Under the Sea with Grade Three

I'm now in the 5th week of school with my third graders and so much has happened... To name a few, we have a new team of teachers, my students are so grown up, we've had a Meet n' Greet, Open House, and Spirit Week.

I have the same students as last year, but we have new material. Since we have the same classroom, I tried hard to make it different for them. You'll notice in the photos that the seating arrangement keeps changing... that's because we don't have much space! Third graders are much bigger than second graders, which means I can barely walk through my classroom. My most recent set-up is an open middle and desks facing the walls. They turn their chairs to face the board for teaching time, and when it's independent work time, they turn back to their desks. This is going well so far, though it's noisy when they transition.

We lost one student from last year, from a missionary family that moved back to the States, but we gained two new students! So now I have 11... 7 boys and 4 girls.

Here are some photos of the semester so far.

PJ Day

Valentine's Day

Superhero Day

Wacky Tacky Day

I also moved to a new house!! My roommate and I are within close walking distance from the school again and I absolutely love it.

my little tree

my roommate buying flowers for the house

curtainless windows during a rainstorm

Some other new developments... I'm teaching one English class and one piano class after school, I've been set up with a host family through the church, and I've started going home directly after school. I've also been pushing myself to make plans during the week which means I'm more tired but more involved as well. So far the semester is going really well! 

Maine, the medicine of choice

Going home for vacation was everything I wanted and all that I needed. By the end of the semester there, I was due for a strong dose of family, friends, and the landscapes I love. To be honest, I felt pretty empty and needed to be filled again.

So thankful for my dad who went ahead and booked the ticket for me!

The highlights were...
visits with my grandparents and aunt (short but so sweet!)
time with my parents
days together with all the siblings in the same house
play dates with my nieces
nature hunts with my dog
Maine tours with friends from out-of-town
Mt. Katahdin hike for Crystal's birthday
Also... campfires, sleepovers, beach days, lake days, rope swings, river floats, holy yoga, Shipyard 10k, ice cream and dearly beloved seafood.

The month of summer was a busy one, but it was the kind of busy that rests and restores. The food that fills and pumps me up.

So hard to leave.. but it's time and my energy is restored.

Amen, amen, life is good!