3 Special Sisters

I have been blessed to be able to teach these 3 sisters for 3 different school years! I taught Abbi in 2008-2009, Leah in 2010-2011 and now Sarah in 2013-2014!! Seeing how I have only taught Kindergarten 4 years in total, it is pretty amazing that I was able to teach all 3 sisters!

If you have been a follower of my blog for any length of time, you probably recognize Abbi and Leah. If not, why not go browsing through the archives?! It is amazing how much these girls have grown up in just a few years! 

Photo Book Memories

Click here to view this photo book larger

My "Alumni" Teacher Helpers - Part 2

This week Abbi and Stephen were my teacher helpers. Hard to believe that my 2nd year students are now in 5th grade!

On Monday, Abbi did the letter review with the girls. When the girls shouted out the letter, they got to write it on the white board. The slide is always an incentive, so eventually that was entered into the rotation as well. It was special for Sarah to have Abbi down there because Abbi is her big sister!  

Today Stephen did the flashcard review with the girls. The desks were moved to the sides of the classroom, and the girls lined up down the middle. When it was their turn, they would shout out the correct letter, try to throw 3 balls in the other container, and then write the letter on the board.

How many different ways can you do a letter/number review? Stay tuned to find out! Having teacher helpers this year is great because it keeps my teacher brain thinking and "forces" me to find new ways to do letter/number review!

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Oh yes...just had to go back in time for a moment...

 

My "Alumni" Teacher Helpers - Part 1

This year I decided that I could use some "teacher helpers" in the afternoon during lesson review time. The first students I am having help are some of my "alumni" from Kindergarten years gone by. My first year students are now in 6th grade. So hard to believe! Two of my four students are still in EBA.

On Friday, Emaline was my teacher helper. She did a flashcard review with the girls. Each time they got an answer right, they would get to go down the slide. She also supervised the classroom while I did individual flashcard review with the girls in the next room.

 

Today Jordan was my teacher helper. He did a ABC & 123 Bingo game with the girls. He would show them a flashcard, and they would put a marker on their sheet if they could find that letter/number. The first girl to have 4 in a row was the winner. (Congrats, Sarah!) 

 

 

It is such a blessing to still be able to interact with most of my first year students, and watch them throughout their growing up years! Next year they will be in the youth group. *GULP*. That makes me feel old....

 

I was reminiscing this afternoon by looking at pictures from my first year teaching. I couldn't help posting this picture. Sometimes I forget how little they were in Kindergarten!

Last Official Summer Adventure

Yesterday a friend and I spent the day in Ocean City, NJ. I LOVE going to any beach, but this place holds a special place in my heart as my family used to go here every year when I was little. It was such a gorgeous day! It was so nice to just sit out on the sand, chat and listen to the waves and seagulls.

 

 

Now I *think* I am ready for summer to end, and a new school year to begin!

A Birthday Memory I'll Never Forget

A few months ago, I was browsing through the family email when I came across Beverly Lewis' newsletter. She is definitely one of my favorite authors, so when I see her newsletter I always quickly scan it to see when her new book is coming out. However, this particular newsletter captured my attention when I saw -much to my amazement- that one of her book series was being put to a musical! I LOVE musicals, and just the thought that it would be based on my favorite author's book made it even more intriguing. I looked for the location and discovered that it was going to be taking place near Lancaster, which is only about 2 hours away. Then I noticed that in October, Beverly Lewis herself would actually be coming to the musical, and there would be a special dinner with her before the show. When I discovered that it "just so happened" to be the same week as my birthday, I subtly mentioned to my Mom that it would be a perfect birthday present! Well, my Mom picked up rather quickly to my subtleness, and booked tickets for the two of us to go the day after my birthday!

So my Mom and I were off to Bird-in-Hand Family Restaurant yesterday to enjoy a yummy meal with Beverly Lewis, and later on, enjoy an Amish musical! This family restaurant was like a mini Shady Maple, with the same delicious Pennsylvania Dutch food served. I was quite happy to eat my pork & sour kraut with fluffy mashed potatoes!

