Week 4 of School

Well...we have started the 4th week of school here in Arizona.  I am exhausted already!  I am teaching ELD (English Language Development) officially this year and it is intense.  On top of that...I have 13 boys and 4 girls.  Those poor girls are holding their own!
I know things are going to get better very soon.  We always just have to get through the first month or so and we'll get into a routine that will be great for all of us.

That being said...I'm behind on my personal reading!  I miss it.  I need to schedule it.  It is important that I decompress or else you end up with a burned out teacher by October.

Here's to my 6th year at my current school!  It's going to be an adventure!

First Book!! Brenda Novak

The first book I read this summer was Brenda Novak's "No One But You."  It is the second book in the Silver Springs series.  It was sent to me through a book club run by Brenda Novak!  I love being able to meet/see authors and get to know them on a personal level.

This book kept me reading ALL DAY LONG!  I finished it (all 400 pages) in one day.  My Dad would call this book "bubble gum."  I love books that I can get lost in.  The main female character is one you can sympathize with and you want nothing but the best for her.  The main male character is the one that the town has labeled the "bad boy."  He's tall, strong, has muscles, and you just want to hug him!  You just want there to be a happily ever after.........I'll let you read it to find out if that happened or not.

On to the next!!!

Reading Books Again!

Well.....life has taken many twists and turns over the past 3 years.  My family has had many deaths, a couple of births, and a couple of moves.  We are still in Arizona and I'm still teaching kindergarten!  I love my kids.  I've had some rough kiddos but they have taught me so much.

This summer I decided to get back to one of the things I loved.....reading books.  A friend of mine on facebook added me to an author's reading group.  I loved the books I've received and now I want to tell others about what I've read.

So....this blog will be about my crazy classroom and about the awesome books for grownups that I am reading.  I firmly believe there needs to be a balance between work and life.  Reading is relaxing for me and allows me to go into someone else's life and eavesdrop.  I'll pass onto you what books I've read and my opinion.

So....happy summer and I'll talk to ya soon!!

Ugh

I'm sick AGAIN!  I know that being a teacher I am supposed to get all the germs that the kids have.  However, I'm tired of it!  I have a double ear infection and sinus infection.  Needless to say, I'm on medication.  The bad thing....I have 3 more days until Spring Break.  I'm exhausted.  I just hope my professor gives me a break on being late on two assignments this week.  I just couldn't get them done on time!

On another note, I want to see Frozen again!  Have a great day everyone!

Weekend is here!

The sad thing about this weekend is that my girls are now gone for a bit.  However I slept last night.  I woke up at 7:30am feeling refreshed and energized!  I cannot tell you the last time that happened!  I went to Costco and helped my school get copy paper, went over to a friend's house and learned about some new facial products that are coming to the market through BeautiControl (GREAT STUFF), and took 2 naps!  What a weekend!!

Tomorrow I do more homework and organizing.  It's been a great day.  Tomorrow is....NASCAR!

Class #2

I finished my first class of my doctoral program.  I survived!  Boy, was that an experience.  I have had to learn how to change my writing from the way I write here to the more academic writing.  I used to be able to write like that in  my sleep!  I chose for my Master's degrees to write in my own words.  I felt that if I could put the information into my own words enough to make someone else understand then I have succeeded in learning the information.

Onto the next class!  Starts today.

I did have another success in my own classroom today.  I have a student who is gifted.  They really are! They were invited to try the next grade level for one subject today.  I'm so excited and nervous for them at the same time!  I wish them the best and hope that this is a positive experience.

Well.....off to teach!

Evaluation

So I had my final evaluation at work today.  I stress about these days and I also look forward to them.  They make me remember what I need to work on as an educator.  It was a good meeting.  I have progressed and have a new goal....use less pencil/paper and more hands/bodies.  I am also going to use metacognition in a Kindergarten classroom.

Having metacognition in a Kindergarten classroom is a challenge.  Most of the time it is not done because it is difficult to get 5 year olds to ponder and reflect on what they are thinking about.  They think about it but verbalizing it is the difficult part.  I am up to the challenge.  I have also decided to do more small group instruction and less whole group instruction.  This is going to have a learning curve for me as well as my students.

I finished a paper last night for my doctoral class that I'm very proud of!  One down class down and another one is around the corner.  What a process.  What a challenge.  What was I thinking??!!??