Well, I was doing pretty well with updating this thing. Then Thanksgiving and chaos hit. Thanksgiving was great. Returning to reality wasn't so great. I got on the computer to put in grades and end up blogging before I've put in a single grade. I have a million things to do today so I won't write for too long.
We had Polar Express day yesterday and my kiddos were adorable in their pjs. We put chocolate milk in the crock pot and it tasted just like hot chocolate! I, however, forgot it was milk and drank some. I realized pretty quickly my mistake and didn't drink anymore. Milk is not my friend :( The kids loved it though. And I got to use Oma's crock pot. I'm sure she would be proud that the first thing I made in her crockpot was hot chocolate for my kiddos. This 1st week back after break has been crazy. There is so much to do and I'm not really sure why other than the fact that there is always so much to do. I guess that just comes with the territory. My kids were pretty well behaved considering they had been out of school for 5 days. That made things a little easier.
Thanksgiving break was wonderful. I enjoyed spending time with Opa cooking, looking at family tree history, and listening to stories. I love going there. It's so calming and peaceful. I can go and just relax and feel like I'm home. Thursday, Opa and I drove to Uncle Bud's to meet the rest of my family. That's another of my favorite places to be. The fresh air and family time are marvelous. The most fun part of Thanksgiving was getting to shoot guns. I'm a pretty good shot when I use the sights :)
Time to go finish grades!
Saturday, December 3, 2011
Wednesday, November 16, 2011
The daily grind- Dad inspired
In response to my dad's comment on my last post, here is a brief look at the "daily grind" of my life at the current moment. Before I begin, let me preface with the fact that I'm pretty much always exhausted :( I'm hoping my body and mind catch up soon so I'm not so wiped all the time. Here we go:
Mondays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays I get up at 4:45 am to get in the cardio portion of my workout. I workout from 5-6 and then shower and get ready for school. I leave my apartment between 6:45 and 7 and get to school about 7:20. I used to get to school at 7 but have recently lost the ability and motivation to do that :) I get ready for the day and do whatever needs to be done before kids come in at 7:45. The chaos of school ensues for the next 7.5 hours. Everyday is completely different and full of its own wonderful surprises. After school on Mondays I either stay for a faculty meeting or a training that recently started. Tuesdays and Thursdays I pick up some 4th graders from the cafeteria and tutor them in Math (yes, ironic I realize since Math was my worst/least favorite subject in school...) until 4:45. Then I race to the gym for a sculpt or water class. Class finishes at 6:30 and I head home. Frequently I have to make stops at the library, CVS, or Kroger so it's about 7 by the time I get home. The rest of the evening entails dinner, shower, getting things ready for the next day, etc. If Kevin doesn't have to work late, then I see him around 9. Of course, most nights I don't last very long- I'm usually falling asleep after about 30 minutes or so. That's good for a relationship....
Wednesdays are pretty similar except I actually have time to do work after school and get things done. They also start at 6 instead of 4:45 :) On this Wednesday night, I did cardio at the gym and then came home to lots of domestic things that had to be done. The dishwasher is running, cookies are baking in the oven for school tomorrow (yes cooking, not burning!!), and several other domestic type events are occurring. If I had a washer/dryer, I'd be doing laundry and dying white t-shirts brown for Kindergarten Thanksgiving Feast. But I don't so that will have to wait til Kevin isn't working so I can use his :) He's at another show and as much as I wanted to go to sleep, I figured I should wait til there weren't cookies in the oven. Hopefully they'll be done soon so I can get to bed!!
Most days I have work that I could do when I get home for school. However, most days I'm also too exhausted and burned out to want to even think about school. I'm trying very hard to make teaching what I do and not who I am. I want my brain to be able to separate life from school. I think it's the only way I'll keep my sanity. Of course, if something absolutely needs to be done, I'll do it; I'm not going to put anything at risk. But I'd like to try to separate the two if I can. It's a hard thing to do. I spend all day with 5 year olds- and very interesting 5 year olds at that. It's hard not to tell stories about them; they're pretty funny and do some unbelievable things.
Fridays are my catch up days. Even though I'm dying to run away from school on Friday afternoon, it's usually when I can get the most work done. The copiers (if working) are available, the halls are quiet, and my brain is focused on checking things off the list for the week. It makes no sense, but I finish everything up for the week and get ready for the next week so I have a fresh start and clean to-do list. There is a lot I do on the weekend, but whatever I can only do at school gets done on Friday. Last Friday I was there til 5! It worked out well though b/c I was able to run some errands and then meet Kevin for a dinner date :) That doesn't always happen though. If I muster enough energy to get to the gym after all that catch up work, I usually come home and crash after that.
So that's a not-so-brief overlook at a typical Mon-Fri week for me. The most exhausting part is stated in 1 simple sentence- "The chaos of school ensues for the next 7.5 hours." It doesn't sound nearly as exhausting as it actually is!
Mondays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays I get up at 4:45 am to get in the cardio portion of my workout. I workout from 5-6 and then shower and get ready for school. I leave my apartment between 6:45 and 7 and get to school about 7:20. I used to get to school at 7 but have recently lost the ability and motivation to do that :) I get ready for the day and do whatever needs to be done before kids come in at 7:45. The chaos of school ensues for the next 7.5 hours. Everyday is completely different and full of its own wonderful surprises. After school on Mondays I either stay for a faculty meeting or a training that recently started. Tuesdays and Thursdays I pick up some 4th graders from the cafeteria and tutor them in Math (yes, ironic I realize since Math was my worst/least favorite subject in school...) until 4:45. Then I race to the gym for a sculpt or water class. Class finishes at 6:30 and I head home. Frequently I have to make stops at the library, CVS, or Kroger so it's about 7 by the time I get home. The rest of the evening entails dinner, shower, getting things ready for the next day, etc. If Kevin doesn't have to work late, then I see him around 9. Of course, most nights I don't last very long- I'm usually falling asleep after about 30 minutes or so. That's good for a relationship....
Wednesdays are pretty similar except I actually have time to do work after school and get things done. They also start at 6 instead of 4:45 :) On this Wednesday night, I did cardio at the gym and then came home to lots of domestic things that had to be done. The dishwasher is running, cookies are baking in the oven for school tomorrow (yes cooking, not burning!!), and several other domestic type events are occurring. If I had a washer/dryer, I'd be doing laundry and dying white t-shirts brown for Kindergarten Thanksgiving Feast. But I don't so that will have to wait til Kevin isn't working so I can use his :) He's at another show and as much as I wanted to go to sleep, I figured I should wait til there weren't cookies in the oven. Hopefully they'll be done soon so I can get to bed!!
Most days I have work that I could do when I get home for school. However, most days I'm also too exhausted and burned out to want to even think about school. I'm trying very hard to make teaching what I do and not who I am. I want my brain to be able to separate life from school. I think it's the only way I'll keep my sanity. Of course, if something absolutely needs to be done, I'll do it; I'm not going to put anything at risk. But I'd like to try to separate the two if I can. It's a hard thing to do. I spend all day with 5 year olds- and very interesting 5 year olds at that. It's hard not to tell stories about them; they're pretty funny and do some unbelievable things.
Fridays are my catch up days. Even though I'm dying to run away from school on Friday afternoon, it's usually when I can get the most work done. The copiers (if working) are available, the halls are quiet, and my brain is focused on checking things off the list for the week. It makes no sense, but I finish everything up for the week and get ready for the next week so I have a fresh start and clean to-do list. There is a lot I do on the weekend, but whatever I can only do at school gets done on Friday. Last Friday I was there til 5! It worked out well though b/c I was able to run some errands and then meet Kevin for a dinner date :) That doesn't always happen though. If I muster enough energy to get to the gym after all that catch up work, I usually come home and crash after that.
So that's a not-so-brief overlook at a typical Mon-Fri week for me. The most exhausting part is stated in 1 simple sentence- "The chaos of school ensues for the next 7.5 hours." It doesn't sound nearly as exhausting as it actually is!
Tuesday, November 15, 2011
Wedding update and Lessons for Kindergarten
Well today had it's ups and downs as most days do. Kevin is working late so I'm posting before I get stuff ready for tomorrow and fall asleep :) This first year of teaching has been 10x the roller coaster that I thought it would be. I have been fighting allergies and colds since day 1 of school. I'm trying to get in to see an allergist so I can get some relief and not be swollen and puffy all the time... That won't make very pretty bridal portraits or wedding pictures!!
Wedding :) Invitations have arrived. RSVP post cards have been ordered. Garter has arrived. Flowers are pretty much done. Cake is ordered. Guest book has arrived. 1 bridesmaid dress has been ordered, arrived, and is currently MIA. I have to try to locate it tomorrow. It was sent to the store; then the store said they could ship it to my parent's house. However, it has not arrived and that was several weeks ago.. Possibly not a good thing. We still have to put together a plan for the ceremony and reception but other than that, we have a lot done! And Kevin has been great with helping. At times I'm sure he would rather not get involved, but he has been a great help! Especially considering all the school stuff he has had to put up with at the same time. We pretty much spend the weekends with him watching football while I sit beside him and make examples ( he calls it coloring), grading papers, lesson plans, etc. I try to fit in some wedding planning stuff when I can. He doesn't know it yet, but this weekend I have plenty for him to help with :) Stuffing bags with candy for making turkeys, cutting up white t-shirts and dying them brown for the Kindergarten Thanksgiving Feast, and possibly beginning to put stamps on invitation envelopes. Too bad teaching isn't a Mon-Fri 8-3 job....
Today I realized a perk of teaching kindergarten- well, a pro and also a con. When you teach kindergarten, you get bombarded with compliments all day. I like your hair, shoes, shirt, pants, etc. You're a good drawer, painter, writer, etc. I was painting sight words today on construction paper while the kiddos were supposed to be working. Before I knew it, they were all surrounding the table completely entranced by what I was doing. I never knew watching someone paint letters on a piece of paper was so interesting. I received lots of compliments on my painting haha. However, I also got to see how well they're trained. All I said was, "When the timer goes off, we're moving on." Immediately I heard, "Go finish your works! The timer's going!" and they all scattered like little minnows :) I was so proud. Of course that lasted all of 10 seconds and then they were back again. Bless their little hearts, they have such short memories.
Back to the compliments- it's a pro and a con. You get bombarded by compliments. At the same time, they're the most honest little talkers ever. If I write a letter that isn't quite up to par, I hear "Ms. Shilling! That's not a good one!" Sometimes I hope they won't notice, but someone always does. They definitely keep me on my toes and on top of my game. Some days they frustrate me to no end, but at the end (and sometimes the very very) end of the day, they're my kiddos and they have a special place in my heart. Most of them do anyways :)
Now that I've spilled my brains for the night, I'm going to get things ready for tomorrow and get some sleep! Good night!!
