Student...like teacher.

One of our friends decided to do a reading group all on his own! And this was during Free Choice Centers... haha!

They love Diary of a Wimpy Kid...

He's such a leader!

Poolside

This is how we spent Mother's Day: relaxing by our pool. Nice, yes?


However, Monday morning came full force...and these kids have forgotten everything they know...just in time for the End of Grade cumulative test. Yay. Not.

Only in my class...

Today, four of my boys had "Lunch with a Buddy" and only in my classroom would I overhear the following topics:

"first big fish"
"best fishing line"
"best bait"
fish for dinner"
"biggest red drum caught this year"
"fish got off the line"
"you're lucky you caught that drum"
"worms for the small fish"
"caught my king mackerel with a little tuna"


Notice a trend?
Three cheers for teaching at the Crystal Coast.

Feliz Thanksgiving...?

I teach my students one or two Spanish phrases at the end of each school day and they always try to come up with some crazy word or phrase to stump Miss Henderson.

Well. Yesterday, one sweet child asked me if we could learn how to say "Happy Thanksgiving"...
I replied that there is not an exact Spanish phrase because the Thanksgiving holiday and tradition began in America.

Their faces turned to gloom. It was as if I just told them that they would never have recess again, as long as they lived.

Perturbed and reflecting on how we had been discussing the importance of the Thanksgiving holiday and origin, I reiterated to the class that other countries do not celebrate the Thanksgiving holiday. And...then I taught them the Spanish word for turkey. El pavo.

The bell rang as I was shaking my head, in disbelief, that my students were heart broken over the fact that the Pilgrims did not sail to Mexico. Or Spain. Or Ecuador.

Whew. I am ready for Thanksgiving break with my family and Grant!

Burp.

Robby: BuuuuuRP.

Me: Robby!

Robby: Oops. Sorry Miss Henderson. But it's been trying to get out since lunch.

Perfect.

The reunion weekend with Grant was perfect.

His family and I got him off the plane,



fed him Bojangles (per request), cleaned up and went down the road a bit to CH so he could catch up with brothers at UNC-CH's homecoming game versus Duke.


Great game on Saturday evening followed up by a perfect autumn Sunday afternoon together and with family.

He is coming to visit my students this week as well -- he is bringing them Ethiopian lollipops :) Grant returned with many sweet gifts for us all. I got a Carolina blue handwoven scarf, Carolina blue Longchamp, and Carolina blue and silver handcrafted earrings. Do you see a theme there?

Pennsylvania.

The last few weeks have been fun-filled in our third grade classroom! Report cards went home with the little ones, Book Character Day, parent/teacher conferences, Honors Assembly, Board Game Reward Day, and Picture Day!

In the usual organized chaos of packing up to go home on Friday afternoon,
Little Luke, out of the blue asks me:
Miss Henderson, why do they call it Pennsylvania? Do they sell a lot of pencils there?

Good question.

I love this child. I will never forget him. See picture below. You will find Luke in his book character costume, dressed as Will from the children's book, "Will, God's Mighty Warrior". He is definitely "in character" striking a warrior pose in the back row with his homemade sword and shield! Such a sweet, sweet child.



I was Junie B. Jones... :)

And SUPER important side note: Grant returns from Africa today! His plane arrives in DC in just an hour! YAHOOOO!
Welcome home to my wonderful boyfriend!

Talking.

Third graders LOVE to talk.
Most of my students undertand when it's appropriate to talk with their neighbor.
One of my little darlings does not. He would talk to a brick wall. Seriously.

Me: Luke, will you PLEASE read your book instead of talking?
Luke: Good point, Miss Henderson, good point.

I don't know what kind of "point" I made but he was quiet for the rest of the afternoon. Praise the Lord.

Homework.

So I would like to think that I am a fair teacher who expects the most of her students. Today, I was flabbergasted (what a funny word...) by one of my students.
Enter the 8 year old boy. Check out his responses as to why he didn't do his homework:

1) His living room is too small.
2) He could not find a pencil.
3) Soccer practice always comes before homework.

??????
I didn't even try to process those excuses.
My response: Really? Are you being serious?

I followed up with: Do you think David Beckham did his homework? What about Mia Hamm?
FAIL Miss Henderson because this child had no idea who those athletes are. That comparison did not work. I sent him out to recess. I needed to take a deep breath.

