So...my blog background now looks like autumn and even though it is technically still the summer season and it's about 90 degrees here today in eastern NY, I had to switch it up because this next month is going to be busy!! I won't have a lot of extra time to work on this blog.
With that said, we wound down our summer vacation and I headed back to the elementary school on Wednesday. Claire started classes for 10th grade on Thursday and today the group of kindergartners I will be assisting arrive. We have 18 children in the class this year and 8 of them have special needs so will stay all day. I will be working with all 8, along with another TA and the head teacher. It is an inclusion kindergarten and I am so glad to be back in there after 3 years of doing 1st and 2nd grade.
Basically that was one of my faves from a couple weeks ago......here are FIVE FAVES from this past week of transitioning from vacation to work.
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| photo courtesy of control tower website nd |
- HOUSE-GUESTS: My youngest aunt and uncle came up from Virginia to stay with us for 2 nights over Labor Day weekend. They arrived on Friday and we had dinner on the deck followed by a bonfire and s'mores. It was a lot of fun and perfect weather. The next day, Dave and I took them to the Cohoes Falls near our home and then out to lunch. They also joined us in a flat, easy hike in a local nature preserve. We decided to relax on the deck and just talk and read until I grilled some chicken for dinner. After dinner, we went to the above mini golf place and had a lot of fun. Claire joined in for that and after we played a game, we stayed for yummy ice cream cones. Probably my last soft serve for the year as now I will cut back on that dairy treat. It was a really fun weekend with them. The rest of the weekend, was relaxed and fairly quiet. We did some projects around the house after church, and got organized for the new year. It's a blessing to have extended family stay with us and we don't get to do that when our oldest is home from college as then we don't have an extra room! I love playing hostess.....and having friends and family over.
- GOOD REPORT! Whoo hoo!! I received my letter from my primary care doctor and she said my overall cholesterol has come down 12 points with NO medication! I changed some things in my daily diet, and added a few things and it worked!! I still need to lower my bad cholesterol and continue to raise my good but the overall numbers are much better than last year's. Glory to God! It's a blessing to have these kinds of reports.
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| image courtesy of foodspotting website |
- HELPFUL CONVERSATION: Since Tuesday was my last day of "free" days, I scheduled a couple of appointments for that day and one of them was with my pastor's wife. She is an amazing woman of God. She is very wise and I trust her. She is a safe person for me and I love how she gets me thinking. I wanted to run a couple of things by her about some marriage stuff and needed her wisdom. I'm so blessed to have a pastor's wife who takes time to meet and talk over drinks or lunch. The conversation was very helpful to me.
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| Claire on her first morning of 10th grade 4 September 2014 |
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| 12 hours later...all set for School Spirit Night at Youth Group |
- FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL! Claire went back yesterday for her first day of classes in 10th grade. She has a very full schedule this year: Honors Chemistry + Chem Lab, Honors Global History 2, Honors Algebra 2/Trig, AP English, Russian 3, Latin 1, Orchestra(violin), Yoga (for semester one P.E). She has always wakes up independently with her alarm and just gets ready...I never have to prod....thank the Lord! She reported that she had a great first day...and only a little bit of homework. Last evening, our church's youth group had a "Rock your School" night...a school spirit night. Claire invited one of her friends from down the street and the photo pictured above shows Claire in her tee shirt with the school's logo and mascot (a bison). She pinned on her letter and pin (awarded for music in 8th grade) as she wants to sew it on to a school jacket. It's a blessing to have a daughter so full of life and energy and all set to embrace everything God has in store for her this year.
.jpeg "c.GoldintheClouds Sept 2014")
- GIFT! For those of you familiar with the Love Languages, my primary one is gifts. And look at this adorable pen and note that was left in the kindergarten classroom for me and my co-worker (the other TA in the room). It's from our supervisor teacher from the last 3 years. We no longer are on her team as we are back in kindergarten with a different supervisor, but she wanted us to be welcomed back. And let's face it: male teachers just don't think of these little things. (our supervising teacher is a male......a very good teacher but he definitely doesn't do these little things). It made our day! It's a blessing to have caring colleagues.
That summarizes my week........by tonight I am going to be exhausted after meeting 18 five year olds and helping them adjust to kindergarten.......please keep me in prayer as I begin to work with 8 special needs kiddos in the upcoming weeks...that we will bond, and that trust will be formed so goals can be met!
and how about joining in with your own five faves?? you can do so by linking up over at Susanne's site.
HAPPY WEEKEND!
8 comments:
Loved ALL of your faves...from the visit from extended family, to Claire's joy in all she does and the gift that was left for you from last year's supervisor. I will add you to my prayer list, Faith, as you go and help these new kindergartners. May the bonding be sweet.
I'm in awe of your calling, Faith, as I myself would be overwhelmed with the job you do. May God bless you richly and touch these 8 little souls through you.
What a blessing to have a pastor's wife as a confidant! May you both grow through your friendship.
Wishing you and Claire a wonderful school year! I bet you are ready for some rest this weekend. ;)
We've already been back in school for three weeks. Wish we'd had that extra time!! It's wonderful to have a self-motivated daughter. I had one too. She's just started her first year of teaching elementary school and is loving it. All that hard work eventually pays off!! I hope you and your daughter have a wonderful year.
I agree with Jerralea - I would definitely be overwhelmed with your job, but you sound perfect for it - an evidence of God's calling, I think! Hope you have a great year - Claire, too! Sounds like she is off to a great start!
It's neat your pastor's wife is available and willing to meet with folks.
What a sweet gift at the end!
Sometimes I really miss working with the special needs children in the schools. It's nice to hear of your times with them. This week was back to school for us too and it was a little hairy with new kids in dayhome and 2 of the kids going to kindergarten with different schedules so I have to get used to all of that.
We rarely have houseguests as all our relatives live here. LOL. Nice that you had a great visit. The falls look like a lovely area.
What a delightful week you've, Faith. Lots of transitioning activities and some new adventures. And such a nice gesture from your co-worker :-)
I'm SO SO late on visiting around! (You don't want to know about my weekend)
I'm glad for you that what you've been doing is working to lower your cholesterol. That's a constant for me.
I know you are into your next week of school, both of you. Blessings on your year!
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