Two cute little Aprons

It's  Fall Holiday time and after visiting France for a few days I am busy planning for our new unit in Kiga, Harvest/Fall. 

As part of the unit we are setting up a Farmer's Market in our dramatic play corner. 

I decided I wanted to make a couple of kid's aprons for the market workers. I found two old tea towels and got out my sewing machine. 

I started by ironing the towels before folding them in half and cutting the sides away. 

Once it was cut I attached some red trim for the neck strap as well as the apron strings. I used a zigzag stitch on the edges. I didn't worry about binding the edges because these are just for some fun play. 

I cut two pockets from the rest material and ironed them on with some binding tape from Ikea. 

Lastly I stitched them into place with some embroidery thread. 

I'm pleased with how they turned out and I'm sure the kids will love them. 

I'm heading to school tomorrow to set up our little market. I'll post pictures once it is done. 

I'm back

It has been such a long time since I have posted on this blog. I thought about letting it all go for a while but decided that I miss blogging and the feeling of belonging to a community that it gives me. 

Much has changed in my life both personally and professionally. I left my previous position where I was teaching 3rd grade and spent one school year in administration and curriculum planning. What I realized is that my heart and passion lie in the classroom and was so thankful when an opportunity to teach at Lakeside School presented itself. I've been trying to get in to Lakeside for the past four years and it is the best thing that could have happened. I'm teaching Kindergarten now and I absolutely love it. 

Lakeside school is a bilingual school where instruction is 50% English and 50% German. The curriculum is a mix between the Zürich curriculum and an English Speaking World Curriculum. 

There are some big differences in the way Kindergarten is taught in this system and i wasn't convinced at first. I am a convert and believer now and can't wait to share all that I have learned with all of you. 

As I mentioned I've had some changes in my personal life as well. The biggest change is that I had Gastric Bypass Surgery 15 months ago and it has changed my life completely. I have lost 110 lbs and feel incredible. I didn't expect that my weight loss would have much of an impact on my teaching, mainly because I wasn't willing to admit that being overweight had any impact at all. I am amazed how much of a difference it has made. I have so much more energy, I can move easily from one place to the next, I can sit on the floor with the kids, play games and dance with them. I am grateful that I made the decision to have the surgery and that it has been such a positive change for me. 

I look forward to sharing my journey in Kindergarten with all of you!