Kylie Turns FIVE!!!!

I can't believe Kylie is FIVE!! That would be a big 5! She is very excited.

Today was a big day. Besides turning 5, Kylie had meet the teacher for Kindergarten. We are rather pumped that her teacher is also Maddie's colorguard instructor! And the school is an incredible new facility with state of the art amenities. And oh my... you should see the Library! It is EXACTLY what an elementary library should be... bright and colorful, fun and interesting! 

 

 

It truly is hard to believe that it has been 5 years. Wow. What a joy and a privilege it is to be Kylie's mom!

 

First Week of School 2013

One of my friends posted on facebook that there is NOTHING more exhausting that teaching the first week of school. I agreed with her. Some commented about harder things... but all of them had something to do with teaching and then doing something else. I have to say, I can't imagine adding anything else to my schedule right now. Even after 15 years, the first week of school is a KILLER!!

And I didn't rest this summer! It's a wild ride this Education business!

Anyway, we survived the first day. Everyone seemed to fair well.

Here are the pictures. It was weird taking first day of school pictures in a different place. I almost wanted to stop by the old house and take a picture by the big pine tree. But no time for that!

Maddie started 8th grade. Lexi is in 3rd grade and Kylie is officially a Pre-k kid.  

And there we are.

I'm thinking I need a Friday morning picture. I'm guessing we will be a little more bleary-eyed for that one!

So Long STAAR and a circle to make you cry

It's frustrating really. Maddie has worked and pushed all year to be ready for the )*(&&*^%$ STAAR test. The tests are tomorrow and Wednesday. And guess what? Maddie is sick... contagious in fact and can't go to school! She has a viral infection in her mouth that has caused her to have tons of ulcers. Yuck. so she can't go tomorrow and is FINALLY seeing the ENT on Wednesday. This means she misses the tests. I asked one of her teachers about it tonight as we were both at an event and he didn't think she'd get to make it up. Oh man, if they put her in tutorials for not taking the test this mama bear is going to go on a rampage.

And on to something pleasant. Tonight was Circle of Heroes. It's a ceremony type event where the senior National Honor Society students choose one person who has made an impact on their lives. This was the 5th year it has been done at our school. I have been privileged to be invited I think four times now. It is truly an amazing hour. Each senior tells about their "hero" and why he or she has impacted their life. There were some gut-wrenching stories. My impact is not one of those. I am thankful that I give artists a voice. That's my job and it's rewarding and gratifying. At this point in the year it is really nice to hear a thank you!

And that's it for tonight. Life here is in fast forward crazy times. But summer will be here soon!

First Day of School 2012

It doesn't matter how well I plan or how early I get up,
the first day of school always ends up hectic and full of bellowing.

 

So as we were running out the door, here are a few pictures of the adventure.

For some reason, the pictures are all icky.

 

Oh well.

 

The girls are pictured in their first day of school outfits picked out by Doug.
(one of my favorite traditions!!)

And, I saw this on a another mom's blog... it says, "Kylie wants to be a doctor." 8/27/12

 

And here is Lexi. Her shirt says pink glitter makes me smile!! So true!!

Lexi's sign says, "Lexi wants to be a horse trainer or a vet."

 

And finally, Maddie!

I can't believe she is in Junior High!! Oh how I remember 7th grade.

 

Maddie's sign says she wants to be an architect. 

And right before we walked out the door, here is a picture of me. I have to say, I'm bummed with the photo. I know I looked better in person. oh well.

 

And were off for 2012-2013!!

Well, Hello August. You sure do arrive quickly every year!

It's August 3rd and that means, I'm getting ready for another school year!

As I've probably mentioned before, I think I may be the only high school teacher that decorates my room in a theme each year.

Over the last few years I've had Safari, Underwater, Construction, Peace, and others that I can't remember!

This year, my theme is "Be A Part Of It" aka New York City.  And since I'm not allowed to paint the walls (boo hiss) I'm putting up skyline paper around a couple of walls. I keep the bulletin boards a simple black and have skyline border and New York city type cut outs to hang up. 

I'm going to hang some twinkle lights and clothesline from the ceiling.  Not sure yet how I'm going to plug in the twinkle lights as extension cords are against fire code... but I'll come up with something!!

Here are a couple of pictures of the room in progress.  My girls are ALWAYS so helpful... :)

I've got to get some muscly people to help me move everything back into position as I'm not supposed to drag things on the newly waxed floor. But man, the press has to weight a few hundred pounds!

Well, that's it for now.  I just love starting over each year! So many new ideas and new things to make!!

Next Week!! Performing and Visual Arts Camp!

One of my really good friends who is the theatre teacher at the local high school where I teach art and I decided that this summer we would join the ranks of those people who offer summer camp. Both of us have taught camps before, but it's always scary when you venture out on your own. We were afraid it would be our 4 kids and us.. but with a few days left before camp starts we have 40 registered!! How exciting!!

Here is a sneak peak of what we have planned!!

