Renaissance

Recently, I have been flooded with a flurry of new ideas for my students' learning, classroom décor, and ways to make the school day run more smoothly for the school as a whole.

I'm not quite sure what exactly inspired my new ideas, but if I had to pinpoint it down to one thing, I would say that with time comes understanding and confidence with teaching.  I have just as much travel time to and from work as I used to when I rode the bus, but for some reason, I spend more time thinking about how to make my class better instead of just thinking about making it day-to-day.  All of a sudden, I have more clarity and focus now on how to be the best teacher I can be.

When I graduated with my teaching degree in May 2010, I had so much hope that I would have a classroom of my own within three months of graduating; but, after sending many, many, many applications all over the Midwest, Northeast, and Eastern coast of the U.S., I had no replies so I became a substitute teacher in my hometown.

After a roller coaster of events, in April 2013, I finally became a teacher with a class to call my own--even though it was part-time, so I was only in charge of them from Mondays to Wednesdays.  Because of an unexpected chain of events, by September, I became a full-time teacher.  My first two years, I taught two different age groups of children so I never really felt like I got a chance to wrap my head around where the students were headed.  I did the best that I could at the time and tried to apply what I had learned in Ohio to fit in with the English school system.

Now, toward the end of my third year of teaching--I took one year out for maternity leave--I feel like it took me until this point to start truly thinking creatively in the classroom, other than when it came time to make a new worksheet.  It also took me until this point to have the confidence to try what is on my mind without worrying about what other teachers will think or say.  It's as if I have a blank slate again in the classroom, but I am able to apply my mixture of experience, education, and newfound openness to change.  I am excited to be at the dawn of this teaching renaissance and to apply all of my ideas to the rest of this school year and begin again in September with these grand plans in place.

Our Saturday family activity was walking around the beach and the sand dunes.  This is the perfect activity for a little boy with tons of energy because there is hardly anything around for him to trip over and he can run until his heart's content.

Strolling and talking to us about his day

The hills were pretty steep, but Jackson went to any lengths necessary to climb to the top

There were many little clumps of sand that looked like rocks and Jackson had to squeeze all of them between his fingers to crush them.  Luckily, they were all just clumps of sand.

Jackson leading the way down the sandy trails

One more trip to the top of the sand dunes with Daddy

P.S.  Happy Mother's Day to my mom!  Thanks for always reading the blogs and calling to check up on me.

Developmental updates:  Jackson can now locate his shoulders and knees when asked to do so.  He gets really excited when he is waiting for the train to come while we wait at the level crossing.  (Consequently, something that used to really annoy me--waiting for the trains--is now something I look forward to on the drive to and from work.)  Jackson seems to have outgrown throwing a fit when it is time to have his diaper changed.  It took months of patience and routine, but we've cracked the code and now Jackson will even fetch his changing mat on his own when he knows it's time for a change.  (Our next goal is for Jackson to get into his car seat without kicking and screaming.)  When Jackson watches his cartoons, he seems to be connecting more with the plot lines because he gasps and laughs at the appropriate times.  Today, we asked Jackson to open a door and he must have understood what we were saying because he tried pulling down on the door handle, and with a little help turning it, he was successful.

If you see Sammie Miles Davis, Jr. and Bella, give them my love.