a little sad

The end of the school year is always a bit bittersweet.  I love, love, love the lazy slow days of summer vacation but it's always hard to say goodbye to another year.  I'm sad that Leslie will no longer be in middle school.  I'm sad that my littles, my mini-friends, will be moving on to the next step in their lives - kindergarten.  Tonight I saw an old little (Anna) at our favorite restaurant.  So sweet to see her and her lovely parents - but again, sad.  She proudly told me that she read 250 books this year and she's so tall and grown up looking.  Just wish I could keep all of my littles with me!  Why does time have to pass so quickly?  

Getting ready for our end of the year program.  It's not too bad.  I don't really have to do anything except hand out diplomas and stand near the stage while the littles sing.  I don't know why, but when kids sing or perform on stage it always makes me want to cry.  I was holding back tears the entire night of Leslie's final performance last week.  Jen wants to do the "goodbye" song from Sound of Music for our program this year.  We just introduced the littles to the song today.  Yikes.  I told Jen that it's going to be her singing (I can't seem to remember the words!) and crying.  But maybe it will be her singing and me crying and the littles just standing there looking cute.  

Team Teaching

I'm loving the team teaching thing.  I forgot how much I love watching other teachers.  And how much I can learn from them.  Jen does a great job reading to the littles - she really gets into the story and they love it.  Today she read Five Little Monkeys Jumping On The Bed complete with monkey props and a doll bed!  

what i'm reading in all of my spare time :)

I have 3 books going right now.  The first is actually from a blog.  Or two.  It's called A Year of Mornings and it's by Maria Alexandra Vettese and Stephanie Congdon Barnes.  It's a collection of photographs taken by these 2 women every morning for one year.  They really only know each other from the internet.  And they live 3191 miles apart.  But their photographs are so simple and beautiful.  I'm hoping it's going to inspire me to take better photos for my blog.

The second book I'm reading is New and Selected Poems by Mary Oliver.  Her poetry is so accessible.  I love this line:  

Tell me, what is it you plan to do

with your one wild and precious life?

And, last but not least, a little fiction to round things out. Testimony by Anita Shreve.  I loved The Pilot's Wife but never picked up her other stuff for some reason.  

So, hoping to have some time to read soon.  Last summer I read 50 or 60 books.  Really.  (Yes, I did other things, too.)  Seems like during the school year I'm pretty consumed with teaching so I don't make it through too many books.  But summer is all about recharging and relaxing and reading.  For me anyway!

Project Based Learning: Lions, and Tigers, and Bears . . .

Jen & I have been very interested in project based learning and all of the Reggio inspired stuff that's going on.  We decided to jump into it (well, wade in really) for the last few weeks of school.  It's difficult to break away from theme teaching, though.  We've been trying some team teaching this week and we're letting the kids work in both classrooms.  That has been pretty successful, I think.  The other stuff will come.  It's just going to take some time to break old habits.  I think it's so interesting that my philosophy of teaching continues to change.  I could never be a teacher that does the same thing year after year.  That's why this project based learning has me so geeked.  

should we stay or should we go

Things seem to be coming together with our liquidation of assets.  Which is exhilarating and frightening at the same time.  Now comes decision time.  What do we want to do with the rest of our lives?  Do we stay here?  Move back home?  Is this home now?  Will I miss it terribly if I leave?  

At this moment I am sitting on our porch and it is a lovely temperature.  A really strong breeze blows in from time to time but it's a warm breeze.  At this moment I can't imagine being anywhere else.  

I'm afraid my parents are not having an easy time embracing the idea that we may vacate Florida.  And it would be very difficult to not have them close by.  But we really need to decide what is best for the three of us in the long run.  And maybe there is no best.  When I used to look back on our decision to move to Florida I always thought it was a mistake.  I spent my first two years feeling homesick and out of place.  Now, I'm not so sure.  It's been really nice for Leslie to grow up so close to my parents.  And Florida has taken me out of my safety zone so I guess that has forced me to grow.  

Still, if I imagine myself as a little old lady, it is never here in Florida.  I'm in Michigan.  In a little house with a garden.  And a porch.  And I'm happy.  

my weekend eight

*the farmer's market (for olive oil soaps that smell other-worldly and the best pasties i've had since bret's finnish grandma passed away)

*a long nap that totally changed my perspective and helped me escape this pregnancy-like tired i've been feeling of late

*my crazy girl who finally finally finally talked us into RED hair (& she looks so cute, by the way)

*finishing lesson plans and newsletters and prep for school & feeling pretty good about where all the kids are for the end of the year

*two new outfits from j jill and j crew last night (and they made the list because, while they might not make me look skinny, they do not make me look fat)

*some good dvd's from the 50% off sale at borders that we'll all watch as a family tonight (which leads into . . .)

*having leslie at the age where i can share some of my favorite old movies with her

*anticipating an evening beach walk

she's driving!!!

Such a funny thing to watch your little person become a big person before your eyes.  It sneaks up on you.  Mostly, you don't even realize it's happening.  Until they pass over some threshold.  Tonight my girl had her very first driving lesson.  Except for a few very abrupt stops it was pretty smooth.  And pretty awesome.  A glance into what the future holds.  Oh and is she so ready to run right into that future - full speed ahead.