Week 20 around the sun!

This week really dragged on. Everyone at work was saying it felt super slow for them as well.  I guess as we get closer to summer vacation the slower time will go, but only 4 weeks and 20 school days to go! This week I started my last class at Wheelock and have begun to knuckle down and get my portfolio finished, the real finish line is in site.  We also had a massive strep outbreak in 1L this week, by Friday 8 kids had gotten it and we only had 11/19 kids on Friday! Hopefully this week brings fewer germs!

Scav Hunt Sunday: 2 in 1

I had last week's pictures and was super ready to participate, but Lion OS X and I had differences of opinion on that matter.  All is well now so here is a 2 in 1 scav hunt!

Sidewalk:

 Noam walking down the sidewalk towards the graduation festivities.

Inspiring:

 The commencement speaker was wonderful and truly inspiring, especially the song he sang.

Close up:

 Those eye lashes, they get me every time.

With mirror:

 A mirror in Beacon Hill.

Time:

 A great store in Beacon Hill which sold old parts to fit into the old style homes in the area.

And now this week's hunt:
Rainbow:

Rainbow of colors in napkins at Crate and Barrel. 

Metal:

 A metal fire escape around the corner from my apartment.

Fuzzy:

 It's been so wet lately that the moss on the brick walls near work has been super fuzzy.

Letters:

On Fridays, the kids "make words" with letters and spelling patterns we have studied all week. They use magnetic letters and see how many words they can make with the 9 or 10 letters I give them.

Trees:

I went for a Saturday afternoon walk along the Riverway. I just love how the Muddy River reflects the trees. 

Graduation!

I "graduated" on Friday! I am not formally finished until June 22nd, but the pomp and circumstance occurred on Friday. Mom drove up and Avi and Noam flew all the way to Boston for the celebration and my Aunt Karen came up as well.  It was a very fun and special weekend!

 Mr. Noam looking oh so grown up and looking very preppy and ready for graduation. Crazy that 2 years ago, exactly, when I graduated undergrad Avi was only 3 months pregnant with him!

 He took charge and led the way to the theater. He was just so happy to not be strapped in his carseat on an airplane!

 All gowned and ready to go. They were going to "hood" us so I was holding my hood. Mom graduated from Wheelock many moons ago, so it was super special for her to watch me graduate, now!

 They did a wonderful special thing for us as we walked into the theater. The faculty lined the hall and clapped for us as we marched in. It was so special and so touching.

This is how Noam spent much of the ceremony, playing with his new cars in the lobby. It's was a short but sweet ceremony, but not short enough for an 18 month old!

 Wintley Phipps gave the commencement address, it was so inspirational and wonderful. He sang a song he wrote as well, just so special. He really spoke to us and had an important message of going out and making a difference and inspiring others.

 Then it was time to get hooded and receive my "diploma" - the dean kinda butchered my name, but it was boung to happen eventually! I am wearing shoes, the flash just makes them really blend into my feet!

 More picture time!

 Cannot believe that 2 years ago when we did this picture, Noam was inside Avi, insane!!

 Love love love theses pictures!!

 It was such a special day. Kinda feels funny since I have already started my last class, but one step closer to being finished! Kind of crazy that come June 22nd I will formally be done and I will have a Master's. Yikes!!

Ps: Many more posts with many more pictures of the fun we had with Noam to come!!

What a week around the sun.

Another week. This week was super special, because on Thursday, Avi and Noam arrived all the way from Oregon, to help celebrate my graduation from Wheelock!! I am not fully finished until next month, but the ceremony was this weekend.  We had so much fun, even in a mere 48 hours I packed in so much time with the Goober.  We took him all over Boston (tons of posts on all of this forthcoming) and Mom and I took in my first Red Sox game of the season on Saturday night (post forthcoming!). Now I am sadly dealing with some fallout from some computer issues, but there is a silver lining, like sorting through the close to 400 pictures from this past weekend! 

Debt and Gratitude

This morning, I was watching CBS Sunday Morning; the cover story was on the hot button issue of the amount of debt college and graduate students graduate with.  

And then suddenly. I was overcome with a feeling of gratitude.  Gratitude for these two amazing and loving people. 

My Bubbe and Zayda.  They worked so hard to ensure a future for my mom and uncle, but also for their 5 grandchildren.  It is because of their hard work and determination that I do not have to worry about loans or debt.

I was able to go to graduate college and will graduate Wheelock without loans. I will be able to start my life without a burden. I cannot truly express how immensely blessed I feel by my Bubbe and Zayda.

It was because of this generosity that I knew I could become a teacher. I knew I wouldn't have to worry about any loans hanging above my head.

So while I may not be in debt due to loans, I am forever in debt for the love and generosity Bubbe and Zayda gave to me. This is a a debt of love and thanks, and one that I will forever hold in my heart to help me remember them dearly.

1L Loves Trash

As part of my Teaching Elementary Science class at Wheelock, we have to design and teach a mini-unit. Roughly 7-9 lessons on a topic that is part of the state and school curriculum.  We were encouraged to use a pre-designed unit and make it our own, I of course had to challenge myself and designed my own unit, pretty much from scratch. I designed a great unit on Trash, Decomposition, and Recycling. 

One of the big parts of the unit was learning about different types of materials that make up our trash and what happens to these materials. We sorted trash into different categories and it was amazing to see how much they already knew about trash!

   We learned the terms biotic (breaks down) and abiotic (doesn't).  We observed an apple core and a yogurt cup decomposing (or lack their of for the yogurt cup) and discussed what was happening to these pieces of trash.

 I loved, loved, loved watching my kiddos engaged in scientific thinking and talk. They loved laying on the rug observing the materials and writing in their science journals.  Their observations were so fantastic and deep, amazing to see and hear what six and seven year olds are thinking.

 They were so excited to write their observations and some of the kids begged to keep working after science was finished. Now if that isn't great for a teacher's ego, I don't know what is!

 The best yet, may be their spellings! I loved reading their science journals after each lesson, seeing their thought processes and spelling patterns!

 To wrap up the unit, we briefly learned about recycling. We spent the last day of the unit taking recycled materials and reusing them, turning them into something different and useful! Oh man, did they knock my socks off!

They created the most amazing treasures. Binoculars from paper towel tubes, yogurt cup maracas, doll houses from food boxes, puppets, and more! 

 They were so engaged they begged (begged!) to keep working into the much loved center time! Never in the 138 days of school have they asked to skip center time (free time for the last 30 minutes of the day).

The best, truly, best part of the unit may have been one of my kids running up to me and saying, "this was the best science lesson, EVER!"

Ah, 1L thank you for teaching me just as much about trash as I taught you!