Family is Forever

My Grandpa is one of the happiest people I know. He always had a smile on his face whenever I was with him. We would always go for lunch at least two times a month with my Grandma. The three of us always had plans to get together, I love spending time with the both of them. He has influenced my life so much. He was constantly giving to others and never asked for anything in return. He loved and cared about my entire family so much. He had so much love in his heart and he never raised his voice. I never saw him angry or upset. He was always simply happy. Everywhere he went he made friends. Everyone loved him! He taught me so much over the years and I am so grateful for all that I learned. He was always so proud of my cousins and I. He would wear all the college shirts he got with pride. He was there for every important moment in my life including lunch at my school in kindergarten to graduations. He was there for my whole family whenever we needed him. He always listened to what we said, no matter how boring it might have been. He loved being with us and we loved being with him. I love spending my time with my Grandpa and Grandma, even if its just sitting on their couch watching who wants to be a millionaire. We would try to guess the right answer as if we were actually on the show. People say I got his driving skills, which is not a good thing and everyone is afraid to drive with us at the wheel. We are alike in so many ways and I absolutely love it. He was a people person. He was a great man and I always looked up to him and I always will. I hope to be the kind of person he was and make him proud always. He will always be the most amazing, admired, kindest, caring, and loved man I know. He truly is the number one Grandpa.

 

5K for Autism!

Last Saturday was the Autism Run and CCEA volunteered to help out! First we helped with the fun run which was a mile long. We stood along the way as to guide the runners. We cheered on them and supported them! There were a bunch of tables set up on the lawn next to the library. Each table had something different. The table CCEA was working was a fun sand art activity for the kids. We had several different color sands and several different plastic shapes. The kids got to pick which shaped they wanted. There were elephants (my favorite animal), lions, dolphins, fish, zebras, suns, and sand castles. Once the kids picked their shape, they got to put whatever color sand they wanted in the shape. They could use multiple colors! All the kids loved it! We actually ran out of shapes! It was a lot of fun and for a great cause! Everyone enjoyed the day! CCEA was very happy to be apart of such a successful day!

Pajama Party!

Last night Caldwell College Education Association, Autism Awareness club, and Psychology club held a pajama party! It was the first event for CCEA and it was very exciting! There were two contests, one for the best pajama and one for silliest slippers. The winners received gift cards to different food places near by. We felt that it was very successful. Many people showed for the party! We had a lot pizza, chips, and other snacks along with soda and water. There were different games to play such as pool, ping pong, guess who, uno, scramble, and other fun board games. We also had people come to take pictures and then put those pictures on pillowcases! That was a huge success! People were taking pictures with their friends to have on a pillowcase. It was such a hit that the people actually ran out of ink! Thankfully that happened at the end of the event so it didn't cause a problem. Overall it was a fun night! It was nice time and people got to socialize with each other and take a break from their schoolwork! It was a fun escape from reality! This Saturday is the 5K Run/Walk for Autism and CCEA is volunteering and working at the sand art table. We are excited to help with that and can't wait to to see how it goes!

Happy Easter!

This weekend I celebrated Easter with my mom's side of the family. I was so excited to see all my cousins because it has been awhile. It is hard to see everyone that much because we all have different schedules. We celebrated Easter on Saturday and Sunday this year. On Saturday we all went to my Aunt Eileen's house to celebrate Easter. She made a delicious homemade meal! We had appetizers and then for dinner we had rack of lamb, steak, vegetables, and spetzels (which a homemade pasta my family makes). It was amazing! Then for dessert we had homemade cheesecake, chocolate layered cake, and cinnamon streusel cupcakes. Everything was delicious! My cousins and I played card games and I won a few times! It was a lot of fun, I love spending time with my family! On Sunday we celebrated it at my Grandparents because my Grandpa couldn't go on Saturday. My mom made pasta and homemade gravy with meatballs and sausages. Everything was just as delicious as the day before! It was a great weekend spent with my whole family!

