Welcome to 4^th Grade!

I am so glad you are here and I can’t wait to be your teacher this year.  We are going to have SO MUCH FUN.  You won’t believe it.  Seriously, it’s going to be THAT much fun.  Yup, we’ll do math, writing, reading, science, social studies, and a million other things.  We will do ALL of these things while having a great time.  Woot!  I am so excited!  

Taking a selfie with Presley can be slobbery.  Not shown: the 393 pictures where she's kissing me.  :) 

What do you know about me?

Here are some facts about me.  You might know some of the things, but you might not.  I hope you learn something!

1.    This is my 20^th year teaching at Haisley.  TWENTY YEARS!  Whoa. 

2.    I have taught 2^nd, 3^rd and 4^th grade.

3.   My husband’s name is Doogie and I have a dog named Presley Marie O’Malley McGee.  She’s adorable, but is also a dork.

4.   You may hear people (maybe even your own siblings!) calling me Ms. O’Malley.  That’s my name too.  I was Ellen O’Malley before I married Doogie.  Now, I’m Ellen O’Malley McGee. 

5.   I love to read books out loud.  I LOVE talking about the books we read, and I LOVE hearing what YOU think about the books we are reading together.  Of course, I love hearing about the books you read on your own too, but I really LOVE reading things TOGETHER. 

6.   I am a certified art teacher!

7.   I am a townie.  That means that I grew up here.  I went to Burns Park Elementary School, Slauson (it was a JR high back then), and Pioneer High School.  When I was in elementary school, it was kindergarten through 6^th grade.  After 6^th grade, we moved across town and I went to Slauson and then Pioneer.

8.   My favorite of the great lakes is Lake Huron.

9.    A few of my favorite hobbies are: writing, art, traveling, and photography.

10.I take at least one picture EVERY SINGLE DAY.  I LOVE taking photographs and often make my pictures into postcards.

My Summer…in pictures (with a few descriptions!)

Summer is always an adventure.  I spend a lot of my time up north on Lake Huron with Presley.  She LOVES the water and we end up taking many walks each day.  It’s a perfect place to rest, relax, and even work!  

Presley/Walking/Our Beach

My kneading girl.  This is STINKY PETE.  He's her favorite toy.

Doogie and Presley walking down the beach.

We are on the SUNRISE side.  This means I get up reallllly early sometimes.  It also might mean that I go back to sleep for a while.  :)  

This was such a cool storm!  It didn't take long to come across the lake.  Super cool.

We spend a lot of time up north and Presley LOVES to swim.  After she swims, she likes to KNEAD.  Yup, like a cat.  She kneads EVERY. SINGLE. DAY.  She’s super cute when kneading and it helps to calm her down.  It’s one of my favorite things that she does.

We walk a lot on the beach too.  We take long walks and Presley walks AND swims on our adventures. 

Golfing

I’m not a very good golfer, but I have so much fun when we go.  There is a golf course a few miles from our cottage and Doogie and I try to go whenever we are up north.

Canoeing and Kayaking

This is the front of my kayak. 

This is the front of our canoe.  Doogie and I were in one canoe and our friends Steve and Marina were in another canoe.

I spy my mom in the kayak behind me.  :) 

This summer, I went canoeing AND kayaking on the Au Sable River.  What an amazing and gorgeous river.  It takes about two hours to make your way down the river.  We saw a ton of birds and turtles on both trips.  It was great exercise and I had SO much fun!

Photography

I take a picture a day (at least!) with my phone.  I take pictures of a wide variety of things.  This picture, of a squirrel under a car is one of my favorites.  I don’t know what he/she was doing, but it sure looked like he was a tiny mechanic and was working on the car.  J  I often take pictures on our evening walks too.  These sunflowers are in our neighborhood and I absolutely love them.  I am really hoping to plant some next year.  They are stunning. 

School Projects

I spend a lot of time working on things for the upcoming school year during the summer months.  This year, one of the things I did was to make some new clipboards.  I hope you like using them!

Blueberry Picking and Tawas State Park

There is a HUGE blueberry farm a new miles from our cottage.  We try and go blueberry picking every summer.  There is NOTHING like having fresh blueberries on your morning cereal.  Oh!  So good. 

Tawas State Park is a total gem.  It’s gorgeous and such a fun place to visit.  The lighthouse is cool and I’ve been lucky (and brave) enough to climb my way to the top.