Student of the year

Now for some more bragging. One of my students (I've had her for 2 years) was chosen as the student of the year for our school. Here's our picture at the District Board Meeting. I'll have to harass her about holding her award upside down.

****See below post for fun Science Camp post****

Science Camp!!!

This past week, all the 5th graders went to Science Camp! We went to Camp Koinonia. The kids went Tues-Fri. Since I have 4th graders, as well, I went all day Wednesday and all day Thursday, and worked the other days. It was such a fun break from the reality of testing and budgets. I loved having a fun experience with my students, outside of school! They did so much hiking, kissed lots of banana slugs (A santa cruz thing), made new friends, went on the high ropes course, and learned a lot about conservation of food, energy and the Earth, in general. It was fun for me, because I didn't have to do much! The camp staff takes over, and the teachers relax for most of the time. On Thurs. morning I took a 2 hour nap! In the afternoon, we take over activities. I was on the high ropes course. For people who know me, that's a big deal. After I was coaxed through the course once, it was no big deal at all. The kids had such a great time and didn't want to come home!

Some camp highlights:

1) Every cabin had to come up with a song or poem: One of my favorites...to the tune of "I kissed a girl" by katy perry.. "I kissed a slug and I liked it! The taste of its slimy texture." so amazing.

2)The high ropes course. Watching kids overcome their fears, it was awesome.

3)Spending time with my kids without the daily pressures.

4) Fitting in the science standards!!!!

5) Every meal was SO fun. I looked forward to those.

6) Realizing how much I'm going to miss my amazing 5th graders! :(

Photo Shoot...

I recently found these pictures from when we were waiting in line for a ride at Knotts Berry Farm. They made me laugh. I hope they give you a laugh today, too. :)

"Our" dog

If you saw the cute pictures of the dog below, you're probably wondering who I meant when I said "our dog." In 2 weeks, I am making a pretty big move. Although it is only a mile away, it is a big change. As mentioned in previous blogs, my friend Melissa, was in the hospital for a week. She is doing awesome and is just going to dialysis 3 days a week, and seeing the doctor often. Eventually she'll need a transplant, next month we get started on that. Anywho, her and her husband asked me to consider moving in after we did some joking around about it. After that, the doors began to open. I wanted to be there to help in anyway I could, and it just felt like the right time to leave my situation at home. So, on Feb. 1, I move in with them, their 4 year old son, Andrew, and the new dog, Lola. I am SO excited about this transition.

Those of you who know about New York, are probably wondering what this means. This means that in July, I'm not making the move to New York. I was excited about it, but right now, doors were closed and others were open, so I'm following that path. I am excited to pursue that dream another year. :) AND I am still looking forward to visiting Rachel who is still going!

And in the end, God is still good, isn't he? He has been so faithful, and my faith has grown so much stronger in the last month!

So, that's a little update about the happenings here. I promise, someday, I'll post catalina pictures. :)

Meet Lola

Our new chihuahua. :) shes so cute and a super good dog. I know im super behind on posting, but grandma is asking for pictures.