Three Things Thursday

ONE
Happy Halloween!  Do you want to know the saddest thing ever?  Our Halloween parties at school this year were not allowed to have food at them.  AT ALL.  Not even fruits and veggies!!  This is a tragedy to sweet tooth, perpetually starving me.  As a proponent of healthy living, I am all for teaching kids healthy habits by limiting sweets in the classroom, but what a bummer to not be able to serve even healthy snacks!  Oh well.  My room moms have managed to fill the hour chunk of party time with an agenda of crafts and games.  Here's hoping we are able to keep the chaos to a dull roar today...

In other Halloween news, my team and I are "dressing up" as characters from Diary of a Wimpy Kid.  Our whole staff is supposed to come as book characters, and we chose this because it's quick and easy.  Jeans, tshirts, and a "wimpy kid" mask. :)  Easy peasy lemon squeezy!  I'm hoping it's a hit with the kids.

TWO
I wore heels yesterday for the first time since pre-marathon training back in spring!!  I had no weddings or really formal events this summer, so I pretty much lived in sandals and TOMS.  Once school started again, I was super paranoid about the slight bit of plantar faciitis I was experiencing turning into something more serious before the marathon, so I stuck to flats and other comfy shoes.  It was nice to bust out a pair of pretty shoes finally, although I have to say I am not sure I'll be wearing them as much as I used to now that I've gotten so used to comfier shoes!

THREE
I've blogged before about our BANANAS schedule this year, so no need to get into that.  But with literacy intervention groups back to back with guided reading, I basically don't move from my guided reading table and see groups for an hour and a half solid.  You can imagine what my brain is like by the last groups of the day.  Today, I passed out the books for one of my groups, a biography of Thomas Edison.  To get started, I asked them to turn and talk about some of Edison's famous inventions.  The kids stammered and guessed random inventions before I said something like, "What?  No!  You don't remember?  Look back through the book!"  So they looked back and came up with some of the inventions.  Phew.  THEN I asked, "Okay, what chapter did we get up to yesterday?"  They responded with..."We haven't started this book yet.  We finished our last book yesterday."  DUH.  Hence why they were clueless about Thomas Edison...I felt terrible!  But honestly, who can keep it all straight!  These are all the titles we've been working with the last week and a half, and this doesn't even include my intervention group's materials...

YIKES!  No wonder my brain is a jumbled mess!

Okay, I know this is supposed to be just three things, but I have one more cutie to sneak in...We've been working on informational writing including crafting strong leads.  The kids are all about onomatopoeia, but this kid seems to have missed the mark on a benchmark writing assessment...

I can't say I would classify that as onomatopoeia...but good try, kiddo!  

What are your Halloween plans?

Are you still allowed to have Halloween parties at school?

Share your "tired teacher" moment of the week--please tell me I'm not alone!

Not Impressed. (Halloween + a WINNER!)

Happy Monday!  This weekend I took a "rest week" from training and started my Saturday with an easy 3 miles.  I quickly learned that I have to retrain my lungs to be able to tolerate cold air because it was chilly!!  And to think it is only October.  (Side note: I had to break out my scraper for the first time this season when I came downstairs this morning to be greeted by a sheet of frost on my windshield...must remember to call car dealership to price remote start...)  After a day of errands, pretending to lesson plan, couch naps, and an epic fail at attempting to make puppy chow (#reason101whyidon'tcook...), I pulled on the Halloween costume that my awesome mom and dad helped me pull together the night before.  (Yes, I am 25 and I still need my parents to help me with Halloween costumes...)

Get it?  Unfortunately, most people at the Halloween party I attended didn't!  

That face was NOT easy to replicate.  Go ahead, try it in front of a mirror.  I swear normal faces don't work like that!

Oldest Brother dressed up as Quint from Jaws...

Anyways, the party ended up turning into a super late night, and this lame old lady teacher is still recovering two days later!  Holy cow.  I am definitely not in college anymore!  I'll gladly take an early night and a long run next weekend!  Much shorter recovery time. :)

Speaking of recovery, it's time for a giveaway winner!  Thanks so much for entering my CLICK giveaway, and WELCOME to my new followers!!!  Hope you decide to stick around :)  The winner of a CLICK canister and blender bottle is...

