Nerves



photo   © 2008   bottled_void , Flickr

 My stomach is in a knot, my legs won't stop bouncing, and my fingers have been gnawed to a stub status. I have graded papers, check assessments to make sure that I'm managing appropriate intervention groups, and I've analyzed data to make sure that my students are making growth. I have given thanks for the amazing blessings in my life, filled my tummy with turkey and dressing, and have surrounded myself with loved ones. The stress and nerves are still there.

Report cards? Yes, those loom in the near future but they are only a loud blip on my radar.

Holiday craziness? Well, that's a given this time of year but my students are fairly focused.

No....I am being observed.

Bum...Bum bum...BUM....by my peers.

Not once, not twice, but three times tomorrow. I know that I should think of it as a compliment but I can't help but worry that I won't live up to expectations. What if my year off left me in the dust on new teaching techniques. Will they find something useful and helpful in what I do? I have analyzed my lesson plans and have given thought to all the possible things that could happen during each lesson.

Then, I took a step and realized that nothing goes according to plan in the classroom. That's how those teachable moments happen right? We are all very supportive in my building and we all learn and grow from each other. Maybe it's the perfectionist and overachiever in me...but I want everything to run smoothly and to feel like I contribute to others learning because I gleam so much from watching all of them.

I have an amazing principal who works a day into each month for teachers within the building to observe their peers. She calls it Collegial Learning and I have grown as a teacher because of it. I enjoy seeing how other teachers approach their craft, how they set up their rooms, and how they interact with their students. I scribble notes on my note pad, eager to pull every ounce of knowledge from the masters that surround me. But, when it's my turn....my nerves act up and I begin to question how and why I approach things the way I do. The people observing me may learn something, but I am definitely doing some reflecting of my own before and after my lessons.

Tomorrow will be a growing experience for me in many ways. When it is done, I will take a breathe....gather feedback from my peers...reflect...and then begin to stress about report cards. It never ends does it? Thankfully, I love what I do and wouldn't change it for the world. Happy Report Card Season and good luck!

Strong Willed and Angry

Night times have been varied in my home lately. They always start the same: snuggle time on the couch, teeth brushed, story read, story turned on, stars on, and kisses follow being tucked in tight. I also say the same words, "I love you! Now don't forget to stay in bed." If only this worked.

While trying to grade papers and catch up on DVRd shows, my ears begins to pick up a different script. Giggles and thumps....is that really what I'm hearing? As I glance up at the clock, my blood pressure begins to rise. I pause the show and quietly tip-toe upstairs. The door is closed but a sliver of light lines the frame of the door. Not only are they up, but they've turned on the light. Brazen? You bet!  I swing open the door and put on my angry mom face. Yes, you know the one, the tear inducing eyes accompanied by the scrunched up nose and turned up lips.

"What are you two doing? Don't you realize that you both have to go to school tomorrow? You're going to be exhausted in the morning. Now GO TO BED!"

Bodies quickly move from one place to the next as they begin to snuggle back in. This is only the beginning of my night.

My body hasn't even made it back into the warm indent of the sofa when the pitter patter of feet begins. That can't be feet, it has to be the rain. I stay perfectly still as I give it another listen. You have GOT to be kidding me. I stomp, yes I am not being quiet any long, stomp my feet up the stairs to find my three-year old standing indignantly in the door way.

"Get your booty in bed!", I demand in the deepest tone I can muster.

"I NOT!", is the reply that is echoed back to me.

Yes, the blood in now boiling as I move my baby from the room he shares with is brother to the playroom (which has a toddler bed in it).

As soon as his body touches the mattress, he springs back up at me. My fair hair, fair skinned child is changing before my eyes. It's as if The Hulk is in my midst. Cheeks begin to turn red and his soft eyes are shooting daggers
.
"You stay here and go to sleep."

As I leave the room, the screaming begins. It varies from night to night. Tonight it's a chorus of "I WILL NOT!" and "MOM MAY!". It's not the mommy that whispers into my ears and makes the corners of my mouth rise. This "mommy" is harsh with an edge that makes your hair stand on end.

After he is worn out, I find my way back up the stairs. As I enter the room, the volume is cranked up but I can see that his swollen eyes are beginning to droop. This is my chance. As I wrap my arms around him, I begin to pull up the covers and explain how much I love him and that sleep is essential right now. The fight is over....sleep has won this time but the battle will be taken up another day.

As I get to the door, I hear a mouse of a squeak. What? "Mommy, I love you!" My icy heart quickly melts away as those 4 words remind me that this is just a blip on the radar of my life. These nights may seem to last forever but they are well worth the love that fills the rest of the day.

Pride

My parents always stressed the importance in pride when I was growing up. It's important to have pride in your work and to give 110% in everything you do. If you do that, you'll be appreciated for your efforts. I try to teach my students the same thing.

