Spooky

Tomorrow is Halloween, and the kids were already hyper today... We'll be having a "party" tomorrow: a parent will be providing pizza, and then later we'll be making tissue paper ghosts and making edible spiders. I'm guessing it will be a fun afternoon, but a long one too! I hope to post pictures tomorrow so stay tuned :)

In other news, we were robbed today. Someone stole Max's credit card number and pin number--the only reason we noticed is because the bank sent us an email saying we were overdrawn! Apparently the thief had a fun time in Vegas, at Disneyland, and at the mall. I would have liked to have a fun time in Vegas, at Disneyland, and at the mall, but I never would have blown through two thousand dollars to do it! We'll be praying that we get the money back (feel free to join us!), but we are incredibly thankful that we aren't in dire need of that money to pay rent or to eat. I guess we'll just have to wait and see what happens...

Busy

Well, I guess it's time for an update, but I really don't have much to update right now... School has been same ol', same ol'. Actually, this week is our last full week until after Thanksgiving; next week, we have a staff development day (so, no kids), the week after, we have Veteran's day off, the week after that is conference week (early dismissal every day and no kids at all on Wednesday), and the week after that is Thanksgiving! Yea!!
Max has been BUSY between reading his books and writing his papers. You should see our computer desk: there are two piles of books on either side of the computer screen... they kind of look like towers. He peers between them to write. It's quite comical, until you remember that he hasn't had much of a chance to relax because of all the upcoming deadlines....
Well, I got to school early this morning for a reason--there's lots of work for me to do here and right now it's calling my name!

"Ooey-gooey" and other vocabulary

On Friday, I got up the nerve to carve jack-o-lanterns with the kids. I wanted to do it last year, but chickened out because I thought my students at the time would start a pumpkin gut fight and I wanted to avoid that. But with my sweet, gentle class this year, the only thing holding me back was the mess. So... armed with two pumpkins we headed outside. The kids' jobs were to scoop out the goo and count the seeds. My job (and my aide) was to wield the knife and create a fantastic face.


The kids absolutely loved it. I'm guessing all but maybe two had never had this experience before. Some were really into it and even ventured to taste it. At one point, the science teacher asked me (jokingly), what academic content standard I was working on that afternoon :). The thing is, you can't teach vocabulary and language structure in a vacuum--and of course I'm only too happy to ditch the worksheets and do something fun!!
The jack-o-lanterns turned out great, and I think the kids even learned something....

What self-control?

I had a 25% off coupon (for any one item) for our local teacher store that I spent today. I went inside looking for something very specific that was brand new on the market. They didn't have it, so I also spent a whole hour browsing their stock. I kept picking up items and thinking: "Ooh, this'll be great. This will revolutionize the way I teach. This will help my students learn." And then I wouldn't put the item back, I would just keep adding things to my pile. I was going to just pick one thing for the one coupon I had, but I couldn't bring myself to put any of my great finds back. When I saw the clock hit five, I decided enough was enough. I put all of my stuff down on the counter and was ready to get out my card to pay, when some VERY cute Halloween erasers caught my eye--and for just ten cents apiece, how could I resist?
Anyways, long story short: I came in the teacher's store with a 25% off coupon, and one hour later and $57.13 gone, I finally made it back home.
But I got such cool stuff..... It's totally justified.... isn't it?!?

Sick and Tired

Not much going on over here... My aide has been out sick for the past two days (and she just called to say she'll be at the doctors' tomorrow) and it has truly been a struggle without her. Trying to do things with the whole group just doesn't work when you have half the class who can't read, and the other half who can read at about a first grade level. They're all over the place in math too... I'm exhausted from running from raised hand to raised hand. If I hear my name one more time, I think I'm going to scream :). I'm definitely tired of teaching by myself--I hope she feels better soon...

Max has been busy cooking dinner and finding good deals on plane tickets from Michigan to California. He kept asking that I mention him on my blog, so I had to oblige...

I also need to mention my father-in-law: HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU!! Hope you had a wonderful day with the administration leaving you alone and the kids minding the rules ;).

"Have Weekend!!"

Ever since the beginning of the year, when I discovered that my students didn't know that "weekend" meant Saturday and Sunday, I try to use the word whenever I can. On Fridays I always say something like "Have a good weekend!" or "What will you do this weekend?". On Mondays, I always talk about how I had a fun weekend and ask if they had a fun weekend. Well, yesterday (Friday), one of my students had to leave early. Another student popped up and, while waving enthusiastically, said "Have weekend!!" It was too cute...


