http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VlY8STkhopc
Not just for moms...for kids too!
This video is soooooo funny. I can't figure out how to do this so you can just watch the video on my blog, and I'm too tired to try to figure it out tonight.
Sunday, August 26, 2007
Saturday, August 25, 2007
Classroom
Finally...This is my classroom from the back of the room. I am standing in front of the door the students use to enter to room. That was the cleanest my room has been :(
This is my room from the front. I don't particularly like having my desk in front, but I had limited time to set up and this is what finally game out of moving everything around. Those large, brown cabinets you see near the windows is where I keep everything. We move classrooms at the end of every trimester so our big rolling carts go with us from room to room. This set-up is pretty much stolen from Nancy. You can't see behind me, but even my job pockets are the same as hers. She would laugh if she could see my white boards...exactly like hers.
This, obviously, is the front of the school. It looks kind of cloudy out, it was 6:30 in the morning and is usually overcast at that time. It usually peaks at about 102 degrees sometime in the late afternoon. The school is pretty small considering the number of students and everything is very centrally located. It's a really nice set-up.
This is my room from the front. I don't particularly like having my desk in front, but I had limited time to set up and this is what finally game out of moving everything around. Those large, brown cabinets you see near the windows is where I keep everything. We move classrooms at the end of every trimester so our big rolling carts go with us from room to room. This set-up is pretty much stolen from Nancy. You can't see behind me, but even my job pockets are the same as hers. She would laugh if she could see my white boards...exactly like hers.
This, obviously, is the front of the school. It looks kind of cloudy out, it was 6:30 in the morning and is usually overcast at that time. It usually peaks at about 102 degrees sometime in the late afternoon. The school is pretty small considering the number of students and everything is very centrally located. It's a really nice set-up.
Wednesday, August 15, 2007
Ok, so it's time for an update.
To blog, or to grade: that is the question.
I want to write, but I also need to grade. I know, Kathie is laughing her butt off right now. Teaching is wonderful and painful at the same time. It is far more rewarding than the hospitality industry, but still frustrating. Things are going fine and my kids are great...most of the time. These kids get so much stuff and they just keep expecting more. They have no idea how little other students get for the school year. My kids got: pencil boxes, pencils, crayons, colored pencils, markers, rulers, glue, glue sticks, 2 inch binders, divider tabs, dictionaries, pencil pouches, scissors, assignment notebooks, composition books, pink erasers, pens, highlighters, and more filler paper than anyone could possibly use. It's amazing. If I find one more broken and free pencil on the floor, I will probably come unglued. I want to drive the extra supplies up to our non-Title 1 schools here and pass them out to the teachers that have to buy this stuff on their own. UGH!
Ok, enough of that. I really do love what I do. The kids are great and the staff is amazing. The Teacher on Assignment (TOA) assigned to me is also a Christian. They have a staff prayer time every Thursday. I invited myself to the festivities and they were thrilled to have me show interest. It sounds like much of the staff is somewhat religious and participates in the prayer time so I am excited to see it for myself tomorrow. The entire staff has been wonderful. People stop by my room to check on me and when in the hallways, they always make sure to ask about my day and my kids. I have never worked with such a kind and caring staff (except LGE, of course). A little footnote...I do miss Nancy and Janet!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I am so sad that I wont get to work with Janet again before she retires. God was kind and let me work with her for a little while.
Did any of this make any sense? I'm tired and I have had a couple glasses of wine. Wine makes grading the writing so much more bearable. I will deny that if anyone repeats it, but it's the truth. It also makes grading worksheets on subjects and predicates less frustrating. When was the last time you needed to tell someone about a subject and a predicate? Think about that. I haven't thought about that since the 7th grade.
To blog, or to grade: that is the question.
I want to write, but I also need to grade. I know, Kathie is laughing her butt off right now. Teaching is wonderful and painful at the same time. It is far more rewarding than the hospitality industry, but still frustrating. Things are going fine and my kids are great...most of the time. These kids get so much stuff and they just keep expecting more. They have no idea how little other students get for the school year. My kids got: pencil boxes, pencils, crayons, colored pencils, markers, rulers, glue, glue sticks, 2 inch binders, divider tabs, dictionaries, pencil pouches, scissors, assignment notebooks, composition books, pink erasers, pens, highlighters, and more filler paper than anyone could possibly use. It's amazing. If I find one more broken and free pencil on the floor, I will probably come unglued. I want to drive the extra supplies up to our non-Title 1 schools here and pass them out to the teachers that have to buy this stuff on their own. UGH!
Ok, enough of that. I really do love what I do. The kids are great and the staff is amazing. The Teacher on Assignment (TOA) assigned to me is also a Christian. They have a staff prayer time every Thursday. I invited myself to the festivities and they were thrilled to have me show interest. It sounds like much of the staff is somewhat religious and participates in the prayer time so I am excited to see it for myself tomorrow. The entire staff has been wonderful. People stop by my room to check on me and when in the hallways, they always make sure to ask about my day and my kids. I have never worked with such a kind and caring staff (except LGE, of course). A little footnote...I do miss Nancy and Janet!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I am so sad that I wont get to work with Janet again before she retires. God was kind and let me work with her for a little while.
Did any of this make any sense? I'm tired and I have had a couple glasses of wine. Wine makes grading the writing so much more bearable. I will deny that if anyone repeats it, but it's the truth. It also makes grading worksheets on subjects and predicates less frustrating. When was the last time you needed to tell someone about a subject and a predicate? Think about that. I haven't thought about that since the 7th grade.
Thursday, August 02, 2007
I LOVE TEACHING!
