calm before the storm.

My little distraction during my late night paper writing last night. Can't get enough of this pup.

Consider this, tonight, my one-night-to-relax. 

I'm giving myself a one night only pass to do whatever I want before I have to do three take home tests and two finals tomorrow through the weekend. This week has been sprinkled with late-night paper writing (my least favorite thing about paper writing ever). Last night alone, consisted of me staying up until 2am alone on the couch with my snoring husband in the bedroom and observation notes on my lap. The worst part of being a student.

But...one of the best parts of being a student is that I get to declare tonight my relax night. I pledge to sit on the same couch that saw me stressing last night and do absolutely nothing. If I want to go on twitter, I get to go on twitter. If I want to watch old episodes of Parks + Rec (the Christmas episode) I get to. I can browse etsy to my heart's delight and 'pin' as much as I want. It's my prerogative to be lazy for one. night. only.

 Do yourself a favor -- if you can, declare a relax night sometime.

Tomorrow, it'll be a different story :)

my jumbled thoughts.

re: the first day of school...

01. I frantically called Chad during one of my breaks completely panicked about the 3 syllabi (syllabuses?) that I had just gone through during the morning and he lovingly reminded me that this is my last real year of school (the next one is student teaching!) which freaked me out even more.
02. I spent 20 minutes sprinkled throughout class breaks on pinterest which sort of relaxed me. I didn't realize that looking at pretty images could calm me so much. (I also figured out how badly I want the cool fall temperatures to come so that I can make maple blondies and baked macaroni + cheese.
03. Sometimes at the end of the day, you just need to spend an extra five minutes in the shower. It's a rule.
04. Sometimes you also need to spend a three hour lunch with your best friend talking about everything from old boyfriends to future goals. Perfect.

Happy Almost-the-Weekend to you! :) Lord knows I'll enjoy mine!

speaking of school....

Fall is here
Hear the yell

Back to school

Ring the bell
Brand new shoes
Walking blues
Climb the fence
Books and pens
I can tell that we're going to be friends
--The White Stripes

Feel like watching the music video for "We're Going to Be Friends" by The White Stripes? I've got it right here.

links:
woodblock school bus print
notebook paper-style zipper cases
vintage crayons with cardboard canister
be patient print

P.S. Up next I'll be sharing my first-day-of-school wishlist.

off on an adventure.

source

Originally, this was going to the title of a post sharing my weekend plans. I even had the above picture all picked out. And yes, there will be a post about my weekend on my out-of-town adventure coming up soon. But when I was thinking about the off on an adventure title, another idea starting to take form.

An idea all about this:

Stout. The beginning of my new adventure. On Friday, I had to go there for orientation, getting my books, finding my classrooms, etc. Alone. Without knowing anyone. It was unchartered territory for me. It still is unchartered territory for me since I haven't really started school yet, but at least now, I know where the library is. I got a tip on where to park without getting a parking ticket. I have a stack of books waiting to be opened, waiting for me to copy down important phrases.

I am the kind of person that doesn't handle the unknown very well. When I was driving to school I thought about all the things that could go wrong--not finding the orientation place, not being able to figure out where I need to go.

But then, I spent 3 hours there. I found the orientation meeting. I found the place to get my ID picture taken. I got my school books. I walked out of school at the end of the day feeling like I had accomplished something. And yes, I do still have a long way to go before I'm done there. But I feel like I'm ready for the beginning. So much is waiting for me at my new place. My place to learn and my place to find how to be the best teacher I can.  I am ready to learn.

Here I go...

on academics...

i would like this for my birthday.

Welcome to the confusing world of university life.

I'm getting a heavy dose of university piled on me in August. I'm going to be attending UW-Stout in the fall and there are still certain things that I don't know about. I don't know my class schedule, where to park, what to buy--nothing. And, to be honest, I'm a little freaked. I am one of those people who like to know what to expect. I mean, who isn't? Who doesn't like an extra little dose of preparedness?

This whole experience is giving me a complete course in letting go of the control. I'm unfamiliar with the town, unfamiliar with the school layout, unfamiliar with the teachers, unfamiliar with the process. And, that's freakin' scary. I have no idea what's going on around me. I often have feelings of frustration when I think about the fact that I feel alone in this whole transfer process. I could quit. I could just say it's too hard and I should just stay at my job, work full-time, and not continue on the road of becoming a kindergarten teacher.

