Reflections...

Wooooowwww. I made it to Christmas Break, yall!! Can’t believe that half the school year is just about over. And I can’t believe that I made it this far and still have some sanity left. Seriously, dude… Wow.

If you’d asked me whether I thought I’d make it this far into my first year of teaching back in August or so when things were bright and shiny and new (hehe), I’d have said… definitely! If you’d have asked me a few short weeks later when the seriously foreboding sense of being incredibly overwhelmed and unprepared in my new job finally set in… well, that might have been a completely different answer. And now that a sense of normalcy is finally starting to settle in and I’m beginning to feel more confident and competent in what I’m doing, things are definitely looking up. I’m thinking forward, planning forward, looking at my data and trying to come up with more creative and effective ways to reach my kids and help increase their growth and progress.

With just one more week of break left to go, I plan to sleep even more, plan even more, and pour over the data I’ve collected thus far to see where the holes in my instruction lie. I’ve got to figure out exactly how I’ll go about reviewing our rules and procedures (a-gain) since the kids will have been out of school and away from those kind of expectations for weeks now, and I’ll also have to figure out how I’ll begin to slowly weave our district’s move to Common Core Essential Standards into what I’m doing now with the Standard Course of Study, to help ease the transition into Common Core next year.

I’ve got two more formal observations to go this school year, and then those will be done as well (Oh, bless God!!!). The first two went really well, which was a huge blessing.  I’ll still have more observations to get through from my lateral entry program, but I’ll think more on those as they get closer.

At this point, I think one of the heaviest things I’ve yet to get through is finishing up our upcoming Seminar sessions for our certification program. Three hours a night, two nights a month with reading and assignments and work products to boot begins to really weigh on you after a long day’s work with the kiddos, that’s for sure. Thank goodness there’s only like 8 or 9 more sessions to go. Nothing like a good ‘old countdown to make that mountain seem a little more bearable. Just 9 more sessions to go, and then no more work products, no more synthesis statements, no more Seminar sessions, no more Americorps requirements… NO MORE TNTP.   May 20th, can't WAIT to see you!!!

Nothing like a good vacation to rejuvenate you...

Break has been awesome. So restful. So, so restful. I’ve slept so much these past few days that I literally forgot what day it was once. I had to Google an online calendar and find the day of the week… Now to me, that’s a true sign of a great vacation.

The kids and I kidnapped my husband last Thursday (literally) and took him away on a surprise Christmas vacation to Myrtle Beach for a week. We already had his bags packed and the car gassed up before we picked him up from work that afternoon, and immediately hit the highway heading South before he could even think to ask why we weren’t heading straight home like always. I’d already gotten permission from his boss for him to take a sick day that Friday, so he was all set, although he didn’t know it yet. J

About an hour into the trip (and amid his increasingly serious questions of where we were going and how long it would take to get back home [thinking he had to go to work in the morning and needed to get some rest], the kids and I finally explained his surprise trip and that he’d been granted an early Christmas vacation by his job. He’d been so worn out, so exhausted over the past few weeks that we knew we had to do something for him – headaches every day, tired beyond reason, stressed to the max each day only to start the cycle all over again the next morning… working in customer service is no joke, for real.

So, we took him away. Away from the stress, away from the constant aggravation, just… away. Away to a beachfront apartment with a terrace overlooking the beautiful ocean, just steps away from strolling on the beautiful, calm, white sands of Myrtle Beach. Long Bay proved to be a nice place to spend this part of our vacation. We could literally hear the ocean waves coming in and going out, and feel the cool ocean breeze as we sat and watched from our balcony. Aaahhhhh, Christmas vacation… so, so, so glad you’re here!!!

Almost there...

Two more teacher workdays, and then Christmas Break, here I come!!!

Praise Him, Sis!!

"...it's beginning to look alot like Christmas..."

Well, it's about that time! Christmas break is almost here.

