Marching On.

Here we are - almost through the month of January. Basketball season has started for Emma and Tripp. Eli is already doing soccer practice and his "official" season starts in a month. We have four months of school left. Eli has three college hours this semester. That will put him at nine, and with nine added in his senior year, and ACT-testing out of English 101 and 102, that will have him graduating with 24 college hours. Holy moly! That is a full year under his belt. Speaking of Eli going to college, we are now in the planning stages. Oh, boy. This summer, he will have senior pictures made. And we should have ordered a class ring already. Except that he does not want one. Make him or not? I don't know. Dave says everyone needs one. Eli just doesn't seem to care. I have offered to take him on tour of colleges. He flat out says no. Then he agrees to go see ETSU and Belmont(in Nashville). He says UT-Knoxville is the place for him. But is it the place for me? :) We are in the process of planning summer vacation. My mother in law suggests we go to Ohio. Isn't that great! :) There is a Jack Hanna Zoo she wants to take the kids to. We can't do Disney just yet because Tripp still likes about two inches to be able to ride the "good stuff". I gave my vote today for Vegas and the Grand Canyon. We talked about DC, but there is so much walking. And with a baby in a stroller, well, I don't think that the museums will appreciate that. Neither will the baby. I am loving my first grade class still! I love teaching and I am thankful every day when I walk into my classroom. It is mine. And I love my co-teachers. They are wonderful. I think that I can still impress my first graders. They have extra special light bulb moments. For instance, just telling them how many continents are is fascinating for them! Showing them the globe is thrilling. And talking about the moon, the sun, nouns and verbs and synonyms... Oh, my!

End Of The Year.

Well, I guess I completely missed the month of April. Between TCAP tests, school, stress and other things, I chose not to blog. But today, well I decided that I was ready and I had time and all of that stuff. I was home today because Tripp has the flu. Yes, you read me right. He has the Type A Flu. In May. Who gets the flu in May? Lots of people apparently. We are several months behind on the outbreak. Now it will spread through my house. We only have eight days of school left. We are all trying to finish grades, reports, files... there are so many things that a teacher does to close out the year. People, appreciate the teachers. I had no idea. Prom is this weekend. Eli picked up his tux today and I got a preview. He sure is handsome. I can't wait to see him and his "friend" dressed up. She is a pretty girl and they are a pretty couple. I can't believe my baby is old enough to go to the prom. It makes me sick. Eli brought home his schedule for next year. Along with college classes, he is taking Honors Chemistry II, Calculus, Honors English 11, and Anatomy and Physiology. And playing football and soccer. How is that for a full load? I am hoping to get back in the swing of this blogging thing. I know I am going to be sad when I look back and have no stories to help my old brain remember. :)

A Nice Break.

I am lovin' this three day weekend. I am so excited to get one more day at home.

Yesterday, I went to Mallie's first basketball game. Then, we went to the pool and swam for a while. On the spur of the moment, my sister in law took all the kids to the drive in. So I went to Redbox, got a movie and then had a quick dinner with Dave.

Today, I have slept. And went grocery shopping. And slept again. Now it is almost 10 p.m. I only have one day left. I put all of my classroom work on the back burner. But I started updating my TeacherWeb page and now my mind is working toward teaching on Tuesday. I am happy for a short week where my brain can start to catch up.

Well, as for teaching - there is never enough time. I had a student teacher come into my classroom the other day. (I had been to school with him, I just graduated a semester early). He started grilling me about all the cool stuff we learned in school. Did I do _ with my students? Had I tried _ with them? I told the student teacher that I didn't have enough time for the fun stuff. And that is the truth. So last week I learned that Student Teachers are in La La Land. 1. If there are two teachers in the room, it is easier to get everything done. and 2. He has no idea about the "real" world of teaching. I didn't either.

I guess I finally cracked - a little -on Friday. I cried. Not as much as I wanted. I cried because of time. I cried because of student situations. I cried because I was tired. I think that women have this "need" to cry. It just seems to make it all better. And if it is a partial cry, as mine was on Friday, well, it just helps a little.

So, at the end of week four of teaching, I love these kids. I worry about them. I am watching for their moods. And I know who will struggle and who will not. I think about them on the weekends. I guess we are finally bonding.

Hellooo.... Anyone Out There?

