Hello Summer, Goodbye Summer.

It's hard to believe that summer is almost over. It seems like it was just yesterday when I was getting off the plane (sick) and getting ready for a literacy conference and now I only have 11 precious days left before I head back to Chevak for year two!  I figured it was probably about time that I get back into the blogging world. 

This summer has been a roller coaster of activities. For the first month it seemed like I wasn't even able to stop and relax. I was fortunate enough to go to a literacy conference in Anchorage where I was able to meet new people and gain A LOT of ideas/tips that I hope to use this school year. 

For the first time I went hiking at Thunderbird Falls. It was GORGEOUS and FREEZING!

 

 I had planned on walking all the way over to the waterfall but considering I only wore tennis shoes, I couldn't bare the ice cold temperatures long enough to get there. Next time, I'll wear my fancy new bogs!

I also was able to go on a week long mission trip to the village of Northway. It was my second year there and I was excited and blessed to see the kiddos from the previous year to come for Vacation Bible School. Maybe I'll be fortunate enough to go again next summer.

After that trip I seemed to be able to catch some down time. I started doing some "research" (via pinterest) and found a plethora of neat ideas to help in my classroom. Considering last year was basically the year of survival, I now thing that I'm going to be able to really define myself as a teacher. 

I also started cooking more (which is a very scary thought) there were some duds but I have a long list of things to try (thanks to pinterest) This is my Rhubard, Strawberry, Raspberry pie. I've never even attempted to make a pie before so I was pretty proud of this.

 

As my summer has been winding down, I started a school supply/backpack drive for my kiddos. I went through facebook and asked for friends and family to donate 13 backpacks for my kiddos in Chevak. I was overwhelmed with the responses. I have ALL the backpacks I need along with a TON of school supplies. I can't wait to see the looks on my kiddos faces the first day of school

It has been a good summer. I plan on spending the rest of my summer watching the summer Olympics go USA! I'll be posting soon about some of the things that I've done to get ready for my classroom. I'm a little nervous considering I'm waiting till almost the last minute to go back, but God is good and everything will get finished on time!