On the Move

Sorry for my recent absence from the blogosphere recently. But, I have an excuse: I'm moving....to a new school! Due to low enrollment numbers at my former school, I'm now employed at E.C. Killin Elementary School on Camp Foster. I'll still be teaching Kindergarten, but I'm still in the process of getting my new classroom up and ready for the upcoming school year (it's currently filled with boxes). Pictures will be coming shortly.

Art Showcase

I've always wanted pet portraits done of Sadie and Gunnar. However, I wasn't a big fan of most of the "custom" paintings offered out there. So many of them reminded me of a paint-by-number masterpiece. I wanted something different, but with a little more class.

This summer, I found just what I had been looking for and voila! 

Check out my new custom pet portraits:

Sadie

Gunnar

Jess had one done of Sarge too!

What do you think?

Positive Feedback

I've never been a great test taker.

I think that's one of the reasons I became a teacher.  I wanted to reach kids who were like me and needed other ways to show what has been learned. My goal, in taking standardized tests, is to make the requirement, finish the test, and survive. I know I'm smarter than that, but I am a terrible standardized test taker. I prefer to write an essay or create a portfolio.  But once that answer sheet morphs into a scantron, I'm in trouble.  I read too much into the questions, I  second guess myself, and then I end up questioning each one of my answers. 

Unfortunately, there's no getting around standardized tests in many areas of life....especially when you are a teacher.  This past year, I've had to take a series of tests in order to get my teaching certificate through DoDDS (Department of Defense Schools).  I'm probably going to have to battle these tests for a long time considering the fact that many states do not have reciprocity with teaching certificates and we'll be moving every 3 - 5 years.

 So, imagine my surprise when, while going through the gallons of mail that awaited me upon my trip from the states, I came across this:

And this inside:

What you are looking at is a letter and certificate stating that my recent scores on the Praxis II test fell within the top 15% of scores!  Wow!  I couldn't believe it!

 Guess I must know something after all!

Creative in Colorado

The last stop on my journey in the US was to Colorado where Jess had lots of projects waiting for us to tackle. She described them on her blog, but I have a few pictures to add. 

For example, here is Jess in action, making the headboard for the master guest suite:

Sarge, of course, was always the enthusiastic helper (notice that he's about to give me a big, wet kiss!):

But I think our favorite project was shopping, shopping, shopping!

Or evening walks with Sarge:

Although watching Maggie and Sarge act like wild banshees was pretty comical.  I was able to get a pic of them actually standing still for one minute:

Okay, I guess I can't really decide which part was the best.  There were too many fun parts.

The crazy part of the trip is that we really didn't take many photos - which is bizarre.  I mean, I'm the one who carries around a camera everywhere I go, and Jess is practically a world-renowned photographer*, so I found it strange that taking photos was last on our list of to-dos.  

Thankfully, we were able to get a few that we were both in.  Like the self portrait with the funky sunglasses in Target while we were shopping with Kate.

Jess & Julie (again in Target!)

All in all, it was a fantastic trip, which ended much too soon!

*Vista Bella Photography