Happy Thoughts

Grant and Company made it to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia! YAY!!! I patiently await a sweet email or two every afternoon (the 8 hour time difference is tricky so we haven't gotten to talk on the phone yet). He is a talented writer and I enjoy the updates so much.

My students continue to crack me up. I was super sore at school today from last night's ballet class (took dance all throughout high school but not during college so it's been over four years and I am back at it!) and when I got up from my chair after Read Aloud (Ramona Quimby, Age 8), I winced (and may have gasped from the pain). My student who will remain nameless but let's call him Class Clown...responds with:

"Miss H, are you getting old ALREADY?! My mom makes that face a lot and she says it's because she is older than the hills...!"

I think my students want to believe I am still a teenager (read: their bestest friend). One of my little Taylor Swift or Hannah Montana (take your pick) "Wanna-Be"s invited me to her sleepover last weekend.

I hated to decline...but I didn't think they could hang with me for an all night girl bash. Sad truth: I had to explain that I am their teacher and would love to hear about their weekend once we return to school on Monday. BORING. And I hated to burst their bubble.

But something sweet to end on this evening...

Summertime...

and the livin' is easy. And fun. Check out this kiddo enjoying his summer afternoon in the sprinkler.

sweet image found at The Bottom of the Ironing Basket.


What have you all been up to this summer? Can you believe July is already here?!

In transition.

I have graduated from college.
I am patiently awaiting a job offer in MHC while staying in Cary.
I miss my kindergarten students.
I hope to slowly re-enter the blogging world.
I love the Boy.

For a visual of my life in the last few weeks, please visit the Boy's photography blog. He has been better about documenting our lives...

I had to...

Formal weekend with Chi Psi in Williamsburg, VA.
one word: legitimate.

This is simply a sneak preview until I have time to breathe (read: compose a more appropriate post and become a better blogger...)

PS -- my student, fondly known as Rat Tail, got a buzz cut. Big changes for this little guy.

PSS -- I have 3 little days left with these kiddos. super sad!

in love.

I fell in love with Smith Mountain Lake, VA, on Friday. Stayed for the Easter weekend with the Boy and his family. {Image by CGL II}


Trying to prepare for a week of parent conferences, teaching the kiddos, portfolio, resume, and gearing up for formal weekend in Williamsburg.

Been an awful blog friend...will check up on everyone soon. Promise.

Good Times

I've been busy with:














while the Boy has been sailing here:













{Image by CGL II}

So, following his safe return, we had a wonderful, relaxing weekend. And we found a new favorite dinner dish...it turned out to be prettttty yummy! :)

Island Spice Salmon

4 salmon fillets, 1/2 pound each
2 cups pineapple juice
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
1 tablespoon chili powder
1-1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
2 teaspoons ground coriander
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Place the salmon in a shallow dish. Pour pineapple juice over the fish. Cover and marinate in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour, but no more than 3 hours.

Preheat the oven to 425°F. Line a baking sheet with foil.

In a small bowl, mix together the brown sugar, chili powder, cumin, coriander, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper.

Remove salmon from the marinade and discard the juice. Put salmon on the baking sheet. Season the fish with salt and pepper. Evenly distribute sugar spice mixture all over the top of the fish.

Bake for 10 to 20 minutes, depending on thickness, until the fish is cooked to the desired doneness. -Recipe by Katie Lee Joel



Good times :)

wonderful weekend.

I'm still blown away at how perfect this past weekend was. After an extremely stressful week, I enjoyed the following:


Valentine Card Swap with the kiddos on Friday afternoon, complete with the following quote from Wanna Be Jay-Z: "Ms. Henderson, you smell sooo goooood. Not everyone can smell as good as you. Wow!" I felt honored. Truly, ha ha.




Lovely dinner at Crook's Corner and Valentine's Day fraternity cocktail with the Boy. Splendid time. I'm so blessed!


Brunch at my favorite place in Raleigh. Strawberry waffle! yum!

Piddled with the Boy and his chocolate lab, Scout. Scout was in heaven as we ventured to the flea market at the NC State Fairgrounds. I saw so many wonderful antiques and treasures. And the weather was beautiful!

Dinner with the Boy's parents and then a late night movie...followed up with the hilarious home movies of him and his little brother. So precious. I almost died of laughter. He was a wild child. End. of. story.

Lovely church service at Hope Community Church. Today's sermon was The Case of the Devoted Church. Acts 2:42-47.

2009 is going to be a great year. I can just tell!

Love.

