Kindergarten Land

Well since my lovely friend Brittany is the ONLY person who reads this blog, these pictures are really for you my dear. I told you I would try to post classroom pics and I'm finally getting around to it. I was blessed to inherit a FABULOUS Kindergarten room this year. A veteran teacher moved to Australia and I was next in line for her room! It is amazing because this year I have 29 students...a far cry from 19 just 2 years ago. Let's just say, I am EXHAUSTED every single day.

This is the view from the door!

Free choice area where the Kitchen is....hot spot...let me tell you!

The Rainbow word club and Letter board.

My soup can is awesome! An original creation!

It is now covered with ladybugs (my kiddos) to show their jobs for the week!

So fun!

Calendar time!

The view from my office!

And there you have it! Hopefully you can now get a sense of where I am everyday! It's a lot messier now that the kiddos are here all the time, but it wouldn't be a real kinder room without a little mess!!





Just stoppin' by for a quick post...

I realize I have not blogged in close to a year. I like to do an annual post. :) But seriously, I never blog on here because I don't have a lot of blogging friends and with Facebook, everyone stays caught up there.

Let's see. This past year lots happened. But let's fast forward to now. School starts back in a week. I report to work this week but I have already been back "unofficially" to start working on my classroom. This was the very first year I did NOT recieve a pink slip! Yay! So I got to enjoy my summer without the panic of not having a job in the fall and what we would do for my share of the income. A great teacher who had been at Discovery for as long as it has been opened actually moved to Australia this summer so I was blessed by not only being able to stay in Kindergarten (I have never been able to stay in the same grade 2 years in a row!) but I also was given the chance to move into her room! Exciting! Her room is an actual Kindergarten room whereas mine was a regular room. Her room is much bigger and equipped better for Kindergarten. It is also attached to the other Kindergarten teachers which is SO nice. The best part is there is a bathroom in the classroom. Those of you who know me well know how often I pee! So I moved in at the beginning of summer and now I am arranging everything and getting ready for the new batch of sweet Kindergarteners in a week! I'm actually really glad to get back to work. It's some needed structure and routine! Perhaps I will take a picture of my new room when it's all ready and post it on here. That would require me to post more than once this year though....Hmm....

I thought I would share some recent pics of my sweet kids.

My sweet Scooter. Fresh out of the pool. That guy is a swimmer! He's had a rough summer but hasn't let it get him down! We are hoping his nerve damage in his back will heal over time and the numbness in his hind leg will go away. But for now he is happy and not in pain.

My happy Baxter bear. He sure is a happy boy. He still has a "puppy brain" and I love it. Well, sometimes I don't because he is almost 4. He hates the water so he was enjoying the shade on the patio.

Diva Penelope. Penny was being a model for a photoshoot this day. I was trying to get a good shot of her and she was NOT cooperating. She insisted on lying down for most pictures on her side. I swear, she is a floozy. But we love her to pieces!

So I am still making signs. I have a blog for my signs but since I haven't been updating it regularly I want to make it private so I can do some clean up on it. But school is starting and I honestly don't see that happening! I thought I would share some of my recent signs on here!

For a teacher friend for her classroom. Super cute! I think one day I might make one for myself....

GAK is an acronym or something. I don't know...I just take orders and make what they want! Anyway, I designed this entire board. The client just said it was for a garden and to fly free. So this was the result and I really LOVE it. It was extremely time consuming but it was for a great client who has bought 5 signs from me so she gets the best!!

I think that is all for now. Let's see how long it takes before I post again.....

Alot can happen in a YEAR!

So I thought it would be fun to post a blog since it's been well over a YEAR since my last post. See, my problem with this is that I only have 2 people who read my blog. Not that I don't care about updating you Brittany and Kelsie, but it seems like so much work for 2 people who see my posts on Facebook on a daily basis. Regardless here I am posting. But literally as I type this, I realize I have nothing to post about. Hmm...let's see what I can drudge up.

Yeah...I got nothin....

