first day 2013-2014
Posted: August 14, 2013 Filed under: daily life, photo, the boys, work Leave a commentA 3rd & 5th grader means both boys are at West this year. Felt kind of weird putting Noah on the shuttle bus…I’m so used to him hanging out in my room every morning until the bell rings. Noah was given the choice of riding his bike with Jacob and our neighbor, but he likes the idea of coming back to my classroom after school so he’s riding the shuttle with several other teacher’s kids from Central.
My amazing principal spent a good chunk of her summer planning our Superhero theme – thus the shirt. Our entire staff wore these on the first day – paras, custodians, aides, etc. The theme is apparent throughout the school and ties in with our new use of Positive Behavior Supports. I’m part of the behavior team so PBS is all very exciting to me. 🙂
My classroom/hall wall is the first you see when you walk in Central’s front doors, so I was feeling the pressure to make something “crafty” for open house. These took FOREVER, but I’m happy with the outcome, especially considering I am NOT the crafty/creative type (which is probably why they took so long to make).
Will have to snap a picture of my hall wall where they are all hanging – ANNNNND – my NEW room! It’s amazing. And huge. Like really, really big. Love, love, love it.
special delivery
Posted: March 2, 2010 Filed under: daily life, work 2 CommentsToday I came home and found this in my mailbox. Not waiting on my desk at work. Not in my mailbox at school. But in my home mailbox, with a stamp on it.
I love young learners. I love to teach. I love that these words, written in a letter by a four-year-old, tell me I’m right where I should be.
deja vu
Posted: March 10, 2009 Filed under: daily life, work 2 CommentsYou may recall that I was sick for parent-teacher conferences last semester and completely lost my voice. Well this time I still have a voice, but a 102 degree fever. Yes, conferences start tomorrow night. Taking the morning off in hopes I kick this thing tonight (been on an antibiotic since Sat night). Wish me luck.
finally
Posted: February 20, 2009 Filed under: work 1 CommentAfter jumping through numerous hoops, my school district has officially acknowledged that I am indeed a real instructor at KSU (not adjunct) and have been for the past six years. I get to jump up five notches/years on the pay scale and will be getting paid a new salary to make up the difference starting tomorrow. We’re not talking thousands and thousands of dollars here, but it’s nice to be recognized as someone who came in with some significant experience when compared to other first-year teachers.
realization
Posted: September 28, 2008 Filed under: work 1 CommentI’ve noticed that my posts are less frequent since I’ve started my classroom blog. So much of my day is now work-related, so even if I didn’t have my classroom blog, I’d probably write about things here anyway…like the praying mantis jumping onto the face of one of my kids. My classroom blog is now getting more hits than this one. Didn’t see that one coming.
that’s some nerve
Posted: September 6, 2008 Filed under: work 4 CommentsSo here’s the short version of a long story…
I did an eval yesterday and when the parents dropped the child off, the mom was wearing a white shirt. I gave them the option of leaving the child with me and returning after 90 minutes or so. They took me up on this and left. After 20 or so minutes, I saw Mom peeking in my classroom window. Obviously, they had been roaming the school, which is a big no-no. I invited them to stay in the classroom and as they entered my para and I immediately noticed that Mom is now wearing a red hoodie. The same red hoodie with distinctive lettering and print on the sleeves that had been hanging on the lost-and-found rack just accross the hall (our classroom is located in upper elementary school). The same red hoodie that my para closely inspected while it hung on the rack because she thought it belonged to her son. Sure enough. She stole the hoodie and had the audacity to go ahead and come back in my classroom actually wearing it. They also “hid” the hanger it was hanging on in the cafeteria…a place I know they were in because they told me that’s where they were hanging out. Bizarre, don’t you think? The principal was gone, so the teacher next-in-line called and left a very non-threatening message about the missing hoodie. I also had to call today with the results from their child’s eval. The biggest bet going at the moment is whether we will ever hear from them again. I’m wondering what else will turn up missing since Dad left three times during the eval because “he needed to stretch his legs.”
open house
Posted: August 14, 2008 Filed under: daily life, work 1 CommentTonight was open house. The good news is that I finally got to meet some of my kids and parents. The sad news is that I didn’t get to go with Jacob to his classroom. I did meet his teacher and check out his room earlier this week, so I guess that’s better than nothing.
My room is almost ready…time to work on lesson plans. I’ll try to get some pics posted. I’ll also be working on my classroom blog during the next week. I’m so ready for the weekend…and so ready to be done working 13-hr days.
Noah is doing remarkably well, but having a few rough times here and there. I think things will be easier on him next week when we settle into a routine and he comes to school with me. He was at one set of Grandparents for 3 days, home for two days, with the other Grandparents for 3 days, then straight to full-time child care for three days. Poor kid. He’s a trooper.
perfect
Posted: August 6, 2008 Filed under: noah, work 1 CommentNoah was officially accepted as a peer model today. For obvious reasons, he will be in the class across the hall from mine, but he gets to go to work with me every morning. Jacob will come as well and ride the shuttle bus to his school. How wonderful is that?
hello from St. Louis
Posted: July 28, 2008 Filed under: vacation, work 1 CommentWe made it to St. Louis…checked in our suite around 5:30. This was after a long night (doing laundry and packing until 2:15 this morning) and a llllooooonnnngggg trip here. Neither of the boys slept, so they spent six hours in the car pestering and teasing each other. We only made one stop though, so we got here in good time. The boys LOVE our BI-LEVEL suite!! They didn’t want to leave for dinner. Hotels are so fun…especially for little kids. We’ve got a sweet set-up: “master” bedroom and bathroom are upstairs; murphy bed (comes out of the wall) and second bathroom downstairs. They boys think they’re big stuff since they have their very own room with a bathroom. Too bad they’ll never spend an entire night in it… Brad ran to the store to get food for lunches; hope he doesn’t get lost. I’m going to finish up some grading. Very frustrating that I get carsick…could have finished my grading on the ride here, but I eventually would have thrown-up on it.
Did I mention how much I love the complimentary internet access and Brad’s new laptop from school? 🙂
kansas city, day two
Posted: July 19, 2008 Filed under: daily life, work Leave a commentI had the best teacher shopping experience EVER today. OK…so it was technically my first in an actual store, but who really cares anyway. My friend/early childhood teacher colleague/ksu instructor colleague/school mate/soon to be vacation conference buddy told me about U.S. Toy (in Kansas City, KS) and I spent a couple hours there today. Best part was that I brought the boys and they were wonnnnnnnderful the entire time d/t all the crap they could play with. TWO hours in ONE store with no behavior issues. Wowsers! Now that really says something about this place. I left with puppets, a job chart, calendar material, posters, “who’s here” attendance supplies, and some other must-haves. I’ve also made some ebay & online purchases including flannel board stories, puzzle shelves, a flannel board, and an easel for holding Big Books. I should be feeling a small dent in my wallent, but I’m so excited to use all this stuff that I really don’t even notice. Perhaps Brad does.
Brad has been busy painting and the boys and I have had some relaxing downtime in KC. We’ll be with my aunt and uncle for 6 nights, so we basically just moved in. We’ve been hopping back and forth between here and my Grandparents. My big sis got into town last night; little sis arrives tomorrow; Mom comes on Sunday. Won’t be quite as relaxing with the whole gang here, but we do love the craziness. We’re the only ones staying with my aunt, so at least we get a temporary break from the mayhem every night.
Signing off for now…going to watch the news with my aunt and finish my iced decaf caramel machiatto. I hate having to buy coffee from Starbucks, but what are you going to do when you can’t get to Radina’s?
life these days 
