End of Year Craft

Fin

Praise God from whom ALL blessings flow. I am DONE!! I finished my first year of teaching and through all the failed tests, long days, "ghetto fabulous," the fights, the tears, the detention referrals, the "Ms. Drummonson, I'll miss you," the good friendships with other teachers, the light bulb moments, the "I can't do this" to "Can I do it for the class?" through ALL of this God has been so very faithful. He has provided for every challenge and allowed for every one of my failings. 


He is good and I have learned so much.


Now, on to summer....

Field Trip Adventures

How cool is my dad?? He came to Lynches River County park today and took BOTH of my classes on a field trip! I've never seen them so engaged. It was totally awesome. 

Can I just say that my dad is the best??

 6 days...

Has it really been a year?

I graduated from college a year ago.

A year ago I began this crazy journey that has lead me
to Florence,
to Lake City,
to teaching,
to 43 wonderful students,
to my crazy old person house,
to independence,
to loneliness,
to new friends,
to rough days,
to small triumphs,
to wishes,
to a routine,
to cooking for one,
to glorifying God in my small life.

He brought me through this year and to Him be the glory. Now I stand on the edge of another precipice as I look to moving back to Columbia, starting yet another new job, and getting settled there.

13 days of left.


He has brought me thus far and will bring me through the final days.

My Latest Obsession

I'm not a huge health food nut, but I do like to eat fresh whenever possible. I've recently discovered spinach smoothies and I LOVE them! I've never loved spinach in salads because it makes a weird squeaky sound between my teeth that drives me crazy. However we all know we're supposed to get lots of DarkLeafyGreenVegetables and spinach is one of them.

Solution: disguise the spinach with yogurt and fruit!

Start with a half cup of packed spinach and a half cup of frozen fruit.        

Throw in a banana and a half cup of yogurt.

               

Taaada! Thats all you need!

Looks nasty (lets not pretend this doesn't look like vomit), but tastes delicious and is great for you! Seriously ALL you taste is fruit!

Yum!

Astoria and San Fran

A recent trip took me to Astoria, Oregon and San Francisco! It was glorious! Awesome time with my brother and cousin, going to soccer games, drinking really good coffee, hiking mountains, eating tons of great food (with an emphasis on breakfast food), meeting David's friends, long talks, visiting breweries, shopping, taking the Jeep mudding in Washington state, taking naps, reading insignificant books, taking pictures (mainly of the boys doing the kneeling archer pose), and generally have a wonderful trip.

Most Recent Painting

It might be the perfect addition to my tree themed house one day...

International Arts Festival

 I had a great weekend at the International Arts Festival! Jayme and Ashton came for a visit and we went adventuring to Francis Marion where we skipped through the rain, colored with chalk, saw Chinese acrobats, waded in fountains, tried not to get chosen as audience participation for the African drumming and dance performance, and of course ate some great international food!

Oreo Lunar Cycle

for a laugh

From one male student to another: "well, you....you have a period"

Me: "Do you know what that means?"

Male student: " Yeah, it means you change your mind a lot, thats what my mom said it is"

Happy Pi Day

I had a fantastic time nerding out with my fifth grade class the other day as we celebrated Pi Day. 

(March 14th, as in 3.14... :)

I told them to have an irrational day, we brushed up our "area of a circle" skills,  and of course we all ate pie. If nothing else they will remember that crazy teacher who was really into pie. 

Maybe its the little things that will stick with them and they really will remember that pi is 3.14

A Dose of Inspiration

I shared this with my class today and we plan to memorize it in the next couple of weeks. Not only are they benefitting from the fluency exercise and word structure, but they see a rousing example of not giving up. Many of mine will give up long before ether try. I long to see them "buckle right in with a trace of a grin." I am also happy to have the reminder hanging on my wall for those days that I'm ready to throw my hands in air and listen to the prophesy of failure these kids have stamped on their lives.

Productive?

Look how many rubber bands I confiscated today!!

Marshmallow Geometry

 Why not make geometric shapes with toothpicks and marshmallows instead of just talking about them and looking at pictures? I had some fun with my fifth graders the other day eating our math project!

 

Um...

Me: "Hey girls, what are you doing?" (they are crouched under a table)
Students: "Oh, drug dealing....I mean...candy dealing"

One Day At A Time

Each new day I realize more and more that I cannot do this. I do not have the strength. I do not have the strategies. I do not have ideas. I do not have the patience.

ONLY through Christ who strengthens me. 

What a day...

My fourth graders might be the death of me!!
Tough tough day today. Wild kids, homework for my online class and well, its Monday.

I don't think they learned anything today.

A conversation

Really interesting conversation with a students yesterday. We were talking about some science topic (weathering/erosion/destructive natural events) when a students stopped me..

"You know Mz Drummmons, the thing is...white people, they're just on a higher level"

"what?"

Well, black people, they ain't like that, they just on a lower level, they don't think like that...."

As the conversation progressed, I was blown away. One of my brightest students (not a slacker by any means) was telling me and she truly believed that black people aren't as smart or as talented a white people. Is this a product of her culture? Has she been fed this lie through her life? I would almost expect this from a students who was doing poorly and looking for an excuse, but here was a talented young lady from a family who values education saying because of skin color and whatever factors you choose to mix in with that, her race was not as gifted as another.

I hated that moment. I ended up talking to her about it for a while and telling her all the reasons I disagreed with her. I wanted her to see that no matter what she's heard and no matter what she sees around her that this was NOT because of race.

How can we make these students see that even though they come from a place where goals and aspirations are few and menial jobs and living in housing projects are common that they aren't bound to the life of those around them??

"Haters Make Me Famous"

Covenant for the New Year

I am no longer my own, but yours.

Put me to what you will.

Place me with whom you will.

Put me to doing, put me to suffering;

Let me be employed for you or laid aside for you,

Exaulted for you or brought low for you

Let me be full, let me be empty;

Let me have all things, let me have nothing.

I freely and heartily yield all things

To your pleasure and disposal.

And now go glorious and blessed God,

Father, Son, and Holy Spirit:

You are mine and I am yours. May it be so!

Any may the covenant which I have made

here on earth

Be confirmed in heaven.

Amen

Think for a moment, my dear friends, about what God has done in your life in 2011. 

How has He made himself known?

How has He blessed you? 

How has He challenged you? 

How has He richly provided for your every need?

Now think on this new year ahead and make it your one goal to fall even deeper in love with our savior. Will you look back in a year and think about how you got to know him even better than you did in 2011?