#34, Pam!  Based on her comment, it sounds like Pam definitely needs a little CLICK in her life!

 

DOUBLE stroller runs???  Holy super mom!

Pam, email me at juiceboxesandcrayolas AT gmail DOT com by Friday to claim your CLICK. :)

And with that, I'm off to catch up on Revenge, eat pumpkin ice cream, and maybe grade some papers...Have a great week, everyone!

Five Things Friday + Giveaway Reminder

Reminder to enter my CLICK protein powder giveaway!  Ends tomorrow at midnight!

1. I got a new student from Syria yesterday.  He speaks exactly no English.  I have since learned that not only am I completely incompetent when it comes to Level 1 ELLs, but that I was able to neither spell Syria (kept spelling it Syrria) nor locate it on a map (thank you google...).  This could be a bumpy ride...Who had tips for me???  Please.  I'm dying.

2. After going to my parents' house last night for dinner and to watch Grey's Anatomy with my mom, I realized after I was home, in my jammies, and with my contacts out that I'd left my phone charging on their kitchen counter.  Of course it was also raining out on top of being after 10pm.  Hence me leaving my house after 10 like this...

Which would have been fine had I not run into a family on the stairs on my way back in...I'm pretty sure they were all just jealous of my unique and forward thinking fashion sense.

3. Current obsession = pumpkin pie oatmeal.  I KNOW.  Best. breakfast. ever.

In the mix:
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup vanilla soy milk (or regular milk)
1/4 cup oats
Cook on stove.  Stir in 1/2 cup purred pumpkin, a generous shake of pumpkin pie spice, and a scoop of brown sugar.  Top with sliced almonds.  Devour in about 2 minutes flat.  You're welcome.

4. I went to a math workshop Wednesday where I ended up doing math all. day. long.  I kind of hate math.  Only if kind of hate actually means loathe.  It was like being trapped in my own personal math curse.

Just two of my 10 pages of furious notes... And by notes I mean MATH WORK...

It was actually a great workshop, but I am still digesting all of the content before I can implement anything with my kiddos!  On the plus side, I got my FIRST EVER positive sub report.  I swear, the kids at my old school were just MONSTERS for subs--even the good kiddos turned totally naughty!  I had the sub read Miss Nelson is Missing to the kids and asked them to write about where they thought I might be while I was not there...some total gems in the responses.  Many thought I was either shopping or running.  HAH.  I wish.  Two of my favorites:

Miss "teacher" could be at the movie.  She could be at a lot of nice areas because she need it.  She work her butt off in the class room.  She is the best in the whole world.  I bet she could win a gold medal if there was a thing you try out for being the best teacher in the whole world.

I'm just glad SOMEONE around here notices I work my butt off!!!

One day Miss "teacher" was not at school and I think she went shark swimming and got attacked but got saved by a handsome man and she is marrying him so when she comes to school tomorrow she will be a Mrs. "teacher" now and she will become with a happier life and also she won't be alone in her apartment.

Well...I'm glad this little girl is concerned about my chronic single-ness and the fact that I live alone.  Also, I love my bright red hair, pink dress, and rail thin torso (see bikini shark swimming picture).  I'd say that's all a fairly accurate depiction...

5. Even though I am swamped in work for both school and grad school, fighting off some weird illness (that may actually be just extreme exhaustion)...I am looking forward to the weekend.  I'm going to a Halloween party tomorrow night--are you shocked that I am doing something social for a change instead of watching marathons on netflix instant and writing grad school papers?  Me too.  Anyways, Halloween isn't my favorite holiday adn I am never really "inspired" when it comes to a costume.  Here's a hint for this year's lame costume:

What are your weekend plans?