Yahoo! We're having a Valentine's Day Card Swap tomorrow for the little munchkins. In preparation for our fun afternoon, today our students decorated big folders for their itty bitty Valentine's cards, candy, stickers, and HSM tattoos (yes, I'm making that prediction).

While gluing his pink, purple, and white hearts, onto his bright red folder, Rat Tail proclaims: "Ms. Henderson, I'm just a-workin' for love." Oh boy.

AND

Amidst the gluing, cutting, and coloring, 5 year old who insists he is the next Jay-Z was being absolutely absurd and I went over and quietly asked him what was going on today and why he was having such a hard time making good choices. He replied: "Oh I just don't know...I think I need to go back on that behavior contract, Ms. Henderson...I need more support you know. I need to be able to tell my mommy and daddy when I have good days...you know, when I get all smileys."

No surprise, but the same two little boys were sweetly featured here.

PS -- Valentine's Cocktail tomorrow evening with the Boy. Pretty dresses and bow ties. yessssss. love love love.

The truth comes out...

Such an eventful week: new jeans from my lovely sunrise sale experience (a blog post in itself...be patient with me), a new president, two snow days, field trip tomorrow and rush cocktail tomorrow evening. whew! The clever and beautiful cBr sent me a teeny award a few days ago and I'm just getting around to it...so here it goes!



Soooo I've chosen a few blogs that I think are simply sweet as pie :)

With Love from New Orleans
Mrs. Bliss
Monogrammed Teacher

You get to play!

-Choose a few blogs that you find brilliant in content or design.

-Show the winners names and links on your blog, and leave a comment informing them that they were prized with "Honest Scrap." Well, there's no prize, but you can keep the nifty icon :)

-List at least 10 honest things about yourself.

1) I'm obsessed with Special K cereal. Fruit and yogurt. Vanilla almond. I could eat it for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Sometimes I have it for dessert. Makes me feel like I'm eating healthy...?

2) When my alarm goes off, you can usually find me leaping out of bed. I'm not one to press the snooze.

3) I always make my bed before leaving mi casa.


{Wish my bed was adorned in such a classic way. I've got one monogrammed pillow. Note to self: I need to work on that.}

4) I have a strange obsession with pretty paper. Stationery and I are pretty much bff.

5) I love everything single thing about a wedding. Anyone who knows me well...already knows this. What's not to love?
“Love knows no limit to its endurance, no end to its trust, no fading of its hope; it can outlast anything. Love still stands when all else has fallen.” -1 Corinthians 13:7

6) I'm a sucker for a bow ties...'nough said.



7) the Boy says that I'm "ridiculous", "absurd", and "legit". And I like that. It suits me.

8) I was a ballet dancer for a grand total of eleven years. Saut de chat anyone?

9) Throughout high school and the first three semesters of college, I was dead set on being a pediatrician. Then Organic Chemistry and I met and sealed my fate to become a teacher. I could not be happier in Elementary Education.

10) Even though Organic Chemistry kicked my tail and I decided that majoring in Biology was not my cup of tea, I truly believe that it was the Lord working in my life as I found my calling to be a teacher. I was had been so focused on the wordly needs in life instead of living a life that brings glory to God. So...play dough, dry erase markers, band aids, journal writing, IEPs, profile cards...ta da! And I'm immersed in Elementary Education. Even though there are stressful days, I honestly love being a light in the classroom and the children make my day! I want my students (and the world!) to know that my heart is sold out for Christ by the way I walk, talk, and breathe for my Lord. And well...since I'm being honest...it's a hard thing to do! But who doesn't like a challenge?!


Well kiddos, there you have it. Southern Sunshine at her finest. hah.

The Side Pony

I love that my kindergarten students are easily able to communicate their opinions with me about my hair do.

Example:

Studentwhothinkssheistheteacher: Um...(long pause)....Ms.__________, your hair is wacked up.

Me: No, missy, I'm rockin out the side ponytail. It's stylish.

Studentwhothinkssheistheteacher: Well...I think it looks crooked.

Thought I was going to die of laughter.
See below for a visual. I think it's cute and I'm sticking to it.



I mean, at the end of the day with a bunch of five year olds, if I can't find anything to laugh about, I should quit. I don't see that happening any time soon. :)

Waist Watchers

Another reason why I love kindergarten:

"Look Ms. ____________! My mommy gave me a Waist Watchers snack!

oh my :)


PS - The Boy is amazing.


PSS - Please excuse the short posts and lack of comments. Life is crazy.