, “Surely he was the Son of God!”

Friday happened.
Jesus of Nazareth, the Son of God, was crucified for our sins.
He suffered, died, and was buried.

For you.

For me.

For our future children.

If there was only one of us, He would have done it, for we matter to Him.

But Sunday always comes, this Sunday, the Sunday of all Sundays- the Resurrection.

He rose, so that scripture might be fulfilled.

He rose, so that we might be with Him forever in Heaven.

He rose, so that all things could be made new.

Matthew 28: 17- 20
When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

He has promised.

Do you?