My classroom.... much nicer than my house at the moment!!

All Dads Are Called Steve

I meant to write this in before the first day stuff, but the other day I had parents coming in for an open house. Just a meet and greet kind of event. I have one little boy in my class who is very articulate and intelligent. One this occasion his dad came in towards the end just as his mom was prepping to leave. We asked the boy to introduce his dad and he did. This is what the conversation went like:

Me: Who's this?
Him: This is my daddy, but sometimes my mommy calls him Steve and he calls my mommy Julie.
Me: (giggling) wow, thank you for sharing that.
My Para: Well, what should we call him? Daddy?
Him: No! All adults call daddies Steve!!

So next time you see a daddy, make sure you call him Steve!!

First Days (#11)

So today was the first day of school with the kids. It was my 11th first day of teaching and it was a doozy!! I knew that Kindergarten would suck the life right out of me, but I didn't expect it to be all in one day. And to think that when I first became a teacher, that is all I wanted to do... teach in a Kindergarten classroom. Right now I feel overwhelmed and unprepared!! I have 20 kids from about 8:15 in the morning until 3 (that's if their moms or buses come on time, today one bus was a "little" late and arrived to get the kids at 3:45). I have about 20 minutes to eat my lunch and 30 minutes a day for planning, except for Wednesdays because that's the Hands On Math day when we do an extra 30 minutes of Math with manipulatives (apparently no one told the powers that be that all math at the Kindergarten level is HANDS ON!!!). So yea... It wasn't the easiest of first days but I was so busy that I didn't even notice.
Now... let's talk about it being my first day in a public school and a US public school at that. Again, paperwork, paperwork, paperwork. I've never met a culture that loves to waste more paper than the US does. We had to have forms filled out, things sent home, things coming back, paper attendance slips (those are just for the first 15 days of school), lunch counts (on paper instead of electronically sent), my 4th or 5th class list, a bus list made by me with no information from the office, another changed schedule and the list could go on for about 3 more entries worth of space!! YIKES!!
But the best part of the day was meeting the kids!! They are LOVELY!!! Even the ones that I KNOW in my heart of hearts will test and try me everyday, they are just lovely. I have a very intelligent group with very diverse needs. There are 2 little ones with pretty interesting speech habits (one can't say the g or k sounds and so they come out with a t sound... so I am Miss Tollins to that little one... too cute). One with just some interesting habits period. Thankfully that one responds well to me. Two that have mouths that don't stop, but they say very intelligent things. Three whose mouths won't produce much English (thank goodness for my Spanish speaking Para-Educator). One who is so tiny I think I could put that one in my pocket. And a mish-mash of kids with really interesting backgrounds and experiences. I am thankful for the class I have received... it's pretty good!!!
The funniest part of the day was this: at the end of the day I was called to the office... hm... wonder why? Turns out I put a kid on the wrong bus!! Oh wait, no, I put her on the bus her mother indicated.... the mother wrote down the bus stop number, not the actual bus route number. That poor mom, she was just so distraught until we realized what had happened and had the bus return with the little girl... hehehe... just a small example of the chaos today!

Chaos Continues...

Below are some shots on the day that all the boxes and the cat arrived. It was pure insanity but it's getting better day by day. Between that and setting up my Kindergarten classroom I don't have time or energy for much else...

The Pink Kindergarten Fairies

This is not my school, but the home of the pink kindergarten fairies. Let me tell you how this all came about. Earlier this week, I was made to attend yet another 2 day session of professional development (I think the York County teachers must be the MOST and BEST professionally developed group of teachers I have ever known). At one of the sessions that I attended, I ended up seated next to the two kindergarten teachers at the above school. We got to talking and they asked about me, where I was from, where I would be teaching and so on. Once they found out I was new to the area, they asked me about how I was finding things and I found myself being very honest about how little I had in my classroom and how little I had to supply the room with. The two ladies seemed shocked and told me not to spend another dime, that at the next PD day (which was just another day away) they would have some materials for me. And today, they came through. Their staff has hot pink staff shirts (hence the name of Pink Kindergarten Fairies) and then came with 2 boxes and a giant bag full of blocks, paper, glue, hand sanitizer, and a bunch of things I wouldn't have had in my room without them. So hats off to the Pink Kindergarten Fairies.... they are heroes in my books!!!

Count your blessings, one by one...

Lately, I've been really struggling to stay positive about my move to Williamsburg (I like to call it The Burg or W-burg). Before I left for here, I was nothing but excited to get here and find an apartment. When I finally got here and got an apartment, I was nothing but excited to get it set up (my furniture arrives tomorrow). Then I was in and out of my school and nothing but excited to get that going... but, I've found that I am grinding to a hault in my excitement. I look at my friends who are overseas still and I envy them because the international school situation is so different. You work with people who share your situation and you become like family because of it (granted, a fairly disfunctional family, but family nonetheless). But here in The Burg, it's not like that. Most people here have been here for years or their whole lives. For example, today I was at an all day teacher's training day in one of the HUGE highschool buildings and one of my partner teachers was telling me that her husband attended that school. *sigh* I don't even know what that is like, I can't identify with that at all. But I digress... The whole point of the example is that unlike international schools, these people have outside lives and roots and are nicely settled into their routines and there is seldom room for a newcomer. Today I was lamenting over the situation with a good friend and she told me not to give up hope and to stay positive. I'll be honest, I couldn't see the apples in the trees because of the clouds and raindrops... I had given up. But after I got off the phone with her, I began to realize that I have plenty to be thankful for: My closest friends are but a phone call away, I am in a place where I can be understood for the most part, I have a great apartment, I have a good job that helps me keep my nice car and great apartment, my great apartment comes with a gym and a pool, there are some people here who really do care (like the pink kindergarten fairies - there will be a post dedicated just to them), and I am healthy. So, when I am getting weepy and homesick for my former life, I need to just remember these things, count my blessings and be grateful for the goodness in my life.... I am BLESSED in the truest sense of the word.

Da Beach... East Coast Style...

So today some of the lovely teachers that are here with the same program as me got together and we drove to Virginia Beach. We laid in the sand for a while, splashed in the waves, walked along the promenade and then had a yummy dinner in a lovely restaurant. When we were done with dinner, we came out to find a band playing.... all in all, it was a lovely day and made me NOT want to return to work tomorrow!! hahaha. Below are a few pictures from today... enjoy, but don't be jealous...