Well, it's been a couple weeks since I last posted...sorry! A lot has happened!

Right before school ended, I found out that my position at Lincoln Elementary as a teacher's assistant is available for next year! I didn't think it would be available because kindergarten enrollment is going down next year (at the end of the year, it was at about 22-23/class vs. 26/class last year) and there already is a 1st grade assistant teacher. But, the first grade classes are going to be at about 25-26/class (maybe higher if we get new kids before school starts, which is a possibility), with a few pretty needy kiddos. I haven't been assigned a grade level yet, but I think I'm going to move up to 1st grade with the kiddos from last year because of the needs and numbers. Then we'd probably just have one assistant per class. I still would like to have my own classroom someday, but after seeing how few openings there are and after 482 teachers from MPS were laid off and are now looking for jobs, I'm happy to stay in my position and have a job at all.

I also was able to snag a summer school position right before school ended. I was originally looking into helping out with special education this summer, but after some persuasion by me and a coworker, I was able to get a job assisting one of my Lincoln coworkers with her summer art classes. So basically, I show up for 4 hours a day and help kids paint. Not a bad gig! :)

In other news, I went to Madison last weekend and spent some time with Jennifer. It had been so long since we'd seen each other...I missed her! Anyway, we were catching up at Starbucks and she told me about how she wants to hike Longs Peak in Colorado before she turns 30 (at the end of August). After some discussing, we decided to do it together! The details aren't totally worked out, but we're tentatively thinking about going the week of August 8. Jennifer's family has cabins out there, so all we'd have to worry about is gas to drive out there, food, and anything extra we'd want to do. We would go out there and do a couple shorter hikes to get our bodies used to the elevation change and then we'd do Longs Peak in the middle of the week. The Longs Peak trail is about 7.5 miles one way and you have to start at 3 am to be off the mountain before the afternoon thunderstorms come. It sounds super intense, but exciting!

Kindergartenism #54:

Isabel: "We're having a Miley Cyrus singing competition."

Kelsey: "I'm really good at singing Miley Cyrus. I sound just like her. I can change my voice."

This isn't a kindergartenism, but it was something funny that my 4 year-old cousin Ainsley said last weekend:

Ainsley: "Naomi needs new pants."

Me: "Why?"

Ainsley: "Because she's a cranky pants!"

I'm feeling really defeated right now. I just received an email from the guy in charge of summer school telling me that there aren't any more openings for summer school. On Wednesday, we had a staff meeting and someone asked about whether they will be making another 1st grade class next year and my principal said it wasn't looking likely because we're losing 3-4 kids over the summer. I'm lucky to be able to apply to 1 teaching opening a week for next year.

This is how each summer has been the last 3 years, and yet I still feel anxious about job stuff. I have no idea what I'm going to do this summer on top of not knowing what I'm going to be doing in the fall. And, I need to be looking for apartments in order to possibly move out by the end of the summer. There are just so many unknowns and yet I need to be making decisions despite not knowing what I'll be doing. I have to have faith that God will make everything work out, but I'm not going to lie, it's hard to truly believe that sometimes.

Kindergartenism #52:

Grant: "It's hard for me to write with my right hand and it's hard for Aidan (his twin brother) to write with his left hand."

Me: "Grant, I just realized like a week ago that you are a leftie and Aidan is a rightie."

Kelsey: "I'm a bothie...I can do things with both of my hands."

Me: "Do you want to learn what that's called and impress your mom and dad? It's called being ambidextrous."

Kelsey: "Can you write that down? Sometimes it's hard for me to remember things. My brain is so big that sometimes things get lost in there. One time, I was at daycare and it was so windy that what I was trying to remember flew out of my head."

Kindergartenism #53:

We've been talking to the kiddos about ways to be safe. Yesterday, we talked about saying no to strangers, and we defined a stranger as anyone you don't know.

Ashton: "I know everyone."

So I applied in late February to work summer school in my district. At the end of April, we got a district-wide email that said they were working on summer school hiring and would be sending out contracts within the next few weeks. It also had an attachment that listed everyone in the district who applied for summer school. I checked, and I, as well as all of my information, was on the list. I waited and waited, and by the second week of May, I still hadn't heard anything about being officially hired. I emailed the guy in charge, asking when I could expect some information, and he replied by telling me I wasn't on the list. Since then, I've been waiting for him to get his act together and tell me if I will be teaching or not. I emailed him and told him I need to know ASAP so I can figure out my summer employment, but I still haven't heard anything from him in about a week. I'm very frustrated with the whole situation. Apparently, things have been very disorganized with summer school since he took over. If I can't teach summer school in the district, I'm not sure what I'm going to do. I'm sure most districts are done hiring for summer school by now and I don't know what places would be looking to hire for only 2 months or so. Just another unknown to add to my life.

