Caramel apple fun

The other day, we met up with our buddy class and had some fall fun making caramel apples. My room was a wreck when we were finished. I can't tell you how many times I swept just to watch those small little ball sprinkles roll to the other side of the room.

Here is Laney with her buddy.

By the time Laney was done decorating her apple, I don't think any of her caramel was visible.

Laney enjoyed hers so much she wanted to save some for later.....if she can remember where she put it!

Ladies Retreat 2010

A couple of weeks ago, a few of us ladies were able to get away to Tybee Island for the 2010 Ladies Retreat.

I was asked last year if I wanted to plan this years retreat. Now keep in mind that I had no idea I would be returning to work. I( without any hesitation) said, "Sure, I'd love too!".  Now knowing there was no way I could do it alone I begged these 2 ladies to help. They graciously accepted and were so much fun to plan with. 

I asked my mom if she would like to go this year. She told me as long as I gave her a job to do. I called her up a few days later and told her I signed her up to be a speaker. I have heard her speak several times and knew she would be wonderful. The night she spoke she said she was nervous......but you could not tell. She said she was way out of her comfort zone.......but she looked comfortable to me. She said the preparation helped her.......but it inspired and uplifted us. Thank you mom for going and speaking!

We left Friday morning so we could get the keys to the houses and have them ready before the others arrived. We stayed in the Pink House

and this was our room.

We ended up renting 4 beach houses and they were all really nice!

That night after everyone arrived and were settled, we met at a park to have supper and the activities for the night. Our theme for the retreat was Matthew 5:16 "Let your light so shine before men......" My mom spoke on "Letting Your Light Shine - Ministries". Afterwards, we had an activity called, "Small Grains of Sand".

Each lady had to answer a questionnaire and then fill her jar with the appropriate color and amount of sand.  This allowed you to see in what areas of ministering were your strengths and weaknesses.

Saturday, we had the privilege of hearing two more amazing speakers.  We could not plan a retreat so close to Savannah or the beach without allowing some time to enjoy them. 

A few of us went to Savannah to eat and walk around. It was such a beautiful day!

We also had to add in a little fun in the sun!

I was enjoying one of  God's blessings.....the beach, when I turned around and saw this.....

Christian sisters helping another sister in need. I thought it made an inspiring picture.

My mom was able to meet up with her college roommate who she has not seen in 20 years. She was such a joy to be around. You know when you are feeling blue and someone comes along who is a sweet, peppy, positive person to brighten your day......Maxine is that person.

That night we planned an activity where each lady  had to choose  someone in the room and tell how she has encouraged you and light her candle. I don't think there was a dry eye in the room. I hope that this activity will continue for many retreats to come.

These were two of my favorite!

All the ladies that attended the 2010 Ladies Retreat.

Character Day at school

Friday, the kids and staff could dress up as a character from a book. I sat back and thought about what I wanted to wear.......then it hit me. What would I be most comfortable in....my pajamas of course! Which led me straight to the book Polar Express. Since I did not have any cute pajamas, I thought I would splurge on me a costume this year. I went to Target hoping to find a cheap 2 piece pajama set. I ran into this and the search was over.

I did not even have to wear shoes. Isn't that just marvelous? I was so comfortable! I think we should designate Fridays as pajama day. I am looking forward to December when we have pajama day and watch the movie Polar Express.

I could not be a character from the Polar Express book and not have a ticket and a bell. Notice my ticket says cool........because I'm cool like that.

Griffin started out as a Harley rider and ended up adding to his costume. I am still not sure what he intended his costume to be but at least he put forth the effort and dressed up. About a hour later, I found his costume in my room. I think he was among the few that actually dressed up in the high school.

Laney was Lanie from American Girl. She is all about comfort these days so this suited her just fine. She wanted to wear whatever costume would allow her to wear her flipflops.

Ella loves the Fancy Nancy books. So it was easy to dress her. She wore a fancy dress and then we just kept adding the accessories. She won best costume in her class.

