7 more

It has been a hectic week. Tonight my student I tutor didn't show and I was asked to babysit my little buddy. I was able to leave early enough to do that. I completed a load of laundry, emptied and took out all the trash, and did a load of dishes. All while hanging out with my funny short friend. Luckily he doesn't mind if I work around him as long as I stop once and awhile sit with him and chat. I even managed to get my clothes  for tomorrow set out. It is supposed to snow through the night so I have a back up...just in case I need warmer gear. 

One of the Special Ed. aides has been helping me now and again grade papers, do bulletin boards, make copies, and other odds and ends. Next she is helping me put together the materials needed for student  led conferences. This should be interesting. It leaves me with a lot of work to do this weekend. Finishing grades, Reading plans, prepping materials, and a host of other things I can't think of right now. The good news is. Spring Break is on its way. Which is good... I cannot keep up the pace I've been at lately.

Coffee drinking continues. I really enjoy the impact it has on my lungs for several hours. I wish it lasted a little longer, but that is a major upside. It opens them up. It is a great feeling and doesn't make me feel weird like my inhaler does. Since it snowed a little my allergies kind of stalled for the moment. As far as I'm concerned it can snow till June! Not a popular opinion.

I need to come up with a meal plan for my busy week next week. I will have to find some time to cook this weekend so I don't end up eating crap all week. Hmmm, something to consider. Last weekend I wasn't paying careful attention to the type of salad greens I bought. I did pay careful attention once I started eating them. It had "herbs" added. The herb of choice seems to be cilantro and Epazote. Let me tell you... if you want to punish your child for saying bad words... don't worry about the soap. Get out the Epazote. It is really a bad combination of a cilantro, anise, and some other indefinable  nastiness. I learned about a new herb, and discovered how much more revolting you can make a salad. I also was reminded to look at labels a little more carefully.

7 more days till break....

Angry

Whenever I see another school shooting. I am mad. Mad for the victims of course and sometimes even the shooter. However, I am really mad for another reason. I know without one single doubt in my mind that there was at least one teacher, maybe a school counselor, and others who worked with this student and said. This one needs help, they are in trouble, they are a danger or more. You know what happens? The people you tell don't know what to do, or where to go, or how to help.  Oh but there are school counselors. Yes, even they look at these terribly troubled students and are at a loss. School Psychologists though they must be doing something. Nope they are very busy testing students for Special Education Services. I have yet to see a school psychologist working with a troubled student. Mentally ill students fall through the cracks, dangerous students fall through the cracks, and if you want schools to do better you need parents to demand more.

Another thing about all this that makes me angry. Is our society has told us all that the family isn't that important. If dad isn't around a single parent is enough. Just as long as there is someone who loves you that  is enough. It is a lie. A really profound and damaging lie.  Families matter and need to be held accountable for their lack of involvement. The lack of involvement has a lot to do with drugs anymore. The damage drugs do to children scares me. We have more and more children who lack empathy, compassion, and basic emotions. You can track that right back to their parents being neglectful, drug users. Good job society...

It is completely laughable that people think taking away weapons will end this. It won't. Criminals don't obey laws. We have virtually open borders that anything can be smuggled through, even the aforementioned drugs. Criminals don't worry about laws. We need to strictly enforce the laws we do have. Mental health in children needs to be a priority.  In every instance I have seen, someone dropped the ball and didn't take it seriously. If you want to point fingers... point them carefully.

Quarter 3

I feel like I am treading water again. I finished progress reports and now here we are and Report Cards are coming up. The end of the 3rd quarter is nigh. This quarter we are doing student led conferences. Speaking of that I had to teach the office staff the difference between (lead-the way) (led-the way) and (lead-pencil). Yeah, I hope they ended up with the correct "led" in their documents. YIKES. Spring Break is coming but I am trying not to think about it because I have so much to do between now and then. ONE day at a time.

Learning to like coffee... still learning. I don't mind the warmth of it on a 4 degree morning. Still tastes like ...coffee...disgusting.

My challenging student is showing some very worrisome behaviors. It is a daily on-going challenge to keep ahead of this one. I am kind of numb to how weird things can be at this point. It isn't until I say it aloud to someone else that I start thinking ...Uh Yeah ...That is bizarre.

I went to dinner at a friends tonight. They made tacos and fried the tortillas. I'd rather be sleeping right now, but whatever oil they cooked in has not set well. I read that sometimes this can be the acid or sometimes an allergic reaction. Allergies especially to Canola oil. I don't know what they used. Once in a great while it will happen at a restaurant or someones house. I've never been able to figure out why it did sometimes and not other times. So, now I am wondering if it is an allergy.

I bought a diffuser for my classroom and occasionally I put essential oils in it. Mostly though I put in water. I've noticed a great reduction in bloody noses. In our dry winter air that happens a lot.

I also started my students can write me a note in a little notebook. They can write a note to me or draw me a picture one time a day. They ask me questions, remind me of things, tell about what is happening in their life, and draw me pictures. They can't use it to "Tattle-Tale" or write mean things. It has been fun to read them and it has helped me to connect to students that are not as easy to connect with, or that are just a little shy or quiet.. I use notebooks like the following:

Wacky Wednesday

I just completed Tuesday. Why do I feel like it's been a complete week already?  My challenge this year kicked things up a notch. That makes everything less fun. I don't know what I accomplished today, but I felt like I was busy the entire time.

I was attempting to figure out what to wear for Wacky Wednesday! At the last moment I remembered I have a Green Eggs and Ham T-shirt. I will wear it. I haven't completed the plan beyond that. Don't expect a picture. Some things do not need to be captured for posterity.

I wish I could remember what else I had planned on sharing... so G'nite

Coffeeeeee😝

I am attempting to like coffee. In part because of the benefits of its antioxidants. It isn't good. It is nasty, and bitter, and nothing is delicious about it. Everyone keeps telling me "You just have to get GOOD coffee!" Ummm the problem with that is...it all tastes the same to me. The only upside that I have discovered is that on a cold day it does warm you up. Yeah.. I will keep mints in my desk to decompose that nasty coffee flavor in my mouth.

I had to go in to work this weekend to prepare for another week and to complete progress reports. I was able to complete the progress reports, but I'm not quite ready for the week. I'll get there. My classroom was getting colder and colder. The H-VAC system blows cold air in the winter and hot air in the summer. At least in my room it does. In other classrooms it blows so much hot air they are melting. We are supposed to get a new H-VAC system this summer. I hope it works.

I have a major challenge with a student this year. We were making good progress and suddenly started going backwards. Way backwards. I am so scared of the outcome for this child. Everyone keeps telling me there is a reason why I am his teacher. I think it might just be to have compassion for those people attempting to love and raise this student. They get a lot of judgement and there is NOTHING easy about it.

It finally started acting like winter here the end of February. I don't know what March will have in store for us, but hopefully more wet weather. It has been quite cold. The wind blows over the snowy mountains with such a chilling effect.

I volunteered without thinking things completely through...( Silly me. Sigh...) to tutor a student. I will get paid for it, but it adds more work to my plate. Hopefully, I can help this student to make some growth. This week is Read Across America Week. It always falls around Dr. Seuss' birthday. Our visiting author comes tomorrow. I am excited to see his presentation. The PTA is providing lunch tomorrow and so that takes one thing off my list! Well I need to do a little laundry and get ready for the week. G'nite

Gofer

It has been so hectic I've been attempting a day at a time and sometimes an hour at a time. I don't know how I did everything this week and I don't know how I will do it all next week. I am feeling spread pretty thin. Next week has ended up being booked more than I could imagine.I have my formal observation on Monday. Babysit Monday night. Student teacher starts in my classroom on Tuesday. Wednesday a Watchdog Dad spends the afternoon with me. Friday evening we have our annual school dance called the "Bobcat Boogie" and I have to help prepare and attend to a "Selfie" booth. This all means more preparation this weekend. What will I  teach for the principal, what will I have the student teacher do, and what will I have the dad do? WatchDog Dad's are Dad volunteers, they usually are out on recess duty and do other jobs as needed. Sometimes it doesn't work out because the dads get the students all wound up and I'm like ACCK we have work to get done lol. I didn't always like how it turned out in the past so I want to be sure I give the dad something to do! Lesson plans must be tweaked.

My students read their poetry for parents who were able to attend today. They wanted me to perform a poem. It was pretty funny they thought I had the ability to whip one out from my head in ten minutes! I abstained and told them it was about them today. I told them their parents came to see them NOT me.

