A Few of My Favorites

This is Mason, my nephew (Dustin's sister's). We got him this green monkey from Barbados, it was a hit!

My fortune awhile back. Best. Fortune. Ever.

Sweet little Kinsley!

My two favorite people in the whole world!

This was taken at Fiesta in San Antonio. I played one of the carnie games and actually won! I was the happiest little girl there.

Back to the Grind

Learning:

Still. No. House. I don't know how many times we will have to reevaluate what we want. I guess as many times as it takes. Lets move on from this though. I haven't blogged in awhile and I am hoping to try and blog once a week. Here is what I need for that to happen; 1. A new computer 2. To know how to work a computer 3. Someone to just do it for me.

I am also learning how to run a 1/2 marathon. My friend Meagan and I (shout out!) are training and my Runner's World App tells me we have 81 days. Someone tell me how I am supposed to run in this heat. It is awful, and I am pretty sure I almost passed out the other day. I never have passed out before, but I bet what happened to me is probably what happens right before you pass out. Thank God I am really tough and I was able to stay standing.



Teaching:

Ahhhhh back to the grind! Back to the 5AM alarms, the rushing in the morning between the Pledge of Allegience and the moment of silence to make sure I am ready for the day. Back to the staying at work until you are actually done with work instead of leaving at that 3:00 time teachers are allowed to leave. Back to the, "Please stop talking while I am talking." "Please stay focused." "Please raise your hand before speaking." The, "We do NOT talk to each other that way" "MOVE YOUR NUMBER!" some of you may call that the, "GO CHANGE YOUR COLOR!" What else am I missing teachers?

Let me just say, I wouldn't have it any other way! I love being a teacher. And no, not for the summers. I see my students from last year walking the halls saying, "Hello Ms. Shields, I mean... Mrs. Patterson!" It gives me a sense of accomplishment. I am going to have a great class this year. They are really great kids who LOOOOOVE to participate!

This week we have been working on poetry. Fourth grade is a really big year for writing, so we are starting it out right with poetry! So fun right!? Once it comes to writing time our classroom transforms to a dark, cool, slick, Poetry Cafe. Snapping fingers and all. They really seem to enjoy this and get into the beat while reading their lyrical poems. They are such great writers too. Through poetry they really do show some emotions and I am really getting to know a different side of my students. I haven't done much poetry in the years before with my students, but it is something I will from now on always do with them.

We have been discussing lyrical poetry. Today we sang "The Climb" by Miley Cyrus and discussed the line breaks, the meters, the rhyming, and the basic structure. We also sang the Wierd Al version of "Beat It", "Eat It." That was fun! Tonight they are going home to find a song they like and put their own words to it. Some of them were all ready naming songs and singing rhythms they loved, and were really excited about this assignment...some were just not sure what they were going to do. I will show you some samples once we get them published this week. Until then, I will leave you with our favorite poem we have read this week. We really like to get into while reading and it gets a smile every time!

Sick

'I cannot go to school today, '
Said little Peggy Ann McKay.
'I have the measles and the mumps,
A gash, a rash and purple bumps.
My mouth is wet, my throat is dry,
I'm going blind in my right eye.
My tonsils are as big as rocks,
I've counted sixteen chicken pox
And there's one more-that's seventeen,
And don't you think my face looks green?
My leg is cut-my eyes are blue-
It might be instamatic flu.
I cough and sneeze and gasp and choke,
I'm sure that my left leg is broke-
My hip hurts when I move my chin,
My belly button's caving in,
My back is wrenched, my ankle's sprained,
My 'pendix pains each time it rains.
My nose is cold, my toes are numb.
I have a sliver in my thumb.
My neck is stiff, my voice is weak,
I hardly whisper when I speak.
My tongue is filling up my mouth,
I think my hair is falling out.
My elbow's bent, my spine ain't straight,
My temperature is one-o-eight.
My brain is shrunk, I cannot hear,
There is a hole inside my ear.
I have a hangnail, and my heart is-what?
What's that? What's that you say?
You say today is...Saturday?
G'bye, I'm going out to play! '

Shel Silverstein

The Grass is always Greener...