Wedding :) Invitations have arrived. RSVP post cards have been ordered. Garter has arrived. Flowers are pretty much done. Cake is ordered. Guest book has arrived. 1 bridesmaid dress has been ordered, arrived, and is currently MIA. I have to try to locate it tomorrow. It was sent to the store; then the store said they could ship it to my parent's house. However, it has not arrived and that was several weeks ago.. Possibly not a good thing. We still have to put together a plan for the ceremony and reception but other than that, we have a lot done! And Kevin has been great with helping. At times I'm sure he would rather not get involved, but he has been a great help! Especially considering all the school stuff he has had to put up with at the same time. We pretty much spend the weekends with him watching football while I sit beside him and make examples ( he calls it coloring), grading papers, lesson plans, etc. I try to fit in some wedding planning stuff when I can. He doesn't know it yet, but this weekend I have plenty for him to help with :) Stuffing bags with candy for making turkeys, cutting up white t-shirts and dying them brown for the Kindergarten Thanksgiving Feast, and possibly beginning to put stamps on invitation envelopes. Too bad teaching isn't a Mon-Fri 8-3 job....
Today I realized a perk of teaching kindergarten- well, a pro and also a con. When you teach kindergarten, you get bombarded with compliments all day. I like your hair, shoes, shirt, pants, etc. You're a good drawer, painter, writer, etc. I was painting sight words today on construction paper while the kiddos were supposed to be working. Before I knew it, they were all surrounding the table completely entranced by what I was doing. I never knew watching someone paint letters on a piece of paper was so interesting. I received lots of compliments on my painting haha. However, I also got to see how well they're trained. All I said was, "When the timer goes off, we're moving on." Immediately I heard, "Go finish your works! The timer's going!" and they all scattered like little minnows :) I was so proud. Of course that lasted all of 10 seconds and then they were back again. Bless their little hearts, they have such short memories.
Back to the compliments- it's a pro and a con. You get bombarded by compliments. At the same time, they're the most honest little talkers ever. If I write a letter that isn't quite up to par, I hear "Ms. Shilling! That's not a good one!" Sometimes I hope they won't notice, but someone always does. They definitely keep me on my toes and on top of my game. Some days they frustrate me to no end, but at the end (and sometimes the very very) end of the day, they're my kiddos and they have a special place in my heart. Most of them do anyways :)
Now that I've spilled my brains for the night, I'm going to get things ready for tomorrow and get some sleep! Good night!!
Tuesday, November 8, 2011
A little more update
Well, I didn't return yesterday as hoped but I'm here today. That's better than it has been in a long time! I have so much on mind tonight. I know I won't be able to sleep until I process some of it so I will attempt that now. Kevin is at an awards show tonight so I won't be able to see him. I haven't seen or really even talked to him since Sunday afternoon. We exchange a few text messages during the day, but we're both so swamped right now that it's hard to talk. He works all the time so we haven't seen each other either. Stinks. Big time. I miss him! I can't wait til March when we'll actually live in the same place. Even though I'll be up and leaving at the crack of dawn, at least I'll know he's there. That has to better than waiting on a text message, right? Gosh I hope so. I thought student teaching was a rough time for relationships. This is much tougher though. We both work all the time and we hardly ever see each other. That's insane since we live 2 minutes away from each other. But I'm up early and to bed early. He's working late and the 2 just don't mix.
Onto the next processing point. I'm so excited about our wedding. It's only 130 days (really 129 b/c today is pretty much over!). We still have work to do on the ceremony and reception but it's coming together. It doesn't sound like long but it feels like a very long wait. We will get married 6 weeks before our 7 year anniversary. Several times I've been asked how old I will be when we get married. I guess they think I'm too young... When I tell them I was 16 when we started dating, 23 doesn't seem quite so young to get married :) I've done my dating time thank you!
Now for school. Usually my class is pretty good. I have 2 native English speakers and 3 that have picked it up through home or pre-k pretty well. That makes 5 English speakers and 15 non-english speakers. Yes you read that right. Not exactly what I thought I was getting into with EL. I also didn't realize that the EL class I did all my practicum and student teaching experience with was 1st grade and that 1st graders learned A LOT of English in Kindergarten. Translate: Kindergarten EL students have no English! I don't know why I didn't realize this before I started teaching, but I figured it out very quickly the first week of school.
We have made lots of progress. I told another teacher today that I feel like I'm breaking horses. You just have to keep doing it over and over and over until they finally get it. And then you get them "trained" and class runs smoothly. However, then you inevitably have weeks like the past 2- everyone forgets everything they've learned and loses their minds! They act like they've never been in school before, never heard the rules, never heard a word of English, and act like they have no sense! That's how my past 2 weeks have been. I have no idea why. At first I thought it was Halloween candy. But Halloween has long past and the insanity continues. I don't know why; I'm just hoping it passes soon. We had a really rough day today. I told them not to come back tomorrow unless they remembered our rules and how to behave in school. I wish :)
I got a taste of an ugly reality today. I can't wrap my head around it yet but I'm just asking that you keep one of my students in your prayers. He is having a rough time and I'm doing what I can to help him, but he needs more than I can do for him. He is only 6 but having to deal with something that he shouldn't have to. He asked me today to help him and I want to more than anything. I have done what I can, but it's not enough yet.
On a happier note, I'm looking forward to going home soon for Thanksgiving. I'm ready to see my family and relax a little!!!
Onto the next processing point. I'm so excited about our wedding. It's only 130 days (really 129 b/c today is pretty much over!). We still have work to do on the ceremony and reception but it's coming together. It doesn't sound like long but it feels like a very long wait. We will get married 6 weeks before our 7 year anniversary. Several times I've been asked how old I will be when we get married. I guess they think I'm too young... When I tell them I was 16 when we started dating, 23 doesn't seem quite so young to get married :) I've done my dating time thank you!
Now for school. Usually my class is pretty good. I have 2 native English speakers and 3 that have picked it up through home or pre-k pretty well. That makes 5 English speakers and 15 non-english speakers. Yes you read that right. Not exactly what I thought I was getting into with EL. I also didn't realize that the EL class I did all my practicum and student teaching experience with was 1st grade and that 1st graders learned A LOT of English in Kindergarten. Translate: Kindergarten EL students have no English! I don't know why I didn't realize this before I started teaching, but I figured it out very quickly the first week of school.
We have made lots of progress. I told another teacher today that I feel like I'm breaking horses. You just have to keep doing it over and over and over until they finally get it. And then you get them "trained" and class runs smoothly. However, then you inevitably have weeks like the past 2- everyone forgets everything they've learned and loses their minds! They act like they've never been in school before, never heard the rules, never heard a word of English, and act like they have no sense! That's how my past 2 weeks have been. I have no idea why. At first I thought it was Halloween candy. But Halloween has long past and the insanity continues. I don't know why; I'm just hoping it passes soon. We had a really rough day today. I told them not to come back tomorrow unless they remembered our rules and how to behave in school. I wish :)
I got a taste of an ugly reality today. I can't wrap my head around it yet but I'm just asking that you keep one of my students in your prayers. He is having a rough time and I'm doing what I can to help him, but he needs more than I can do for him. He is only 6 but having to deal with something that he shouldn't have to. He asked me today to help him and I want to more than anything. I have done what I can, but it's not enough yet.
On a happier note, I'm looking forward to going home soon for Thanksgiving. I'm ready to see my family and relax a little!!!
Sunday, November 6, 2011
The prodigal blogger returns
Wow has the time gone by! Last time I blogged, I had just gotten engaged and just began working in classroom. Now, it's November and I can finally return. I had no idea how hard the first few months of teaching would be. I admire teachers who blog regularly and even post ideas to share. My blog will probably not be like that. It will be more like therapy :)
In the past few months, so much has happened. We are almost done planning the wedding details. Don't get me wrong, we still have a lot to do but the big things have been taken care of. We're getting married March 17 at Big Canoe in GA and I can't wait! I told Kevin yesterday that it seems so far away, but it's only about 4 1/2 months! Invitations have arrived but we're still waiting on RSVP cards before we can send them out. I have my dress, flowers, a bridesmaid dress, location, cake, invitations/save the dates, and engagement pictures all checked off the list. Over Thanksgiving we're going to get the boys suited up (reference How I Met your Mother :) ) and then check that off. Kevin's mom is scouting rehearsal dinner sites this week so that may be done soon too. We're making decisions about showers and honeymoon and music and other logistical things one weekend at a time. It's impossible to get anything done during the week because we both work so much.
Oh work. Yes we both work all the time. I'm thankful that we both have jobs, but I do miss getting to spend any quality time together. I'm hoping that once we live in the same apartment, it will be a little easier. I'm not naive enough to think things will change altogether; just hopeful that it will be a little easier. We have very different schedules and that makes it tough. I'm wiped by the time I get home around 7 or later. I used to come home from the gym after school and do more school work. Not anymore. I'm drawing the line. I need me time. No, that doesn't make me a bad teacher. It makes me a better teacher because I'm taking care of myself. I'll be happier and my kiddos will be happier. They know when I've been working too much. They're not afraid to tell me (in their broken English), "Ms. Shilling, you nice today" or "You no nice yesterday." If I work too much and don't take care of myself, I get grumpy and it's not fair to the kids. So I do what I need to do and I've learned that it's ok to leave a to-do list on my desk everyday before I leave. It's ok not to finish everything. For those who know me well, you understand why it took me til November to learn this lesson. It goes against every fiber in me. But IT'S OK not to finish your to-do list when you're a teacher, b/c it never ever ever ends!
I'll do another post later about what I've learned in my first few months as a teacher. It's quite enlightening, I must say. The only thing I'll say now is that it's nothing like I thought it would be.
On a personal and therapeutic note, I've had a lot to deal with since I last posted. On September 20, my world fell apart. Nothing has been the same since this day and not a day has gone by where I don't think about my Oma. I know it's hard for my family too and I don't want to seem selfish, but typing is the only way I can put words to my feelings. So if you need to stop reading here, please do.
My Oma was the most precious lady I've ever known. I love her so much and I miss her everyday. I had been doing better the past 2 weeks or so but recently I've had a hard time. For those who don't know, here is the Cliff Notes version- she had a heart attack on Tuesday, Sept 20. Kevin was in NY on a business trip and a good friend helped me get myself together and get to Atlanta. My mom had to call me at 6 o clock in the morning and tell me that her mom was gone. I still don't know how she had the strength to do it. My mom is just amazing like that. I hit the floor and all I could think was, "No, no, no, no. It's not fair. She's so excited about this wedding.. And now she's not going to be there." I cried the whole way to school, got my stuff together for a sub, but it took me 2 hours because I could not think straight. I went home and it took me forever to get on the road b/c I kept forgetting things. I cried most of the way to Atlanta because every stinking song that came on the Christian radio station seemed personally applicable. I tried to get myself together before I got to the house because I had no idea what I'd be walking into. Thankfully, my family deals with pain through laughter and joy. I cannot even tell you what a blessing it was to be with my uncles and aunts and mom in my grandparents house. Don't get me wrong, it was hard; but comforting at the same time.
