Why are first graders so noisy?

Why does in sound like a herd of elephants in my room?

Why does a whisper voice sound like a siren?

Why does opening snacks sound like lightning crashing across the sky?

Why does coming to the carpet sound like a stampede?

Why am I so cranky?

Noise…..

I got an email for a receipt for something I didn’t buy. There was a link to click on if I didn’t authorize the purchase. Of course, I started the process–then filling out the information form, it asked for my social security number…I hesitated, started to put it in, then stopped and erased it

I ran this by my son who lives in California and works for the company I received the email from. I sent him a screen shot of the email, which his reply was ” Mom, customer is spelled wrong…” Looking closer, it was as well as the heading where it said Dear Customer instead of my first name.

I quickly changed my password but I’m still haunted by the fact how easily I was fooled. Lesson learned.

I got nothing. No ideas, nothing happened but I know I have to write something. My mind is cluttered with the report cards that I have to put in order of parent teacher conference for this Thursday and Friday. My mind is wandering on how to positively tell parents about some behaviors that are still lingering since September. I’m not sure I have all the reports that I’m suppose to have and did I send home the math assessment or was I keeping that for conferences? I think I’ll eat a doughnut…

I’m doing it, I’m just plain doing it. I’m sitting on the couch with a fresh cup of coffee and a doughnut in my hand, taking a bite, typing a word, taking a bite, typing a word.

I have been wanting a doughnut for several weeks but I truly am trying to eat better and exercise more so a dozen doughnuts aren’t really in that plan. (who just eats one doughnut right?) I live near a Dunkin’ Doughnuts and have been able to resist going through the drive-through for quite awhile. However, today at Costco, I passed a woman who had some glazed old-fashion doughnuts in her cart–that was the trigger.

I backtracked all over Costco looking for those doughnuts and adding lots of extra food in my cart along the way.

Obviously, I found them. I have finished my first one with no regrets. Time for a second…

Reunited and it feels so good… that’s all I could think of when I walked into the Pilates class this morning. Even the teacher said “long time, no see.”

I really hate the thought of exercising and can talk myself out of it pretty quickly. There seems to always be a better offer on the table than to exercise. But once I get to the gym or the class, I’m always glad I showed up. I don’t understand why I make a big deal about not going.

I always plan to go after school but then there are meetings and phone calls and planning, etc (excuses…) Funny, I have time for my hair appointment after school. Then I think I will exercise on the weekend when I have more time. But no, I have to clean the house, run errands, do more school work, walk Earl or take him to the dog park…more excuses.

And by the rare chance I’ve made plans to go out on a Saturday, if I work out first, then run errands,do I put some make-up on in case I run into families from school? If I do that, then I have to take all of it off and start over if I go out…You can see why not exercising is an easy answer.

What I’m going to try to do this coming week is to put in my planner at least 2 days that I can work out after school and see how that goes. I really like to exercise, it is the getting there is what I hate.

Remember a day or two ago when I said it was almost the best teaching day ever? and then it wasn’t? Well, today it was!!!!! My teaching partner (Sarah) and I got to co-teach music! What is even more hilarious, is that neither one of us can carry a tune–sorry Sarah if you did not know that about yourself…

The music teacher left amazing plans otherwise we would have playing Name that Tune compliments of ITunes.

It started with the kinders. Three 25 minutes classes in a row, back to back, no break,no bathroom, no coffee. Thank goodness there were 2 of us. The music teacher provided a sing- a -long cd but this group wanted to run around the room singing and jumping. The second group came in and we told them during the sing along they had to stay on the risers or the floor. I don’t think they have ever sat on the risers, because they were fascinated by them and of course spent the time trying to jump off of them. By the third class, Sarah and I had this cd sing along thing figured out. They had to sit on the carpet section. No dancing, no singing, no nothing–OK they could sing. It was a sing along.

Wait, I think my class came in for music first and I think there were 2 third grade classes as well thrown in the mix today. I can’t remember but my first grade class had to play a musical memory game which I was quite impressed how they knew about the woodwinds and brass instruments. Since it is Friday, they play Freeze Dance Friday. Sarah and I wanted to join in the fun, so we had a first grader run the music and another one video us dancing with the class. Well, when the music stopped, I could not keep my balance, and I fell and obviously was out. Sarah was less than a foot away from me and she did not even try to catch me as I was falling on her feet. She was solid as a statue. I guess she really wanted to win Freeze Dance more than making sure her dearest friend doesn’t get hurt.