Hi, Winter Break...I've missed you. :)

First, a moment of silence for all of the poor teachers and students who have another day of school tomorrow... You have my deepest sympathies.  Thankfully, we ended school Friday.  (And not a moment too soon!)  After my 6 mile run Saturday morning, I proceeded to spend pretty much the rest of the weekend laying on the couch and eating cookies.  You know, to make up for the physical activity. :)  But seriously, yesterday one of the girls from my book club hosted a crazy awesome cookie party with her sisters.  You may have been to a cookie party before, but this was no ordinary run of the mill cookie party...not only was there a theme and craft tables, but it had a cookie contest!  Guests sampled each cookie and voted for their favorites.  This was no easy feat!

(And this was only the beginning...)

Our other book club member and I tried to taste all of the cookies, but half-way through I was about ready to curl up on the couch and fall into a sugar coma!  We managed to push through, though, all in the name of Christmas and cookies!

My black bottom cupcakes didn't win a prize, but Book Club Friend's butterscotch "Woosie" bars did!  YUM!  You'd think I'd be all cookied out after that day, but today my mom and I baked even more cookies...I have no pictures because we were way too hard core to be bothered with documenting the baking process...I think we prepared 6 different doughs, although we only baked 3 today...after finishing those, we were both ready for a break and a nap!

Don't worry, a midst the cookie madness I did manage to squeeze in a workout.  My dad came over last week and set my road bike up on an indoor bike trainer so I can ride indoors this winter.  (In other words, if I am too lazy to drag myself to the gym AND too lazy to drag myself down to the fitness center in my complex that is mere steps from the lobby of my building, I really and truly have no excuse for working out this winter.)  We had the trainer set up at my parents' last year in the back of my dad's basement work room, and riding it back there was more boring than watching paint dry...At least at my apartment there's really no other place to put the bike but smack in the middle of my living/dining room, which means I can watch tv or CHRISTMAS MOVIES!  It's still boring, but much more tolerable.

^That little upside down bin is a make shift step stool because I can't get on my bike without tilting it...

CHRISTMAS MOVIES!

What's your favorite Christmas cookie?  My favorites are peppermint candy cane cookies and ice box cookies.  YUM!

Favorite Christmas movie? Tough one!  Well, I will always adore Mickey's Christmas Carol...my mom and I were talking this morning about how when I was little I always used to quote the line from Daisy and Donald, " 'My eyes are closed, my lips are puckered, and I'm standing under the mistletoe!' 'You're also standing on my foot!' "  So great. :)  Also love Love Actually, Santa Clause & Santa Clause 2 (NOT 3...), Home Alone, and of course A Christmas Story!

Favorite indoor cross-training?  LOVE swimming and yoga!  But I have to admit, this whole bike-without-leaving-the-apartment thing has its perks...

Tofurkey Day Happenings

Happy Belated Thanksgiving!  I don't know about you, but I've spent the past few days catching up with old friends, napping, reading, and working my way into a stuffing-and-green-bean induced coma...in short, it's been BLISS.  As much as I love Christmas and the festivities that surround it (not to mention the two glorious weeks off of school...), Thanksgiving break is always the most wonderful, much-needed relief from school stress.  By mid-November, in my classroom at least, the kids are showing their true colors, and I'm finding it harder and harder to keep a smile on my face.  Report cards are due, we're gearing up for round 2 of MAP testing, and the weather's starting to turn which always means less recess (read: squirrly kiddos).  Enter Thanksgiving, aka 5 days of student-free, food-full happiness.

I kicked off my Thanksgiving break Tuesday evening when I decided to abandon all previous plans of staying late at school and prepping for the following week...instead, I made a stop at the library, picked up a teen book I'd been dying to get my hands on, and settled myself in front of the fire at Caribou with some tea and yummies.   I didn't move for about 2 hours.  Perfection.

If you are wondering, the book is Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver.  It. was. amazing.

Wednesday I spent the afternoon wandering IKEA with a friend.  Oh IKEA...How I love pretending I live in the amazing rooms, especially those featuring 2-story closets, libraries, and (wait for it) wine racks...I bought a new desk (thank goodness because my shabby old desk is older than I am and NOT in the stylish, antique-y way!), and spent the afternoon putting it together with the help of my tool-savvy friend.  Voila!

