Right?!
Oh wait... 2013 was a momentous year for me. For the first time (since I was the age of 4), I did not have a summer break! From the time I was in Kindergarten, I was so used to getting the summer off. Yes, I worked as a lifeguard and a nanny for a long time, but I don't really count that as work. This summer was different.
After about half of my kiddos (the older ones in my class) graduated at the end of May, it felt like it was summer and celebration time! And therefore, the annual summer routine that has been engrained in me was wanting to be out playing and having fun in the sun and NOT WORKING.
Nope. Not this year. Anne was a full-time working teacher this summer... and the beginning of June was honestly a little sad for me! A bunch of my teacher friends who work at different schools were all talking and posting to facebook how awesome it was to be starting their summer... and then there was me. Sulking in my beginning of summer blues... A few of my big kids left me for the summer to have some time off before starting big kid school, and I was stuck with a couple of older graduates who still were coming to Cradle Club before Kindergarten and also a some younger ones who were moving up to my room from young preschool... Woe is me.
And that was my view during the beginning of June.
But I didn't notice til the ending parts of summer that my views had done a 180.
Yes, it was my first time working a full-time big job during the summer.
Yes, my other teacher friends had the whole summer off.
Yes, I had to train in my "babies" that were new to my room.
And I'm so glad I did it :)
I loved working in preschool during the summer!
Unlike regular schools, I got to keep a few of my "big kids" during the summer months who graduated in May. Those kids were excellent role models for the younger group of kids that moved up in June. The better examples the older kiddos were, the more positive reinforcement and praise they got... which they totally feed off of! They beam when they get the chance to be the older, more experienced ones in the room... leadership skills are fostered that way! So it's definitely a win-win situation.
By now, in September, those younger ones who moved up in June know what the routines are and what I expect in my classroom. Those kids are my examples now! I just got 7 new kiddos last Monday, and they are already thriving because of the great job the others have done with being excellent examples. Can you tell I'm proud of my class? :)
Alright, getting back to summer before I get ahead of myself...
I didn't blog this summer because that was my "summer break" from working. I love blogging about the progress of my teaching journey, but you gotta understand that I had to give myself a break from something! Now is when all that blog-waiting pays off!
So forgive me if this next part seems like some summer blog barf, but I wanna share some of the highlights of my fun Cradle Club summer!
MAY:
"Picnic Pleasures" (picnic week right before graduation when some of my big kids left)
I may or may not have cried when I hugged them for the last time!
JUNE:
During the summer months, we have a field trip every week!
My favorite field trip in June was the Children's Museum! The kiddos loved it!
Another fun week was Eric Carle week!
One of the kids' favorite projects was The Very Hungry Caterpillar necklaces! We made these with green-dyed penne pasta, felt and string! Such fun fine motor practice! We also had a great
time trying all the fruits that the caterpillar ate! For this, we made our own fruit kabobs and tried fruits that we may not have tried before.
Like Mother's Day, we had a celebration of our dads during the week before Father's Day! We had an art gallery hanging from the ceiling filled with the portraits we painted of our dads and also had "Donuts with Dad" on Friday! So fun!
"Tastes of Summer"
We talked about lemonade stands and got to taste for ourselves how yummy (and very sour!) lemons are...
We also painted with "popsicles" (aka paint/water cubes)...
And we got to dissect a watermelon!
JULY:
Zoo time came! We turned our classroom into the "Pre-K 2 Primate House" during the week of our Como Zoo field trip!
We had a blast seeing REAL primates at the Como Zoo, too!
"Delightful Dairy"
Since we can't have a week named "Irresistible Ice Cream", we had a week focused on dairy! Dairy choices can either be healthy or not so healthy, but we talked with the kids about making good food choices! When we told them that Ben & Jerry's was coming to our school to show us how to make ice cream, you can just imagine how pumped they were! We explained that eating Ben & Jerry's ice cream everyday is not the best choice for a healthy body, but you can have it every once in a while :)
At the end of July, we took a bus field trip to Stages Theater to see the children's play "Aladdin"! My kiddos sat so nice, and as you'd probably guess, all the little girls were in absolute awe when Aladdin and Jasmine rode the magic carpet and sang "A Whole New World"... Heck, I loved it just as much as they did!
I discovered one of my new favorite kids places in the Twin Cities: Splash Pad in St. Louis Park! This place is cheap, and so much fun on a hot day! Kate, one of my assistant teachers, and I had as much fun (if not more) than the kids!
Farmer's Market week was a blast as well!
All in all, I think I had as much fun as a teacher can have while still working during the summer! I'll now be back to my regular weekly postings, so check back soon!
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