Disney



A few weekends ago, we drove up to Disney World for the weekend, and spent all day there.  It was quite the eventful day but fun nonetheless.  First time I had been since our family vacation over 10 years ago.  Here are some pictures from the trip, hopefully I'll get more up later.

 

Lion King Tree of Life!

Mount Everest ride, one of my favorites.

In line at the Dinosaur ride.

The turtle was way more exciting.

Giant Christmas tree at Disney!!

The castle right after it was lit up.

Back of the castle.

Probably one of the most exciting things of the whole trip for Caitlyn.  She got so excited for when she saw this power line, I thought there was another car on fire or something.  Nope, just her first Disney siting!

50 Smiles

The first day without a sub went really well, I hardly noticed my MT was gone.  We just had a sub again today and I felt bad, not because I messed anything up, but because I could tell she was bored since I had everything covered!  I felt so prepared and am hoping that feeling continues throughout the week. 

I went home 2 weekends ago and miss it every day.  When Dorothy said, "There's no place like home," she wasn't kidding!  I had an amazing time carving pumpkins, eating pumpkin seeds, picking leaves, etc.  It was nice to get a taste of fall this year.  I ended up getting stuck in Ohio an extra day because of the hurricane/superstorm, which I was definitely not complaining about.  I knew it was a possibility before I left for the weekend so I had everything ready to go and all plans done for my MT just in case.  It's kind of crazy that I'm making plans for an actual teacher when I won't be there, and yet her sub plans consist of "Nicole will do everything."  It's nice to know I'm actually trusted with maintaining the classroom all of the time, I guess I must be doing something right.  And when I got back on Tuesday, I found a note from the substitute saying how much she enjoyed working with me and that I was becoming a great teacher.  That definitely brightened my day from the beginning.

This weekend we went to the Chalk Festival which was absolutely incredible (I'll upload some pictures later) and finally found the dolphin fountain Caitlyn and I had happened acrossed pictures of back in Ohio.  Saturday I went on my longest beach run yet, tried to get on the diving boards again (to no avail), and went to the USF Bulls game Saturday night in Tampa.  It was a great day and a reminder of what Sarasota (and Tampa) have to offer.  Sunday I went to the Shore and my Connect group.  I truly think that church and the relationships I have built through the church will be one of the things that I miss the most when I leave (alongside the kids of course).  I don't have a clue how I'm going to be able to walk away that last day.

This weekend we are headed to Disney for a taste of Orlando.  As for the title...teachers complain a lot (trust me), and as much as I want to agree with them sometimes, I can't imagine a different profession.  I once saw a whitening/toothpaste? commercial that said you smile on average 50 times every day, but I can't imagine that statistic being about elementary teachers.  There are so many reasons to smile and let's be honest, kids really do say the darndest things sometimes. The way they light up when they finally understand something, I can't help but smile right back. 

Car is still running great.  Kids are still amazing.  Still loving my host and MT.  Couldn't have asked for a better church community or family.  I am blessed.

My Car

So here's an update as to the adventures with my car this past week:

Wednesday morning it breaks down while I was on my way to school.  As much as it stunk, I could not have asked for a better location or better timing.  I was only going about 20mph when it started slowing down, made it off the road before it stopped, and no one was around so I wasn't worried about someone hitting me.  I called AAA, got it towed for free (they were there within 10 minutes), and I was in the classroom within an hour. 

Thursday, my mentor teacher's husband checks out my car--timing belt is broken.

Friday, my car gets towed to "Doctor-D's" as recommended by a teacher at Ashton.

Saturday, Doctor D calls and says I have about a 50/50 shot of it being okay.

Monday, no word (praying like crazy).

Tuesday, I get a call from Doctor D telling me to go play the lottery.  My car will be fine with a couple new belts and ready by Wednesday afternoon.

Wednesday, I pick it up and everything seems fine so far!  Just in time to drive to the airport to go home tomorrow!  I am so blessed.

To top it all off, I was not only taken to church and our connect group on Sunday by someone I had just met a few times, but I was also offered a brand new truck to drive around until mine got fixed by one of the guys there.  To say I am blessed and supported is an understatement.  I never realized how many people had my back down here.  From the rides to and from school, to church and the connect group, to and from dinner, etc. it became really obvious.  This past week has definitely allowed me to open my eyes to all of that. 

Oh and did I mention the RETIRED TEACHER's GARAGE SALE? No?  Well let me explain.  A local teacher retired and had a garage and driveway full of books and materials that she wanted to get rid of.  I left with a box full of books, unifix cubes, counters, etc.  She was incredibly nice and even gave Caitlyn and I a box of themed lessons and activites to split for free!  The materials in there were incredible and that alone was worth going for!

