Thankful :-)

Today has been a very much needed day off. Haven't done much. . . found a doctor here in Evansville, went to the bank, did some shopping, stopped by Starbucks for a Skinny Peppermint Mocha, and did some housecleaning...pretty low key day.

It's hard to believe that it has been a year since Mamaw passed away, but Huntington's had had her in chains for a long time before she physically passed away. I know that she is in a better place, but the Holidays really do make it tough sometimes.... She was a special part of them....and no one makes cheese ball like she did. :)

I have so much to be Thankful for this Thanksgiving, and I just might need to take a lesson from my third graders in remembering them. During my literacy group last week, I had six of my students read a story about Thanksgiving and a little girl who had to write an essay about one thing she was thankful for. After reading, I had them sit in a circle and go around the circle continuously taking turns saying one thing that they were thankful for. These sweet kiddos went on.....and on...and on. Finally, I had to stop them so that we could write! They named everything from shelter to buses to get to school to books to their favorite teacher. :)  They are wonderful.

I am thankful for my husband, my friends, my family, my pets, shelter and transportation, my amazing job and my students, a pay check to buy all of the things that we need, the ability to give to others, my church family and my small group.

I am also thankful for so many little things: Christmas music, coffee, the ability to exercise, the ability to read and write, our financial situation,  KLove, fruit, my husband's cooking, pajama pants, workout buddies, my coworkers, my keurig, etc., etc, etc. . .

I.
am.
blessed.

New Do

My wonderful stylist at Shannon Alexsandr Salon (Justine Brock) dyed my hair on Thursday to get me all Fallified. It ended up being darker than I had expected, but I was willing to give it a chance. My students on the other hand were not so sure. From the minute that the kiddos walked into school on Friday morning, the talk of the third grade hallway was my new-do. Mrs. Bowman dyed her hair, Mrs. Bowman has new hair. .  the kids were going crazy, all because of my hair.

Here are some of the hair quotes.

"Mrs. Bowman...is that permanent...is it permanent...is it permanent...is it permanent?" (One of my students during a Math lesson. After he asked me four times, I realized that ignoring him wasn't going to work.) Finally I said, "No it isn't." and he said, "Whew...so it'll change back in a few weeks?" So I said, "No...Don't you like it." "Eh, good enough," he said.

"Mrs. Bowman, I  thought yo hair was mixed!"

Really sweet (normally) little girl in Mrs. Zeller's room, "Mrs. Bowman, why did you dye your hair. It looked good before. Now it looks a little bit more horrible."

Uh wow. . .
Let's just say that it was quite the distraction throughout the day.

Let's also say that I may just have had Justine add a few highlights.

Oh, School!

Everything is moving so crazy and so fast and I need to blog so that I do not forget every single thing about my first year of teaching. By the way, I left school at six, and I so could have stayed 'till eight. Blugh. I guess this is what being a first year of teacher is all about . . . So here goes:

Funny Story:
-I'm pretty sure that one of my student's medicine wears off by the end of the day. He can't resist talking and is constantly calling out, bouncing around, and just acting plain silly. The special ed. teacher who teaches Math with me told him that if he wasn't good she was going to send him over to "Jalilpourland" (This is the name of another third grade teacher who for some reason the kids sort of fear, from stories I guess) The teacher also told him that Mrs. Jalilpour was his very worst nightmare. He responded by saying that she couldn't possibly be his very worst nightmare, because last night he had had a nightmare about a ghost chasing him around and trying to kill him, and that had to be worse.


Sweet Moment: 
Mrs. Bowman, I love literacy centers, especially the reading center, because I get to spend it with you.
Seeing the looks on my kids faces when they all understood a concept we were working on in Math and 



Lesson Learned: 
-If a kid says he needs to go to the bathroom, think long and hard about if you should left him go or not, before saying "no...."