(Just so you know, we couldn't manage to get my old desk apart so it's currently sitting out on my balcony until my dad can come rescue it...)

Wednesday evening my book club and I saw BREAKING DAWN!!!!  So exciting.  You better believe we were sporting our Give Blood tshirts! Those were WELL EARNED!  Where to even begin with this movie...it was...AWFUL!!!!  And yet, so wonderful.  I really felt this movie was more awkwardly horrible than #3, but I loved it anyways.

On Thanksgiving morning, I met one of my bestest friends who was back in town from grad school to run a 5-mile Turkey Trot.  When I say we ran this race together, I mean we drove there together, lined up at the start together, then wished each other "Good Luck!" before he took off at a pace almost twice as fast as mine.  So goes the life of a Slow Runner. :)  This was a really nice race about 5 minutes from my parents house.  We ran 3 laps around the campus at a community college, which meant that the lead runners were lapping me before I was even halfway around!  I don't find that irritating or depressing, though--it is kind of awesome to watch such super fast runners!  Obv my IT band started giving me grief at mile 4, making the end of the run a little *uncomfortable*...I have been slacking big time on my foam rolling lately, which I know is why I can't seen to shake this tightness.  I am committing to foam rolling twice a day for the time being, in hopes of loosening this bad boy up.

 After the Turkey Trot, you better believe I ate my weight in stuffing, green beans, sweet potatoes, and, yes, tofu.  No, I did not have Tofurkey, but my wonderful Dad marinated some tofu for a side dish.  YUM!  The only thing missing from Thanksgiving was one of my older brothers, who lives in Florida.  :(

Many of my close friends have moved out of state in the past few years, but holidays usually bring everyone home!  Love it!  I had brunch with a college friend Friday morning and hosted several close high school friends at my apartment Friday night.  Because my friends and I are SUPER cool, we usually end up playing Catch Phrase or some other silly game that is a throw back to our lame high school past.  Friday, however, we were disappointed to find that the timer "beeping" wasn't working!  After I insisted that a stopwatch wouldn't work as a replacement because "the beeps need to get faster in catch phrase!" my computer geek (read: GENIUS) friend decided to write a quick program on my computer to play beeping sound that would progressively increase in speed...you know, just a normal Friday night...

After a busy and exhausting few days, I spend basically the entire day Saturday curled up under a blanket, reading and napping on and off.  Perfection.  I peeled myself off for a 3 mile run at some point, then promptly returned to the blanket for more reading.  LOOOVE quiet days.

Nothing like new Brooks to get you out and moving!

In other news, my brother and sister-in-law texted me from the Space Coast Marathon in Cocoa, Florida this morning.  They were spectating as sis-in-law's friend ran the 1/2 marathon, and they sent me a picture of her medal:

OMG!  BEST MEDAL EVER!  (To fully understand my excitement, you should know that my family has a major geek obsession with the space program and NASA.  This obsession has gone on my whole life, and only got worse when Older Brother got a job at NASA in 2004...)  I better convince my brother to stay in Florida again next year for Thanksgiving so I can come down and run this race...

What made your Thanksgiving wonderful?
What is the coolest race medal you have ever seen/gotten?

Halloween should NEVER be on a Monday...

PHEW!  I don't mean to sound like the Halloween Grinch, but October 31st is NOT my favorite holiday!!!  It is especially not my favorite holiday when it lands on a MONDAY.  I mean come on.  Honestly.  Shouldn't Halloween by like Thanksgiving and on the last Friday (or even better...Saturday) of October or something like that every year?  Because if my kids were SQUIRRELS today, I don't even want to think about what they're going to be like tomorrow!!!!  I am just hopping I catch them in the post-sugar high comatose state, which is greatly preferred to the oh so wonderful I-ate-skittles-for-breakfast hyperactive state or the I-stayed-up-til-2am-eating-candy-and-watching-scary-movies-and-now-I-hate-everything cranky post-sugar high state...I can't believe I have to go back and teach 4 more days this week when every kid in America has probably convinced themselves that it's the weekend.  YIKES!!!

source

Okay enough complaining.  I promise I did have a small Halloween celebration. I'm not dead inside. ;)  Holidays are really low-key at my school.  Being a low-income school means that we don't have room moms planning elaborate holiday parties with games, crafts, and fancy food.  Parents send in a few treats and we play bingo.  Nothing too special, but for the kids it's a welcome break from our rigorous daily schedule!  Now cross your fingers for me for tomorrow...eek.

