Ch...check! One less thing for the bucket list.

So I did it.

I finally checked off this bucket list item "Sing in front of a group of people larger than my family (with an actual microphone)." I think the room filled with over 100 people should count. Could I have sang a more upbeat song? Sure. Could I have actually looked out and smiled while I was singing the song "Smile"? Sure. But hey, I was pretty proud that I went up there without fainting in the middle of it. I never fully understood how people could get physically messed up by getting in front of people until I actually did. All was well until Dave started playing the guitar and then a sudden heat wave, crazy stomach, and shaky fingers began. At least my voice didn't leave me.

This all started with the Chinese New Year party invitation. I excitedly read the line "Sign up for the Talent show!" Immediately my assumptions were planted thinking that with all the people going to this party, a lot of them (inlcuding my friends) would sign up. So much for assuming....I should have known better. Luckily I was able to get my two good friends Liz and Hannah to sign up to at least take the pressure off from being 1 out of 6 performers. Sorry girls for getting you into this....

All in all, even though it wasn't a "perfect moment" by any means....I did go to bed smiling. Just that sound in my head of "Ch-check!" (on the bucket list...haha). One thing down, plenty more to go. Just to put it out there, Cassie Chase was my biggest motivator.....sorry I didn't do "Stand by you". Maybe next time.

Closer to 2nd grade...yikes

It is that time of the year. Now over the "hump" of the half-way point, the emotions of excitement and panic set in. Encouraged for how much my students have learned this year, yet concerned with how much I still need to prepare them! I hope this is a real fear for more teachers than just myself. After the words of "you are now closer to 2nd grade then you are to Kindergarten!" was said to my students, my mouth and stomach simultaneously dropped with the reality. Although the work to be done is a very present awareness with every passing day, I wanted to document some of the progress they HAVE made this year!

With our new "Big Book" shelf put in, the students use pointers, big glasses, or post-its to interact with or respond to their reading. Here one of the students was marking up the book Stellaluna with questions he had about some interesting words. He was so interested that he asked if he could look them up in the dictionary during recess! What dedication!

By now, we have learned MANY word families (-ight, -ell, -ake, etc.). I pinned a particular word family to everyone's back and let them have at it with coming up with as many words as they could. I was so impressed with what they discovered together!

During our writing workshop, this student is choosing to write a non-fiction piece. He found his own resources from our classroom library, came up with great questions in his brainstorming web, and did not need my help for any of it! Is it possible to feel bored during the day when your kids are so independent they don't even realize you are there? Maybe this is a good thing...I definitely don't miss the beginning when I wished I was cloned with the demands of all my dependent learners.

Sometimes the connections that my students make when they are reading just crack me up. This student feels that he made a valid "text-to-text" connection because the fox's teeth in the book The Mitten were sharp like the shark teeth in his book Hungry Hungry Sharks. While it IS a connection, this shows we need to work on finding more meaningful ones...

Well...I feel encouraged already. Just by posting about it has reminded me of how far my students have come. Thank you Father for allowing me to see the joys of this year. YOU alone have accomplished quite a work in these students. Thank you for letting me witness your handiwork.

Let the games begin!

If you look hard enough, what you can find in China is astounding. When I thought all was lost with buying American games for less than American prices, I found some at one of the largest wholesale markets in the world! On a typical market weekend (this time in search of "Treasure Island" props), I came across a very familiar American word.....MONOPOLY. To my dismay, there was much more than Monopoly, but the new version - Monopoly deal, Carcassone, and the infamous Settlers of Catan! Wow, did I hit a jackpot! After bartering a bit, I walked home with all three for less than $25. For all of my China friends, I found these at Wu Ai....crazy, I know. I am feeling a game night coming soon...

Voyage of the Dawn Treader...in 3-D!

I hadn't realized that I never actually finished this post! I put the pictures up right away, but must have gotten distracted before I wrote anything and pressed publish...whoops :)

This past Saturday we had an entertaining/random outing of going to see the newest English movie in town...a 3D Voyage of the Dawn Treader! Dave had been spending the last couple of weeks brushing up on the story as he read to me before we went to bed (more like filled me in after each chapter). To our suprise, we were greeted by a very enthusiastic international college crowd. Even after the movie, the energy continued with an hour long photo shoot. We eventually snuck our way out of the crowd about 30 minutes into it, but not without being pulled into one of the infamous group shots. It reminded me of my beloved college/dorm memories....so much lovin' all around.

Joy in a box...

Living in China, there is nothing quite like the joy of getting loved through the postal system. We never realize how much we miss food from our home country until it is sitting there all neatly packed in a box just for us! Jumping up and down with my heart skipping a beating WAY too fast, it felt like I was anticipating the most valuable possession hiding beneath the packaged tape. To what do I find, but an assortment of mixes, chocolate chip cookies, spices, socks, goodies, teachery things, and even Berenstain bear books! See below for our overjoyous expressions :)

Laying around my beloved chocolate chips.....even Andes mint and butterscotch flavor!

"Oooooo.....AAaaahhhhh!" "Honey, you gotta try these....." New wool socks for those Shenyang winters...enough said.

I never realized how much I missed trail mix until I was staring at the bag with cashews, raisins and M & M's inside! Yummy!

With the right salt, now I can make those soft pretzels I miss so much! Woohoo!

A special thanks goes out to Becky Evans and Carol Casten for completing making our night tonight! We felt so loved...thank you!