There's a lot more to tell but mascara is running all down my face and it's way past bed time already. (yes, apparently I managed to buy the 1 mascara still made that is not waterproof...) I needed a therapy session tonight b/c I've been missing my Oma
In the past few months, so much has happened. We are almost done planning the wedding details. Don't get me wrong, we still have a lot to do but the big things have been taken care of. We're getting married March 17 at Big Canoe in GA and I can't wait! I told Kevin yesterday that it seems so far away, but it's only about 4 1/2 months! Invitations have arrived but we're still waiting on RSVP cards before we can send them out. I have my dress, flowers, a bridesmaid dress, location, cake, invitations/save the dates, and engagement pictures all checked off the list. Over Thanksgiving we're going to get the boys suited up (reference How I Met your Mother :) ) and then check that off. Kevin's mom is scouting rehearsal dinner sites this week so that may be done soon too. We're making decisions about showers and honeymoon and music and other logistical things one weekend at a time. It's impossible to get anything done during the week because we both work so much.
Oh work. Yes we both work all the time. I'm thankful that we both have jobs, but I do miss getting to spend any quality time together. I'm hoping that once we live in the same apartment, it will be a little easier. I'm not naive enough to think things will change altogether; just hopeful that it will be a little easier. We have very different schedules and that makes it tough. I'm wiped by the time I get home around 7 or later. I used to come home from the gym after school and do more school work. Not anymore. I'm drawing the line. I need me time. No, that doesn't make me a bad teacher. It makes me a better teacher because I'm taking care of myself. I'll be happier and my kiddos will be happier. They know when I've been working too much. They're not afraid to tell me (in their broken English), "Ms. Shilling, you nice today" or "You no nice yesterday." If I work too much and don't take care of myself, I get grumpy and it's not fair to the kids. So I do what I need to do and I've learned that it's ok to leave a to-do list on my desk everyday before I leave. It's ok not to finish everything. For those who know me well, you understand why it took me til November to learn this lesson. It goes against every fiber in me. But IT'S OK not to finish your to-do list when you're a teacher, b/c it never ever ever ends!
I'll do another post later about what I've learned in my first few months as a teacher. It's quite enlightening, I must say. The only thing I'll say now is that it's nothing like I thought it would be.
On a personal and therapeutic note, I've had a lot to deal with since I last posted. On September 20, my world fell apart. Nothing has been the same since this day and not a day has gone by where I don't think about my Oma. I know it's hard for my family too and I don't want to seem selfish, but typing is the only way I can put words to my feelings. So if you need to stop reading here, please do.
My Oma was the most precious lady I've ever known. I love her so much and I miss her everyday. I had been doing better the past 2 weeks or so but recently I've had a hard time. For those who don't know, here is the Cliff Notes version- she had a heart attack on Tuesday, Sept 20. Kevin was in NY on a business trip and a good friend helped me get myself together and get to Atlanta. My mom had to call me at 6 o clock in the morning and tell me that her mom was gone. I still don't know how she had the strength to do it. My mom is just amazing like that. I hit the floor and all I could think was, "No, no, no, no. It's not fair. She's so excited about this wedding.. And now she's not going to be there." I cried the whole way to school, got my stuff together for a sub, but it took me 2 hours because I could not think straight. I went home and it took me forever to get on the road b/c I kept forgetting things. I cried most of the way to Atlanta because every stinking song that came on the Christian radio station seemed personally applicable. I tried to get myself together before I got to the house because I had no idea what I'd be walking into. Thankfully, my family deals with pain through laughter and joy. I cannot even tell you what a blessing it was to be with my uncles and aunts and mom in my grandparents house. Don't get me wrong, it was hard; but comforting at the same time.
There's a lot more to tell but mascara is running all down my face and it's way past bed time already. (yes, apparently I managed to buy the 1 mascara still made that is not waterproof...) I needed a therapy session tonight b/c I've been missing my Oma
Monday, August 1, 2011
A work in progress
Day 2 of working in my classroom is finished. I have exactly 10 days total to get my classroom ready for students. Needless to say, I was hoping for a little more time to work in my room before school started. But I'll do what I can with what I've got. That's the flexibility of being a teacher, right?
My room is a nightmare and other teachers agree. Not only is there a huge diaper keeping the roof off the floor that comes down to my head, but my room became the catch-all room at the end of last school year. I spent all day today pulling stuff of shelves and out of containers. Some of it was older than me; some of it hadn't been used in 10+ years. I was so thankful that some of the other teachers came in to help me weed through it. I had no idea what most of it was or what to do with it. I was more than happy to throw away most of the clutter that was overtaking my room. I wish I had taken pictures to show you all the stuff we threw away or got rid of. But to give you an idea, we filled up a shopping cart to overflowing twice. There was so much of it that we had to get it out of the room. I couldn't even work in there b/c there was so much stuff everywhere.
Thanks to all of their help (for several hours today), I left today feeling a little better. There is still more than I care to think about left to do, but at least most of the junk is out. I still have a giant diaper ceiling that makes my room feel more like a bounce house but hopefully that will be gone Thursday. I still have lots of painting to do that can't be done until the diaper is gone. I still have lots of organizing to do, procedures to develop, a roster to fill, and numerous other things. One day at a time. One day a time.
On another note, tax free weekend is this weekend and I couldn't be more excited! I've already stalked some of the store ads and made lists of what to get at each store. I've always loved school supply shopping, but now that I get to do it for my classroom, I'm even more excited! And the fact that they money will get reimbursed helps a little :)
One last school note: I was told today that there has never been a Kindergarten class at my school to start with less than 21 students. Repeat: 21 kindergartners and 1 teacher! It took me a few minutes to come to grips with this. I cannot imagine having 21 5-year olds in my room, but it looks like it may be that way. I was expecting 18 or so, but 21? Holy moly! This is panicking me a little but I'll let you know once I have a roster.
Thursday, July 28, 2011
Quick Update
Well it's almost the weekend but there is still so much to do! This week I have been busy doing a New Teacher's Orientation program that Metro hosted. It was semi-helpful but a lot of repeat stuff that I learned in college. I was overwhelmed with all the information that we were given through the week. I spent (with about 180 other new teachers), every day from 7:45-3:45 being bombarded with loads of info that we need to know. Needless to say, by Wednesday afternoon, I was mentally exhausted.
I am hoping to get in my classroom tomorrow but that has yet to be determined. I'll find out in the morning. I have 6 big boxes and lots of other stuff to get out of my apartment and into my new classroom. Plus the room still needs a good cleaning, new paint, and so many other things. I could (and probably will) spend all day every day for a week working in there and still have loads to do. I'm trying not to let that overwhelm me. Luckily, I met some really nice new teachers at my school and we're all holding each other up for now. I've been told the teachers on my team will be just as helpful so I'm thankful for that! There is just so much to do and so little time to do it in, but I'll manage. I've already started recruiting people to come help me paint and put tennis balls on chair legs :)
While all of this is going on, we're also trying to get Kevin moved and plan a wedding :) Kevin is officially moving tomorrow but we've already moved a lot of his stuff. This is a weird move b/c it's just moving his stuff to a new place. We're doing that, but we're also moving things into my apartment and some of my stuff is going to his new place. That means a little more planning is involved haha. But we're managing!
As for the wedding, I'm hoping to have something finalized by the 2nd weekend in August. We're going to Big Canoe to meet with some people and see what we like. The wedding will most likely be in March (which weekend is up in the air right now) and most likely at Big Canoe in North GA. This is by no means finalized or determined yet. We're just hoping. I have spring break the first week in April so we're trying to make good use of it. I was going to wait until everything was finalized but I figured I'd at least share some of the decision making process. :)
Friday, July 22, 2011
Kindergarten Wishlist- Can you help?
The last 2 days I've been putting together a list of things I need for Kindergarten. I have very limited funds with which to get everything so I was wondering if I might enlist the help of people who love me :) Please do not feel obligated! If you happen to have any of this stuff laying around and would like to put it to good use, I would love to help! There will be many 5 year olds and one 22 year old giving you lots of thank you's!
1) Box tops for Education- Everyone can do this! They're on almost everything you buy. I just stick a zipper bag on my fridge with a magnet, cut out the box tops from whatever they're on that I've bought at the store, and stick them in the bag. This is such an easy way for the school to earn money! (Now I'll just say, I work in a school where 75% of the kids don't speak English as their first language and most of them are on free/reduced lunch.) Having said that, if you think about it, please put these aside for us!
2.Old socks- yes I know this sounds weird but when they're washed, they make excellent erasers for small dry erase boards and are much cheaper than erasers. Erasers also tend to disappear and I'd much rather replace a sock! We all have a pile of socks that lost their mates in the dryer. Now is the perfect time to get them out of your laundry room! Please wash before donating if you can :)
3. Books- If you have any old kids books that your kids have outgrown, I'll gladly add them to our classroom library! I can't ever get enough books!
4. Little toys, Kids' meal prizes, or anything that would be good for a treasure chest- I'm going to do a reward system with my class and would love anything that would be something fun for the kids. I have a few things already but if I have a really good class, I'll run out quickly :)
5. Any school supplies you have laying around that won't be used, especially paper. I don't know, maybe someone has an excess laying around and just wants it out of their way. For example, Kevin was cleaning out his desk last night and found lots of goodies for me!
6. A hand held vacuum- This sounds a little odd too, I guess, but 5 year olds tend to make lots of little messes that would be easy to suck up real quick with a little vacuum. I'd also like to be able to get the dust up quickly and often to ease the pain of little allergy sufferers (and me as well!)
This is all I can think of right now. If you have other suggestions, feel free to send them to me! I haven't even gotten into my room yet to start working so I'm sure some other things will pop up! If you have any of these things that you'd be willing to part with (for a very good cause!), please let me know and I'll arrange to get it from you!
1) Box tops for Education- Everyone can do this! They're on almost everything you buy. I just stick a zipper bag on my fridge with a magnet, cut out the box tops from whatever they're on that I've bought at the store, and stick them in the bag. This is such an easy way for the school to earn money! (Now I'll just say, I work in a school where 75% of the kids don't speak English as their first language and most of them are on free/reduced lunch.) Having said that, if you think about it, please put these aside for us!
2.Old socks- yes I know this sounds weird but when they're washed, they make excellent erasers for small dry erase boards and are much cheaper than erasers. Erasers also tend to disappear and I'd much rather replace a sock! We all have a pile of socks that lost their mates in the dryer. Now is the perfect time to get them out of your laundry room! Please wash before donating if you can :)
3. Books- If you have any old kids books that your kids have outgrown, I'll gladly add them to our classroom library! I can't ever get enough books!