I say Ella is my unpredictable child because she is just that. One minute she is wrestling with Griffin and the next she is dressed all prissified ( okay so this may not be a word but it sounds good).

The hardest and most time consuming part of these costumes was this......

It was  worth it because I think it made the....well... how would Fancy Nancy say it......ensembles.( That's a fancy word for outfits.)

Just a few new ideas

I thought I would let you see a few of things we have been doing in my classroom.

This is our bulletin board outside our door. We made fall leaves using the kids hand print. We took paper plates cut them into the shape of a pumpkin and painted them. They made  the apples by gluing  red construction paper squares to precut apples. The other leaves on the board are scented leaves. We made these by picking a leaf from outside, covering one side with glue, then turning it onto a piece of construction paper to make a print and finally sprinkling it with strawberry flavored Jello. It smells so good! I had one of the teachers ask me later, " Why do you smell like cotton candy?"

For the letter F we made footprints. I may do this with my own kids and frame it. What a great way to begin your day with this reminder. Now for those times when you are not at home and  you think you will loose it( like me), may I suggest a t-shirt. 

For the letter R we made a rabbit.

WARNING.....WARNING........WARNING! You can't say I did not warn you!

I wanted to alert many all of you who live in  Warner Robins, Ga and any of the surrounding areas. I might add this includes most of Alabama since we do travel that way from time to time.

I HAVE A NEW DRIVER IN MY HOUSEHOLD!

You may be wondering how I am coping with this new adventure. I think I will let the pictures explain.......

I am not so sure about Laney.......

Beach Conference

I am sorry I meant to say A Beka Conference in Pensacola, Fl. The above title just seemed to be a more catchier title. We use the A Beka curriculum where I teach. Each year the new teachers attend a conference in Florida. We spent 2 days watching this well structured and organized school. The first day  I observed the Kindergarten classes. I was amazed at what I saw. Each class had 28 students in it. They were all so well behaved. The more  I watched the more I realized why. The teachers were nonstop meaning they left no wiggle room for the kids to misbehave. I have to tell you I was worn out just watching them. 

 Although I left with many wonderful ideas( which I have implemented  and it is working quite nicely),  I thought the school lacked in a few areas. There seemed to be no room for creativity. This is by far my  favorite part of teaching. I enjoy watching the kids express their individuality while learning at the same time. You can learn a lot from a child just by looking at what they create.

There was no time for little Johnny to tell a story. I am sure if you have little ones you know how much they love to talk and tell you about their day. Imagine if you had a story to tell your friend and you couldn't. If I did not let the  kids in my class talk to me, I would not know them. I am not saying the teachers there do not know their kids or let them talk. I just did not witness any room for it with 28 students during the 2 days I was there. I just think some stories should be shared during class. Yes, sometimes there are things that I should not hear.....meaning activities that take place at home. A teacher once told me, " I won't believe everything your child tells me if you don't believe everything they say about me." This reminds me of the time when Carmel hit me in the head one night while he was sleeping. We were discussing it in the car and Laney proceeds to tell us how she told her teacher, "Yeah, my dad hits my mom." 

This is a picture of the school. It was so nice and very clean. They even had there own bookstore. I had a wonderful time and learned a lot!

Now, we could not have traveled all that way and not step foot on the beach. So Monday night, we headed there. Even though I was not able to spend the whole day on the beach, it was nice being able to put my feet in the sand. It made me remember how much I loved living so close to it.

This was the group that went this year.

This is my good friend Cheryl. 

Can I just tell you how great our director is? He is kind, generous, and such a hard worker. Oh and did I mention........laid back. Yes, literally laid back......he laid back while we buried him in the sand. I don't know too many directors that would let there teachers do this to them. I took plenty of pictures for blackmail.....just kidding! Here are a few of the culprits who were involved in the act.

Yes.....he is helping dig his own hole.

Some seemed to be having a little too much fun!

It was nice to get away for a few days and fellowship with friends.

Sick of crying while chopping onions? Try this....

Laney asked if she could help me cook so I gave her the exciting job of chopping onions. She came up with this solution.