We were taking a reading assessment last week when I was reminded how rewarding pride could be. My class has been working on making predictions and supporting their opinions with evidence from the text. It was time for me to check their progress, so we read a story and then they were asked to make a prediction. Groans reverberated around the room....yes, I was asking them to write. How dare I!

I asked my class to remember 3 things.
1. To use their best handwriting
2. To make sure their capital letters were in the correct place (those pesky D, N, and R seem to pop up in the middle of words in my class)
3. To make sure that they support their predictions with evidence from the story.

Heads were nodding in acknowledgement and pencils began to dance along the tops of papers while Matt Nathanson played in the background.

I have one little girl who always seems to be disheveled. She comes into class with papers hanging out of her folder, her hair dances to it's own tune, and breakfast is usually in one hand with her coat dangling from her fingers. Neatness is not her strong suite but she tries.

Today was this young ladies special day. As the children began to finish their assessment and books began to open around the room, this young lady tugged gently on my sleeve. A crooked smile appeared on her face, her cheeks became rosy, and her eyes began to sparkle. Immediately I knew that this was going to be a special moment. As I looked at her paper, I was able to read every word clearly and there were NO capitals in the middle of her words. This is the first time her paper has been capital free and she knows it.

"This is fabulous! I can tell that you worked super hard on this didn't you?"

Her head began to nod like a bobble head doll, and her smile stretched across her face even wider like the Cheshire Cats.

"I am so proud of your hard work. This looks beautiful!"

"I took pride in my work....and you're write Mrs. G, it does make me feel really good."

What more could I say? I reached my arms around her and gave her a quick squeeze. I love days when you can pass along the joy of having pride in your work.

High fevers, broken bones, and ER trips...Oh My!

Hello everyone,

I am so sorry to have not posting for most of October and the beginning of November. It has been an eventful few weeks. Let me give you just a taste.

It was the Sunday before conference week. You know, the frantic time of year when you are stuffing papers into folders to make conferences run smoothly. I had just tucked my boys into bed and had settled down to grade some last minute writing samples.

Brrrring, Brrrrring (Well actually my phone rings differently, but you get the idea)

My eyes went to the caller ID. It was my hubby calling from NH. I very excitedly answered the phone to find a groggy voice on the other end.

"Hey, I want to start by saying that I'm fine."

Never the way to start a conversation. My heart began to pound it's way up my chest. Panic began to shake my hands as I quickly asked, "What in the world happened?"

"I broke my leg playing hockey. I'm in the ER and it looks like I'll have surgery tomorrow to put the bones back together."

Clean brake through the Tibia and Fibula

Worry, panic, sadness, and finally guilt kicked in. I am in WA and am not able to be by my husband's side while he has his first broken bones and surgery. Yes, you read correctly, my husband has never broken a bone and he is now in the hospital by himself. I quickly run through the list of things that need to be done...who to call, how to arrange for him to get home. I apologized multiple time for not being there and promise to find a way to get there as quickly as I can.

I hang up the phone and begin to make phone calls to his parents and mine. What am I going to do?

As I am pacing the floor downstairs, I begin to hear barking noises coming from the room upstairs. My oldest son must have passed his bark to my 3 year old. I calmly walk upstairs, trying to put my broken husband out of my mind for a moment. I cradle my big baby into my arms and helpless watch as his coughs rattle his chest. Not only is my baby sick, but his asthma is in full effect. As I push syringe fulls of medicine into his mouth, I rock him gently in my arms. Eyes begin to close while his hands grip the Gatorade bottle like a lifesaver. As I inch my way upstairs, his chest continues to rattle. I prop him up in my bed and begin the search for his inhaler. I should clarify that his asthma only seems to be bad when he's sick...so we don't use his inhaler often.

Where is that darn inhaler? I search every inch of the house in vain...it is no where to be found. I will go to the doctor tomorrow to get a refill...it will be OK.

Yeah, I don't think so. I climb into bed only to discover that my son is struggling to breathe. I put Vicks on his chest and stand next to the steaming hot shower so the steam will open up his airway. Nothing seems to help much. When the sun begins to rise, I decide that it's time to visit the ER.

After a quick run into work to prepare for the sub...I am on my way to the ER. As my son is being worked on, my husband is in surgery to get plates and screws put into his leg. Both of my boys are hurting and all I can do it wait on the sidelines.

A few pins and plates later

5 nebulizers, an x-ray, and a few medicines later.....we are on our way home. My poor baby has had pretty hefty asthma attack and has croup. He is in good spirits and is breathing fine so I leave him with my mom and get my 4 conferences out of the way. I need to get them out of the way in case I'll be flying back East soon.