We soon discovered that Beverly Lewis is a very sweet and personable lady. She came around to each table to greet all the guests personally and chat with them. It was one of those moments that I couldn't believe was actually happening! I have seen her smiling face on the back of many of my favorite books, so to actually carry on a conversation with her was pretty amazing! My Mom thanked her for always having a clear Gospel message in her books, and she replied that was the reason she wrote. Without the Gospel, there would be no reason to write. Beverly then gave a short talk before she began signing books. She was quite inspiring!

Book signing time!

I just did a quick scan through the bookshelves in our house, and between all her Amish series I currently have on my shelf, her teen series I read when I was younger, and her children series Alayna collected, we have a total of 56 books written by Beverly Lewis!! She is quite the amazing author, and if that number doesn't prove that to you, nothing will! :-)

There are certain moments in your life you want captured, and this was definitely one of those moments!

After dinner and the book signing was over, we then went downstairs to the area where the Amish musical was taking place. Although it wasn't the grandeur of a Sight & Sound production, the cast did an AMAZING job with both their acting and singing!! It was obviously a condensed version of this particular book series, but they captured the emotions of the story quite well. There were moments where we were dying of laughter, and moments where we were wiping away tears. By the time the musical was over, it was rather late, and we still had about a 2 hour drive home. My Mom bought me the soundtrack to the musical, so we played it all the way home to keep me awake as I drove. :-) Oh yes, it was definitely a birthday memory I will never forget!!!

Phantom of the Opera

Today was our "remake day" to go to see Phantom of the Opera in New York City after the hurricane ruined our previous plans. Oh my, what a day!!! Definitely worth all the aggravation it may have caused. :-) An experience none of us will forget any time soon!

Alayna and her fellow Phantom of the Opera buddy, Noreen, on the bus heading to NYC...

We had pizza for lunch once we got to NYC. Alayna was taking this picture of the two of them, but I figured I would be somewhere in the background, so I'd better smile :-)

Majestic Theater! I love how "old" this picture looks after editing it to look black & white. It is like a reflection of how old the theater really is. :-) And yes, the show was phenomenal, as the sign says.

Posing time! Making memories....

Waiting for the show to begin...

I took a picture of the stage during intermission. This was the view we had from our seats. We were pretty far back, but it still was a good "overhead" view of everything.

Seeing Phantom of the Opera on Broadway was an amazing experience to be sure! After all the planning and anticipation, I felt rather sad as we walked out the theater though. I want to go back and see it again!!! Who wants to come along with me? :D

Their First Week of 1st Grade

I was quite thrilled to be given the opportunity to work with 3 of my 4 Kindergarten graduates this first week of school. I wanted to help get them adjusted to 1st grade life. It is quite a different experience than what they were used to in Kindergarten. :-)

However, I am happy to report that they are all adjusting really well. I am quite proud of them! Twice this week I took them downstairs to the Kindergarten classroom to help them with something, and a feeling of nostalgia came over me. I wish I could go back in time to the "good ole' Kindergarten days" with them, but then again, I realize that they are ready to move on. They are now big 1st graders and QUITE happy about that fact. :-)

I interrupted them today in the midst of working hard on schoolwork to take a picture of them. Some things never change! I could tell by the look on their faces that they were probably thinking "I thought I got away from Miss Follett's blue camera!" Oh well...tough! I'm savoring those memorable moments. :-)

I must say though that by being with them this week, I feel like I was bitten by the "teacher bug" again. I enjoy my secretarial/accounting jobs, but I am definitely going to miss being a teacher this year!

Ahhhh, Memories...

There is a whole collection of games on the shelf in the Kindergarten classroom. Many of which are either from my childhood or from one of my siblings' childhood. I brought many of the games to the classroom during my first year teaching. It was either that, or they would just collect dust on a shelf somewhere in my house! It has been so neat seeing all my kiddos enjoying the same games that I enjoyed playing as a child.

I try to find time to play a game with my kiddos right before lunch each day. Sometimes it doesn't happen, but for the majority of the time it works out. Every week someone is selected to be the "Game Picker." It is definitely one of the favorite "jobs" of the classroom! Although every game has been played at least 3 times during the course of the school year, there are definitely a few favorites.

Today the Memory board game was picked. I had to smile. I always smile when that game is picked. You see, that was one of my favorites as a child! I am not sure how young I was when I started playing that game, but it definitely was played many, many, MANY times.