Anyways, this weekend was the first year in probably forever that I didn't at least SOMEWHAT celebrate Halloween.  This was largely due to the fact that I had a race Sunday morning, so I spent Saturday night relaxing and going to bed early!  More about the race later tho. :)  Let's get to the real highlight of the weekend...I spent the day Saturday doing something I love at least equally as much as teaching and running: shoe shopping, of course!   Teacher Mom (aka my actual mom) and I spent waaay too much money at Shoe Mecca (aka DSW) this weekend.  Oh goodness.  You guys, I love shopping.  But even more than I love shopping, I love a bargain.  Teacher Mom instilled this love in me practically at birth.  We stepped into Shoe Mecca with a mission: comfy teacher shoes for Mom and boots for me.  After trying on nearly every pair of shoes in the store, we settled on 2 pairs of teacher shoes for mom (that I gave the "not too ugly" stamp of approval) and one way too expensive pair of gorgeous boots for me (that didn't remind me too much of cowboy boots).

What's that?  You thought I said I love a good bargain, only to admit I spent more than is reasonable on a pair of boots around which I will likely end up buying full outfits because as of now they go with a total of 2 pairs of pants and 1 skirt in my closet?  Oh just wait.  After our successful venture through the main floor we entered...THE CLEARANCE SECTION.  Does anybody else's heart just start racing when they are faced with a rack of discount shoes all in their size?  No?  Just me?  Teacher Mom and I both fell in love with this unbelievable pair of heels that sadly weren't available in the right size for either of us...

Teacher Mom rocked these.  Too bad they were suicide-tight.

It was hard to say goodbye...but I did convince Teacher Mom to buy a fabulous pair of strappy sandals.  Of course, I picked up a few clearance pairs for myself...

Adore.

Besides my shoe buying adventures and a cold and windy 10K race yesterday, my weekend also included a good 5 hour block of laying on the couch yesterday watching The Office since, you guessed it, I have another cold.  This time, though, I don't think I can blame the kids--my sniffly nose started up as soon as I started the race yesterday and hasn't let up since!  Ugh!!!

What did you do this weekend?

Tofurkey it is, in that case!!

Last Tuesday, our last day of school before Thanksgiving break, I assigned this journal prompt:

Write a letter, from the point of view of a turkey, to your family.

Include reasons in the letter that your family should NOT eat the turkey for Thanksgiving dinner.

I love having students write from others' points of view, especially animals, so I love assigning this prompt.  Also, my vegetarian self likes getting the students to think about their food from time to time!! :)  I promise I'm not preaching...I don't want THAT parent phone call!  Anyways, I didn't have a chance to read through them until today.  Here were my two favorites:

(sorry the pictures are super blurry!  I really have to remember to bring my camera to school--my phone isn't cutting it!)

 Dear family,

PLEASE DON'T EAT ME!!!  There are SO many different foods you could eat instead of me!  You can eat potatoes, pie, cranberrys, NOT ME!  Or how about we all be vegiterians for this time.  Please, please, don't eat me.  Turkeys don't need to be Thanksgiving food, how about you take the chickens insted.  (That sounds like a good plan, don't you think?!)  I will give you some time to think about this (or 2 days to be exact!)  PLEASE DONT EAT ME!

Very scared and sad,
      Turkey

Please don't eat me this year for thanks giving this year.  I have lots of dreams when I grow up.  I want to be a Professional turkey dancer.  So if you eat I will never get to accomplish that career.  that would be really sad right so if you want to eat me well PLEASE DONT!!!!!

Sincerely,

         Your Turkey

I'm thinking next year we should do an actual writing project with this prompt...these are too funny!

