My Classroom, Part 1

I have been very busy this week working on my classroom and getting ready for my kid's to come back. The process of transforming my classroom has taken months. I began working at this school in February of this year. When I "inherited" my classroom I noticed that it had been lacking some good old TLC. It was physically dirty and the "stuff" that was in the room was mostly broken, incomplete, or inappropriate for the students. So, the transformation began. I wish I had taken a photo of it on my first day so you could truly see the progress. I stayed at school until 7-8 PM each night for the first 2 weeks just working on the physical cleaning of the room. Then, I went in during Spring Break and began de-cluttering. By the end of the school year I had cleared the room of the broken/ incomplete/ inappropriate materials. Over the summer I completed the cleaning/ de-cluttering process and created a blank slate for me to work on this week.

These BEFORE photo's were taken on Wednesday, September 1st.

My students are highly distractable, so I created work stations around the edges of the classroom to reduce the number of distractions around them. When I originally came to this classroom, there was a group of desks in the middle and the kids on the edges were distracted by the middle group and the middle group was distracted by the groups on the edges. My desk was in that far corner so I moved it out to it's current location and moved the "middle group" into the corner. Also, the students in the middle were constantly getting out of their seats and I felt like I spent my day walking around in a circle re-directing them to sit down instead of working on their academics.

This wall originally had a HUGE bulletin board hanging on it, but I had it removed because it wasn't functional for our classroom needs. This unit with doors is actually "cubbies" where my kids keep their backpacks. However, my kids are pretty big, hence their back packs are pretty big as well. I tipped the cubbie unit on it's side and will be using it for another purpose. The box on the chair are NEW teaching materials! I was super excited when I received it. They are all complete and functional for my kids!

I made a request for 2 additional 1/2 wall dividers for this side of the room. I had to improvise and use book shelves for now. The book shelves are empty primarily because the books that we did have were not age appropriate and were more of a distraction than an educational aid.

My classroom is not lacking storage. Unfortunately, these cabinets were jam packed with stuff when I arrived and when the kids would open them the stuff would literally fall out of them. Also, the bulletin board that is hanging on the wall is too close to my kids and I had to re-paper it least once a week because they would rip it.

So, I worked on setting up my room on September 1st, 2nd, 6th, 7th, 8th, 9th, 10th, 11th, and 12th. Yes, September 6th was Labor Day and I went into work. I stayed until 5-8PM each night because during the day we had a lot of mandatory trainings and meetings this week. I am on my way back to school now to put a few last minutes touches together and to take the AFTER photo's.

I'm so excited! Even though I know I have prepared and put 100% into my room, I am also nervous. Teachers get first day jitters too. 

 Please stop by again later tonight to see my finished classroom.

Let the bruising begin!

If you ever saw me on the street wearing shorts and a t-shirt you may think that I have been abused or beaten up. That is not the case. I bruise REALLY easily and in all shades. Bruising is one sure fire way to tell that I have gone back to work. I am clumsy and awkward and often walk into stationary objects. At the end of a long day at work there is nothing like taking off my pants and counting my "mystery bruises"- you know, the ones that you don't remember receiving. Well, I got a good one today.

The picture really doesn't do it justice. It is several shades of purple with that funky 70's yellow around the edge. What do you see when you look at today's mystery bruise? I'll show you what I see.

This is what happens when I become "stupid tired",...I see faces in my bruises and think it is the funniest thing I've done or seen all week!

P.S. I put my keys in my back pocket today and then forgot about them. I was quickly reminded of their presence when I flopped down on a chair and basically stabbed myself in my own ass. I will not share the picture of that bruise with you.

Hope you have a safe work day!

Think About It Thursday

Think About It Thursday is a new weekly feature hosted by Rachel at 1001 Books.  Each week she will post a bookish related question that makes you  think and then attempt to answer. This week she has posted a link to make this feature a Blog Hop...I've never done a blog hop before, so please be patient if I break a link or two in the process.

This weeks question:

Which fictional character would you most like to have as your BFF?

Haha! You probably thought that I would choose a historical fiction character, but I'm going to add a little variety to my answer. I would like be best friends with John Coffy from the book The Green Mile by Steven King. Not only was that man huge but he had those special powers to help cure any ailment and keep a person safe. Who wouldn't want 100% health and safety?

That's all I got this week. I'm trying to type this out at six in the morning before I head to my classroom.

Have a great day!

In Memory of Cici

The Bloggerette Sorority has lost a sister. Cici from Lace 'n' Ribbon Roses passed away on Sunday, September 5th. Her son Chuck and longtime boyfriend Viking were gracious enough to post about her passing on her blog. Please join me in keeping Cici's family in your thoughts and prayers.

