I'm happy to report...

that things went a lot better today than they did yesterday. I still dealt with tantrums, fights, and meltdowns but I was in control this time...so nothing I can't handle! We had an assembly about making good choices that the students really liked and it made the afternoon short and sweet. The only thing is that the assembly incorporated yo-yos and they are for sale all next week at school. I can just picture all the drama that that will cause! People always say that God doesn't give you more than you can handle at once and I'm feeling that way right now because if today had been anything like yesterday, I probably would have flipped out. :)

Yesterday after the Worst Day Ever, I came home and did NOTHING for school. Instead, I went and got a haircut. It was just what I needed, but now I have a ton to do tonight...newsletter for tomorrow and all my lesson planning for next week. Ah! I better get on that...

TGI(almost)F!

Seriously??

That's the thought that popped into my head about 800 times today...the WORST DAY EVER!!!!!! What happened to my group of second graders this week? They have been unruly all week, but today was the first day where I actually felt like I had no control in the classroom. Honestly, the majority of my class is really good...it's the 4-5 boys who ruin things for everyone! One of my students didn't take "the pill that makes him good"...as he put it and his behavior was terrifyingly night and day. I hope NEVER to see that side of him again. In a nice turn of events, the other boys followed his lead and were walking nightmares. Three boys were kicked out of the library class because the poor old nun librarian couldn't take it anymore.

Today made me wonder, what really makes a great teacher? Anyone can stand at the front of the class and shout at kids as I was forced to do today. But how can I make the classroom a meaningful, fun, home away from home atmosphere for these kids...kids who often don't care if they're punished or not...kids who owe no accountability to parents at home...kids who are reading at a kindergarten level in a second grade classroom.

I'm definitely going to have to brainstorm, pump myself up each morning, and focus on the positive to get through my first year of teaching. That along with some air conditioning would be just F.A.N.T.A.S.T.I.C!

Anyone care to leave a positive comment below? Thanks!!!!!!

What do I need?

My darling sister read my post about a lack of resources and asked "what do I need?" That got me thinking...what do I ACTUALLY need? As of now, I'm good on the everyday supplies...crayons, pencils, markers, glue, etc. What my classroom REALLY needs is more children's books. Any age really, since I have beginning kindergarten level readers and ready for third grade level readers...I just need more! I did score two huge lots of books from Ebay, obviously retired teacher's old books. They make up the majority of my classroom library right now. I only have one tub of nonfiction books, which is pretty sad. If anyone knows of good sales going on or can find a good deal...let me know and I will reimburse you or come running myself! :)

VENT

I haven't written in ages...just a little busy with the whole newly married, trip to Mexico, getting a job thing! I may have to rededicate this blog to become a first year teacher's venting arena. This will be helpful for my mental health and will also spare my poor husband from the endless complaints that he hears when I get home. It's not that I want to complain...it's just that...HAVE YOU EVER BEEN WITH A GROUP OF KIDS FOR 7 HOURS A DAY, 5 DAYS A WEEK!?!? Yes, you try to come home without any complaints! :) I am so grateful to finally have things to need to vent about...AKA a job! But it's nice to get everything off my chest.

The thing that I'm trying to deal with right now is a lack of resources and supplies in the classroom. It's frustrating. Not to mention the fact that the kids destroy the supplies that I DO have in half a second.

I have my share of "naughty" children in my class, but at least no one in my class has peed on another classmate, which happened in another 2nd grade teacher's class today. BUT there's always tomorrow...

Moving, Getting Married, Going to Mexico...

I never "blog" anymore...I didn't do it much to begin with, partially because nothing ever happens to me and partially because I never remember. Well! THREE things are happening soon...like, within the next week or so.
#1 I'm MOVING (tomorrow). This is interesting because I have dirty dishes in the sink and laundry all over my bedroom floor. Let's just say my apartment is not quite "moveable" yet. I better get it there fast though because my utilities are being transferred tomorrow. If all goes well, I will be picking up the keys to the new apartment today. I so want to paint the walls when I get there, but that won't happen for a while.
#2 On July 26, I'm getting MARRIED! We are so not prepared for the actual wedding and reception (aka programs, place cards, etc. are still untouched). But we couldn't be more ready to start our marriage after nearly 7 years of dating! It's been fun planning the wedding and now I'm at the point where I don't want to do anything wedding-related EVER AGAIN. This is why marriage lasts forever, no one wants to deal with wedding to-do lists again. We are having a relatively small-ish wedding...we've really stayed right around our original estimate for a guest list and yet there's still sooo much to do. We were (happily) surprised to see how many people wanted/could attend the wedding...we only had a few who could'nt come. I'm excited to actually attend the party that we've spent so long planning. I'm so bad at being patient!
#3 HONEYMOON in Mexico, because let's face it 85 degrees in Michigan is just not hot enough! Haha. We're going to boil. I couldn't be more excited to go on (our first "real") vacation together! I know that fiancé is more than ready for a vacation as well. He's had to work super long hours this week in order to have Friday off so that we can move. You guessed it, we're trying to cram as many life changes and stressful (although exciting) situations into the smallest period of time! I have a feeling that we're both going to be sleeping in the corner at our reception out of sheer exhaustion. Yes, we like a good time!

