Happy Monday!
and yes… I say “happy” because I am officially on Christmas Break for the next two weeks!
(For those of you still trucking away in the classroom… I’m saying a little prayer for you!)
The last ten days of so have some what of a blur due to the Christmas crazy of the classroom, traveling, sick child, graduation, Christmas shopping, and the list goes on and on!
I decided to play a little catch-up today on the blog and get me (and you!) back up to speed!
It all started about a week ago when I got the dreaded call from the daycare…. your child has a fever and you need to come pick him up! (definitely not what I needed to hear…. but you have to expect it when you have kids…in daycare!)
We went straight to the local urgent care as I was traveling out of state 3 days after this and NEEDED a quick fix for both he AND I! It also didn’t help that on the way to urgent care…. he got sick all over himself in my car! After having another child who suffered with strep throat for over a year before having surgery, I can spot the signs from a mile away!
We grabbed his medicine and he was quickly on the road to recovery!
Three days after this, I was heading to Illinois for the Kindergarten and First Grade state conferences!
After a VERY scary plane ride in solid thunderstorms (you can read about that here)
I finally arrived in Chicago to warmer than usual weather and ready to meet some new faces and sweet sweet teachers!
Not only did I meet so many adorable and sweet teachers in my sessions, but I also got the chance to meet these fabulous ladies:
With it being so close to Christmas… the hotel and conference rooms were decorated with the most beautiful Christmas trees and music….
AND… bless each and every teacher’s heart that came to a session of mine…. the first day was so absolutely HOT in the room that we were begging for the air to come on…. and the second day was FREEZING that the hotel staff actually had to bring in portable heaters just to keep us from turning into little snow teachers! (and you can see… they set it to 64 degrees and that was to warm it up…. it was probably only 50 degrees in the room!)
But… we made it!
To all of the teachers on day 2 at the Kindergarten sessions…. I said that I was going to write a blog post that night at the airport…. however I only had 30 minutes of internet (airport policy unless I wanted to spend $12) and there was NO way to get everything written and published! I do apologize!
There have also been several of you that have already emailed for some of the things that were mentioned in the sessions… I will be responding and the next 2-3 days with everything!!
After coming home and getting 3 hours of sleep and heading back to work the next day (thank goodness for Pajamas and Polar Express Day!) it was time to finish up our Christmas crafts so they were ready to send home for Christmas!
Still looking for a simple and quick Christmas ornament? These popular reindeer hand prints are super easy and make for a great keepsake for years to come!
I was also getting teacher gifts ready (which we know that teachers deserve WAY more than we could ever give!) And I’m not just saying that because I am a teacher… I see my own children learning and growing daily because of the wonderful teachers that they have had (and have right now!)
The way to any teacher’s heart is food, cozy items, school supply items. and something personal!
This year the party schedule just so happened to work out that I got to attend my own sweet baby’s first grade party! (which as teachers… you know that never happens!)
Usually the Christmas parties sum up the first semester… but when I left on Friday I was looking forward to something WAY more fitting to close out the semester!
After spending the last 20 months working away through each semester AND all summer and mini-sessions, I was officially finished with my Master’s Degree! I had been finished for a couple of weeks but the ceremony definitely sealed the deal!
I honestly don’t know how I have been functioning this last year… with moving grade levels, planning and presenting for SDE, grad school for days and days, and still being a wife and mommy…. it will definitely be nice to sit and relax over Christmas break!
So… this post was ALL over the place but hopefully we are all caught up now and ready to enjoy Christmas Break!!
Teachers never completely relax over Christmas break… I will be finishing up the next edition of my Fry’s sight word pack and January Guided Reading pack soon!
Have a MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!
