Now that's Dedication...

Friday afternoon, Wendy and I, along with other faithful teachers, showed true dedication. Just in time for bus riders to make the trek to their large yellow friend, the bottom fell out and we were right in the middle of it! Our school is under construction, which means we have long walks every where we go and our bus circle doesn't have shelter... (even if it did it wouldn't have mattered because it was a windy rain).

Being the teachers we are, we hung right with our little ones...making sure each and every one boarded the right bus. I even picked up a child I had last year who was standing in the middle of the bus circle bawling! It was a true sight to see! I wish I had a picture of my bus list. Imagine me walking, with 15 or so little ones trailing behind, POURING rain, glasses soaked, can't see, and my paper bus list is disintegrating before my very eyes...I would search for the bus number and the students who rode that bus and my paper would tear into little pieces...It was so funny.

The funniest thing about the whole process was that if we had just waited 2 minutes, we would have been dry as could be! It was literally the quickest down pour I have ever witnessed...it was like the rain Gods were watching and laughing!

Thankfully, all our children could wait on their buses and they didn't get so wet...and also, thankfully it was Friday, and we didn't have a meeting or parent conference waiting! I will leave you with a few more pictures for you to laugh at...and please do! Please laugh, because we did when it was all said and done!

I Am Woman!

I once worked for a superintendent who wouldn't allow you to complain or criticize about anything unless you provided ways to improve upon the problem or had alternate strategies. My husband is this same way, and to an extent, I am as well... I say all of this to warn you... This post may have complaining and criticizing and IT WON'T have solutions! :) But, because this is my blog, I have a right to vent.

If you have kept up with my blog then you know I am getting anxious about going back to school. Well, Wednesday we had our school wide planning day (which was fantastic) and I took a moment to peek into my classroom. Here is what I saw:


Each year, a "floor crew" comes through and waxes and cleans our floors. I know it is a tough job...one that I do not want. But from the looks of the second picture, they had a fun time TOSSING my things on top of each other and making it very difficult to make heads or tails of what was where. I don't get it. I had a lamp broken, computer wires twisted together, magnets strewn across the floor, etc...I felt like my room had been vandalized!

Again, I know this is a tough job...moving furniture and cleaning and then moving it again and cleaning... but come on! A team of 3 to 4 MEN come to do this and they leave a room in this shape....in which, 1 WOMAN is going to have to re-create a visually appealing and effective learning space.

Instead of letting this make me even more anxious and stressed about beginning of school, I decided to TAKE CHARGE! :) My co-worker and one of my best friends Wendy and I went to school yesterday and we, with the help of her 18 year old son, got our space back to normal! Now I can focus on planning, decorating, organizing, etc. So, are you ready....here are the after pics!

School Mode

My mind is operating in school mode.  I get like this every year.  Normally not this early, but nevertheless, it happens.  I can't sleep, I can't focus on anything but school, and I feel anxious. Some people call this "habits of a good teacher"... I call it FRUSTRATING!  

I love my job...absolutely love it.  I love the challenge of working with 6 year olds, the glimmer in their young eyes when they are excited about learning new things.  I love the fact that I get to sing, dance, read, and sit Indian style every day of the week.  I love meeting new parents that are just as excited and fearful as their children on the first day of school.  I love field trips and playgrounds and I even love the intimidation of "testing" and "meeting standards".  I love children and I love seeing them reach their potential and beyond.  (Notice that I didn't say "I love having my summers off..." - This is because I work summer camps during my "off" time to make money... yes for those who think we just "have off" in the summer - WRONG - we don't get paid!  Off my high-horse now and back to blogging...) 

Having said all this...I HATE beginning of school jitters and planning.  Partly because it CONSUMES me and my mind and partly because I am just as nervous as the children.  

Each year I think, next year will be easier (preparation for the first days at least).  And each year, it's just as difficult.  I am the type of teacher and person that likes to keep things fresh and new.  I constantly evaluate my programs and methods during the year and tweak or change things for the following year....yes, I know this is what "good teachers" do... but it always makes for long hours and drained minds come August!  

I feel better having written this out... If there are other educators out there in the blogging world or parents with great resources, I would love your ideas for beginning of school, classroom layouts, routines, etc.  

Until then, I will be here, at my computer, searching for great ways to teach writing and exciting ways to integrate technology, and ways to end beginning of school nerves ;).  Happy Learning to All! 

 

Wordless Wednesday: Robotics Camp!

My Favorite New Toy...

WORDLE! If you haven't heard of wordle, let me introduce you! A wordle is a tool for generating "word clouds". Here is an example of one I created to introduce myself at GADGET camp this week:

I am so excited about this tool. I can see may ways to use it in both my personal life and at school. I made Jim a wordle for his birthday using NC State colors and words that describe him. I plan to frame it for him to put in his office.

At school, I see awesome vocabulary potential. We could use this tool the same way we use circle maps or other braindrain tools. It would also be great for teaching synonyms and word choice in writing.

So, you are probably saying "OK already, how do you do it!"... I know, I know, you are excited! Visit www.wordle.net and just enter words. That's all! The more you enter the same word, the larger it appears in your cloud. Once you create your cloud, you can play with the font, position, colors, etc. In fact, you can click on "randomize" at the bottom and look at all the neat-o choices.

Go, have fun! Create your wordle...and share it with me. Let me know what you think. Tell me how you plan to use it.