October 31, 2008

Kalum Alexander Shaffer

He's here! Kalum was born at 6:09 A.M. on October 25, 2008. He weighs 8 lbs. 11 oz. and is 21 1/2 inches long. We are so happy for Aaron and Angie. All are doing well. Angie is such a trooper! Aaron had gone home to shower and get some rest when I went to visit at the hospital, so he isn't in any of the following pictures. I will post some pictures of the whole family soon.

His little ear is so cute!

Long fingers!

A happy and proud aunt. I can't believe my baby brother is a daddy!

Kalum's not-so-little-feet

Abbey wants me to write, "Kalum's eyes are so cute!" She's right.

What a blessing!

Pumpkin Patch 2008

Fun times at the pumpkin patch.

All she wants to do is dance, dance. . .

Here are some pictures of Abbey dancing in the new ballet outfit my mom got for her. She isn't in a ballet class yet, but she keeps reminding me that I promised she could start soon.

Abbey and Isaac are rushing to greet daddy at the door.

Abbey put bibs on them backwards and said they were superhero capes.

"Keep Swimming"

"Just keep swimming" - that is a motto adopted by me and another coworker for this year. You may recognize it from the movie Finding Nemo. Although I've never had any intention of updating this blog daily or anything, I still can't believe how infrequently I even think about attempting an update. I am just so busy right now. I'm taking a class at Chapman University so that (after also passing a few exams) I can add an additional teaching credential to the one I already possess. This would give me the authorization to teach multiple subjects at the elementary school level. I can only currently teach English at the middle and high school levels with my current credential. The motivation behind what I am doing is job security - in light of California's outstanding budgeting expertise, but this also gives me options for change in the future should I want it. The class I'm taking will be done in five weeks, then things will slow down a bit for me. In the meantime, I'll just keep swimming.

Dan is back in the swing of things at work. Last week he was told that he may have to switch to another school (even though the year has already begun), but today he found out that someone else from his school volunteered to go elsewhere, so he will be staying right where he is.

Abbey is back in school and loving it. She is excited because tomorrow she gets to stay an extra hour and have lunch with her friends. She has been talking all day about packing her lunch. I guess I better go take care of that soon. Here are some pictures of the dancing princess.


Isaac is doing well. He runs all around now and is trying to talk more and more. He points at everything and asks, "What's that?" It's so cute the first 100 times.

I am so blessed!

Back to work

A couple of people have asked me to post some pictures of my classroom so they can see where I work. So . . . here are a few. I just finished getting my room set up for the new school year. Yesterday was my first day back at work with students. I am teaching a two period block of 7th and 8th grade English language development (second language learners), a two period block of 8th grade language arts, and a single period of 7th grade language arts. That means that I'm using four different books to teach the same subject, which can be a bit challenging to keep organized.

Here is the front view of my classroom. The ceiling looks funky because we have skylights and use natural lighting at the school whenever we can.

This is a picture of a side wall. I make a bulletin board for each book that I use. This is where I post reading strategies and other information for the unit on which we are currently working. Each bulletin board changes five times throughout the year.

This is the back of the room.

This is the other side wall. I am spoiled with lots of storage, counter space, and natural light. So many other teachers have to make things work with so much less.

This is where students can track their progress. Grades are posted using i.d. numbers so other students will only know their own assignment record. The numbers above the pink pages correspond with the class periods that I teach. I didn't forget about the number 5; that's when I have lunch!

Well, I'm off to go write lesson plans for next week. I have a student who will be out all week, so I have to know what work to give him tomorrow. I've also received requests to post some pictures of the house, so I'll be working on getting that done this weekend sometime. Love to all!