I had a great Friday yesterday (it made up for all the rest of the days of this past week). For Fun Day Friday, we made pumpkin pie pudding. Since they all finished their homework, they all got to participate and they were SO excited (every kid I know loves to cook!). I mixed two boxes of instant vanilla pudding with four cups of milk--and I made a total mess because I was using a slotted spoon... The kids thought that was quite funny. Later, when they were all enjoying their pudding (with a spoonful of whipped topping), I opened the tub of whipped cream and put some in my mouth. I accidentally got some whipped cream on the side of my mouth, but I didn't wipe it away. The kids all started laughing and pointing--I kept saying "What? What's wrong? Why are you laughing?"--but none of them had the language to tell me what was wrong. And they were laughing too hard. One boy was literally in tears. The closest anyone got to telling me was saying "your mouth!". It was all quite memorable. We took lots of pictures, and I would love to post one of all of my students, but for confidentiality reasons, I can't.... so I'll post this one instead :)

Hanging in There...

I'm not going to lie: this week has been a hard one. After Monday's catastrophes, my ears started to hurt. That's no big deal, unless you're me and have no tolerance for pain! On Tuesday, the doctor said something about sinus pressure, but all I know is that every time I took a step, or leaned over, or bent down, it felt like an explosion going off in each ear. Last night I filled my prescription for my nasal spray and I felt a lot better today. I haven't been sleeping well either which doesn't help my performance during the day (but at least I go to bed, unlike some people who have to stay up all night and write papers... that's Max's department!).

Today, as I rushed home right after the bell rang so that Max could take the car to class, I had the option of dropping him off and coming back to school, or staying home. I chose to stay home. I thought I might go insane if I didn't take a break and get some rest. I've been coming home early a lot this week--I guess I'm just sick of working overtime! At least this week is almost over :).

Monday Madness

Today was going to be a big day for me. I was starting a new thematic unit (pumpkins), a new reading program, and a new math program, and we were writing new stories (which means we had to have a "language experience" then write about it--in this case, making playdoh). I got up extra early this morning to make sure I had all my ducks in a row. I had made carefully laid out plans and had a check-off to-do list so that I didn't forget anything vital.

School starts at 8:35, and by 8:45, everything was already going downhill. Another DHH teacher had a family emergency and the school couldn't get a sub, so I was stuck with three extra kids all day. I didn't even have enough chairs. Making playdoh with the first reading group (they're split into two according to reading levels) went well. But then recess happened and my new kid decided it would be appropriate to tie a jump rope around another kid's neck then step down on the rope really hard. The victim has a rope burn across his neck that is painful to even look at, and none of my kids would admit who did it. Finding the right culprit took about ten minutes and three eye-witnesses. I had to have the speech-therapist watch my kids as I went down to the office with the offending party as my aide was in a 30 minute meeting. I lost about 35 minutes of instructional time and, as a result, couldn't do the playdoh experience with the second reading group until after lunch, which resulted in not doing the new reading program at all today. And I was so excited to start it.

It was a chaotic, stressful day. Add to that the fact that our new vice principal "stepped on my toes" (actually, more like stomped) twice today... I'm discovering that it's quite stressful to consciously choose not to be angry with someone.

But, I came home at 3:30 today (Max needed the car for class) and so I think I'll go and enjoy the extra rest so that I feel up to going back to school tomorrow......

The Reign of Terror and the Sunshine Committee

I feel like I should tell everyone what's been going on this week, but I can't get into too much detail because 1) confidentiality issues with students and staff, and 2) it's not Christian-ly of me to bad mouth my boss.

Let's just say that our new vice principal feels it's her Duty to be involved in EVERYthing, whether or not it's in her job description. And if she's not included in something and she gets wind of it, she'll get her feelings hurt and hold a grudge and not let it go until she's called two additional meetings and asserted her power (under the guise of being a "better support" to us, of course). In the process, she's treating the staff very unprofessionally--like we're students. I didn't realize how angry that would make me feel! Apparently I don't get along well with administrators on Power Trips.

The result of all of this is that the staff is unhappy. No one will tell her how we REALLY feel because we're afraid we'll be blacklisted and miserable for the rest of the time she's VP here. She has already created an atmosphere where the staff has to look over their shoulders before they say something (not even necessarily conversation about her). It's like a Reign of Terror. The solution then is to either 1) suck up, or 2) hide and avoid her like the plague, or 3) pray. I vote number 2 and 3.