I am thankful...

...for my wonderful family with whom I got to enjoy a yummy, silly thanksgiving...

...especially for my parents and brothers, who never mind hearing my stories about school, who put up with the fact that I am still free-loading at their place instead of growing up and moving out, and who grilled tofu and allowed it to grace our Thanksgiving table :)...

...that even though many of my friends live far away now, we are as close as ever, and when we DO see each other, nothing has changed...

...for my job.  not only that I have one, but that I have one I LOVE that is never boring, mindless, or impersonal...

...for my supportive coworkers, who I know I can call at night, frustrated and stressed out, and they will talk me down and convince me to keep coming back into work...

...that the above type of phone calls are FAR less common this year than last year!!!

...that I have the opportunity to make a difference in the lives of children every single day.  Because honestly, what better purpose IS there in life?

...that while I am often frustrated about my running injury, I still have running in my life.  After years of believing I was not an athlete, I have found a sport that I love, and thank goodness it's one that you can start anytime, anywhere, and participate in even if you kind of suck...

...for you. :)

Sweet Autumn

I'm a summer girl at heart, but there is just something *MAGICAL* about fall.  Although I'm still recovering from a nasty running injury and am seriously missing fall crunchy leaf runs, I am adoring going for walks and bike rides and just gawking at the phenomenal fall colors.  Yay for sweaters, scarves, and birkenstocks!

Fall also means that we are officially into the swing of things (at least as much as we will ever be!!) at school.  No more fooling around, it is LEARNING TIME.  Not that we haven't been learning since Day 1, especially since I tend to be a no-nonsense kind of teacher and don't do a lot of fluffiness, even at the beginning of the year...I believe in more practical, beneficial ways to build the learning community...but that's another story.  Anyways, I'm not sure if it's just me, but lately I've been feeling like the pressure has already set in.  I think it comes from having so many low readers that I just look at them sometimes and think, "I'm not doing enough for you...," but at the same time another part of me is thinking, "What more can I possibly do?????"  It's tough with the older kids I think--some of these kids have just gotten further and further behind every year that by 5th grade, it's scary.  This is no one teacher's fault--it's just something that happened due to a WHOLE BUNCH of factors and circumstances.

It really feels daunting though--how can I possibly give everyone the time they need?  I swear some days I think, "Man, I hope you're taking some of this in!  Are you learning???  Please be learning."  Yes, I'm assessing my kiddos, but it's still tough, when there is SO MUCH growth to make, to notice on any given day who is making tiny gains and who is maybe not.  There are always many more things I wish I had time for.  I swear the school day is over in the blink of an eye.  It is already mid-October, and before you know it the kids will be talking about their Halloween costumes (I'm actually surprised they haven't been already!).
Where does the time go???

PS: That reminds me, any Halloween costume ideas?  A friend already suggested Hermione, my all-time favorite costume.  I reminded him I was that already last year, and two years before that, and three years before that.  Totally attempted to pull out the sweater vest and gold-and-maroon scarf again, but that would probably just be lazy. ;)

Stupid Cupid

Note to self: do not wait until the last minute to buy valentines for students.

When I left school today after a very productive Thursday afternoon with my good friend The Copier, I started out on what I thought would be a quick and easy errand to buy some festive valentines day pencils.  Ha.  Easy.  What was I thinking...
Here's where it all began...

The other day, my mom made valentines for her student on the computer, printed them on cardstock, and cut them out.  They looked cute, so when she offered to print them for me (just change Mrs. to Miss please!), of course I agreed (while silently thinking she was silly for getting these ready days in advance...).   Well, and this is where it gets tricky, the cute little valentines message on the cards was something along the lines of, "Let's get to the point: Happy Valentines Day," and she was attaching a sharp new pencil to each card.  Get it?  Point?  "Okay," I thought, "that should be easy enough."  I figured I'd drive by the dollar store Thursday night after work and grab a couple packs of hearts and cupids pencils.

