The Kids Came Back

Today was the first day back with the children. It went well...they always seem very happy to come back to school after a long break. They all seemed very tired too.

Since it was so cold, we didn't go out to play till after rest time. Only one of the kids had gloves in spite of the fact that I had given them all (donated) gloves before Christmas. I have extras in the classroom so by the time I made sure that they were all zipped up, hats or hoods and gloves on, we only had about 20 minutes to play. They discovered that the water on top of the sandbox cover had frozen and they had great fun using it like their own personal ice rink.

Lesson Plans.....
After work we had a staff meeting to talk about restructuring. Our school has not made Adequate Yearly Progress so we have to make significant changes to raise our test scores. It is extremely stressful for most of the staff. Today our principal went over 12 expectations which included things like having lesson plans visible each day. It is hard for me to understand how teachers, people who call themselves professionals, can think that they can come to school each day without plans. I mean anyone can wing it once in a while and be fine, but to systematically teach the SCOS, you need to plan. Mindboggling....I really feel that if teachers can't even fulfill the most basic requirements (like showing up with lesson plans), well, there are other people who need jobs, people who will be happy to show up with lesson plans.

Prayer in School....
I think it is safe to say that I pray everyday in school. I am passionate about my job and care deeply about my students. I pray for them and their families. I pray that I can give them what they need to succeed and grow to be responsible adults. But, I don't want to pray in staff meetings.

Today after our principal's presentation, two staff workers got up and spoke. I don't know if they had asked to speak or if they had been asked to speak. The first one gave a talk that I guess was supposed to be inspirational...I'm not really sure. But it wasn't....it was mildly amusing at times and did have some truth and good points, but mostly a waste of time.

The second teacher gave a short talk and also led a prayer with the staff. This bothers me on so many levels....first of all, this is a PUBLIC school...open to all faiths and lack of. Yet her prayer was specifically to God, the Father and Jesus. I am a Christian; my faith is very important to me, yet prayer in public places is very disturbing to me. It reminds me of Christ in the Bible chastising the Pharisees for their public display of faith. So, I didn't pray, didn't close my eyes and on the short survey that we had to turn in on our way out of the meeting I wrote that I thought prayer at staff meetings was very inappropriate. I wonder if I will hear any feedback about my comment.

I was tired from staying up late for the last two nights, so after the meeting, I took my Ebay packages to the Post Office and then went home and pretty much crashed on the couch for most of the evening. It's a little after 10:00 now and I am headed to bed very soon.

First Day Back at Work

This was the first day back at work for me; it was an optional workday, but I chose to work since I didn't bring any work home over the holidays. I got a fair amount done, but never enough and I have to finish my lesson plans tonight.

I also sold several items on Ebay (some Spode Christmas tablecloths, Spode tea kettle and some Waechtersbach china) so I have to package some of those up and take them to the post office tomorrow. When I sell something I like to ship it as quickly as I can after receiving the money so that people receive their packages quickly.

I went to the postoffice today to mail my New Year's cards and also to send a package. Since I was right down the street from my friends the Pachecos I decided to stop and give them the caramel popcorn and jar of muffin mix that I made for them for Christmas. I had been carrying it around in my car for the last week. Unfortunantly they were not there, so I left it. They called later to thank me and it was nice to talk to them.

Soooo...big news for today....it is cold, cold, cold. When I got home from work the ashes were very deep in the wood stove and no one had kept the fire going. I don't like working all day and coming home to find that no one has kept the fire going; now it will take the rest of the evening to catch up. Anne has been in Asheville for a week but now that she is home, she'll take care of it.

I am curious as to how my students will be tomorrow. Usually after a vacation they seem eager to return to school and to the routine. I have some criers this year and I wonder if they will cry after being at home for two weeks. I hope not.

We have lots of fun activities planned for the next few weeks. We will be studying about winter, weather and clothing, so I stocked the dramatic play area with scarves, hats, coats, gloves, etc. Of course, there are a couple of sparkly fantasy outfits in there as well!

Rachel said that Jason's job interview (in DC) went well today and he will know by Friday. I do so want for him to get a job in DC! He is one of three contenders out of 280 applicants...he would be great at the job. If he gets it, then there are two other people that won't get hired, but I am going to feel selfish and I really hope he gets it.

Tomorrow Rachel has an interview for an internship; the project she would be working with is called Paper to Pearls and it is an initiative where Ugandan women refugess make these beautiful beaded necklaces out of paper! They are finished with an acrylic and they look like glass. They are really lovely and with the money they earn, the women are able to feed and clothe their families, and even buy extras. It is a wonderful program and I think it is very empowering for women to know that they can support their families.

I am hoping for the best for both Rachel and Jason.

Now back to lesson plans......

Sunday

I stayed home all day today. It is cold, really cold for here; in the low teens this morning and not even close to above freezing today. So, I stayed in, kept the fire going in the woodstove, fixed a Key Lime pie, rosemary bread, scalloped potatoes and a roast for dinner and did some reading and Ebay listing.


We have three outdoor cats and even though they have incredibly thick long hair and are used to being outdoors, it is exceptionally cold, so last night I made them a bed on the front porch with an old sleeping bag and extra blankets. They seemed to like it; this morning they were all curled up together, but I decided to improve upon it. So I made a top by using two folding chairs, a board and another blanket. I think it will keep them even warmer since they are now completely enclosed.
(I don't know where the other two cats are...Jamie seemed to be the only one taking advantage of the new accomodations.)


I go back to work tomorrow but the students don't come until Tuesday. It's great having Monday for a workday because I didn't bring one single bit of work home for over the holidays. Which is unbelievable for me because I am always thinking about my job. But I wanted to have a vacation where I didn't need to think about it and in fact, the other day I was having trouble remembering my student's names......

A word about laziness. I have always thought of myself as lazy. I do work really hard at my job and on other projects that I choose to do but sometimes it takes me a long time to finish things. And I rarely ever seem to accomplish as much as I want to do. Or think I should do. Days go by when I don't do anything at all except read, lay on the couch, surf the web or watch reruns of Law and Order.

But I have been thinking that maybe I am not so lazy as I am just undisciplined. I don't seem to have any trouble giving myself permission to goof off. I think I need to look for a balance between working really hard and not doing anything at all. It seems to be feast or famine with me. Part of why I am writing this blog is my attempt to insert some discipline into my life. Maybe it will help. I hope so.



A picture of my den with both windows and the curtains I put up yesterday.