Happy Holidays

Greetings and Happy Easter & Passover!

It has been a quiet, happy time here at the Orelove household. Daily life is sweet and we are enjoying the simple things in life: laughter, smiles, naps, and hugs. With the start of baseball season comes a sense of spring and new life. The days are growing longer and lighter, and the rain and cold wind is vising us less and less.

It is a wonderful time at school, as the end of the year is in sight, and I am reminded of how much I want to do before the final day in June. It is such a privilege to work with young minds every day. There is truly not a moment that goes by where I am not thinking about teaching or a teaching-related subject. I am always looking at events or ideas and asking, "How can I bring this into my classroom?" I truly believe that the future of education lies in "real-world" experiences. Students need to reach outside of the classroom and learn the skills that will be needed when they leave school. This kind of everyday learning needs to start in the primary grades.

Speaking of students, a small group of my 4th grade students from last year invited me to see a production of "James and the Giant Peach". I read this book to my class last year, and we created a wonderful mural in our classroom that showed a chronological time line of the main events and character of the story. It literally took an entire classroom wall! Well, seeing my students from lsat year was such a treat and they brought gifts for Audrey and wore personalized t-shirts that said, "Mr. Orelove is #1"! It was a very special night to spend a few hours with my old students and get a chance to see how much they have grown in less than a year! Times like these are part of what makes teaching great.

What else....oh yes, Audrey got her first car! Yes, leave it to Grandma Flesher to spoil her granddaughter rotten! Dixie and Ann were up yesterday to deliver a treadmill to our house from South Bend, and also help move a table and chairs for our new dining room set. The table and chairs were sold out and won't be in stock for a few weeks, but we now have a treadmill to help get us back into shape! Well, if we get a present, then AUDREY needs something too, of course. Attached below are a few pictures of Audrey tooling around in her new walker car! (She also got a play cell phone, which I am even more nervous about than the car!)

--Audrey aka "Mustang Sally"

--Grandmother, Mother, Daughter: Driving in the Dining Room

--Phoebe wants a lift!

Next week we're headed back to South Bend for Aunt Shirley's birthday party. We're also going to help out around Dixie's garden. I am excited because her mother is getting ready to move in next door, which will be wonderful for everyone. If only I could find a way to get the other house for sale next door, we could have a little compound! Hmmmmm...... Also, I am really looking forward to hanging out with Cousin Gail and going to a movie. I haven't been to the movie theater since LAST July when we saw The Dark Knight! It will be nice to see a flick next weekend!

Finally, Easter Sunday. This morning I woke early and jetted out to school for a few hours to lesson plan and prepare for the upcoming week. I got home around noon to discover an absolutely georgous day before my family! A day where the sun was shining, a slight breeze kept any early bugs away, and the world seemed in a state of rest. We loaded-up Audrey in her super stroller and threw a leash on Phoebe and we took a leisurely stroll around the subdivision and ended at the small park near our house where a good time was had by all on the swings.

--Swinging in the Sun!

--Mom giving a push!

--Mom and Audrey, havin' fun!

While I have a little more grading to do today, I am mostly looking forward to a nice nap in a sunbeam followed by an evening Cubs game with my family surrounding me.

-A