almost there!

I officially have 13 days left of this school year and it cannot come soon enough!! This week has been the busiest week EVER, and tomorrow is only Wednesday. We had Open House tonight, which was a success. I always love this time of the year because the kids (and I) get to show off what we've been working so hard on all year. It was great to see all the families come and support their children. We did some awesome projects to get ready for this night. Last week we completed our Torn Art Portraits. I have done this with my kids the last 2 years, but this year was quite challenging because I have a lot of self professed "perfectionists" in my class and for this art project, they are NOT allowed to use scissors to cut the paper. I will have to take a picture of how they all turned out and post it tomorrow, because even I was impressed by the creativity that was shown!

Just let Friday be here already. Team is coming over to our casa for a BBQ, and Saturday brings date night with Hubband and 2 amazing tickets to see Lion King!! CAN'T WAIT!

honesty is the best policy

This year, I have a child in my class that I will call "A.M." because he is my Anger Management child. He came in to my classroom in the beginning of hte year throwing fits, crying, wailing, and becoming violent whenever I told him something he didn't want to hear. After MONTHS of documenting his actions, making adjustments, using every possible intervention...he finally got some counseling and mom got him some meds to balance his mood. Now, he is a dream. No joke. I am NOT one to encourage putting such young children on meds, but this child made such the turn around! And now, he has become the most HONEST first grader you will ever meet.

Why, you may ask?

Because today, A.M. came to me after recess and said, "Mrs. C, I wanted to let you know that at recess, I pushed "so and so" down because she wouldn't get out of my way and I called her dumb. Then she hit me so I hit her back."

I was totally shocked by the fact that this child just told me the honest truth, even though he knew he was going to get in trouble! I proceed to talk to him about his actions and the fact that he should have made a better choice. Then, I asked him what he thought his conseqeunce should be. This was his response:

"I should definitely pull a card and owe you all my recess for the rest of today."

Wow. A.M. so made my job easier today. And because of his brutal honesty, I only took away one recess instead of two. I mean, honesty IS the best policy. ;)

and the verdict is in!

I'm staying at my school site! I was so happy to find out that I wasn't on the list to transfer, so I get to stay at my school with my amazing first grade team! I am oh-so excited for next year with my new partner. We already work so well together, and we aren't even partners yet! :) The next school year is going to be awesome. It just has to be after the year I've had with this class. I can only hope for the best.

i'm such a control freak...

...that it is KILLING me that i don't know, for sure, where i will be teaching next year. i'm so upset with all the budget cuts and downsizing! not only because it is affecting our kids and their education, but because it's affecting so many people i know...myself included. i know, i know....i should totally be thankful for the fact that, no matter what, i KNOW i will have a JOB next year. but to think that i may have to change grade levels (i love first grade) or worse, change school sites (i love my co-workers) leaves me feeling VERY uneasy. like queasy-uneasy. :( my hubband says i stress too much...and i know i do. no matter what happens, i'll be ok...unless they give me a 5th or 6th grade class. but i have a job! it's just sad that i LOVE where i teach now...even if it's not in the best area of town or the easiest kids on earth. i love that i know i'm making a difference. i know i'm providing these kids with some stability and love that they may not get at home. i know that i am NEEDED. and i love that i become so close with them through the year, that even with their tough lives and their barriers, i can make them smile and giggle. so do i really want to leave? no...i still have too much passion left in me to leave a place like this. it's hard, i will admit that. it's hard to teach the kids who come in with so much baggage....but in the end, it's just that more rewarding.