4. Little toys, Kids' meal prizes, or anything that would be good for a treasure chest- I'm going to do a reward system with my class and would love anything that would be something fun for the kids. I have a few things already but if I have a really good class, I'll run out quickly :)
5. Any school supplies you have laying around that won't be used, especially paper. I don't know, maybe someone has an excess laying around and just wants it out of their way. For example, Kevin was cleaning out his desk last night and found lots of goodies for me!
6. A hand held vacuum- This sounds a little odd too, I guess, but 5 year olds tend to make lots of little messes that would be easy to suck up real quick with a little vacuum. I'd also like to be able to get the dust up quickly and often to ease the pain of little allergy sufferers (and me as well!)
This is all I can think of right now. If you have other suggestions, feel free to send them to me! I haven't even gotten into my room yet to start working so I'm sure some other things will pop up! If you have any of these things that you'd be willing to part with (for a very good cause!), please let me know and I'll arrange to get it from you!
Wednesday, July 20, 2011
The last few days of summer
It's hard to believe but my summer is pretty much over in 2 days! Wow has time flown! It seems like just last week I was graduating college. Oh, wait, just last week I was getting engaged! :) It's only been a week and a half since we got engaged but a lot sure has happened in that time! Everything with my teaching job has kicked into gear, wedding plans have been a work in progress, and Kevin is moving! We've been busy since we got back from vacation, that's for sure!
1) teaching :) I am officially a TN teacher now! My teaching license came in the mail today; all of the paperwork for MNPS has been completed and turned in; and I have been to school to see my room and talk with the principal! That all happened yesterday and today so it's been kind of a whirl-wind. I can already tell this 1st year is going to be quite the adventure. For starters, my room is in a hall way that is having a new roof put on it. Well, it rained before the roof was all the way there. Enough said? My room and the rooms on my hall are a mess right now! Mine stinks the worst though. Literally, it smells awful! My principal was trying to be positive about it though so I wouldn't be too worried. We'll get some paint, hopefully new (or I'll settle for cleaned) carpets (although tile floor would be best!) and spruce it up a little. We may also invest in a lot of Febreeze if that smell doesn't go away! On the bright side, my classroom is huge and I can't wait to get in it and start setting everything up! I'm probably going to be enlisting Kevin's help to paint a huge wall that has some pretty ugly wall paper on it too :)
Next week I am in a New Teacher's Fellowship Program or something like that. It's hosted by Metro and is for all new teachers. It's 8-4 Mon through Thursday and then Friday I get to go to school and start working in my room! Yay!
2) Wedding planning- No, we haven't officially set a date yet. We have one in mind and have lots of ideas for what we want to do. We're in the process of putting everything together now. Hopefully in August we will have a date set and a certain special place reserved so the real planning can begin! So far, I'm mostly enjoying this process. There are a few elements I'm not so fond of, but overall, it's pretty fun. It's so fun to put all our ideas together and see what happens! I don't want to say too much before anything is officially planned, but if we get the place we're wanting, the ceremony will be absolutely beautiful!!! I can't wait to find out if we actually get to see that become a reality :)
3) Kevin is moving- Yes, he is moving very soon! This move will mostly consist of his stuff moving into my apartment while he (and my stuff) move into his new place. Confused? Yes, I thought so. Well, he is moving into a house with a friend and my furniture fits better there than his will. So my furniture leaves my apartment and Kevin's comes in. I have to say, it's gonna look pretty funny to anyone in the parking lot. The good news is, hopefully once we get married, most of Kevin's stuff will already be here so should be pretty easy! And I get to rearrange my apartment because there is all new (to me) stuff coming in :) I've already got the 6 boxes of school stuff ready to go so I could make room. I know he's happy to be able to make this change so I'm happy for him. I'm not so happy about how hot it's going to be the 2 weekends that we do this, but I'll be happy for him because I'm a good fiance :) (and b/c I want help painting my classroom!) :)
Well, I guess that's about all for now! I have 2 days of summer left (plus a couple weekends that will be spent moving and painting my classroom and hopefully a trip to Atlanta). I'm going to make the best of it and enjoy it by babysitting and celebrating Kevin's birthday on Friday. Don't forget to send him a birthday wish b/c he's getting old now :)
Friday, July 15, 2011
We're Engaged!
One week ago today was the best day of my life so far. Kevin surprised me and proposed while we were at the beach! I have promised that I would put the story up on the blog since I didn't get a chance to call/text or talk to everyone. So here goes!
A little background first: We went to Ocean Isle Beach for a week with Kevin's family for a little vacation. We left Nashville on Friday to go to Atlanta. He dropped me off with Oma and Opa while he went to his grandmothers. We met back up on Saturday morning and headed to Spartanburg. Now, if I had known what was to come, I would not have been quite so insistent about seeing my parents that morning. But he couldn't tell me that we would have a cook out at the end of the week with them so I got to see my parents for a few minutes while the cars got packed. We drove all day and got to the beach Saturday evening. A wonderful week was to follow but I'll get to the special part!
Every day we would try to go for a walk on the beach. I had told him before we left that I wanted to get some good pictures; it had been a while since we took any. He kept assuring me that we would get some. Our nightly walks on the beach were my favorite part of the day. Listening to the water and being out in "nature" were wonderful.
Skip to Friday: Friday morning it was raining. It hadn't rained all week so of course it was raining on our last day! I checked the weather to see if we'd be able to go to the beach that day and it said it was supposed to rain all day. I decided to go to the gym to work out a little since the boys were still sleeping anyways. Kevin's mom and I headed off to the gym. When we got back, the boys (by boys I mean Kevin, his brother , and his dad) had gone down to walk on the beach since it had momentarily stopped raining. I took a shower and they were back when I got out. Kevin said we should go down to the beach to take the pictures since it wasn't raining at the moment. (Earlier in the week, I told him I had brought 2 dresses in case we went out somewhere that I needed to dress up.) He also said I should put on one of my pretty dresses for the pictures. I thought nothing of it. I was just glad we were finally going to get some pictures! It made sense that we would go then, at 1 pm b/c at that moment, it wasn't raining.
We got ready and headed out. As we were leaving, he said he had to get his phone. I thought that was odd for a brief second quickly justified it. (He later told me he actually got the ring instead!) We walked down to the beach and of course it was windy! It had been unbelievably windy all week. I was kinda bummed because I had on a dress and it was blowing around; my hair was also blowing around like crazy. He swore it wasn't windy when they were down there earlier. But it was now so we trudged along the beach. As we walked and talked, I tied my dress in a knot so I didn't have to hold it :) I also spotted a dead jellyfish and begged him to take a picture of it. I'm not sure why I asked him to use his phone when my camera was in my hand but apparently that caused some ripple effects that I didn't even pick up on. You see, he had to reach in his pocket and kneel down to take the picture. Keith, his brother, was following us (but I didn't know that) and apparently this made him panic. The fact that I almost turned around could have contributed haha. So the jellyfish almost ruined the surprise! We continued on down the beach. There was an island type place at the end that we had walked to before. However, because the tide was coming in so rapidly, we couldn't get to it. We would have had to swim to get to it! There was a little cove that we walked into though. This little cove had big docks on each side of it. There were giant sand bags to keep the waves off the shore and it was perfect!
We decided to take the pictures there quickly b/c the tide was coming in. I sat down on one of the sand bags and when I looked up, Kevin wasn't beside me like I had expected. Instead he was still standing up. I asked what he was doing b/c it was going to be very hard to take pictures like that! He grinned and said, "So you know how you didn't know if we were going to get engaged at the beach or not?" I said, unsure of where this was going, "Yes.... Why?" "He said that he had a surprise for me. I got excited but still didn't believe this was really happening. He said a lot of really sweet things and asked me to marry him. Of course I said yes! We shared an unbelievable moment that I'll always treasure and remember.
Then it got even better. Keith, Kevin's brother, stepped out from behind the dock with a camera. He laughed and said that he hadn't gotten any of it and we'd have to do it again. I died laughing. It was perfect. The actual moment is only recorded in our memories and the pictures hold the re-enactment. However, the pictures are very accurate and a very good portrayal of the emotions. I love that the camera hadn't worked! It seems like something always go differently than we plan and this proposal was no exception.
Kevin had planned to propose Friday night but the rain had caused him to have to change it to the afternoon. It was cloudy and windy and the tide almost washed us out of the cove. Keith didn't get the pictures so we had to re-do them. All of the pictures have the wind-blown look. We took a picture in shallow water and got hit by a wave and were soaked from the waste down. But it was perfect. I wouldn't change a thing. I love every detail and everything about his proposal. I'll cherish it forever.
Oh, and the ring is perfect :) We took some pictures with his family and I spent the rest of the afternoon on the phone. Both of our phones blew up with emails from facebook, texts, and calls. We are so loved and blessed. Saturday we went home and had a cook out with our families to celebrate. All in all, it was a perfect weekend and I wouldn't trade it for anything!!
I know this is really really long, but hopefully I've been able to share a little bit of this special moment with you.
Thursday, June 30, 2011
Before the Traveling Starts
Hola amigos! Summer is almost gone! Tomorrow, July begins. How crazy is that? It's already July. The countdown to school beginning is on. I'm a nerd, so yes, I am excited about this countdown :) I love buying school supplies and this year will be unlike any other start of school for me. This year, for the first time ever, I will be starting school as a teacher and not as a student. I was pretty good at being a student. I hope I'm half as good at being a teacher! (Thankfully, it's Kindergarten and they don't have anything to compare me to yet :) )
To celebrate the start of teaching and the end of summer, I get to go to the beach with Kevin and his family. We are leaving Nashville tomorrow to go to Atlanta for the night, go to Spartanburg on Saturday morning, and then be at the beach Saturday night! I'm so excited to get away for a while. I like my apartment but since the babysitting business has been slow this week, I'm ready to get away and have some fun! I'm hoping to see Oma and Opa Friday night and my parents for a few minutes Saturday morning but plans are still in the works.
On that note, one thing I'm learning to be very good at is not being able to plan ahead. I have to be patient and let things come as they may. The control freak in me is fighting this lesson every step of the way :) But since waiting has now taken over in absolutely every area of my life, I think God is trying to drive the point home. He's telling me to take a step back and quit trying to rush things; everything will work out the way He has planned. Fortunately for me, His planning trumps my feeble attempts and will always work out better. So I say, "Go ahead please! I will be patient."
I'm sure there are others of you who are dealing with the same issue of having to wait around for something and I encourage you to be patient. Yes, it is no fun when you want to know how and when things will work out, but it's better to let go and let God. :)
Enjoy the holiday weekend and I'll write more after our trip to the beach!
