Ready to Read

My Oral Literacy professor mentioned in class that it is a good rule of thumb to have about 5 books per student in your classroom. I told Brent (my husband) that night that I would likely start my children's book collection soon so that I will have what I need when I begin teaching. Well, and I like reading children's books too! They're so much fun! This picture of my sweet nephew, Wilson, just solidifies my plan to begin my own children's book library early. Apparently he is VERY interested in books already (at only 6 months) and I cannot WAIT to read him a few he has not seen before...from his Aunt Katie's own collection! :) I can tell already, we are really going to learn a lot from each other!

Katie & Brent 5-7-2011

I've completed a slide show of pictures from our wedding. Some pictures are those that friends and family took, but most are courtesy of Blair Schwarz Photography. Thank you Blair for coming all the way from Colorado to Chattanooga to help us capture some amazing moments in time that we will NEVER forget! You are truly an amazing lady and great friend.

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A Child's Excitement is Inspirational

While doing a bit of research for an upcoming school project about inclusion of hearing impaired children, I came across this video. This, is one of the MANY reasons I want to be an early childhood educator. Look how excited she gets to be able to read/spell! LOVE!!!

The Highlight of my week...

...Was getting 2 diet cokes for the price of one out of the vending machine. I cannot begin to explain how excited I was when another Diet Coke fell into the slot after I had already retrieved one. It was like winning the lottery...well...almost. Oh, and I have now received all of my scores for the three Praxis exams that I took over the summer. I passed ALL of them (Mathematics, Reading, & Writing)! I would have considered that an accomplishment even if I had been in a classroom in the past 3 years! Celebration dinner at PF Changs followed, where I stuffed my face with brown rice and crispy honey shrimp. YUM! Next week is the beginning of my diet...ha!

Using our inside voices

Last weekend, I traveled to my old Kentucky home to visit with family while Brent attended a bachelor party in Memphis. I must say that playing with this little guy (my nephew, Wilson) made me completely forget about what the guys in Memphis may be doing! He is a bundle of love and giggles that I could just stare at all day long...and I did! He is a reminder that going back to school to become an early childhood educator had to be one of the best ideas I've had in a while.
This week marks the beginning of college football. Tonight we are cheering on UK in their game vs. WKU. I am continuing to encourage my husband to use his inside voice when he cheers, but it's not working. His claps and words of "encouragement" to the team are loud enough to cause hearing loss. Which, I happen to be using as my "disability of choice" for an upcoming school presentation on inclusion. Should I continue to sit too close to him on the couch, I may have a personal resource for my presentation...my OWN hearing loss! It makes me wonder if he'll learn to use his inside voice when we have our own little guy one day (in the far far future!)...probably not. God bless him, he's a sports nut to the core.
I'll leave you with a song I've learned while doing research on transition time strategies for class. Maybe I can try it with Brent...ha!

"Henry Hush"
(Tune: "London Bridge")

Henry Hush says, "Please be quiet.
Please be quiet. Please be quiet."
Henry Hush says, "Please be quiet.
Sh! Sh! Sh!"