Story Tellers, Part 2

Story Tellers is a new weekly feature hosted by Shannon at A Southern Belle with Northern Roots. I am using this weekly link party to transcribe an audio tape and tell the story that my grandfather recorded in the early 1980's a few years before his passing. If you missed Part 1, you can read it here.

Part 2 begins with my grandfather giving the history of his father, Francis Robert Bunker.

*****

His interests at the time were more or less concerned with working. After he left school, his father put him to work in the woods; he also worked in the shingle mill and was hired out to various farmers in the area. He left Franklin, Maine in 1912, I believe at the age of about 14, possibly 1911, I don’t recall exactly. Went to work in Concord, New Hampshire for his uncle (unintelligible) Phillips who owned a grocery store. He delivered groceries in the Concord Heights area, which was then known as the Concord Plains, to patrons of the store, he delivered by hose and wagon. The store was owned by his mother’s brother (unintelligible) Phillips who was in partnership with a man named Downing.


While he was in Concord, he became acquainted with my mother and began a courtship with her. For a short time he worked in Gardner, Massachusetts in a needle factory and while there he took instructions in the Catholic faith in order to marry my mother. At that time it was very difficult, if not impossible, for a Catholic person, man or women, to marry anyone outside of the Catholic faith. So when they decided to get married which occurred in May of 197…um..1917 he had been by that time converted to the Catholic faith. For a convert he was probably one of the best Catholics you could ask for, in his own way. He didn’t wear his religion on his sleeve so to speak but he obeyed all the laws as best he could, went to confession 2-3 times a year as I re call, and made sure all his children went to church faithfully.

Francis Robert Bunker, Maine, date unknown

But going back prior to his leaving Franklin, Maine and the days following his days leaving school he spent all the time he could hunting and fishing and playing baseball, which is the love of his life you might say, as far as sports were concerned. He told me he and his father use to catch fish in the various ponds that surround Franklin, Maine. Not so much for sport but to pack them in barrels and shipping them. Of course they were packed in ice and were shipping them to Boston. Fish consisted of salmon, lake trout, brook tout,… whatever they could catch. This was just a source of revenue in addition to my grandfathers trade as a stone cutter. Getting back now to the time when he came to Concord, as I say he married my mother in May of 1917 at which time he secured employment at the Boston and Maine Railroad in the baggage room, subsequently in the freight house and then caught on as a car inspector, which was his main occupation in life. He spent close to 40 years at that trade, being a car inspector. His hobby, which you might call interests, was strictly baseball. He played in the Sunset League here in Concord, New Hampshire, also in the Twilight League. He was an excellent pitcher one of the best around, much sought after by various teams to play on Sundays and various localities, but he told me he never went out of town, only on rare occasions. He preferred to stay at home. He use to tell me that when we use to live on the Heights, in order to play ball he’d have to wheel me in a baby carriage from the Heights to White’s Park. He use to tie the carriage to the tree near the first base dug out or bench while he was playing. My mother never cared for baseball and therefore never attended any of the games, only on rare occasions. After his employment began as a car inspector he, huh… he worked long and very hard hours. During the depression, when work was real scarce, he sometimes didn’t work more than one or two days a week and he sought other odd jobs. But we were never hungry, we always had something to wear, my mother was a terrific seamstress and made most of our clothes. He retired from the Boston and Main Railroad shortly after my mother’s death in 1960. Spent his time there after, until his death, pursuing his hobby, or interest you may call it, in gardening. He always maintained a big garden down on (unintelligible) Street. He grew everything, more than we could eat and he gave most of it away to the neighbors, the Sisters of Mercy Convent also to the nuns at the Convent on Pleasant Street.

*****
I need to make a correction to last week's Story Teller, Part 1- because my grandfathers New England accent is so thick I often misspell words. The family name that I listed last week as 'Colonge' is really Coulombe.

Thank you for joining me for Story Tellers. If you would like to participate or read other stories just head over to A Southern Belle with Northern Roots to get the details. I hope you join me next week and until then keep an eye out for my Fall Favorite #3 coming later this week.

School in the Morning

I am headed back to my classroom tomorrow, my summer if officially over. The 180 day count down begins again. Don't get me wrong, I love my job. In honor of this I thought I would share a poem with you. I wrote this right after I graduated high school (9 years ago) to honor all the teachers I had in K-12. I hope you enjoy!

All my days...

