S-P-R-I-N-G B-R-E-A-K...

is FINALLY here!!!!

Can I just say...you KNOW you're a teacher when you're constantly checking the clock and thinking aloud, "well, it's 10:45 now...I should be setting up my centers for reading..." when you should be kicking your feet up and enjoying the days of NOTHINGness.

But alas...that's what I have found myself doing. Wondering what day of the week it ACTUALLY is - I do believe I need the calendar routine more so than my students. Incidentally, we've about 4 more days for Spring Break and I'm working hard not to think about anything but S P R I N G    B R E A K!

So far...the Mister, Li'l Mister and myself have managed to have a bit of fun. We packed our bags and drove south to the Carolinas and have:

• visited with old friends
• visited with the Mister's family and had a great day at the local park - discovered the Li'l Mister REALLY enjoys the swings and burying himself in the sand...
• took the li'l Mister to Riverbanks Zoo - his first zoo visit. ABSOLUTELY loved his expression of shock and awe at all the animals
• been avoiding my impending work load (so far...)
• increasing my love for Pinterest and finding all sorts of scholastic and not-so scholastic goodies.
• am currently visiting with my grandparents - namely, my personal hero, mentor and best friend in all things, a fellow teacher, my grandmother.

I've also managed to survive the month of March which was filled with a not-so-tasty smorgasbord of IEP meetings and even yuckier state testings...BUT...it finally, mostly over and now it's time to geared up for the last two months of school!!

But for now...it's almost 4:00 and that means that my day is almost over. DOH! See?! There I go again...not allowing myself to forget my regular school day schedule.../sigh/ maybe some Pinterest-ing will cure me?

How are you all spending your Spring Breaks?

Week One in the books...

I don't know what I expected to happen...but there was no fanfare, fancy celebration or any feeling of "change". I woke up on Monday and much like it was for Molly Ringwald throughout 'Sixteen Candles', no one said a thing. Well, I take that back. My vice principal and the members of my small team congratulated me...but I still didn't feel any different.

 

 

This week was like any other week this year - crazy busy and even more so. The IEP/Re-eval sandwich of meetings was devoured on Thursday and the prep required beforehand left me exhausted and in bed by 9 that night.

 

 

The next two weeks are ones I am sad to say, dreading. Monday we begin administering state assessments to our kiddos and I, for one, am not looking forward to the amount of teaching time I will be losing since I'm being pulled for two separate grade levels and testing everyday. Thus, in addition to the crazy wonky schedules that have had to be developed, I am trying to create effective substitute lesson plans for the classes I will be missing in the morning. I am having to modify the lessons I would leave simply due the fact that I know my sub will not be able to effectively teach previously intended lessons.

 

 

Is it just me, or is it hard to trust a substitute to teach and assess a lesson the way that YOU would want it taught? And I don't say that against substitutes and their teaching ability - I'm speaking more towards when you know specifically who is going to cover your class and you know for a fact...it most likely won't get done. Either way - I am hoping that whatever I decide to leave with my sub for the mornings will be done and worst case scenario, I will be revisiting concepts in the afternoons when possible.

 

 

Now...a much needed and overdue cup of coffee is calling my name. Fingers crossed that a growing To Do list is dominated and I get all that I am setting out to accomplish today within a reasonable amount of time. Note to self: prioritize, prioritize, prioritize!

Currently....March!

Thank you Farley...if it wasn't time for the Currently of the month, I might not be posting at all...I apologize again for being MIA these couple of weeks...BUT... I promise it is only temporary.

I received some very very good news on Friday - for those of you who read last Monday's post...my prayers were answered much sooner than expected. My principal called me in the middle of Reading to offer me full-time employment. I am officially a Cougar! /grinning/

I look forward to blogging more as I "move-in" more permanently and make some much-needed adjustments to MY classroom, etc. More to come soon...I promise!

Almost there!!!

I haven't been on much lately in the past few days/week. Currently in the midst of an IEP/Re-eval sandwich. Literally. Two IEPs and a Re-eval. All meeting on the same day. Yay. Factor in the Mister being out of town this past weekend and next weekend...and forgive me if my attendance is spotty for a bit.

