We Meet!

It was a surreal feeling to see Maureen coming up my front walkway Thursday night! We hugged for a very long time, so glad to finally be at this moment!

Friday with the children was lovely! They were so excited to meet their new teacher and to "hear what she sounds like." One child whispered to another during a quiet work time, "Her accent is really good. She must have been practicing for a LONG time!" She fit right into Liberty, and they children were enamored by her.

The parents welcomed her with juice and cookies at the end of the day, and presented us both with gifts, including a classroom wide-angle webcam. We will begin communicating back and forth between our distant classrooms by next month.

Once the welcome/goodbye festivities were over (not until the wee hours!), we spent the weekend learning more about each other, our schools, our homes, and our local communities. After hearing the programs and plans in Macksville, I can't wait to get started! I suppose I could be persuaded to spend a few days basking in the summer sun before I roll up my sleeves and start in, but the idea is exciting and not too daunting.

Now on Tuesday, we have loaded our MANY bags to the front door and wait for our generous friends and family who will caravan us up to the airport.

It will be a tearful goodbye to the Australian family, too! We have had such a great time getting to know them. Oddly enough, it feels very natural to just leave our entire house to them and know we're going to stay in theirs! Last night we said, "When will we see each other again?" On the computers, of course, but sharing a meal and laughing at the dining room table? Hmmm. Maybe next year this time?!

How lucky for everyone involved!

Preparing the Kids - Preparing Myself

Well, we've had our meeting at the rug to talk about the big change and adventure coming to all of us! First I announced it at Back to School night in September to all the parents. Some knew already, others were surprised, but everyone was very supportive. The next day the kids and I met to talk about it together. There was one teary-eyed child. Mostly they wanted to know would their new teacher bring a live kangaroo? In October they wrote letters to Mrs. Bird, welcoming her to the states, telling her something about themselves, suggesting a place she should visit, etc. Chuck E. Cheese's was a favorite, as was the local community swimming pool!

Now as the time to leave grows near (20 days), and we've gotten to know each other, it will be very hard to say goodbye to "my kids." What about the new I.E.P. being prepared for one student? Will another finally get the idea of a concluding sentence? I know with another month I could see one boy get elapsed time! They'll be fine. They'll be more than fine. They have a true gift in the form of a caring, experienced, professional, and talented teacher coming in January for them. They'd better behave!

Which book is the best one?

One of the items on my "suggested" checklist is to bring a book to give to my host school in Macksville. How can I choose just one? An Oregon book? A USA book? One about covered bridges or National Parks? A folk tale? A Native American legend? An American illustrator/author? Fiction? Non-fiction? This is one of the hardest decisions so far!

It's Nice to Meet You!

We have met our exchange family face to face - on Skype! We are using this free program that we've downloaded to call each other's computers and talk in real time. Within moments of our first "meeting," my thoughts were, "She'll be so great with the students." My husband and I felt immediately at ease, and we thoroughly enjoy their beautiful accents, as well as their sense of humor, and enthusiam for this adventure!

Back to School American Style

I'm beginning to set up the classroom for my new class coming in. Little do they know what their second grade year will become for them! As I set up the writing materials and reading area I am seeing it with "new eyes." How will this be for my exchange partner when she arrives? Does this set up make sense to someone else?

What will she think of my bright orange bulletin boards, my palm tree over the squishy couch, and my eclectic CD collection? She'll no doubt recognize many of the books and be able to enjoy reading aloud with the children. She'll get to use my atlas' and the rock collections and the Double Dice!

This year I bought extra glue sticks because I know they will run out and/or dry up by January when she arrives. I need to order more black felt-tip markers and scissors. You always need more Kleenex, too.

Can I leave my precious classroom? My domain? My Space??

Who's idea was this?

This has been a dream of mine for a very long time. It's fascinating to me how other cultures live, and I'm always interested to see what elementary schools look like when I'm traveling. I've peeked in the windows and marveled at children's artwork on the walls in France and New Zealand. I've been known to drag my son and his friends up to an historic one-room school house in the California Gold Rush country just to see the outhouses in the play yard with the different leveled "seats."

The timing is right both professionally and personally. My school here is very positive and supportive. I know I'm giving my exchange partner a great place to come to every day. She will be welcomed with open arms both by the staff and by the families. My older children are in college and working, so they are very busy for the next year. Our youngest will be a sophomore in high school, so he can work his course schedule such that he meets requirements he'll need for graduation and beyond.

My husband is more excited than any of us! He has been supportive since the idea began percolating a few years ago, and now that the deal is sealed, he's all but packed to go!