First Day Flowers (and Mrs. Bubbles!)

My class is learning about the Fish Philosophy this week. Today I introduced this fish that I have had for a few years. I have used it as recognition in the past, but now she will help us learn more about how we can act by these traits each day. I wanted the class to have ownership of the fish so today they named her. There were a lot of suggestions thrown out, but in the end (while being observed by the superintendent) the class decided on a name!

Meet Mrs. Bubbles!
She will be getting a sign outside the classroom in the near future...watch for pictures!

Rick sent me flowers yesterday too! It made my day even better. Even though he has been out of town a lot lately I know he is thinking of me and wishing me good luck this week!

Close Up! So pretty!

Celebrating Michael's Birthday!

After school I went over to Michael's to wish him a happy birthday! Right when I got there Rick called and talked to him on the phone! His mom loved the cake and Michael loved the presents!

Michael with his Ben 10 sticker book!

With Indiana Jones!

This is a Ben 10 "Alien Force" Spidermonkey!

Michael with his cake and watch...see how nicely they match!! The cake tasted very good as well! I am so glad I was able to share Michael's birthday with him. He was already letting me know what I could get him next year....this is no surprise though. He has been asking me for things for his birthday since early January! It was well worth the wait!

Happy Birthday Michael!!

Tomorrow is Michael's birthday so I decided to bake him a cake for his 8th birthday! He is a big fan of Ben 10. Don't worry if you aren't sure what Ben 10 is, I wasn't either, but it is an animated tv show on the Cartoon Network. I will post pictures tomorrow of Michael with the cake and his presents!

The logo I was trying to create on the cake is what is in the middle of the 10 in the image above.

Sample cake that Rick found on the internet.

My version without any words!

Final result with words!

School has started!!

These are the most recent pictures of my classroom, but it is missing a desk. After I took this picture I recieved another student.

Rick was out of town so I had to take my own picture for the first day of school. Using the timer this is the best I could do.

The first day went well. It was great to meet all of my students and a perfect amount of time to prepare for Monday! I am really excited about the year. I have finished my website for now. Here is the link. http://mail.dg58.org/~Katherine_Hurckes/

Until today...I didn't have a favorite Sharpie!!!

On Saturday, August 2nd Wrigely Field had Sharpie Day! I tried a few different angels to get a Sharpie since I didn't have tickets to the game. The day came and went and I figured I was out of luck. The combination of two of my favorite things would just have to wait until another year.

Well, much to my surprise, a Cubs Sharpie arrived in the mail today from Jim!! Jim is an usher at Wrigely Field and was kind enough to get me a Sharpie!! Now I officially have a favorite Sharpie!!

It may just look like a regular black, fine tip Sharpie...

But it is so much more!!

This is me "acting" super excited about the Sharpie!!

Jim and me at a game earlier this season!

Classroom update!

I have been meaning to take some new pictures for a few days but keep forgetting to bring my camera to school. This morning Rick and I stopped by so he could see what I had done. I couldn't stay today because the hallway carpets are being cleaned but I was able to take pictures before I left. I officially start work on Monday! I am very excited.

Me with my new mailbox, more details to follow!

My grandma made these curtains to cover some of the storage in the back of the room. They are a tad bit long, but do a nice job of covering everything up.

This is my job chart--it is complete minus the students names (still don't have them).

Catch of the Week (aka Show and Tell). This is my poster and pictures of the my friends and family!

Nothing is new on this bulletin board except that I made the words smaller so that I would have more space for current events!

The morning routine poster and fish are up on the board now. The fish will have names on them so that students can answer the question of the day (this will be my way of taking attendance).

Numbers are now on the calendar (up to the 22nd since that is when the students start school).
You can also see my class schedule for the first day!

My mom made this Puffer Panthers sign--Panthers are the school mascot!

This is my bulletin board that will reward positive behavior. Each fish has a different one of the components of the Fish Philosophy. The red in the middle says FISH (I know it is kind of hard to see). The students will recieve a "Fish Stick" or popsicle stick when they do something well or recieve a compliment. They will recieve rewards for filling in the letters!

Rick is waiving the Illinois state flag. I have also hung my diploma and other important things to me behind the desk. I am still trying to hang my other diploma, but it is a work in progress!

My library has expanded. I was able to get 150 books at a Library Book Sale last weekend for only $20. It was a great deal!

