2 weeks down, 38 to go...

Another delightful little perk of having to change rooms this year is that my new room has no bulletin board in the hallway. Now, I know LOTS of teachers who would be thrilled about this, as it means no board to change every month (per New Principal's orders), but I, for one, am pissed about this. Most of you probably know that I LOVE to put boards together, and I love to display my babies creative masterpieces, as well as their academic work.

All I have now are some "splotches" of wall in the hallway. I have a huge radiator outside my door, which doesn't allow for a bulletin board to be hung there. I have a little bit of room above the radiator, and some room next to it, which I've decided will have to serve as my "board." Today, I put some papers up in the hall that my babies made in preparation for open house. The pictures aren't the best, but you should be able to click on them for a close up.

The babies and I brainstormed for a couple of afternoons to come up with a list of describing words for every letter of the alphabet. On the third afternoon, I made them a 'practice' paper with their name written down the side, and they needed to pick one word for each letter that they thought described them. Now, I've seen older kids do this, and they were obviously much more successful. They could actually give some serious thought about what words they wanted to use to accurately describe themselves. My babies, on the other hand, just randomly picked words off the list for each letter. Nevertheless, the finished projects turned out pretty cute. I made them each a 'good' paper, with their names spelled out in stickers, and then they copied their words from their 'practice' paper. Then, they were to draw a picture of themselves at the bottom of the page.
Here are a couple of closer pictures of some particularly cute ones.

I know I have yet to really write anything about how the year is going so far, despite the fact that tomorrow marks the end of the 2nd week with the kids. But, my mommy taught me that if you have nothing nice to say, say nothing at all. I'm sure I'll feel like sharing soon, but for now, I'd rather just leave it alone.

Holy Hump Day!

OK, let me get all the personal bitching out of my system, and then I'll move on to school. Like I said Monday, my car is in the shop. My dad managed to jump my mom's car and get it started for me Monday night. But, as I was backing out of the driveway, I noticed the brakes were a little wonky. It only got worse as I drove down the block. I needed to start braking about a half a block before I actually wanted to stop! But, it was late, and I needed to get to school the next day, so I just went home. The next morning, I was super cautious as I drove to work. (Luckily, CSJ drove Stud to school.) I got there in one piece, obviously, but the drive home was a different story. I nearly got into two separate accidents. I seriously almost pissed my pants! I came within literally six inches of crashing into some assbag that pulled out in front of me. Naturally, he was on the phone, so I didn't hesitate to screech "Get the fuck off the phone, asshole!!" in his open window!!

Anyway, I went home, and stayed there last night. Then, this morning I got in the car to leave for work (CSJ drove Stud again) and the car started beeping at me like crazy. There were two separate lights flashing "low brake fluid." I didn't know what the hell to do. On top of the blaring alarm, it was pouring rain this morning. I had no freakin' idea how to work the windshield wipers in this car, and no matter what the hell I did, the damn washer fluid kept spraying on the already soaking wet window! I thought I was going to cry. I called my dad from the car to see if he could drive me to school, because there was no way I was driving into the ghetto in that car. Luckily, he was almost ready for work, so I drove to his house. The funny thing is, the brakes actually worked better this morning than they did last night. I parked the car, waited for my dad to finish getting dressed, and off we were.

My parents have been telling (or is that yelling at?) me for YEARS to get the hell out of Englewood. Every time a murder, or some other crime, in Englewood is reported on the news (which is fairly often) they go off. Well, I knew this ride was NOT going to be pleasant. About half-way there, my dad started. "What the hell happened to this neighborhood?" "Why the hell do you have to come here everyday?" "Why don't you get a new job at a new school?" And, that was when we were in a fairly decent neighborhood still. He was amazed at how it's changed from when we lived in "the old neighborhood," and he used to drive through the same area. It only got worse from there. When we actually turned into the neighborhood where the Hell-Hole is, I though he was going to blow a gasket. When we approached the block the school actually on, the shit really hit the fan. Naturally the buildings directly behind and next to the school are all boarded up, the property is not taken care of, etc. I mean, come on, it IS the ghetto after all. I don't even notice it anymore. He, however, was losing it. I seriously didn't think he was going to let me out of the car. My daddy is so cute. I'm sure I'm never going to hear the end of this now.