On a sadder note, we did have to say goodbye to our new friend, Autumn this week :(.  She was only doing half of the program here so she had to leave last week.  It's weird thinking that she won't be here for our weekend adventures anymore.  But I'm glad we had a nice night at the Ringling mansion with everyone before she left.  I'm sure she'll have a great experience at Crestview and I'll see her in December!

In the classroom:  taking over has gone really well, but I'm still struggling with finding a balance between trying my own thing and doing what my MT thinks I should do.  The kids are still obsessed with fall leaves and snow, which most of them have never seen nor played in.  The observation with my supervisor went really well last week, it just didn't count as a formal observation.  As much as I want to be frustrated that the one observation that she liked isn't counting towards my grade, I can't be upset because it did go so well (the kids loved it, I couldn't get them to stop at the end, and they truly remembered the material). 

They loved the gravity lesson yesterday as well.  In my opening questions, I realized they already knew more than I thought they would, so I changed it up on the spot.  I had them giggling, jumping up and down, and yet still learning more complex issues about gravity.  Even the boy who speaks little English wanted to participate and come up in the front of the room.  He is starting to open up so much more, at least in Math and Science. 

Tomorrow is my first day without my MT there.  It should be good finally getting to truly take over with the sub there.  Tomorrow is also Carnival day, which I am sad to miss, but not sad that I'm going HOME!!  I cannot believe it is already here, or that I've already completed over half of my time here.  Praying for safe travels and a nice break at home.  But for now it's time to finish up plans for next week. 

iHasta luego!

"How to Hug a Vampire"

It's crazy to think that in less than a week I will have complete control over a classroom of first graders.  I've been teaching nearly the whole day for weeks now, but Monday is the official start to my "full-time" teaching.  I've already taught and done everything that I'll be taking over, I just haven't done all of it at once.  It will definitely be a test of how well I can handle being an actual teacher.  My lesson on Fire Safety went amazingly today and I'm really happy with how well they did with it (and they didn't want to stop at the end!).  They also took a math test today, which the typically lower scorers improved a lot but some of the typically higher scorers dropped because they didn't follow directions.  Guess that will prove to them the importance of waiting for me to read the question and give instructions.  They still get excited about filling each others' buckets which is awesome. 

As for outside of the classroom, we went to Fruitville Grove Farm and the Point of Rocks over the weekend.  The Fruitville Grove had a fall festival starting that day and it was really nice to finally feel a hint of fall.  There were pumpkins, fresh apple cider, fresh fruit, etc.  What threw me off was the near 90 degree weather and the sand paths I was walking on to get from one place to another.  As nice as it was, I'm still looking forward to getting the real fall feeling at Shaw's NEXT weekend when I come home!  I can't believe it's next weekend! :)

In order to get to the Point of Rocks, you have to go out into the ocean, climb on a concrete platform, then climb across some more rocks.  Since we went at low tide, it wasn't nearly as difficult as I thought it might be.  It was a secluded little area away from most of the typical tourists that flood the area.  After finding some seashells, we headed back along the beach, listening to the sound of the drums from the public beach. 

The message Sunday morning was about "How to Hug a Vampire" which ultimately meant 'How to love the people that suck the life out of you'.  It was really eye opening and inspiring and I have been in a much better mood about things since then.  The main points were:  1. We are life-suckers too.  2. Create a property line (don't let people in closer to your heart than they should be--guard your heart).  3.  Stay in God's purpose.  Ultimately there are 2 ways to fall out of yourself, you can either fall into sin or fall into a 'religious leader's' lifestyle.  When you are struggling with something or someone, it is important to realize that your reaction to that situation shows more about you and your character than the situation itself. 

I also joined the YMCA this weekend.  I was talking to someone from The Shore and she mentioned them, after a few hours of checking the places out and driving around, I found one about 20 minutes away with 2-1m and 1-3m boards!  Plus they're outside, which is clearly a requirement, I am in Florida after all.  I was really excited to find it and can't wait to get started again.

That's about all for now.  I'm still struggling with the washing machine, but if that's my biggest challenge right now, I must be pretty blessed!

"Home"

It's crazy how different things are from one state to another, and how we don't realize what we truly have until we live somewhere else, or are conversing with someone from another state.  Yesterday one of the first grade teachers left to go back north (one of the states with an 'I'...) where she is originally from.  She sent a picture of the leaves turning red that she could see from the car and the rest of the teachers went nuts over it.  They were so jealous and in such awe at this distance shot of a mostly hidden tree with leaves turning red.  Even the kids are mesmorized at the idea of the leaves changing colors in the fall.  I've been so accustomed to it I never thought about how exciting that would be for someone who had never seen it.  Yes, I think it's beautiful don't get me wrong, but until now I've been so used to that sight that I never realized how amazing it is to be able to see that year after year. 

