Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow!!!

Yay! Yippie! Woohoo!! It snowed today at school!!

What a wonderful week off! I took so many things home for me to do during my time off...well, I did NOTHING for work!! Heehee! It was such a great week off but I was ready to see my little munchkins! Just a week off and they looked like they grew taller.

The munchkins were either frozen, full still from Thanksgiving, sleepy, or they matured just a little bit over the break because they were really quiet and really well behaved! Wow! It was nice whatever the reason may have been. We had rainy day schedule which means they stay inside ALL day! They stay in for lunch and they stay in for PE...no running off the wiggle worms today! To my surprise they were really, really, good and they worked so well and quietly!!! Crossing my fingers they continue this behavior but I may have just jinxed my unrealistic dream!

It rained most of the morning and it was cold outside but our oven classroom was pretty warm and toasty. I was glad to see parents dressed their munchkins in many layers and with big jackets and not only with itty bitty sweaters . Some came wrapped like little presents! haha They love, love, their gloves, scarves, and hats! I wouldn't doubt it if they sleep in them too! One just did not want to remove his gloves while he worked and had the hardest time doing anything with them on. ~Take your gloves off and put them in your backpack please. This was said more than once! He would take them off and then poof! they magically reappeared on his hands again!

From our window we watched the rain turn into little snowflakes then into large snowflakes. They were so excited...~Ooooh, Ahhhh! This turned into a quick, impromptu Science lesson. Those are usually the best lessons ever! They were dying to go out in the snow and so was I! Heehee!! It was lunch time or in my eyes brunch.. 11:00am is not breakfast nor lunch but brunch...I promised them that if there was snow still after lunch we would go out to take some pictures. ~Yay! Can we have a snowball fight too?? To their disappointment there wasn't that much snow yet on the ground after lunch but they still wanted to go out. I don't blame them I did too!!! A desert covered in snow is a beautiful thing and a rare thing to see! I had them put on every article of clothing they brought and some of them could barely walk or look around in their huge coats and jackets! A few looked like "Ralphie" from the movie Christmas Story...I thought they would tip over! haha! We were going to be sneaky and sneak outside...eek! ~Shhhh!!! Tip toe! They were cute tip toeing down the hall and out the door, not realizing no one was even remotely near our hallway or that anyone would even miss us for a quick 5-10 minutes!


We walked out to the blacktop and they saw their play area dusted in snow...~Woah!! Ooooh! Can we play on it! ...~No, your tooshies will be soaking wet and mommy wouldn't be too happy.

We walked to the front part of the school to take some quick pictures. ~Can we make a snowman? I would have said yes to that but there wasn't enough snow for a snowman then I hear...~How about a snow angel??? Hmm....should I let them or not? First I had to ask who knew what a snow angel was and only a few knew. Out of those few I picked one who looked pretty bundled and her jacket was long enough to cover her tooshie! The little ones who never saw a snow angel were dying to make one! I came this close to letting them all plop on the ground and flap away but I knew their little backsides would be soaked and they would freeze their little nalgitas (tooshies!) I was so tempted to let them but even though they were bundled up, their little bottoms would get wet...darn! ~Boo!... party pooper teacher is probably what they were thinking! haha! I told them they could make all the snow angels they wanted if it snowed more at home tonight. Surprisingly I didn't get a fight on that...just ~Ok! I tell you they were like different little munchkins today but in a good way!!!


We did our snow dance for more snow and I think it worked! Tomorrow the start of school has already been officially delayed for 2 hours...Yay!! That might mean no munchkins show up or maybe 10! Woohoo!! It happened I think 3 years ago and we had only 10 munchkins show up and had a blast!!! So I'll be doing my own snow dance tonight and saying my prayers for lots of snow! It is such a beautiful sight and gives you a wonderful feeling inside or was that lunch...heehee It really was a great experience for these little munchkins and a wonderful start to the beautiful holiday season!
Stay tuned for our snow filled adventure tomorrow!!!
XOXO's

I'm Thankful for...

With the holiday just around the corner...I'm Thankful for so much!

It's been almost a month since the last blog...not sure why??? I could blame outside factors but in all honest truth.. it's been from laziness! I'm not a lazy person but for some reason since the time change I've been exahusted and feel like I have no umph! This week off came at the right time...thank goodness! My time to revive myself and get ready for nonstop work. Next thing you'll know it's June!

