Now 15 Weeks Down..

I know, I know everyone had such high expectations (Including myself!) I had intended to write at least once a week but man life has been zooming by at warp speed and it only seems to be getting faster. So 15 weeks into it and I still have some kids that do not know 6 letters of the alphabet or how to count to 15. I am happy that an out of the box idea of sending home a LeapFrog helped bring one of my girls from no letters to now 15 :) That is a success. Things were humming along and I had a great fall break, followed by Thanksgiving Holiday and now just 1 and a half weeks until winter break (2 weeks off, which I am sure will feel like only 2 days :)). At least things were humming until Saturday after Thanksgiving when I came down with the horrible flu. I was sick for 4 days with stomach issues and headaches then to find out, it turned into pneumonia. I have been ordered to bed rest for 2 more days when I go to see if the pneumonia has cleared out of my lungs. I have missed a week of work already and in a time when I have no time to miss. Report cards are to be finished next week and I have a ton of assessments to complete before that time. While I was out we also got 3 new kids and I really miss all my hugs. I guess my body just gave up on me, I'm not as young as I used to be :) Leave it the father time to remind us of our vulnerabilities. I am excited to be working with some of my fellow WU friends to give my kids a good Christmas. My family is good and I guess it just shows me that I really need to find balance between my family at home and the 30 family members I have at school. This is by far the most challenging job I have had thus far. So much lies on my expertise and finding of ways to reach all children and get them to achieve. I am hopeful to return to work on Tuesday to let my kids know I care, I have not left them and that I am OK. They tell me that come March the kids will miraculously show what they know and be where they need to be. I am more than hopeful at this point. I work at a great school all the people I work with have been more than supportive and always there for my large number of questions. Once I find the ever needed balance in my life I hope to write more frequently. As I lay in bed the last 5 days it has given me time to reflect and think sometimes good and sometimes bad. But reflective non the less. I just march on in the battle of education and I try to be a good strong soldier providing much needed support, care and education to the children of our future. For now have a wonderful HOLIDAY and remember the little things and be thankful for everything. I know I am thankful for the change and opportunity I have been given. I am thankful for my wonderful son and always loving husband without them I would be lacking so much!

Happy Holidays!

Carin

Wow 4 weeks down

Ok the kids have been in school now for 4 weeks. Wow I am so sorry that I have not posted sooner. My life is crazy busy. Mike is beginning to question my change again since every moment I am home I am working on stuff for school. It is getting easier, this weekend I managed to get in some family time, some movies and some sleep. Sleep is something I am lacking these days. To bed at 10pm and up at 5am.. Just not enough hours in the day. The kids are great and very low for the most part, as expected. Most kids do not know their ABCs or their 123s. I have a lot of expectations placed on me and with this being a pilot Kindergarten Preschool I have all eyes on me too. I am posting some photos of my finished room for everyone to see. I think it turned out very welcoming and fun. For now, I love the kids and find it hard dealing with all the stuff that goes on outside the classroom. I just wish I could teach and have fun but I am constantly feeling that if we are having fun, are we really learning? Having two teachers in the room is posing a challenge as well. I find myself trying to do everything to make the other teacher happy and at the expense of my thoughts. We had field day last Friday and that was a lot of fun. For now my biggest challenges are managing the classroom and finding balance between work and family. I am working hard and by the way I got my first paycheck.. What a disappointment :( I am wondering if I made the right decision. I am giving it at least two years before I make that decision. Like I said, I love the kids and I have a real connection with them :) Well gotta get back to planning for next week. I hope this finds you all well and I miss you very much :)