Spring Time!

Spring is here! The weather is getting warmer and I love it! It is still a little windy, but winter is finally over. With the warmer weather coming, my dad and I will be going hiking! Every year once the weather gets warmer we always go for hikes! We go to different places. I took this picture last year. We hiked through the woods and came upon a waterfall and climbed down alongside it and I saw this view. It is was beautiful! I love going hiking with my dad! It is so peaceful and relaxing, nothing to worry about! And it is great exercise! We always spend the day out in the woods, hiking different trails and by the time we get back home I'm ready for a nap! I always bring my camera when we go because there are so many beautiful things in nature!

I took this picture as well! When we go hiking everything is so quiet and serene. I always have so much fun when we go. Thank god we haven't run into any bears though! I am so happy that the weather is getting nice because I am excited to see where my dad takes me this spring and summer!

My Kinda Party!

Saturday night my friend Ali and I went to see Luke Bryan and Jason Aldean for my birthday! It was the best concert I have ever been to! Ali and I both love country music and Luke Bryan and Jason Aldean are two of our favorite singers. The concert was at the Izod center and the place was packed! There were so many people that seats were open behind the stage. It was crazy how many people were there! Ali and I had AMAZING seats! I absolutely love Luke Bryan and when he came on stage everyone went crazy for him! Ali and I know all the words to almost all his songs, and we knew all the words to the songs he performed. His performance was amazing! He interacted with the audience and was so funny! He even had two guys go on stage for a dance off! The entire audience was singing with him! Jason Aldean was just as good! Everyone was standing, singing, and dancing the entire time! The night was perfect! We did not want it to end! I had so much fun and can't wait to see them again!

                                             There is Luke in the background!

                                                               Luke Bryan!

                                                              Jason Aldean!

                                      Most amazing concert! Best night ever!

Birthday Surprises!

Sunday was my birthday! I spent the day with my grandparents and had lunch with them and then had a delicious home cooked dinner with my family! It was a perfect way to celebrate my birthday! Then some of my friends came home from school and surprised me! They walked into my house and screamed happy birthday! I had no idea they were coming! It was so much fun! They came to have cake with my family. My mom made a homemade cake for me, which by the end of the night was basically gone! It was amazing! They all sang happy birthday to me and we spent the night hanging out and catching up! I loved seeing them since we all have been best friends since elementary school. There are ten of us and we have been best friends for as long as I can remember! I was so happy that I got to see them for my birthday! I miss them already! Now I can't wait for summer so we can all be together again! I got to spend the day with my family and friends, I couldn't have asked for a better way to celebrate my birthday!

A Day At The Beach!

Wednesday was beautiful out and I was lucky enough to have been down the shore! It was gorgeous! I went down for two days in Atlantic City with my friends to celebrate my 21st birthday! We got lucky that the two days we were there it was so nice out. We spent the day walking on the beach and the boardwalk. People were even swimming in the ocean! We didn't though because the ocean was freezing! As I was standing by the water I did not realize the water was coming up to me and it splashed my feet and bottom of my pants! It was so cold! My friends were all laughing at me! There were so many people out enjoying the beautiful weather! I didn't want to go inside! We were out all day! We shopped on the boardwalk and wrote in the sand with our feet! It was such a fun trip and I can't wait to go back!

Girl's Day Out!

Today my mom surprised me with an early birthday present! We spent the day together at the spa! My birthday is next weekend but she knows how stressed and overwhelmed I have been with the six classes I am taking and all the work I have to do. She wanted to take me somewhere where I can get away from it all for a little while and just relax. She took me to a spa where one of our good friends work for massages! It was amazing. It helped to relieve a lot of my tension and for that time I did not worry about everything I have to do. It was so relaxing and peaceful, a nice escape from reality. When it was over I felt so much better. I was in such a relaxed state and was happy that I was able to spend the day with my mom. She is always there for me and always puts me first. She knows that I am always pushing myself to achieve my best possible. She felt that I needed a break from it all, and she was right! I have been so stressed that I actually got sick this weekend, so this really helped me. One of the best days we spend together! I loved spending the day with my mom. She is the best mom anyone could ever ask for!