Ok, just had to get that out there. The last few days have been a blur of wonderful and terrifying events. I will try to write this out so it makes sense...I'm no Michael you know so you will have to bear with me.
Day 1 - Monday
I got up at O dark thirty because I was worried that I would be late for my first day. Ok, so it was actually 5:30 but you get the idea. I got all dressed up, made lunch and coffee, put on make up (that tells you how important this was to me), and left the house with tons of time to spare. The drive was uneventful and I arrived at school about 20 minutes early. I primped once more in the car, took a deep breath, said my last prayer, and marched inside as though I had worked there forever. Well, the office manager was out of the office so I couldn't get keys and I was told that I couldn't actually get into my room because the tracks overlap for that particular day. Ok, now what? I went back to the car, head hanging low and trying not to cry, and called Kathie. Utterly defeated and I hadn't even started yet. I would love to tell you that the day got better...it did not. After a pep talk from Kath I decided I would just make some copies. This is where the day got a little brighter. A very nice Kinder teacher (they do not change classrooms) took me under her wing and to her room to get some work done. She made sure that I knew some of the school rules, taught me how to read the cards about the students, and made sure I got to the staff meeting on time. When we were done with the meeting she made sure that I rode in her car to go to lunch with my track teachers. Here is the best part -- As soon as we sat down to eat, she began to pray. God had sent me a Christian! Hallelujah! I finally got into my class at 2pm and worked feverishly until 6:30. The whole day was filled with the phrase, "Oh, by the way did you know...?" I now hate that phrase. Oh ya , at this point, I still did not have my TE's for math or language. No big deal, right? :(
Are you still with me?
I did not sleep at all on Monday night so Tuesday started with total and utter exhaustion. I was able to get into my room that day and things started to feel much better. I started to relax and my room started to come together. People came out of the woodwork to meet me and to stop by and check on me. One nice teacher spent most of his day looking for my TE's and my cabinets containing ALL of my supplies. At some point I wandered to the office and found a sweet note from my guardian angel in my box. The last "by the way" came Tuesday afternoon when someone decided to tell me that all Wednesdays are minimum days. That would have been nice to know say, a week ago. All in all, Tuesday was a much better day and I slept through the night. Could I have used "started" a couple more times? I'm too tired to change it so, deal!
Wednesday was amazing. The day started with running into my angel in the parking lot and having her tell me that she prayed for me the night before. Of course, exhausted and nervous, I started to cry. Anyway, the day was so exciting and my kids are great, despite rumors that they were all devil spawn. Don't get me wrong, I have some challenging issues, but the kids are sweet and kind and a ton of fun.
Today was equally as awesome. I can't believe how tired I am. So tired that I wont be re-reading this post for quality. Sorry, you will all just have to deal with that fact. I feel like there is so much more to tell, but it will have to wait for another day.
I LOVE MY JOB.
Ok, just had to get that out there. The last few days have been a blur of wonderful and terrifying events. I will try to write this out so it makes sense...I'm no Michael you know so you will have to bear with me.
Day 1 - Monday
I got up at O dark thirty because I was worried that I would be late for my first day. Ok, so it was actually 5:30 but you get the idea. I got all dressed up, made lunch and coffee, put on make up (that tells you how important this was to me), and left the house with tons of time to spare. The drive was uneventful and I arrived at school about 20 minutes early. I primped once more in the car, took a deep breath, said my last prayer, and marched inside as though I had worked there forever. Well, the office manager was out of the office so I couldn't get keys and I was told that I couldn't actually get into my room because the tracks overlap for that particular day. Ok, now what? I went back to the car, head hanging low and trying not to cry, and called Kathie. Utterly defeated and I hadn't even started yet. I would love to tell you that the day got better...it did not. After a pep talk from Kath I decided I would just make some copies. This is where the day got a little brighter. A very nice Kinder teacher (they do not change classrooms) took me under her wing and to her room to get some work done. She made sure that I knew some of the school rules, taught me how to read the cards about the students, and made sure I got to the staff meeting on time. When we were done with the meeting she made sure that I rode in her car to go to lunch with my track teachers. Here is the best part -- As soon as we sat down to eat, she began to pray. God had sent me a Christian! Hallelujah! I finally got into my class at 2pm and worked feverishly until 6:30. The whole day was filled with the phrase, "Oh, by the way did you know...?" I now hate that phrase. Oh ya , at this point, I still did not have my TE's for math or language. No big deal, right? :(
Are you still with me?
I did not sleep at all on Monday night so Tuesday started with total and utter exhaustion. I was able to get into my room that day and things started to feel much better. I started to relax and my room started to come together. People came out of the woodwork to meet me and to stop by and check on me. One nice teacher spent most of his day looking for my TE's and my cabinets containing ALL of my supplies. At some point I wandered to the office and found a sweet note from my guardian angel in my box. The last "by the way" came Tuesday afternoon when someone decided to tell me that all Wednesdays are minimum days. That would have been nice to know say, a week ago. All in all, Tuesday was a much better day and I slept through the night. Could I have used "started" a couple more times? I'm too tired to change it so, deal!
Wednesday was amazing. The day started with running into my angel in the parking lot and having her tell me that she prayed for me the night before. Of course, exhausted and nervous, I started to cry. Anyway, the day was so exciting and my kids are great, despite rumors that they were all devil spawn. Don't get me wrong, I have some challenging issues, but the kids are sweet and kind and a ton of fun.
Today was equally as awesome. I can't believe how tired I am. So tired that I wont be re-reading this post for quality. Sorry, you will all just have to deal with that fact. I feel like there is so much more to tell, but it will have to wait for another day.
I LOVE MY JOB.
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