I attended a poetry session in town tonight and will attend a musical session tomorrow. I also have dogs to feed and errands to run. I need a gofer! I'm not sure how to get me one of those... I'll work on it.
Have an amazing weekend...

WFW

I was really draggin' on Friday and not really feeling well. After I'd finished my lunch it showed even more and my colleagues started telling me about all the people who'd died of the flu. It feels more like a head cold and I hope it stays that way. I've tried to rest this weekend so that I am hopefully up for rambunctious kids tomorrow. I haven't ran a fever so that is good. I also took a gazillion vitamins. Here is hoping that it is all enough.

I made a roast this weekend in my little crockpot and it turned into shredded beef. It is delicious but cooked a little longer than I'd planned. I also am attempting my first pot of soup in my Instant Pot. I was a little concerned because I needed to saute the veggies before putting in the rest of the ingredients and it had a saute option on it that worked really well. I hope the cooking part works just as well. It does seem to speed up the whole cooking process and with my schedule that is perfect. I will have to practice a little more and see what all I can do with it. Starting with a pot of soup that doesn't take hours to get done I think is a good start.

This week begins Western Folklife week at school. Tomorrow it begins with Basque dancers and performers.  We need to finish up our own poetry in the classroom. The students will choose their favorite pieces and read them for their parents. Last year we had a school wide Buckaroo Breakfast and parents could come eat with their kids. It has become to difficult to execute that in a timely manner due to the large size of our school. We have lunch that starts very early because of the size. So we are having a classroom Buckaroo breakfast. I asked the parents to bring pre-cooked sausage, Eggos, syrup, milk, and juice. Nothing fancy but it will be fun for the kids. Some of the teachers were bringing a griddle and actually cooking! NO thank you lol!

I  paid off another student loan last week. YEE HAW. I am closer to being done with that!  Next week a student teacher is going to be helping in my classroom for the rest of the semester. She is willing and ready to help I think. I am excited to have a little help. I got a little background on her and it seems like she is pretty good. I am hopeful it will be a good experience for both of us.

Answer the Phone!

I have trained my students to answer the phone when it rings. The phone is in a very inconvenient location. The students can usually get to it faster than I. They say "Hello Miss Carpenter's Room how can I help you?"  They do a great job for the most part. They sometimes forget to ask who was on the phone and what they wanted when they hang up. However, the majority of the time they relay the information. I also have my students trained to not interrupt when I am doing one on one assessments with their classmates. They have to wait till I have finished with a student to ask a question. The other day the phone rang when I was assessing a student. They answered politely as usual. Then they said "I'm sorry she can't come to  the phone she is testing a student." She listened for a bit and hung up the phone. I almost giggled out loud, I was so surprised.  I finished my assessment and said "Who called? " The principal."  ACCK um "What did she need?" "She needs a copy of the paper you are sending home."   I have to think for a minute about what paper. I'd already sent it to her so I thought maybe she doesn't need a print copy but a digital copy. Anyhow I got that figured out and sent it.  I couldn't believe she told the principal  that I couldn't come to the phone. Sometimes your training is a little TOO effective. This was my giggle of the day. I never had a conversation with the principal about this so I am not sure what she thought. 

Unprepared

I've said it before and it can bear repeating. There are some things you cannot prepare for and you cannot learn in teacher college. Students losing both of their parents in a domestic dispute is one of them. The students are not in my class but we felt the blow through the whole school. Four children lost their parents.  It is heartbreaking. No words...

Back in Session

We are back to school with a bang and a whimper. Full speed ahead. I am pooped. The kids were pretty good I think they were pooped too. The standardized testing and assessments have began. So have my headaches HA!  I had a meeting after school today and the principal did a fabulous job of  pointing the parent in the right direction. I kept telling myself to not say anything because she was doing such a good job. It  was a relief.  I have a lot of work ahead of me the next few weeks. The end of the 2nd quarter is coming up as well.  So we are back, back at it, and I already  am looking toward the weekend.

Danger Zone

It's been forever since I have written I know. I don't know how much I accomplished between Thanksgiving and now but it seemed as though I didn't stop. I finally put a little focus into Christmas shopping. I quickly enter the DANGER ZONE.

The Danger Zone is the Children's books zone. Once I start shopping I find this book, that book, a forgotten favorite, and much more. I wish someone would pay me to shop for Children's Books. I excel in this area.

I made it safely to the parent's house. It is VERY warm here. I don't know how to get up in the morning when it is above 10 degrees. Tomorrow the snow is supposed to arrive. I am looking forward to this. Although we are making a trek over the mountain to another town for some shopping. I may not be as excited to drive in the winter wonderland. We shall see.

January promises to be jammed packed full of testing and other unexciting activities at work. I am trying to not think too much about it. 

The day is done!

I don't even know how to process this day. There are some things that teacher school can never prepare you for. You have to do the best you can and hope you had the right words at the right time. I think man the things I learn 10 minutes before school starts. Then I have to put on a smile and say good morning, even though my brain is whirling and I am trying to figure out if I said the right thing, did the right thing, and what I need to do next. People are dealing with a lot and even the grown-ups are coming to school looking for support. 

I have the crock-pot cooking a roast. Mom and dad are on their way and I still need to make their bed!  Tomorrow is another day.

Almost there

The students had a busy day. They didn't cancel recess despite a couple of sprinkles here and there. Rain here sends our recess lunch duty ladies indoors. They really like to cancel recess. I don't really mind recess duty most of the time because I am outside. Now if it is blowing dust I really don't like it. The school day was interrupted this morning for the students to watch the 4th graders practice their program. Tomorrow many of the students will participate in the "Turkey Trot" a run they attend at the middle school.

I bought ketchup and extra butter. I think I am prepared for the parents visit. I have a little more cleaning to do for their visit and they might want sheets on the bed. I have a roast to put in the crock-pot for their arrival. Hopefully they have nice weather on their drive. 

I was coughing tonight quite a lot. I got up to make a cup of herbal tea and then I hope for smooth sleeping the rest of the evening. I have a meeting after school tomorrow that I am hoping won't take too much time. 

G'nite

Update: almost to bed...when I remembered...you forgot to print  your pilgrims for the STEM challenge tomorrow. Printing pilgrims, laminating pilgrims, and then off to sleep. I HOPE!

Winter☃⛇

Started to act like winter around here. Got a little snow from above, a lot of rain, and dropped temperatures. I was happy for it. I may have been alone in that feeling. It has been a busy couple of weeks. I haven't been feeling all that fabulous so that added an element of fun. My challenging student has been excelling at being challenging. I received a little extra help this week and I hope I will continue to receive it. This one needs more help than what we can provide. It is exhausting.

I babysat my little buddy this morning. He updated me on his age. I told him he was growing to fast and he needed to stop. I was informed very seriously that he "Sha I have to grow up." Okay then.  I have been tackling my mountain of laundry the dirty and the clean, and cleaning house a bit. I ran to the  Wal-Mart tonight. I thought about going earlier today, but I saw the parking lot and really didn't need to go then. It wasn't packed tonight and they were stocking shelves. It is nice to go then because you can usually find what you are looking for.  For most of my purchases I avoid the Wal-mart but there is some things I can get there cheaper. I just hate going there. I didn't run into any thieves tonight. I didn't have to wait in a long line, and I was able to get everything on my list. A couple of times I have tried their in store pick-up. It works well and you can avoid the lines. Some purchases I feel need to be made in person.

I will have to run to the grocery store tomorrow and pick up a few things for Thanksgiving as well as my lunch for this week. I am so glad we are close to Thanksgiving break. I am ready.

Let it snow...please!

If you're going to grow up to be an engineer. Don't grow up to be a package designer. No one says nice things about you as they are trying to break in to their FLONASE package. Then if they can't find scissors at that moment it is more unkind words. If you have a choice find another route. There are many beautiful things engineers design. Creating a better toilet paper roll holder would be better than package designer.

I don't know if I am fighting a cold or allergies again. I just know they are back with a vengeance. I doubled up on my allergy pills. I am doing all of my sinus related tricks that have been known to help me. I might be alone on this, well I am most likely alone on this, but I cannot wait for snow. I breathe easier and my sinus activity is reduced. LET IT SNOW.

We are supposed to get some rain soon which will help. I spent about 5 hours at school yesterday prepping for this week, catching up, and getsting a wee bit done for weeks ahead. I could've spent 5 more hours and wouldn't be done yet. I just keep on keeping on.

