Birthday Fun!

Another week down in the life of Miss Lloyd! My students are still pretty wild...I am hoping that as time goes on that they will settle down, but as it is right now, I feel like I can barely get through 2 sentences when I am teaching before they are talking again! BLA! Luckily, I am not the only one that has a class like this though. All of the teachers in 4th grade are having the same problem. I think something happened the year these kids were born to make it so they don't know how to be quiet! I am managing though...

On Thursday, it was my birthday...the BIG 24! I can't believe I am that old! Never pictured myself at this age, but I think it is good...although sometimes I wish I were a 4th grader again...life seemed to be so much simpler back then! On Wednesday, Scott and Kim and the kids and my Grandpa and Grandma Lloyd came for dinner and cake. It was a blast! G & G gave me money, Scott and Kim gave me a microwave, and my mom and dad gave me a small fridge and a quilt pattern with some way cute fabric to make it out of. The fridge and microwave are for my classroom at school. It is so I can put drinks and lunch in there and cook my lunch too! I haven't had the chance to use it yet, but hopefully soon! My friend, Sally, came on Thursday to my class and brought doughnuts. My class was so excited and wild! I also let them play a game...good old Heads-Up, 7 Up. They loved that too! Later that night, my dad took me to Cafe Rio and then I went with my friends, Sally and Candyce bowling and to ice cream. It was a GREAT day! Needless to say, I am exhausted this weekend!

Here are a few pics of my birthday celebration!

The kids LOVED playing in the boxes the fridge and microwave were in!

My fridge! :)CHEESECAKE! Brayden and Kenzie helped me blow out the candles...ya, I don't think I got to blow any of them out...so no wishes for me but I enjoyed the cheesecake! ;)

A New Class and A New Start!

Phew! I never thought I would make it through the first week of school! My feet hurt, my voice is almost gone, and I am EXHAUSTED! The funny thing is that I don't remember feeling this way last year at this time...maybe I have just blocked it from my memory... :) It is so hard to get used to a new class! I really do miss my old class...despite the drama that took place. If I thought last year's class was talkative, well I was very mistaken! This class is even worse! I have some very cute kids, but there are just those few (namely a few of the boys) that WILL NOT STOP TALKING... and they get everyone else all wrapped up in it too! And well, I could just be freaking out over nothing....it IS the first week AND it is still summer outside...but really, I am in for a LONG year I think. Also, we had back to school night on Thursday and I got told by that same mom that talked to me on the phone and met me the week before school started that one of the boys should not be in the same class as her son because he bullied her son in first grade...OH JOY! So now I think I am going to have some boy drama this year instead of the girls... It really does have me freaked out because I don't like dealing with boys that fight! AHHH!

I guess I am making this year sound like it is going to be horrible, but those are just my fears...I really am excited for a second chance at teaching and trying to do better. I really do love teaching, it's just the management part that scares me a bit...I know that I will probably learn a lot, just like I did last year...but it will take a lot of work again! I still feel like I am a first year teacher because of all the work I am STILL doing, but I know I just need to get through it and I will be fine.

Here are a few snapshots of my LOVELY portable classroom the week before school started. Really, I actually kinda like the portable because NOBODY bugs you!

Back to School!

Yes, it's that time again...kids dread it, teachers dread it, parents love it, it's BACK TO SCHOOL time! I am excited and nervous all at the same time. I have been preparing for a while, popping in and out of my classroom over the last 2 weeks, but I still feel like I have so much to do! I don't think it will ever end! As of right now, I have 30 students on my class list! SCARY! I am not excited about so many students... I was a little shocked today though, because I called the mom of one of my future students, because she had left me a message and she told me that her son was so excited to be in my class...apparently the word among all of the 3rd graders last year was that I was the nicest teacher in 4th grade, so a lot of kids wanted to be in my class! So, I guess I am pretty popular after just one year of teaching and I didn't know it! :) I don't know if that is a good thing or a bad thing though because I think that I am probably too nice and I would like to be known as the teacher who teaches the best! Judging from the scores from the end-of-year tests last year, I definitely would like to teach better! They weren't horrible, about average, but I want them to be ABOVE average...oh well...I can only do what I can do! I am just glad they let me come back and try it again!

Anyway, I am still working getting my classroom the way I want it, but I will take pictures and post them as soon as I can! In the mean time, I will share some pictures of I took of Bear Lake when I went there last weekend with the YSA's from my stake. It definitely was a blast! We didn't really get to do a lot of boating because it was only 40 degrees, but we did have fun socializing and playing on the beach! We did get in the water later in the afternoon, but that only lasted about 30 minutes before we were all numb from the cold water! I just couldn't get over how blue that lake was either! It was gorgeous! These views are from the cabin we stayed in overnight...