Update

I know it has been a long time since I posted.  Things have been really crazy this year.  School has been fun and exciting.  There is always something new to keep me on my toes.  We are on the downward slide for the school year.  We have about 40 some days left.  I can't believe it has gone so fast.

The kids are doing well in school and seem to be enjoying it for now.  We have had our ups and downs this year with their feelings towards school.  Their reading is for sure their strong point.

The boys had their Blue and Gold Banquet a few weeks ago.  Andrew earned his Wolf badge and Jonathan earned his Weblos badge.  They both really enjoy scouting.

Madison is getting ready for her dance recitals.  They are this weekend so things are busy for her.  We have enjoyed attending her choir and band concerts this year.  She has really enjoyed participating in both.  She is in junior high now so she no longer has a music class that everyone has to take. It is nice that she has chosen to do choir and band when she doesn't have to.

I Got A Job

Last summer I applied for 12 different teaching positions and didn't get a single interview.  This year not many jobs are opening up unless you have a degree in special education.  I have applied for 5 position this year since that is all that has been posted.  I really didn't expect much to come of it since I have a Masters degree and with budget cuts most districts just won't hire someone with a masters degree.  Well two weeks ago I actually got called for an interview for a first grade position at Anson in Marshalltown.  Last week I got a called and was offered the job.  I am so excited.  I will be teaching first grade in my own classroom.  I will not be subbing this year and that is great.  I am so excited to be able to go to the same place everyday and be with the same kids.  I was able to go yesterday and meet with the other two first grade teachers and get the curriculum we use so I can get familiar with it.  I was able to see my room and found out that I have a lot of work ahead of me to get my room ready for the year.  I will be spending the rest of the summer gathering things I need for my room and learning the curriculum.  I will also be doing lots of reading professional materials to help me implement things such as writers workshop and other programs in my room.

I took some pictures of my room yesterday while I was there.  I will have to post new ones after I have the room ready for the year.  But this is what I have to work with.

Cub Scout Family Campout

The end of the school year means time for the cub scout family campout.  This year we were lucky because we could not of asked for better weather.  It was absolutely beautiful.  We camped out at Union Grove lake.  Many of our scouts and their families were there and had a great time.  The cub scouts helped with the fire and with cooking the food.

On Saturday morning one of the parents came in with a snapping turtle that he found on the side of the road. He brought it for the boys to see and then took it to a safe place and let it free.  They all thought it was pretty cool.

Jonathan's Birthday

On Memorial Day we celebrated Jonathan's birthday.  He chose a green two layer chocolate cake and since we were celebrating my birthday as well I made is a gluten and dairy free cake so that I could eat it as well.  He found green frosting that is safe for me and it had confetti so he was happy. He also got to pick out his candles.  He chose ones that had colored flames.

He was really happy to see that one of his presents was really big.  To his surprise it was a Millennium Falcon.  Life could not be much better.  He also got Hawkeye decals to put on his wall and a Hawkeye ball cap.  It was really hard for this cyclone to by hawkeye things.

End of the School Year

Finally after making up the last 7 snow days we got out of school at the end of May.  They always have award assemblies for the kids.  Jonathan's was the day before school got out and Andrew and Madison's were on the last day.  Jonathan got awards for attendance, social studies, and having over 100 points in AR. Andrew got awards for reading over 100 books and attendance.  Madison received awards for attendance, Knights of Columbus spelling bee, Scripts Spelling Bee, 6th grade winner of the Geography bee, school finalist for the Geography bee, Battle of the Books, and academic excellence (had to be on A honor roll and in the 80th percentile or higher on Iowa Assessment test).