It's amazing to me how quickly the three weeks or so after Thanksgiving is absolutely flying by. Weeks have been shortened because classes are beginning their holiday celebrations, field trips are going on and everything is kinda rushed and relaxed at the same time. Yeah, I'm lovin this.

If the past week or so is any indication, I can expect this last week before break actually starts to just whir by like a vapor. I'm so looking forward to break it's crazy. Two full weeks of sleep, more sleep, and peace of mind too??? Oh, yeah... sounds awesome to me.

There is one thing that brings this natural high down a bit, though. Two of my students are moving away over the break, and I so don't want to see them go. These are great kids. Funny, kind, loving. The kids that you look forward to greeting everyday in class. And they're moving halfway across the country. Blah. I definitely wish them well. But I'll absolutely miss them, too.

It's funny how your class changes month by month in school.

When I got my class roster in August, I assumed I'd be with those kids for pretty much  the whole year, and once I taught expectations and procedures and all that teachery-stuff, I'd be good throughout the year. Yeah, no. My class roster has changed 3 times so far this year, for various reasons. I'm not complaining, 'cause I love my kids, old and new. But it does remind me of just how fluid things are and how quickly they can change.

Going through these changes also reminds me of how frequently I need to go over my rules, expectations and procedures during the school year. At the beginning of the year, the kids learned and practiced this stuff and after a few weeks, they had it down pat.  They'd come into class, see the Do Now on the board, get their journals and get ta'workin'. Then October hit. I don't know what it is about the month of October, but O-M-G. You seriously begin to wonder if your kids didn't drop their brains or something that morning because everything you've spent weeks and weeks teaching them is somehow just ... l.o.s.t.

"Oooohhhh, Teacher... you wanted me to whaaa?" and "Oh, yeah, that is a rule, isn't it?". Giggling starts in record levels and it's so hard to bring them back to any modicum of attention where you could actually teach a lesson...  Yup, October is testing time. Testing the limits, that is.

Good thing I'm up to the challenge.

And then comes Thanksgiving break. The Thanksgiving break you're jonesing for so much by the time it comes that you're literally counting down the minutes until dismissal the day break starts. And you go away and sleep (and sleep... and sleep some more) and rest and refresh, then you come back to school happy and excited and ready to keep closin' that achievement gap and you realize...

They've forgotten every single thing you've taught them.

So, you do it again. And again. You review your rules. You practice your procedures. You reiterate those expectations. And just when you've got them back in order and things are looking good and productive again, it's almost time for Christmas break.  Haaaaaaaaaaa!  You just have to laugh. Otherwise, it'll drive you insane. :)

So, while I'm busy now trying to get my planning done for the first 2 or 3 weeks of January (so that I can actually enjoy my Christmas break and not have to spend precious days of it pouring over lesson plans and exit tickets and assessments), I'm also working on creative yet effective ways that I can once again review our rules, expectations and procedures when we all come back. I used to hear this so, soooo much during Summer Institute that it drove me crazy, but now I see that they were right. Aggravating, but right. Every minute really does count. We have so much to do and those instructional minutes slip away quicker than you can turn your head, so the New Year will definitely bring some strong focus for me into using and protecting every minute of teaching time I can get with my kids.

Ahhhh... Refreshed!

I can't tell you how good it felt to be free. Actually free. Free to think, free to get up when I wanted, free to stay up as late as I wanted (without any freakouts about how tired I would be the next day with my kids), free to do stuff in the middle of the day and just free to enjoy myself and be me.

Oh, and the SLEEP. Oh, dear God.

I slept so much that first day or so that my family thought I was comatose. Good sleep to a teacher is like a pot of gold to a broke leprechaun. 

I traveled, I spent time with my family up North, I had peace in a way that I've missed for a very long time. And ... because I was finally well-rested and feeling 100%, my thoughts were clear and I could actually hear myself think. This vacation was an amazing blessing.

And here's the awesome part...

Christmas break is right around the corner.

I love my job!  :)