Saturday, August 20, 2011

The Second Time Around

As I type this, I am lying on my bed. Russ is asleep with his head propped up on my legs. It's 6:00 on a Saturday night, and we should probably be doing something productive, but I think we deserve a break. Plus, he is adorable when he's sleeping.

All week, I have been getting ready for the new school year, which starts on Monday. I cleaned out my desk, revamped my units and lessons from last year, made new rule posters, wrote disclosure documents, and ordered prints of more Paris posters to put up. Russ and my sister Katie have put in so much time, slaving away in my hot sweaty classroom. I could not have done this without them. Two nights in a row, we stayed at the school until 10 pm.  I also spent two hours at Utah Idaho Supply Map World, which is far too long to spend at a store with such a stupid name.

All our efforts were worth it. Everything is perfect (except that I ran out of rainbow border and so did that idiot store - in all of its Utah locations. How can that be?). My classroom looks amazing, so much better than it did last year, and I feel absolutely great about going back to school on Monday. My walls are bright and fun, my desk is organized, and I have some cool ideas for my students. I am so much more prepared than I was this time last year. I know what to expect. I know what to do differently. That's the best thing about teaching - every year I get to start fresh with a completely clean slate.







The best part about this poster (which I can't look at without busting up) is that it was free. So perfect.

My most memorable and happiest experiences of summer 2011:
*Grandpa Frayne's beautiful funeral service and my extended family being all together
*Bear Lake with Gabe and Ellen, Jackson and Celeste
*Island Park with the Allenbachs
*Santa Fe with the Lees
*Doing a dive for the first time in my life
*Actually getting a pretty decent tan
*Getting Russ to watch "Never Say Never" all the way through
*Lots of meals at Costa Vida
*Reconnecting with lots of old friends
*All the free time I had to read and re-watch six seasons of "The Office"
*Sleeping in until 11:00 or even noon...It will be a rude awakening when I'm up at 6:00 on Monday morning.


6 comments:

Diane said...

I actually love your room. I think the high ceiling is what makes it so great. Midvale, who knew? You look super cute. Those middle school juveniles are going to love French this year.

Melissa said...

Ohhhh my gosh I LOVE it!!! Your room looks incredible. I'm so excited for you to start a new year! You look darling as always. :)

Mandy said...

Your room looks amazing!(And so do you - as always). Seeing these pictures make me a little jealous I didn't decide to go the English teaching route. I bet your kids love you!

Stephanie Salmon said...

That store with the dumb name is actually pretty awesome. I just went there for the first time last week with my Dad who is getting ready to go teach English in China! That place has everything you could think of and more...except rainbow borders apparently. :) Good luck with this new school year. Can't wait to hear stories.

ellenbush said...

your classroom looks FAB and I mean it! Good job on all the hard work. You're gonna do great this year. Ok one other thing...you got russ to watch NSN!?!?!?! What did he think? does he respect the bieb now?

Nan and Aaron said...

You're such a cute teacher!