Well...it should be so simple.  No sooner than I had left school, but I found myself in a massive herd of parents and kids purchasing punch out cards, hearts candy, and cupcakes for the class party.  Yikes.  When Target let me down, I walked down the strip mall to Dollar Tree, only to find EASTER pencils.  Umm, huh?  "Alright, no big deal," I told myself, and continued my walk (in heels) to the other end of the strip mall.  "Surely Dominicks will have valentines gifts."  Nope.  Not even a section for candy and cards!  "Maybe I'll check Target 1 more time before admitting defeat."  This time, I felt a brief glimmer of hope when I spotted a cardboard bin on the shelf labeled "Valentines Pencils," only to find SPORTS pencils inside.  Really, Target?

By this time I was starving and had to open a box of crackers I had just bought in the car as I drove to Walgreens.  In my head, I pictured the huge, overflowing valentines aisle that I KNEW would be there.  Well...that aisle turned out to be a corner, and there were exactly 2 valentines pencils.  2.  Seriously.  Finally, I went home, put on my slippers, and immediately laid down on the couch.  Nothing like fruitless shopping to take the energy out of you!  Thankfully, my mom came through and found enough pencils for both of us (she went to SEVEN stores though!!).  Phew.

So, the moral of the story is, do NOT wait until the last minute, especially where popular elementary school holidays are concerned.

Back to Real Life

After a wonderful, relaxing Thanksgiving break during which I did not so much as crack a teacher manual or uncap a colored pen until Sunday afternoon, it's back to school tomorrow.  I definitely needed (and very much enjoyed!) this break.  My plan to work ahead and stay late last Monday and Tuesday in an attempt to prevent getting stuck in what I assume will be a crazy long copy line tomorrow morning worked like a charm.  I have my week planned, and mostly copied, and am feeling refreshed.  Thank goodness.  On the down side, I am being observed first thing tomorrow morning and who knows how the kids will be after their marathon weekend...who knows how on my game I will be for that matter!  I am well prepared though, and the lesson is a standard Monday shared reading...pretty predictable as lessons go.  The only thing that will make it unpredictable is the kids, of course.  Man, wouldn't all of my lessons be perfect if it weren't for them! :)

Anyways, we'll see how things go tomorrow.  First day back after the break, first day actually doing the Daily 4 method we rehearsed last week, my observation, parent visitation day (thank goodness I only have one parent coming...she WILL be here to see a science lesson though, which should be interesting...eek), and Battle of the Books.  Oh my.  My goal after all that is to actually work out.  Hmm, we'll see if I make it.  :)

3 weeks til winter break, 3 weeks til winter break, 3 weeks til winter break...

Thanksgiving

Today I am thankful that I have a job that not only pays the bills, but that is intellectually, emotionally, and sometimes even physically challenging.  No matter how often my job makes me scream or cry, I am thankful that it doesn't involve sitting at a desk or a computer, interacting only with technology and not with people.  I am thankful that it challenges me in every possible capacity, and that it allows me to make a small difference.

I am also thankful for some of the wonderful students who get me through the day, who remind me why I decided to be a teacher, who make the bad days worthwhile, and who keep me coming into school.  One example of this i the student who wrote me and my family a letter Tuesday and told me I was to read it on Thanksgiving with my family (of course I couldn't resist peeking early!).  He told my family they should be thankful to have Miss Teacher as family, because I am one of the nicest people he has ever met.  He asked them also to write back, and my mom assures me she will do so.  I am also thankful for the student who sent me an email this morning to tell me Happy Thanksgiving, and that I am a wonderful teacher.  This is why I teach.

Finally, I am thankful that God has given me the strength to make it through the first trimester (which ended last week).  Miraculously, I didn't quit, and I know that after this relaxing weekend I will have just enough energy back to make it until Christmas.  I am thankful for all the support I have received so far, from friends sending uplifting texts, to my mom helping with lesson plans and listening to my frustrations, to my amazing 5th grade team partners who help me SO MUCH and remind me that I will make it through the year and that I am in fact a good teacher, to Miss R and Mrs. J without whom I think I would have lost my sanity so far.

Happy Thanksgiving!