Then we ended the day with two 5th grade classes. They let us sing the kindergarten hello song to them–and we still got it wrong. The 5th graders were good sports and let us be silly with them as most were our former students.

Our student teachers got valuable time in the classroom, even though we were a door away, Sarah and I got to connect with former students and hang out with each other and we gained a new respect and are in awe of our wonderful music teacher!

I wonder where what our next assignment will be?

My passion is a freshly sharpened Ticonderoga pencil #2-hands down. If you have never written with one, you are missing out. Yes, they are a bit more expensive, but well worth it.

The lead is smooth as silk across the paper when you write with this pencil and if you need to use the eraser–it glides across your mistake and makes it disappear.

You can generally see me at school with one of this amazing pencils in my hair all day long. If I find one of these golden nuggets on the floor, I pick it up and pluck it in my ponytail. I randomly find Ticonderoga pencils (#2) in my mailbox at school. The squeaky wheel gets the oil–or in my case, the pencil.

Some teachers gauge my kind of day at school by how many pencils I have in my hair. The more pencils, the more hectic of a day. Today was a 3 pencil day. And I only allow Ticonderoga pencils in my hair.

If I see a student chewing on one, or cutting off the eraser, it is quickly snatched up and replaced with a generic yellow pencil–I know, I’m a really strict and mean teacher.

This was almost the best day in my teaching career-I say almost because the best thing started to happen, then it didn’t.

I’m talking about being able to co-teach all day with my teaching partner! Let me back up…

Our district has a sub shortage at times so there are days when some teachers in the building ( mostly the specials teachers) have to cover the class of the absent teacher.

Yesterday, a fourth grade teacher went home sick and then showed up this morning to make sub plans. (We all do this, right? I write better sub plans than my own lesson plans. ) While checking to see how she was doing, she mentioned that she called in for a sub at 6:30 this morning and wasn’t sure if there would be a sub available to take the job. I kinda had a feeling that me or my teaching partner would get asked to cover her room as we both have student teachers who are pretty much teaching all day. Fourth grade is next door to my room so I would be able to check in on my student teacher throughout the day.

You guessed it. My principal asked my partner and I if one of us would cover the fourth grade class–we told him we both would!

We were so excited about being able to hang out all day, laugh and drink coffee together, that we forgot we would actually have to teach the fourth grade curriculum all day–and they are doing decimals in math!!!!

As luck would have it, someone had picked up the sub job and would be arriving at 8:30. I got to co-teach with my teaching partner for 30 minutes—which when all is said and done, was probably a good thing!

Earl the rescue dog! Not sure who rescued who…but it doesn’t matter now. Earl, the best divorce present I gave myself 4 years ago.

I was married for 27 years then my husband decided he didn’t want to be married anymore. After I lifted my jaw off the floor after hearing that, I went to counseling and met with a financial planner and called my friend who worked at a shelter–not in that order.

Just so happens, my friend called me about a yellow lab mix (labs are my fav), who was rescued from a kill shelter in another state, and was going to get processed into her shelter in the morning and asked if was I interested in looking at him . DUH!

My daughter and I went to visit the dog ,who at the time was named Jake from State Farm-clever, but no thank you. We were introduced to him outside in the backyard. When my daughter saw him she was like “Mom, no way. His ribs are showing, his nose is scraped up , his bottom teeth are ground down to nothing and he has a cough”

I was like, ” Aww look at him! His ribs are showing, his nose is scraped up, his bottom teeth are a mess and he has a cough…poor thing”

We interacted with him for a bit, he sniffed around us, let us pet him, he pretty much was indifferent–not a big licker, or barker, just chill. I wasn’t sure at this point if this dog would be a good fit. I’m use to dogs running around, licking, barking, wagging tails–you know just plain crazy. We were chatting with the woman who rescued him, and discussing the whole process of adopting, when all of a sudden Jake from State Farm lifted up his leg and peed in my purse that I had laid down while I was petting him!

The woman was mortified! She ran in the house to get some paper towels. I was dumping my purse looking for the my checkbook. When she came out, I said “how much for the dog?”

We changed his name to Earl (it fits him) and Earl and I are very lucky we found each other. Well, Earl is luckier–He gets two walks a day, has his food delivered, snacks on expensive bully sticks, sleeps in my bed…

He is just enough naughty….