Stacks of boxes are staring me down so I'm off to go pack some more & maybe wash some dishes...

HONEYMOON!

I'm so excited because we booked our honeymoon last weekend. Apparently Riviera Maya is a very common honeymoon spot. I know several people who honeymooned there or just had great vacations there. We're going to be spending 7 nights at El Dorado Seaside Suites the week after our wedding. Originally we were going to head up north for a long weekend after the wedding and then take a long honeymoon somewhere warm during the winter. But the lure of a whole week of relaxing and lounging on the beach won out in the end.
Now I have one more thing to add to my list of things that I have to wait patiently for! I'm so bad at that.

Adventures in Babysitting...

Gil and I had our first babysitting adventure together two weeks ago. It was so fun to hang out with little Kiki! She was so cute and a good little baby! She slept a lot of the time that she was over. We only babysat for a few hours, but let me tell you, we were tired by the time she left! I don't know how her parents manage getting up in the middle of the night to take care of her!

It was fun to see how much she's grown since the last time I saw her. She can hold her head up so well! This makes her a lot easier to hold because she's not so wobbly. When you lay her down, she can rotate herself, so you never know how you'll find her in the crib. I bet it'll be no time at all before she's turning over. I can't wait until she starts crawling and walking and talking. I bet her first word will be "Sue". :)
We were given pizza money for dinner...It felt like high school again. Right when we sat down to eat, Kiki sounded like she was about to wake up. Gil and I both tensed up, willing her to stay asleep. It worked...see, I told you she was a good little baby! I can't wait until we can hang out with Kikster again.

21 Second Graders Will Wear You Out!

I started my long-term sub position in a second grade classroom about two weeks ago. Let me tell you...I'm exhausted!!! I'm having so much fun and love the kids, but am finding out all the pressures that are placed on the classroom teacher! I'm starting to get into a better routine, but still find myself staying until around 6:30 each night and coming in early! There's always so much to do and something else to prep. The district that I'm teaching in has lots and lots of parent involvement, which is awesome. The not-so-awesome part is that when two or three parents come in each day, guess who has more prep to do and lessons to plan for them?! The other thing that I struggle with is providing extensions for kids who need an extra challenge, while meeting the needs of kids at and below grade level. Luckily, the other second grade teachers at the school are awesome. We have been lesson planning together, trading tips and ideas, and they make me feel like I'm not the only one who is overwhelmed. It's nice to have company. If only there were three or four more of me, then I think I'd have things completely under control! I guess I just need to give it more time and things will all come together.

Winter Wonderland

On Saturday, we went to the Plymouth Ice Festival which they hold downtown each year. It was so fun and sooo cold! The weather was perfect for an ice festival...it snowed the whole time we were there. There were lots of cute families, with kids being pulled in sleds and they had carnival food booths set up so everywhere we went, the air smelled like roasted cinnamon almonds...delicious! We had dinner downtown before we went to explore the sculptures. There was one area where artists were actually creating the sculptures in front of us. Pretty cool. After walking around a while, we were freezing so we went to Panera to get hot chocolate. We sat and soaked up the warm, chatting before we drove back home. It was a really fun night!

I was just thinking about how nice it will be not to have to check the AESOP system for sub jobs for approximately 12 weeks. Thank goodness for long term positions! What am I going to do with all my time? :) Even though I haven't even started the long term yet, it makes me feel even more determined to get a "real" job for next school year! Hopefully the job fairs will be more successful this spring (I'll have to get a sub of my own to go...!). At least it won't be so overwhelming because I've done it once before.
In my apartment, I have a closet that has taken on a life of its own. It's really large, which is great, but that means it can hold quite a mess. When I first moved in, it was really organized. It held boxes of things that I wanted to keep, but didn't need to unpack (school supplies mostly). As time went on, I would need something out of a box so I would dig through them and as you guessed, a mess ensued. Now that I'm going to have a classroom, I want to see what kind of supplies I still have. I've been putting off tackling it, but I think the time has come. I can see it staring at me, waiting...Think there are any spiders in there?
I bought a lesson planning book today from a teacher's store (which was really difficult to find)! Why don't they have more of those?? So now I'm really excited to start planning in it!
I wish I could figure out how to put pictures onto the computer...I'd show you the closet.

" Do not be too timid and squeamish about your actions. All life is an experiment. The more experiments you make the better. What if they are a little course, and you may get your coat soiled or torn? What if you do fail, and get fairly rolled in the dirt once or twice. Up again, you shall never be so afraid of a tumble." ~Ralph Waldo Emerson

Let it snow...

The snow outside is GORGEOUS! It's the beautiful, fat, fluffy, kind of snow that I love. It's falling hard...which I also love! I can say this because I don't have to go drive in it today. A pretty bright red cardinal keeps flying by...easy to spot against the snow! It feels like the perfect kind of day.

Today I talked to the principal at my favorite elementary school to sub at and she offered me a 2nd grade long term sub position that I interviewed for last week. Of course I took it! I'm going to start after mid-winter break and then I should be there until about three weeks before school is out. Awesome! :)