My upstairs neighbor I call Fred Flintstone. He walks with heavy feet, he is heavy handed in everything he does. He slams all doors. I really don't know how he manages so much heavy-handedness but he excels at it. I am thinking he would not be a good hunter. The whole forest would be alerted to his presence before he even entered it. I am glad we have similar working hours or he'd wake me up all the time.  My snoring neighbor moved and he is not missed.

I am attempting to catch up on my laundry and do a little house cleaning. I have also been working on my Christmas present for my class. I bought clipboards for my entire class and have been personalizing them with their names.  We also have student presents we make every year for parents. I am not making the one we did last year. We are talking about some kind of candy cane ornament and probably something else. Not quite sure yet.

I was watching an Scottish Parliament Committee on phonics. It is interesting to me because  it seems to be like we are doing a disservice in teacher education schools across the world. We should all be teaching synthetic phonics.  It is research based. It makes sense. It works.  Drives me crazy we do not give teachers the tools to teach phonics. I found it interesting, you may not. If nothing else you get to hear some fun accents!

Jellyfish

I'm meeting with my colleagues this afternoon to create our Halloween Costumes. I am slightly more excited about this years costume than I was about last years. I really, really, hated last years. We are dressing up like Jellyfish. Something like this...



The team decided we needed to add giant googly eyes and colored lights. I am the green jelly fish. The good part is I am not wearing a head-ache inducing wig all day long. Another silver lining is that it is impossible to walk around with a giant plastic umbrella all day so it will be set to the side. I just try to tell myself that they had worse suggestions before the jellyfish....yes indeed.

I am very frustrated with the meeting I must attend Tuesday morning. I can see the principal has her own plan, thoughts, and ideas. She just is not communicating them very well. Not at all. It is dumb. Not sure where we have been not sure where we are going. I'm not even sure what the end goal is at this point. I just want to be done. However, it seems like we just end every meeting, by planning another meeting. If I thought we'd made some progress, I might quit the whining. NO PROGRESS.  It is also extremely awkward because the principal and our vice-principal have had some kind of falling out. The vice-principal is very respectful and kind. The principal shuts her down and shuts her up in a way that has the rest of us wincing. I don't know what has happened there. It just leaves everyone feeling a little tense.

I need to go throw another load of clothes in the laundry....

I survived

I made it through conferences. Had one not show up, I've tried to reschedule and we shall see. Conferences are very interesting it helps put pieces together.  It is very tiring.  What is awful though is that it is hard to rest afterwards, even though you are very tired. Did I say everything I needed to say? Etc. I have one rescheduled next week for sure. It will be a challenge.

I am glad to have tomorrow off to get a little rest. I will be in to school this weekend to finish preparing for next week and do some organizing. I colleague had a parent make copies for me but I haven't had a chance to put them all away. I must work on this. 

I feel bad because one of my friends has called me several times in the last couple of weeks. Every time I have been yawning after a long day. Today I was yawning with a voice that was rapidly disappearing. My throat really didn't enjoy all the talking the last couple of days. Now I have three days to recover so I will speak softly and speak little.

P/T Conferences

I am parent-teacher conference exhausted. This is a different kind of exhausted. It is the I had to talk more than my voice allows kind of tired. It is also mentally draining. You want every parent to understand exactly what their student's educational needs are. I appreciate the parents who not only listen to you, but you can tell they are going to take your advice. Maybe even take a little ownership and responsibility in their child's education.

 Every single year I have a parent(s) who tell me  all the reasons why I am wrong about where their child is academically.  I have a lot of data to back up my claim.  I have a lot of evidence to back up my claim. I am very wrong though. What is unfortunate is that their child may miss out on getting some much needed help and support. What is worse is when you know the previous two teachers gave the parents the same feedback. Now you know they've had three years with three different people giving them similar insights. Maybe...just maybe... I'm not all wrong?  Nawww.... I'm wrong :)

Then there is the glad handing parent. They nod and agree with you. No matter what you say just nod and agree. You ask them to practice a couple of things at home. They nod and agree. Smile, Nod, Agree...while inside their head they are thinking "No plans to do any of this!" 

I had one co-worker that said one year. I wish we could give parents grades. Teachers are assessed. Our students are assessed. Why not parents?  I don't think pain-in-the-ass can be described in enough terms to give a precise grade. Hmmm someone should work on that.

Every time conferences roll around I can't explain how grateful I am to the parents that are engaged in positive ways. The parents that provide a stable home life. The parents that expect their child to have manners, respect, and most of all kindness. Kindness is huge. The parents that are providers to their child's emotional needs. Those parents I am so thankful for. Even if their child isn't right where they should be, they are more importantly raising a good person.

After all that talking today my voice was exhausted. I have more conferences tomorrow, but with  a few more breaks. Friday we have a day off to celebrate our statehood. This means I can rest. Hurrah!
Next week I have an early morning before work hours meeting on Halloween. Halloween!!! Yeah.... that will be a doozy. I have a lot of parents bringing treats in that day. It might be way more chaotic than I would like.

October Challenge.

After another busy week the weekend rolls around and I am trying to find the energy/motivation to get to work. I have almost finished assessments for the end of quarter and have to finish putting grades in.  We survived school-wide picture day, staff pictures, class, student pictures,  earthquake drill, and evacuation drill. A colleague of mine had a student lose complete control of their bowels during the class photo. That wasn't a great start to her day. A colleague also went to a training on our state assessments we are required to do. I had some answers to questions and verification on thoughts I'd had about the assessments. I sense some more changes going on based on her other training. I hope it leads to positive changes and not more work that I can't keep up with. When you try to change everything at once it leads to a lot of stress.

My challenge this year was absent for several days due to a death in the family. I think the students and I all kind of breathed a sigh of relief. I caught a student allowing another student to cheat off their paper. I had to ask the student to have a chat. I asked the student why this was  a problem the response "Because it won't help his/her brain grow if he/she doesn't do it him/herself."  I said "YES!" We chatted a bit more and I hope this doesn't occur again. I've talked to the students about how our brains grow and make new connections when we struggle through something. Even if it is hard it is good for our brain.  I wasn't sure that lesson had sunk in, but apparently it had.

Parent teacher conferences are the challenge of  October. You think you know who will be a problem and who will not be. Usually I am wrong. It is a stressful time. Then you have to reboot every 15 minutes and get ready for the next parent. It isn't easy.  The high school FBLA is doing another fall fundraiser by making us dinner for a fee and delivering it on parent/teacher conference week. It is  worth every penny! Friday is a day off of school for our state. It is in celebration of our Statehood. It is nice to have a day off after the marathon of conferences.  The week after conferences is Halloween Week. This means a lot of sugar highs and sugar lows.

Most of our team met at a colleagues last night for a taco dinner. We all brought ingredients. It was really fun and relaxing to hang out together. It was a great way to finish the week.

Weekend

Our half-day Friday provided all of the teachers with some much needed time to get caught up. Although I don't think  we are caught up I think we are farther ahead than we once were. It gave us a little bit of breathing room. The copier still isn't working correctly. We've heard rumors, talk, and promises of a new copier. I will believe when I see.

I presented the paperwork I was required to present on Friday. I couldn't quite see what the point of it was, other than perhaps making sure we did what was required of us. There were not really questions asked. Just listening. Maybe it is because I understood what was asked of me that it seemed simple. I am not sure. That is step 1 complete for this paperwork. It will be added to throughout the year.

I went to school for about 5 hours yesterday. I'd hope to complete the copies I need for just this week. No such luck. I will attempt to do a couple on the office copier in the morning. I did complete a lot of tasks that I hadn't had time to. My "to-do" list is still as long as ever. Many things were crossed off it and more added to it. So it goes.

After visiting urgent care earlier in the week I wasn't feeling better and even a little worse. I went back in this morning and this time they put my on antibiotics. I hope to get a little energy back. I have kept taking my vitamins and eating my fruits and veggies (MOM). Perhaps it would have been worse had I not done so. I thought I'd be able to get more done at home today. My energy reserves are low. I did get a little laundry completed, my floor mopped, dishes are washed, and the trash is waiting by the door to be taken out. I made a little progress there.

I hope I have enough fight in me for this week. We have a field trip on Tuesday to a local reservoir to learn about the water cycle. On Wednesday we have our annual Fire Safety Week visit to the Firehouse. On Thursday the school nurse is coming in to do vision screenings. Then the counselor comes in for a "How to get along with others" lesson. I hope it sinks in. It will be a busy week.