This is my fish mailbox. I spent most of my day yesterday making it! I am happy with the way it turned out. I think it needs a name...if you have suggestions let me know!

Back view

View from my windows! (to the right/east)

View to the left/west. In the back of the basketball court and baseball field is the Downers Grove Golf Course.

Florida Update

Andrea and I were supposed to leave for Florida yesterday (Tuesday) morning. Taryn got us stand by tickets with Air Tran for us to fly and visit Mackenzie. We got up early and made it to the airport before 6am. We checked in and waited at our gate. Unfortunately, there weren't enough seats for us and the gate agent told us it looked like we could get on the 5:59pm flight. So, we decided to leave the airport and come back later.

In our extra time we visited with Cindy (Rick's mom), visited my classroom so Andrea could see it in person, stopped by Rick's work to say hi, had lunch with my Grandma and Grandpa, and finally went back to the airport.

My grandpa drove us back to the airport and we left our car at his house. Once again, checked back in, went through security, and waited for our flight. This time the results were worse there were many more people waiting to get on this flight. Out of luck again. We may have been able to get on a 7:30pm flight, but wouldn't have been able to get out of Atlanta once we were there.

Andrea and I were very disappointed to not get to see Mackenzie, but we decided we didn't want to spend more time in the airport than with Mack so we called Rick to pick us up. It was quite a day! Mackenzie will be visiting Chicago in October and we can not wait!!

Milwaukee and Lake Geneva!

After our visit with my grandma we made the rest of the drive to Milwaukee to see Adam and Taryn. We spent Sunday around Milwaukee having lunch, watching the Cubs, playing mini golf, and a great dinner. The time with Adam and Taryn is always filled with humor and Taryn and I rolling our eyes a lot at our husbands. After dinner we went to Taryn's parents house in Lake Geneva.

The storms were fierce on Sunday night so boating didn't happen as easily as we had hoped. We did manage to get out on the boat for a tour of the lake by two of the finest guides! Adam and Taryn are full of knowledge about the lake.




After boating we went for a wonderful lunch and then back to the house. We watched a little TV and then went swimming in the lake. After we cleaned up with had Dairy Queen before leaving town! This weekend really included my favorite things: Adam, Taryn, water, and dairy queen (and of course Rick). We can't wait to see the Adam and Taryn again soon!

They Said I had to go to Rehab, but I said 'no, no, no'

On Sunday morning we made a stop up in Skokie to see my grandma. She had her hip replaced three weeks ago and is doing great! Here I am with my grandma and Aunt Gail!

Alex's Visit!

Last week Alex stayed with us for a few days. Rick still had to work during the day so Alex and I kept very busy. We had such a great time with him and can't wait until we see him again.

I took Alex to my school to play on the playground! He had a lot of fun!

Next, we went to the Yorktown Mall and rode the train! Alex loved the "Choo-Choo"

We had lunch with Uncle Ricky and then we went to a pool in Aurora. Alex was hesitant of the water at first but then had no problems at all. He was so happy in the pool!

After a while he wanted ice cream. He had a firecracker popsicle and SO much ended up on him. I planned for us to go swimming to get it off when he was done, but a storm rolled in and we had to leave. We had to clean up in the shower which wasn't nearly as easy, but we managed.

We started driving back but it wasn't time to pick up Rick yet. Since the rain had stopped we made a pit stop at the Outlet mall. Alex was getting tired but he wanted to ride the quarter rides each time we passed them. Here are some of the pictures!

Later that day Alex went with me to tutor Michael. Rick played with the little boys while I worked with Michael. Neno and Michael ate Macaroni and Cheese and of course popsicles!

Michael!

When we got home from our long day it was shower time--a second attempt at cleaning his dirty popsicle face!

Friday Alex and I went to a park to play with Gianna, Dominic, and Shor! We had so much fun! Alex ate a lollipop and then we went to McDonalds!

Gianna!

Dominic in his Lightning McQueen hat!

Alex and Gianna!

Our time together wrapped up with Rick's family coming over for dinner. Alex loved "O Joyce" and of course "Pa-Tough Guy"

Aunt Joyce, Alex, and Grandma

Alex tried stealing a lot of things from our house and put them in his backpack. He isn't very sly about it though. Here he is stealing our Ball State coasters!