See Ya

Carin

Bring on the Kids

Two more days until the kids come to class. This week has been nice. I have been working in my room to get it to where I want it and I have had some time to get my head around my new world. On Tuesday we had Back to School night and it was great to see some of the kids that I will have in my class. Out of 15 kids I saw 6 or so. They are so cute and just what I needed to remind me of why I wanted to do this. They love my room with the blocks, and kitchen. School started for 1st - 8th last Wednesday, I am soooo happy that we start a week later. This extra week is exactly what I needed. I have been assessing kids on their knowledge of numbers, counting, the ABCs and their reading ability. It is as I guessed they are all pretty low. With the exception of a few kids that have had preschool and parents that help them to practice and learn at home. It ingrained in my head the importance of PreSchool. I am a firm believer in Preschool. Now I have some proof of the effectiveness of Preschool. These kidos that come in knowing their ABCs are ready to begin to read those that do not have some catching up to do. The good thing about this is that the growth for these kids should be substantial. I had one kid so far that cried and ran out of the room. I was asking him to write his name, he cried "Mama" then ran for the door. I could not catch him, nor did I speak Spanish so I was unable to console him. I felt pretty bad about it. Last year they say they had a runner and had to have people by the door just in case, they are fast for sure. Other than that it has gone pretty well. I love that I get to meet each child one on one prior to getting them all in class. I am feeling a little bit more relaxed and excited now. The room is coming together, the kids are so sweet and I am getting to plan some. School starts for me on Wednesday the 12th. I will post some photos on Tuesday once I am set up and cleaned up. I will be ready :) Bring on the kids!!

Also, it was AWESOME, Western Union Foundation had some left over backpacks-stuffed withe supplies and they contacted me to see if my school would like them. They were so happy to get them plus we got a lot of empty WU back packs for the kids that needed them. I was so great and my most sincere Thanks! goto WU for their generosity.

Bye for now!

Braindead Bookworm

I am totally brain dead and exhausted. I just want to goto sleep. I have spent 5 full days now cramming my head with all kinds of new information, names, routines, schedules and furniture arrangement. I have 4 more to go.. Colin had his back to school day today so I dropped off his supplies and met the teacher. He will begin 2nd grade tomorrow. He is excited to get back to his friends at school. He really likes school so far, I hope it stays that way!

I joined facebook yesterday and it is just as they all say, addictive. I have already found so many old friends from CA and CO. Crazy how many people you miss when you find them on the web :)

Good Night for now,

Carin

Finger Nail Breaking Day

<-After

<-Before

<-My goal

Today I was able to get into my classroom and begin to organize the furniture. As a new teacher I am blessed to be at this school and with this program. Since the school is only 1 year old I have all knew paint and flooring and the building is gorgeous. These children are very lucky. The downfall of all knew stuff is that it is very overwhelming. I look around and all I see are boxes and bookshelves. I can only pray that I find enough books to fill them all :) I have attached some photos of my room at first then after moving some stuff around. Today was exhausting, finger nail breaking and toe bruising. No matter what I did it still seemed cramped, sort of like my cube at Western Union :). Cozy! I am worried that it looks cluttered without kids I can only imagine it will be worse when they all arrive on Aug 12th. The trouble is balancing all the kindergarten furniture with the kitchen set, wardrobe locker and the small sized tables. The other funny thing is, I have a bathroom in my room and today I thought I would check out the head, when I walked into the bathroom I realized the toilet was only 12 inches high :0. Needless to say I went to another bathroom :p I look forward to Thursday when my Preschool teacher will be in the building to give me advice. The next few days I will be spending with the Aurora Public Schools New Teacher Orientation learning about the pacing guide and how to be the best new teacher I can be

Tootles for Now! I need to mend my wounds..

Carin

A Week of Change!

Today was day two of my Positive Behavior Training with the school. It was interesting and a good training. I still feel the link to the corporate world however. The similarities are in the meetings and topic discussions. We had some great dialogue surrounding a school wide initiative toward improving behaviors in the hallways, bathrooms, cafeteria and in the classroom. I know that I am going to be buying a ton of stickers and stamps. I will work to use the phrases "I understand ..." and "I have noticed ...." these are decriminalizing statements :) I have been weaning myself off of Western Union with a call to my manager and a happy hour tonight. It was great to see some familiar faces and share familiar stories and thoughts. I need some FAMILIAR right now. Everything at the school is new and unfamiliar, so any little strand a familiar is appreciated beyond belief.

Next week will be a big one for me, in that I get the key to my room and can begin unpacking the piles of boxes in my room. I will have some photos to share. I am very lucky with this school as they are fully supplied and my room, being a new program, is stacked with everything from book shelves to kitchen play sets and baby dolls (for the preschoolers). I am excited to unpack and organize. I really need to plan and organize at the moment. This is the control freak in me. I have met many great people and they are all very kind and helpful. I know it is going to be a great year!!!

Until next time..

Carin