Ok, now I can breathe...

Not very deep, relaxing breaths, but at least the danger of hyperventilation is (briefly) over.

Got all the major course assignments complete, all the classroom observations done and over, and one week left with my precious 5th graders before Spring Break! After which, of course, it starts all over again, but this time with a Master's degree course and 3rd graders (13 boys & 6 girls -- who planned that class?)... but I plan on enjoying the moment while it lasts. I also miss my boys -- after 2+ years living the life of "Mr Mom" and some major Son/Dad time, it was hard to wake them up on my way out the door in the morning and kiss 'em goodnight when they're already snoring.

Now I need to go watch the video of my teaching and see just how large and shiny my forehead really is; I'm sure it* needs a great deal of editing before I present it to Professor and classmates. My (very) amateur cinematographers were 3 bickering adhd/gifted students, and my MT makes several timely appearances, needing something coincidentally wherever the camera happened to be focused!



* the video, not my forehead

Hearing vs. Listening

Maybe it was because it was Friday. Maybe because it was the Friday they got to do dance practice and mini-society. Maybe it was because it was the Friday they got to dance and mini-society and it's 1 week until Spring Break. Maybe it was because it was the Friday yada yada yada and I was the Sub and they all had Cap'n Crunch with brown sugar and chocolate syrup for breakfast and haven't had a Q-tip near their ears in several weeks... whatever the hell it was, they were not listening!!!!!!!!

I had to pull 2 tests and 6 other collections of misc. materials off students desks despite letting them know at least 3 different ways, including having 2 of them answer the question "what should you have on your desk?" And now that I'm grading the assessments, I see a lot of them missed/forgot/ignored the very first instruction I gave them! That's okay, I kept 'em in at recess and gave them a lecture lesson my sons have heard a few times on the difference between hearing and listening.

Good thing I practiced, 'cause the boys needed it again this morning!

How long 'til Spring Break???

I know, I know -- I've been a bad, as in non-existent, blogger.

I have a Master Teacher that likes to stay late after school to do all the talking, planning, copying, talking, reviewing, talking, tutoring, scheduling, talking.... I have an observer that feels there is not a lesson plan created that she cannot say needs "more detail" -- I may assign specific times for my breaths and heartbeats on the next one. And I have professors that amazingly and wonderfully eliminated assignments to ease our workload, but still require 30+ page papers that due to procrastination and stubbornness I am having to make up 80% of as I frantically type to meet the deadline.

Not to mention Facebook, March Madness, and sunshine -- how am I supposed to get anything done around here?!?!?

; )