The same with snow.  Everyone here, especially the kids (of whom most of them have NEVER seen real snow before), are entranced at the idea.  I can't tell you how many times they have written about it in their journals on topics like "What makes you happy?" or "What do you like to do for fun?".  They are so amazed by the concept, even though they haven't seen it.  When I asked one little girl (who had never seen snow before) why she wrote that she liked building snowmen and snowball fights, she replied that she "just knew" it was a lot of fun.  It took me back and made me think about how much faith they all had that snow was as amazing as everyone seemed to say it was.  That's the kind of faith I want to have in my life.  Even though I can't physically see Jesus or hold Him in my hand, I want to continue to have such faith in everything I read and discuss, that my faith cannot be shaken.  My mentor teacher said she had driven all the way to Georgia one year just so her girls could see snow.  They were thrilled to find the grass lightly dusted with snow, half of the grass still showing.  In Ohio I wouldn't normally even turn my head at such a sight.  It seems so ordinary to me I forget how extraordinary it really is. 

And in all of this, I think about how people from Ohio have that same excitement at the thought of going to a sunny beach, seeing palm trees, and playing in the ocean.  It's crazy how routine that seems to everyone here, especially those who have lived here all their lives.  It just goes to show you how much you can miss, even on a seemingly ordinary day.  I have definitely been taking a lot of Ohio's beauty for granted, and I'm so glad I've had this opportunity to appreciate all that I have back at home.

It's also nice to know I'm not crazy for getting homesick.  A veteran teacher, who's been away from home for years, still gets so homesick she takes off for a few days and flys home for the weekend.  I'm not too excited about going home to cold weather, but I'm glad I get to go home in 2 weeks to still experience a little bit of fall.  Hopefully I'll get to bring back some leaves to show the kids.

Month 1 in Pictures

I realized I have not added any pictures yet, so here are some of my favorites from my first month of adventures here in Sarasota.

 

Siesta Key Public Beach.  Amazing cool, soft, white sand.

Cincinnati, courtesy of Ryan. I miss home.

I'm finally official!  No more dealing with The Landing.

One of the many reasons why I love my host.

Siesta Key at the Cabanas.

Siesta Key at the Cabanas at sunset (picture doesn't do it justice).

What keeps me going through it all.

Hanging right above my bed.  I am blessed in so many ways.

26 Documents later and still not done with lesson plans.  Welcome to teaching...

My drive to school every morning at sunrise.  Beautiful (again, picture doesn't do it justice).

Remembering all that had happened in my hometown.

I found a white crab at Siesta!!

Coolest bridge ever.  Amazing view of the ocean/bay and downtown Sarasota coming to/from Lido Beach.

Yoga on the beach! (Siesta Key Public Beach)

Clown car at the Ringling Brother's and Barnum and Bailey Circus Museum.

Outside the museum, really interesting trees.

Ringling Mansion.  Wouldn't it be rough to live there?

Back patio of the Ringling Mansion. Absolutely gorgeous view of the bay on a perfect, sunny day.  No wonder there are so many weddings and events held back there.

In the kitchen of my host's house.  Means something along the lines of:  "Move with the music of life, it is a beautiful dance."

Rubio!! Aka "fat cat" according to Julia.  He has the loudest meows and tries to bite, but he is so much fun to play with.  Definitely makes the house more interesting.  And as you can see, he likes to steal my bed!

Picture perfect.  Sunset at the cabanas (Siesta Key).  I love being able to see this after a long day at school.

Another beautiful view of the sunset (the cabanas I believe).

Ms. Buhr, why is your voice so calm?

I have been getting so homesick lately.  In a weird way I think I'm missing home now more than I ever did in Costa Rica, and I'm not even in a different country.  I always thought this trip would seem so much shorter than my 6 weeks in CR, but it seems so much harder to be away this time.  I never thought I would be willing to trade a day at the #1 beach in the country for a day at home.  But, after talking to my mom for a while, I'm coming home in a month! :) She said all I had to do was say I wanted to come home and she would book the flight...well she wasn't kidding.  It worked out perfectly with what weekend I could come back for and when things were happening at home.  I feel so blessed that God has given me such a loving mom.  Even though I can only come home for a few days, it's still worth the pricetag on the ticket.  I am so incredibly blessed and cannot wait to get home!