New Discoveries

Well I know it's been awhile since my last post. I doubt I will post very often anymore. I figure for the two people who actually read my blog, they can find out these updates on my Facebook. Anyway, school started this week. I was called on the Wednesday afternoon before and told I would be teaching at Discovery Elementary. So I moved all of my stuff back there on Thursday morning. I was assigned First Grade. Although I was sad to not be in Kindergarten, I was happy it was still the little kids. My class is interesting this year. It's still early so I will have to see how it goes. I did get to have one of my cute girls from last year. She moved over the summer and enrolled at Discovery. She ended up in my class and I'm very excited!!

We are starting the wedding planning. We are close to setting a date. Things are going well. The pups are crazy as ever!

That is all for now!

Just a bump in the road...

So I had the wonderful intentions of posting more regular for the 2 people who actually read this, but as the title states, I hit a bump in the road. I had moved my classroom and unpacked at Discovery which was to be my new home next year. I was actually really excited about this new adventure as mentioned in the last post. But because our California government continues to dig deeper into debt, they decided to cut education EVEN MORE. Over half of the cuts in California have been made to education. I guess they figure, we don't need smart people in our state. Maybe it's because it might be easier for our government officials just to leave the state when it gets really bad!! Unfortunately, those of us with homes, family, friends, jobs, etc. don't have that luxury. Anyhow, enough of my venting. My district did not do layoffs in March like everyone else. It seemed like a dream come true. More like, too good to be true. They decided it would be necessary to do layoffs in June though. So I recieved my pink slip and am merely waiting until the final decision is made. It's not how I intended to spend my summer, nor is it fair that I have to play this waiting game. So my bump in the road of life has prompted me not to post any updates. It's been a bit depressing.

However, life does go on. I was in Las Vegas for our national dance competition earlier this month. Although the competition was smaller than ever, we still had fun. Our girls did really well. My little girls did fabulous! They won 2 times in different categories. They also won in the Platinum competition. My little sleeper dance though, Classroom Chaos, did really good too. I was shocked when they announced it had won 1st place in the Platinum competition out of 68 numbers. Coincidentally, we tied ourselves for that place. Anyway, it was a good week. I was ready to come home!!
My little girls

Lauren and Kya

The four of us.

Me and Kassi before the banquet.


Until next time...whenever that will be.

It feels good to be back!

Yes, I am aware it has been awhile. Now that school is officially out, I can begin to unwind...well sort of. There are still some busy things ahead, but the one obstacle that is school is done for now. :)

Let's see. School is out and I am super sad to see SOME of my Kindergarteners go. I got really attached to a few. I found out in late April that although my district blessed me with not cutting my job, my school (Endeavour) was one teacher over for next year's enrollment numbers. What does this mean you ask? It means I was bumped to another school to be determined at a later date. Well I waited for around a month. It was agonizing. I was so grateful to have a job but at the same time it was depressing to be leaving my school as well as my grade level. My assignment was looking like 6th grade which anyone who knows me will tell you, is my biggest fear!! Then it looked like 4th grade which calmed me down a bit. But the wonderful day I was informed of my final assignment was a happy one. I will be teaching Kindergarten at Discovery next year. Although I am sad to leave Endeavour, Discovery is a fabulous school, close to my house, and most importantly, I get to stay in Kindergarten. I am in the process of moving my classroom over there and am excited to see what next year holds for me. Wish me luck!!

This is my class from this year. I will miss seeing them next year as big First Graders!!


Things at home are going well. Many people keep asking about our wedding plans. Well as you know, the state of California has a temporary seat in the toilet. Education has taken a huge hit. I was able to avoid the first round layoffs in my district, however, there is a such thing as 2nd round ("last minute") layoffs which can occur Aug. 15th. This is terrifying. Plus even if I pass this round there is the fact that the following year will be worse. Basically we are worried that I will lose my job and we will have spent a great deal of money on a wedding. So the planning has stayed at a stand still. My fabulous friend Heidi has given me lots of ideas to save money, so I am hoping to figure something out.

This is my cute little family.


We officially began the summer of swimming!! Our pool is great and the dogs love it too! Scooter is a great swimmer and will jump in for virtually any toy!


Penny is just too cute. I had to take a picture with her!!


Hopefully I can keep up with blogging on a more regular basis. Until next time...

The Promise

So yes I am aware it has been quite some time since my last post. But in all honesty, I don't have much to post right now. However, I am saving up some stuff to post and soon I will have enough to warrant a decent blog. So this is my promise.

Scout's honor!