To celebrate the start of teaching and the end of summer, I get to go to the beach with Kevin and his family. We are leaving Nashville tomorrow to go to Atlanta for the night, go to Spartanburg on Saturday morning, and then be at the beach Saturday night! I'm so excited to get away for a while. I like my apartment but since the babysitting business has been slow this week, I'm ready to get away and have some fun! I'm hoping to see Oma and Opa Friday night and my parents for a few minutes Saturday morning but plans are still in the works.
On that note, one thing I'm learning to be very good at is not being able to plan ahead. I have to be patient and let things come as they may. The control freak in me is fighting this lesson every step of the way :) But since waiting has now taken over in absolutely every area of my life, I think God is trying to drive the point home. He's telling me to take a step back and quit trying to rush things; everything will work out the way He has planned. Fortunately for me, His planning trumps my feeble attempts and will always work out better. So I say, "Go ahead please! I will be patient."
I'm sure there are others of you who are dealing with the same issue of having to wait around for something and I encourage you to be patient. Yes, it is no fun when you want to know how and when things will work out, but it's better to let go and let God. :)
Enjoy the holiday weekend and I'll write more after our trip to the beach!
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
A little school work this week
Well it's officially been 1 week since I was hired as a Kindergarten Teacher and I'm still excited :) I'm also a little more frustrated than I was a week ago because I want to know more information about when I get into my room, see the rest of the school, do paperwork to become official, etc, but no one really seems to have the answers to my questions. Nonetheless, I'm still doing little bits here and there. I have a 2nd bedroom in my apartment filled with boxes of books and supplies for crafts and projects (like light bulbs, jars, pipe cleaners, etc.). I need to get this stuff out so I can actually do something with this room! And I want to see my classroom! I'm so excited about getting things ready for my Kindergarten babies :)
I worked in itunes yesterday to start making some playlists. We got to sit in on some Quantum Learning training during Student Teaching and the one thing that really stuck with me was the impact of music in the classroom. She mentioned 3 specific categories: Energizers, Focusers, and Soothers. Energizers are exactly what they sound like: songs that get you up and moving and wake you up! I'm trying to find some good dance type songs. Here's how I choose: I listen to the song and close my eyes; if I can picture 5 year olds jumping up and down to it, laughing, and playing around, then it's an energizer! For Focusers, I'm using a lot of instrumental, classical musical. Research shows that classical music stimulates the brain and instrumental means there are no words to distract you (or at least that's my thinking.) Soothers are calmer, "chill" type songs. I actually tested this out with my student teaching class and it worked wonderfully! For 3 days, I had them on my own. The 1st day, they came in at 7:45 like wild people! The noise and energy was shocking. So the 2nd day, about 5 minutes before they came in, I turned out a low-key song and played it quietly in the background. The difference was amazing! At 8:00, they were all sitting quietly in their seats working and talking softly. It was so quiet that other teachers were coming in to see what I had done :) Needless to say, I will definitely be implementing soothers into our daily playlists!
I am thinking that if I don't hear from Metro soon about getting paper work done, that I'll be heading to the beach with Kevin and his family. It'll be a nice way to celebrate having a job and a last hoo-ra (sp?) before school starts in full swing! I'm still working the details out, so Mom, Dad, and Oma- I will call you as soon as we have a definite plan! :)
Adios!
I worked in itunes yesterday to start making some playlists. We got to sit in on some Quantum Learning training during Student Teaching and the one thing that really stuck with me was the impact of music in the classroom. She mentioned 3 specific categories: Energizers, Focusers, and Soothers. Energizers are exactly what they sound like: songs that get you up and moving and wake you up! I'm trying to find some good dance type songs. Here's how I choose: I listen to the song and close my eyes; if I can picture 5 year olds jumping up and down to it, laughing, and playing around, then it's an energizer! For Focusers, I'm using a lot of instrumental, classical musical. Research shows that classical music stimulates the brain and instrumental means there are no words to distract you (or at least that's my thinking.) Soothers are calmer, "chill" type songs. I actually tested this out with my student teaching class and it worked wonderfully! For 3 days, I had them on my own. The 1st day, they came in at 7:45 like wild people! The noise and energy was shocking. So the 2nd day, about 5 minutes before they came in, I turned out a low-key song and played it quietly in the background. The difference was amazing! At 8:00, they were all sitting quietly in their seats working and talking softly. It was so quiet that other teachers were coming in to see what I had done :) Needless to say, I will definitely be implementing soothers into our daily playlists!
I am thinking that if I don't hear from Metro soon about getting paper work done, that I'll be heading to the beach with Kevin and his family. It'll be a nice way to celebrate having a job and a last hoo-ra (sp?) before school starts in full swing! I'm still working the details out, so Mom, Dad, and Oma- I will call you as soon as we have a definite plan! :)
Adios!
Monday, June 20, 2011
I have a job!!!
Starting in August, I will be teaching a Kindergarten ELL class and I could not be more excited! I had no idea when I woke up this morning just how great today would be. I got up early to work out since I had to babysit all day. 30 seconds after I got out of the shower, my phone was ringing. Normally I would just let it ring and check it later but for some reason today, (and by that I mean- by the grace of God), I answered a number I didn't recognize. On the other end, was the principal I interviewed with 2 weeks ago. She simply asked if I had been hired anywhere yet and said that she was just checking. I was encouraged by this phone call and began to be much more optimistic about this whole job situation. The freeze is supposed to be lifted this coming Saturday so I was beginning to be hopeful!
I went on to babysit and thought in the back of my mind about how much I'd like teaching better than babysitting :) About 12:30, I checked my phone and happened to have an email from the HR Elementary Director saying that she'd like to offer me a position with this school. I was elated! I responded and called to give my acceptance. Over the next few hours, I tried to get in touch with the HR office to find out more details. The only response I got was that the principal would determine the position and an orientation email would be sent soon. Needless to say, I didn't feel like this was very official. I tried to call the school and the principal but didn't get answers at either. So I just sent her an email and asked my questions.
At 4:30, I was about ready to give up and just wait til tomorrow to find out. I figured she must have left for the day. Thankfully, she hadn't and I got an email saying that I would be teaching Kindergarten and she was very excited to have me on board. Now up to this point, I hadn't told a soul that I had been given the position. I was ready to explode with excitement though! I was sitting in the car at the bank and trying to figure out if I could get to Kevin's office before traffic got too bad to try. I wanted to tell him in person and I was about to bust! I got an email from him at that moment saying he was leaving to go to the studio. I think I yelled at the phone because I didn't know where the studio was :)
I decided to head home and figure something out. I called my parents on the way and shared the good news. They were very excited and proud, as was I. I made Mom promise not to put anything on Facebook before I had a chance to tell Kevin and several other people :) When I got home I started the chaotic process of trying to figure out where this studio was. Of course, I didn't have the office number and it wasn't on the website. I finally figured it out and called. I was able to find someone eventually who knew where the studio was and put the address in the Gps. I should mention that while I was doing this, Kevin called. I had to be careful not to sound too happy or give away the surprise. Generally I'm not the best liar but I think I did ok this time :)
Once the address was in and I was on my way, I couldn't find the building. It's an old house and I drove around for about 10 minutes or so trying to find it. I finally found the right house, figured out how to get to the back, found the cars, and parked. Of course when I parked, a man told me that I couldn't park there. Later, he said he was kidding because I think I looked panicked! He pointed me in the right direction and I ran into 3 other men who kindly helped me get where I was going. I eventually found Kevin and he knew exactly why I was there :) (I had told him several times that I was going to have to come find him whenever I got a job b/c I would be so excited!) He was very excited and proud too :)
I think I have sent more texts and had more phone calls today than I have in a single day in a very long time. It's wonderful though. I'll gladly keep draining the battery on my phone spreading the good news! This is such an answer to prayer and I could not be more grateful, thankful, and excited about this opportunity.
I told mom that the day will come soon when I realize that I'm on my own with a 18 5-year olds and I'm responsible for the beginning of their school experience and learning, but for now, I'm just excited about it. I'll panic later; probably the week before school starts :) I cannot wait to begin this journey. Thank you for your prayers, encouragement, and support!
I went on to babysit and thought in the back of my mind about how much I'd like teaching better than babysitting :) About 12:30, I checked my phone and happened to have an email from the HR Elementary Director saying that she'd like to offer me a position with this school. I was elated! I responded and called to give my acceptance. Over the next few hours, I tried to get in touch with the HR office to find out more details. The only response I got was that the principal would determine the position and an orientation email would be sent soon. Needless to say, I didn't feel like this was very official. I tried to call the school and the principal but didn't get answers at either. So I just sent her an email and asked my questions.
At 4:30, I was about ready to give up and just wait til tomorrow to find out. I figured she must have left for the day. Thankfully, she hadn't and I got an email saying that I would be teaching Kindergarten and she was very excited to have me on board. Now up to this point, I hadn't told a soul that I had been given the position. I was ready to explode with excitement though! I was sitting in the car at the bank and trying to figure out if I could get to Kevin's office before traffic got too bad to try. I wanted to tell him in person and I was about to bust! I got an email from him at that moment saying he was leaving to go to the studio. I think I yelled at the phone because I didn't know where the studio was :)
I decided to head home and figure something out. I called my parents on the way and shared the good news. They were very excited and proud, as was I. I made Mom promise not to put anything on Facebook before I had a chance to tell Kevin and several other people :) When I got home I started the chaotic process of trying to figure out where this studio was. Of course, I didn't have the office number and it wasn't on the website. I finally figured it out and called. I was able to find someone eventually who knew where the studio was and put the address in the Gps. I should mention that while I was doing this, Kevin called. I had to be careful not to sound too happy or give away the surprise. Generally I'm not the best liar but I think I did ok this time :)
Once the address was in and I was on my way, I couldn't find the building. It's an old house and I drove around for about 10 minutes or so trying to find it. I finally found the right house, figured out how to get to the back, found the cars, and parked. Of course when I parked, a man told me that I couldn't park there. Later, he said he was kidding because I think I looked panicked! He pointed me in the right direction and I ran into 3 other men who kindly helped me get where I was going. I eventually found Kevin and he knew exactly why I was there :) (I had told him several times that I was going to have to come find him whenever I got a job b/c I would be so excited!) He was very excited and proud too :)
I think I have sent more texts and had more phone calls today than I have in a single day in a very long time. It's wonderful though. I'll gladly keep draining the battery on my phone spreading the good news! This is such an answer to prayer and I could not be more grateful, thankful, and excited about this opportunity.
I told mom that the day will come soon when I realize that I'm on my own with a 18 5-year olds and I'm responsible for the beginning of their school experience and learning, but for now, I'm just excited about it. I'll panic later; probably the week before school starts :) I cannot wait to begin this journey. Thank you for your prayers, encouragement, and support!