Sniffs, Sneezes, and Paperwork

I finally gave up the fight. My sinuses were winning and all of my cures were losing. Not sleeping and using up multiple boxes of tissue wasn't working for me. I went in and it was as I thought, fall allergies. They put me on steroids. The Dr. wanted to give me a steroid shot but I decided to go for the pills instead. I was concerned the shot would have me awake alllllll niiiiggghttt long. Some of these 7 year old children are quite taxing on ones energy reserves.  I hope this whacks me back into working order quickly.

Tomorrow we start the mountain of paperwork we are required to do by the state. When we finished our mountains of assessments some might have thought we were done. Nope. Just getting started. On our normal early out tomorrow we will begin this lengthy process. It is so lengthy that they actually are doing a half day on Friday to give us time to complete these documents. Then they have to be approved by a team.

I have a challenge this year. A student who steals, has no remorse, hoards food, and has some very odd behaviors that I struggle to describe. It is a process to keep this one on task making good choices.  I have support which makes all the difference. From day to day I have no idea what "new" thing will pop up. I am scared for this child's future.

I am going to attempt some sleep now... G'night

Restored

A little faith in humanity was restored. Wednesday I received a phone call that my wallet had been in the safe of the restaurant I left it in this entire time. Even though I'd called the place a few million times the General Manager was never there. She locked it in the safe and hadn't been in. She discovered my teacher I.D. and finally called the school. It was over-nighted to  me and my amazing landlord signed for it.   That was a relief. A month later, but I have it all back.

I finally hit my wall. My sinuses made it difficult to breathe. Difficulty breathing made sleep impossible. I called in a sub for the day and stayed home. I crashed hard. I still woke up not being able to breathe, but there was relief in knowing that I didn't have to  be up early. I knew my patience for the demands of the little humans wouldn't be very good.

Speaking of patience. Most of the time my apartment building is very quiet. We have miners, officers, casino employees, and much more. What this means is that Schedules may vary a lot. Many people are on swing shifts or night shifts. I don't have that schedule but I try to respect it. Tonight one of my neighbors kept telling her kids off right outside my window. I could hear the whole thing. The problem was she was standing in the stairwell hollering at them. They were by the car. After the 15th direction I finally poked my head out and asked them to  please be quiet. One of the kids said "okay." It did quiet down after that. I  think people forget to consider others sometimes. When I with my plugged up ears and nose can hear your entire conversation...I imagine most of the building can. 

This year has been a roller coaster not with ups and downs just with endless speed. Just when I think I can get off the train, we are given a new set of challenges. I am trying really really hard to stay positive and I love my colleagues, but it is really tough. I even really like my administration. This level of intensity I can't keep up.   I'm cracking and I am not alone.

I just want a nap

My Cousin shared this with me today...

It is nice to be appreciated. I wish this lady could truth bomb a few of my parents. I want to do more for your kids...Just get me a copier that works and about 20 more hours in a day! The technician was in working on our copier and today dead again. We are wasting a lot of paper when it jams...and jams....and jams...

Printers, Copiers, Sleep...

My sinuses are super congested right now. I do okay for a few days then I just get super tired. I get super tired because I can't sleep. What do I do when I can't sleep? I get up and work on stuff for school. It is not good. I need sleep. I  went to bed early and attempted to rest. I did sleep for a couple hours then was up again.

I worked on setting up a new printer. I didn't complete the process but that will happen soon. I was close. My home printer decided it didn't need to recognize that paper was indeed in the paper tray. It absolutely refused to believe it. After trying all of the troubleshooting processes. I decided to say goodbye to the printer. It has been a terrible printer. I think the new one is heavy duty and can stand up to the amount of printing I do.

I had meetings before and after school today. I am running out of time to get done what I need to get done. I feel like I am sinking. Not swimming, not treading water, just sinking. I keep thinking this will improve, but so far not so much.  I have one of the lowest classes I have ever had in my teaching career. There is no middle ground. I have over 50% of my students well below proficiency. Then I have about 30% that are very high.  The other 20 percent are barely proficient. They are barely reading. I cannot believe these students made it this far without some major concern about where they are in reading. It boggles my mind.

I have a lot to do before Friday. I  really just need to sleep. I had a parent that wanted to come in and help make copies but the copier was broken...Again! Then the parent decided she is coming in anyway. I have so much to do that I hope she doesn't decide to take up my prep time. Well, tomorrow is another day. Here goes my 2nd attempt at rest....

Goodnight

Role Models

I was talking with a colleague who was quite upset about athletes kneeling during the national anthem. Her grandfather served in World War II, an uncle served in Vietnam, the list went on. She felt it was very disrespectful to them. She was sad that her son who loves football was watching this spectacle. She had a discussion with him. He was so disappointed he turned the game off. She was in tears over this. I looked at her and said "Athletes are not role models." She told me "They should be."

We've put ourselves and our children in dangerous spaces by idolizing athletes. I really don't see any parents spending much time discussing the athletes character. They discuss their skills, abilities, talents, and athleticism.  Athletes are not role models. They are desired for their abilities. Their character has to have a major flaw before anyone takes note and they are removed. Their character comes second. That is why we see disrespect from them. They've been taught it doesn't matter how they behave as long as they perform.

I have a suggestion. Find some role models. You might have one in your house, on your street, in your town. I think you might even find a couple biblical role models (ahem). There are many amazing people throughout history that are role models of note. Mother Theresa, George Műller, Laura Ingalls Wilder, Anne Frank, Corrie Ten Boom, Gladys Aylward, Helen Keller, Harriet Tubman to name a few perhaps. Even these amazing folks had some character flaws. That can open an amazing discussion. However,  their character came first.

I'd love to see more attention given to the people who need help. Puerto Ricans still recovering from the hurricanes, Mexicans recovering from earthquakes, flooded out Texans. There are some folks with some big hearts doing the right thing for their neighbors and families. Just quietly going about doing the right thing.

Simply put. Quit worshiping at the altar of sports.

First 15 days

Fell asleep early. Then woke up in the middle of the night to read a chapter of a book we are required to read for a staff meeting tomorrow. I read the book and become more frustrated than ever. I am part of a system that is broken. We have all the research to tell us what best practices are and what works and does not work. What do we do? The same things. Yes, teachers are part of the problem. The administrators are part of the problem. The districts, the state, the feds, the parents, and society are all part of the problem.  Uggh. I read these books we are required to read and then I think "Why am I doing this?"  This job. So many hands involved that all think that they know best. Then what happens? A mess is made. There is no clear direction or we try to do everything at once. I've been here before. What you end up with is terrible moral and overwhelmed, over worked teachers. That is where we are.

I had a parent in today making demands of me that I can't fulfill at the moment. We have a broken copier. I don't have access to what she feels I should have access to. I simply don't. I'm not delaying or putting her off. I was asked the same question 50 different ways. I was getting really frustrated. I can't. It isn't that I am unwilling, don't want to, or will not. I can't. I am just as frustrated as you lady, but 15 days into the school year I am doing the best I can. I understand parents want the best for their child, but they often forget I am not just teaching their child.  She asked again and again. I said as soon as I can I will help you. This parent has another child in another grade and is driving that teacher crazy as well.

I am doing the best I can right now. I'm feeling that it isn't my best though. I need to filter out some of the noise and find my focus. What is interesting is this weekend I had a conversation about teacher retention this weekend. I am watching a lot of first year teachers ready to implode because of the demands placed on them. Experienced teachers feel like they are drowning. I can't imagine this being a first year teachers experience. This isn't the way to retain teachers.

I don't like the way I am feeling about my job right now. It is difficult to stay positive. It makes me feel like I need another plan. I've had great success and my test scores reflect that. However, I feel more and more like I am not doing what is right. It is becoming a moral issue for me.  I've had a lot of strange experiences in my profession. These first 15 days of school are being added to the list.

Pushing Forward

What these few weeks feel like... Well i tried to upload the link but it isn't working. It is a woman attempting to push the waves back at the ocean. What do you know the waves keep coming...

One day at a time...

Sunday Night...

Safety!

Are you feeling bored? If so you can join me in watching super exciting videos about staying safe in schools. I lost count of how many there are. We are required to watch them every year online. What was frustrating is that we already took a couple of these but somehow the school nurse in charge of this didn't remove them for us. Sigh.  Then when your unreliable internet goes out in the middle of this excitement you might miss the following exciting facts.

