My girls at 3 years and at 4 months
I think it would take me weeks to fill everybody in on the happenings of this past year, so I'll just try to do a quick recap and make a goal of trying to be better about posting...
For the past several years, I had been contemplating going back to school. After Hanover, I went to the University of Louisville and received my Master's in Education in Interdisciplinary Early Childhood Education. This degree allows me to teach and work with children ages birth-primary. After working at Meredith-Dunn for a number of years, they decided to have a Kindergarten and I was lucky enough to get to be the lead teacher (I had been an assistant 3rd grade teacher for several years before that). So in the Fall of 2008, I was an official K/1st grade teacher. For the next 2 years, I had a Kindergarten/1st grade split class of students with learning disabilities. However, I knew that the school was struggling to find such young students that fit our admissions requirements. I knew that only having an early childhood degree would not get me the job security and the flexbility that I needed. So last August I decided to go back to school. I literally found the program, applied quickly, and was accepted in about a week and started the week after that...talk about a whirlwind. I just knew if I didn't go back to school now, I never would. I am currently attending Georgetown College and will have my Master's in Special Education with LBD certification for Primary-12th grade. I'm lucky enough that it is all online, however, I didn't realize how much work it would be. Every free moment I have, I am doing homework (hence why I haven't blogged the past year)...yuck! The program isn't hard, just very time-consuming. By the end of this April/May (2012), I will be completely finished!! YAY!!
In addition to going back to school, I also had a very challenging teaching year as well. I don't want to go into too much detail due to confidentiality, but I started out the year with 8 students, went down to 6, and then went back up to 8. In October and in February, I had 2 students that had to leave. One student had some major psychological issues that hindered her academic performance and the safety of others and the other had some specific behavior issues that we were not equipped to deal with. Dealing with those issues were very emotional and made teaching difficult. That took my class down to 6, and then in March, I had two more students join the class (for all you teachers out there, you know that when new students come so late in the school year, it proves to be very difficult on the dynamics in the classroom). But, with my wonderful assistant's help, we made it through the school year!! Looking back, I know that all things happen for a reason, and the students were put in my lives to help me learn and grow from their situations. I am blessed that I have such a strong support system at school and at home that helped me throughout the year!
Now, on to the girls. Last August I sent the girls to school (daycare) a day earlier than I had to...I needed that day to get used to being without Gracie (we'd been at home together for 5 months). Good thing I took that day to myself...I cried for most of it.
Here are the girls on their first day of the 2010-2011 School Year...getting ready to leave home:
This has been a wonderful year watching my girls grow. Hannah has taken on the "Big Sister" role with ease. She loves Gracie and I think really enjoys having her around. She's always kissing on her and playing with her and will do things to help me take care of her.
Hannah is really starting to look grown up. She has completely lost that baby look. She is also really starting to learn a lot and make sense of the world, ever since she was very little she has loved books, and still does. I think we read at least 3-4 books a day together. For her 4th Birthday, she wanted a princess theme...she got it:
She is very much into her friends at school and in the neighborhood. I love just watching her play and use her imagination. She's a very happy little girl that loves to laugh.
Gracie turned 1 a few months ago, and she, too, had a kind of pink princess theme:
Gracie is a full-blown toddler. She is trying to run to keep up with her big sister which always ends with scraped knees and bruises. She is beginning to talk, but the words she says are so random: mama, dada, sit, cheese... She is a ball of energy and is constantly on the go. She is the happiest little baby which is a complete turnaround from when she was little. Her reflux issues are much better and she is no longer on medication! She sleeps about 10-11 hours a night and wakes up with a smile on her face!
As for Tony, he continues to work hard and provide for his family. He has been wonderful this past year with helping me with the girls more so I can get my schoolwork completed. He is excited that fishing season is here and is taking stock in his baits and lures. He loves the fact that Hannah has become interested in fishing as well, and likes to take her out on his boat. Tony has also lost about 30 pounds with the help of Weight Watchers, he's looking good!
So even though I disappeared from the blog world for a while, we are still here. We are doing really well and stay super busy. There is so much more I'd like to share, so I'll end with a promise that I will post again soon!
