Abundantly blessed!

Going into a 2-way Dual Language program requires a completely different mentality than the 1-way program I taught in Texas. It's looked at much more like a magnet enrichment program and requires a lot more commitment from the kids and the parents. It's a program that they really believe in because of the benefits it will give them in the future. Since it began, they've added one more grade level every year, as well as a second class for each prior grade level as interest increases each year. I will be the first sixth grade class for them to complete the program in elementary school, and then more classes will be offered every year so they can continue the program all the way through high school. The goal is for them to gain an official bilingual/biliterate stamp on their diploma. I'll have to say, I'm quite impressed with the district for all of their efforts to give students this incredible opportunity. I'm just as impressed with the families who put their children in this brand new program as a pre-K student and have stayed committed to it the whole way through elementary school. It says a lot about the program. 

Being a 2-way program with kids learning both Spanish and English together, I am excited to structure my classroom around the theme of where their bilingual skills can take them (or who their skills might bring to them). Over the summer, I mentally started preparing my classroom based on the few pictures I took of the space I had to work with. So when I got to go in for a couple days before our camping trip, I started working on my world traveling corner with my own collection of things I've gotten or have been gifted from several Spanish-speaking countries. Though they took up a lot of space in my little house, they seemed to come up short in my new spacious classroom. Plus I realized that I was seriously lacking in basic supplies and materials. 

I also have a collection of army themed items from my Alspaugh's Army theme from many years ago. My mom made me a class banner and some curtains when I taught second grade, so I figured I might as well keep the same theme going. I printed out the official Army Warrior Code, which basically says they don't accept failure, they don't give up, and they don't leave anyone behind. 

Then my sister-in-law offered me a life-sized bear, so I clothed him with an army jacket and hat and put him in my Social/Emotional/Self-reflection corner. 

I knew it lacked a lot still, but it was a start. I needed to get some basic supplies for putting things up on the walls, anyway, before I could do anything more. 

Thankfully another teacher found me a bookcase and a friend from church gave me a box full of chapter books.

I got a mug holder from someone at church and filled it with mugs I've gotten from former students or coworkers. And another teacher happened to leave the perfect coffee sign for my little coffee bar. (I've since added a keurig machine after I took it camping). 

I also put up my bird clock (that my students have always loved), but I haven't put the batteries in it yet. It might freak some people out right now if they're in a quiet school and suddenly hear birds chirping on the hour. 

I hated taking a break from working in my classroom to go on a camping trip since I'm a bit extra anxious about starting over in a new place and a new grade. But I didn't want to miss the opportunity to vacation with David since I don't know how many more opportunities I will have him around to vacation with. So I figured I'd just have to put in a few longer hours at a time when I came back after I got past my Spanish certification exam. (As an introvert, I've always gone in to my classroom two weeks early to set up while everything is still quiet. I think best in silence.)

The night before we left for Michigan, I suddenly got inspired to make an Amazon Teacher Wish List and post it on Facebook. I'd never done anything like that before, mostly because I had plenty of supplies built up over 19 years of teaching. But starting over in a new state after a 2 year detour as a new class meant I inherited no one's supplies. What could it hurt? Even if someone just got me some sticky tack, push pins, or painter's tape, then I could at least start putting things up on the walls. 

To my surprise, though, I got back from our camping trip to a table full of Amazon packages! And then I came home to another table full of packages the next day, and the day after that! Plus a friend decided to go shopping for me and loaded me up with a bunch of desk supplies, including a pink stapler, tape dispenser, and matching scissors. To say that each gift touched my heart deeply is an understatement. I am still truly blown away at everyone's generosity and thoughtfulness. I saved all of the gift notes and will put them up on my bulletin board as a reminder of who God used to help me create such a special environment for my new students. 

From church 

From a new friend in Texas that I met in Pennsylvania last summer

After such intense study of each Spanish-speaking country this summer, this beautiful map meant so much to me!

From church

From Hawaii

From Texas

From family

More from Texas

From someone who just said, 

"Praying for your kiddos this year"

Unbeknownst to me, God had me go on that camping trip to keep me 

out of my classroom because He knew I didn't have all the right supplies or decorations yet. :)

And even still, they kept coming! 

Before I knew it, my Amazon wish list was empty!

More from church

And from more family

And then even more from church--all themed around my favorite color.

I had so much fun going back into my classroom this week, realizing that all of my new bilingual decorations, posters, maps, and flags make it feel like my dream classroom--especially after all of the "virtual" world travel I did this summer while preparing for the history portion of the Spanish certification test. 

Then on Friday after putting up all the flags and Spanish quotes, I went to a "quick" meeting with my new instructional coach, along with three other new Legado teachers--2 from Spain and 1 from Mexico. As I sat there for almost the next two hours 100% immersed in Spanish from several countries, I felt so incredibly blessed and humbled by how God directed me back to my passion and provided more than I imagined. This extra "welcome to Legado" goodie bag was just icing on the cake. It was the warmest welcome I've ever had, and the new teachers sitting beside me expressed the same sentiment. I'm so excited to be part of this new Legado family. I know I have some significant challenges ahead of me, but God has made His presence, His guidance, and His provision quite obvious.  

 

 

A new summer tradition

Right before we moved here two years ago, my brother-in-law took his family on a little family vacation to the dunes in Michigan where they stayed at a cute little campground called Silver Lake Resort and Campground. They enjoyed visiting the dunes and camping together and just exploring the cute little town filled with nothing but recreational vehicles to drive on the dunes. They couldn't wait to have us join them the next year with Mike's "fun truck", aka his rock crawler. 

So last year we did join them and made it a whole family affair, including their mom, their other brother, Mark, and even Juan came from Texas to join us. After playing around in Mike's truck, Matt came back on the hunt for his own "fun truck" to tinker around with over the next year. 

This year, the dates were limited, so we had a few less people, but that's okay because trying to pull a camper and a trailer with two trucks made things a bit more complicated. 

We stayed in an adorable little cabin, while Matt's family stayed on the campground right beside us in their camper. We were able to eat most of our meals together and just shared one common fire pit. We had two days on the beach while the boys played around in their trucks. Matt's truck had some transmission problems, but Mike's truck was able to save the day and pull it to the rescue. David was also able to use it to pull some other trucks out of areas where they got stuck. It's definitely more of a boys' weekend, especially since I personally don't find much thrill or enjoyment in all the truck stuff. But going for a walk on the beach two days in a row was nice. Chrissy's mom met us for one of those days on the beach since she lives just a couple hours from there. 

The timing of the trip wasn't the best for me with a new job starting right around the corner and also being just a few days before I had to take a big certification test, but I was able to skip out on a few activities to get some last minute test prep in. I almost didn't go, but I'm glad I decided to go in the end. 

It's definitely a fun tradition that I have a feeling will continue for many years (as the "fun trucks" continue to evolve). I'm hoping Juan can join us again next year. My mother-in-law had surgery the day we left, so she was pretty disappointed she had to miss it. Apparently they used to come to these dunes as a family when Matt and Mike were growing up.