See You Later Mrs. Zellner

 

I don't think I could say it any better. It's almost the end. See you later Mrs. Zellner.
On Friday I said goodbye to 17 super special kids. I always find saying good-bye to be the hardest. I truly love my job and even though I may have my ups and downs, I could not be more thankful that God lead me to teaching. I feel it is exactly where I am meant to be at this time in my life.


Friday was a half day for my class. Teachers will return for Monday and Tuesday. Then school is out for summer. It was absolutely bittersweet. I truly had such an amazing year with these fun little personalities. I will miss them dearly. But I could not be more excited to be a summer stay at home mommy with Miss Auby.

On Friday, we enjoyed a special treat. Ray brought Aubrey to visit and read stories to my classroom. The students were more fascinated with her than me or the stories. They really just wanted touch her little toes. It was even said that maybe we could play a quick game of hot potato with her just so she could be passed around so everyone could see better of course. Hey they wanted to share right;) I have to say this year has been truly amazing. I've laughed, cried, and a little bit of everything else in between.

At the beginning of the year I didn't know exactly what this year would hold. Being 8-9 months pregnant and worrying if your water was going to break any moment was a bit of a challenge, but my kids were so sweet and helped in every way that they could. After a few weeks, I was full on waddle, wearing house slippers at school making excuses why I couldn't do jumping jacks with my kiddos. Thank goodness they understood. In October baby girl was born and I said good-bye for a few months. I returned in early December and have been working each day ever since. Like I said, I've laughed, cried, and a bit of everything in between. What a great year!

Good-bye classroom... until next year!

Bloggable Updates: July & August Edition

The past two months have come and gone more quickly than I could have imagined. I have shared in so many wonderful moments, but sadly have been a little behind on writing about them. So here is my attempt to give a preview of the last two months until I can get around to writing about all the fun we've had.

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1. Two of my besties, Stephanie and Kristin, threw me a baby shower to celebrate Miss Aubrey. It was amazingly adorable. The theme was... Look Whooooo's Having a Baby!

{Stephanie, Paige, me, Kristin}

{Adorable décor and delicious treats}

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2. My mom and aunt came to attend my Dallas shower. We enjoyed a weekend filled with celebration, crafts, and met my cousin and his girlfriend for a fun family dinner at BJ's. 



 
{Aunt Erlene, me, and Oma}

{Jennifer and I}

 

{Nursery family photo fun}

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3. Ray and I attended our church's leadership meeting and themed dinner. Fun photo opt with our ABF friends.

 

{Chase, Denise, Colin, Amy, Ray, and I} 

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4. August 19th marked the first day for the teacher's to return to school. My school sure knows how to ROCK! Meet our first grade team, The Beach Girls! 

{The First Grade Beach Girls}

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5. My Ultimate Frisbee Champion! Gray took on blue in the ultimate final this season, and came home victorious!

{My Ultimate Champion}
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6. Friday, August 23rd, the parents and students enjoyed a Sneek-a-Peek! It was a great time to meet my new kiddos for this year. I'm truly excited for this year and all the fun we will have in first grade!

 

 {Welcome to Mrs. Zellner's Classroom}

Saying Good-bye & New Adventures

This year has been fast and furious and a lot of fun. I am having bittersweet feelings about my final days of first grade. Thinking about the year I've spent, I left my homeschool and transferred to another. I said good-bye to my teacher friends and family as well as my kiddos and was given a new one. I loved the opportunity I was given over the past years, the relationships that I've made and kept, as well as the new ones I've gained. It was a challenge for me to leave but I think I knew in my heart that was what what I was supposed to do. I sure do miss my kids and have loved getting to see them, their families, and my teacher friends throughout this year. I love teaching first grade. I have a classroom full of personalities and just beautiful hearts. At the end of this year, I was a bit overwhelmed thinking of baby girl, of summer school, and all the exciting but overwhelming to dos. I definitely felt pregnant at the end of the year... the moving, the bending, the changing of rooms. I didn't think I had a lot of materials, but after a few days of moving rooms and feeling pretty exhausted, I'm guessing I have more than I thought. I will be done Monday so I'm not too worried. I am just feeling the growing pains, the sadness of many good-byes, but am excited about all that will be accomplished this summer. It is crazy yet amazing to me to think of my return as a 8-9 month pregnant teacher, but all will be great. My principal set up a wonderful long term substitute for me. My school loves her as she used to teach there and I hear she's fabulous. So I leave this post with a sense of accomplishment, a sense of just trying to relax and know that as they say... I'm growing a life and to take my time one day at a time. So here's to all of my teacher friends... May you have a wonderful summer and enjoy a time a relaxation and of new adventures.