One day my mom explained to me

How I had to go to school and the fun that it would be

She dressed me up in new clothes and shoes

She instructed me on the don'ts and do's

There I was, just 5 years young

Off to kindergarten, where it all begun

Ms. Alexa was her name

Always smiling, always the same

I learned my alphabet and numbers too

Everyday something new to do

I had fun and made a friend or two

I was sad when the year was through

But that fall to my surprise

I entered first grade with open eyes

Mrs. Blake taught me how to read and write

She told me I was smart and bright

I learned a lot my second year

But second grade came and I gave a cheer

Mrs. Jennings was alot of fun

Lots of lessons to be done

That year we made homemade butter

I was good at art, the best paper cutter

In third grade I had two teachers, Mrs. Parks, and Mrs. O'Reily

Mrs. Parks had a baby and I thought of Mrs. R very highly

I learned to multiply and divide

I learned about the sun, moon, ocean, and tide

I was a polar bear in the class play

But in the 3rd grade I could not stay

Fourth grade was an exciting year

Ms. Okonskee was nice and full of cheer

Ms. Federspiel was my 5th grade teachers name

Her husband passed away that year, but she still came

One time I had to sit in the office for half the day

I talked back to the teacher and it was NOT okay

I had two memorable teachers in the 6th grade

Memories of Mr. McGee and Mrs. Lorch will never fade

One for Science and Math, one for English and History

What I learned that year is still a mystery

Anthony was my first boyfriend ever

He was cute but not to clever

In the 7th grade I had several teachers each day

Every day for an hour each, that was the way

I remember Ms. Powell, Ms. Culkin, Ms. Taylor, and Mr Rouge

But the others I can't remember...I haven't a clue

I built a solar powered toy car

I put it to the test, but it didn't go far

We had to read the book The Giver

Still my favorite book ever

Eighth grade was much the same

I learned that school was not just a game

That year my dad got sick and it looked bad

But I thanked all my teachers for the support I had

I remember Ms. Horne, Mr. Roberts, and Mrs. Hughes

I was also a cheerleader for team that didn't like to loose

Then came the beginning of high school , the important part

My brain would be filled with information, every single part

I took English, and Chemistry, Algebra and Art

I couldn't wait for the cheerleading season to start

I never got to play sports that year

I got sick with mono and failing was a big fear

I got better with time and recovered somewhat

But it was not the same and I was stuck in a rut

Tenth grade was much the same

I got really sick as winter came

I had to take English twice because I was sick

I didn't recover as soon as I hoped, it was all but quick

That year my parents separated and my dad moved out

I learned what family was all about

I started the 11th grade in one school, but then schools changed

My life was a puzzle that had been rearranged

I moved to North Carolina and saw new people and places

I learned that change was good in most cases

I experienced a new way of education

And all of a sudden I had new motivation

Then came my senior year

I'm glad I got to experience it there

Mrs. Vars, Mr. Bumgarner, Mrs. Vesta, and Ms. Greene

Together they made a great "A Day" team

Ms. McKeig, Ms. Kazmarak, Mrs. Jordan, and Ms. Guerrero

All my teachers are some one's hero's

I joined DECA and drama club and went to prom

And through the rough times I tried to stay calm

And I made it through my final year

My future ahead is open, I have no fear

For all the lessons, academic or not

For all the money in the world, they couldn't be bought

I thank everyone for their support and showing me the ways

And I'll remember each one of you, for all my days...

Fall Favorite #2

Curling up with

a good book,

a cozy blanket, and

a cup of hot cocoa.

I know that I can curl up anytime of year and read, but there is just something COZY about doing it in the fall. The house gets a little chilly and there is nothing like getting comfy on the couch and covering my feet with a homemade blanket made by my mom.

And what makes a cup of hot cocoa so special? Mini marshmallows of course!

This fall I will be curling up with For the Kings Grace  by Anne Easter Smith. (I won this book from Marie at The Burton Review for winning the Tudor Mania Challenge) I don't have as much time when school is in session to read, so it makes the time that I can read even more enjoyable.

So, what is going in the basket for my Fall Favorite #2...

*A light but super soft lap blanket
*the best hot cocoa mix in the world- Swiss Miss of course!
*A bag of mini marshmallows to top off the cocoa 
*the book Friendship Cake  by Lynne Hinton

A friend recommended the book  Friendship Cake to me about 6 years ago and I remember it like it was yesterday. It is one of my favorite books that I read as an adult. It is the first in a series written by Lynne Hinton. Here is a little preview from the book:

When five women from Hope Springs Community Church in North Carolina form a committee to create a cookbook, they embark on a project much more meaningful than they could have ever imagined. As novice pastor Charlotte Stewart, no-nonsense Margaret Peele, maverick Louise Fisher, steadfast Jessie Jenkins, and busybody Beatrice Newgarden meet to share recipes they also begin to share their lives and open their hearts.

Thank you for visiting!
*Reminder* the McLinky Tool will be posted September 22nd so make sure to work on your 5 Fall Favorites Post and link up for the Party and a chance to win!

Fall Favorite #3 is coming soon, stay tuned!