Well, like I said yesterday, today we had open house. It was supposed to go from 3-5. I forgot to mention that before I called my dad this morning, I tried calling CSJ, hoping he was still near Stud's school, and maybe he'd be able to drive me to work. But, I couldn't get through on his phone. He ended up calling me back while I was driving to my dad's. I told him what was going on, and he asked how I was getting home. I told him that I could probably get a ride, "unless you want to come to Englewood at 5:00 and get me." I was joking, but he said, "Well, let me see where I am at 5." Hmmm, ok....Again, weirdly nice, right? I wasn't going to bother him, but by the time open house rolled around, I was so freakin' exhausted from herding cats all day, that I figured, what the hell! If he can come, great. If not, I'll go home with my girlfriend. I figured I could weasel my way out of staying for the whole open house if he came because then I could tell New Principal that I had to go because he was my only ride. (She already knew about what happened in the morning, because I immediately called school to let them know what happened and that I would probably be late, etc. She actually came to me later to say "I see you made it. Glad you're here!" And, no, she WASN'T being sarcastic. How refreshing!)

Anyway, I sent CSJ a text around 3:30 saying, "Any chance you'd be able to pick me up?" He got back to me about a half-hour later, saying simply, "When?" I replied, "Any time that works for you. I'll leave whenever you get here." "OK, I'm leaving Ma's right now." Well, hell's bells, he wasn't even working! He was with Stud over at his mom's. Now, I actually felt bad. He certainly wasn't close, plus he never gets time to visit with his mom. Especially WITH Stud! But, at that point, I just wanted to get the hell out of Dodge.

I found New Principal and told her that I may have to leave a little early because I had a ride coming. She couldn't have been nicer. In the windup, CSJ got to school about 4:45, so I didn't even feel bad about leaving. I went to find New Principal to let her know I was leaving, and I apologized for having to leave early. She told me not to give it another thought, and then thanked me profusely for staying as long as I did. I'm sure part of that is because we stayed today on our own time. There's no money budgeted to pay us for any after school time. Earlier, when I first told her I was going to have to leave when me ride got there, she and I talked about a couple other things, and then she suddenly looked at me and said, "How are you doing? Are you feeling alright?" I was a bit confused, but said, "Yeah, I'm ok, just a bit stressed by the sheer number of babies I'm dealing with." While I was talking, she just kept looking at me, then she said, "Are you sure you're ok, you look wiped out, and your eyes are red." I wonder if she thought I had been crying or something. Truthfully, it's just my contacts irritating me. But, it was kind of touching that she even noticed. I guess that's a woman thing, huh? Jeez, I hope it wasn't because she thought I was on drugs or something! haha!

I assured her it was just the stress, but that I was plugging along. She then asked about how DIBELS was going, and I just happened to have in my hand a copy of my results. I was actually on my way to the office to put it in her mailbox. I'M FINISHED!!!! (All except one little boy who has been out for almost a week.) She was thoroughly impressed. I did admit to having to put on Sesame Street for part of the time I tested, expecting to get a look at the very least. Instead, she said, "You show them that Sesame Street, Girl! These babies need it!" I was floored!!! Hell, that was probably NOT the thing to tell me right now. I'm afraid we're going to end up having Sesame Street time every day until this class size problem is fixed. Still no word from central office, BTW.