...but if i have to leave, then i have to leave. i just hope and pray that i get to stay at my school site in my current position. damn the economy, damn the budget cuts....damn all the people who continue to think it's ok to take so much money from education. i may be complaining about something as petty as my own job...but seriously....think of the kids. they NEED to come first.

back to reality

i'm quite sad about that fact that i have to go back to work on friday to set up the classroom...and school begins again on monday. i am hoping that this trimester goes by quickly. it's the last trimester of the year, and there are always so many things going on...but the kids will begin to get "spring fever" and it will be that much harder to keep them under control, especially this year with this group. ahh! let's hope for the best on monday. ;)

i haven't blogged all month...wow! i can't believe i've been off work for a whole month; but it has been a pretty productive one. i worked 6 days while i was off, which will bring in a nice chunk of change. the new blinds got put in finally, and i even spent 2 days putting up new curtains! i love them because they make the house look more "home-y". i did not, however, step foot in my gym until this week. of course, the LAST week i'm off. grr to me. :( i so wanted to get myself back into a routine this month. but so good fitness news: i have fallen in love with doing the yoga exercises on my wii fit. and man, it's quite the workout! i've done it every day for the past week, and i find myself sitting up a little taller now. :)

so here are my spring goals, published for all to see. ;)

1. i will go to the gym at least twice a week in the evenings (as hard as this may be to stick to, it's almost impossible for me to go in the morning!). i know it doesn't sound like much, but baby steps until i can make it part of my normal routine. and i will try and drag hubband with me!

2. i will eat healthier and keep better snacks around the house for both myself and my hubs. this means cooking healthier for the two of us and less eating out. we did that a lot this month since i was off...but i'm going to try and limit our eating out/date nights to twice a month. do-able!

3. i will give myself "quiet time" each day to unwind. i don't do this for myself enough when i am working because i get caught up in daily chores and planning for school. this month i have realized that i NEED this time to center myself.

4. i will try and clean up as i go during the week. i cannot stand spending a whole saturday picking up crap left around the house during the work week! so i will try and put my things away as i go....and i will try not to let the fact that hubband does this irritate me. ;)

let's see if i can stick to my spring goals. not to lose weight or become a body builder, or to be a domesticated godess...but to feel better about myself and my lifestyle. because sometimes i feel like i fall short. that should be enough to keep me going. :)

i heart year round schools

i am FINALLY off track for a month! thank goodness!! i am so ready to sit around the house and do nothing for a few days. i have picked up a few sub jobs already, which is great because i could use some extra spending money. but nothing else big is planned for this break. jammies, couch, and movies are all that are on my agenda. yes, i know i sound like the laziest person ever; but teaching these little munchkins take A LOT out of you! i hope that the weather is pleasant for a few days...i would love to get some yard work done since our back yard looks like a stinkin' jungle. and we should be getting new blinds in a week or two, and after that i can put up the curtains. oh yea...and i told myself i would paint the bathroom! so maybe i will have a productive break. but for now, i'll enjoy the fact that i don't have to wake up early tomorrow. gee, tim is gonna love that when he has to get up and get ready for work. ;)

beamer's beloved teddy bear

so beamer has this little teddy bear that he is absolutely in love with. he plays with this stinky little bear all the time, and it is just the cutest thing when you catch him dragging the little bear along the floor by the ear. here is a picture of said bear.
beamer's best friend

this morning as tim and i were getting ready for work, we found the bear on our bathroom floor. we know that beamer plays with this bear like mad because we find it in odd places of the house when we come home. so...tim thought it would be funny to place the bear underneath a laundry basket to see if beamer would try to get it out while we were at work. i giggle as tim puts the bear in "jail", and beamer watches. then beamer just stares at his friend, helpless. he tries to paw at the bear through the gaps in the laundry basket, but no success. tim put bear in the dead center of the basket, and beamer's arms weren't long enough to get his friend.

so around 4:30 today when tim got home from work, he called me on my cell phone cracking up. he came home to find the laundry basket clear on the other side of the bathroom floor. bear was pulled out halfway through the handle opening of the laundry basket. i asked him to take pictures for me so i could see.

i just about died laughing when i saw these pictures! beamer REALLY did try to get him out. i thought he'd figure out a way to tip the basket over...but instead he scooted it around to get to his friend. at least he picked the largest opening to pull bear out, but bear just wouldn't budge. ;) beamer was quite elated when he had bear in his arms again. if i can get a picture of the two of them cuddling, you better believe it will get posted.