Ladies and Gentlemen, boys and girls....

 

 Introducing....my kindergarten classroom 2012-1013. I'm trying to go with a circus theme this year. It's kind of coming together, but is a work in progress. Here's our class library under the big top.

 My "teacher chair" from the DI that I gave a circus-y face lift to, last week.

 This little canopy hangs over our listening center. And our front door is covered in ice-cream cones.

 Balloons for the Word Wall, and....check out the cool pencil I made. I'll use it for a giant pointer. It's made from a pool noodle, and I saw the idea in Family Fun magazine. I made one for Logan and Ellie's new teachers, and their last year teachers, the principal, all the kinder teachers, and me. And I made a fat blue pencil too. You can see the top of it in the picture below this one.

 I added these stripes to whatever this thing is in my room. Some big huge furnace duct or something. It needed help.

Still lots more circus plans....but for now this will have to do, because school has started. And ..... this decor' has nothing to do with teaching.....it's just FUN!! I have 24 students. Fairly large class compared to last year. And that's after they added another kindergarten class. (We now have five kindergarten teachers, seven classes, and over 150 kindergartners!!) They offered me the option of going full time, and teaching the added afternoon class. More like begged me to take it. Talk about pressure! I cried for a few days, not sure if I should give in and do it. But here's the thing....teaching half day is a challenge that I love. I enjoy what I do and kind of go overboard with my class. But teaching full time turns the whole gig into a "job" that feels like a ball and chain. And more than anything, I need to be available for Logan and Ellie as soon as they are out of school. So I stood strong and said no thanks. And an experienced teacher was hired to teach the afternoon class, in my room. So we share a classroom, which works out great!!

And as a side note, I am not one to complain about teacher pay. (Even though we ARE the lowest paid district on one of the lowest paid states!!!) Who cares. None of us does it for the money....OBVIOUSLY!! But I do feel like making it known that part time teachers DO work full time. And full time teachers work time and a half. It's a fact. No way around it. I have NO IDEA how those gals that teach full time still run their households. The thought exhausts me!!! Three cheers for the awesome teachers in our community!! My own kids are so lucky!!