Mother's Day 2014

Every year Daniel asks what I want for Mother's Day, and every year my answer is the same.  There is usually nothing that I am BURNING to have, so I ask him not to spend the money.  Then the day comes, and I wind up thinking that I want to do something to feel special and recognized.  Last year I got my Roku for Mother's Day, and that has definitely turned out to be an investment that was well worth the money.  We use it just about every day!

  Amazon.com

This year, as most others, I asked Daniel not to spend money on a gift for me, but we are doing some fun things that I enjoy.  We were planning to go to my mom and dad's house, anyway, so we altered the plans just a little to fit in a celebration that both my mom and I will enjoy.

The first thing we are doing is stopping at Papa Murphy's to get a couple of pizzas.  Daniel and I have been wanting to try their new pan pizza, so this will be a new experience for us.  We will be getting The Cowboy, a wonderful combination of "pepperoni, sausage, sliced mushrooms and black olives on traditional red sauce with our herb and cheese blend," because this is a family favorite on their regular crust, and a mushroom and onion on thin crust for my mom and I.  I'm going to be in pizza heaven!

After we bake the pizzas, we will sit down to enjoy the part of the day that was my gift to my mom.  She wanted to see Saving Mr. Banks, so I rented it from Red Box last night and stopped at Target to buy some popcorn that we both enjoy.  My mom and I agree that popcorn from Target's deli is ALMOST as good as movie theater popcorn, and it is much less expensive!

When the movie is over, we will go for a walk to a near-by park to feed the ducks, then go back to the house to play games.  Then we are having a dinner of chili and cornbread before heading home to get ready for our school/ work week.  It sounds like a fabulous day.  This is exactly what Mother's Day should be about- everyone enjoying some time together, and Mom getting to choose the activities.  I don't need any of the expensive jewelry being advertised on the radio.  I can buy WAY too many pizzas for that kind of money!

6th Grade Memories

At my school, we get six personal days per year.  If we don't take them, we do not get to roll them over to the next year, and we do not get to cash the days out..  What makes my district different than others I have heard about is that my district encourages teachers to use the days that are set aside.  They do not have black-out periods (outside of the obvious, state testing days) and they do not give teacher's grumpy faces for looking forward to the time off.

I do not feel comfortable taking my days off in the early part of the school year, as I am always fearful that I will get sick later and need to use the days so I don't get my regular pay docked.  So, as usual, I wound up having six personal days available at the end of April.  School gets out at the end of May.  I planned to use two days to attend my brother's wedding in mid-May, but outside of that I had no plans.  So.... I started to randomly schedule days off.  It turned out that I got to have a day off every week for the last several weeks of school.  I couldn't bear to schedule a day off in the last week, though, so I am going to wind up losing one.

On last Thursday I had one of my days off planned, but I knew I was going to do some work at home (grading and my curriculum team project), and that was okay.  What I had not planned for was one of the sweetest memories of this school year.  I really got to see how incredible this class really is.  I love their hearts and the way they have bonded.  They care about each other, and they are proud of our growth as a group.  I got a perfect snapshot of this during my day off.

I was sitting at my computer working, when I got an email that a student had passed a level of the on-line program we use for math facts.  I thought it would be fun to call the classroom and congratulate the student. When I called, my student receptionist (each student has a classroom job) answered the phone.  I think he was a little shocked to hear my voice when I told him who was calling.  That in itself was kind of fun.  I then told him to please tell the student who had just passed the math level congratulations.  I heard my receptionist pull the phone away from his mouth and make the announcement.

The class clapped and cheered, then the most awesome part happened.  I heard them bring themselves back to order and quietly start working again.  What an amazing gift from my class!  They did exactly as I would have expected if I was in the room.  Not only did they show their joy for the student who passed the math level, but they listened to the announcement from the receptionist, and got quiet with NO reminders of my expectations.  No wonder this class has been such a joy to work with this year.

I will definitely have to remember this moment, as it is not every day a teacher gets to see the fruit of her labors from an outside point of view.  Each day over the past week, I have been getting glimpses of how others see me as a teacher, and it has been eye-opening.  I can see why my cheerleaders have been so excited for me as I have walked this journey in teaching.  I really AM a good teacher who works hard and makes a difference!

Teacher Appreciation Week- From Students

I have to admit that I went into this Teacher Appreciation Week frustrated and not looking forward to seeing what all the "other" teachers would get.  It's not that I am begging for "stuff," but in a school, holidays can tend to look like popularity contests.  I've seen others walk out with bags and bags of gifts, while I've gotten a few small tokens.  It can really make a teacher wonder what she is doing wrong compared to the others.

Well, this year I guess I am one of "those teachers," the ones who leave everyday with a great big smile from how appreciated I really am.  I have said all year that this class has a special place in my heart, and I can tell that the way I feel about my class isn't one-sided.  I have gotten some REALLY cute tokens of appreciation this year.

The best part is that EVERY gift I have gotten shows that my students know my personality, or they are choosing something that reminds them of a lesson or a moment we shared.  I will have great memories of this class, and a couple of the gifts will truly give me years to enjoy.  I can't really pick a real favorite, but I do love the Mrs. Greenberg for my desk.

Here is some of the great "stuff" I have gotten this week:

Teacher Appreciation Week- From Administration

I had so much fun at work this week!  This was Teacher Appreciation Week, and administration went all-out to make it a great time.

On Monday, we were given a 7Up soda with a cute saying about what we do for students.