A brief overview: Every one starts on a certain spot. All around the board are pictures of various objects. In the middle of the board, the same pictures are on cards, but the cards are flipped over. The object of the game is to find each of the pictures around the board, finally getting back to the spot on which you started. Every one eventually has to find all the picture cards, but it will be at various times depending on where you started on the board.

Oh yes, I played this game so many times as a child that I ended up memorizing the colors of each of the objects! And now, almost 2 decades later, I still remember which color each one is on. When my kiddos ask, "Miss Follett, which color is the bird on?" Orange! "Which color are the scissors?" Blue! etc...

But do you know what? My kiddos have started playing this game so much that my "color services" are not needed as much as before. They are starting to remember the colors of all the objects!

Oh yes, I love when this game is pulled off the shelf for game time. It's like reliving a piece of my childhood all over again! The game box may be falling apart, and the pieces may be worn, but it doesn't mean that it can't still be enjoyed!

Christmas Reflections

As I spent time this morning cleaning my room and making my Christmas thank-you list, I realized how blessed I was this Christmas! I got so many special things from so many special people in my life this year.

However, although it is nice to receive presents, and I am grateful for each one I received, sometimes it is easy to just get used to it.

Every year there are plenty of presents underneath our Christmas tree. I can't remember one year that I haven't gotten an overabundance of presents.

I am blessed with so much already, that at Christmas when I receive even more, I don't think I appreciate it as much as I should. Sometimes I feel like shouting - Please no more presents! I have too much already!! Every Christmas, this scene from Little House on the Prairie plays in my mind. The Ingalls didn't have much, and their Christmas presents didn't amount to much (in our eyes at least), but to them, they were overjoyed with the simple things they received. Sometimes I crave for those simple days gone by!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bFrMLVcctvk&feature=related

What will I remember about this Christmas? Yes, I got some great presents, but what I will remember most is...

~Gathering around the table at my grandparent's house, hardly any elbow room, not enough seats to go around (not pictured: Alayna and I on a piano bench!), but enjoying a scrumptious Christmas Eve dinner together. Who knows how many more years ALL of us be together like this.

~Gathering around our dining room table on Christmas day playing Apples to Apples with my Nannie and Aunt Cheryl, laughing to the point of tears at times. It was the first year without my Pop-Pop. Last year we sang Christmas carols in his hospital room on Christmas Eve. Precious memories...

A time for tears and a time for laughter...

It is almost a guarantee that there will always be presents under the Christmas tree. However, sharing special moments with family may not always be a guarantee as time goes on. Family is what makes each Christmas the best Christmas ever!

Little Sheep

So the other day we were talking about perhaps dressing up for Christmas, and I mentioned to my kiddos that I thought I had something in the closet they could use to dress up like sheep. Mention something like that, and do you think they are going to forget about it? Never! So this morning they asked me if I could get out the sheep costumes I had told them about. After rummaging around for a bit, I finally found them in the back of the closet. Were they ever thrilled to put on these sheep hats! They wore them upstairs for snack time and even during recess!

These sheep hats have been around our school for...well...forever! I decided to look through some old yearbooks to see if I could find any pictures, and I soon found this...

I would be the rather TALL sheep in the front. Yikes! This was from my 1st grade yearbook, so these sheep hats have been around for at least 18 years!!

Meet Daisy

Let me introduce you to Daisy, our special house guest for a couple of weeks!



Isn't she adorable?!

Talk about a "deja vu" feeling! Daisy looks a lot like Christy, and some of the mannerisms are so similar. Tonight as we were sitting around the living room as a family, I had to remind myself that this was Daisy, not Christy! It feels like we have gone back in time when another dog was laying at our feet, content as could be. I had forgotten what it was like to have a dog around the house. It's going to be a fun couple of weeks!

And in case you are wondering if this dog will get spoiled, check out where she slept last night in my room...

Yes, I think she'll survive.....;-)

Memories and Friendship

I said goodbye to a dear friend today. Rachel and her family are officially on their way to Botswana even as I write. They are being sent out as missionaries from our church. Pastor Hammett has been my pastor for almost 23 years, which means that Rachel and I have been friends since...well...forever! I don't remember a "beginning" to our friendship. I am guessing we met in 2's and 3's junior church, and of course, those beginning years are quite the blur!