Teacher Appreciation Week

Last week was teacher appreciation week. Boy was it filled with tasty treats and special activities for everyone around the school. It was a perfect way to end our previous two weeks of testing and a great way to begin our countdown for the final days of school. The week included PTA lunches, a first grade birthday lunch, secret goodies, and an early release team building competition. All I have to say is go team FIRSTY! "We are FIRSTy for knowledge" ...thus my fabulous teammate dressed as Einstein. I really enjoyed working as a first grade teacher this year and look forward to continuing my efforts in first grade next year. I'll also be working with some sweet summer school kiddos this summer and will send a few more updates on that as well.

I did want to take a moment to wish all of the teachers a wonderful last few weeks of school! You truly do inspire all those around you and make such a wonderful difference. Here's to 19 more days of school for many of my friends! You can do it!

ONE HUNDRED!

Today our First Graders celebrated the 100th day of school. While as a Kindergarten teacher last year, we held a parade and lots of different activities. This year was a bit more tame. We did enjoy 100 day badges, 100 pizza topping and graph morning activity sheet, and "if I had $100" writing. It was sure a fun and CRAZY day with my kiddos. I enjoyed my jean Wednesdays and of course anything that is a theme:) Wishing all my teachers a fabulous 100 days and the months that lay ahead.

Pinterest, My Number 1 Interest!

As most of us, I am pretty addicted to Pinterest. I think the title clearly exemplifies my feelings for the site. Since I am a first year First Grade Teacher, I have been searching for new activities for my kiddos. I have fallen in love with so many great ideas and blogs. Here are some of the fun ideas that I have found. If you are interested you can follow me on Pinterest. A great blog I have found through Pinterest is Made for 1st Grade. It has so many wonderful ideas, freebies, and kits for purchase. I have included some here for your reference.

Reach for the stars- Student Goals

 ABC Order

I'll be using this idea in my discussion of adjectives.

Thankful wheel

Sight Word Graphing

Synonyms 

 

 Synonym Directions

Tallie Fun

Lego Addition and Subtraction

Beginning Sounds, Blends, Spelling Fun

Fact Family Post it Fun

 Cookie Sheet Sight Word Activity
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For all o fmy teacher friends out there, what are some other great sites and ideas that you have found?

A Room in Progress...

I think my facebook status says it all...

Today was the first day I felt like I knew exactly what I was supposed to be doing;) This makes a teacher's heart very happy!

After much preparation, long hours, and valuable time on pinterest, I feel like I am coming into my own in my new first grade room. Here are just a few photos of a room in progress.

Here is to another exciting year in the teaching profession, a new home, new kiddos, a new grade level... but all an excellent adventure.

Because I'm a Teacher...

Being a teacher has brought me so much joy in my life. I feel that God las lead me to my passion and I could not imagine a more perfect profession. With that being said, there are some interesting facts that I have learned over the past three years. 

Because I'm a Teacher....

... I get up many days before the crack of dawn.

... I neglect my housework. 

... I get excited about garage sales.

... I love children.

... I love craft stores.

... I am addicted to pinterest.

... I love children's stories.

... I refer to little ones as friends, kiddos, and babies pretty much at all times.

... I give positive reinforcements with fuzzies and marbles.

... I mutlitask.

... I can handle boo boos, skinned knees, hurt feelings, and friends that are not saying nice words.

... I wait... A LOT.

... I walk with a bubble and tail.

... I am MIA during the months of August and June and many times in between.

... I sing EVERYTHING!

... I am an artist, musician, waitress, maid, friend, coach, and TEACHER.

... I love my summer.

... I go to sleep at 9:00.

... I live for spirt days.

... I love JEANS!

... I work with a lot of women.

... I love themed... anything.

For all my teacher friends out there... do you have anything to add?

Back in Session!

