Lemonade anyone??

Hello to all of my students and their families!! I am excited to begin a new school year with you all! The 2013-2014 school year will mark my 6th year of teaching 2nd grade at Oakland. My passion for learning and helping children achieve to their full potential is one that began many, many years ago when I was just a child myself. My sister and I would play school for hours on end as I would teach away to my imaginary class. That dream was planted in my heart a long time ago and it has truly been so special to me as I have seen it come true.

 I hope this year will be the best year for each of you. It is my goal to help each child become the BEST person that he/she can possibly be. This includes academics as well as all life skills, such as being a good friend, a responsible citizen, and any role that your child has at home. Our two rules of being respectful and being responsible should follow your child outside of the classroom and into the ever-changing world they live in.

 

Why is our class blog about lemonade??

Starting the first week of school when we are all getting to know each other, I will share one of my favorite parts of the school day. This is our "Strawberries and Lemons" reflection time. Strawberries are sweet and oh so yummy, so the "Strawberries" will be the best parts of our day. Lemons are sour and do a good job of making us pucker our lips, so the "Lemons" will be the not so great part of our day. It is good to reflect on good and bad things from our day. It is a great way for me to see what engaged your child the most and maybe also target why a certain part of the day was a "Lemon". I am also going to teach them how to make some "Lemonade" even when there are some "Lemons" that come along. Just add some sugar and water, stir it up and "wah-lah" you have some sweet Lemonade.

P.S. Strawberry Lemonade is my FAVORITE...it is even sweeter!! :):)

 

What have you been doing all summer Mrs. Allen?

I got the privilege to be apart of our District's Summer Learning Academy!! I had a class of 12 students from various schools in our district and we embarked on learning adventures for 2 months together! The picture above is with the other class and teacher, Mrs. Maus, who I team taught with. We had a real beauty queen come visit us before she went to the Miss S.C. pageant. I really enjoyed getting to know each student in my class and we had a great time together!

Some other things that I enjoyed this summer were going to the lake for the weekend with my husband, Nick, and our dog-son, Jonah. I also went to Atlanta to visit family and shop, shop, shop! We also went to the Georgia Aquarium and ate at the Cheesecake Factory, which is the BEST place to get a big glass of Strawberry Lemonade. :) Nick and I flew to Puerto Rico and went on a cruise at the end of July. The islands that we went to were absolutely beautiful! We enjoyed relaxing on the beach, swimming in the clear, blue ocean, trying local food at different places, and I always made time to read a good book! When we got back we went to Kiawah Island with family for a week! I enjoyed relaxing on the beach and bike riding around the island. We also enjoyed Marble Slab ice cream a few times, too! :)

 

When do I get to meet you??

 

 On Wednesday, August 14th from 1:00-6:00 you get to come see your new classroom and I get to see your big smile for the very first time as a second grader!!:) Please, bring your school supplies if you have already gotten them. This will make it a lot easier on both of us on the first day of school.

 

First Assignment...

Now that you have gotten to know a little bit about me, I would like for you to reply to this post and tell me what you have been up to this summer. I can't wait to hear about all of the memories that you have been making this summer!

Enjoy your last days of sweet summer vacation and I will be looking forward to meeting you on August 14th!