All our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them.- Walt Disney
Wednesday, June 1, 2011
Just thinking
I know I should be enjoying this stage of life- just graduated, living on my own, babysitting, etc, but it seems like everyone around me is skipping over this straight to marriage. Not that that is a bad thing. I'm happy for them but at the same time, a little jealous. I want something so bad that I can't have right now. Granted, there are a lot of factors playing into the whole situation and there are times when I think rationally with my brain, but tonight I'm thinking with me heart and I'm a little bummed. I also miss my family terribly and that isn't helping.
Life is short, too short to not make the most of it. I wonder why we spend all our time working away from the ones who mean the most of us? Why do we do it? I know we have to in order to make a living and actually be able to live, but it stinks. I don't see the point right now in working our lives away and always pining for more time; more time away from work; more time to spend with the ones we love; more time to relax; I guess that's just how life is.
So I ask, are you happy with what you have now? Or are you missing now because you're too busy looking ahead or behind you? Sorry if it slaps you in the face. It slapped me in the face too. If you find yourself in the same boat I do, I challenge you to make a concerted effort every day to ask the Lord to help you make the most of the day; to help you see the value of today and why He's blessed you with another day. I sure do intend to try much harder to remember that each day is a gift. Everything will come in His timing and one day, reality will in fact be better than my dreams.
*The price of anything is the amount of life you exchange for it.
-Henry David Thoreau
Life is short, too short to not make the most of it. I wonder why we spend all our time working away from the ones who mean the most of us? Why do we do it? I know we have to in order to make a living and actually be able to live, but it stinks. I don't see the point right now in working our lives away and always pining for more time; more time away from work; more time to spend with the ones we love; more time to relax; I guess that's just how life is.
So I ask, are you happy with what you have now? Or are you missing now because you're too busy looking ahead or behind you? Sorry if it slaps you in the face. It slapped me in the face too. If you find yourself in the same boat I do, I challenge you to make a concerted effort every day to ask the Lord to help you make the most of the day; to help you see the value of today and why He's blessed you with another day. I sure do intend to try much harder to remember that each day is a gift. Everything will come in His timing and one day, reality will in fact be better than my dreams.
*The price of anything is the amount of life you exchange for it.
-Henry David Thoreau
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
Life Post-Graduation
Well since the last time I posted, lots has happened. In the past month, I have graduated from college, moved into my 1st apartment, and gotten a babysitting job. The babysitting job starts June 25 and will continue until I get a teaching job.
Graduation weekend was wonderful! It was great to have my family here for a short time and have them help me set up the apartment. The ceremony was unbelievably long but my family stuck it out! I graduated summa cum laude and one of 7 valedictorians. My parents make a much bigger deal of this honor than I do. I just hope it helps me get a job!
God has been teaching me lots of lessons in the past month. He has been faithful to provide and I have been amazed to see his provision. I babysat or subbed every day in May. For someone who doesn't have a steady job starting til June 25, I was beyond grateful for God's provision! I love seeing him provide and take care of me.
This weekend I also got to go home and spend a few days with Taylor and my parents. There are no words to express how nice is it to go home and get recharged.
I'll post some pictures from the past month but that's all for words for now! :)
Graduation weekend was wonderful! It was great to have my family here for a short time and have them help me set up the apartment. The ceremony was unbelievably long but my family stuck it out! I graduated summa cum laude and one of 7 valedictorians. My parents make a much bigger deal of this honor than I do. I just hope it helps me get a job!
God has been teaching me lots of lessons in the past month. He has been faithful to provide and I have been amazed to see his provision. I babysat or subbed every day in May. For someone who doesn't have a steady job starting til June 25, I was beyond grateful for God's provision! I love seeing him provide and take care of me.
This weekend I also got to go home and spend a few days with Taylor and my parents. There are no words to express how nice is it to go home and get recharged.
I'll post some pictures from the past month but that's all for words for now! :)
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| My parents at graduation |
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| Mi familia! |
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| Love my Opa! |
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| He worked hard for this degree too! |
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| Graduation number 4 for us |
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| Kevin's parents came too! :) |
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| I'm beyond blessed :) |
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| Mis hermanas :) |
Tuesday, May 3, 2011
I have internet again :)
I have internet again and a few minutes so it's time to update! I don't know what day I last updated but I'm guessing it was the end of student teaching. A lot happened in the week and a half after that!
Once student teaching was over, I had to focus on finding an apartment. Kevin and I spent a Saturday driving around and looking at places. We also discussed several times how ridiculous it is that we aren't able to find one place together. It would make life so much easier if we could just get married soon. Plus we want to :) Anyways, while we were driving around I asked if he would call his landlord to see if anything was going to be available. He did. On Tuesday, I found out that I would get an apartment in the same complex! We weren't sure if it would be ready by the 1st, which was Sunday, but amazingly it was! I found all this out on Tuesday, a week ago.
Immediately I started packing things up and quickly ran out of room. I couldn't finish packing until some of that stuff was gone. Saturday, April 30 was our 6 year anniversary. Yes, 6 years we have been dating. Crazy! That was a crazy day to say the least. We had to get more boxes, look for furniture,finish packing, and I had a babysitting interview. I didn't find out until after 5 or so that everything was done with apartment and I could sign the lease and get the keys. So I did all that and we started moving things in! Of course, we had to make a walmart trip before we moved anything in because I knew there were certain things I would need that I couldn't wait until the end of the week for my mom to bring. So we ran to walmart and then went back to my house to start loading up what was already packed. We knew we could move that and then I would finish packing Sunday after church. I have to say, Kevin is an amazing packer! He got everything I had already packed into his car and mine. This was a lot of stuff! And he's very strong. Some of those boxes were super heavy and he was carrying 2 or 3 of them from the car, up the stairs, and into the apartment! I was impressed with how good he is at moving!!
About 8:30 Saturday night, we stopped for the night and went to subway for dinner :) I thought it was pretty funny that we were all sweaty and gross in basketball clothes going out to Subway for our anniversary. But you do what you have to do! Like I said, this is an anniversary neither of us will forget any time soon!
Sunday after church I finished packing and we had everything in the new place by about 3:30 or 4 despite the rainy weather! Then I had the fun task of figuring out where things needed to go. That task will be one that continues for a while haha. There isn't much in here now. Mom is bringing a trailer with furniture, pots and pans, linens, a bed, etc. Hopefully that will help make it a little more cozy! Right now I'm on an air mattress for a bed, have crates with my clothes, the tv is on the floor, and there is stuff everywhere! It's adventure living I guess haha. I'll be glad when they get here with that stuff!!
So in the past week, I have: gotten and moved into my first apartment, gotten the power turned on, tv and internet connected, received my first mail here, and finished everything for school! It's been a big week!! I will pick up my cap and gown sometime before Friday. Mom and Taylor will be here Thursday. Kevin's parents are coming Friday. My dad and Oma and Opa and Kellie will all get here Saturday morning. I'm not sure who else is coming but I'll be excited to find out! And Saturday at 2 pm, graduation will begin!! I'm excited to be graduating, excited to see my family, and thankful that things are working out and God is providing!!
Once student teaching was over, I had to focus on finding an apartment. Kevin and I spent a Saturday driving around and looking at places. We also discussed several times how ridiculous it is that we aren't able to find one place together. It would make life so much easier if we could just get married soon. Plus we want to :) Anyways, while we were driving around I asked if he would call his landlord to see if anything was going to be available. He did. On Tuesday, I found out that I would get an apartment in the same complex! We weren't sure if it would be ready by the 1st, which was Sunday, but amazingly it was! I found all this out on Tuesday, a week ago.
Immediately I started packing things up and quickly ran out of room. I couldn't finish packing until some of that stuff was gone. Saturday, April 30 was our 6 year anniversary. Yes, 6 years we have been dating. Crazy! That was a crazy day to say the least. We had to get more boxes, look for furniture,finish packing, and I had a babysitting interview. I didn't find out until after 5 or so that everything was done with apartment and I could sign the lease and get the keys. So I did all that and we started moving things in! Of course, we had to make a walmart trip before we moved anything in because I knew there were certain things I would need that I couldn't wait until the end of the week for my mom to bring. So we ran to walmart and then went back to my house to start loading up what was already packed. We knew we could move that and then I would finish packing Sunday after church. I have to say, Kevin is an amazing packer! He got everything I had already packed into his car and mine. This was a lot of stuff! And he's very strong. Some of those boxes were super heavy and he was carrying 2 or 3 of them from the car, up the stairs, and into the apartment! I was impressed with how good he is at moving!!
About 8:30 Saturday night, we stopped for the night and went to subway for dinner :) I thought it was pretty funny that we were all sweaty and gross in basketball clothes going out to Subway for our anniversary. But you do what you have to do! Like I said, this is an anniversary neither of us will forget any time soon!
Sunday after church I finished packing and we had everything in the new place by about 3:30 or 4 despite the rainy weather! Then I had the fun task of figuring out where things needed to go. That task will be one that continues for a while haha. There isn't much in here now. Mom is bringing a trailer with furniture, pots and pans, linens, a bed, etc. Hopefully that will help make it a little more cozy! Right now I'm on an air mattress for a bed, have crates with my clothes, the tv is on the floor, and there is stuff everywhere! It's adventure living I guess haha. I'll be glad when they get here with that stuff!!
So in the past week, I have: gotten and moved into my first apartment, gotten the power turned on, tv and internet connected, received my first mail here, and finished everything for school! It's been a big week!! I will pick up my cap and gown sometime before Friday. Mom and Taylor will be here Thursday. Kevin's parents are coming Friday. My dad and Oma and Opa and Kellie will all get here Saturday morning. I'm not sure who else is coming but I'll be excited to find out! And Saturday at 2 pm, graduation will begin!! I'm excited to be graduating, excited to see my family, and thankful that things are working out and God is providing!!
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
An answer to prayers!
Well 2 prayers have been answered in big ways since Saturday. This morning I secured an apartment! Hallelujah! The land lady hopes to have it ready for me by May 1, which is Sunday. That would be insane if it's ready. It should be ready for sure by Wednesday, one week from today. I am so elated that I've actually been dizzy for the past hour haha. I knew God would come through, but I was beginning to wonder when exactly. So this apartment is 2 bedrooms, 1 bath, living room, kitchen, and on the 2nd floor. This is so much more than I have now! I have to say, I'm probably the most excited about having an oven/stove. :) Little things make me happy. The most important thing is that it has a roof and walls and I won't be homeless! Oh, and it's in the same complex that Kevin lives in. That should be pretty fun!
Another prayer was answered on Saturday. I got word that I was accepted for a nannying job that pays very well. The catch is that it doesn't start until June 25. I'm so thankful to have this but now I'm looking for some type of nannying job that I can do until then. I've met with 2 families who both need part time help in the past 2 days so hopefully one of those will work out. If it doesn't, I know God will provide in another way.
So that can be added to the prayer list- summer job until 25th and a teaching job for the fall! Thank goodness the list is getting smaller!
