{solsc} 24/31 #sol16 Tonight

Sometimes

Your world seems to

d

   r

      o

          p

out from under you

This has been one of 

those weeks

The words won't come

and 

I don't want them to yet

Tomorrow will be better

Tonight I will wallow in

sadness.

{solsc} 23/31 #sol16 What Did I Do Today?

I did it!
I left my room today.
It's not that I don't trust my student teacher--I do. But I like chatting with her and the kids. I just knew I had to get out of there and let her do her thing.

But was does a teacher who isn't teaching do all day?

I left this note on the board for my students--just so they don't forget me. We're in a Winter Storm Warning, so I know the questions on all of their minds is "Will we get out early?" and "Will we have

school tomorrow?" My note answers both questions!

First hour, I said hello to my independent writing students and reminded them of deadlines and then went to the art room and gushed over the painting of her walls. I reminded her that when she got done having kids paint her walls, I do have one rather large one they could use for a canvas.

Second hour is our prep period. Since I didn't really have work to do, I mostly checked the radar to see how the storm was doing. I forwarded a couple of important emails to Amanda.

Third hour was exciting! I was sitting in the lounge watching this great TedTalk about Procrastination  (there's more below the video)



Just as I finished, the art teacher came in with her student observer. She needed some graphic novels to look at to use for mentor texts in a lesson she was designing combining art and literacy!  WooHoo! Someone needed me.

That lasted for about five minutes.

And I'm back. Writing a blog post.

Fourth-sixth hours found me in the support services room so I could try and get a little work done. I slipped a bit after lunch and spent some time in my room talking to kids. But I realized I was interfering in what Amanda was doing and left to work.  And I did. A little. I started looking at resources for the digital storytelling unit I do in Creative Writing. I've moved it to the last few weeks of school and want to expand it a bit. I took a few notes and tried to concentrate, but man, it was tough!

Seventh hour found me back in the lounge, trying to accomplish something. People kept coming in and chatting, so finally I gave up on the work and just spent time talking with those I don't get to see all that often. And you know what? It was nice. And I'm not going to feel guilty!

Eighth hour I finally gave up and went into my room. The weather was getting bad. The lights were flickering on and off. Excuses, yes. But it was nice to be back. And get caught up on the happenings of the day.

{solsc} 22/31 #sol16 Why I Stayed

I fully intended to turn in my application a few weeks ago for one of the instructional coaching positions being offered in our district.  I worked on my resume, my cover letter and the application itself. I looked back on my career, thought about ways I've been a leader in our district, and ways I've been not so great.

I completed question after question. Aside from a little wordsmithing, it was ready to turn in. Well, editing work and one question

Why do you want this job?

I looked over my pros and cons list. I talked with peers about the job. I reread my answers.

But none of what I read and heard seemed like reasons to leave what I love.

My kids.

I thought about my pixie, who almost took her cutting too far

And A, who always needs to talk on Mondays after a weekend with her mother

And then there's the new boy. So angry when he first started, but now he's fitting in and wanting to raise his grades so he can go out for football in the fall.

They all need someone who cares.

I thought about my credit recovery class--the class that makes me thing about every assignment I make as an English teacher. I can do better for them and I want another shot at doing just that.

So I trashed the application and will stay in my room at the back of the school, working hard to do what's best for kids----MY kids.

{solsc} 21/31 #sol16 The Hardest Thing About a Student Teacher

Do you know what the hardest part of having a student teacher is?

Keeping my mouth shut.

It's not that she is doing anything wrong or needing my help, or forgetting anything.

She's wonderful!

We talked about what I wanted kids to do in writing units and then I turned her loose with Gallagher's Write This Way and my informative writing unit.  She came up with four great days of playing with informative writing before she asked them to start their actual pieces (I am going to steal one particular activity!). She walks around and checks in with kids and has plans to conference with them all on Thursday. The kids are responding well to her. I love it.

She's also doing the informative speech unit. And again, came up with great plans. Today we both walked around and checked in with kids about what they are thinking of researching. I should have stayed out of the way, though. She's got this handled! When I'm in the room, some kids talk to me instead of her.  And I, of course, answer back.

It's hard to sit back and let her take over, but I need to.

She and I could team teach very easily.  And that's a good thing.

But I have to keep my mouth shut.  Or stay out of the room....

{solsc} 20/31 #sol16 Show Up and Write

I need to write

want to write

have to write

BUT

I can't think of anything to write about

(insert whiny teenager voice)

SHARE

a moment

It's all I need to do

A moment

Maybe that's the problem

There have been a lot of

moments lately

Breathing becoming normal

Writing begins to flow

Calm.

Show Up

and 

Write

{solsc} 19/31 #sol16 Celebrate! It's All About the Basketball

Every Saturday Ruth Ayres invites us to celebrate the little moments in our lives that bring us joy.  Whether from the classroom or our own lives, it's important to focus on those things that make us smile.... Or as Ruth said in a post the other day,

"When I choose to celebrate, I no longer have space for complaining."

I  love March Madness.  Watching college basketball gets me through the winter. I follow the ups and downs of lots of teams, so when March comes around, I am in 7th heaven. I read ESPN and CBS articles. Follow lots of people on Twitter who are in the know and I fill out brackets everywhere. The tournament is fun to watch, but this year, there is a lot to cheer for! All three Iowa teams made the tournament AND won their first round game---two of them on last second shots.

My birthday was Thursday, so that brought many, many little moments to celebrate.

• Facebook wishes that went on for days
• An early morning phone call from my granddaughter
• Being sung Happy Birthday by a high school class
• Dinner out
• Basketball started :)

My hubby really wanted to do something this weekend and kept making suggestions. When I suggested something for him to do that didn't include me, he looked at me and said, "You just want to watch basketball all weekend, don't you?"  

Yes. Yes, I do. I've been working ten hour days and many weekends with speech. I need to nest this weekend. And it's how I want to celebrate my birthday. 

So I am. It's why I love my husband--he gets me. He might not always like it, but he understands my need to nest periodically.  So today I will putz around my house--repotting plants, rearranging things, cleaning upstairs, playing with Chloe 

and watching basketball.

{solsc} 18/31 #sol16 The Things We Carry

At some point last year, my friend, Christy Rush-Levine, posted a blogging challenge for her students. The prompt for day 1 of the challenge was

The Things We Carry

Things we carry
     Secrets
     Guilt
     Hope

Some days, I carry more than homework and lesson plans home in my bag. Some days, I carry
     Heartache and
     Worry

Those damn kids.
The ones who don't do homework,
Who cause trouble in the back of the room
The ones acting all tough
Like nothing bothers them

Those damn kids are the ones I carry
     Home
Those damn kids, whose parents don't seem to care
Or don't know how to care
Who don't seem to worry
Those damn kids
Whose parents kicked them out of the house,
Who have no one else who wants them

That's the
     Heartache and
     Worry
I carry with me