As I have slooooowly gotten used to the fact of the Hammetts leaving, my mind has literally been swirling with all the memories I have shared with Rachel over the years. We've been through every stage of life together (minus the infant stage!) so as you can imagine, my "memory drive" is on overload!

It's unfortunate sometimes that it takes a big change like this to make you realize how much you love and appreciate someone! It's been easy for me to take our friendship for granted at times...just being used to the fact that Rachel has always been there.

Now, as we like to say at our church, today was not "Goodbye forever!" to the Hammett family, but "See ya later!" Even if, for some reason, we never meet here on earth again, we have the reassurance - as Christians - that we will be together one day in Heaven. However, we are still looking forward to future visits here on earth! :-)

Pictures are worth 1,000 words, so although I could write a LONG, LONG post about every memory I have shared with Rachel, I'll just post 5,000 words of pictures. :-)

(Even the lyrics to the song below bring back memories - who knows how many times our girl's group sang this song together!?)

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God gives us special friends,
forever friends,


(I had to find at least one picture of us when we were in our "glasses stage"!)

Who know just what to say

(I think this was taken a Winter camp judging by the chairs in the background!)

God gives us special friends to walk with us along life's way.

(At a baseball game, listening to the guys sing the National Anthem)

And oh, how great to know, as on we go,

(Enjoying Starbucks in NYC)

There's someone there to share,

someone who cares.

(All dressed up in NYC, eating at a Mexican place before going to see "The Miracle Worker")

God gives us special friends,

Who always will be there.

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I have been blessed in life to have some really special friends. As we all get older, and life is constantly changing, we don't always get to spend a lot of time together. I found this quote the other day, which reminded me of the friendship I share with Rachel, but it is also true for all of the rest of you who I can claim as special friends!

~True friendship is not being inseparable; It's being separated and nothing changes.~

Home Videos

Andy has been busy these past few weeks converting our home videos to DVDs. As videos are quickly becoming "extinct," my Mom wanted to make sure our family memories were secure. As Andy has been converting the videos, we have been able to watch glimpses of the home movies throughout the day. Oh there has been lots of groans, moans, laughter and eye rolling as we have observed how we acted as youngsters!

~ I have watched as my Grandma, Dad, and I painted my parents' room as we made preparation for the new baby (Andy) to arrive.

~ I have watched as I jumped in the waves at the beach with my cousin, played miniature golf, and rode my bike along the boardwalk during our summer vacation at Ocean City, NJ. (We went there every summer with my grandparents for the longest time - so many fun memories!)

~ I have watched as I rode the train ride at the amusement park with my Grandma.

~ I have watched as Andy and I played in the huge mounds of snow during the blizzard of 96'.

~ I have watched as Alayna took her first faltering steps down our hallway.

~ Tonight I was watching clips of our favorite family vacation - Prince Edward Island! (I want to go back!!)

However, I think the one that stands out the most to me was watching Alayna's 3rd birthday party. We were sitting out on our back porch getting ready to sing "Happy Birthday", and there was my Pop-Pop sitting next to Alayna. When I heard his voice, tears immediately welled up in my eyes. It was my first time hearing his voice since he passed away, and I wasn't prepared for how it would make me feel. I have seen lots of pictures of him since he died, but his voice - how I have missed it!! His voice was the one I heard (quite often!!) during all my years growing up. He was always talking - telling stories, sharing memories - that was my Pop-Pop! Pictures are nice because they do capture moments, but home videos capture more than just moments. They capture the movements and sounds of the people you love. Now more than ever, I am SO thankful for all the home videos we have!

(Although I must say, I wish I go back in time and change some "unique" clothing styles and weird behavior on my part...but other than that.... ;-))

Some Non-Related Ramblings

My blog has been rather silent as of late. Of course, it is mostly due to the fact that I haven't had much time to just sit around waiting for a "blog inspiration" to strike. It hasn't exactly been top priority! If you are rather disappointed with "Becky's Boring Blog" be sure to check back in August! Once Kindergarten starts again, I am sure this blog will be bursting with entries. :) Sooooo don't leave me yet!