Now my task is to figure out what I need for the apartment and how I can get most of the stuff from Spartanburg to here on Graduation weekend. I don't have much here so I'll be adventure living with an air mattress and no pots or pans for the first week or so :) But, when I pick my mom up at the airport Wednesday night, I'll get to bring her straight to the new apartment and not to the basement! :) On that note, does anyone have an extra air mattress I can borrow while she's here? I know Kevin has one in his apartment, but I think I'll need another one for my mom too.
Anyways, that's all for now. I'm so excited and relieved to have a place!!! Now, we just have to get me in there! I guess maybe Kevin and I will spend our 6 year anniversary packing up my stuff and getting it ready to move :)Yes, our 6 year anniversary is Saturday! :)
Oh, one last thing: I had my exit presentation last night for student teaching. When I got there, there was a class meeting in the room so we had to go to another building and find an empty room. Of course the one we went to did not have a working projector for the powerpoint. So I put it in the computer and we sat around and I gave my presentation. Very odd way to do it, but it worked. I'm done with school! :)
Another prayer was answered on Saturday. I got word that I was accepted for a nannying job that pays very well. The catch is that it doesn't start until June 25. I'm so thankful to have this but now I'm looking for some type of nannying job that I can do until then. I've met with 2 families who both need part time help in the past 2 days so hopefully one of those will work out. If it doesn't, I know God will provide in another way.
So that can be added to the prayer list- summer job until 25th and a teaching job for the fall! Thank goodness the list is getting smaller!
Now my task is to figure out what I need for the apartment and how I can get most of the stuff from Spartanburg to here on Graduation weekend. I don't have much here so I'll be adventure living with an air mattress and no pots or pans for the first week or so :) But, when I pick my mom up at the airport Wednesday night, I'll get to bring her straight to the new apartment and not to the basement! :) On that note, does anyone have an extra air mattress I can borrow while she's here? I know Kevin has one in his apartment, but I think I'll need another one for my mom too.
Anyways, that's all for now. I'm so excited and relieved to have a place!!! Now, we just have to get me in there! I guess maybe Kevin and I will spend our 6 year anniversary packing up my stuff and getting it ready to move :)Yes, our 6 year anniversary is Saturday! :)
Oh, one last thing: I had my exit presentation last night for student teaching. When I got there, there was a class meeting in the room so we had to go to another building and find an empty room. Of course the one we went to did not have a working projector for the powerpoint. So I put it in the computer and we sat around and I gave my presentation. Very odd way to do it, but it worked. I'm done with school! :)
Thursday, April 21, 2011
What a week!
Well Student Teaching is officially over. How strange...
Here is a listing of this week's events: Pre-cursor: it's been quite a week...
1) Monday I caught a 24 bug/virus thing. I had to teach Monday because my mentor teacher was giving TCAP. I left at 1:30 because I could not physically take it anymore. I felt so awful and had since about 6:30 a.m. I got home and slept solid for 4 hours, woke up for about 2, and went right back to sleep until 6:10 the next morning. I felt much better so I concluded that it must have a been a bug or something.
2) Tuesday I had my final evaluation meeting, a meeting with the principal, and financial aid exit counseling. Considering I had been very sick the day before, this was pretty ambitious for Tuesday. The final evaluation went pretty well. I got an A for this placement :) The meeting with the principal was not so great. Well the meeting was fine; just not the information I received. I have mentioned that Metro is putting a freeze on new hires until the end of June. They are displacing over 400 current teachers. These teachers are required to be rehired within Metro before any one else can be hired. This basically means that once you're hired into the system, you can't be fired. You can be moved to another school but you have to be rehired if you're displaced. Or you have tenure and can't be touched. That's a dumb way to do things if you ask me. How on earth do you get rid of bad teachers? You can't. They just get moved to a different school if you're lucky enough to get them out of yours. Again, if you're good at your job, you have nothing to worry about. Enough of that tangent though. So after the displaced teachers are rehired, then transfers within district and Teach for America people get placed. Don't even get me started on that. Actually if you want to hear my take on that, I'll be glad to share from an enlightened and informed point of view. So that means that any open jobs go 1st to displaced teachers, 2nd to transfers and Teach for America, and finally to new hires. I would be considered a New hire. Keep in mind that there are 400+ displaced teachers. That's a pretty long list to be at the bottom of. All of this to say that the principal told me to keep my head up; having my ELL certification would help me; and be patient because something will open up- it may be August but it will open up.
3) Wednesday I surprise subbed for a 3rd grade teacher who forgot to put in for a sub. The principal found me that morning on my way to class and told me he would probably send me down there. Good thing I got my sub certification! It made for a long day though. I taught all morning in 1st grade; when they went to lunch, I went to 3rd grade and had lunch an hour later. Third grade is very different. Especially when most of the boys in the class have ADD/ADHD, behavior problems, and all other kinds of craziness. What a day! Oh and that morning I woke up late because the power was off.
4) Wednesday night my throat was still hurting and I was beginning to lose my voice. I also found out, late that night and in not so pleasant of a way, that I have to move by May 15. No longer May 31. She actually was trying to get me out by May 1. May 1 is very soon. There's no way. So I was able to negotiate a little bit. That made for a pretty stressful event.
5) Thursday I woke up and discovered that my alarm clock had re-set itself when the power came back on to be 10 minutes slow. So I was running 10 minutes late. Thankfully I get to school pretty early so it wasn't a problem but it was pretty irritating. It was my last day of student teaching- a bittersweet experience. We had a fun day, took lots of pictures, and had an Easter Egg "Hunt"/ Scramble. I'll post pictures soon!
It's hard to believe student teaching is over. Everything I've been working towards for 4 years is over. I have my exit presentation Monday, assuming my voice comes back. I've got babysitting interviews and apartment hunts to conduct and then graduation will be upon us! Counting down to May 7!! :)
What a week!
Here is a listing of this week's events: Pre-cursor: it's been quite a week...
1) Monday I caught a 24 bug/virus thing. I had to teach Monday because my mentor teacher was giving TCAP. I left at 1:30 because I could not physically take it anymore. I felt so awful and had since about 6:30 a.m. I got home and slept solid for 4 hours, woke up for about 2, and went right back to sleep until 6:10 the next morning. I felt much better so I concluded that it must have a been a bug or something.
2) Tuesday I had my final evaluation meeting, a meeting with the principal, and financial aid exit counseling. Considering I had been very sick the day before, this was pretty ambitious for Tuesday. The final evaluation went pretty well. I got an A for this placement :) The meeting with the principal was not so great. Well the meeting was fine; just not the information I received. I have mentioned that Metro is putting a freeze on new hires until the end of June. They are displacing over 400 current teachers. These teachers are required to be rehired within Metro before any one else can be hired. This basically means that once you're hired into the system, you can't be fired. You can be moved to another school but you have to be rehired if you're displaced. Or you have tenure and can't be touched. That's a dumb way to do things if you ask me. How on earth do you get rid of bad teachers? You can't. They just get moved to a different school if you're lucky enough to get them out of yours. Again, if you're good at your job, you have nothing to worry about. Enough of that tangent though. So after the displaced teachers are rehired, then transfers within district and Teach for America people get placed. Don't even get me started on that. Actually if you want to hear my take on that, I'll be glad to share from an enlightened and informed point of view. So that means that any open jobs go 1st to displaced teachers, 2nd to transfers and Teach for America, and finally to new hires. I would be considered a New hire. Keep in mind that there are 400+ displaced teachers. That's a pretty long list to be at the bottom of. All of this to say that the principal told me to keep my head up; having my ELL certification would help me; and be patient because something will open up- it may be August but it will open up.
3) Wednesday I surprise subbed for a 3rd grade teacher who forgot to put in for a sub. The principal found me that morning on my way to class and told me he would probably send me down there. Good thing I got my sub certification! It made for a long day though. I taught all morning in 1st grade; when they went to lunch, I went to 3rd grade and had lunch an hour later. Third grade is very different. Especially when most of the boys in the class have ADD/ADHD, behavior problems, and all other kinds of craziness. What a day! Oh and that morning I woke up late because the power was off.
4) Wednesday night my throat was still hurting and I was beginning to lose my voice. I also found out, late that night and in not so pleasant of a way, that I have to move by May 15. No longer May 31. She actually was trying to get me out by May 1. May 1 is very soon. There's no way. So I was able to negotiate a little bit. That made for a pretty stressful event.
5) Thursday I woke up and discovered that my alarm clock had re-set itself when the power came back on to be 10 minutes slow. So I was running 10 minutes late. Thankfully I get to school pretty early so it wasn't a problem but it was pretty irritating. It was my last day of student teaching- a bittersweet experience. We had a fun day, took lots of pictures, and had an Easter Egg "Hunt"/ Scramble. I'll post pictures soon!
It's hard to believe student teaching is over. Everything I've been working towards for 4 years is over. I have my exit presentation Monday, assuming my voice comes back. I've got babysitting interviews and apartment hunts to conduct and then graduation will be upon us! Counting down to May 7!! :)
What a week!
Sunday, April 17, 2011
The End is Near!
The end is near! Of student teaching that is. Thursday is the last day I'll be going to first grade as a student teacher. So weird!!! I'm still full time teaching tomorrow because of TCAP testing and I'll be doing everything but math the rest of the week. We're planning to have an Easter Egg hunt on Thursday since there is no school Friday. Maybe I'll have to hide something special in some eggs for the kids. I'll definitely miss seeing them every day!
This past week did me in though. Everyday after lunch I felt horrible. I was feeling sick and had awful headaches every single afternoon. Needless to say, it made for a very long week. I was also full time teaching so that made it even harder. I think it's safe to say that this was caused by a combination of stress, new medicines, and exhaustion. Not a good combination. No matter how hard I try not to stress and just let God handle things, my body and mind don't really relax. They're constantly stressed! This manifested itself Friday. My stomach was in absolute knots for no explainable reason. Thanks stress.
So the reasons for the stress?? 1) I have to move out by May 31. I'll be in Spartanburg from 5/25-5/30 so I need to know where I'm going and have everything packed and ready to go before we fly out. Yikes! I have nothing except a desk, papasan chair (sp?), and mini-dorm fridge. My parents will probably have to drive some things up later that weekend so I'll probably be adventure living for the first few days! Why not right?
2) I have to find a summer job- this will probably be nannying. I've had a few good leads but nothing has panned out yet. I have several interviews this week, most of which are part time. Hopefully I can combine some part time things to make a full time schedule for the summer that will help pay rent!
3) I need a teaching job. This week Metro Nashville Public Schools announced that they will be displacing over 400 teachers due to changing enrollment. Now, just so you know, there are 78,000+ students in MNPS this year. They are projecting that there will be 80-82K next year. So, of course they're getting rid of over 400 teachers. (Apparently this makes sense to someone, but not to me.)They are suspending all new hires until June 25. This means that all open positions go to displaced teachers first. Then new teachers, like me, get a shot if there's anything left. The principal that I want to work for has told me that he has a meeting with Human Resources on Monday 4/25 so I am meeting with him Tuesday. Please please please pray that he will have some good news for me. Even if it just hang on until July. Something positive would be great!