Did you know that peanuts are legumes and not nuts? This is why someone can be allergic to tree nuts and not peanuts and vice versa.  Epi-pens may only work for about 15 minutes after application. This is why you must call 911 if you administer an Epinephrine Auto-Injector. An allergy is an abnormal immune response to exposure to an allergen. Ingestion, contact, or inhalation are the manners in which you can be exposed to an allergen. Did you know pencil erasers can be made of latex? Fires are classified by the type of fuel! Class A solids that are not metal, Class B Flammable Liquids, Class C Electrical Fires, Class D Metals, Class K Kitchen Fires. Fire extinguishers have a symbol on it that tells what type of fire it will put out. All fire extinguishers need to be inspected by an outside company. Visual inspections must be completed monthly. P.A.S.S.- Pull, Aim, Squeeze, and Sweep. Know your escape route! There are 12 videos ranging from 12 minutes to 27 minutes. I'd share what I know about Diabetes, Blood born pathogens, and much more...but I'm worried I've already bored you.

I gave myself a time limit for my visit to school today. I set the timer only when I've arrived in my classroom. I only went over by 20 minutes. I didn't think that was too bad.  I completed the copies that I forgot to do Friday. I did some laminating. I sent a couple e-mails. I organized my copies for the week. I made folders for my copies. I have a crate that I keep my copies in for the week. It helps me to pull out what I need when I need it. They are labeled and then highlighted. The color highlighted matches the day of the week.  One hour and 20 minutes for all of that. I was busy the whole time and it flew by. I am trying to stay ahead of the papers, but they quickly take over. I re-checked my "To-Do" list and was able to cross off a few more things. We shall see how far I get tonight.

Happy Birthday!

Happy Birthday To ME! What did I do today? Not much! I did a little laundry took a nap and basically recovered from my week. I almost feel like I am attempting to get a cold. Hopefully, it is just being tired. I went to dinner at my little buddies house. We share a birthday. His family bought me a bag of chocolates for my birthday. He has always been resistant to foods that are not close to their original form every since he started eating. No baby food for him. He didn't want mashed anything. Well he finally tried mashed potatoes and he liked them. I said "Oh no does that mean I have to share mashed potatoes with you and your sister?" (His sister loves them!) He said "No you eat them at your house!" My understanding was that he would not be sharing and if I wanted some I had to make them at my own house! It was fun to hang out for awhile.

I will probably have to go in to school tomorrow but I did get rest today. If I go in I've promised myself to set a  time limit. Otherwise I could end up there all day. Think positive thoughts that Bob Marley our ever jammin' copier is fixed this week. Apparently they called in a specialist. I am not sure what it takes to get it replaced. It is NOT the right time of year for these issues.

My brother's birthday gifts for me are unpredictable. This year I received some vitamins, driving gloves, and a box of red pens. I am prepared for a cold, winter, and a lot of graded papers.

Walking around our school right now there is a lot of stress. I hope that things will mellow a little bit, but I do not think they will be.  

Busy Week

Well week 3 is in the books. I am so pooped. A couple of us stayed at work till about 9:40 tonight getting ready for next week. Since our copier (which we print to) is STILL  not working we've had to use the little slow copier in the office. It made for an evening of many many copies. Just enough copies to get through one more week. I realized on my way out I'd forgotten a couple of things. I had a to-do list that had 29 items on it. I was able to check a few off the list. I brought a little work home. Will I have to go back to work this weekend. Yeah...I will!  I just don't want to feel like I am drowning next week.

 Parents have been asking all of us a lot of questions when is this or that going to start. It's been hard because things that normally start earlier have been put off for testing. There isn't much we can do. There is also things we haven't been able to set up things and get them in place because of not being able to print.

We had to rush to get our assessing done so we could divide all 2nd grade students into groups and put them in interventions or extended learning based on their reading needs. I have the low group. It is a disturbingly large group. It is disappointing to have so many students so low in reading at the beginning of second grade. Now some will move up and out of this group quickly and will be ready for the next group. Some have some serious delays in reading and there is more going on there. Some parents are realistic about where there students are and some are not. It is difficult to make big changes if parents do not see the need.

I came home last night and saw the pile of laundry. It was a little discouraging. I ran a couple of loads through just to make myself feel like I accomplished something at home. I hope I can get enough done for work that I can work on my home stuff. It has totally fallen by the wayside. It has been hard for all of us teachers to keep are chin up this fall and keep going. It isn't just me it is ALL of us at the school. The demands with testing and new curricula is making it hard to maintain the pace. The upside is although it has been rough I work with really good people. We work together well and everyone tries to do their part. That makes a huge difference.

All I wanna do is Teach some kids!!

Had a wonderful weekend. I went up north and went white water rafting. It was so much fun!! I would do it again tomorrow if I had time! The downside of my wonderful trip north is that I  left my wallet in a restaurant up there. I didn't realize (of course) till I arrived home that I had left it behind. I did manage to get everything cancelled that needed to be cancelled. I called or went all the places that needed to give me a replacement and those are on the way. All of this added a lot of stress to my weekend.

Back at work the marathon of assessing has continued. I feel bad for our students because we've barely been teaching. It bugs me... A LOT. It doesn't sound like things will improve in that regard.  I can't believe how many hours I've spent at school lately and still feel miles and miles behind. I thought about hiring a nanny for myself. Someone to do my laundry, dishes, cooking, and general cleaning. If this pace continues I am fairly certain I can't keep up.

My printer has decided not to recognize paper in its paper drawer. Which means I can't print because it perpetually tells me to add paper. UGGH. Then our copier at school "Bob Marley" decided he didn't even want to jam anymore and briefly considered starting a fire. He's been out of commission. We are supposed to prep a lot of materials with NO COPIER! I had to have all of these things posted in my classroom Monday that required .... Yep you guessed it PRINTING! I managed to get all of them done with the help of a couple of the secretaries.  Oh shoot that reminds me I need to submit a work order for my technology that is not working. I brought home a stack of work tonight. I don't know how far I will be able to get. I have 2 morning meetings a week for the next few weeks for a team I was volun-told to be on.  

We went through the data we had on our students and divided them into groups for intervention. I have the lowest group. They tested so low I really think they were not taught phonics at all. AT ALL. This group couldn't pass the CVC words. (Consonant, Vowel, Consonant). Words like cat, met, bug, rip, etc. I hope I can make some progress with them. I will have to prepare materials for them without a PRINTER! UGGH.

I've never had a year start with so  much assessments. Please let me get to the teaching part soon! Please!!!

Random Videos my brother sent me!

I wish they hadn't gotten crude at the end... this would've been fun to show my class.

True Friend  <---love br="" one="" this="">
Love this one!

Time Zones!

I have a word of advice. Don't bump the time zone on the alarm clock. You might find yourself awake a couple hours earlier than  planned. Then you might wonder why it is so dark outside. Then when you talk on the phone to someone they might say "You're up early today!" Then you might discover yourself on your way to work very early. Then you celebrate with a stop at the coffee hut to get a cup of hot chocolate.

This afternoon lightening started a fire near the highway in which I drive home on. They ended up closing the highway most of the afternoon. Then they finally opened it to one lane traffic.  I followed a colleague home on a long, bumpy, and circuitous drive home. It was a beautiful drive in places. It was a wet and muddy drive, a dusty and dry drive, and a gravely drive. I am glad we went this way because we made it home before everyone else was trying to travel the same path.

Bob Marley our overused and abused copier has not been working. The repairmen are out almost on a daily basis. It has made prepping very interesting. We have been given crazy unrealistic deadlines for data that must be calculated and turned in. The data is based on student assessments. We've been in school for 7 days. Tomorrow will be day 8 and I have to have all of my students assessed. Keep in mind this involves one-on-one testing. I called a retired teacher and begged for her help. I honestly would not have been able to complete it without her help. Do you know how badly I just want to TEACH??? Tonight after my long and crazy drive home, I get a message. The message is regarding the data. The data that must be turned in tomorrow. That now has to be calculated, scored, and entered in a very specific way. A way that wasn't shared with us till tonight. TONIGHT! We have more one-on-one assessments that must be completed by Wednesday of next week. We also have beginning of the year Standardized Tests on the computer to be taken. My classes first one is tomorrow. They take the last two  next week. These poor kids!

Since I was up two hours early does that mean I can go to bed two hours early!  Despite my to-do list that is miles long. I am going with some pals on a rafting trip up north. I am looking forward to some sun, water, and laughs.

Returning the Favor

I'm loving this new Facebook Show by Mike Rowe. He's going across the country finding "Do-Gooders." He's meeting some pretty amazing people. I'm a little jealous of these little girls! Returning the Favor!

