I Think I Can...I Hope I Can...

Truth is, I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed right now!

Besides the fact that late July/early August is busy in general for educators feeling the "back-to-school" crunch, I went ahead and had two of my three babies between July 29th and August 4th!  :)  That means hosting out-of-town guests to see the birthday kids and "party planning" for the grade schooler!  (I no longer can get away with a simple visit to Chuck E Cheese...thank goodness.)

And then there's this...

Thirteen years worth of resource materials...stored in another classroom...and deposited in my office/classroom.  I'm the type of person that must have an organized classroom environment or I just can't function!  Needless to say...this is killing me!  :)

Slowly weeding through materials...pitching, recycling, donating, storing...I really don't know what I'll need until I actually begin doing the job.

Here's where I'm at after only a couple of hours of work. I'm limited on time with three kiddos in tow...but they really help me with work/family balance outside of contract hours! (Notice the blankie on my teacher desk?)

Anyway, thank you to all of my new Bloglovin followers and Blogger followers!  I see that I've got both some "old" and new friends following me.  While I would love to be creating and sharing all sorts of cutesy learning projects/aides right now, I feel like I need to focus my energy on this classroom environment.  It desperately needs some TLC!

More pics to come.  Wishing you a happy start to the work week!

Are You More of a Martha or Mary in the Classroom? (Sunday Snippet)

As a both a Catholic and a newly-hired parochial elementary-level teacher, I thought it would be nice to devote my Sunday blog posts to connecting the Gospel to my classroom teaching...a post that is short and sweet that connects some aspect of education/teaching to the Gospel.

This Sunday's Gospel reading Martha and Mary  (Luke 10:38-42) lends itself nicely to making those connections.

'Martha and Mary', Nathan Greene, born 1961

(38) As they continued their journey he entered a village where a woman whose name was Martha welcomed him.  (39) She had a sister named Mary [who] sat beside the Lord at his feet listening to him speak.  (40) Martha, burdened with much serving, came to him and said, "Lord do you not care that my sister has left me by myself to do the serving?  Tell her to help me."  (41)  The Lord said to her in reply, "Martha, Martha, you are anxious and worried about many, many things.  (42) There is need of only one thing.  Mary has chosen the better part and it will not be taken from her."

As I contemplate those words, it occurs to me that more often than not, I am Martha rather than Mary...in the classroom, in my own home, in my prayer life.  I often find myself distracted by the details....worrying about tomorrow...checking items off of my to do list....rather than being present and in relationship with those I love.  

I can recall (shamefully) how a student might come to me with a problem, but all I could focus on was the fact that they were not mastering the released test indicators for the upcoming assessment.  

And how many times do my own children come to me...wanting me to hear the story they wrote...or read them a book they chose from their bookshelf...only to be rebuffed by me because I had dishes to do or a floor to mop?

'Christ in the House of Martha and Mary', Jan Vermeer van Delft, 1654

It's true that as educators we must pay attention to detail.  We are expected and held accountable to manage the details...the assessments, grades, mastery...for each child in our care.  

But it seems to me, especially as a newly hired Resource Room Specialist, that while I must definitely pay attention to details, I must also be more like Mary...

...developing deep relationships with the students on my caseload...seeing them for more than their "disability" or label...listening to what they're trying to tell me...even if they struggle to use words.

It seems as if balance is the key to being a successful Resource Room Teacher...having systems in place to manage the paperwork associated with each case that allows the time necessary to develop relationship with each child.

Who do you find yourself to be more like...Martha or Mary?

Great Escape to South Florida (2013)

Dear Friends, Followers, and Readers of "I Think I Can...",

We just wanted to take a minute to say hello and explain our mommy's absence. She has been crazy-busy with taking us on a two-week vacation to south Florida (see pictures) and undertaking two extreme bedroom makeovers.  

It seems our mom started this blog literally just days before embarking with our dad and us on a 3000-mile road trip to south Florida.  Our family drove from Kansas City to Port St. Lucie, FL and back over a twelve-day period.  We did so many fun things including visiting friends and family along the way as well as the mandatory trips to reefs, aquariums, and different beaches.  It was definitely an educational trip!

Here are just a few highlights...

...and our mom promises to get back into the swing of things this week!

Hugs from,

Mary Catherine, Benjamin, & Luke

Hutchinson Island, Stuart, Florida, July 2013

Mary Catherine - 8

Benjamin - 6

Luke - 2

Driving through our mom's "hometown" of St. Louis, Missouri

Have YOU ever been up in the Arch???

First "potty break" in Metropolis, IL

We stayed overnight with dear friends in Fayetteville, TN on their working farm.

Good times included playing in the barn loft, feeding the cows, taking tractor rides, and practicing target shooting (both guns and compound bows).  Two families...seven kids!  LoVe!!!  :)

As we made our way down the east coast of Florida, we made the requisite stop at the World's Most Famous Beach!  Wow, the Atlantic Ocean is so COLD!!!

We finally arrived at our destination of Hutchinson Island (in Stuart, FL near Port St. Lucie).  Our daddy's boss owns the condo we stayed in.  The view from the lanai was the marina.  

Our daddy surprised us with a 1/2 day boat rental one afternoon while we were there.  Daddy took us up and down the St. Lucie River and we beached ourselves on a private island.  The locals taught us how to hunt for Conch shells. They were amazingly beautiful and HUGE!

View through the lanai screen.

Another afternoon, our mommy and daddy took us to a local oceanographic institute. We learned about sea turtles, sting rays, and sharks.

Of course we enjoyed ice cream several times!

Another day, our mom took us out to Bathtub Reef (a living reef off of Hutchinson Island).  Our mom taught us all about respecting the sea life and not walking/climbing on the reef.  She managed to photograph the reef with her camera phone without dropping the phone in the water!  

If you notice that the water is suspiciously absent of people...it's because a shark was spotted in the water. Fortunately, daddy shared this info with mommy AFTER she exited the ocean...otherwise, she might have panicked...and truly dropped her phone.  That would have been the least of her concerns! 

Our  last day of vacation found us touring the Elliott Museum (dedicated to inventors!) which was right near the Marriott property we were staying at.  Of course, our mom could not get enough pictures of the  beautifully restored 1931 School Bus!!!  It was actually once used in the Stuart, FL area school district.

The Elliott Museum opened in March of 2013 and was totally amazing. While were there, they were hosting the Leonardo da Vinci exhibit.  Completely hands-on and child-friendly...us kids were encouraged to touch and explore while searching for simple machines!  (Luckily, our mom used to teach Third Grade Science Lessons which really came in handy helping us find planes, screws, levers and pulleys!)

We wrapped up our Great Escape to South Florida with a quick stop at Elvis Presley's birthplace in Tupelo, MS.  

So until next year, we bid the ocean farewell...adios...au revoir!

"The sea, once it casts its spell, holds one in

its net of wonder forever."

~Jacques Yves Cousteau~