CELEBRATE: college graduation - may 14, 2016

Saturday was such a special day.  What started out as a cloudy and chilly morning, turned into a gorgeous sunny day.  It's still so surreal to me that I'm done with college.  I am so glad I got to spend the day with family and friends to celebrate graduating from college.  

So neat that I've known this girl for literally my entire life, and we have been able to experience so many milestones together.  Congrats, grad!

I was lined up in front of the building where my dad happened to be looking for the restroom.  He was completely unaware that I was standing there, and I said, "Hey Dad!" to get his attention.  He casually responded, "hey" and continued walking.  Ha! 

Moments later he returned wanting to take a selfie.

Thankful for new friendships

and old ones, too!

Thanks mom and dad for a delicious and fabulous graduation party!

It was such a wonderful day! :)  

If it's any indication what the "adult" world is like, I will be perfectly content.

I've learned so much in the past 4 years - both from school and from life in general.  While I can't say I feel fully prepared to enter the "adult" world and get a "real" job, I don't think I'll ever really be prepared.  I don't think any of us are ever really "ready" to do anything.  I think you just go for it and do the best you can.  If there's one thing I have truly learned thus far, it's to "let go and let God."  I don't know what I'll be doing in August, but I trust that God has a plan for me.  
---- "For I know the plans I have for you declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." Jeremiah 29:11

For now, I'm painting fruit. Ha!  I'm really enjoying not having any schoolwork to do and spending my spare time pinning classroom decorations and catching up on the to-do lists that I've neglected for the last 9 months.

---- xoxo, Lauren

DIY: watermelon rug

I don't know what it is, but I have developed an obsession with all things watermelon this season.  I found a tutorial on Pinterest for the cutest outdoor watermelon rug and knew I wanted it for my porch for the summer.  I found 2 plain coir rugs at target for $10/each (I have 2 front doors).  This tutorial called for a sponge to make the watermelons, but I didn't have one on-hand, so I just free-handed it.  I used the Apple Barrel acrylic paint from Wal-mart and an old paint brush.  
First, I painted the rounded triangle spaced far enough apart so that I would have room to paint the bottom.  
Then, I let it dry for a little while before I went back and painted the bottoms of the watermelons just below the pink.  
Finally, I went back a put a random amount of seeds on each of them with black paint. 

I love the way it turned out!  I also made a matching rug to go with it for my other door that says, "SUP".  I saw a printed one similar to this online, but I am entirely too cheap to buy it, so I decided to make my own.  You would have to know my husband to understand how appropriate it is.  Our rugs really brought our porch to life, in addition to my DIY lawn chairs. Check back for a follow-up post on how I made my DIY moss monogram!

TEACH: a letter to "my kids"

Today was my first last day with the students in my fourth grade class that I've been student teaching in all year.  It was so bittersweet; while I'm excited to be graduating and starting a new chapter in my life, I hated that our time together was coming to an end.  
It seems like just yesterday I walked into a room of sweet, little faces whispering to one another as I walked in their classroom.  They took me in with open arms and made me feel welcome from the moment I nervously introduced myself.  Little did I know that those 24 crazy, energetic 9- and 10-year-olds would rock my world.  

Over the course of the year, my students taught me more than I could have ever taught them.  Within those walls, we laughed, cried, learned, and froze-to-death together in Mrs. McGee's classroom.  Memories were made.

I'll never forget the girl who told me she couldn't tell me her name on my first day because I hadn't yet been approved by the government to disclose her name, or the time a little boy came to me in tears at recess telling me that his classmate pushed him "in the *damn* stomach."  I'll remember the time that they tried to teach me how to "dab" on the playground (which I haven't quite mastered).  I still giggle about the time I tried to encourage some students by telling them that I had to take STAR tests when I was in school, and they said, "Woah! That was in like 19-something!"  (I was in Kindergarten in 2000 - thank you very much!)  I'm still trying to forget about the time I was running a little late wearing a little less make up than normal and several of them asked with concern, "Mrs. Moore, are you okay? You look terrible."  (Why, thank you.)  I'll also remember how at the end of a rough day, one little girl reassured me, "Mrs. Moore, you're going to be a great teacher."  While all of my memories weren't necessarily happy ones, they were what made it all worth it. 
 
I'm still impressed by the things kids will do for a sticker and the excuses they will come up with to get out of doing their schoolwork.  I'm still amazed by that one kid in the class that, no matter who you put him by, will find someone (or something) to talk to.  I still love the look of pure joy overcomes their faces when music comes on or when they hear the word "recess".

