Ya win some, ya lose some…

I have a bitter-sweet dream/goal/hope to get my own house…

The Wins:
I will have whatever I want in my refrigerator and pantry and no one gets to eat it but ME!
I will have sole control of the DVR and remote.
I could potentially not be disturbed… for however long I want.
I will decorate however I want.
I will leave my stuff out wherever I want.
I will do whatever I want whenever I want for however long I want and not be interrupted or told I have to stop.
I will have Emma and Israel over and we will make a MESS!
I will come and go as I please without having to tell anybody.
QUIET!

The Losses:
Since Peach and Joel pretty much live at our, my parents, house I won’t necessarily be here every time they’re here.
Might WILL get lonely and too quiet.
It’s going to be expensive; will have all the hassles of managing a home.
I have to do all the cleaning or pay somebody.
I want to have people over, but I do not have the gift of hosting or the desire to do the work.

There’s more so I will probably add to the list… :)

Welcome

Dear Family and Friends near and far,

I had to create a blog for an assignment in one of my classes so I decided to keep it up and use it to keep you all updated on my life.  Since we may or may not get a chance to talk as often as we’d like, you can read about my latest adventure through my teaching credential, the cuteness of Emma-Kate (niece) and/or Israel (nephew) or just my meanderings/curiosities/discoveries/ramblings. ;)

I may change the look, arrangement, colors, format, etc of my blog so if you come to read and it looks different that's okay; I'll just be changin' it up sometimes.

I will not be offended if you don’t read, just thought you might like to know about more details than you might hear or read elsewhere.

Enjoy… or not. ;)

Reminders

It was so good to meet many of you at “Meet Your Teacher Day” yesterday.  

As we discussed this will be a place where you can check your child's assignments, our monthly calendar for upcoming events, projects and to view our online discussions that will be used to introduce and stimulate in-class discussions.

Below is the list of books for your child's nightly reading assignment - 30 minutes every night.  They will bring home the time sheet for you sign off each week.

If you would like to find information about a certain topic in the blog, search through the "labels" to find your particular post.  I will label them all according to their subject matter.  Please let me know if you have any questions, see my email and phone number above under my name. Please EMAIL me privately, do not post a comment here, if you have a personal matter you would like to discuss.

Please bear with me as I edit and update our blog to make it the best it can be.  It's a work-in progress, as I do not have the calendar up yet because the calendar blogger provides is not editable for me to enter our assignments and make it personal.  I will be finding a calendar for your reference as soon as possible.

I look forward to spending time with your child on our first day of school.

Book List

Our Reading List

Baum, L. Frank.    The Wizard of Oz.

Blume, Judy.     Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing.

Blume, Judy.     Fudge-a-Mania

Byars, Betsy.     The Pinballs.

Cleary, Beverly.     Ramona Quimby, Age Eight.

Dahl, Roald.     Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.

Dahl, Roald.     James and the Giant Peach

Dahl, Roald.      Matilda

Davis, Jim.     Garfield Counts to Ten.

DeClements, Barthe.     Nothing's Fair in Fifth Grade.

Farley, Walter.     The Black Stallion.

Fitzgerald, John D.     The Great Brain.

Gipson, Fred.     Old Yeller.

Hiller, B.B.     The Karate Kid.

Howe, Deborah and James.    Bunnicula: A Rabbit Tale of Mystery.

Kinney, Jeff     Diary of a Wimpy Kid book series

Lewis, C.S.     The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe.

O'Dell, Scott.     Island of the Blue Dolphins.

Paterson, Katherine.     The Bridge to Terabithia.

Rawls, Wilson.     Where the Red Fern Grows.

Reid Banks, Lynne    The Indian in the Cupboard

Rockwell, Thomas.     How to Eat Fried Worms.

Sewell, Anna.    Black Beauty.

Silverstein, Shel.     Where the Sidewalk Ends.

Sobol, Donald J.     Encyclopedia Brown, Boy Detective.

Tang, Greg     The Grapes of Math: Mind-stretching Math Riddles

Twain, Mark.     The Adventures of Tom Sawyer.

Warner, Gertrude.     Boxcar Children.

White, E.B    Stuart Little

White, E.B.     Charlotte's Web.

Wilder, Laura I.     Little House on the Prairie.

Class Links

Research Links

USA Today    http://usatoday.com/

Google Earth    http://earth.google.com/

Encyclopedia    http://www.encyclopedia.com/

Google Maps    http://maps.google.com/

Wikipedia    http://www.wikipedia.org/

StoryPlace: Children's Digital Library    http://www.storyplace.org/

English Language Practice    http://www.everythingesl.net/inservices/elementary_sites_ells_71638.php

Starfall    http://www.starfall.com/

Literacy Center    http://www.literacycenter.net/

State of California  http://www.ca.gov/

Think Quest Rock Cycle  http://library.thinkquest.org/J002289/cycle.html

EdHelper Math Practice  http://edhelper.com/math_grade4.htm

Country Springs School Website  http://country.groupfusion.net/modules/cms/announce.phtml?sessionid=c7cc5d7f3f7b9ba517dab7b654de8f31

Cool Blogs from other teachers:

Children's Ministry Blog    http://ceministry.blogspot.com/    

Cool Cat Teacher Blog        http://coolcatteacher.blogspot.com/

I Want to Teach Forever        http://www.teachforever.com/

Integrating Tech        http://thespian70.blogspot.com/

Tales from the School Bus    http://talesofaschoolbusdriver.blogspot.com/

Welcome Parents and 4th Grade Students

Hello Parents.  

I would like to welcome you to 4th grade at Country Springs Elementary.  I am, Miss Bethany Borden your child’s 4th teacher.  I am very excited about the new school year.

I have a total of 15 years experience working with children of all ages.  One of my first jobs was at a boarding school for troubled teen girls.  I have also taught Sunday school in 3 different churches; I have 6 years experience with working children from infants to kindergarten in 4 different preschools and also 2 years experience working in 3 classes of 2nd – 6th grade children with Autism, one year here with Mrs. Gonzales.  I enjoy working with children because I am a child at heart myself.  I like bringing fun into learning.  I enjoy teaching people; especially children and helping them reach that A-ha moment when they get it. 

My philosophy on teaching:

• I believe learning should be fun.
• I believe children should be able to be kids, get dirty or wet or just play around in the finger paint.
• I believe every child is unique and learns in his/her own special way.
• I believe parents are the most integral part of teaching and child rearing.
• I believe children need structure and consistent discipline.
• I believe God has given differing abilities to each student, and it is the teacher's responsibility to challenge each child according to his ability and to seek to teach him at his academic level.

Our objectives for our 4th grade class are:

• To be objective, analytical and creative thinkers.
• Effective communicators who write and speak clearly and accurately.
• Understand and follow directions.
• Develop patterns of independence.
• Grow in social/emotional skills including appropriate expression of emotion, ability to manage aggression and stress, and focused participation in activities.
• Enhance creative skills and enjoyment through experiences with the core subjects while having fun with science, art and computers.

And most importantly, to experience the Joy of Learning.

I am excited about what this new school year is going to bring.  I look forward to working with you and your children to make them productive members of society.  Thank you for entrusting your child with us Country Springs so we can help him or her to learn, share and grow!

With Loving Care for your children,

Miss Borden