and without further ado....

hello avid ccyc readers and others! :)
i guess i didn't realize i had such a large fan base following my blog! sorry everyone! i will try to do better!

school is going pretty well. the awkward phase is over and now the true colors are a showin'! this past week went by a little too fast for me. on friday we went on a nature walk around the block. everyone got their own magnifying glass. of course. i asked them to remember the things they saw so we could make a list later. here are a few things we saw that they added to the list [in their exact words]:

old cicada
dead cicada
dragonflyer -ha!
ants crawling all over a brain looking thing
poop
holes next to cracks in the sidewalk
a lot of grass, some yellow and some green
fungii [which i was suprised they remembered this one]

gotta love preschool.

so we are heading in to week 3 in good ol' council bluffs. starting a new month. oh man!

to those of you in des moines!
it was so good to see you at bailey's thing. you have no idea how much it made my day! that is actually an understatement. how wonderful is it to be surrounded by good people and good conversation?! thank you parents for being willing to bring your children to a purse boutique. :)

and carrie, you are more than welcome to comment. :)
thank you to all for continually supporting me in omaha. it means a lot to know people believe in me.

a moment to spare

well, they are all asleep! that's right! my preschool crazies are sleeping and i have 10 minutes to spare! whew!
so, today is day three in this journey. so far so good. no major issues of missing mommies and daddies. no major naughtiness. no major crying. a miracle? let's just wait a week or three before we start labeling.
we are very much still in the honeymoon period. but i really hope things stay relatively calm. we are still learning how preschool works, so who knows what will happen. good things, right? yes.

thanks for everyone's support as i have gone from des moines to omaha and started school. it means a lot to me that you would care so much! i hope everyone is having a good start to their year!

i've been roaming around, i've been looking down at all i see

whoa nellie! what a week it has been!
monday: class roster, call parents, do preschool stuff
tuesday: continue setting up room, freak out some
wednesday: all district meeting, get id badge, find out i currently don't have an associate, open house, realize what i am getting myself into
thursday: school starts for everyone else, corrall kindergarteners, meet and make friends with bella, age 5, go on a few home visits, again realize what i am getting into
friday: no home visits, have my first breakdown, eat some chocolate, label everything in my room, stand in awe of my completed room
saturday: slept in til 10, took a well-deserved bubble bath, watched 2 movies, didnt leave the apt
today: went to church, participated in step out: omaha, grilled out with some nwc folks, went into a food coma, sitting here posting new entry

ok, so i start school on tuesday! oh my my oh my! but it's cool, right? i'm good to go, right? i can do this. i've been doing it for a year.

lord, grant me the strength to make it through this week, for there is a kc royals game to attend to on saturday. amen.

Officially Informed to Death

I apologize to any and all who read this and have been disappointed with my lack of blogging skills lately. As you can tell by the title of this post I have been informed to no end. This past week was spent at the Ameristar Hotel in beautiful Council Bluffs, IA learning all about what it's going to look like being a first year/new to the district teacher at CB. The first thing the superintendent said to the group was 'we are Council Bluffs Community School District. Our middle name is Community and we hold tight to that'. I knew I was in the right place. I have been longing for a place of community since graduating from Northwestern and I think I've found it. I have already met wonderful, supportive people who are willing to lend me a helping hand or advice at any time. This is the calm amidst the storm of standards, benchmarks, lamination, ethics, ah! My brain is on fire with education information. But, I am ready for those preschoolers. I get my class list tomorrow and I feel like a kid at Christmas all over again. These 13 kids will be mine to love and listen to. To comfort and to guide. To open up their eyes to the amazing world they are living in. Oy, it's such a great feeling. Bring it on CB, I've been waiting a long time for this.

Qua?!

Week one in Omaha....done!

I have survived my first week here in sunny Omaha. It actually hasn't been too bad. I have had a wonderful support group of people willing to take me in and show me the ropes. Thursday night several of us went downtown and ate at the Old Market. I could get used to places like that, such a romantic, captivating place.

I had my first official order of teaching business on Friday at the home office of Council Bluffs CSD. It was a preschool literacy class designed for High Scope curriculum. I actually met the other new preschool teacher in the district...or one of them at least. It was nice to be in a new environment together. We were able to meet several of the other preschool teachers and staff. I felt a bit more relieved and less overwhelmed after this day. Long day...yes. Helpful...yes. Productive....maybe. Tour of Council Bluffs...yes. People call it Council-Tucky...yes. Insult to Kentucky...yes. Kentucky is a grand state....yes.

Today I did nothing for the most part. I was unable to get into school, so I took advantage of a lazy Saturday and slept in like a real person. So GOOD! I woke up about 11 did my usual, watch Friends while cutting lamination. My sister Emily called about 145 and said she was coming to visit me...random. So, that happened. I was invited to my cousin's house in Gretna, which is about 20 minutes away, for dinner. Emily and I went and had a splendid time! It is so great to have family around here! I am very grateful for that! Then after several rounds of Wii sports and some darn good popcorn we said our goodbyes and headed to a good-bye party in Omaha. I am not to familiar with the girl who was being said goodbye to, but, fun and 4-square were had, so all is well.

As I look towards next week I feel so....ready. Qua?! Did I just say ready? I think so. My first official new teacher meetings start Monday and are on Thursday and Friday. Man oh man. Bring it on!
Also!!! I found out that preschool doesn't start until the 18th. Regular classes begin the 13th. Bet all you teachers wish you would have chosen pre-k, eh? However, during those days we will be making home visits because this is the 1950s. Just so you know. I will definitely let you know how that goes down. yikes.