But I have to stop myself from being angry with her and show her some mercy. I've never had to pray for my enemies before because I never felt like I had any enemies before. Turns out, it's kinda hard....

IRONICALLY, as fate would have it, I'm on a committee that voted me to be the one who presented our principal and vice-principal with Boss's Day cards and gift certificates at the Flagdeck tomorrow in front of the whole school. Needless to say, Max is coaching me on what to say so that I don't actually lie about how I feel, and so that I don't betray how I actually feel. I wonder if there's glue out there that will hold a smile in place?!?

Lotsa News

I realize it has been a while since I last updated... but there is news!!

On the home front:
Our renters insurance company FINALLY decided to compensate us for our losses from the mold. After almost seven weeks sleeping on the floor, this is welcome news. This is totally from the Lord--for so long it seemed like we would get nothing. We did everything right and were never vindictive--and we were rewarded!! God is good!

On the school front:
Things are busy and stressful. I'm getting a new student tomorrow (he'll be number 10--yikes!) and there is lots to do in preparation for that. I had a huge once-every-three-years meeting with parents this afternoon, and there was a lot of preparation for that (thankfully it went well). I'm starting two new programs in my classroom on Monday--one in reading and one in math.... and things have definitely been busy getting materials prepared and re-structuring our curriculum and our daily schedule to make room for them. I have lots running through my mind and I find myself exhausted at the end of the day yet unable to fall asleep for some time after I climb in bed... hopefully that will change soon!

On the social front:
I think the fact that I have a "social front" to mention is news in itself :). We had dinner with some colleagues last Sunday; we're having dinner tomorrow night with an old friend from our church in Grand Rapids; and this weekend we're probably going to get together with a couple from our current church who we get along really well with. I feel like a social butterfly this week...

Bullet-in

I'm too tired for this, but I realize that there are people out there desperate to hear about what I've been up to and how I'm doing (...ahem....). So, let me sum up in bullet form:

• I've been getting progressively sicker and sicker this week. When half of the class is coughing, it's only a matter of time... I never had to take a sick day last year, so maybe I'll use them this year?!
• I had a very tense special education zone meeting yesterday (all sp.ed teachers from the district were there). One lady I didn't know went off for TWENTY MINUTES about how she hates the computer system on which we do our IEP paperwork. She was saying things like "we don't get paid enough to do this", "It's ruining my life" (verbatim), etc. I sat there in disbelief. Suck it up. Do your job...even the parts you don't like. Seriously, we could have been out of the meeting 20 minutes earlier if it hadn't been for her fruitless complaints.
• We had picture day today. I survived.
• I had cheez-its for dinner because I didn't feel like cooking...
• I stayed at school until 7:00 tonight to do said paperwork on said computer program. It must be done! Better to stay late on a weekday then to come in on a Saturday, right?
  
• I'm so tired right now, I literally feel like I'm sleeping with my eyes open....
• TOMORROW'S FRIDAY!!!!
  

Pride

I did something for the very first time last Thursday. I was inspired to write a grant for a software program called Earobics for my classroom. It wasn't a very large grant ($687), but it was definitely a last-minute grant (the deadline was Friday). I got some advice from some people who have written them and recieved them before and I'm pretty sure I wrote a STRONG grant. At least, I got positive feedback from colleagues, so that's good. Now all I have to do is sit around and wait till March to find out if I got the grant or not. I really hope I do.

My students are also very proud of themselves these days. My aide bought a device to help teach children how to tie their shoes (it's kind of like a large rectangle covered with material with large holes and laces). It turns out that half of my second and third graders can't tie their own shoes. Two of them have mild cerebral palsy issues, and two of them just never learned. My aide showed them how to do it, and they've been practicing like crazy ever since! They are so excited! They are even helping the younger ones across the hall now.

What a great thing it is to feel a sense of accomplishment!

Professor B.

