Holiday Hangover

Tomorrow I return back to work after an amazing two week Christmas vacation. I loved every moment of the break (except when our entire family came down with the stomach flu, of course). It was wonderful to be able to sleep in and snuggle with my husband and daughter until the late morning. We would then wake up and have brunch and watch television, or listen to music until my daughter was ready for a nap. The best part of the entire vacation was being able to take a nap myself! I took soooo many! It was incredible. For the first time in a year, I finally feel rested!

A part of me is ready to go back to work, because I love teaching, but another part of me is grieving the time I have to give up with my daughter. I will miss being able to see her whenever I want, and hold her when I feel the desire to be snuggled. I can’t exactly do that with my middle school students (that would be frowned upon).

It will be difficult in the morning to drop her off at Grandma’s, but at least I know she is in excellent hands. I will be looking forward to seeing her face when I pick her up after work and she gives me the biggest, most adorable smile! That is what will get me through the day!

Getting close!

My classroom is almost finished and I am loving it!! Here are some more pictures! 

   
    
   

A little anxiety

As I have mentioned in previous posts, this school year I have a new teaching position. For the last two years, of my 4 years teaching career, I have been co-teaching. I am certified special education, so the way my school has it set up, I had been mostly a glorified assistant for the last two years. I am grateful for the experience but I did not overly enjoy co-teaching. I did, however, make some new friends! 

However, this year I am going to have my own classroom, with 50% special Ed and 50% general Ed. I took my certification tests and I am now qualified to teach general education as well. 

I am feel nervous because I am now solely responsible for test scores and growth. Before I had some help but this year I am on my own. I am really looking forward to the challenge but I am also scared of falling short of expectations. 

Classroom is coming along!

   For the last two days I have been working to put my classroom together and I am excited about it! It is coming together nicely! I am looking forward to lesson planning and meeting my new students! 

   
   
 

  

Mundane Excitement

For the past week or so, I have harbored a deep excitement about going back to work to set up my classroom! I have actually been counting down the days! It’s a little sad actually, but I truly love decorating my classroom. Every year I end up moving rooms so I get to start over, decor wise. I have been Pinning on Pinterest all summer and I am ready to get started! 

No, I am not saying I am ready for summer to be over, because I am not quite ready for that yet. But I am thrilled to begin organizing and decorating! 

This exhilaration tells me that I am in the right career. LOL! 

Summer is almost here!!

I love teaching for the pleasure of helping students grow, however, I also love teaching because I get the summers off! It’s a nice little bonus! 4 MORE DAYS!!

What happened to the Passion?

I found it sad today when I student told me that he didn’t need to learn anymore because he had already taken the test he needed to take. What message are we sending our kids by testing them so often? How are we providing them with the knowledge to help them become well rounded adults if our curriculum is only geared at what might appear on a state test? It is heartbreaking to think how these students, who I care about as if they were my own, are missing the point of learning. Learning is not something to be gained only so to pass a test! Learning is about feeding our deepest human yearning and following the path our curiosity sets before us. I hope that we teachers can find a way to fix this broken system and bring passion back to our classrooms.

I love my job

Teaching is a great

Profession to be in

During summer months

**I do love the fact I have summers off, but as teachers know, we work during that time too! We just don’t have kiddos! So we can sleep in! Whoohoooo!

Art lesson!

The last few weeks have been very stressful and draining. The end of a school year is always insane! For whatever reason I always seem to forget that fact. I think that the adults in the building feel “summer fever” the most because they all start to get snippy and start all kinds of drama! I am so ready to get away from it all! 

So to escape the never ending stream of educational drama (lol) I am taking an art lesson tomorrow morning!! I am really looking forward to it and I will be sure to share it with all of you when I am finished! I am going to be learning how to use all the painting supplies I got for my birthday! I can’t wait! 

I DID IT!!

I finished my presentation to the School Board, and it went really well! My husband was there and he told me I didn’t even look nervous! My presentation took about 10 minutes and everyone seemed to be interested and enjoy what I had to say! I had no reason to be nervous! 🙂

Thank you for your thoughts and prayers!