But, as hard as it is, I will wait it out. I will continue to walk down the road of the unknown. Because, as my mother-in-law told me when she heard about my frustrations, this will work out. I don't have any clue about what's going on at school--but I will continue to e-mail, browse the website, wait for phone calls, and attend every meeting I can in order to prepare for the upcoming school year.  That's what I'm learning it's all about--carrying on even though you have no idea where you're going.

Jesus told me: "Do not worry about your life, as to what you will eat; nor for your body, as to what you will put on. For life is more than food, and the body more than clothing."  {Luke 12: 22-23} 

P.S. I really am not kidding about making that a perfect birthday present for me, sibs and parents. :)

Good {spring} day to you all! 

It's a warm, warm 64 degrees here in Wisconsin and we couldn't be loving it more.  When we went to Florida in February, it was in the sixties there (meaning shorts and swimming suit weather to us) and now we get to have the same kind of treatment up here--complete with birds chirping their cheery tunes right outside my {open} window!

I know that Easter is t-minus 20 days and counting, but I've gotta start thinking about it {don't you just love this sweet angel's little hat?} Right after our St. Patrick's Day fun on Wednesday, we're moving in the bunnies and Easter eggs at my kindergarten classroom.  My head's been buzzing with all sorts of art projects + Easter-related activities that my kindergartners would enjoy doing.  I still have to make my Leprechaun shakes, but I've already started thinking about spring chickens and what to do on a rainy day.


I'm really feeling 2010 is flying by. Winter never stays around too long, and now we're already on Easter and April activities.


On a personal note:

*Welcome to my new readers! I've had so many subscribers in the last couple weeks and I truly appreciate that.  Who knew that you'd be interested in reading the musings of a soon-to-be wife, college graduate, student teacher?! I'm glad you'll all be reading especially in the next couple months.  It's an exciting time for me personally and blogging helps me document all these feelings and happenings in a way that I can look and read about this transitional period in my life.

*I'll be posting heavily within the week. It's Spring Break meaning after I sleep in past 7am,  I'll actually have time to share with you: my John Mayer concert experience, a few wedding reception ideas, a UJ-turning-1 gift ideas post, some Christmas presents that I gave {yeah, 3 mo. later}, my love affair with Fiestaware, what I want to wear on Easter Sunday, and a photo shoot of some wonderful, wonderful bridal shower gifts that I got on Saturday.

Off to go outside on this bright, sunshiney day!

early spring captured by the talented shannon

This photo was not taken by me, but has been starred, stared at, and dreamed about by me.  I'm so looking forward to the next couple months that I can't barely stand it. Looking at those little buds bursting out makes me dream of updated spring wardrobes + open windows.

Instead of dreaming of said wardrobes that will be updated and windows that will be opened, I've been consumed by school. More specifically, by lesson plans, evaluations, research papers, article summaries, developmental summaries, statistic problems, bulletin boards, and the like. When one assignment is put in the mental outbox, three more come flying in.

It's been hard catching up from everything I've missed since the trip to Florida and I feel and everything besides schoolwork is being deserted. My fiancee: who I haven't seen since Monday even though we live 6 min. away from each other. My family: to them I'm just a mirage--I come in late at night and leave early in the morning. The only way that they know I'm there is the pile of dishes I leave in the sink. My poor, neglected wedding notebook: I discovered it this morning under a pile of children's books {that I need for school} and I think it had a layer of dust on it.  It's just been all put on the back burner...

Fortunately, I have a nice little thing called Spring Break coming up on Monday. Yes, I still have to go teach kindergarten and do three lesson plans, and yes I still have to meet with the director of my program. But besides those things on the must-do list: I'm free.

I'm free to spend my time calling places that can put a simple hook in the back of my wedding dress. Or I can catch up on Ugly Betty while doing reasearch for the best price of paper lanterns. I'll be able to set aside a night to make sure my pal, Danielle, watches Amelie. I can finally go searching for the perfect spring cardigan {I'm thinking green or blue} and what I should wear to my rehearsal dinner. I'll have time to post about my cute vintage chalkboards and my trip to St. Paul in order to have John Mayer mesmerize me. I can talk about my bridal shower {coming up this Saturday} and search for the perfect gifts for my b-maids. I'll be able to go to the gym and burn calories on the elliptical while listening to She and Him:Volume II {which I'll have time to buy!}. I'll have time to finally just be.

Yes. Right now, I'm buried under a mountain of homework and papers, but I'll see you on the other side...  :)

Maybe this is just something kindergarten teachers know, but today is Dr. Seuss's birthday. It's all about the rhyming on March 2nd. At my school, we celebrated big time: we measured how far we could hop after reading Hop on Pop and looked at shadows after reading The Shape of Me and Other Things. In the classroom next door, they were busy making red-and-white Cat in the Hat hats, while we imagined what we would do If (we) ran the zoo.