I'm very thankful for what I do, my munchkins and everything and everyone in my life but I really need this week to get a hold of me again...whew!! Do we all go through this feeling from time to time in any job we hold? Do we feel sometimes we need a change in careers are we doing too much, not enough? When is it time to say enough is enough or do we continue to walk the walk and talk the talk? Do we go through the motions because we feel we have too?? Hmmmm....
I guess we all have to go through these feelings from time to time to evaluate ourselves. Journalist, doctors, nurses, accountants, lawyers, teachers, stay home mom's, and so many others go through the same thing....tired of the obstacles that interfere in making our careers enjoyable. Every job has it's ups and downs but I think those obstacle are what make us stronger and better at what we do. We have a passion in what we do and if that passion isn't there then it may be time to hang it up. Not enjoying what you do makes life too miserable. I'm fortunate to work with little munchkins who remind me day to day why I do what I do. Sometimes I question myself...do I work in education and adore working with the little munchkins to fill a void in my life???....possibly. Not having munchkins of my own and probably never will ~tick tock, tick tock...haha! All my munchkins over the last 12 years I consider a small part of them my own...I can love them, discipline them, care for them, adore them, and nurture them but then send them home. I spend 7 hours a day with these munchkins...sometimes more time than their own parents spend with them but at the end of those 7 hours, I can feel confident they all have been given 100% of me. Is that enough? Yes! I'm tired and don't have enough of me to go around! heehee! I wish every career could give their employees time to revive themselves or we just have to remember to take time for ourselves so we don't lose that passion for what we do.

Ok, enough of the soap box...back to munchkinville!!! Within the month of my laziness to blog so much has been going on in class! Time is really flying now!! The kids are starting to read so much now it's great!! We had a fun pajama day during our Red Ribbon week and measured our class pumpkin. The munchkins estimated with a string of yarn how big around our pumpkin would be. We had some too small, too long, and no just right. They learned it's ok to not always get the right answer.

We also did a mini unit on spiders, their life cycle, body parts, and how they eat...creepy crawly was a hit with them especially pin the leg on the spider!


My munchkins really were also interested in Dia De Los Muertos and learned the significance of that day and it's not a scary thing but a great cultural experience and a wonderful way to remember loved ones who have passed away.


Individual parent conferences were also held and they all turned out very well. About 5 parents were no shows! Boo!!! My little blue shoe boy has been having some problems...ugh! I'm not diagnosing but he has some very evident and strong characteristics of ADHD and it's really interfering with his learning. He was kept back already in Kinder last year because of it and bless his little heart he can't help himself to control it. I've tried little tricks of the trade I've used over the years to try and him help and so he can himself but it's not working!!! He has even told me that he feels "fast" inside. I had a great conference with mom and she's going to make an appointment with his pediatrician to have him evaluated. He has an older brother who had the same problems but they waited until 3rd grade to do anything and he struggled. Third grade in Texas is not the grade to struggle...poor munchkins! I know my little blue shoe boy can't help himself so I try to be as patient as I can but sometimes I wish I had a velcro wall to stick him to it! Heehee! Mom joked and said they would buy me the duck tape! haha!

Those of you wondering about "Jimmy," he's doing really great!! He's still a bit "different" if you're looking at behavior and things he does but who isn't?! I hope that doesn't sound bad. He has made some great gains and surprises me everyday. He has a great memory which really shocks me from time to time. He may be in his own world sometimes but he heard it all and got it!!! We were learning the parts of a spider and he was the first one to remember the word abdomen and so many other things. Shhhhh....don't tell anyone, but he's my favorite!!! Love, love, love him! He's so funny and the kids love him too!! His new thing to say instead of his old little saying now is ~Yup yup! He uses it for many things and changes the tone and inflection to fit his purpose.. ~Yup yup?, Yup yup. Yup yup! I usually answer... ~Nope nope. Heehee! He's learned to hug and not just stand and tilt his head. He loves hugs now and sneaks up every moment he can! The best moment was the day after I was out. I was sitting in a chair and he came up behind me. He likes to play his form of peek-a-boo or hide-and-seek with me when I'm in that chair. He stands behind me and giggles, every time I turn to see him he moves to the other side of me and laughs. We always play this for a little bit then tell him to go back and sit down. Since I was out the day before I asked him ~Did you miss me? and he nodded his head yes, he may have said ~yup yup too..haha! Then I felt his little arms behind me hug me from around the chair and said ~hugs. Awwwwww....I melted!!!

We took our wild things to see the movie Where the Wild Things Are based on the book by Maurice Sendak. They had a great time and it was a beautiful movie and experience for them. The conversations I was able to have with the 5 year olds before and after the movie was out of this world...I was really surprised at what they noticed and talked about. We discussed it a lot before we went because I didn't want them to see any parts as scary. None of them were scared and most of them actually understood the movie. Some of them noticed the Wild Things displayed characteristics of Max, the sister, and the mom! The movie is a wonderful inside to the inner struggle Max had with himself and the people in and out of his life. To think 5 year olds were picking up on some of this...hmmm...wow! I'm truly blessed with these munchkins and in awe of some of them.



From the growth and changes of pumpkins, spider life cycle, to Native American Indians, and Thanksgiving, our time has been nonstop and going full steam ahead. The little munchkins had fun learning about Native American Indians and creating their own story on their animal skin. The week came almost to an end with the little turkeys having Thanksgiving lunch with their parents...gobble, gobble, gobble! Now time for a week off! Woohoo!!!



After this much needed week long break is over we go back to school and we have 15 days then Xmas break. Christmas already? Are you serious?! We're planning our Christmas show and boy are we excited! Production in the works! My class is doing a Nutcracker-ish/Santa Workshop number...little toy soldiers, dancing dolls, and wild elves!!! Yay! Can't wait! Stay tuned...

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!
XOXO's