First Day of School 2010

We're off to a great start in school this year! Tucker is loving being with his friends again at preschool and Savannah is adjusting well to her new classroom too!

Here are a few shots from my preschool room

Hope your school year is off to a great start!

I Survived My First Day of Preschool!

We weighed, we measured, we photographed, we painted, we counted, we colored, we ran, we snacked, we I read, we prayed, we sang, we listened, we shared, we lined up, we worked puzzles....all in 3 hours!

It was an awesome day!

Thanks for the prayers!

It's Here

The first day of school.

The backpacks are ready.
After school snacks are packed.
Clothes are pressed and laid out.
Shoes and socks are set out.
School supplies are bagged.
Kids are excited.

And I am too. Excited to see what God has planned for this family this year. Excited to minister to my students. Excited to see how God uses them to teach me things. Excited to encourage my fellow teachers. Excited to pray for needs. Excited to share good news with parents. Excited to teach JESUS to little ones. Excited about new experiences. Excited about memory making.

And I am thankful too...

For the wisdom of seasoned teachers. For the support of my husband. For encouragement from others. For friends who are helping me this first week. For other friends who are praying. For a classroom of beautiful children and most of all for the absolute PEACE God has given me to take a step in this direction.

So as our Homeschool/Christian School experience begins....hang on....it's going to be a wild ride I am sure...but one that I am sure will be worth celebrating!

Possibly Out of Control

What would you say if I told you I have my children's clothes for everyday next week neatly organized in their rooms so that our first week of going to school won't turn into "Week of the Unholy and Horrible Meltdowns"? Seriously today I took a step in a direction that is certainly unchartered in my home.

I've never claimed to keep a spotless home. On most days you'll find a trail of toys running from the living room to the bathroom, and for me, it's just fine. We clean up twice a day and for the most part the house stays relatively picked up. But, with school starting and teaching, and both my kids attending school with me, I'm feeling a bit of a need to get one step ahead of things. So, um maybe I took it a little too far!

While I am confessing things, I will go ahead and say that I have also completed the paperwork that needs to be returned for fundraising and box tops and Tucker's All About Me Bag and Savannah's lesson plans are written from now until Christmas...

....and the laundry is caught up.

See what I mean.....out of control...seriously!

Change is Comin'

When I quit my job in June I dreamed of days of organized living, the smell of clean wafting through the air, children who were clean and neatly dressed, regularly vacuumed floors, weeded gardens, and clean closets. Then I woke up! Really? What was I thinking?

Reality is: kids who are covered in the most recent art project we have tackled....usually glue or paint, a son who finds no relevance in wearing anything but his underwear (when does this end?), floors that haven't seen a vacuum in a week, closets that must get cleaned out before they explode and a garden that is fried from our 100 degree heat. Yep...that's the Polaroid of my house.....BUT...

I figure after working from home for several years and my kids hearing "Not now.", "In a minute," and "Are you crazy? No! you can't climb the pantry shelves to get the cereal." ---It's time we had some fun. But alas....as July slips away, it's time to regroup, and get the house in order before school starts back.

We are headed out on a new adventure this year. I'll be teaching a 4 year old class, from 8:30-11:30am on Monday, Wednesday and Friday at our church school. Tucker will attend the 5 day program and Savannah will go to school there 2 days a week, while we continue to homeschool. I'm looking forward to it....but beware, there could be lots more talk about crayons, glue and art projects ahead!

So, if you are a teacher- homeschool, preschool, elementary or high school- I'd love to hear one tip you have for classroom management. Share them here and I will repost them with a link to your blog.