Next year, maybe I'll be ambitious and make Chad some green eggs+ham for breakfast.

{sunny days}

In case you didn't know, our beloved Sesame Street is 40 years old on Tuesday! Like every other American child for the past 40 years, I grew up watching SS as a preschooler. While writing this post, I went to YouTube in order to find some of my favorite clips:


{"C is for cookie, that's good enough for me"}
This song still sometimes creeps into my head.


{"To serve you is my only pleasure, sir."}
This one's dedicated to my mom-Grover is her favorite.


{Dad, watch this one. It's the spoof of Mad Men-hilarious. "This makes me mad, very, very mad...MAD MEN!"}


{I know I've already posted this one, but factory clips just fascinate me.}


{From the fabulous 'Oinker Sisters'.}

As I've gotten older, I've realized how clever these writers were. When I was a child, I never saw the connection between the current events and celebrities, as I do now. I don't know how I would do it, but I want to show my future students some Sesame Street clips. Do yourself a favor and be a child again for half an hour. Find your favorite Sesame Street clip and enjoy.

Feel free to tell me who your favorite character was/your favorite clip was in the comments-I'd love to know!

More Sesame Street love: here and here

I don't know if it's the wave of nostalgia that hit me this weekend, or the fact that I've spent 2 months with children at my preschool, but lately I've been thinking about my childhood. I had an incredibly simple childhood and during the winter months I was either playing with Barbies or reading books that I got from the library when my family took a weekly trip there. One of my favorite books to read as a child, was The Little House. I read it today to my class of 15 four-year-olds and it's very rare that they all sit quietly and pay attention to a story {which is what happened today, much to my glee}.

Not only do these children enjoy reading the books that I bring in, they love talking about and acting out movies. The most popular one to act out right now is "Cars". Watching them decide who was going to be Lightning McQueen or Mater, made me think about the recent craze of making childhood books into movies {the most recent one being Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs}.

Another favorite book in my classroom is Where the Wild Things Are due in theaters next Friday. {view trailer here} Are you excited to see this classic book on the big screen?

Speaking of childhood favorites, I do have another question to ask the blogging world. Over the past year, I've been slowly building up my personal library of children books for when I have my own classroom. When you were a child, what were your favorite books to read {between the ages to three and six}?

School is a-comin'

Fall begins for me on Monday. It's the beginning of the fall semester (you know I'm in college when I say 'semester' instead of 'year') and it's the last year that I will be at the school that I'm currently at. That's right folks, this May I'm graduating. But not really. I'm graduating with a two-year degree in early childhood education, but I'm still going to school at a 4-year college in order to get my teaching degree. The start of school for me is the start of-
*writing in my planner (that fits nicely in every purse I have)
*teaching at a day-care center in the area
*working a regular achedule (finally)
*wearing long-sleeves (I do lots of layering when I'm in school
*drinking coffee (I find myself drinking more coffee when school starts-maybe I just feel that it's what I'm supposed to do since I'm a college student)


And don't you forget it.

(p.s. the mug is made from 100% biodegradable corn plastic-shout out to planet earth!)

still a kid.

Sometimes I find things online that are geared towards the younger crowd (you know, those under the age of 5) and I can't help lovin' them for myself. I can't wait until I'm a teacher and a mommy:

*How many of you read the Baby-sitter's club when you were younger? I read every. single. book. I remember that every book usually in the very first or second chapter, the author would explain the BB Club and describe each girl. My favorite part was when she would describe what Claudia was wearing, which thankfully this blogger has brought into the limelight. (Found at heartthrobs.)

*This picture reminds me of the wonderfully lovable scene in Beauty and the Beast when Belle is singing 'Belle' (...I want so much more then they've got planned..) and she picks the dandelion and the seeds float through the air. You know-this one:




*Anyone else think these are adorable? Almost too adorable to eat? Here.


*Oh man. And these discovered by the kitchn (becoming one of my favorite websites) I will try my hardest to make something like this when I read The Very Hungry Caterpillar to my kiddies.


*I love the expression on this little lady's face-she looks like she's having so much fun. And why wouldn't she since she's playing with sidewalk chalk paint.


*How could you not want to be a kid when you had the opportunity to play with this furniture. I mean, does it get any better!?


*I have never slid down the stairs at my house before so I don't know that joy that it entails, but judging by this picture, I would sure like to try.

*I am so using this idea when I become a teacher. Not only will it get my kids to like nature, it will allow them to discover things on their own.