The kids will get to SCREEN PRINT their own tshirts!! How cool is that!

Each group will be made up of the kids who are going to be in a certain skit/play/reader's theatre style piece. The kids will learn about acting, lights, set and costumes. They will make puppets and costume pieces that they will get to keep.  They will even paint a large mural (see pictures below) made up of 4 full flat sheets.

And if all that wasn't enough, they are going to make memory books!! How fun is that! :) We talked about it and decided that as parents we always wonder what the kids do at camps and so we decided to give parents the visual story of camp.

So, if you have kids who have completed kindergarten through 8th grade and they don't have anything to do June 4-7 in the afternoons, send me an email or give me a call if you live in the area! It will be $50 well spent.

Twenty Years Ago

I can't believe twenty years ago this week I graduated from high school.
It truly feels like it was just yesterday.

I look back on my hopes and dreams and feel so blessed to say that if I had known then what I would be today, I would have been proud of myself.

Late this summer is the reunion. I'd like to lose some of the life that I've accumulated on my hips before then! Other than that, I'm ready. 

Life, 24/200, and Pinterest

I just realized how long it has been since I was last on here. One of these days I am going to feel like I have my feet under me and can do fun things again.  I'm not there yet.

So what's been going on in our world?

Well, to begin, Doug left his old investment company and started his own financial company!! Exciting times.  A little scary, but every risk comes with reward and it was time for him to be the guy that made the decisions about his future!!

Moving a financial services business is a lot of behind the scenes work and a quick move in the end, so we have been very focused on starting McLemore Financial Group.

If you need any financial advise, call Doug at 254-968-1020!!

What else is going on?  Just school and life.  Maddie was sick most of last week.  A little "innocent" 24 hour sore throat for most people becomes a week-long yucky time for Mad. After she had been sick for four days I took her to the doctor, but the doctor was booked solid, so they did a nurse visit to check her urine and do a strep test.  The strep test was negative and thankfully her urine looked good.  Then the nurse asked the regular questions and did the nice nurse talk. Thanks.  I really wanted to ask her if she had looked at Maddie's chart.  But I didn't, I just pointed out that the 24 hour virus she was talking about had passed long before. It gets old and tiring.  My sister is a WONDERFUL nurse, so I really try to be more patient with medical people because I truly know that they have the patients well-being in the forefront of their mind, however, there are times when I really just want to say... LOOK AT HER CHART!!!

Okay, sorry about the want. Maddie is well now :)

Next on the agenda, progress reports went out Thursday.  Lexi beat Maddie's grades!  Maddie did point out that 6th grade is much harder than 1st grade and Lexi pointed out that Maddie had missed almost a full week of school.  Nonetheless, Lexi was rather proud of her three 100's, a 99 and a 98.  Maddie didn't do to shabby either with two 100's and a lowest greade of a 96.  As a teacher, I couldn't help myself and told them to remember that this was just a progress report and that the official grade would come later and that I expected similar grades to show up there....

I am so thankful to have children that do so well in school. It is a huge blessing!

And how am I doing?  Well, thanks for asking.  I am doing okay.  I am still in the learning the new routine phase of the year.  My students are really good and my program is really off to a great start this year, but me, well, I'm struggling.

However, it is getting better and as I sat in a meeting on Thursday, I realized why.

Have you heard of the 24/200 concept?  Well, studies show that it takes doing something 24 times to do it proficiently.  But it takes doing something 200 times to make it routine.  So here I am with a new schedule and a new curriculum and feeling overwhelmed every day.  Of course I am! We are only on day.. well I don't know, but it's not day 24 yet.  So thinking about this has made me stop beating myself up for being exhausted and overwhelmed and given me hope.  It is getting better, and it will continue to be so.

I like this concept so much, that I think I'm going to make a 24/200 banner and put it up in my classroom.  Students are constantly asking why they have to draw something they have already drawn, explaining gets old.. but a banner, I could point to and say remember.... :)

 And lastly, in all the crazies of the days, I started using pinterest.  I wasn't going to as I knew it would be addicting.  I've looked at it a number of times and such, but this week a friend of mine was showing me what she was doing and I just couldn't resist any longer. 

For those of you that don't know what Pinterest is, well, it's a virtual pinboard.  It's like sticky notes to use in a catalog.  It makes looking at cool pictures way easier, becuase when you find something you love or want to use, you don't have to do the right click save to folder thing and then never find it again.  With pinterest, you pin it or like it and it puts it on your board and has the direct link for you! So when you want to go to the source, you double click you picture and it takes you to the website the picture was first posted at!

Isn't that SO COOL!!!!!  



Well, Kylie just came in throwing a 2 year old tantrum and Doug saying "YOU ARE DONE" (to Kylie, not me) so I better go!

Next installment: an update on our housing drama.

Art: For A Better Community

My student’s at school have created an awesome grant application for Bing’s Our School Needs program.

Now, we need YOU to go and rate us!!  Please 5 stars!!!!!!!!!!!!