So, I am a blog slacker. I have been sooo busy. I just can't keep up.
This teaching stuff is alot of work :) I was in my class until 8 on Friday night. As a rule of my own, I don't go in on Saturday. But I do usually work on and off on Sunday. And I have always went in on Sunday afternoon for a few hours.

Everything is going good. I have nineteen students. I have lost a couple and gained a couple. Twenty is my normal number. I am doing lots of things that I did not learn in school. And I am having lots of experiences that no one warned me about. :)

On the home front, it is football time! The Middle School football team that Dave helps coach is in full swing. I have made it to the home games. It is pretty cool, because Emma and Tripp stand on the side lines. And I grade papers, while still watching Dave coach and his team play. So I guess I am using my time wisely.

Eli is also playing football. He is kickin'. So, I love to watch him and I would not miss a game. He plays in both JV and The Big Boys (I don't know what they are called... my mind has left). His games are on Monday and Friday nights. I love Friday night football.. And I am super excited that my friend Lydia is now with me! Her son is in high school, so we get to hang out and compare teacher stories during the game.

Emma did a pageant this past weekend. That, in itself, is another post. It was a terrible experience for me. I completely disliked the entire thing - except getting her hair and makeup done. That was fun to just watch her giggle. But the pageant - well, I texted Dave from behind the stage and it was terrible. Moms of pageant girls are MONSTERS. Seriously, we could have been on "Toddlers and Tiaras". It was basically a group of moms who had low self esteem when they were little and they are trying to make it up thru their own daughters.... maybe like they could heal their own pain. Anyways, don't look for us on the stage anytime soon. :)

I will try to keep up better. I have tons of things to say. I just don't have time to say it.

Classroom Work.

I have been spending many hours getting my classroom ready and I am happy to say that it is finally coming together. I am consumed by my classroom. I have made lists of things to do, what should come first, and what I will be doing last minute. I work all day, usually with breaks in between for doctors appointments, piano lessons and quick trips to Hobby Lobby and Walmart for supplies.

This is probably the quickest I have ever made trips to Walmart. I have stuff to do at home!

So I guess that my school year has already started. It is a strange feeling, knowing that even if I left right now (at 8:15 a.m. - I am usually already there!) that even if I stay until 10 p.m. I will still not be finished. Last night, I came home at 8. I sat in the sunroom, and looked at the blank walls. It was strange because a. there was no primary colors anywhere around, so my eyes hurt. and b. I saw no apples anywhere, either.

I did smell hot glue all night long, for what its worth. :)

I sit at my desk, sometimes, and I think about all the children that I will get to know over the next year. I think about all the struggles that will happen in the classroom. All the happiness and all the learning. I am so excited to meet all of these creatures. I am looking forward to re-reading this post next year and seeing what a difference a year makes.

A Little Extra Help.

I started my job last week. I am teaching an extended school year class for preschool special ed.
I even have the badge to prove it. And, I am loving it.

When I started out, I would have never thought that I would be interested in special ed. I took the classes that I had to, no more. And while I have had my application for graduate school since two days after graduation, I haven't turned it in. I thought I would do Library Science.

I was wrong. wrong. wrong.

There are sixteen students in my class, with me, another teacher and an aid. I would lightly call myself a teacher. I am really learning. The other teacher is a thirty-plus year special ed teacher. And I love her. She is wise and this job, this life, is not only what she does - it is how she lives.

So I am excited about grad school. I look at the children in the class as students who just need extra help.

Eli, Tripp and Emma have met a few of my students. For Eli, it was easy for him to understand the differences. But for Emma and Tripp? It is not so easy. Today, at the pool, one of my boys from school came up to see me. How do I explain all of this to Emma and Tripp?

So Emma says, "Mom, is that one of your kids from Special Ed?"
I didn't quite like the way it sounded. So, I told her, "He is one of my students. He just needs a little extra help." So Tripp asks, "What is wrong with him?" And I told him, "Sometimes, he has trouble understanding what we are teaching. Has Ms. Jennifer ever taught you something and you didn't "get" it, so she told you a few more times?" And Tripp says, "Yes - so he does the same thing?" And that was that. They got it.

I hope that what I am doing will teach Emma and Tripp and Eli to be compassionate to others. I hope that they see others who need "extra help" a little differently. I hope that they take the time to give extra help. Because in some way, we all need it.