1
Last week, I went in to work just one day. This week, I was there from 8 - 12ish.
This is the look that Lucy gave me every morning. After the first day, she could smell school on me and was not a happy dog. Deep sigh...
2
This looks like a snow house, right?
On the way to work the first day, I was praying to find the joy in teaching again. Last year, it got lost in all the chaos. So, once I got there and opened the room, I got inspired.
Maybe too inspired! I think that God forgot how old I am getting, because this stuff used to be easier. This is a panoramic picture (my first one!) of my Maroo wall. It is a work in progress. The paper is up, the tree trunks are up, the snow house is done, and most of the trees have their foliage. Next week, finish up the trees, then start painting mountains and valleys. I figured that it will go with Maroo as a giant plot map, the Iceman, and when we are moving into narrative writing, I will sneak in a few Bigfoots hiding behind the trees and mountains. I promise to share some pictures of it when I finish, if I finish.
3
The empty space by the snow house is for the two new computers. Part of the reason that I was having trouble finding the joy was that Read 180 was up in the air. Would I be teaching it? Was our district going to use it again? If so, I agreed to take a few more kids. So, the challenge was to find room for two new computers, and more kids - I think I found a way for it to work.
On Monday, I got the news that not only were we doing Read 180, but our district is FINALLY upgrading to New Generation! Whoopee! So very happy about that little surprise! At the conference last summer, it was so hard to listen to all the wonderful new writing and rigorous reading lessons, and know that we were stuck with the old Enterprise. I realize that this may not mean anything to you if you are not a Read 180 teacher, but if you are....WHOOPEE, HOORAY, and YES!
4
This time of year, I am on the hunt for a good day planner. Yes, I know that my iPhone will do everything, but I need it on paper. Sometimes, I need to see the whole picture. This week I found this one at Target. I was a little upset and doing an emergency run to buy a new laundry hamper (Hank and I do not want to talk about it), and decided to make a detour to my "happy place," the planner aisle.
I doesn't look like much, but I love it! The tan color is very professional, and the hot pink elastic band screams, "I am still a girl and I love pink!" It flips up - totally cool. There is plenty of room to write on the weekly calender, and above is a whole page for notes! My OCD list-making heart went all pitter-patter!
5
Finally, going back to work, this is what I will miss...
Just sitting around and watching these two sweeties. They do this about five times a day. Lucy takes one of Hank's toys. Hank whines, cries, and begs for it back. Lucy makes him beg some more, and then gives in.
I hope this works, because it will be the first time I tried to insert a movie. Okay, it shows up on my desktop Mac, but not my iPad.
Have a great weekend!