Smiles

The parent of a student sent me this video:

I appreciated the sentiment... 😆

Hatch Chiles

I knew Hatch Chiles was a thing. A really big thing. Especially for those who hail from New Mexico. They take their Hatch Chiles very seriously. What I didn't know was that our local community took it seriously as well. The local groceries started advertising them a few weeks in advance. You could even pre-order them. The grocery stores were selling them by the pound. Then out in the parking lot they  had roasters set up. The customers were picking them up and paying in the store then taking them out to the parking lot to be roasted. I'm not sure what you do with them from there. My taste buds are most likely too weak for such things. I don't think it is a coincidence there is an ambulance parked in the near vicinity of the roasters.  Sorry it's not a better photo... you can see the heat rising though!

Free Speech

Many good points...

P.S.A.

I say this for the janitors who have to clean the black marks off the floors, buff out the scratches, and vacuum up the rocks.  I say it for the teachers with limited space in their classroom. I say it for the students who are walking behind. I say it for the doorways that get whacked. I say it for the bus drivers. I say it for anyone that gets in the way of your 7 year old with the rolling back pack.

YOUR 7 YEAR OLD DOESN'T NEED A ROLLING BACK PACK. I am not sending home college textbooks to read. We aren't building cement towers in science.  We aren't packing for a weekend trip to grannies. We won't be going on any field trips that require long distance travel and airports. There will be no homework sent home that will require back support.

Get Back Your Sanity!

I might be changing my Christmas List...

More Later...

Open House

Teacher in-service week isn't just about going to professional development, lesson planning, and organizing your classroom for the new school year. It is about re-training your bladder. There is a schedule bladder and you must stick to it. It is also about reminding your feet what it is like to be on them all of a long day. It's a bit of a shock to your system to be back in this mode. Nothing is happy and everything hurts. It will get better.

Tomorrow, we are in professional development again all day. After observing a teacher from another school pull out her knitting at a different training, I contemplated what I could do. I could bring the binding machine into the training and put together handwriting booklets. I could bring my label-maker and start printing out student names. I could bring already printed labels and start labeling all of the students materials. I just can't bring myself to do it. No matter how tempting it might be. So I will just go with my pencil and notepad. I hope to learn something and not feel like it is time better spent lesson planning.

Tonight was open house. I had planned to take some photos, but I never made it that far. I worked right up to the wire getting my classroom prepared. Open house is supposed to be a simple meet the teacher, figure out where  your classroom is, get information, and go home. I am amazed how much information parents want to share in this brief period. They expect me to remember all of their needs. It's hard to remember all of that in such a short time. You meet so many students and their families. They also want to share details that perhaps should be shared in private. That is horrible. I have one of these situations every year at Open House. Right in front of the student something like this is said "My little Billy Sue has behavior problems."   This is not the time or the place. The child is excited to meet the new teacher, is putting their best foot forward, and wants me to see beyond the "bad" kid.  When I shared this with my mom tonight she said " You're told you're Dennis the Menace, now you act like Dennis the Menace." There is a lot of truth to that.  Parents have my email, can set up meetings, etc. Please don't do this to them on their first introduction to the teacher.

The a.c. in my classroom is still not working. I was melting today. Then the a.c. automatically goes off every afternoon. Open House was a hot and sweaty introduction. The maintenance man said he would be keeping an eye on my classroom temperature. Ummm how about you just make the a.c. work? I heard a rumor that next summer they might be replacing our whole H-VAC system. I hope this is fact! I don't know why the people who are in charge of maintaining this never believe you when you say. I never hear the air and I don't even see air movement. The only time the air flows through the vents is when they turn the heat on and then it blows cold air. In the meantime I must re-hydrate.

G'Night

PLC's

I'm tired and I feel like I am spinning in circles. I wish I could remember everything I accomplished today, but I don't. I will tell you I worked 12 hours today with a brief lunch thrown in there. Our trainings and informational meetings were more meaningful today. After we were done I worked on getting my classroom ready, materials ready, and papers ready to go home.  I did observe there was a lot added to our handbook this year. A direct result of people not doing the right thing. Most rules are created because people push the boundaries of general respect. Anyhow, it was a good, busy, task oriented day.  There may have been a little of the following ....although we never Rock-Paper-Scissor decisions ... we usually do Nose Goes... whoever doesn't touch their nose or is last...does the undesirable task!

My pillow is calling
G'night

Rousing Training

It's only Tuesday. Well training was as illuminating and exhilarating as I suspected it might be. Luckily we had a long lunch. Long enough to go and get a delicious meal.  After this electrifying training I ran to the post office to mail my student post cards. Of course I ended up short one. I'd already had a newly registered student. The boys outnumber the girls by one. This cannot continue😆 I rely on the girls to keep those boys on task. 😄  I then went out to school and worked in my classroom till about 7:30. Drove back to town and had mom message me my "must haves" items for tomorrow. For example a lunch to take. I grabbed a quick dinner, came home, printed a couple more items, laminated a couple more items, and now 'tis time for bed.

We had a beautiful summer rainstorm today. Cleaned the air, it was perfectly refreshing. My hair went in 162 different directions...but what can you do.

Tomorrow, we have another training at our own school in the a.m. and work with our grade levels in the afternoon. I hope tomorrow is more illuminating.

G'nite

Busy Day

I checked a lot of my "To-Do" list today. I think I may have even completed my laminating. I worked on printing materials I need. Making a schedule and contact info magnet for parents, postcards to send to students, etc etc. I even got my new (old) bookshelves from my friend and have them in my classroom. I almost have my bulletin board finished as well.  I have a lot more to accomplish before the first day of school, but today I feel a lot closer to being ready.

Tomorrow I am in training all day. After the training I may go to school for a little bit. I'll see how tired I am. The training is an overview of our new reading curriculum. I think it will be more of an overview of how to use it. I expect boredom. All of the 2nd Grade teachers in the district are meeting at one school. The other grades are meeting in different places. Luckily the school we are meeting at is about 2 minutes from my house. Wednesday I am in meetings at our school all day. Thursday they give us the day to work in our classroom because Thursday night is "Back-to-School-Night". Friday we are in training again all day. Then I have the weekend to finish last minute details before the first day on Monday. This time of year flies.

My class list changed a little bit today I lost one and gained one. They said we wouldn't be moving students around, but we could still have some added to our list. There are often late registrants in mining towns. Right now I have 22 students with 11 boys and 11 girls. Hopefully that is enough gals to keep the guys in line! HA! I have two students with the same name (different spellings). My colleague has 6 students sharing 3 different names. That is the worst. Then with the different spellings...yeah...it gets complicated.

Well, I'd better hit the sack.
G'night

Total Eclipse!

Another day spent in my classroom. It is very close! I am waiting for a couple of bookshelves to come. My classroom has been a sweat box. I have been dripping while working. I get home and can hardly wait to hop in the shower. The a.c. is not turned on during the weekend, and in my classroom it doesn't work during weekdays. After everyone left I got some more copying done. I don't know what it will be like next week and the first couple weeks of school. The copier over-heats quickly and doesn't work. 

I want to get to school in the a.m. before eclipse travel gets a little goofy in town. I expect most people will not be at school during that time. Speaking of the eclipse... 

I hope you are prepped and ready to observe this event!

Speaking of the eclipse... here is an 80's flashback for you...

It doesn't get much more 80's than this song and music video!

G'nite

Printer Drama!

The printer wars continued. When I'd print a test page the color would show. When I tried to print from my computer no color. I had to uninstall all the drivers and reinstall them. Now I am finally finishing all my printing.

Today was a tough one. I went to visit the family of a former student. They lost a child in a tragic accident this summer. There isn't an easy path through grief, it is just one that is walked through. After this painful visit I went to work for awhile. 

I decided to clean out a cupboard which led to cleaning out two other cupboards. Sometimes to clean up a mess you make a mess. I was able to purge some items and organize some as well. Tomorrow, I have to revisit the dreaded Wal-Mart for another organizational bin and some command hooks. I will have my classroom ready soon....I hope. I came home and hung out with my little buddy. He came and did a little vacuuming and shredding. He took all of his artwork off the fridge. I guess it was sub-par. He made a few plans about what he is going to do next visit. Then we went to his house for dinner. It was a yummy crockpot  chicken dinner with mashed potatoes, gravy, and veggies. Delicious. Tomorrow I am borrowing his older sister to finish putting my classroom library while I work on the rest of the classroom. 

Closer and Closer

It's getting down to the wire! One more week until it is our teacher work days. Finishing up my classroom and attempting to get my house cleaned as well. My classroom is very close.  I have the bulletin board outside my classroom to complete. This video describes the process well...