Dr. Seuss Day!

"The more that you read, the more things that you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you'll go."

Friday was Dr. Seuss' birthday and I was lucky enough to spend it with the kindergarten class that I am observing in. There were different activities for the day. Each worksheet they completed was connected to Dr. Seuss in some way. There was also three guest readers! A retired principal from their school, the superintendent, and a language arts teacher for older students. Each student was given a hat that looked just like the Cat in the Hat's hat with their name on it. One of the activities they did was decoding a secret message. There a blank for each letter of the words in the message and under each blank was a picture of one of Dr. Seuss' characters. Each character represented a letter. The message that the students figured out was "Happy Birthday Dr. Seuss." Then they completed a word search of the names of different Dr. Seuss characters. The students loved it! At the end of the day they had one more story and the teacher asked me to read it! I was excited that I could take part in their special day and be one of their guest readers! I read one of my favorite Dr. Seuss' books, The Cat in the Hat. The kids had so much fun celebrating Dr. Seuss' birthday and so did I!

"Today you are You, that is truer than true. There is no one alive who is Youer than You."
 Dr. Seuss

My Family

 My entire family from my mom's side, all of us went out to dinner at Taber Road Tavern. This picture is from the summer though.

                                 My cousin and I eating our fondue dessert! So delicious!

The three oldest of the cousins! Nick is a senior at Sienna College and Danielle is a sophomore at the University of Maryland. It was great to be together again!

Family is Forever!

This weekend was a long weekend for President's day, so we had off Monday and Tuesday. During this break I went home and spent all the time with my family. My family is really close, we do everything together. On Saturday, my other two cousins in college came home for the weekend and my entire family on my mom's side got together and went out for a nice dinner. We went to Taber Road Tavern, which is a nice restaurant. There was fourteen of us, so we were able to get a private room. It was nice because we were away from all the noise of the other people there. The food was delicious! My favorite part was dessert though, we had a chocolate fondue. We dipped strawberries, bananas, apples, and pineapples. It was amazing. But my favorite part was being with my family. We have so much fun together, and spend the night laughing and smiling. The rest of the weekend I spent with my parents and my sister (when she was home). We relaxed during the day and watched movies at night. I love being with my family, nothing is better! I've been back at school for two days 
and I miss them already! I'm looking forward to my next trip home!  
Home is where the heart is! 

A Day At The Park!

The bridge we stood on at the park!

Sunny Weather

It was absolutely beautiful out today! The sun felt so nice and warm shining down. On this lovely day, Katelyn (one of my best friends) and I decided to take advantage of this beautiful day by spending part of it at the Verona Park. We walked around the pond and took many pictures. We stayed until after the sun went down. The sky looked so pretty as the sun was setting. We stood on the bridge and watched the sun set. Walking around the water was so relaxing and any stress we felt with all the school work we have to do on this long weekend disappeared. It was a lot of fun spending time there and a good way to relieve stress. It was a much needed escape from all the work awaiting us when we got back. Then we ended our day at the park with a laugh by walking to the wrong car in the parking lot. It was a good thing that no one noticed, or else we would have been really embarrassed!

(The picture at the top is one of the pictures I took right before we left.)

100th Day!

