Words to live by...

"A good teacher is like a candle - it consumes itself to light the way for others." ~Author Unknown

"A good wife is her husband's biggest fan -- no matter how crazy he is." ~Me


"May God give you.. For every storm a rainbow, for every tear a smile, for every care a promise and a blessing in each trial. For every problem life sends, a faithful friend to share, for every sigh a sweet song and an answer for each prayer." ~ Irish Blessing

Tuesday, August 18, 2009

Revisiting Reality

Summer break 2009 is officially over.

And it has been over for more than a week.

As I think back to our wonderful summer, I can't help but feel completely satisfied and happy with all that went on.

The summer began with preparing for, blog-updating for, watching, and generally obsessing over Chris's record-setting Divide race. In the process, I got to both meet and reunite with many cyber-friends from the bike-blogosphere.


After that great adventure, Chris and I embarked on some adventures together.

We hiked five 14ers together...






biked up one...



climbed a rock or two...




learned to flip in the sand...


rode amongst the flowers...



took the best kiddos in the world rock climbing in the gym...





ate some great meals...


and napped some good naps.

Now that I am back to preparing for getting the Kinders, I am trying to carry a bit of my summer experiences into the classroom:


This will get much cuter in the next week with Wish Clouds and pictures of my students pretending to hike up the mountain, connected by a climbing rope made of yarn. Whether it makes any impact on them or not, it is sure to remind me constantly that these kids face challenges every day that pale in comparison to mine. Either way, I have made it a personal goal (yes honey, I have set a goal for myself for once) to keep this class feeling connected to each other and me like a team climbing up the toughest of mountains.

(As a side note, I have also made goals to actually be ORGANIZED -- the only way I foresee not losing my mind amid teaching full time, participating in an extra program at school that requires a lot of additional commitments within the classroom, and attending grad school *full time* by taking six credits -- and PREPARED -- yes, being consistent with my planning certainly slacks as the stress rises.)

I am also looking forward to a Labor Day weekend in Salida riding with the team, a long weekend in the upper throws of Wisconsin for the Chequamegon 40 in about a month (which, at this point, I simply hope to survive well enough to enjoy the rest of the weekend), and hopefully some monthly game nights and hikes with the girls.

Thinking I sound surprisingly ambitious and optimistic considering the kids start on Thursday?
Did I mention my class list currently has 13 students. 13!!!!?????!!!!

Compared to my typical class of 28, I can deal with 13 (even though more will certainly enroll and start a day to several months late).

Ah.

Reality might not bite so much.


2 comments:

Ali B. said...

13 students! Now THAT is great news. :) Love you bulletin board idea and summer summary - especially the kids climbing with you!! Have a great start to the year!

Becky said...

when and where are you coming in wisconsin? we could try to meet up if it's anywhere close!