I was in a meeting yesterday. But for once, I was the one running the meeting!! Granted, only the third grade team was there (about seven teachers), but it still counts. I was explaining a fantastic research-based math program that guarantees automatic memorization of basic math facts in only seven minutes a day. (I happened to go to a conference--I'm not actually a math fact expert...). Everyone was very excited to try it in their classrooms after my forty-five minute presentation on it. I thought I would be nervous giving the presentation but I absolutely wasn't. It felt totally natural, and I actually enjoyed myself. Ten minutes after the meeting was over, one of my colleagues said I did a great job and asked me if I had had any training in "educational leadership" (didn't know there was such a thing!). I was definitely flattered! I got worried, however, when upon learning that I hadn't met any of the "big-wigs" in the district, she vowed she would "show me off". I could get in trouble... In my previous post, I explained how I was "sticking it to the man" (Hannah's words). It wouldn't be the same if I met "the man", and if "the man" decided to look over my shoulder as I taught. Sometimes it's better to be just one among the masses :)

Old News, Mold News

I realize this may be old news, but last Thursday was Back-to-School night and I think it's worth mentioning. I never expect to see many parents at these functions since all of our parents in the DHH program are out of district and have to drive many moons to get to school. That said, you can imagine my surprise when five out of nine families showed up!! YEA for me! A great time was had by all, and I almost managed to forget that I was at school from 6:45 to 8:00 PM.

My weekend was equally good and bad. Friday night was a relaxing evening in a quiet apartment as Max was in class. Saturday, I went out to lunch with a friend from high school who just moved to Orange County over the summer. We had a good time, and I got sick on a Mint Chip Dazzler from Haagen Daaz. I picked Max up at 3:00, and since he was feeling sick from being sick, and I was feeling sick from my gluttony, we opted to sit in front of our enormous TV for the rest of the afternoon and get caught up on Monk. Sunday was entirely wasted on moving all of our stuff out of our oldy-moldy apartment and dumping it in the dumpster. We saved some things, but 80% of it was too risky to keep. You wouldn't think dumping stuff would take all day, but it did. Max worked for 10 hours and I worked for 8. Some of the things I had to throw away made me sad. I guess it was a good reminder that you can't take "stuff" with you to heaven!

Shhh! Secret Success

I'm sitting at the computer, dead tired. But this tired is a much different tired than last year... Last year, I was defeated-tired, fed-up-tired, exasperated-tired, and even depressed-tired. This year, I'm tired from having done my job, and having done it well.

I'm amazed at how different this year is turning out to be! I have ten 2nd/3rd graders (nine in the classroom; one is mainstreamed full time) who are very ... low... in every way. Two of them are non-readers, and one of the non-readers only knows 20 out of 26 letters of the alphabet. Then why do I feel so good about things at the end of the day? As I thought about it, I realized that these are two different classes.

Last year's class was competitive, rough, petty, hyper, sensitive, and even catty.
This year's class is sweet, friendly, CALM, and cooperative.

As my aide pointed out, this year's class is a joy to teach. And if you're thinking this is a honeymoon period, you're wrong; I checked with last year's teacher and this is how they are all the time. LUCKY ME!!

But the real kicker in my attitude/energy level/motivation/emotional well-being, is that I made the executive decision (shh, don't tell!) to teach my kids what they need to learn, whether or not that corresponds with the reading or math curriculum the state of California and our district has adopted. Revolutionary, huh? No longer do I feel like I'm banging my head against a wall every day trying to teach reading skills my students aren't ready for. Instead, I feel GREAT about what I'm doing, because it's working, and for the first time in my career, I'm seeing some growth!! YEA FOR ME!

My non-reader finally read the first five sight words from the Dolch list today. (the, and, to, he, a). We've been working with these words for three days, and I finally pulled him aside for some good old-fashioned "drill and kill". We spent five minutes seeing who could say each word on a flashcard first. If he could read it, he kept the card, and if he missed it or I had to remind him what the word was, I kept it. We went through all five words like, eight times before he finally got them all but when he did ... we cheered!! He was SO excited and SO proud! He got all five right three times in a row, and I am not kidding you when I say I literally had tears in my eyes. Seeing his beaming, freckled face under his white-blonde hair was all I needed to remember why I am a Teacher.

Teacher AND Housewife

With Max in school full time, I find myself in another role--that of a housewife. Last year, I was spoiled by anyone's standards: he took care of all the cooking and cleaning and laundry. This year is a different story...this weekend, I cooked TWO meals! I haven't cooked a meal, since, gosh, I can't even remember. My first turned out great: a fritatta recipe I found on the internet. The second meal went fine but I had to have some help seasoning the turkey burger. I had lots of time to be a housewife over the weekend. Not so much during the week, though... Today I'm dead tired; Max is tired and a little stressed and a little under the weather. We both got home around six tonight (one car, remember?) and we both looked at each other wondering who would cook dinner? :) We are learning the whole "give-and-take" thing again....

On the school front, week two is going well so far. We started our apple unit today by making "apple smiles" with round apple slices, peanut butter, and raisins. The kids loved it; it was really yummy; and I got them to say enough sentences about the activity so that it became a decent story :). I was actually surprised that no one turned up their noses at the raisins--I would have at their age!

