A Fresh Start and New Beginnings!

I delight in preparing for a new school year!  I always have and always will.  Why, you might wonder?  Well, partly because it takes me back to my childhood, when I would go to school with my mom and help her.  But I have also come to appreciate new beginnings, because they bring hope and anticipation of a fresh start.  We all need a fresh start!  I believe this for every teacher, but for every student too!  My process of preparing is similar to “spring cleaning.”   I always need to move things around and change things up a bit each year.  My classroom is my space to plan, prepare, organize, and create.  I love the process of planning, because it causes me to reach for new goals, pray for my students, and allows me to look for new ways to impact and lead my students to success!

My mom has been an educator for almost 50 years!  As a young girl, I watched her devote her time and invest her heart into preparing for a new school year.  There is something so special when a teacher joyfully plans and anticipates the coming year.  My mom created a place that made her students know that they were planned for!  Her students quickly came to appreciate the care and heart she put into her classroom each and every day!  Her students knew they were important and valued and she believed in their success!  What an awesome role model she has been for me, and I know that my love for creating an environment that is warm and inviting came from my Mom.  

My hope is that your child will strive for his/her best and thrive at Dove HIll School in the coming year!  Here’s to a fresh start and to awesome new beginnings!

Below is a sneak peak of our classroom.  I am anxiously awaiting our new school year and each and every student. See you soon!

My Summer Favorites!

As the summer winds down, I just thought I would write down a few of my favorites from this past summer.  Hopefully, this will give you a peek into Mrs. Bieber’s thoughts right now!

My Top Ten Favorites from Summer 2013

Note:  They are not in any special order!

1.)  I enjoyed tasting a new dessert, to me, in Hawaii called “samurai.”  I just love it!  It is a cool and refreshing treat that is a cross between a creamy firm ice cream and a fruit smoothie.  My favorite flavor was strawberry.  I ate it way too many times while I was there.

2.)  I got to kayak with my son Adam in the Pacific Ocean!

3.)  I journaled and slept in a hammock on the beach!

4.)  I got to stay in a room next to my Tutu (the Hawaiian name for Grandparent).  She is 93 and she is strong and sharp!  We had many sweet conversations.

5.)  I went to an awesome conference called “BLOOM,” with some of my staff girls.  We were all encouraged to “bloom where we are planted.”

6.)  I worked as a camp director and loved getting hugs everyday from the precious campers.

7.)  I organized many areas of my classroom and home to prepare for the upcoming school year!

8.)  I celebrated my 28th anniversary with the love of my life, my husband Jeff.

9.)  I tried zumba and yoga again and loved both this time.  Teachers make a difference!

10.)  I had the privilege of working with a team of amazing young leaders this summer!  They continue to inspire and encourage me!

I hope your summer was productive, creative, lovely, fun, and filled with special memories!

Creating a Classroom of Encouragement!

It is so important to me to create and establish a caring and encouraging community in my classroom.  Here are just a few ways that I do this!

(1.)  Last year was the first year that I was deliberate about having my students write kind and caring notes to encourage their classmates.  I was inspired by the book, Have You Filled a Bucket Today - A Guide to Daily Happiness for Kids  by Carol McCloud and David Messing.  It was wonderful to see the excitement on the faces of my students when they received a note in their bucket.  Encouragement is something we all need!  I know I sure do!

I will read about “bucket filling” every year from now on.  Here is the link to order it on Amazon.

http://www.amazon.com/Filled-Bucket-Today-Guide-Happiness/dp/0978507517/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1375868590&sr=1-1&keywords=bucket+filler

(2.)  On the first day of school, I establish my expectations by going over our class rules.  I have three simple rules:  Respect all of the teachers they work with.  Next, I remind them that we will always put safety first.  Finally, I remind them to respect each other, by keeping their hands and things away from others.  I feel these three simple rules help to establish a caring environment, with expectations, as we give and receive respect from one another.

(3.)  It is important for me to create an inviting environment.  I do this by labeling things around the classroom with my students’ names.  I believe this lets my students know that they were planned for and that they are valued!

(4.)  I believe in being prepared each day.  My students deserve the very best I can give them.  Students know when we have taken the time to be prepared.  I believe that this further inspires excellence in their day-to-day work.  When I am prepared, I am a better teacher and it is much easier to model excellence, when I am doing what I expect from my students.  It shows them that they really do matter!

(5.)  Finally, I work at validating my students by listening and acknowledging day-to-day successes and wins!  Positive encouragement goes a long way!  

I am always excited to see our class treat one another with respect and encourage each other.  It is a beautiful thing to behold.  My hope for this year is to continue to CREATE, ESTABLISH, PREPARE, ENCOURAGE, VALIDATE, AND CELEBRATE!

Summer Memories and a New School Year!

There is always so much anticipation and excitement as I prepare for a new school year.  My family can always tell when I have officially begun the preparation festivities.  Boxes begin to arrive, bags of school supplies begin to appear, and stacks of books in piles are strategically placed all around my room.  After 28 years of marriage, my sweet husband knows my crazy ways and moves around my “Maze of Creating” with ease, as I plan and prepare.  My family may not understand my process of preparation, but they never complain and they are always willing to assist me!  I just love my family and I sure appreciate them.  I especially appreciate my awesome husband Jeff, as he is always my cheerleader and encourager . . . not to mention, my best friend!

I am praying that this year will begin with ease and very little disruption.  Sickness and a death of a parent have created quite a stir in my classroom the last two years.  I have the best classroom parents, as they have supported me and my family and surrounded us with love and care.  As I prepare for this upcoming school year, I am praying for each of my families and looking forward to a year filled with learning and adventures!

The first half of my summer usually consists of working a summer job, and this summer was no exception. I had the privilege of directing a summer program in Hawaii.  It is called Camp Kulia.  Preparations and ideas for this summer program came together wonderfully and a dream team of young people from Georgia and Hawaii came together to serve, connect, create, explore, and play with a group of amazing children!  Daily activities were designed for 130 children between the ages of 5 - 11 in Nu’uanu, Hawaii.  

The staff team met on a Sunday evening and began working with these precious and awesome children the very next day.  During the month of June, staff devotions, leadership training, and team building were a part of our morning, and then we worked with our kids from 11:30am - 5:30pm.  It was so amazing to watch the staff team work with excellence and grab ahold of the theme to “STRIVE for God’s best” in all that they did.  

The hearts of these sweet kiddos were touched by the love and care of our incredible team.  God truly does something special when young adults reach down into the lives of children to care and connect with them for an extended period of time.  It truly is something beautiful to witness!  

July was met with more excitement, as we continued our adventure and had our kiddos from 8am - 5:30pm.  We all grew very close as a staff, but also with the children we had the privilege to serve!  I have already been asked to return next summer.  I am truly looking forward to taking another team of Georgia students with me to experience the culture of Hawaii and to minister to the children at Camp Kulia!

I returned home mid-July, and took some time to relax and enjoy being home.  It is good to be home, and it is great to be in the thick of planning and preparing for the new school year!  I am delighted about the changes to the classroom and I have almost everything in place to welcome my students!  I am so excited about my lesson plans and activities and I know my students will be thrilled too!  Each student and each family is on my prayer list and I can’t wait to spend my day with such a wonderful bunch!    Time, energy, effort in all things are words that the Bieber family lives by, and it is an attitude that I hope to cultivate in the classroom!  I’m looking forward to a great year . . . and I hope you are too!  Be blessed in all that you do . . . for this is my wish for you and yours!