checking in... graduations and jobs

I love the little world of blogging!! You guys are such a support system!! I'll start off with the dream interviews.... the first one (kindergarten) I was SOOO nervous for. I couldn't calm my hands from shaking. I have not officially heard but at this point a week later, I am pretty sure that I did not get it. And you know what... I'm ok! This morning at 9am central time I get to interview for the pre k position!! I am  much calmer than I was last week. So we shall see how it goes. I'm posting this quickly so that I can get back to getting ready!

My bigger news is that I graduated on Friday!! MSE baby! I'm so proud... and I can hardly believe that I did it! This is the layout of the floor for graduation. I kid you not half of the education section- the biggest one on that map- was MSE grads!! ASU has a wonderful online masters program! My little family sat on the first row and yelled and cheered. I was sad because my mom and kids left before it was over- I wanted a picture with them sitting in their seats. So I got one of DH, Sherry (step mom) and dad... he's the one with the camera.

Here are some pictures!

And one more... ME!! Karen Day, MSE

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hold please...

Those can be the most annoying two words in the English language. I love when calling the dr or any other office that the sweet voice on the other end utters "hold please" and then click. Your on hold. With the wonderful opportunity to interview for not one but two dream jobs, I feel like my back to school plans are on hold. I mean really who wants to set up two classrooms, right?


So I feel antsy and jittery, because I know those precious minutes of set up are ticking away. So I've been working here at home trying desperately to get organized. Not working very well. And I need to add here that I am somewhat disappointed with what I have seen at Target so far! I so needed some more of the alphabet stamps and number stamps that they had last year. Maybe it's just my Target but I am surprised not to see many posts about the dollar spot either. But I am LOVING the Target back to school ads!! This one is my favorite:

I'm also waiting for a final grade on my last class to graduate. Funny how the class ended Friday (as in just past) and I graduate this Friday... ugh! I don't remember being this stressed at undergrad. Maybe the passing of years has wiped that memory away. LOL... I did find out that I walk either way. It's just one way I get my diploma Friday night, the other way I have to work some on the portfolio from hell some more.

So I'm hanging out is "hold please" land. Listening to awesome music on spotify, reading, and trying to organize.

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A little summer reading...

So school is out and I should be dreaming of hours laying by a pool reading books with chesty men on the cover and ladies with a "heaving bosom". But instead I am reading about teaching writing to small children, and LOVING it!!
here is the short list:

The first is In Pictures and In Words by Katie Ray Woods. This is a WONDERFUL book and one that Mrs. Wills Kindergarten is hosting a book study on.

The next one is Engaging Young Writers by Eric Glover. I haven't gotten past the first  few pages but what I have read SO far makes me extremely excited to finish this one.

The next one I want to read is Talking, drawing, writing by Martha Horn & Mary Ellen Giacobbe. I haven't read this one yet.

This one I've had for a while but put off reading because of the way that the book is laid out. It is a through the year kind of book, so I decided to set it aside until summer so that I could use it to build ideas for the beginning of the year. When I first got it I read the introduction that talked about how the book was set up and how it came about. That is why I decided to place this book on my summer reading list. ;)

Interactive Writing is one that was given to me during ELA (Effective Literacy in Arkansas). Actually I won it as a door prize. I've read bits and pieces along the way as I felt that I needed them, but I have never actually read the whole book. That is why I plan to fill in the gap this summer by reading the whole thing.

Back in the fall I read the next two books and LOVED them. This summer Live, Laugh, Love blog is hosting a book study on them. I am looking forward to going back through each chapter and being part of the book study. This study is going to be great because it's geared for Kindergarten teachers and their special breed of students. ;)

So those are my summer reading plans. I'm not sure everyone wants to read teacher books during the summer but it's really the only time I have to really read. My masters program ends in July and I graduate in August. That has taken up most of my spare time. I can't wait until graduation in August.

A little knee update, surgery went well. There were no big surprises. Damage was were they thought it might be. I think the coolest part was in the pictures they showed me of one section that was trying to heal itself. It was amazing to see how the body was trying to make things right. I've started PT, and it's a good thing Rob is so cute or I'd have to kill him.  ;) Truthfully PT stinks... I don't think that it hurt this bad right after surgery. But I know we have to go down this path to get better, and it is making since why it hurts to do some things and not others. 

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Flight 9 you have been cleared for take off...

That is how I feel this morning... cleared for take off. For the last 16 months I have been working on my masters. On Thursday I made the call that clears me to enroll in my last class and gave me the date that my portfolio is due. June 4... portfolio due date. August 3...graduation date. I still have 2 classes, middle school curriculum and high school curriculum. But I am cleared to go!! I meet with my mentor on Monday to set up a plan to be ready for my portfolio to be turned in. Somehow, I am now scared. I haven't been scared at all but I am now. I kind of feel overwhelmed and not sure where to start. I feel like my kids... I think I can, I think I can.

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