I love you, Tomorrow!

Real quick post because it's 6:40 and I'm still at school (I know, I know...) and I need to get back in time to cook the pizza, eat the pizza, then pick up Max from class.

Crazy day. I had planned to assess all my kids in reading and language with informal placement tests. I had my assessment binder out and a plan all set for when and where this would happen. Then suddenly this morning my principal decides that the one student I have mainstreaming full time with Mrs. X is going to be moved to Mrs. Y's classroom because of a "numbers issue". Wouldn't be a big deal but said student has already spent three days in Mrs. X's class and is nicely adjusting and making friends. So I had to spend all my assessment time meeting with Mrs. X and Mrs. Y and talking to mom on the phone (in my most reassuring voice), then breaking the news to the said student (who thankfully seemed to take this all quite well...). Bottom line, I still have no idea how to group my kids for reading and language lessons thanks to a "numbers issue".

But I will not despair for There Is Always Tomorrow :)

Wasted Wednesday

Day Two went well. I'm discovering more and more about my new set of kids and my two new students. My second new student started in my class today (transportation issues yesterday). He's darling but from what I can tell, he has very little oral language--he's been signing all of his answers to me. I just lean in and say "I didn't hear you" and then he tries to say it out loud, but he is very shy about it :). He must think I'm pretty stupid for not understanding his signs!

Wednesday is our meeting day, so after the early dismissal I got a little bit of work done then headed over to the lounge. Our principal won us all over by provided free ice cream bars and popsicles for us, but quickly lost our admiration when he made us sit through a forty minute video we had all seen before (some had seen it twice before) at other staff meetings with him. So there we were, alternating between licking our ice cream, glaring at him, and checking our watches, and all the while he's standing there, smiling and laughing, clearly loving every minute of his favorite motivational video! Ah, meetings...the weekly waste of time :).

One down....

.... one hundred and seventy-nine to go!

Today was the first day of my second year of teaching. Last year on this day, my colleagues swarmed into my room and gave me congratulatory hugs and a gift signed by all of them to commemorate my first day of my career. Nothing like that happened when the last bell rang today, but I still felt a sense of triumph over a successful first day :).

It started way too early--my alarm rang at six, but I was so anxious about today that I tossed and turned from about 4:30 on. The kids came at around 8:30... so cute in their "first day" outfits and hair all neatly done. No one was really shy on account that they were all in the same class last year, but I do have a new student whose mom confided in me that he was very nervous. Fortunately, he fit right in with the rest of the class. All the activities that I had planned went quite well. My favorite part of the day was during calendar time when I taught them a short song about the days of the week. They were all so adorable as they sang out unabashedly (with no regard as to whether they sounded "cool" or not--something last year's class would have been self-conscious about!). I've got to find a way to sing more songs in my curriculum :).

By the end of the day, I was quite exhausted from all the excitement--I'm sure I'll sleep much better tonight! I also forgot how hard it is to get motivated to go on a walk after a full day of work... Back to the routine!

Rest

As you may have read from Max's blog, I was indeed at school for thirteen hours yesterday. But I do have an excuse! I was trying my very hardest to get all the loose ends wrapped up before Tuesday without coming in over the weekend. I would have been home sooner if the administration hadn't wasted four hours of my morning yesterday in a meeting. Oh well. It was a little spooky being at school after dark--I was even scared away from going to make copies in the work room. Surprisingly (or maybe not so surprisingly), when I walked out to my car at 8:20, there were six other teacher cars in the parking lot, so apparently I wasn't the only one burning the midnight oil...
I apologize if my readers are sick of hearing about school, but 'tis my life now. I've been a little cranky about being back at work after such an exceptional summer. During the last ten days, every time I thought about Tuesday (in three days when I have kids) I've felt .... dread. Not that I don't like my job, but it's very hard going from having no responsibilities to having heavy responsibilities--from a slow paced summer to a fast paced job with all the busy-ness and stress that goes along with that. Having said that, something weird happened yesterday around three. I was still feeling that dread until the very moment I taped down the first desk-tag (like a name tag you use to label each desk). Then suddenly it was like something clicked... I found myself smiling down tenderly at the little desks, smiling in anticipation for when the little munchkins will get here. And now I'm strangely looking forward to getting started! Bizarre.

Check out Max's blog and find out why all I could say was "WHAT HAPPENED??" when I walked in the door last night :).