SNOW DAY!!!

I am sitting in the comfort of my house enjoying watching a light snow fall. It's so beautiful...check out the photos at the end of this post. The kids went out first thing this morning, making snow angels and trying to throw snowballs at each other. The snow is so powdery that we can't get it to stick together.

The other amazing thing about today is that I am watching Barack Obama's inauguration on T.V. My dad and step-mom are IN Washington, D.C. with my step-sister. I got a text from my dad about an hour ago...he's roughly 100 feet from the Washington monument, watching the festivities on jumbotron. I wonder if they are planning to go to the South Carolina Inaugural Ball??? They haven't said...maybe I'll get another text!

Isn't this amazing? I am so proud to be an American today. The simple fact that our country has elected an African American is amazing. We are definitely blessed.

Enjoy your snow day!

Intern

Back in the day when I was in college, when it was time for us to go into a classroom for our last semester of college and teach, we were called student teachers. Well, things have seriously changed and now those people are called interns. And guess what...I have one this semester! I've never had an intern...she's my first (she was the first intern for her mentor teacher last semester too!). She is going to be good...I can already tell! She has brought her planner everyday that she's been with me, so that's a great sign that she's organized.

I am filled with excitement about this adventure, but I'm also a little scared. I love teaching, and I know that I do a good job, however I'm not the most organized teacher on the planet (please insert extreme sarcasm here...I'm incredibly NOT organized). I am partially responsible for this young lady learning how to teach middle school math, and also partially responsible for her learning to love it. What if I totally screw it up for her! I don't want her to learn everything NOT to do from me.

So...part of my attitude now is to get my poop in a group and be sure I show my intern how wonderful this "job" can be! Wish me luck!

Half Done

The last day of the first semester is tomorrow. We are giving semester exams to our students this week, and my team will have their math exam tomorrow. This is very nerve wracking for me and the kids! They are nervous that they are going to bomb the exam and I am nervous that they will not remember what I've taught them this year!

They've already had their Language Arts exam, and we had some who have had the nerve to say things like "I got bored and just filled in bubbles!" With that kind of attitude, how can we expect them to do well?

We've had a lot of interruptions and problems this week, especially today. I've had three students cry to me already today, and my teammates (as well as myself) are feeling frustrated too, so sensitive students and frustrated teachers are not always a great combination. We have a teacher workday on Friday and a holiday on Monday...both of these are much needed breaks!!!

So when we come back on Tuesday we are starting a new semester...we're halfway done with this school year. This is shocking to me...in some ways, it seems like I just met this group of kids, but in other ways, it seems like I've been teaching for three years with this particular group of kids. I'm trying to come up with a really good, fun, "let's start again" activity for them to do on Tuesday. I am thinking about having them write a "goal letter." When they do this, they pretend they are at the end of the school year, and write reasons why "this has been the best school year ever." This activity always gives kids a little focus and something to work for.

I'm open to suggestions if anyone has a suggestion...we all need a fresh, clean start, don't you agree???

Happy New Year!

We're back in school now, having started on Monday, Jan. 5, 2009. I can't believe I'm writing the date 2009! I remember when I thought I'd be old in the year 2000 and here I am almost 10 years past that...am I really getting old?

In previous years in my school district we have finished the first semester with the last day of school before Christmas break. Well, last year and this year we have started school later, thus moving our semester end about two weeks after returning from Christmas break. This is very frustrating to me! I need schedules to make sense, and this just doesn't make sense to me.

Also, in previous years, the students who took semester exams at the middle school level were either in 8th grade or taking the Algebra I class. This year we are going to give exams to ALL middle school students....6th graders will take 9 weeks exams, and 7th graders will take semester exams. We will begin giving the semester exams next semester, but we (teachers) thought for a few days that we were going to give semester exams by next Thursday, so this has been a super crazy week. My team has decided to go ahead and give a semester test, but only count it as a test. SO...I will be working tonight and tomorrow to create a study guide for my precious kids to use over the next few days in preparation for the big semester test.

I really want to make a difference for these kids...I would feel this way, regardless of where I was teaching. Please say a little prayer that I will give a fair test and my students will be prepared to take the test.

Fun tag!

Becky tagged me in this game. The instructions are to add the first thing that comes to mind when you read the starter.

*I am not ready for Christmas yet!
*I want Sarah to not give me a hard time about what to wear every day.
*I have absolutely everything I need.
*I miss my grandfather.
*I fear that something terrible will happen to one of my children.
*I hear Christmas music.
*I search for stuff I've misplaced in my house!
*I wonder if my children will grow up and marry and have their own families.
*I regret gaining so much weight.
*I love being a wife, mom, and teacher.
*I forgive my brother for ruining Santa, the Tooth Fairy, and Easter Bunny for me in one feld swoop...but I still remember that he did it!
*I ache for a full body massage.
*I always save my favorite item on my plate to eat last.
*I try to be proactive.
*I seem bossy and self-assured, but I'm really just impulsive.
*I know a lot about middle school kids.
*I feel like I'll never get caught up on the dang laundry.
*I dance with my children, in the kitchen while we laugh.
*I dream about being debt free and being able to help others who truly need help.
*I give my students money if they need it for lunch.
*I listen to all kinds of music.
*I sing a lot! Even make talking into music.
*I laugh at Asheid, CJ, Caleb, Sarah, Greg, BJ, Kelly, and lots of others!
*I can't stand mopping.
*I cry when I get really angry and I hate that about myself.
*I sleep like a dang ROCK.
*I am relieved to be finished with school.
*I see a messy house.
*I need to take my laundry to the laundry mat and have someone come clean the rest of my house while I'm there!
*I should start going to the gym again.

I tag Kim...love you girl and hope you don't hate me for tagging you! :)

I also wish everyone a very Merry Christmas!

The Door

If you ever wondered how great of a job I have, let me give you a hint. I have one of the best teammates EVAR! This morning when I got to my classroom, this was on my door:

This TOTALLY made my day! She put little stars on the right end of the poster that have comments on them like...

*You did it!

*You finished!

*You are no longer a graduate student!

*You make more money now!

*You rock my face off!

*You can put all that on your business card!

*You are now a Master's Degree Holder!

*Whoa! WOW!

Who has the best job??? I do! I do!!!

Master

So I don't even have a clue how long it's been since I updated this blog! But it's time.

I am still loving teaching. My team went on a field trip yesterday to Camp Thunderbird, where the counselors taught us about the soil, aquatic life and cultures. It rained ALL day and there was only one part of the day where we were inside. But the kids had a blast and we (the teachers) did too. I LOVE getting to be away from school with my students...it's way more relaxed and they get to really be themselves. It's amazing how well they always behave when we're away from school, especially considering that they often are NOT well behaved at school. I really enjoyed yesterday!

The other really big news is that, unless I really screwed up my exam, I will be graduating from Winthrop next Thursday, December 18. I will graduate with a Masters in Middle Level Math. I'm waiting to change my email signature until after graduation so that it will be official, but I get to put M.Ed. by my name! I'm a little excited about it if you can't tell.