Printing

I made it through a good portion that needed to be printed. Then errors started occurring. Then the printer told me I didn't have the necessary printer software installed. I am not sure what happened to it. Upon reinstall I recognized it all. I finished that was just beginning to print again and ran out of ink. I replaced the ink, and the internet went out. Then the paper ran out. I print through a network connection. I reset the internet started printing again and the color cartridge ran out. I replaced it started printing again and the internet went out. I got the internet reset and the paper ran out. I don't think I have much more to print so I am hoping the only error from here on out is "out of paper."

Update: I ran out of paper again, and it decided to only print in black and white. I didn't have that selected and I have plenty of color ink. I am letting the printer go to sleep. Clearly it needs a nap.

Preparations

Met with most of my grade level team yesterday. We were able to accomplish printing and organizing some of the beginning of year paperwork. I have been trying to get them to do a shared drive so we can share documents. I was finally asked to create one. I created it and added all of the collaborators. We also discussed some of our 2nd grade planning. We didn't get a huge amount done but anything is progress. I worked in my classroom a little bit. I have a lot more to do. My principal approved my temporary backpack storage. (Whew).  Some teachers had questions (suggestions), about how it might not work. They didn't have any other suggestions about alternatives.  We went to lunch with a colleague that changed to a district office position. We are really going to miss her but she seems very happy.

Today I have been working on printing! I can't believe how much I print to prepare for the year. It is A LOT! Much of what I printed also needs to be laminated. I will be laminating this evening.   Dad, you're missing out on the fun!!   I also was able to convince most of my colleagues to use a planning software. This will be great because we can also create grade level pacing guides, or lesson plans, and collaborate. This software has been a huge help for me. I can create a daily schedule, put in lesson plans, insert standards, add holidays, and so much more. I depend on it to get my days, weeks, months, and year organized.

Our state has a new reading law. It is tweaked at the end of every school year. What I don't like is each district has to apply for state grant money to fund what they are being asked to do. The only thing I can think of is that they will eventually deny funding if that area is not making progress in what they are saying they will accomplish. This year they added a lot to the grant requirements. Like 140 pages of new requirements. They didn't get this information out to the districts till last week. They have to have the grants turned in this week. Then funding may not come through till October. It will be interesting to see the impact this has on hiring of certain positions.

What I am impatiently awaiting is our schedule. I don't know if they are waiting till our first work week or what. It's killing me to not work on my daily schedule. We also have not been given class lists yet. I think they expect some last minute student registrations. So, I wait...ever so patiently.

Pinterest Threw Up!

A  teacher of math guru Dan Meyer says ."Leave some white space on your walls for your students to fill with their creations-don't let it look like Pinterest threw up in your room!"  I totally agree with this. Honestly there are a lot of classrooms that look as though Pinterest threw up in their room. Teachers go with a theme and suddenly their classroom looks like a jungle. Is it fun, probably for a little while.Does it enhance learning? I would say not so much. I walk in some of these classrooms and it makes me feel a little overwhelmed. Kind of like when I look at the clutter on my kitchen table right now. I think students who have trouble with being too stimulated would find those rooms overwhelming too. I like the idea that students contribute to what is hanging up, and show what we are working on, as we work on it. 

I went to work at school for a bit today. I did not make a ton of progress. I ordered a bookshelf today. I had bought Wal-Mart shelves last year that have not stood up to the test of time. I hope the one I ordered will last awhile. I need some building skills.  

Tomorrow we meet as a grade level team. It is not required of us at this point. However, it is good to get together and get an overview of the upcoming year, share thoughts and ideas, meet our new colleague, look at curriculum, and more. It is helpful to start the year getting maybe close to the same page , if not on the same page.  It is always great to see each other after summer. One of our colleagues retired this year and another took a reading position in the district. We didn't have enough students for 7 teachers we are back to 6 second grade teachers. I haven't met our new colleague yet, so that will be interesting. It was really hard to lose a strong member of our team. It is big shoes to fill, which is not fair to the newbie, so I will try to adjust my expectations. 

Pin it!

I saw something on Pinterest. I wanted to create it for my students. Wouldn't you know that I couldn't find it again. I thought I'd saved it. I thought I could find it again. I was WRONG! I've been working on re-creating what I'd remembered. It was a piece of  cardstock cut into a circle with a little maze glued on it. It said  "It's Going To Be An A-Maze-Ing Year!  I don't think my version is as cute as the original but it will work. I did realize as I was creating it that I'd ordered mazes but my class size this year will exceed what I ordered. I quickly ordered another set along with glue dots to stick the mazes on the paper. It's a little thing, but it will take time. When I have it done I will post a picture below!


We had wonderful summer rain today. It made it very humid but it washed the smoke right out of the skies. I loaded the dishwasher and had overfilled it a bit. I started over and turned it into a couple of loads. I am caught up on washing laundry, but not the folding and putting away part. I will get there. Clean clothes is a good start. I made a cup of tea to take with me to school yesterday. You know where my tea ended up?  Down the drain since I left it on the counter all day.  I was quite bummed out when I realized my hot cup of tea was on the counter at home.  While I was typing I realized a couple other things I'd forgotten to add to my list. I use the Evernote App on my phone. It is extremely useful to me. You can even take a picture to add to your list. I have lists from last year which helps me remember what I did last year to prepare for the year that I might forget this year.

I hope to get a lot  done today. There are a couple of things I organized yesterday that I've thought of a better plan.  Setting up the classroom every year is very time consuming.

Back packs, Spinners, etc

I worked in my classroom for several hours today. I worked on my improvised backpack storage.

You can see my coat hooks above. There are not enough hooks for the number of students. They also are too close to hold a coat and a backpack. I hope this storage system will work for now. The part with the most crates is way more sturdy than those on the edge. I just found one more crate at home so I can make  it an even 30! I will have to put something next to them to help them stay upright. I'll figure it out. I may put a rug runner in front of it. We shall see.  Mom said she thought kids would argue over what color of crate they get. She is correct which is why they will be labeled in alphabetical order! 😆😄 I have a lot more to accomplish before I am ready for the school year, but every day I am a little closer.

Last night I braved the wilds of Wal-Mart. They had fidget spinners in the School Supply Section. Here is what I have to say about that.

Wal-mart had an exceptionally clean parking lot in certain areas. Apparently their was a sewage leak/spill. The smell lingered. I remembered most of my list which was a bonus. 

Teacher Buttons

I need a few of these 😉

Facing the New Year

I made it back down south! Partially unloaded my car last night. Went to pick up my school keys today. I had a lot of help from a friend and was able to quickly unload my car and get on with it. I have worked a bit on laundry,  went to the grocery store, and have begun my plan for classroom arrangement.

I didn't make a list before I went to the grocery store. Clearly the heat was impacting my memory because the number one and number two things on my mental list, were forgotten. Sigh.  The problem was I'd made a mental list. Yeah, the written down lists work out a little better. I kept procrastinating on going to the grocery store. Because Like most of the west right now...'tis HOT. I finally went after dark. Then went back again to get the items I  was thankful to come home to central air. It is nice. Especially for sleeping.

Their is a yellow haze over much of the west. I drove through it my whole way back. These summer wildfires are popping up all over this summer. Their is a lot of growth from a wet winter making it easier for them to travel. Stay safe in the woods.

I briefly met our new vice principal, we have two now. I greeted a couple of colleagues that I hadn't seen all summer. Annnnnnd one of our favorite janitors is retiring. She is going out in style with a trip to Puerto Vallarta. We will miss her. She has been a lot of fun.

Everything looked in tact in my classroom. I did see one shelf on one of my el-cheapo wal-mart bookshelves has been knocked down. I don't know if it can be set up again. The shelf quality was very poor, so I am not surprised, but I also don't really want to purchase anything. It was used heavily last year and may have  been taxed beyond its abilities.

Tomorrow I plan to go in for awhile. For as long as I can stand. We've discovered the school a.c. cannot keep up with the current heat wave. My room and my neighbors classroom it has Never worked well in so we shall see what I can stand.

I put in an order to a local FDA certified Organic Vegetable Farm for some zucchini so that I can make some zucchini bread before school starts. Zucchini Bread, Chocolate Zucchini Bread, Maybe even some Strawberry Zucchini bread.  Oh that reminds me while I was at the local grocery that has a few more specialty items they have whole plain yogurt. It is really hard to find any that isn't fat free. Plain yogurt is my favorite. However, the fat free has A LOT of sugar added. So that was exciting. To make my mother happy and avoid lectures I bought a lot of fresh fruit (MOM!)! So I will snack on that MOM!!! My brother kept trying to talk me into trying kombucha ... yeah google that. So I bought one bottle. I haven't overcome my grossed out-ness to attempt it yet. Tomorrow. I will tomorrow. If I can drink Kale juice (blechhh) I can attempt this Right?

