Good Sunday Morning!

The sun is shining bright after the thunderstorms of yesterday.

I’m already online and exploring my favourite teacher blogs.  Also looking for some new faves – specifically grade one!

I thought I would share with you the grades I have taught in my 13 years of teaching:

You can see I have moved around quite a bit.  I love it though.  I fall in love with whatever grade I teach.  I think it keeps you fresh and up-to-date when you mix it up.  Over the past few years, I have really tried to not save so much STUFF.  I rarely repeat the same thing the next year; yet I have boxes and boxes in the garage and basement!!!  This week I am going to be going through them and trying my hardest to get rid of a lot of it --- it is very hard to do when you have spent so much time researching, planning, creating...  But some of those boxes haven't been opened in years!

I would really like to have penpals this year from another country.  If you teach grade 1 and would like to be penpals, please email me or leave a comment.  I would like to start out with hand-written letters (it's always exciting to get something tangible) and then move on to email and possibly skype.

Well I am heading outdoors now to do some weed-whacking!

Enjoy the day!

Happy Summer!

It’s been four months since I have blogged.  Many reasons.

On March 4, my youngest daughter, was diagnosed with osteosarcoma.  Anyone who has gone through something like this would understand the devastation we felt.  For 19 days, we went through many tests to determine the extent of the cancer.  The first CT and x-ray showed a spot in her lung.  That was the worst news and the worst case scenario for us.  The tumour ate through her humerus until it was so thin, it broke.

From the onset, I knew prayer was the only answer.  I held a prayer service at my house, had one at church, and had many, many, many people praying for her all over the world.  Prayers for Ella  God listened to these prayers, and on March 23, we were told that she did not have cancer.  She did have an aneurysmal bone cyst.  She had to have ~4 inches of her humerus taken out and a donor bone put in.  They put a steel plate in her arm, secured with screws, to support the bone.  She had the surgery mid-April and has been doing well since.  It will take about 2 years for the arm to fully heal.  She was very fortunate that there was no nerve damage during surgery.  She now has full motion of her arm, but cannot do any weight bearing/lifting.  The x-rays show new ‘fluffy’ bone growth.  God is good!

Ella has always wanted a small dog.  Because of this traumatic event (she wasn't able to go to school anymore and would be home all the time), I bought her a puppy.  Bennett is a Schnauz-tzu.  He is keeping us very busy in a positive way.  This is our first dog.  We have always been cat people.  :)  

So the remainder of my school year was quite hectic between Ella's ordeal, training a pup and working. 

Yesterday, I got a call that I have a position at a new school.  I am very excited about it.  I will have a straight grade 1 class of 20!  I am very sad to be leaving my current school.  Good friendships were made there and after my experience this year, they are like family to me.  The support I felt from them was immense!  It is a small school which helps to create that feel of community with the staff, students, and families.  My new school is more than double the size, but it is closer to home.  I am looking forward to the new adventure and planning on blogging more regularly.  Please follow to keep up-to-date, help me get points for my WBT certification, and to share your own thoughts.

Now, to start planning for my new school/class/year!!!  J