I'm trying everyday to put this all in God's hands. I know He has a plan and that He knows where I'll live, work, and how I'll pay the bills. He's faithful and has a plan. I know I'm supposed to be learning patience, I'm just very bad at it. I'm trying so hard though! Please pray that I'll succeed at my lesson and learn quickly! :)
There is a lot going on this week and in the next few weeks! I'll try to get in another post tomorrow with more updates because I know this is long! Thanks for reading and for praying!!!
This past week did me in though. Everyday after lunch I felt horrible. I was feeling sick and had awful headaches every single afternoon. Needless to say, it made for a very long week. I was also full time teaching so that made it even harder. I think it's safe to say that this was caused by a combination of stress, new medicines, and exhaustion. Not a good combination. No matter how hard I try not to stress and just let God handle things, my body and mind don't really relax. They're constantly stressed! This manifested itself Friday. My stomach was in absolute knots for no explainable reason. Thanks stress.
So the reasons for the stress?? 1) I have to move out by May 31. I'll be in Spartanburg from 5/25-5/30 so I need to know where I'm going and have everything packed and ready to go before we fly out. Yikes! I have nothing except a desk, papasan chair (sp?), and mini-dorm fridge. My parents will probably have to drive some things up later that weekend so I'll probably be adventure living for the first few days! Why not right?
2) I have to find a summer job- this will probably be nannying. I've had a few good leads but nothing has panned out yet. I have several interviews this week, most of which are part time. Hopefully I can combine some part time things to make a full time schedule for the summer that will help pay rent!
3) I need a teaching job. This week Metro Nashville Public Schools announced that they will be displacing over 400 teachers due to changing enrollment. Now, just so you know, there are 78,000+ students in MNPS this year. They are projecting that there will be 80-82K next year. So, of course they're getting rid of over 400 teachers. (Apparently this makes sense to someone, but not to me.)They are suspending all new hires until June 25. This means that all open positions go to displaced teachers first. Then new teachers, like me, get a shot if there's anything left. The principal that I want to work for has told me that he has a meeting with Human Resources on Monday 4/25 so I am meeting with him Tuesday. Please please please pray that he will have some good news for me. Even if it just hang on until July. Something positive would be great!
I'm trying everyday to put this all in God's hands. I know He has a plan and that He knows where I'll live, work, and how I'll pay the bills. He's faithful and has a plan. I know I'm supposed to be learning patience, I'm just very bad at it. I'm trying so hard though! Please pray that I'll succeed at my lesson and learn quickly! :)
There is a lot going on this week and in the next few weeks! I'll try to get in another post tomorrow with more updates because I know this is long! Thanks for reading and for praying!!!
Wednesday, April 13, 2011
Is it only Wednesday???
I'm so tired :( This whole experience is coming to an end. In one week, I will be finished with student teaching. So weird... It's beginning to catch up with me though. It's only Wednesday and I've been hoping for Friday since yesterday! I seriously considered going to bed at 6:30 tonight. I didn't end up doing it but I wanted to. It will be an early night tonight though, I hope.
Today was the start of TCAP. For those who don't know, that means that every teacher, principal, secretary, etc... got no sleep last night. This is the state test that every 3rd-8th grader takes. High school may take it too but I think their dates are different. This also means that our building was completely silent from 8:20-11:35 this morning. The Kindergarten, 1st, and 2nd grade walked outside in silence if we had to go somewhere. The lunchroom was quiet. Doors were closed everywhere. P.E was quiet with the doors closed. It was kind of eerie to tell you the truth. Thankfully we are on the other side of the building far away from where testing was going on, but you better believe our kiddos didn't make a peep in the hall or outside. I thought I was being harsh by threatening to move their card to yellow if they made a sound. At lunch I found out the other teachers had threatened to move cards straight to red. My kids had it easy haha. I did have to move 2 though. Guess I wasn't scary enough :) I'll try again tomorrow. This will be the way things are for several more days. On Tuesday, things will go back to normal. So if you think about, please keep the kids at my school taking the test in your prayers. This is a big deal test and their scores have a huge impact on the school as well as the students. If you're really curious and want to know more, you can check it out here: http://www.tn.gov/education/assessment/achievement.shtml
On a personal note, I'm super tired this week and everything that goes along with that. I've been getting really agitated with little things and dreading the afternoons. If I felt like this the whole placement, I would have been miserable. I'm trying to remember this is my next to last week but I'm so tired that I just want to be done... I think emotional stress is contributing to this as well. If you haven't heard, I have to move by June 1. I'll also be in Spartanburg the last week of May. So I guess I really have to move by mid-May. That's soon. I also have to find a summer nannying job that will help pay rent since teachers don't get paid until August. On that note, I also have to get a teaching job. Oh goodness, when you lay it all out there, there's a lot going on. That also means a lot will be happening this summer. I'm not the best at dealing with change. This summer will be nothing but change. Bring it on. I'm ready for it.
I'm working this week on really truly handing everything over to God and letting Him deal with it. Honestly, I don't want to deal with it so I'm glad He's there to take it. I know that He has a plan and knows where I'll live, how I'll pay for it, and where I'll teach in the fall. Hopefully I can be patient enough that He'll reveal it soon :) Prayers for all of these situations would also be greatly appreciated. Thank you for all of your prayers and support!
Today was the start of TCAP. For those who don't know, that means that every teacher, principal, secretary, etc... got no sleep last night. This is the state test that every 3rd-8th grader takes. High school may take it too but I think their dates are different. This also means that our building was completely silent from 8:20-11:35 this morning. The Kindergarten, 1st, and 2nd grade walked outside in silence if we had to go somewhere. The lunchroom was quiet. Doors were closed everywhere. P.E was quiet with the doors closed. It was kind of eerie to tell you the truth. Thankfully we are on the other side of the building far away from where testing was going on, but you better believe our kiddos didn't make a peep in the hall or outside. I thought I was being harsh by threatening to move their card to yellow if they made a sound. At lunch I found out the other teachers had threatened to move cards straight to red. My kids had it easy haha. I did have to move 2 though. Guess I wasn't scary enough :) I'll try again tomorrow. This will be the way things are for several more days. On Tuesday, things will go back to normal. So if you think about, please keep the kids at my school taking the test in your prayers. This is a big deal test and their scores have a huge impact on the school as well as the students. If you're really curious and want to know more, you can check it out here: http://www.tn.gov/education/assessment/achievement.shtml
On a personal note, I'm super tired this week and everything that goes along with that. I've been getting really agitated with little things and dreading the afternoons. If I felt like this the whole placement, I would have been miserable. I'm trying to remember this is my next to last week but I'm so tired that I just want to be done... I think emotional stress is contributing to this as well. If you haven't heard, I have to move by June 1. I'll also be in Spartanburg the last week of May. So I guess I really have to move by mid-May. That's soon. I also have to find a summer nannying job that will help pay rent since teachers don't get paid until August. On that note, I also have to get a teaching job. Oh goodness, when you lay it all out there, there's a lot going on. That also means a lot will be happening this summer. I'm not the best at dealing with change. This summer will be nothing but change. Bring it on. I'm ready for it.
I'm working this week on really truly handing everything over to God and letting Him deal with it. Honestly, I don't want to deal with it so I'm glad He's there to take it. I know that He has a plan and knows where I'll live, how I'll pay for it, and where I'll teach in the fall. Hopefully I can be patient enough that He'll reveal it soon :) Prayers for all of these situations would also be greatly appreciated. Thank you for all of your prayers and support!
Wednesday, April 6, 2011
Quick Catch Up
Well I finally found a minute! I usually try to do a new one at some point during the weekend, but last week was just so crazy that I couldn't. This past weekend was beautiful! Kevin and I were able to go to the park on Saturday and walk around for a while. Story about the park- every, and I mean EVERY time we go, we see either someone getting married, getting engaged, or taking engagement pictures. This past Saturday was no different. We saw the happy couple- tux, white dress, and all. On Sunday we were able to go ride bikes through some very hilly neighborhoods. I guess it's called Green Hills for a reason.
It was nice to get some time together though because we didn't see each other at all last week. I saw him Sunday night and not again til the next Saturday. Between shows he was going to and my exhaustion from school and babysitting, our schedules just didn't mesh very well. Guess it doesn't matter if you live 5 minutes away, when schedules are opposite, there's nothing you can do.
Anyways, school has been going well. I pretty much started full time teaching last week and will continue until the 19th or so. It's fine with me! I love it! My mentor teacher is also getting a lot of stuff done in her room that she's wanted to do for a while but hasn't had the time to do. Next week, she gets to go administer TCAP though so she better enjoy this week! The more time I spend teaching, the more I love it. The kids crack me up, every day is different, you never know what to expect, and there is never a dull moment. I can't imagine spending my day doing anything else. I'm going to be really bummed when this placement is over. I already have quite a few days lined up to go back and sub so hopefully I won't have too much time to be bummed!
I have 2 more observations, one of which is tomorrow and the other is next week, and that's it! So weird to think that this is wrapping up so quickly. It's definitely creating a lot of mixed emotions for me. I'm excited to be finishing school, but sad that I'm going to be leaving the wonderful people I'm with everyday.
Hopefully more good things are close behind though. I have finished and turned in my portfolio. My exit presentation is on the 25th, and graduation is 30 days or 4 weeks or 1 month away!! :) CRAZY!!!
It was nice to get some time together though because we didn't see each other at all last week. I saw him Sunday night and not again til the next Saturday. Between shows he was going to and my exhaustion from school and babysitting, our schedules just didn't mesh very well. Guess it doesn't matter if you live 5 minutes away, when schedules are opposite, there's nothing you can do.
Anyways, school has been going well. I pretty much started full time teaching last week and will continue until the 19th or so. It's fine with me! I love it! My mentor teacher is also getting a lot of stuff done in her room that she's wanted to do for a while but hasn't had the time to do. Next week, she gets to go administer TCAP though so she better enjoy this week! The more time I spend teaching, the more I love it. The kids crack me up, every day is different, you never know what to expect, and there is never a dull moment. I can't imagine spending my day doing anything else. I'm going to be really bummed when this placement is over. I already have quite a few days lined up to go back and sub so hopefully I won't have too much time to be bummed!
I have 2 more observations, one of which is tomorrow and the other is next week, and that's it! So weird to think that this is wrapping up so quickly. It's definitely creating a lot of mixed emotions for me. I'm excited to be finishing school, but sad that I'm going to be leaving the wonderful people I'm with everyday.
Hopefully more good things are close behind though. I have finished and turned in my portfolio. My exit presentation is on the 25th, and graduation is 30 days or 4 weeks or 1 month away!! :) CRAZY!!!
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