CSJ surprised me by showing up with Stud. That was a nice surprise since I didn't think I'd be seeing my baby tonight. I suppose I may have to stop using "CSJ" if he keeps being so nice to me. Things that make you go hmmmm...... Things have been very pleasant between us lately. It's nice not always screaming and fighting with each other. On that note, it's time to change the subject, lest I jinx myself.... ;-)

All in all, open house was a giant waste of my time. I had all of TWO parents come to my room!! I was able to take care of a few housekeeping chores, so at least that's something. I also did a major clean-up this morning to prepare for open house, and that felt great. I finally got all the old reading materials out of my room, and the new materials put away. I cleaned out the coat closet, and cleared off two table. Woo hoo!! The reading coach came in and was impressed. I also got both my carpets back down on the floor, which was quite a task. The big carpet in the front was on the floor in the back when I got to school, so I had to roll it up and drag it to the other side of the room. That wouldn't have been so bad if the room wasn't already filled with nearly 30-something little baby bodies! When I put my other carpet down in the back of the room, I ended up changing its position to make it a better set up for doing calendar and the other things we do back there. It worked out great this afternoon. Luckily, 4 kids were absent today, so I was able to move the table that was sitting in that spot, and I shoved it in a corner for the day.

Let me tell you, having those 4 out made a big difference. Oo, another bad parent story to share! I've had a sweet little girl sitting in my room since the very first day of school. However, her name was never on my list in the computer. Every day I attached a note to my attendance sheet to tell them she needed to be put in the system (along with about 4 other kids.) Well, I come to find out Monday afternoon from Mrs. J. in the office what the deal was. Get this!! She attended pre-k at the Hell-Hole, but then Mom transferred her out to another school for this year. Mrs. J. found her name in the system with the new school's name. So she called Mom, who claimed she never transferred her. Huh? Well, then who the hell did? Mrs. J. told her that if she wanted to continue sending her here, she needed to transfer her back. Mom kept saying it wasn't her that transferred, etc., but then says, "Well, I can't get the paper work until they open the office next week." Hmmm, how do you know when that school opens if you didn't transfer your kid there?! Can you believe how slick she was?! Gee, let me get a whole MONTH of FREE BABYSITTING over at the Hell-Hole, then I'll take my kid out when her real school starts. WTF?! I was fit to be tied!!! So, at least that's one less baby in my room. And, I was actually a little bummed because this little girl was very sweet, smart and well-behaved. Poor thing. I hope her mother's sneaky ways don't rub off on her!

Holy crap, I think this is my longest post ever! And, I didn't even tell you everything I wanted to tell you. If you're still here, thanks for hanging in there! I'll save the rest for tomorrow. You're welcome!

Day 12....I haven't quit yet....

Yeah, today sucked, just like the past two weeks. I am completely overwhelmed with little bodies. We are barely getting through our phonics and phonemic awareness lessons every morning. I spend more time hushing than teaching. I didn't even bother with the name papers today because I need to get this DIBELS crap finished. (I have been writing down the cute/funny answers to share with you, as usual, but, as usual, I forgot the paper at school! I'll try to remember tomorrow, I promise!) This morning they watched one of my favorite tapes while I tried to test. It's one of my favorites because it's quiet. My BFF, the librarian, had given me some videos years ago that she was getting rid of, and I'm so thankful she did. Last year's babies (oohhh, I think I feel tears welling up.... I MISS THEM SO MUCH!) absolutely could NOT get enough of these movies. It's a set of movies based on quality, well-known children's books. The one we used today was their favorite. It was a "movie version" of There's a Nightmare in My Closet (Mercer Mayer), and a movie about a magic carpet, the name of which escapes me right now.

Then, this afternoon, it was a Sesame Street afternoon so I could try and squeeze in a few more babies. Since it was technically math time, we watched one of the number videos. I'm so annoyed that I couldn't enjoy and embrace the way they were enjoying the video. They actually wanted to sing along, and talk back to the characters when they asked questions. But, of course, they couldn't because I WAS TESTING!! Ugh!! I had to keep asking them to keep it down, which really made me sad. Normally, I would encourage that kind of interaction with the video. We will definitely watch that one again when we can all sing along and enjoy it.

