Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?

Noah's Book Club: December 2011

Title: Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?
In this book I was introduced to Eric Carle. I love him.

Author: Bill Martin Je/Eric Carle

Why Noah Picked It: I love the illustrations in this book. They are big and bright. There is only one thing on each page so my young eyes know what to focus on. The last page shows all the animals and watching my parents point to them so often I eventually figured out how to point too. I point at them in whatever order I feel like and sometimes Dad or Mom will read off what I am pointing at. Fun!

I also own the Polar Bear and Panda Bear titles but this is my original and all time favorite. This is also where I met Eric Carle and he is by far my favorite author to date. 

P.S. My Mom had to tape up the binding with packing tape...a sign of true love.

Baby Belgua

Noah's Book Club: November 2011

Title: Baby Beluga
My first favorite.

Author: Raffi/Wolff

Why Noah Picked It: I love the bright illustrations and that the words are a song. It is the first book I really loved and anytime I got upset someone would show it to me. I really like that puffin. My Mom really went crazy when she could tell I favored this book above all others. My Dad found an animated version of the book on that little black thing he carries around in his pocket. He lets me watch it sometimes. After many months, I still love this book.

Welcome to Noah's Book Club

Our son loves books. A lot. He loves when adults read them to him but he also loves flipping through the pages on his own. He also loves taking each and every one off the book shelf. Each month he will pick a book club book with the hopes that all his baby friends out there will join him in his love of high quality literature. We are retroactively posting 10 books for the first 10 months of Noah's life. The hard part was getting him to just choose ten! We are expecting this book club to be even more popular than Oprah's and that your local book store will need to order extra copies of each of his picks. :)

A New Season

 Today was a big day. I feel like today should be marked by something huge. However, the day was quite normal from start to finish. I slept as long as I possibly could until I had to get up to get to school on time. I taught kids. I worried about test results. I tried to give kids my “I’m-totally-serious-about-this-school-year-but-I-am-also-nice” vibe. I tried to learn names and figure out my previous connections to kids. I discovered that a large percentage of the kids in 5^th grade were either siblings of past students or the children of people I went to school with. That happens fast in a small town.

At the end of the day, I got many hugs and best wishes. It all felt very surreal. Part of me still can’t wrap my head around this season of life ending. School is all I’ve ever known. I have been in school continuously since 1986…I was 4 years old. I thrive on its schedules and routines. I basically think the calendar year is actually September to August. I don’t understand how any adult couldn’t know all the words to “My Country ‘tis of Thee.” You could say that I have no memory of life without school and you would be right.

Being a teacher is easily one of the biggest things I draw my identity from. Thankfully, it is only one of the biggest things, with who I am in God and who I am in my family making up much of my identity as well. I will need those more than ever now.

In my adult life, teaching has been one of the only constants. Everything except that has changed. Relationships, housing, cars, friendships, churches…only Middleburgh Elementary School and the fact that I teach there has remained untouched by any of life’s changes. Until now.

One season ends and another begins. Now I trade what I’ve been trained to do for what I was born to do. I trade all I know for the great unknown of motherhood. I give up financial gain for coupons and budgets. I leave a very public sphere of influence for a very private one…a very small one. I stop submitting to a principal and a superintendent and I submit myself to the role of wife and mother.

I am very blessed to be able to make this choice…the choice to stay home for a season and be a Mom. The change is big but it is the right one for my family and me. It comes with sacrifice and a whole lot of questions but I know how fortunate I am.

My whole life I wanted to be two things when I grew up…for the last 8 years I have done one…now…now is the time for the other.

A photo from the 1st day of school this year. 

  

So...maybe I am not a blogger.

I started this blog over a year ago and I have used it 3 times.

Maybe I am just not a blogger.

Plus...if no one...and I mean NO one: 1) Knows you have a blog 2) Reads it
then is there a point to blogging?

I could journal. I used to love writing. I used to NEED to write.
I want to start up and again. Use that part of me.

It may be here...but I may just dig up a blank book and a pen.

Who knows?