But..I do have one bit of good great awesome amazing super fantastic <insert adjective here> news! My long-term substitute position is ending....either before the end of this school year or prior to the beginning of the next school year. Why, you ask, am I so excited? Only because this means I shall be transitioning from my role as a substitute to a full-time permanent position. Yes - a full-time, teaching position with benefits! There are still some minor details to work out but as long as the paperwork is processed and there are no cuts made, I'm in!

This news has been the answer to our prayers. I finally have a 'home'. No more job searching. Now, I can settle in and begin planning the other aspects of the Mister and I's life. So, to borrow from last Wednesday's post...life is good. Really, really good.

Fonts galore!

Wednesday was wonderful. Thursday and Friday....not so much. BUT - the weekend has begun and it's already getting off to a good start. Caught a great episode of Kitchen Nightmares featured in Baltimore while snuggling with the Li'l Mister. Put him to bed and soon pulled out the laptop determined to blog. And yet....I find myself distracted and Seussing.

While my kiddos are in 5th grade and their grade level is not hosting any Seuss-specific activities, I'm determined to ncorporate the Doctor somehow....and in a non-related web search, I found this amazing website: fontspace. It has thousands upon thousands of fonts free to download to PC and Mac...and the best part - Dr. Soos (Seuss) fonts! /grinning/


I definitely plan on playing around on fontspace this weekend and collecting more fonts! And now...with the Mister away for a guys' weekend and li'l man in bed...this Momma is off to catch up on some Hell's Kitchen with my foodie love, Chef Ramsey. /sigh/



Good night!

Wacky, Wonky, Wonderful Wednesday....

Today was good. A really, really good day.

I didn't accomplish nearly as much I had planned to. I didn't know things that were considered "common knowledge" among my colleagues. I am not on track with our lesson plans. I have not tackled the majority of my growing To Do lists.

BUT - It doesn't matter. Today was a good day.

I had a number of questions answered. This marked the first consecutive five school days with no serious behavior concerns or outbursts from a typically non-productive math class. One of my lowest readers has progressed at least 3 Guided Reading levels and is doing amazingly well with her current leveled book. A kiddo in my math class with little-to-no word recognition and listening comprehension skills successfully matched his solid/plane figures with their corresponding words on 2 out of 3 review practices. My principal asked how my long-term substitute position was going and I replied that it was challenging but I loved it and would love to stay on permanently, he reciprocated the feeling. *fingers crossed* Come on Human Resources!!

So...while the inside of my head looks much like an overcrowded city highway....I'm blocking it all out. The weather was gorgeous today. The li'l Mister is trying to run...and signing more everyday. I'm learning so much everyday at work and falling deeper in love with my job and the kiddos.

AND...the Girl Scout cookies have arrived! YUM!

Samoas + Thin Mints = HAPPY Squirrel.

Life is good. Really, really good.

/SIGH/



the WIMP'd version of myself.

So...I love loathe *cough*, I mean LOVE three-day weekends. I got to sleep in at least one of the days followed by the Mister's homemade maple bacon and cheddar cheese omelette...I got a ton of much needed chores completed...and I got to have a much-needed and anticipated date night with the Mister.

Which, for all you movie buffs out there, go check out Safe House. Ryan Reynolds + Denzel Washington + non-stop action + genuine hotness + gripping storyline = GREAT film. Which was only solidified by the amazing sushi we had following. <insert sighs of bliss here> 

Unfortunately, I did not accomplish nearly as much as I had planned to do so on my ever-growing to do lists. Including posting several intended blogs prevented only by my lack of motivation + sick baby + deferring to new episodes of Hell's Kitchen on Hulu (sorry - but Chef Ramsey is intense!) Have you ever feel like you've organized yourself into such a box that you've forgotten you're actually in a circle? No? Not making any sense? <insert sigh of embarrassment  here> And...it's only Monday.  

Wait...what?! It's Tuesday? Oh man...I'm so confused. THIS has been my on-going mantra for the day. Needless to say....this explains why even this post is NOWHERE near making any point. But - instead, leaving a promise. A promise that tomorrow - I will include an in-depth, concise, and possibly even captivating post outlining all that has been going on in my classroom. But for now...I leave you...with a glimpse into my randomness and scatterbrained self (see wimp'd version of myself above and click  HERE  to make your own! ) and look forward to a more sane, determined and scholarly representation of myself.

Until then...aideu!