I'm still....

I'm still alive.
I'm also still busy, tired, and stressed out.

That's about all you are going to get for a posting! But I'm still going! :)

Yay for 3-day weekends!

Woof! Last week was soooo busy! Again it was another long and exhausting week, but overall I really still felt good about almost all of it! I had my second to last formal observation in reading on Wednesday and I think it went very well. I made up a dictionary scavenger hunt as one of the activities the kiddos were doing in small groups to give them some practice using the resource and they had fun with it :)

On Thursday two of the other third grade teachers (there are 4 of us) were out, and Sharla was also at a training, so it was a little bit of chaos trying to keep my (somewhat useless) sub busy with stuff and helping out the other two subs with the "where do we go now?" kind of questions while still keeping my own kids in check. The best part of my day on Thursday was at the end of the day, while telling my kiddos the gripping geological history of the Pikes Peak Region (along with amazing illustrations on the board)
Side note -- I think I am getting pretty good at the quick on-the-
board illustrations. The kids like them :)
Anyway... so after 2 billion years of geological history in about 30 minutes, I told them it was time to pack up and go home and they all said "awwwwwwwwwwwww!!!" I figure I must be doing something right if they would rather stay and learn with me than go home and watch TV :)

Friday was good... I'm hoping to make it part of my weekly routine to read a chapter-book to them as they (and I) just love it! I also read them a short book about Martin Luther King Jr. and I got all teary. For a second I was a little embarrassed, but then I figured they might just get an inkling of how important it is, even if they don't get the big picture yet, just from seeing how much I care about it.

So then I got a three day weekend. YAYAYYAYAYAYAYAYY!! I got quite a bit of grading done and planning for next week. I also slept, read a great book, went hiking with my puppy dog (my favorite part was stopping to smell that great vanilla-butterscotchy smell of sun-baked pine tree bark... Sherlock's favorite part was chasing squirrels), napped, grocery shopped, had lunch with the CC crew, and got a pedicure with my Marci :)

I think it's a good thing I got to relax a bit because this week I have a staff meeting after school Tuesday, my last formal observation in math followed by dinner at Marsha's (CC job advisor person) on Wednesday, and an after school event on Thursday. I feel tired already! Oh well :) At least it is a short week!!

Semper Gumbi

"Always Bendable" -- that about sums up the job description of being a teacher! One of the secondary masters students put that on their goal sheets for a workshop we did and I loved it so much I just had to share.

My day was long and exhausting. I ran home - yes, literally ran to the car, sped home (yay for no police on my way) and ran inside - to let the pooperdog out for 20 minutes before hauling tail back to CC for a workshop this evening. That was followed by an induction ceremony into an education honor society and some much-needed-speed-catching-up with the friends. So I really got home at about 7:15. Since then I have been finalizing (with a few brief ball-throwing interludes for my poor bored dog) lesson plans for my formal observation tomorrow.

Now I must sleep so I can get up extra-too-early to get to school in time to make fraction manipulatives for my math kids.

Is it Friday yet?

One good week... Check!

So I was a little nervous about the first week back... I really am absolutely, completely in charge now, and I just wanted to make sure things went as well as possible. I think I did a really good job handling the kids transition back to school after two weeks of vacation. Luckily it was only a 4 day week, so it worked out pretty well. Some highlights of the week included:
~my math class learned about the attributes of shapes by making "Have you seen this shape?" posters. They were very cute!
~my reading class learned about the history of pizza, and they made pizza toppings out of construction paper with their favorite pizza facts written on them. I need to get to school early on Monday to make a big pizza for all the toppings to go on in the hall!
~my homeroom continued working on verbs... they enjoyed their silly teacher acting out all their suggestions :)

It felt good to have kiddos successfully engaged and excited about learning. I am sure every week is not going to go perfectly -- this one was definitely not perfect either, but it was still good! I really thrive on their energy, and they thrive on my energy, so it works!

This weekend I got to have dinner with my mommy and daddy (Daddeee... hope you feel better fast!!), took Sherlock to the dog park (no dog park trip is successful unless he comes home completely wet, muddy, and pooped!), and worked on my lesson plans for this upcoming week. I also slept in, snuggled with my fat kitty, and cleaned up my disaster area of a kitchen.

This week I have my second-to-last formal observation (this one is in reading), so I need to go finish my lesson plans! I also think I might need a nap before the weekend is over. :)

An Inspiring Woman

So check out the blog of my amazing friend, Bronwyn, from Sun Valley:

http://runningportlandmarathon.blogspot.com/

I've added a link to her blog on the side of mine... so you can always find it!

She is just inspiring! YOU GO GIRL :)

Last Hours of Freedom....

Well the holiday break is almost over... these are the last hours of freedom! I've had a good time: going home to see the Mommy and Daddy for Christmas, hanging out with friends over the break, spending time with the puppydog, getting caught up (a little at least!) on some work. Tomorrow the alarm will go off way too early :( I guess I am a little excited to see the kiddos... although not excited enough to really WANT to be going back already.

The next couple months will be just as busy as the last several have been. Upcoming stuff includes:
~being completely in charge of the classroom from now through the end of the school year in May
~another 2 chapters of the masters paper
~JOB SEARCH and hopefully job find!
~my twenty-tenth birthday
~good days and probably some bad days

It's hard to believe that over the next couple of months I will get to figure out where HOME is going to be! I'm very excited :) I am sure there will be times when I am NOT excited... so please remind me on those bad days that I'm on the right track :) Good Luck to me!

Memo to the Weatherman:

Perhaps you didn't receive your 2009 calendar for Christmas this year. Are you aware it's JANUARY?!?! Not that I didn't enjoy taking a nice long hike with my pupperdog today, but... seriously... 60 degrees? Could you please do your best to bring back some snow?! Thanks :)

In other news... I had a very productive day today :) All I have to grade at this point is the kiddos' science journals. And the best part of my day was this oh-so-adorable picture of Max. Isn't he so cute?!?

Dear 2010,

What is life like a year from now? Are you (finally) happily settled in some small mountain town? What grade are you teaching? What are your kids like this year? Have you decided if you like your home enough to start house shopping? Is there someone special you got to smooch at midnight? What day was Marci's baby born? Was it a boy or a girl? How is the pooper dog and the fat kitty? Where are you planning to travel in the summer?

Oh, 2010, so many questions! I can't wait to find the answers :)