Random thoughts at the close of another year

Yearbook day was yesterday, officially ending another school year. In retrospect, the year flew by so quickly that it almost amazes me that I got everything done that I wanted to do. I am going to miss having some of those kids in my class every day, and others....not so much. But such is the life of being a teacher, right?
Some were teary-eyed at the thought of leaving middle school. I was flabberghasted! High school is the chance for some students to break out of their shells and shine! Why would you want to stay in middle school? At least the city we live in is small enough to bump into each other at Wal-Mart twice a week.
We had one of our teachers retire this year after almost 30 years of teaching. What a dedicated soul. One teacher in the district retired after 35 years of teaching. This is the end of my 2nd year. How many lives could you touch in 35 years of teaching? The number is astronomical. Especially teaching at a school where I am the ONLY 8th grade English teacher, I will teach every student that comes through those doors. I will know the entire community. That's a daunting prospect.
I have so much that I'd like to do differently next year from these first two years, and I've stumbled on to a few things that seem to work well that I might continue to use. I admire our history teacher who threw out his old curriculum this year and started fresh in his attempt to keep himself from getting into a rut and teaching the same old thing year after year. That's inspiring. I definitely don't want kids of former students coming though my class and having their parents say "That's what we did when I was in Mr. Weller's class!" The thought is terrifying.
Summer has begun, I have classes and projects to fill every hour of my time, and next school year will come very quickly.

5 Years!

We celebrated our 5 year anniversary this weekend. It's hard to believe that 5 years has come and gone so quickly. But I would do it all over again.
I got to go to Lagoon with the 8th graders on Friday--it was fun, but I think I might pass on driving the suburban next year and just stick with the bus. Some people just can't drive fast enough to please everyone. Just saying. Afterwards they dropped me off in Orem so I could meet up with Kristen to check into our hotel, have a delicious dinner at TGI Fridays and then go to the Hale Center Theater to their production of "To Kill a Mockingbird." It was fabulous! The actor who portrayed Atticus Finch played the part very well, and everyone was moved in particular by his courtroom scene. The little girl who played Scout was probably only 8 or 9, but she did so well!
This was our first Josh-free night we had spent since he was born. He stayed home with the college girls who are currently living in our basement and he had a grand ol' time.
In other news, I get out of school this week and am REALLY looking forward to that.

Woody Boots

Today when Steve got home, he took Josh outside to ride on his tricycle. Before they could go out, Josh had to put on his shoes. They went into his room, where Josh chose his "Woody boots" (as he calls them). Then he insisted that he also wear a hat, thus completing his "Sheriff Woody" ensemble.

I know- Sheriff Woody doesn't wear a shirt with a puppy on it- but try telling Josh he has to take off his puppy shirt.

Big Boy

Just some pictures of Josh to show how big he is! He is such a sweet boy (most of the time) and is learning new words every day. He is now at the stage where he has to confirm everything, so when he sees a truck, he will say "truck, truck, truck, truck" until somebody says "Yes- that is a truck."