Learning:

Well, I have no updates on the house situation. We are still looking and finding out what we like. I have decided that my attitude needs to change about this whole house hunting thing. I think the thing to do is get myself a positive attitude!! I really think that is the key! Dustin's parents came in town today and we went around to look at houses and neighborhoods. I love that Dustin's dad is such a go getter. We stopped at an open house and spoke with the owner, and there was Larry asking the questions that we didn't know or think to ask. We actually really liked the house! It is an option for us that we are looking into. I will keep ya posted. We then went to another neighborhood that I love so much! We are just questioning it's location. As we drove around this neighborhood, there were some people out in their front yard. Dustin's dad asked us to stop the car so that he could get out and ask them questions about the neighborhood. Again, something we are too scared to do. We did get some great information though! We stopped at a vacant house for sale and did everything but go inside. It was different, but we are still interested! Look at all this positivity bursting out of me!



Another thing I am learning to do is cook a meal that Dustin actually says, "This is my favorite!" I have a little bit less of a positive attitude about this. I know he thinks it is "good" (his words) , but I still haven't heard those winning words. For those of you that know me, know that I am a very competitive person and I want to WIN! I have made this into a game with myself. I have been looking up recipes and trying new ones out. Recipes that I would not normally step out of my comfort zone of meatloaf, chicken, or spaghetti, and cook. I get great recipes from blogs that my friend Cecilie posts. Until then I will just have to take "this is good" and go with it.




Teaching:

Still no classroom stories seeing how school hasn't started yet. I have, however, been getting my classroom ready to go! This year's theme.....polka dots! I have found some really great ideas and really love how it is coming together. This is another thing I am having a really positive attitude about. I was teaching 4th grade at another awesome school, but the district opened a new one down the road and the last hired teachers got shipped to the new school. I have had to leave some really great teachers and friends. My friend Meagan and I like to say, "The grass is always greener......where YOU plant and water it." I think this is so true. The way I was going to be happy with this change was to change my attitude. Once I did this, I have had a completely different outlook on the school year. I have decided to make this a great school year and I am feeling really good about it. How stupid will you think I am if I come back and complain on this thing every week? I will let you know how this new way of thinking works out for me....until then, try it out!


I am posting a link to my wedding pics if you want to take a look. Enjoy!

http://www.shutterfly.com/lightbox/view.sfly?fid=09056b47327365b95b2f2841c4d4a52e


PS I tried to put a few photos on this post, and for some reason when I click that little add image button nothing happens...what they hay!?

First Blog

Welcome to my first blog. This first one is really just a test to see how all of this actually works. This whole blogging thing is definitely a LEARNING experience. I am not the best with technology and creativity, so this may take awhile for me to figure out. Any tips and tricks you are willing to share would be great!

I have been wanting to start a blog for the longest time, but I just felt like I had nothing to say. What am I going to talk about??? Then I started to think and run some ideas by some people and basically build up the confidence to try this. So here it is!

Learning:
Dustin and I got married June 11 of this year. Let me just say first, I L-O-V-E-D my wedding!! But, my gosh! I am so glad that is over with!! That was just too much work! Anyway, now that we are starting our life together and trying to figure out basically how things work after you get married, it's time for a house. We are in the process of house hunting. Bleh! Should this be a fun experience?? We are finding out that we are very picky people. I guess we should be when looking for a house, is there a too picky though? There have been times where we find something that we like, then on the way home from looking at it, we tend to talk about all of the things wrong with it and then decide, "naaah that's not for us." We are both from San Angelo where there are neighborhoods with trees, yards, and the cars are parked in the driveway, not in the narrow streets. It is just something we are not used to. Will we ever find something that we just love?

Another thing we are working on is the B word. Yes, the thing that all married couples have to talk about. The discussion that happens every night. How do we do this? what is the right way? What is the best way? .....I'm talking about.... our BUDGET, what were you thinking?? ;) We are trying to be smart about this and have done some researching and we just want to make sure we do this right. What are the important things we should be saving for? What are some things we should think about when doing a budget? Any advise would help!



Teaching:
This will be my third year teaching. This will also be my third school to teach at. I loved both of my previous schools so hopefully the third times a charm and I will be here for awhile. I was very worried this past year that I was not going to even have a teaching job! That big bad b word again! Thankfully everything worked out and I will be teaching 4th grade again this year! Fourth grade is a wonderful age group. I am very excited to meet my new kiddos! I am starting to get the itch to get back to work. It usually happens toward the end of summer. The trips have come to an end and I am ready to get back into a daily routine. Stay tuned for fun classroom stories once school starts back up!