Live in the sunshine. Swim in the sea. Drink the wild air. -emerson

Summertime is upon us! Happy June!

I just completed year 10 in the classroom, yes, can you believe it?! Time flies. This was a year, like many others, full of its good days and long days, but overall, the 5th graders we had this year were very successful, test scores & all. The growth they made is what truly makes them ready to take on middle school in the fall. One highlight: This year I had a student who was identified with dyslexia mid-October. This student I truly believe had never fully read a chapter book on his own unless it was a class read aloud. But one of the benefits of him being identified as a student with dyslexia was access to a computer-based reading program called LearningAlly. This site houses thousands of books that students can read and listen to digitally. So while, many of our book clubs, were a little above this students reading level he was able to hold his chapter book in his hand and follow along by listening to the book. This helped him get past the struggles of decoding the words and truly to the comprehension level of reading. After this book club round ended this student asked if I could take him to our book closet and get him a few more books in that series/by that same author. We ran down there one day before the bell rang, and as I walked him back to class he turned around and said ‘Thank you!’ While most would probably think he was just being polite, I believe there was more inside that thank you. At our 5th Grade celebration yesterday students wrote what made them future ready and this student wrote:  I am ready for my future at Medlin Middle School because I read a lot of books this year.  This will help me to keep learning. 

It’s these moments that make you teacher heart happy and those long days worth it.

Thanks for letting me share a bit of #teacherlife with you!

And as ‘summer wife’ makes her return to sun-kissed days and a this time of renewal — as well as DIY, home decor, recipes, travel and whatever else may fill these long, summer days — I am so excited to be back to share this time with you! I look forward to writing and connecting with you all school year long.

Over the winter, I became the owner of a Silhouette Cameo 3 and as I ventured into vinyl fun just a bit on weekends over the past few months I am so looking forward to learning its ins and outs this summer. And, what better a way to kick off summer than with citronella candles — yes, the time has come to keep the pesky mosquitos away.

I used the Silhouette Cameo 3 to make monogrammed Mother’s Day and end of the school year teacher gifts. Both of which turned out darling! I purchased my white vinyl at Michael’s and the candles at At Home.

I used the font – monogram scallop full circle — in Silhouette Studio to design the candle monograms.

These could be great for any summer hostess occasion or just fun for your own backyard. I will probably monogram our citronella candle bucket in the next few days.

Check back here and on instagram (jenltepper) soon for more ‘summer wife’ posts — its so good to be back!