I was supposed to post this last night, so perhaps just this once you could pretend for me that I did post it instead of falling asleep on the couch???
I am exhausted! Today was a busy, fun day in Kindergarten. I love Halloween. More importantly I love that I work in a school that embraces holidays and seizes the opportunities to create lasting memories. I love that every member of our district office dresses up and greets 265 Kindergartners as they parade through their cobweb strewn offices.
I am blessed! I have amazing parent helpers that always show up and help to create incredibly fun days. From mummy dogs and witch's brew to Halloween bingo it was so much fun. They donate the supplies, run the games, and they even help clean up the aftermath. For a Kindergarten teacher it doesn't get much better than that.
I am thankful! I love that my own kids will have the opportunity to create some of the same great memories that I have from elementary school days. That is a rare gift in education today and I am so thankful to have found it.
I am relieved! No more superhero costume! I was so glad to get home and cuddle into a warm pair of jammies.
I am worried/wondering. Why has My Princess in Training lost her spark this week? She is grumpy and cranky and cries on a dime. Is she getting sick? Is she not getting enough sleep? Is she not getting enough attention? Is she subconsciously aware of the big changes in the near future? I am not sure what it is, but hopefully it will resolve itself or we will get to the bottom of it.
I am antsy. We were supposed to close on our house next week. The date has changed as we knew it would, but now it feels close and yet too far at the same time. I have this vision in my head of our home complete, including interior decorating, that I know will not happen on my timetable. I wanted more time before Christmas to make it mine, but now I just hope we can get everything in by Christmas.
I am done! Well, almost. I finish grading final papers this weekend and then I will be done with teaching online until after we move in. I am glad for the break. This course has been particularly hard with many plagiarism reports (more work for me) and several non-American students which makes grading written work very time consuming. Add to that the fact this class began the second week of the school year and I am in need of a break!
I am amazed. I cannot hardly believe how big My Little Reader is. Two nights ago she wasn't feeling well so she slept in my bed. As I watched her sleep I couldn't believe how big she has gotten and yet she is still just 6. It is sometimes hard to remember that she is a little kid because she has always acted grown-up. I am also amazed that she is waiting with glee to go trick-or-treating. This can't possibly be the same kid that cried her eyes out three years ago at the mere thought of anyone giving her anything other than m&m's. She actually told several unsuspecting homeowners "no." Good times.
I am perplexed. How is it that Sugar and Spice can recognize numbers and match quantities to 10 and kids in my class can't. Why am I not reaching them?
Lastly, I am home. There is a song that plays on the Country station by Michael Buble called "Home". (Another sunny place, I'm lucky I know but I wanna go home...Let me go home, I've had my run baby, I'm done, I gotta go home, Let me go home, it'll all be alright, I'll be home tonight, I'm coming back home) Last year as I drove back and forth between Tucson and Phoenix and even before our decision to move was set in stone, this song spoke to me. I wanted to go home (Tucson). There are many things that I miss about Phoenix, both people and places, but it was never my home. I never felt like I fit in and it was hard to make friends being one of very few working moms in the Ward. But it was more than that. Tucson is home. I love being here. There aren't really words to explain why, it is more of a feeling. I feel at peace which is an often confirmed feeling in ways both big and small. For example, I love that my kids can trick-or-treat in the same neighborhood that I did as a child. I love being so near the mountains. I love the familiarity of everything around me. I love that my kids will be able to say that they grew up in the same town that their parents did. So, while I miss many things about our life in Phoenix, I am so glad to be home.
I am exhausted! Today was a busy, fun day in Kindergarten. I love Halloween. More importantly I love that I work in a school that embraces holidays and seizes the opportunities to create lasting memories. I love that every member of our district office dresses up and greets 265 Kindergartners as they parade through their cobweb strewn offices.
I am blessed! I have amazing parent helpers that always show up and help to create incredibly fun days. From mummy dogs and witch's brew to Halloween bingo it was so much fun. They donate the supplies, run the games, and they even help clean up the aftermath. For a Kindergarten teacher it doesn't get much better than that.
I am thankful! I love that my own kids will have the opportunity to create some of the same great memories that I have from elementary school days. That is a rare gift in education today and I am so thankful to have found it.
I am relieved! No more superhero costume! I was so glad to get home and cuddle into a warm pair of jammies.
I am worried/wondering. Why has My Princess in Training lost her spark this week? She is grumpy and cranky and cries on a dime. Is she getting sick? Is she not getting enough sleep? Is she not getting enough attention? Is she subconsciously aware of the big changes in the near future? I am not sure what it is, but hopefully it will resolve itself or we will get to the bottom of it.
I am antsy. We were supposed to close on our house next week. The date has changed as we knew it would, but now it feels close and yet too far at the same time. I have this vision in my head of our home complete, including interior decorating, that I know will not happen on my timetable. I wanted more time before Christmas to make it mine, but now I just hope we can get everything in by Christmas.
I am done! Well, almost. I finish grading final papers this weekend and then I will be done with teaching online until after we move in. I am glad for the break. This course has been particularly hard with many plagiarism reports (more work for me) and several non-American students which makes grading written work very time consuming. Add to that the fact this class began the second week of the school year and I am in need of a break!
I am amazed. I cannot hardly believe how big My Little Reader is. Two nights ago she wasn't feeling well so she slept in my bed. As I watched her sleep I couldn't believe how big she has gotten and yet she is still just 6. It is sometimes hard to remember that she is a little kid because she has always acted grown-up. I am also amazed that she is waiting with glee to go trick-or-treating. This can't possibly be the same kid that cried her eyes out three years ago at the mere thought of anyone giving her anything other than m&m's. She actually told several unsuspecting homeowners "no." Good times.
I am perplexed. How is it that Sugar and Spice can recognize numbers and match quantities to 10 and kids in my class can't. Why am I not reaching them?
Lastly, I am home. There is a song that plays on the Country station by Michael Buble called "Home". (Another sunny place, I'm lucky I know but I wanna go home...Let me go home, I've had my run baby, I'm done, I gotta go home, Let me go home, it'll all be alright, I'll be home tonight, I'm coming back home) Last year as I drove back and forth between Tucson and Phoenix and even before our decision to move was set in stone, this song spoke to me. I wanted to go home (Tucson). There are many things that I miss about Phoenix, both people and places, but it was never my home. I never felt like I fit in and it was hard to make friends being one of very few working moms in the Ward. But it was more than that. Tucson is home. I love being here. There aren't really words to explain why, it is more of a feeling. I feel at peace which is an often confirmed feeling in ways both big and small. For example, I love that my kids can trick-or-treat in the same neighborhood that I did as a child. I love being so near the mountains. I love the familiarity of everything around me. I love that my kids will be able to say that they grew up in the same town that their parents did. So, while I miss many things about our life in Phoenix, I am so glad to be home.
