TheWilleys

Well today was the official day of our little gal turning 1!!!  It has been a day and weekend full of fun, reminiscing, smiles, tears, and excitement.  She definitely brings  a  joy to our lives that is something that  can’t be described.  Lots of love birthday girl!

This was the face of what is going on? Why are you all staring at me and singing oh so wonderfully?!

The theme of this party was flowers, balloons, and climbing. Flowers goes with the theme in her room and balloons and climbing are two of her favorite things to do and play with.

Grammy made another incredible cake!

I guess you can see who did the blowing out this year. She was too busy making her wish.

She wasn’t so sure about this cake thing but quickly discovered how delicious it was!

She was very into checking out all of her gifts and even helping open them.

Balloon war!

**** A ton of pics left in the Syd birthday folder.

Today for her actual birthday we spent the day at the zoo.

She loved the goats!

After her smooch and hug for the goat she hopped on and hoped to get a ride.

Colin was being protective of his little sister as he noticed this goat wasn’t very friendly. Love these two!

Thanks to all of my friends and family that made my first birthday very special for me!

Like my dad always says, schools out, schools out, teachers let the monkeys out! Yep, it’s true I’m off for the summer. I had a great class and I was very sad to see them go. To close off the year I made a video of pictures of my students throughout the year and each student got a copy. We watched the video the last day and half of the class had tears in their eyes, including their teacher. Summer plans include, Brandon and I are going to Wisconsin/Chicago in the beginning of June and I’m going to Illinois the day after the 4th of July. Other then those vacations planned I just plan on watching my niece one day a week and trying to finish my ESL endorsement by taking a Spanish class. I have not written a lot on our blog, but a lot has gone on with the Porter drama. After many meetings with my principal and having colleagues stick up for me, I’m finally going to continue teaching 3rd grade. I was very relieved to hear the final decision that he made because I had been thinking to myself that I may need to re-evaluate if I should stay at Porter by the way that I have been treated this year. As much as I was sad to see the school year end, I’m also excited for next school years challenges. Rumor has it that it is a rough bunch coming up to third grade.

So testing week has finally ended and I have some rather funny stories to go along with it. Okay, maybe they really are not that funny, but just as I will be with my own kids, almost everything they do is funny. For those that have been out of elementary school for a while, they have this new test called AIMS for 3rd graders. It was so tough seeing little 3rd graders try to take a test for 4 days straight, with only about 2 hours without test-taking. Personally, I was bored out of my mind so you can only imagine how my students felt. So, to keep the kids from too much boredom, they get to chew gum. There are very strict rules while taking this test and so students are not allowed to get out of their seats. One of my little girls raised her hand and was covering her hair with her other hand. I went over and asked her how I could help her and she pointed to the gum in her hair. Holding back from laughing I kindly told her to just sit and relax and to try not to touch her hair. Then after this girl had gone to the nurse and the nurse put peanut butter in her hair to get it out, I had another gum incident happen during the second session. Out of the corner of my eye I see a huge bubble being blown up by another girl and then all of a sudden I heard it pop. It was all over her face. Trying not to attract too much attention I got the girl a wet paper towel and she cleaned herself off. She was in good humor though and we giggled together. Maybe gum really isn’t the best relaxation tool for test taking for 3rd graders.

I have finally excepted the fact that I’m going to be teaching first grade, but I’m now looking for people to volunteer and donate for the good of the cause

So, I thought maybe sharing my thoughts on my change might help relieve some stress, which it did, and I would start seeing some more down time. Well, I blogged on last Monday. Then, on Wednesday I was called into my principal’s office. The numbers are low again at Porter and I had a choice between teaching 1st or 5th grade or the district could place me in another school. After a ton of drama within colleagues and the way the district is, it finally came down to 1st grade or another school. Another school would mean that they place you in whatever grade they need you in. And I’m sure all of this is in the best interest of kids. Anyway, on Friday, finally, my principal and I had another chat and I have decided to go to first grade. So this means a new curriculum, class, and colleagues. (Jeff, maybe you are right in that maybe it is a good thing that I’m emotionless.) I have had a great year in third grade and my principal is confident that I will not have any trouble in 1st grade. The big upset is that I have to leave one of my good friends Sarah. We were neighbors and we planned a lot together. I know that there is a purpose in all of this and time will only tell what all I will learn and grow from. Hey, maybe its one step closer to understanding younger kids for raising my own kids.

So here’s a picture of A’s class before leaving for their first big field trip of the year. They went to the zoo. Saw monkeys. Ate food. Had fun.

So, my husband has told me that it is my responsibility to blog some stories about my classroom, etc. You and him will eventually notice that I’m not the best writer in the world. In fact, I would not have gotten through college english without his help. So I apologize for my lack of talent. Anyways, on with my story.

So, my students were in the process of writers workshop, where they are all on a different step that has to do with writing, and I had one student using the stapler to staple his final draft of his story. He was having difficulty using it and so he asked if I could help. After taking my feet off the desk and setting my Coke down, I decided to help the innocent child. I told the boy that he just needed to love it and I stapled his paper for him. I thought he went on his merry way, but he all of a sudden came back and said Mrs. Willey I keep loving it and I can’t seem to get it to work. Trying to refrain from laughing hysterically, I helped him out again and jotted this lovely story in my teaching memories journal.