In a little over a month, I will be sending my oldest daughter off to college.  Yes, that's right, I said college.  For those of you that know me, you know this is going to be a lot harder on me than on her (I think)! 

We recently dropped her off at USI for a weekend camp and the only response from the two texts that I sent her were, "I'm fine." and "Yes!"  Yep, that's it.  All those long heart to heart talks, years of bonding, not to mention trying to increase her vocabulary, and that is all I got?  Yes it is.  It is sad but true.  

She is growing up and I am one proud mama.  Being a mom has helped me to be a better teacher.  By the same token, being a teacher, has helped me to be a better mom.  I guess what I'm getting at here, besides my girl going away and I'm not sure that I will live through it,  is that every parent is their child's first teacher.  Spend your time wisely with your kiddos.  Help them with their academics, foster their independence, but just as important, help your child grow his/her character and soul.  Am I worried silly about sending my daughter off to college...of course I am.  I find comfort in knowing that my husband and I have tried to teach her respect and responsibility, love and tolerance.  Best of wishes to my little girl.  It's her time to fly and I'm sure she is going to fly among the clouds.  Go USI Screaming Eagles!!!!

Welcome to our first E-Learning Day.  How odd is it that Snowmageddon 2015 is taking place on the same day?  I’m glad our students will be safely at home on this day.  Getting to learn at home, with the latest and greatest devices is a bonus!  We are so happy to enter into this school/home relationship.  Our teachers,  awesome IT team and administration have been working very hard to plan this event.  Will it be perfect…perhaps, we hope.  Will there be room for improvement…most certainly.  At any rate, we are glad you are willing to go on this journey with us.  Have a great E-Learning Day and don’t forget, teachers will have office hours if you have any questions.  You can check out the actual lesson plans at:

 http://www.scsd2.k12.in.us/e-LearningDay.aspx. 

Below are Title I’s plans for this day.  Most of Title I’s plans DO require internet access.  If you don’t have internet access, just remember, this is an extension activity.  It’s okay if you just can’t do it due to lack of internet access.  

Have fun with digital learning!

New Rooms

This Christmas, Santa brought our Title I Staff and Resource room a HUGE gift!  We got new classrooms!!!! That’s right, our school added two new classrooms that were finished just before Christmas break.  We are all so happy to have more floor space, more cabinets and windows!!!!!  I am certainly thankful that our district took this huge leap and extremely grateful that I got to be in one of these beautiful rooms. Pictures will be added soon, so please check back to see our new rooms.

Happy New Year!  My new year has started off with a bang.  I started off the year by having an unexpected hand surgery.  One thing I learned is how grateful I am that some people chose to become doctors and some nurses.  I am very thankful for the care they have given me over the last few days.  

Although having surgery on my hand wasn't exactly what I classified as fun, it gave me a chance to reflect on the importance of having full use of my hands.  We use our hands to do everything from primping in the morning in preparation for the day to holding our children close.  As I thought about this, I reflected on how our children use their hands so much when learning.  So, I thought I'd start the conversation on this:  How does your child use her hands to help her be an active learner?  Here is just a few to get you started:

Counting on fingers

Tapping out syllables

Pointing to the words being read

Turning pages

Following along

Now it's time for you to join the conversation.  Let me know how your child uses his hands to learn.