Shortly after my Pop-Pop passed away, my Mom planted a yellow rose bush on the side of our house - a "memorial" of sorts as roses were one of his favorite flowers (actually orchids were his top favorite, but they require a little more TLC than a rose bush!). I just missed seeing the roses in bloom this past time. I went out tonight to take pictures of them, but they all looked a little sickly. However, I found this....a rosebud about to burst with life. Even though my Pop-Pop is gone - and I am REALLY missing him - the memories of him will always be there, full of life, just like this promising lil' rosebud.

A few weeks ago I was given the task of cleaning out and organizing the 2's and 3's junior church cabinets. Organizing and de-cluttering is always fun, but a bit intimidating at first. The high school students found it quite amusing to see me down in the classroom with a bunch of toys and puzzles surrounding me - no, I was NOT playing! One of the things we had in an over-abundance was crayons. Big crayons, little crayons, chewed-up crayons, dusty crayons, long crayons, short crayons - every type of crayon imaginable! Obviously, there was no need to keep that many crayons, so I loaded all of them up in a big container and brought them home. Alayna and my mom helped me out by sorting them. I took one container, filled with good crayons, back to the cabinets. However, that left me with 2 buckets of short, broken crayons. I decided that I was not going to throw them away, but I was going to melt them down and make chunky rainbow crayons (using a cupcake pan). Of course, lots of the crayons still had paper on them so I would have to peel that off first. What I thought was only going to take me an hour or so, ended up taking me a few nights! Oh well! Alayna and I had some movie nights while we peeled crayon paper. Such fun :) Anywho, last night I peeled the last crayon paper off the last crayon!! It was indeed an exciting moment :) Now I just have to melt them all down which may take awhile. There are A LOT of crayons!! Did I happen to mention that already??

College classes are going okay. I feel like I spend every "spare" minute working on something for my classes. Summer courses are a bit crazy because everything is condensed into 10 weeks, when normally there is at least 17 weeks or so to do all the work. So yeah, I am a little busy! Looking ahead at the rest of the summer, I am cringing a bit with all I have to get done, but I know it WILL get done! It took me a couple weeks to finally get into the "swing of things" and get organized, but I think I am finally there. Google desktop is helping me stay organized. I have a "to-do list" on my desktop, so I will be constantly reminded of what has to get done each day. I only have discussions left for today....not exactly my favorite thing to do, hence the reason it is still on my to-do list!!

So that about sums up my exciting life as of right now. :) It is mostly just work and school....yeah, feels like I am going back in time a bit, but that is okay! I will be glad I took these classes...someday :) Oh, I did do something else besides schoolwork today....I cleaned my room! That was a thrilling experience, I must say. Did you know that baking soda and vinegar helps to get a bathroom sink unclogged?! You learn something new every day!!

Remembering...

Christy
June 11, 1998 - June 8, 2007

I Will Never Stop Learning

Officially, as of today, I am a college student again. Why am I a college student again? I have no idea.

No, that's not true. I do know why. I am not done learning.

If you would have asked me 3 years ago when I graduated with my Early Childhood Education degree if I would ever consider taking more classes, I would probably have answered with an enthusiastic "NO WAY!"

However, something has changed inside me. I find that I WANT to learn new things. As I help a student at school study a Science or Social Studies test, or go over a math concept, I find that I enjoy learning along with them. Didn't I do that curriculum about 10 years ago? Well, yes, but I don't remember much. I would study the concepts, pass the test, and then move on, promptly forgetting most of what I studied.

Now as I help students with their work, I am envious of them. I honestly wish at times that I could work through our 1st grade curriculum all the way through our 12th grade curriculum just so I can LEARN.

What is wrong with me??? :)

I try to get students as enthusiastic about learning as I am, but for the most part, it just doesn't work. I understand only too well. I was sitting where they were not too long ago. Doing schoolwork day in, day out, when all you wanted to do was socialize with friends. History? Science? Algebra? Who cares!!!

Even when I went to college right out of high school, I found myself in the same trap. Oh, don't get me wrong. I enjoyed most of my classes, and gleaned much from my education classes especially. However, I still had the mindset - study hard, take the test, get a good grade- the end. Nothing wrong with getting a good grade, I know, but I wish I could have a "do over" - still get the good grades, but also retain more of the knowledge that I had crammed into my brain!

