We Are Family!

March is almost here! Does it bother anybody else that St. Patrick's Day and Easter are in the same week? Do I put out my Easter decorations and my St. Patrick's decorations at the same time? What do I do in April? One of my students, and her twin sister, are from Illinois. Their birthday happens to fall on Easter this year. She thinks it is so strange that Arizona has Easter so much earlier than Illinois does!! :)

For a Heidi Swapp class I took, we had to use a very large photo and put our embellishments around it. We also had to do some handwritten journaling which I cringe at! I would much rather print something out on my computer but I wanted to see how it looks. I chose this photo that my dad took of my cousin Sonja at I at a family get together. It is not the best quality, but I love this picture. I printed it in sepia tone to match the pink and brown of my cards. Sonja and I have a special bond - I cannot really explain it but whenever we are together, I feel so much love and happiness. She is so spunky and keeps me laughing! I need a little bit of Sonja everyday!

What do I love?

Happy Valentine's Day! (Okay - maybe just a day late!) Most people who know me know that I do not like this holiday. It is the day invented by Hallmark and See's Candy! It is the one day when it seems like everyone is looking at you because you are the "single" one. I know they probably aren't, but it sure seems like it! The day was fun because watching first graders open Valentine' cards is so funny and cute. So many of them said that this was the best day of their life. I guess candy and a little love is all we need!

One thing I do love, besides all of the chocolate I got yesterday, is Kate. She is my friend's daughter and I made this layout last year for a contest. She is coming to visit me in a couple of months and I can hardly wait! Whenever I visit her,I take a picture of the two of us. Looking at it reminds me how much I love this little girl! It is so nice to be able to hug someone you love!

Funk!

Hello! It has been so long since I posted anything. I guess I have been in a funk lately! What does that mean? I am not really sure but I have not been feeling very creative lately. My real job of teaching has gotten me down. It just amazes me how much children have changed - and not for the better. Anyways, I hope to get out of this mood very soon!

To give hope to all teachers out there, there is always Teacher Appreciation Week. This is usually the first week of May. Our PTA always does fabulous things for us and my students usually draw me pictures and write me kind words. (We shall see this year!?) One thing that I made for some teachers is this Teach word book. I made it about four inches tall and used lots of teacher themed paper. Instead of pictures, I filled it with stickers and quotes like:

"The secret of teaching is to appear to
have known all your life what you just
learned this morning."

"The mediocre teacher tells. The good teacher
explains. The superior teacher demonstrates.
The great teacher inspires."

Sometimes teachers need a reminder of this! We need to remember that we are doing something truly important each and every day. Why not thank your favorite teacher today?!