They even made a great video! So please, please tell everyone about our grant application!!!!!!!!!!

Our project number is 1770.  You can find us by searching for Art: For a Better Community in the A-Z search, or look for Stephenville High School in the A-Z school list.

Every person who takes the time to rate and share our application is appreciated!!!!

Thanks for helping SHS Visual Art students!

My Art Classroom. Ready for another year!

One of my absolute favorite things about teaching is that every year I get to redo my classroom!  I can move things around, change my decorations, and basically reinvent myself all at the same time.

Here is a sneak peak into my world!

From the door:

Yes, those orange books are textbooks!  I’m up to close to 150 students this year!  EEK!!

Looking in main room: 

From the far side:

Front corner:

I love a clean counter:

The important things..
       

Thanks for stopping by my room!!

Where Am I?? At work.... and a little song to make the day brighter

Life here has gone into overdrive.  It always does the first of August until say... May. But really, by September we are into a routine and I feel like I can breathe or maybe even take a moment for myself.  This afternoon Lexi gets to meet her Kindergarten teacher.  It makes me sad just thinking about it.  Oh how fast time flies.  Kylie started with a new sitter last week when I returned to work and it is going wonderfully and Maddie starts Intermediate school. 

I'm tired just thinking about all of the schedule juggling!

So, maybe soon I can post a quality post.  Until then, take a couple of minutes and listen to this song.  My sister sent it on to me and it is incredible!!!!

Anthony Evans- Amazing God

The Prom and the Texas Rangers

Oh Hallelujah!! Prom 2010 is done.  In case you have missed out on the prom drama, I am the prom coordinator at our high school. So with great relief, I can say that Night On The Town was a success and it OVER!

With prom over, I really feel like my school year is just almost over.  Granted it’s not really, but with all of my big events done, I can relax a little and create art myself during class. YIPPEE!

So you might be wondering how THE PROM and the Texas Rangers are related.. well, in my world they are :)  You see, I met my husband while we were both teaching at the high school. It was over talks about the upcoming end of the year banquets and such that he asked me out on our first date.. to a Texas Ranger game.

It also happens to be that I love watching the Rangers and yes, I am a true fan.  I watch even when they are winning. (Which they don’t seem to be doing very often as of yet this season.)

So I’ll leave you tonight with this sweet picture of Kylie!  This is her 34 week old Thursday picture.

The Art Show and a little too much information

Well, this past week has been a little nuts.  Even for me.  Last Friday I started feeling bad. I had hoped that it was just working with the clay and all.. but it was not to be.  By Saturday I had a fever.  Sunday I didn’t move. Monday I had to put up the art show.  Yeah, it was a lot of fun to do this with the flu.  The other art teachers and I worked tirelessly for two days to get the show up and ready for the reception Tuesday evening.

Thankfully I can say that we did and it we had a great turn out and it looks great.  One mom, Suzanne was the life-saver.  She organized the reception complete with balloons, flowers, cookies and punch.  She is such an awesome lady.  Boy I hope her son likes art :)

So on to Wednesday, I am still sick, but I’d been out of class for 2 days, so I really needed to be at work.  I went and counted the 30 boxes of prom stuff that had been delivered.

Thursday I stayed home and went to the doctor.  I have bronchitis.

Friday I went to school and started inventorying the 30 boxes of prom stuff along with oh yeah, teaching my classes… and I struggled to make it through the day complete with a fever and body aches.

Friday night I taught a new group of ladies a scrapbooking class.  I would have cancelled, but this was their first class with me and the reason they came to me was the last person they tried to get kept cancelling on them!! EEK.. didn’t want to do that.  And I had made some really cute pages.

So we are back to Saturday and I didn’t move but to go from the bed to the recliner. I am so lucky that my husband is such a great man. He did laundry all day and cooked meals.

Monday I am going to go to the doctor.  I think I have Mastitis. I’ve got all the symptoms, complete with a fever.  Boy am I glad it’s spring break, my body is worn out!

The reason I am teacher

Some days I wonder if I am doing enough as a teacher.  Some days I wonder if anything I do is right. 
Some days I wonder if I am doing more harm than good.
Some days I wonder if I should change careers.

But not today.

This is the reason I teach.
This is the reason I keep learning knew ways to teach.
This is the reason I push myself to not just do “enough.”
This is the reason I love my job.

I wish I could show you this student’s face. And while I have permission to photograph and use her images, in respect for her, I won’t.  Let’s just say that her face contained a joy that I have never seen.

This student is wheelchair bound and has cerebral palsy.  She communicates with her facial expressions and some sounds.  My heart aches for the experiences that she misses out on because we haven’t figured out a way to include her.  My heart aches for the struggles that she faces every day.

But today, she was the one who was able to experience creating on a pottery wheel.  With some adaptation, a wonderful therapist who was willing to come in early and go the extra mile (complete with getting covered in clay) and some non-traditional methods, this student created ART!!!

My heart races just remembering her joy.

This is why I am so proud to be a teacher.