This past Wednesday was the 100th day of school where I am observing, and I was lucky enough to be able to be there that day. They had all different types of activities and a celebration that I was apart of. The teachers kept repeating to the students that they are 100 days smarter! One of the teachers even had a shirt that said "my students are 100 days smarter." I really liked this because it made the students proud of everything they have accomplished so far and excited to learn more. The teacher had several in class activities and worksheets for the 100th day. All the students were given paper crowns and stickers to wear. One of the girls in my class gave me a sticker to wear. She said she wanted me to be included as well. It was the sweetest thing. Then all the kindergarten classes went to lunch early and had a celebration. All the classes together counted to 100 by tens, ones, and fives. They sang a song that they learned and a teacher read them a 100th day of school story. The principal came and told them how proud he was of their counting skills and how impressed he was. Back in the classroom the students did a reading activity. The teacher reminded the class what good readers do. I learned that before reading a book, the students look at the cover and make predictions of what they think the story will be about. Then they take a picture walk, and after that they read the story. She also reminded them that good readers look at the pictures for help when they get stuck on a word. I really like this technique, and when students went off into pairs to read together, I noticed that when they were stuck they would look at the pictures for help.

There is also an aid in the class I am in because there are three classified students. On this day, one of the three students was having a bad day. He could not focus at all and was constantly misbehaving. While on the carpet, the students were all gathered around the teacher for the activity and he was in the back rolling around and playing with his crown. Then at lunch he pretended to shoot people. When the teacher asked him to do something he said no. The teacher explained to me that he is not supposed to say no to a teacher, and that this was something they discussed several times. The aid had to pull him aside several times to talk to him and he lost his play time because of his misbehavior. The aid had to talk to his parents about his behavior when they picked him up from school. By observing these types of situations I am learning how to handle them in the future, which is good experience for me. On Friday I will be starting my special education observation and I am excited for that! I am eager to learn how a special education teacher handles these types of situations.

Dandelions

Monday was my first day being in the classroom and I absolutely loved it. It was the best day. I spent the entire day with the class from the start of the school day until the end. I was able to interact with the kids and engage in the classroom activities. I was able to help out with the worksheets that the students worked on after the lessons. During the play time, the kids wanted me to help them with puzzles and a couple of the girls colored pictures for me, which are now hanging on my wall. Then at the end of each day the teacher reads them an end of the day story. She asked me to read the story to them, and I was delighted to. I loved it! Everyone gathered on the carpet and listened. The story I read to them was called Dandelion and it was about a lion who changed his appearance to attend one of his friend's party but no one recognized him. Then when he went back to his original self they recognized him. The book was about being yourself. The kids really enjoyed it and didn't want me to leave. The following day I got an email from the teacher I'm working with saying how the kids were looking for me and were upset when they found out I wasn't going to be there that day. As I was walking out of the building, I thought about how the day went and realized there is nothing else I would rather do. Spending the day in the classroom was amazing. Not only did I get the chance to work with students, I was able to watch lessons and see how the teacher handled the classroom, what techniques she used, and how she went about teaching the lesson. I loved the experience and cannot wait to go back on Wednesday. I am looking forward to spending the day and learning new things about being in the classroom and working with the kids again! 

For the CCEA, my board and I have set up a meeting for February 15th at 12 noon in Werner in the Education lab. Everyone is welcomed! We have great ideas to share for events and fundraisers and are looking for new ideas from the members!

First Time Blogging

Tomorrow I have my first L-Board retreat and I am excited for it. I am the new president of the CCEA and am excited to get the club started up again with the rest of my E-Board. We have many great ideas for the semester and are anxious to put them into action. The club just became a recognized club by SGA and is now receiving funding after being inactive, so we have a lot of work ahead of us to get it back on track but we are ready and excited. This is the first time I have ever been a board member of a club so I am nervous about it, especially being the president but I have a great E-Board and receive plenty of support!

I am also looking forward to Monday since it the first day I will be in the class I was assigned for field placement. It is a kindergarten class and the teacher seems really friendly so I am looking forward to meeting and spending the day with them! I cannot wait to get into the classroom and helping the teacher. Last semester I was lucky and was able to observe a kindergarten class. The teacher really included me and I was able to work with the kids and get to know them. I remember leaving that day and knowing that it was exactly what I wanted to do. I am hoping that I will be able to work with the kids and help the teacher like I did last semester.