See how things are made.

Ever since I was a little kid I remember watching the 'how-things-are-made' type clips and being utterly fascinated with the whole concept. While I myself could never work in a factory, I do like watching products being made. I really would love to take my kindergarten class to factories so that they can experience the wonder like I did when I was their age.

When I started this post, I wanted to include some of my favorite Youtube clips about factories and making items. I realized when doing research that this was too daunting of a task since, when typing in 'shows' and 'factories' there were about 70+ clips (I watched about half). Some of the most interesting products were-butter, bubble gum, toilet paper, erasers, toothpicks, highlighters, potato chips, and cheese.

When I was watching shows like 'Sesame Street' I loved to sit back and love it. Now that I'm older, thankfully, television networks have heard my five-year-old plea for more. The two shows that I've found are "How it's Made" and "Unwrapped". I'm open to suggestions for more factory-type shows:)

Jumbled thoughts

I can't write a new post every time a thought pops into my head. This is just some things that have been going on.
Disclaimer: This post is unorganized and has no concise order...enjoy!

*My longtime girlfriend, Jenny, got engaged on St. Patrick's Day to her boyfriend, Luke. She is so lovely and I am overjoyed that she is so happy. She came to visit not too long ago and we got to talk about boys and weddings. She told me and Danielle all about her plans. Can't wait to see Jenny soon and talk more!

*That got me thinking about how many people in my class have gotten engaged or married in the past couple years. I'm not just talking about ILC people, I'm talking about college too. I think in my program there are 11 girls engaged. That's out of a possible 50 give or take a couple. On top of that, I know 7 (or so) girls from high school that recently got engaged. This is just a matter of fact statistic, I don't want you to think that I'm whining about how it hasn't happened to me yet. I know that for me it will be sooner then I think and I'll be more elated then I am already. I'm just saying, there's an engaged couple born every week around here.

*On Thursday, I was pleasantly caught off guard at my center when my cooperating teacher told me that she was taking the day to do planning and that I'd be in charge along with an older student teacher. This might sound like not the biggest deal but it was so wonderful because I got a glimpse of what I'll be doing every day in about three years. The added bonus was that the other student teacher didn't really know our schedule or routine so I took over that part. It really reassured me that a) they trust me enough to handle a group of 10 preschoolers basically all by myself and b) that this is the field that God desires for me.

*Chad (and I) love making food. He's so much better at it than I am, and got so excited when it was nice earlier this week and he realized that it was grill season. He loves grilling. Like it's a deep part of his soul. We made burgers topped with avocado, Swiss cheese, and tomato. So yummy! Now, we have to find a way to eat half an avocado-any ideas?

*I just read this article. Seriously. This is actually news.

See. I told you this would be a mess.

Hearts and Cartoons

Yes, I know that Valentine's Day was ten days ago. I just wanted to share some Valentine love that I got from the children at my child care center...

I was surprised I only got one Hannah Montana Valentine.

They are all really into Winnie The Pooh:)

I always like some Bible valentines.

This is so cute. A boy named Evan gave it to me; he was so shy when I opened it.

This is the first Valentine's Day that I've had as a teacher. I can't wait for many, many more.

Wisdom in my life

Have you ever had one of those days where you think "Wow, this is all going to work, isn't it?" Today was one of those days for me. Here's what happened:

Sometimes (semi-rarely) I doubt my choice to become a kindergarten teacher.
I doubt if I can be patient and kind to them everyday.
I doubt if I know what's best for them and their little minds.
I doubt if I can come up with activities that are going to be fun for them.
I doubt if I can handle the parents and how we won't agree on everything.
I doubt if I make sure they listen to me and respect me.
I doubt if I can provide the best environment for them.

Then today happens. I did three lesson plans at the center I am in and they all went over so well. The children loved the activities I had planned. The two teachers who are in the classroom thought I did a wonderful job and my teacher came and loved everything I did. One of the teachers pulled me aside after and told me that the director was watching and she wanted to offer me a summer part-time teaching position.

I drove home overwhelmed. I just felt so pleased that they all had such wonderful things to say. It showed me that God was directing my life. With all those nice comments and thoughtful words, He was assuring me that I've made the right decision. He knows that sometimes I doubt my choices, but then He gives me guidance.

It's like He is saying "Amanda, trust Me. I know you have the ability to guide My children. I've sent people to train you and to show you how to teach children. See what a good job you're doing? I love you and am so proud of you".

This is not a post that honors me at all. It's a post that honors God and His wisdom in ever aspect of my life.