Thank you Petsmart and petsintheclassroom.com for our new turtle habitat in our science center.

Corduroy by Don Freeman

The Corduroy Bears turned out soo cute that the kiddos did during our Bear Unit.  They were so proud of them.  I had to promise that they could take them home after I hung them in the hall for just a week or two to show them off!

I want to be a teacher when I grow up...

With the ending of the first week, I must say, I AM BEAT!! Let's see, typed an incorrect lunch time in my parent note that made it look like my students only got 10 minutes for lunch!  I accidently put another teacher's phone number as my contact number in the kindergarten packet.  Then, I didn't put a place for parent's to sign their name when agreeing to be room parets.  I only noticed after I seperated all the forms and now I have a neat little stack of parent volunteers and no idea who sent them! As soon as I realized (or had it brought to my attention ha ha) I sent out a new parent letter.  If I look at this as an opportunity to show my parents that I am approachable, human and make mistakes too, then I have been a HUGE SUCCESS!
It's like I used to ask my son, "Are people laughing at you, or with you?" He would always reply, "Well, mom they must be laughing with me because I'm laughing too!" I'm just going to try and laugh at myself and always improve...
 On the second day of school I smashed my finger so hard in the sliding closet door that the doctor said my newly manicured nails were all that probably saved the tip of my finger from being pinched off! (I only had my nails done so parents wouldn't see I'm a nail biter!)
  All and all, by Friday, I had less crying, more dancing, more trying and less saying, "I can't." I had more smiles, less frowns, more understanding, and less fear! 

               If I grew this much in one week, what does this year hold for them?

Bowers' Busy Bunch: Just remember!

Bowers' Busy Bunch: Just remember!: Somedays your students will come in and have a day like this.... Never forget what it was like to be their age!  Chances are you have bee...

Just remember!

Somedays your students will come in and have a day like this....

Never forget what it was like to be their age!  Chances are you have been there too!

Soo much to learn..
Ok, so about the time I think I'm getting the hang of all this technology stuff, I find something else I don't know how to do!  Between posting blogs, trying to grab other people's buttons (of which I still can't do) repeating myself like I have alzheimer's on FB (because I share the same post multiple times) and needing a GPS to find my way around the new Timeline they came up with, I find out I'm supposed to pin things to an imaginary board on pinterest? 
I'm still not sure if it's ok to like my own stuff on FB!  Is blogging like reflecting?  Didn't this stuff used to be kept in a diary?  All these people "following" me makes me a little nervous anyway!  Does anyone else feel as lost as me at some of this stuff?   Try to be informative and intertaining so someone will find my blog helpful all while trying to grab that ever elusive BUTTON! Oh yeah, update my school webpage and pin something fabulously interesting on my new board at Pinterest too.  I consider myself an educated person, but it's hard to keep up. So if you go there, sorry folks my board is empty right now.

Taking Stock!

Day 1
As I survey my room, I'm not sure where to start.  I think I will downsize my teacher desk this year to just a small computer stand so that I can incorporate a table for reading groups and small group instruction.  It got to be a pain trying to find an open spot on the floor or at any table last year.  The large class size kept me from intertaining the idea, but I think if I get rid of my BIG desk I can pull it off.  It's just a catch all for piles anyway!

Look at all those computers!

Ahhh just waiting for little fingers! 

I feel really blessed after talking to a

teacher at a workshop I attended.

She only had one student computer!

Thank you HISD for investing in technology!

Not sure where all the tables will go until I know how many tables I will be needing.  Need to get the science area all ready for George though.  I'm thinking about some fish this year too! Hummm!

This is George (as in "of the jungle").  The kids named him one year and it kinda stuck.  A different helper gets to feed George and turn on his heat lamp each morning for a week. (heat lamp donated by Petsmart)

George is a Redslider.  If you want to have a real life science lesson, put tadpoles in the tank with George! 

Let's just say we did not get to see the life cycle of a frog!  Circle of life YES!

Mrs. Bowers even learned something that day! :)

When I was moved to kindergarten in the middle of the year, I could not imagine what God was thinking. But where one door closes, another one opens. Now that I have been teaching Kdg. for over ten years, the 4+ yrs I taught second grade have faded. I love my team and I love the fresh faces of those sweet new students. Some of which have never been anywhere but simply at home with mom and dad. What an importat job I have. What a first impression I can make. Thank you God for having a plan for me.  

            

Well, I have helped my mother come into the age of technology.  She just got her first laptop.  She is set up with gmail, facebook and is a follower on my blog.  She will soon have a scanner, copier and printer installed by the geek squad along with a photo/negative scanner that also does slides.  It was so interesting to sit and listen to stories of family members we had not seen in years who have passed on.  These photos were saved onto her new flashdrive and viewed as a slideshow on a screen saver.  She is so eager to learn all about how to do all this stuff.  It is such a fun way for us to spend time together!