Week 2, Another Success

Week two was another great success. I love my kids. They are so sweet. They also crack me up. We definitely have fun, that's for sure! I told them that I was going to start a "tarmer" for two minutes for them to clean out their desks..(instead of timer.). Hey, we all get a little tounge tied on occasion. They were cracking up and so was I. One of them asked me if I was a hillbililly.-P. I also loved seeing the excitement in their little faces when I was teaching them multiplication by 1's and 0's and they were all getting it, even the special ed. kiddos!! They were so proud of themselves!! A parent wrote in an agenda book thanking me for being such a caring teacher for her daughter. Awe. .  This week, just pray that I can be filled with patience and overflowing with God's love for the kiddos, and also that I will not worry about things that are out of my control. Please, and thank you.

On another note, I am excited for new things that are gearing up. I sent in my application for Big Brothers Big Sisters so that I can get that started up again now that we are all settled in down here, so just waiting to hear back from that.  I miss Macy and Moses all the time, but I am excited for the impact that we most certainly made on them, and the impact that they made on us. I am also going to start volunteering in the Kids Program or the Nursery at church. I had such a good time doing AWANAs at First Baptist Church. I mean, I loved it. It was seriously right up there next to working at SpringHill. Josh and I are also finally going to get involved in a small group down here. Can I say, it is about time for all of these things to happen and for our procrastinating to stop. :-)

Anyway, have a great week!

Week One: A Success!

I had a great first full week at school. I love my class. I love my job. Even though there are things that are stressful and overwhelming, I am so excited and thankful to be a teacher!! I need to keep that in mind at the times when things do get super stressful and overwhelming. I am so blessed. Here's why:
-My students are so sweet. One little girl even brings me an orange every day. (One teacher said that maybe she thinks I look malnourished, but I think it is just because she loves me. :)
-Another student hugs me at the end of every day and tells me that I am the best teacher ever and he doesn't ever want to leave school. (Thanks for the ego boost, kiddo.)
-Two of my special education kids were so excited during a Word Wisdom activity today . . . it made me so happy to see them wanting to learn!
- There are seriously so many moments when I think, I get paid to do this?? Wow!
-The Evans staff is beyond awesome. Enough said.

Anyway, I am very excited for a stress-free, relaxing weekend at home! Teaching full time means that Saturdays and Sundays are to be treasured! Enjoy everyone!

Third Grade

I started my first day of teaching Third Grade on Thursday, and I have a feeling that I am going to love it! The kids are not quite as big (or scary) as I had imagined them being. :-p  They are actually sweet .. . I am well aware, that this is because it was the first two days and they were probably still coming out of their shells, shy, or tired, but I have to keep in mind that the clientel at Evans makes it the kind of school where I have always wanted to teach..... ever since working with the kids of Cairo, IL on a youth group mission trip. Although I have not recieved as many hugs as I did from my Kindergarteners, I have been given a few, and I am okay with bigger kids= less germs. :) I also have a poster hanging next to my desk that says, Everyone Loves Mrs. Bowman. That's right, everyone. Be jealous....Oh, and of course, an apple on my desk from a student. I believe that my attitude will play a big part in how this year plays out, and I am beyond excited and pumped about my students and the learning that is going to happen in our classroom!!
I am also so excited about being a part of the Evans staff and growing/being stretched as a teacher this year! I am sure that I will use this blog a lot! So, stay posted, and enjoy the photos from my classroom. (More to come later- For some reason it wouldn't let me upload some of them.)

Seeya later, Summer!

Summer. What summer? It seems to have gone by in the blink of an eye. I love summer and now another one has come and gone. This one was filled with job searching, getting at job---teaching third grade!! Yay!, Gatlinburg, laying out by the pool, Holiday World, getting my classroom ready, Orange Leaf, putt-putt, movies, girl time, watermelon, cookouts, weddings, and other fun memories.*Sigh* and now tomorrow is back to reality, but I am excited to start a new chapter as a Third Grade teacher with an awesome staff and great kids at a local Elementary School! Bring it on!

I plan to use my blog to document the good, bad, and ugly of my first year as a classroom teacher. I'm excited for what is in store for me this year, and I want to be able to remember the happenings of my first (official) year as a teacher for many years to come. So tomorrow it begins, 5:15 mornings, late afternoons, busyness, craziness, but finally I am doing what I went to school to do and what I am passionate about doing. I couldn't be more excited!