Anywho, back to the first sentence of this blog entry. I registered for some online classes at Lehigh Carbon Community College today. I had been debating back and forth about taking some Accounting courses ever since I entered the "Accounting world" this past summer. I put it off because, really, I wasn't sure I wanted to go back to "college world" again, filled with homework, studying, and tests. However, I have discovered over the past number of months that I REALLY enjoy Accounting. I am in my own happy, organized world when I do Accounting. Well, as long as everything balances in the end. :) Also, I have been learning a lot about the small business world, and I am finding it fascinating. Sooooooo, one night I was chatting with my parents and nonchalantly mentioned that I was considering going for an Accounting certificate at LCCC. Although I was still in the "mulling-it-over stage", I knew that if I was going to do it, I just had to make the decision to just DO it. So I soon got in contact with an advisor, and after a 5 pm. meeting tonight, I am officially back in the college world.

It felt soooo weird to walk on college campus again. So many things have changed since I was there 3 years ago. I entered the building, and the familiar "college smells" greeted me, and it was an overwhelming moment. I felt like I was travelling back in time. What am I doing here? College days are over...that was a whole other life. But, no. I stuck my ground and walked on through the familiar, yet strangely different, hallways of the campus to meet with my advisor.

Yes, this is going to take some getting used to. It's not like I am going to be travelling to the college each day and sitting in a classroom. This program can be taken completely online, so as of right now, my plan is to take 1 or 2 classes per semester through distance learning. No rush - I just want to learn more about the wonderful world of Accounting.

Going on the college website, these words greeted me....

I am finding that life is indeed a classroom, and with determination and perseverance, I will never stop learning!!

My Family's Collection (Part 3)

When I first started this blog back in 2008, I had written two blog posts about my family's collections. Originally, I had thought that we were a family who never collected anything, but I was soon proven wrong when I blogged about our movie & book collection.

The other day we were talking about how easy it is to accumulate stuff over the years, and not want to throw anything away because of the memories. I just randomly said, "If there was a fire in your house, and you could only grab about 10 things...what would you grab?" My mom quickly said, "My photo albums!!!"

I guess, technically, this blog should be entitled "My Mom's Collection" as she is the one who does all the work with the photo albums, but to continue on with the series, I will leave it with that title :)

One of my mom's most favorite things to do is to work on her photo albums. As of right now, she has about 30 books filled with - on average - 50 pages of pictures. The only ones that are less than that are our individual photo albums. There are photo albums for each of the kids, photo albums of vacations we have been on, and a whole bunch of general photo albums filled with random activities we have been involved in throughout the past many, many years.

These albums are not just filled with pictures of our family, mind you. If you have been friends with my family for any period of time, there is definitely a possibility that your smiling face shows up in 1 or 2 pages of one of these albums. If you are really curious, you could always leave a comment and I could look to see if I have a picture of you. ;-) Scary, isn't it???

These photo albums have been such a blessing. This past Christmas, we went through each of these books and found various pictures of us with our grandparents. Our gift to both sets of grandparents this year was a digital photo frame, where they could watch a slide show of pictures of their grandchildren. We were able to give both sides at least 100 pictures!! Little did I know how much that would mean to my Pop-Pop especially. Of course, I had no idea what the future held when I gave him that digital photo frame for Christmas. As his health continued to decline, he would just sit there in his chair, looking at all the pictures of his grandkids, remembering all the good times. At his funeral later on, Andy was able to put together a slide show of about 90 pictures of my Pop-Pop, just by browsing through all the photo albums and scanning them into the computer.

If I could sum it all into one word - it's all about the MEMORIES. Does it cost money, time and effort for my Mom to put these books together? Oh, yes. But you could NEVER put a price tag on all the memories - "Kodak Moments" - captured on the pages of these albums. And believe me, she is FAR from being done, as there are still many memories to be made! The only question is, Where do we store all these memories??? Sooner or later, we will be running out of room!!! :)

Right now, most of my memories are still being captured in my family's photo albums. However, I have started a small collection of my own - mostly filled with pictures of my kiddos and some trips I have been on. One day, when I have a family of my own, I hope to continue on with the photo album tradition my Mother has started. I know I won't regret it! :)