The Winner and Some Reminiscing

A name has been drawn....{drum roll please} and the winner of the Christmas Card Giveaway is Joslynne Trygstad!! Congratulations Joslynne :) You will receive your cards in the mail soon!

Thank you to all of you who entered the giveaway! I so appreciate your support, I wish I could just draw everyone's name. ;)

 On a second note, before everything goes all out Christmas, I wanted to share some thanksgivingness that has been on my mind. These last couple weeks mark a year since I officially became a Teacher! The way it worked with my student teaching, I didn't finish my degree until November. It was so neat that the Lord worked it out for the school I student taught at needed a teacher right at that time.

I was so thankful! It was such a fun time to start, I wanted to share the first projects I did with my students for Thanksgiving.

My students loved these projects! I think they would be so fun to do at home with the kids to get ready for Thursday too! What an awesome year it was at Southside Christian School. :) I will definitely always remember and be thankful for those first few weeks teaching there!

The Things They Say

I officially completed my first year of teaching!  I was so blessed with the opportunity to teach Art, Computer, and PE at Southside Christian School. Wow, what an awesome year. Each student, teacher, and parent was so encouraging and sweet!

My students always kept me smiling :) Here are a few of my favorite student quotes from the year.

First Grade girl: I know a word with the "sk" sound...Lusk! My stuffed animals say it all the time!

Kindergarten boy: Oh I'm so full, my stomach feels like its bleeding!
                          Does it hurt?
                          No, it just feels interesting.
  
1st Grade girl: You went to college? Whoa...she's famous!

Kindergarten girl: Miss Parsons! My picture is horrible...it looks weedicweeus!

5th Grade boy: I don't want this class to end. I'll never be happy again without you!



1st Grade boy: Miss Parsons is getting married!? That feels like a punch in the stomach!

2nd Grade boy: There was 2 feet of snow at your college? That's why its a college for big kids. I wouldn't be able to walk there.

1st Grade girl: I hope Miss Parsons asks me to be a bridesmaid.

5th Grade girl: I have a question. You look like Pocahontas!

 1st Grade girl: Miss Parsons why do you have to move to Utah?
                     I have to move when I get married to be with my husband.
                    You can just video chat with him DUH!

1st Grade boy: I love green! Its my favorite number!


Kindergarten boy: Miss Parsons I can't put everything away! How can I take the air out of my hands?

5th Grade boy when I asked why he didn't have any work done after 20 minutes: Oh, I didn't notice I wasn't doing anything!

1st Grade girl: Miss Parsons you might have a baby soon.
                    Not too soon, I'm not married yet.
                    Miss Parsons, that's up to God not you. I mean, look at Jesus' mom!
  
1st Grade girl: I'm rich! I have so many cents!

4th Grade boy: We can move these tables, we're real men.
Later when asked to sweep the bathroom: Um, we don't want to get ourselves dirty.

Kindergarten girl: You're not a grown-up Miss Parsons, you're not married!


2nd Grade boy: I might come to your wedding, if I don't have a baseball game that day.

1st Grade girl: Dear Miss Parsons, Your smile is so cute. Your boyfriend is so cute. 

2nd Grade boy: I LOVEEEEE....I mean...I like tutoring with you.

1st Grade boy: You look like you are having a baby in that shirt.

Kindergarten boy to his friend: My mom said I have a pretty nice tan.

Preschool girl: My computer is not really listening to me!

2nd Grade boy: A New Year’s resolution is something you want to change this year. I will brush  my teeth.

  Thank you to my sweet students for giving so many memories I will never forget.

A Few of My Favorite Things: School

Student teaching has been great! The 1st grade class makes each day fun, exciting and unpredictable! I just love seeing all my students everyday, and I am learning tons!  Student teaching is helping me grow as a teacher in many ways that sitting a college classroom could never do. I just finished my second week of teaching every subject on my own. I am loving it :)

A few things that make me smile....

1. My first gift from a student.

This cookie was adorable AND didn't contain any of my forbidden allergens! 

Delicious :)

2. Being Ms. Parsons

Another sweet gift from a student :) I am thrilled to hear my students call me Ms. Parsons. It makes it all the more real that I made it through all my college classes to this point--I am actually teaching these children!

Last week, few of my students found the idea that I have a first name most interesting and hard to wrap their minds around :)

3. Turtles.

For an art activity, the students made their favorite animals from play-dough. I sculpted a turtle and suddenly there were 16 more turtles to join him!

This sight made me smile. One day after everyone turned in their finished artwork. :)

4. These little ones.

By far the best thing about student teaching has been to watch each child grow and learn. I love each of their personalities and the way their little minds think! They teach me so much :)

Ready to go!

Tomorrow I start my student teaching at Southside Christian School! I am so thrilled! I love the school, and my cooperating teacher, Missy Gentile is amazing :)

Last week we got everything ready and met the kiddos and parents. 

All the teachers created paper plate representations of themselves  for a "Welcome Back to School" bulletin board...

I'm so excited for this! We made gumball machines as an incentive for fact family memorization. Each student gets to add a colored yard sale circle--GUMBALL--as they memorize their facts!  I cannot wait to see them filled color!

I adore this idea! The Bushel of Blessings was filled with our class wish list. On open house night when the parents came, they each picked an apple with something to bless the class with :)

 

This class is ready for little learners...

...and I am ready to learn from them and Mrs. Gentile about teaching!

I can't wait for First Grade ;)