On Tuesday, we were given the "Gift of Time."  Either the principal or vice principal will come to our classroom and teach either a leadership lesson or read a book for 20 minutes while we take an extra break. The best part of this gift is that it can be saved for next year.  I don't feel like I have enough time with this class as we are getting ready to say goodbye, so I'll hold onto the coupon for one of those times next year when our next break just seems so far into the future.  We were also served lunch by the PSO.  It was delicious!

McDonald's was also celebrating Teacher Appreciation Day on Tuesday, so I stopped for my free breakfast on the way in.  Because I was one of the first 100 teachers (I was actually the first one), I also got a coupon for a later date for a free McCafe drink.  I'm going to save that for a time it's been "one of those days."

On Wednesday, we were served cookies and muffins, and we were treated to a 10 minute chair massage during our lunch.  Oh, that massage was great, but it showed me just how badly I need a FULL massage!  Maybe I'll get lucky and get one in my gift basket that administration is asking parents to put together.

Thursday, we were given a cute little jar of mints.  I also took a personal day off to relax.  I know... I just said I don't have enough time left with my students.  I also don't want to lose all of my days this year like I did last year, so I am taking some time for me.  Somehow I always wind up working from home, though.

On Friday, I came in to one last treat on my desk from administration.  It was a cute little nail polish with a card about polishing the skills of students.  I don't wear nail polish, but my girls will enjoy it!

This has been an amazing Teacher Appreciation Week.  I can honestly say that administration put a lot of thought and effort into making this week special for teachers.  There was a lot of time poured into putting together these gifts and thinking about making sure there was something for everyone.  This is just one of the many reasons that I am not ready to leave my school, either for a transfer or another job, even though I could find something much closer to home and for more pay.

Clothing

When I was in junior high and high school, I used to DREAM of having a sister to share things with.  I wanted to be able to have a perpetual sleep over, do makeovers, and share clothes with someone who lived just a door away.  As a grown-up with teenage daughters of my own, I bet my parents thanking the universe for NOT granting that request!

Ug, it is so stressful to have two girls who wear roughly the same size in clothes and shoes!  To make matters worse, they share a bedroom, which means they also share a closet.  WHOSE pants are these?  WHO does this pair of shorts belong to?  How do we tell?

It is a never ending battle in my house.  Forget the "she's touching me" argument of years past.  That was NOTHING compared to "She is wearing MY (fill in the blank)!"  "Make her take that off!  It's mine!"  I have to admit that I am pretty lucky that Daniel is the parent who is home when the girls are dressing in the morning.  I would have to cry regularly.

Well, we've only got five more years of this before Andrea heads to college and Amber gets to have the closet to herself for awhile.  We can make it.  We're strong people, and just as stubborn as our daughters!

Heaven in the Middle of the City

For years, I have had a favorite place that I call Heaven in the Middle of the City.  The real name is the Riparian Institute.  It is right off the main road, and right next to the county library, but once you get onto the trails, the city just fades away.

The Riparian Institute is a wildlife preserve, and there are several different ponds and trails to check out.  I have loved walking there since the girls were little.  In fact, we had a birthday party there one year.  I think Amber was turning 3, but I honestly can't remember for sure.

Every time we go to the Riparian Preserve we see something different.  Yesterday, I almost tripped over a turtle.  We think it was laying eggs, because she was burrowed into the ground with her hind end and looked miserable.  We also saw rabbits (tons of rabbits) and rats.  It was a super active time in the desert on a Saturday afternoon.

I did get to see my favorite bird, a heron, but I didn't get pictures.  It was too far away.  Maybe next time.

We got in almost two miles of walking, and that was enough for me.  My feet did hurt at one point, but we slowed down, and by the time we got to the trail where we could have headed for the car, I was ready to keep going on the longer trail.  It looks like two miles is about my limit right now.  It's much better than the 30 feet I was walking with the help of a walker at this time three years ago, though!

I Gave Up

The past couple weeks at school have been the most intense, frustrating weeks of the entire school year. First AIMS prep took up a lot of time and threw off our routine, then, of course, the AIMS testing itself was a HUGE week of craziness.  On Saturday of last week we had the school carnival, and I honestly thought that coming in on Monday would be a relief- back to business.  Oh, how that dream did NOT come true! My students were still very "off," and behavior was out of control.

Last night, there was a Crock-Pot Cook Off and community movie night at school, and I was supposed to stay for that.  I made a chili for the cook off, and had prepared to stay to watch "Frozen."  About 20 minutes before the event started, though, I just felt incredibly overwhelmed and really couldn't face the idea of putting on my happy teacher face for students who I quite honestly resented right at the moment. I hate to admit to having real feelings about my class, but hey, teachers are human, too.

Thank goodness my newest teammate is truly a team player.  She was also going to be staying for the event, so she offered to pick up my Crock Pot, take it home to wash it, and bring it back to me on Monday.  I literally cried at her kind offer.  The two of us took my dish over to the judging table, I explained to my administrators that I wasn't feeling well, and I went home.

The feeling of being overwhelmed crushed me last night, and I broke.  My vice principal did recognize this, and we talked in her office for a few minutes before I left.  The talk did a bit to help, and she took some responsibilities off my shoulders by distributing them more to my team.  I am thankful for that.  Somehow I just keep piling on more and more, and I can see the literal interpretation of the "straw that broke the camel's back."  It really is just one tiny addition that makes the load too heavy to carry.

I am so thankful this is a long weekend for us, and I have today to decompress.  I talked to my class at the end of the day yesterday, and we identified some reasons they think they are misbehaving and acting extremely uncharacteristically compared to what I have come to expect from them.  I asked students to reflect on how to get back into routine and to come to school with the motivation to finish the year strong.  I will be taking time to do the same myself.