Kindergartenism #48:
Oscar: "It's going to be in the 80s today! And then it's going to rain the rest of the week. And then it's going to be 28 on Friday!"
Me: "28?! That's winter weather!"
Oscar: "Yep, 28."

Kindergartenism #49:
Ricki (a girl): "It's so hot! I wish I could take my shirt off. But girls have private parts under their shirts. They have belly buttons."

Kindergartenism #50:
Bella (while reading a book she wrote about her friends): "Kelsey...She is the bestest kid in the class. She always listens. She always tells me what to do...but I still like her anyway."

Kindergartenism #51:
Nora: "My dad hurt his back this weekend."
Me: "Oh no. I'm sorry to hear that. How did it happen?"
Nora: "He was riding his bike with his friend Derek. He fell off and hit his back."
Me: "Ouch I bet that hurt."
Nora: "Yeah, he broke a rib too. I have a real stethoscope at home, so I can check on him and make sure he's okay."

I have decided to make a summer to-do list. This summer will be the first summer in 7 years that I will be in Milwaukee and I realized that, despite growing up here for many years, there are many things I haven't done here. On Friday, I crossed the first thing off my list!

#1: Go on the Lakefront Brewery tour. May 21, 2010

This was probably the best $7 I've ever spent! You get 24 oz. of beer (4 6 oz. samples), an entertaining tour, and a free glass at the end! It was really fun and we plan on going many more times this summer!

Kindergartenism #46:
Harrison: "Look at this one. (points to something he's drawing) It's so awkward."
Ella: "What does awkward mean?"
Harrison: "I don't know."

Kindergartenism #47:
I don't remember who said this quote...
"Who were the first people in the world?"
"I think their names were Jack and Jill."

Since I last posted, my parents have decided to sell their house. It was always something that was looming in the future, but my mom stumbled upon a house she loves and jumped into moving mode. The time between when she found the new house online and when we had a realtor come to look at our house was pretty sudden. And not only that, but the new house is in Sullivan...about 45 minutes west of where we live now. My sister and I were given the option to move out there with my parents, but neither of us want to deal with that kind of commute. It would take my sister at least an hour just to get to school everyday in downtown Milwaukee. So, we have been talking about getting a place together. I wasn't planning on living at home past the summer anyway, but there are a lot of unknowns in my life right now (i.e. where I'm working next school year), so the thought of having to find a place by a certain time is a little stressful right now. Granted, it could be months before our house sells, but my parents want to have as much stuff out of our house as we can to make it look bigger and less cluttered. So, we'll see what this summer brings in that area.

The superintendent of my district brought up the idea of creating another 1st grade in my classroom at my school next year. We have 52 kindergarteners right now (26 in 2 classes) including a handful of pretty needy kiddos. Only 2 kids that we know of are not returning to the school next year which puts each 1st grade class at 25 for next year. And there are always new kids that register over the summer. So, if the class sizes get big enough, they might split into 3 classrooms, in which case, I told my principal I'd like to be considered for the position. It's not a guarantee and the decision probably wouldn't be made until sometime over the summer, but it's a possibility. In the meantime, i'm still watching the postings...which are very few and far between right now. I have to have faith though. I have to constantly remind myself that God totally provided a job for me this year when I thought all hope for one was lost. I have such a huge desire to teach in my own classroom and I have to believe that desire is put in me for a reason...and that eventually, in His timing, God will fulfill that desire as long as I continue to seek after Him.

Kindergartenism #44:
Kelsey: "I was born without patience."
Me: "No patience?"
Kelsey: "Nope...I just can't handle it."

Kindergartenism #45:
In a reading group, I was discussing r-controlled words (words with -ar) with the students.
Me: "Can anyone think of another -ar word?"
Grant: "Bernard"
Me: "Oh yeah, the boy's name."
Josh: "Bernard? Like the store?"
Me: "Store? I don't know a store named Bernard."
Josh: "You know...(sings) Save big money at Bernards"

Kindergartenism #43:
Me: "Does anyone know what the black circles in your eye are called?"
Brian: "Pimples!"