Ideally, I would be able to leave the room, even if it's just to sit in the hallway, and test the children in quiet. If I had an actual assitant (and not just a wonderful parent volunteer!) I'd be able to do that. But, I obviously can't leave 37 of them alone in the room while I go out in the hall with one. Ms. H. isn't even with me enough for me to leave her with the kids in the room. Plus, I'm not really comfortable with that, as that's just far too much responsibility (and headache!!) for a volunteer. So, instead, they watch Sesame Street and Chicka Chicka, Boom Boom! Sue me!

I had to call a couple mommies today. One of my little PITAs* decided he would give some other kids the finger. I caught him red-handed. After I called his mom, his behavior just continued to go downhill. He spent a good chunk of time across the hall in Mrs. M.'s room, to ensure I didn't "bust my foot off in his ass!" (Surely one of my favorite Englewood-isms!)

I didn't hear anything from New Principal today about the half-day situation. She was actually out most of the day for a principals' meeting. I saw her for about a second in the hall, but didn't speak to her. Then, at the end of the day, I had to skedaddle, since today was Stud's first full day of school, and I had to pick him up. (In the windup, CSJ called just as I was pulling out the lot to tell me he was in the area, so he would pick him up for me, and meet me at the house. Like I said, he's been nice lately. Weird, huh? But, I digress...)

Thanks to CSJ, I actually was home just a few minutes after 3! I can't even remember the last time that happened. He just brought Stud home for a minute so I could see him, kiss him, hug him, then send him on his way. He stayed at his dad's last night, too. CSJ will probably take him as many nights as he can this week because he didn't see him over the weekend (Stud went to Michigan with a friend, remember?) and Stud will be going to Michigan again this weekend with the same friend. Then, the following weekend is Labor Day weekend, and in keeping with tradition, I'll be taking all my boys to Saugatuck. This year we'll be adding the "new" friend to our group, and I'm really excited, as is Stud Muffin, of course! Anyway, the point is, CSJ is feeling a little gypped, so he's going to take Stud as often as possible during the week.

So, tomorrow night is our open house. Um...yeah...I kind of forgot all about that. We haven't spoken about it since that first week of meetings. I voted to have it during the school day, but obviously I was outvoted. But, I was far from the only one who wanted that time! I HATE having to stay in Englewood past 3:00. It's simply not safe. Anyhoo, I'm not the least bit prepared for this. I didn't have my kids make anything cutesy to hang up, I have nothing to display, my room is still a hot mess, my carpets were taken out last week to be cleaned and haven't been put back yet (mostly because I have freakin' tables where the one used to go!!!), I'm simply NOT ready. But, my main focus tomorrow is going to be to tell the parents that they need to let all their friends/neighbors with kdg. age children know that school started 3 weeks ago, and they need to get them in NOW. They can't wait til after Labor Day, which is the tradition in this neighborhood. I'm going to let them know that half-day kdg. is a very real possibility to relieve the overcrowding, but if we get enough new kdg. students, we will be able to open a second room, and I can babysit ALL DAY. I mean, their kids can learn all day, yeah, that's what I meant... I just hope it makes a difference. But, I've been thinking about this a lot, and I'm starting to think getting the OK for half-day will sort of be a win-win for me. At the very least, I'll only have to deal with half the kids at a time, even though it'll SUCK to still have to deal with 40 sets of parents, do 40 report cards, keep 40 sets of records, etc. Then again, once we go half-day, I guarantee many parents will pull their kids out (like I explained yesterday) and my class will just get that much smaller. OK, I'm not going to stress about it anymore. I'm just going to let it go...

I think I may just embrace the fact that I'm home all alone, and take a nice, relaxing bath. I haven't done THAT in ages. I'm off to light a candle right now....

Children need love, especially when they do not deserve it. ~Harold Hulbert

This is definitely one of my FAVORITE quotes (I've shared it before) and it hangs in my room. I've been trying to keep this in the forefront of my mind lately, for obvious reasons!

*Pain In The Ass -- I know, I'm mean. Get over it!