The past few weeks have been a bit of a blur. From trainings, convocation, room assignments, student numbers... things have been a bit crazy to say the least. Many of you have been wondering if I have a room assignment this year, and sadly things are a bit up in the air about my class. I first want to say that everyone has been absolutely amazing! I feel so supported and encouraged, but sadly our kinder numbers are just not there yet. So by next week (if not a few days later) I should know if I will be staying or finding a new home school. I am so thankful for the opportunity I was given last year and know that God truly has something perfect in mind for me. It will be so hard to leave my kinder kiddos from last year. Now of course they are big first graders and I just love those sweet kids. When I walk down the hall and see their sweet faces... I simply want to scoop them up and give them hugs. It will be hard to leave the staff and my kids, but again I am just ready and anxious.

For now I have had the opportunity to continue my work with the kinder kiddos. They are so cute and LITTLE. I forget how little they are. It makes me think of little miss Olivia and her first few days of school. I absolutely love what I do and I couldn't imagine anything else. And while I might not have my own classroom, I have loved helping in every way I possibly can.

Back to School Twenty Twelve

It's about that time.... Back to School days are officially here.

Today is our final day of summer before we bid it farewell until next year. This summer has been packed with lots of to dos as well as provided days of laziness. Here is a list of a few of our summer activities.

.......  taught Kindergarten Summer School
..... both families visited our home in McKinney
...... house decor shopping
........ celebrated outings with friends including birthdays, house warmings, wine &; cheese, lunch and dinner dates
....... visited our Alabama Zellner family to celebrate our niece's 5th birthday
..... traveled through 7 states including Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, Tenessee, and Arkansas
.... enjoyed lots of family time, walks, picnics, dollar movies, and date nights
.......... visited our ABF bible study group on Wednesday evenings
...... showered expecting ABF mamas with love
...... sampled snow cones from a pirate ship
................ enjoyed seasons of Friday Night Lights and Dawson's Creek... really way too much television
......... lots of cleaning, dusting, house work
....... unpacked... at least attempted to unpack (very little:)
.... and of course RELAXED!

I wish all the teachers a wonderful last day of summer and a great school year ahead:)

For a Job Well Done!

I am so very excited to start working in PASAR as the teacher of record! I will be filling in on Monday and Tuesday for the next few weeks and will continue to work my Wednesday and Thursday shifts teaching all grade levels. I will very much be looking forward to giving out many home made achievement awards for good behavior, good academic work, and positive reinforcement and motivation! More will be posted shortly!

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You R.O.C.K! Continue to be Responsible, Optimistic, Caring, and Kind!

PASAR Teacher
Mrs. Zellner

What I've Learned!

Being in the education field has taught me a lot! Here are some things that I have learned from this profession.

1. Waking up early in the morning isn't difficult. It is staying up beyond 9PM that takes some effort.
2. The words "walking feet" are used daily but for me it references the amount of miles that are put on these shoes.
3. Reverse psychology can easily be used on both children and adults;)
4. Kids may know more about the iPhone than I do.
5. Bubbles and tails are to be performed daily.
6. Giving up caffeine at the start of the school year is a form of insanity.
7. You have to be passionate about children. Who knew?!?
8. You must have patience or quickly learn to obtain it.
9. I am not as little as I thought as I do not fit in a cube chair :(
10. Kids are motivated by music.
11. Over and over you hear "fake it until you make it."
12. You are in control of your attitude.
13. We teach academics but more importantly we teach character, respect, and responsibility.
14. I could gain 100 lbs working in this job. I love all the tasty treats that are brought in for teachers and staff.
15. Children learn through consistency.
16. I love having optional summers off.
17. Sunrises are absolutely beautiful. Previously I had not had the opportunity to see the morning's beauty.
18. Traffic is lighter at 6:30 in the morning.
19. Too many things keep us from recess... hundred degree temperatures, potential rain (as if it ever rains again), coyotes, etc.
20. While each day is another adventure... I am exactly where God wants me to be!

There is no "I" in TEAM!

Meet the Special Education team!

Wishing all the fabulous teachers a wonderful week back with the kids. While each day is absolutely another adventure... I am exactly where God wants me to be! Enjoy a few pictures of our classroom set up.

Welcome to the ELC