That doesn't mean I'm having a bad time here though.  I've been stressed, things haven't gone the way I would have liked, and I'm getting sick to top it all off, but I know I'm learning a lot.  I'm learning so much about teaching and becoming a teacher.  Every day I find myself evaluating the teachers and situations around me (good/poor collaboration, strategies to remember and strategies to remember to stay away from, etc.).  My mentor teacher leaves the room, typically at least once or twice a day, while I'm teaching, so I must be doing something right if she already trusts me with the kids enough. 

As for the lessons, they've been going well.  I'm focusing on what my supervisor and mentor teacher have suggested, but I'm still trying to find that balance of finding my teaching style and trying out the teaching styles they have seen be successful in the past.  I brought up the idea of Spelling Hopscotch to my mentor teacher, who loved the idea and had me on the floor making it the very next day so we could start using it right away.  The other 1st grade teachers liked the idea as well and the principal even walked in while we were setting it up.  It's crazy how something so unplanned can turn out so amazing.  All but 3 of them got a 100% on their spelling test last week (which has never happened!).  Also, I started working on a (modified) Reader's Theater with the students this week as part of my 2 week instructional unit on reading comprehension.  I'm hoping that it will help my ESL students understand the story better, as well as helping the class as a whole really get involved with it and start thinking deeper about each page.  Tomorrow is our "show" and Friday is the written assessment so we'll see how it goes!  I've also been doing an Apple/Johnny Appleseed theme this week in Science/Social Studies and the kids have done really well with it!  Every student I asked could tell me the life cycle of an apple and they've been doing really well with all of the Johnny Appleseed activities.  Today we did a trading activity using 2 halves of an apple cutout and they loved it.  They were working together, trading as they were supposed to, and truly seemed to understand the idea of how Johnny Appleseed and other people in history traded to get what they needed.  These kids are starting to become a handful sometimes, but they have not stopped impressing me yet!  I am truly blessed to work with them.

So you know I've had a rougher time lately being so far away, but the random things these kids say makes me realize how much I love being here with them.  Here's a few of my favorites lately:

One little girl walked in with a fleece jacket and told me she had on her "winter coat" (which, by the way, it was in the 90's that day).  The fact that a fleece jacket is the warmest coat these kids need is still shocker to me.

One morning, another girl kept looking at me with a confused look on her face after whispering to her friend.  She then asked, "Are you an M-R-S?"  Haha no, no I'm not.  She then went back to the confused look on her face and got back to work.

The next day, one boy (who had ONLY been playing with his twin at recess every day) and the little boy from Colombia were playing together and laughing harder than I had ever seen them.  (The previous day I had talked to the twin about playing with someone other than his brother, and when he tried asking someone to play, she turned him down :( so this was a major victory).  I think it was great for both of them!

Another girl has been cracking me up every day.  She is constantly singing and beat-boxing that I can't help but laugh.  She is the most adorable thing ever and SO polite.  She always says "excuse me," "please," "thank you," and gives more sincere compliments than any 1st grader I have ever met.

Then we have the day of the lizard...I walked in and grabbed the sign in binder like I had every morning.  I started opening up and a lizard scurried out!  I was so shocked I didn't know what to do.  I didn't want to touch it (it was 7 in the morning, too early to find lizards fun), but I didn't want it to get in all of the secretary's stuff either.  So another teacher saw me freaking out trying to figure out what to do and she goes, "you're not from around here are you?".  Nope, I'm from Ohio thank you.  We don't have lizards in school sign-in binders there.  Eventually it fell to the floor and she walked away like it was no big deal...it was still in the office!!

Then we have the hoes on the farm.  For morning journal one day the students were writing about what they might see on the farm.  One response was, "I see hoes on the farm".  After all of those pictures of similar quotes from kids I've seen, it doesn't give it justice until you're the teacher reading it who has to keep a straight face and make sure she changes the spelling, especially when she asks you what it says.  Morning journals always seem to bring up some interesting situations.

Finally, the same girl, as we were walking in from recess looks up at me and asks, "Ms. Buhr, why is your voice always so calm?"  I can't help but smile, and I reply that it is because this class is so well-behaved.  She says, "No but it's always so calm.  You never yell at us like other teachers do.  I like it."  Heart touched--check!  It made me so happy to know that I've been able to keep a class full of 6 and 7 year olds well-behaved without ever having to raise my voice.  They know that we won't continue until "the voices are off" as one student reminded me today.  It feels good knowing they are learning from me already and are starting to learn my phrases to the point where they remind each other of them before I even have to say anything.  Classroom management has been one of my biggest struggles, and I think I am finally getting the hang of it (much thanks to Stepping Stones I am sure).  It's starting to feel like I could actually handle my own classroom.

But for now, it's back to lesson plans.  Hopefully everything will go well the rest of the week!