some time to sit down

So it's been a while... like four months?

I started my new teaching job, and let me tell you, these fifth graders keep me on my toes. Literally. As in, I don't sit down at work. Ever.

I have 20 of them right now. I also have a co-teacher for 3 hours a day because I am the inclusion teacher.

I often question my teaching abilities, but just keep reminding myself that I have 8 students with IEPs, 2 ESOL students, and only 3 students reading on a fifth grade level.

I describe my classroom as teaching fifth grade material to sixth and seventh graders who read and write like third graders. Yes, I have four students who have been retained twice, and at least two others who have been retained once. Hell, I have a thirteen year old in my room and will have three more by the end of the year.

On top of that fun (and really, it is), we are preparing to move to NY.

Husband will move in January, and I will follow in either mid-April or at the end of May. I have been trying to find a place to live, but the area we are going to doesn't offer much in terms of choices. We are going up at the end of December to find a place, so I hope something falls into our laps.

The knowledge that we will be maintaining two households for 4-5 months is just so much fun to plan for. Our goal is to get through it without breaking into savings or running up a bunch of debt, but we will see how that goes.

I am off this week, and planning to grace you with more of my fantastic insight into teaching, moving, and avoiding boredom.

teaching

I'm in the midst of preparing for my fifth year as a classroom teacher. I'm also preparing to work at my fifth school, in my third school district, and for my sixth principal! Moving around so much has definitely had it's sucky parts, but it also has shown me what a variety exists in public schools.

I've mostly worked with lower income students. Two of my past, and my current, schools have been Title I, and the other two were for the children of lower enlisted soldiers. I've had all kinds of principals, and prefer a more hands on and actually helpful principal instead of the kind that pretty much seems to do nothing. I've also taught a class with a huge group of English Language Leaners, as well as classes of fully native speakers.

Yesterday, I thought of my teaching experiences in contrast with LIW's. She started teaching at 16, and had some students as old as she was. She taught in a one room school and was responsible for teaching everything to everyone. I haven't read the books in a while so I don't remember the details, but I have a hazy memory of one of her teenage boys bringing a bull whip to school. I did have a student with a knife one day, but he was smart (stupid?) enough to leave it in his backpack and not show off in front of everyone.

So far, I feel very good about my new school. I'm a little apprehensive about the student population, just because there's really no way to know what it's like until we start and I meet my kids. The staff seems great so far though. I have a grade level chair, and she and I have been emailing back and forth and are setting up a day to meet and have lunch. She's been very welcoming. The principal seems friendly, helpful, and very experienced with our population. I've also met a couple other teachers, and they all said good things about the school.

I have new teacher orientation next Thursday and Friday, then three work days the first week of August, and the first day of school is August ninth!

shopping!

I went to IKEA yesterday to shop for things for my classroom and got quite the haul. It was a great day. I planned to go with one friend, then invited another friend at the last minute. They were both so helpful with choosing what I needed, and then with packing it all into my Mazda3. If we had gotten one more thing, I would have had to leave a friend in Atlanta. ;)

I was thinking of painting the walls in my new room, but with all the colorful decorations I found, I'm thinking I can skip the painting. I may still do an accent wall, but I want to speak with the other teachers first and see what it involves. I haven't actually painted anything before...

I bought this rug. All my students won't be able to sit on it at the same time, but it will be a nice defined space to sit when we need to. I'm really hoping it doesn't get too dirty.I got these frames in blue and green. I have four, but I may get more later. Right now I plan to put a photo of Husband and me, and a photo of each cat. I realized after the shopping trip that I want to take a photo of the class on the first day, so I'll need a different frame for that.

This chair is for the front of my classroom, so I can sit and still see the class. I like it because it has a foot rest that fits me. I'm 5'3", and many tall chairs don't have foot rests at the right place and my feet just hang there. It gets tiring after a while.

I really like having plants in the room, so I bought four pots. I couldn't find any of the right plants at Ikea, but I know Lowe's will have them. I got pots in red and blue.
I also bought two table lamps, two wire drawer organizers on wheels, and wall stickers of poppies, but I can't find pictures on the website.

I don't really have any good chunk of time to go decorate the room until Friday, but I may go in between my morning and afternoon shifts at Sylvan. I'm itching to see everything in place!

new job

I'm cautiously optimistic about this...

I had an interview, and they loved me, and recommended me to HR for hire!

The cautious part is because I have yet to hear from HR. I'm really not worried, seeing as how the VP called HR on Friday, and they were closed yesterday. I'm meeting the principal today, and I'll ask her when I should expect to get a call. Until I sign those papers though, I'm not counting on anything.

The job is teaching fifth grade, which I love, at a Title I school. Title I pretty much just means poor. To qualify for Title I status, and the federal funding that goes with it, schools have to have 40% of students designated as low-income. Title I often also means low achieving students with poor behavior, but not always.

I taught fifth grade my first two years, both in Title I schools. My students at those schools were a mix of recently homeless and living in transitional housing, Coast Guard families, English Language Learners, and just plain old low income. My second year teaching, of my 30 students, 10 were ELL students, and 5 of those spoke very little English.

In my interview, the VP was very excited that I speak Spanish. She said their Spanish speaking population is increasing, and they need teachers who can communicate with families. While I'm glad to find a place that needs my skills, I'm hoping this doesn't mean I get all the 5th graders who speak Spanish. I'll just have to wait and see what happens.

90° and sunny

It's Friday! That means I'm off work. And since the weather is beautifully sunny and hot, I'm heading to the pool this afternoon. My friend S is coming along, and bringing her daughter A. I plan to sit in the sun until I feel like I might actually melt, then jump in and cool off, and repeat for the next two hours.

I went to the gym today, and lifted weights for a bit. I was doing this whole planned out program for a few months last fall, and got really discouraged when I started gaining weight again. Awesome. I know from past experience that working out doesn't help me lose anything at all. But it does make me look better, so I'm back at it.

I'm also back to tracking my food and counting calories. It worked last time, so here I go again!

I also need to finish my last assignments for school. After tonight, I'm done! Grades will be in on May 18th, but I'm assuming I've passed everything. ;) I signed up for two classes this summer to get a reading endorsement, but I'm pretty sure I'll drop them. I'm ready to not have anymore homework hanging over my head. I can always get the endorsement later if I want it.

almost done...

The semester will be over in 3 weeks!!! And I'll be done with my master's!!! I'm so ready to not have homework. Although I am contemplating getting certified to teach middle grades math... yikes!

Last night, I had my last class meeting for one my Multicultural Lit class. I have some more work to do for that class, but it's nothing serious or even hard. Mostly busy work. Ick. That class was such a waste of time. But it got me the 3 elective hours I needed!

I still need to write a 10 page paper for Ed Psych, and do a project and 12-15 page paper for my action research class. I also have a group presentation next Saturday for Teaching Math to Diverse Populations. I know I'll get it all done, but it sure seems like a lot has piled up!