I noticed here that a lot of people have been waiting till after dark to take their walks. It is so weird to see that. However, with this heat I totally don't blame them. The air quality during the heat of the day is very poor. I am hoping that soon we can have a really heavy summer rain. That would feel amazing.

Part of our new Reading Curriculum was delivered to my classroom. Some of it is apparently back ordered. I didn't look at it too closely. My first goal is to get my room all set up nicely. Then I will consider  curriculum. That is a time sucker!   Well a new year begins.

Free Speech

Speakers addressing congress about 1st Amendment Rights. Interesting Testimonies..

FYI: School Supplies

Yes, Mr. Brooks these ARE NOT school supplies. Thank You, Thank You Very Much.

Speaking of school supplies 2nd graders are addicted to pencil sharpeners. As much as I try to reward them for having something resembling a pencil by the end of the week...know that your little darlings are wasting them by sharpening them down to a nub. Their other favorite thing to do is pull of the eraser and the metal end cap that holds the eraser and sharpen both ends. This is endless fun and you can show it off to your pals who will replicate your ingenuity. Extra pencils never hurt. When teachers ask you for yellow number 2 pencils, we aren't asking you to spend more money, we would just like a product that lasts longer than one day! Those big beautiful pink erasers you send. Yeah... after they sharpen their pencil they like to stab it. Then they spend a little time spinning it on the end of their pencil before stabbing it into little pieces. Do I catch them doing this? Yes. Do I stop them? Yes. Do they go back to it the second I am addressing another issue. Yes.

I know school supply lists can be daunting and feel like a lot of money. I know sometimes what is requested is way too much. However, most of the time, most of us are asking for what they need. If you don't buy it  we have to buy it. I spend a lot of money on your students every year to make their learning fun and purchase items needed to teach but not bought by our employers. I belong to teacher pages where the teachers share the deals we find. We do this to help each other out because we know we have to be bargain hunters. I do find deals and bargains that can benefit my students. I try to take at least one purchase off the school supply list every year and get it for my students. This year I bought their composition notebooks. It helps me because they are more uniform and when I say get out your purple notebook everyone is on the same page.  I also purchase homework folders for my students every year. I've asked for folders and you know how many are returned to me? Maybe 5-7 if I am lucky. I purchase a much needed school supply item because I know many parents will decide there is too much on the list and get a couple of the items. Then your child is in a panic that they do not have what their peers have and what I've asked them to pull out of their desk to use. I've learned to have extras because many students will not be sent with what they need.

I don't begrudge purchasing items for my students that will make their learning more meaningful through the year. I do kind of feel begrudging when you couldn't buy them an eraser on the list. So, I have  a stash that I purchase through bargain hunting.  If I sat down and calculated how much I spent on school every year... I think I'd have a panic attack. Last year I started a crowd funding project and felt guilty and ended up canceling it. I went to a few yard sales and found a couple of the items I needed. So please look at the school supply list and see what bargains you can find.

Speaking of money I was more than a little disgusted about a crowd funding page I saw. It came as a surprise to me because the people asking for funds had just spent $50,000 dollars having a luxury item installed in their house. They have children in very expensive sports with a lot of travel. Then you make a choice which would at first appearance seem to be selfless. However, their selflessness gives them opportunity to be self-righteous and cast aspersions on others who are not doing as they do. It put a bad taste in my mouth.

I think as teachers we must be careful to not stick our hand out begging. I have a good job with decent benefits, I have enough to take care of my own needs, and a little left over after breaking the bank for school. I don't want to take for granted what parents do to help their kids and the school. Even if they are in the minority. That shouldn't be expected every time. Just please buy school supplies.

Which brings me to homework. In primary education I don't think kids need a lot of homework. It isn't beneficial. What they do need to do is READ.  I have heard all of the reasons why you can't make time for it in your life. I don't want to hear it anymore. Turn off everything and read.

Temperatures were high!

I wrote this post...then forgot to post, so now I am posting! 😊

You never know who will show up to say Hello! It was fun to see some friends who brought us delicious, cold, smoothies on a really hot day. It doesn’t get better than that! It was great to catch up on all the news. We of course had to discuss our NCIS addiction. The original NCIS has lost a few of the players that made it great. They had unique, original, well written, characters. It has gotten a bit more generic and some of the richest characters have left the show. The new favorite is NCIS New Orleans. If you can’t create a “character” of great depth and intrigue with that city as the back drop well you lack talent. So yes, It was great to get caught up!!

I also was able to share my latest Gerry Brooks-Lexington Principal videos with them. This guy really understands teachers on summer vacation. It’s not that we don’t love kids, we do, but to keep loving them we need breaks!

Mom and I considered a drive over the hill today but then decided going to a city with even higher temperatures didn’t sound like fun. Even with the shopping available. It just didn’t seem worth it. I have almost caught up on all my favorite Netflix Shows. I don’t know if it is working with kids but I have less and less ability to watch gratuitous violence and language. I think our humor has sunk to some serious lows. The dramatic shows are giving WAYYYY to much insight into people lives. Maybe I just experience enough heartache with my students that I want to just be entertained. I don’t want to be preached at, hear lots of cursing, or violence. If I need that I’ll start watching the evening news. So my requirements are simple. I want to be entertained and escape into a characters world. Some of the shows I have to mix them up a bit because I begin to predict a pattern. It is like reading a mystery book series if you continue reading the same author’s book right after one another you can start predicting the outcomes based on previous patterns.  So my favorites on Netflix at the moment are Midsomer Murders, Death in Paradise, Hinterland (a little dark),  Shetland,  and Sherlock. I’ve caught up on all but Sherlock. I attempted a couple of comedies but the humor was crude and gross  and lacking intelligence or any insight into human behavior in a funny way. I gave up on the comedies. It is nice to have the time to relax and read for pleasure and watch something entertaining. 

Sad news today one of my student’s younger sibling passed away today after a tragic accident. Please say a prayer for all who loved him.  

Monday is when it starts!

Things get super busy at the end of the school year. I was able to get my asthma under control and we have a prevention plan in place that will hopefully work. The inflammation appears to have decreased significantly. We made it through the last day of school and I cleaned up my classroom and checked out for the summer. I went home and collapsed and attempted to recover and get ready to head north to see the family. I split my trip in half so I could go visit a friend for a couple of days!  I made it north in time to help dad celebrate Father's Day not with a Hot Dog but a delicious Hamburger. Then Monday came...

Monday... the day Garfield sticks his head back under his blanket for.

I decided I would not make any changes till after school was out. I am quitting soda AGAIN. Not caffeine but soda! I started when I'd gotten sick at my last job to keep myself going and once it sticks...it sticks. I've done it before long term and I can do it again. I just cannot give in and start again. So Monday didn't go to badly, then the headaches started. I'm drinking caffeinated tea, but the headaches are still present. I know if I can maintain for a couple of more days I will be past the headache part. In the meantime I am a bit cranky. Hopefully, tomorrow will be better. I wish I liked coffee....

Yep! I'm a grumpy wimp!

I find myself feeling a little emotional tonight. It has been too long since I could breath properly. I feel the relief given from my medication. I am going to be able to get on top of what I need to do this last week of school. It is a relief in so many ways. I was getting to the point I could see how anything would get better. It was frustrating and discouraging. I didn't feel like anyone "got it".  I feel  like I finally saw the right doctor at the right time. We made a plan together. A plan for prevention and a plan for what to do when my symptoms flare. I am on some medication more long term that will help to reduce the inflammation going on in my lungs. The problem with that at first, was that it was so tight in there it wasn't getting to where it needed to go. I have to change some things up to help myself recover and not get this bad again.

When I think of people fighting disease on a daily basis, hourly basis, I hurt for them. Illness like that you do not get reprieve from. It is always there and always on your mind. I turn into a grumpy wimp. They are so tough to fight that every day. I admire their determination.

I hate fidget spinners....

https://www.yahoo.com/beauty/two-moms-share-terrifying-stories-183952923.html?.tsrc=fauxdal

Except this one!

This is a waste of good brass!

This annoys me on so many levels.... Where to start...

Awesome Dad!

NPR... is RIGHT on this one!

Not Fake News!

Maybe recycle them?

Even the Tribune gets it!

I want this shirt...every kid has a spinner...but can I get a parent to send more pencils? NOPE!


They require more than 1 glass:






Not too many strong feelings about this fad! Just keep them at home and give your kid a jump rope it spins too!