My students helped me develop my "teacher voice", learn patience on a whole new level, and perfect that look a teacher gives a student when they better stop what they're doing right then.  Most of all, "my kids" taught me unconditional love.  No matter what kind of day I was having or what happened the day before, they were always there to greet me with a hug, a smile, or a drawing of butterflies on notebook paper.  My new favorite flowers are those picked for me on the playground.  I've never known a love quite like the one experienced in the classroom.  It was in that classroom that I knew I belonged.  

Today I experienced a heartbreak like no other.  It hit me for the first time that I could no longer call those kids "mine".  I left school saying a little "thank-you" prayer for each one of those kids and hoping that I made an impact on them the way they did on me.  

Mrs. McGee, thank you for teaching me that it's okay to fail.  Sometimes things don't go as planned.  It takes a good teacher to be able to say, "Okay, that didn't work. Let's take a step back and try again."  Thank you for helping me to realize that students must respect me before they like me.  They have to like me because they respect me.  Thank you for sharing your classroom and "your kids" with me this year.  I am so thankful for you and know I will be a better teacher because of you.  

To the 24 kids who helped turn me from a student into a teacher, thank you. 

                                                                                                     Love Always,
                                                                                                      Mrs. Moore

CELEBRATE: lauren's bridal shower

I had the pleasure of hosting my first ever bridal shower for one of my dear friends, Lauren.  She is actually the first of my friends to get married, so I was more than happy to co-host a shower for her (I started a Pinterest board the day she got engaged).  

I realized the week of the party that I didn't have a table large enough for everyone.  My mother-in-law came up with the brilliant idea for me to use my old wooden doors (purchased at an estate sale for about $40) on top of 2 saw horses.  I love the way it looked and have since drilled them on to the sawhorses to use as a picnic table.  

For food, we made a donut cake, which was super easy and adorable.  I mean, who doesn't love donuts?  We got some of the Sister Schubert sausage rolls because those are always a crowd-pleaser.  We also made breakfast quiches with hashbrowns, eggs, cheese, and bacon.  Lastly, we had a yogurt parfait bar, including toppings like granola, strawberries, and blueberries.  Overall, it was a simple breakfast, but for our small party of a dozen, it was just right.

My younger sister, Carlee, let me borrow her cute little pink polaroid camera for my guest book.  We took the pictures, taped the pictures into a little notebook with washi tape, and signed the pages.  I though it was something different and cute.  (Now, I really want my own polaroid camera!)  

Here are some beautiful pictures taken by my talented friend, Brianna (thank goodness she brought her camera!): 

Our yogurt parfait bar

the donut cake

Our adorable party entertainment

My lifesaver, Sara, saving the day.  

Seriously couldn't have done it without you!

the sweet flower girl and Lauren

We framed Lauren's invitation for her to keep.

  

Our guest book

  

 It was a beautiful day and such a great time to shower our sweet friend.

Congrats to Lauren and Matt!  I am so happy for the two of you!  I'm so glad to finally have a friend in the "married club" with me. HA!  Hurry up, July 23rd! #laurenmethermattch

TEACH: katy perry firework - figurative language

My fourth graders were working on a poetry unit.  We started learning about figurative language.  I knew this was something I learned in school but never really understood.  I started where every teacher starts: Pinterest.  I found some neat ideas, but my favorite was a lesson using the song "Roar" by Katy Perry.  This stuck out to me in particular because Katy Perry came to our little college town of 20,000 last fall.  Her visit was a big deal!  She was on ESPN's College Gameday and picked our beloved Ole Miss Rebels for the win over Alabama.

I took a look at several of her songs and decided to go with Firework (partly because it was the one I knew the words to).  I only focused on similes, metaphors, and onomatopoeia.  
For the lesson, I printed off a copy of the lyrics for each of the students.  I played the song for them one time through and had them underline anything they thought was figurative language in pencil.  At the end of the song, I had them discuss with their group members and determine how many time figurative language was used throughout the song.  I, then, passed out parts of the lyrics to each student in the class; they were numbered to help us stay in order.  We used green, blue, and red markers (red and blue for Ole Miss and green for the football field) to help us color code the 3 different types of figurative language used in the song.  We took the song line by line as we colored coded.  Each student got to come up to the board on their turn at determine if their lyrics were a simile, metaphor, or onomatopoeia.  Although some of the lyrics were repetitive, this was just reinforcement for my students.  I made each student justify why they classified their lyrics the way they did.  
Once we made it through the song, the students' lyrics were completely color coded.  We picked a simple dance move that they could do in their seats to coordinate with each type.  Then, I played the song through one last time while the students and I did the dance moves.  I was able to look around the room and see my little fourth graders doing a choreographed danced.  The students really loved this activity and still talk about how I dressed up like Katy Perry:

(I just happened to find a cheap, fuzzy pink sweater on sale at Forever 21 and made some velvet numbers to put on it.)