That night, my husband calls to give me the update on his surgery and asks if I will be there tomorrow to bring him home. My heart is breaking as I look at my recovering baby and hear my broken husband on the other end. What am I to do? Thankfully my husband's dad is there visiting for a few days so he will have someone to care for him for a few days. I book a plane tickets for a few days later. I am to leave on Thursday.

Wednesday night comes and I am back in the ER with my baby. This time it's a double ear infection. The plane trip will have to be delayed while I take care of my boy.

The new plane tickets are for Tuesday. One week with my husband while my mom takes care of my boys. Thankfully everyone is feeling well so the trip goes smoothly. My husband is recovering well and both boys are back to normal. The quiet house is now loud and rambunctious again.

As Thanksgiving nears, I am thankful for a family on the mend and hope that it continues.

There's a seal in my house!



photo   © 2009   thisisbossi , Flickr



Bark! Bark!

The deep, bellowing tone is echoing through my home. I mute the TV and listen carefully. I can hear the snores coming from my dog and the gentle purr of my cat snuggled on my lap.

Bark! Bark!

Is there another dog in my house? Outside maybe? A seal? I move the writing assessments aside, gently slide the cat from my lap, and dodge the dog as I make my way towards the stairs.

Bark! Bark! Sniffle!

Concerned mommy has now taken over. I go from a quiet tip-toe to a full out run as I sprint up the stairs to my son's room.

Bark! Bark! Groan.

"Hey baby, what's up." I gently rest the back of my hand onto his forehead. I quickly pull it away and the concern must show on my face because T asks, "Am I really sick mama?" My hand still tingles from the heat that is being generated from my boy. I could easily fry an egg on his forehead. "Yeah buddy, it looks like you've got a pretty bad one. Come with me."

My 50 lb. son wraps his legs around me and scalds me with his forehead as he rests it on my shoulder. His head must feel like a bowling ball because he can't seem to hold it up.

Bark! Bark!

Warm cider is being warmed in the microwave as I gather up Tylenol, ear thermometer, a cool compress, and some Lifesavers. As I gently slide the thermometer into his ear, T lets out a small grown. His ears are tender but he's trying to be tough...102.7. My heart sinks and I run through everything my mom has taught me. Bring the fever down, cool him off, be strong, and pump fluids into him. As I lay the cool compress on to his forehead, he sighs. "Is it too cold?" "No mama, it feels really good but it's getting warm. Can you cool it off again?"

Bark! Bark!

The night continues as the fever begins to break. Lifesavers were sucked on and several cups of cider and Gatorade were drank.

He is feeling better this morning but his deep bark still sounds painful. I am again reminded how hard it is to be a mom. All I want to do is take his pain away....at least I can be here by his side to snuggle and baby him.

A Very Late, Versatile Blogger, Thank You!

Oh my goodness, I am completely honored and humbled by my Versatile Blogger and Blog on Fire nods. I have had a horrible time managing my time since going back to the classroom. I will get into the routine of juggling kids, my classroom, and hopefully become more consistent with my blogging.

    

I am LONG overdue for a thank you to three amazing blogs. Yes, because of my lack of being on the ball, I have gotten 3 nods. Thank you to: Teacherdance, Tammy at Klinger Cafe' and First Grade and Fence Posts (Thank you for the additional Blog on Fire Award), and Deb Frazier at Primary Perspective. I feel so thankful to have stumbled upon this amazing group of bloggers. You have all enrichment my life and made me a better teacher by all the inspiring stories you share.

Ok, so my understanding is that I need to do these three easy steps:

#1 Thank the person (people) who nominated you and provide a link
back to their blog.

#2 Share 7 things about me

#3 Pass this award along to 15 other blogs that you have discovered.

 7 Things about me

 

1. I don't consider myself a writer. I ran into Two Writing Teachers less than a year ago and thought that their March Slice of Life Challenge would be a great way for me to become a better primary writing teacher. So I jumped in with two feet and have become part of a wonderful writing community. March will be my 1 year blogging anniversary.

 

2. This will be my 7th year of teaching. I started off in Kindergarten and have slowly worked my way up to 3rd grade. I love 3rd grade....the independence and the continued love for their teacher. I watched my first group of kindergartners leave for the Junior High this past year....Yes, I cried!

 

3. I love the look of a beautiful garden but have neither discovered my green thumb or the love of working long hours in the yard. The bad part is that I have these amazing, fruit bearing trees, and don't know what to do with them. Better develop that green thumb soon.

 

4. I am over run by men in my home. I have a military husband, two boys, a male cat, and my female dog (who was more manly then her brother). What's a girl to do?

 

5. I am a lover of all genres of music. It is not unusual to find the boys and I rocking out to some kind of music while we clean. I love when my boys join in while driving in the car. It always puts a smile on my face.

 

6. I am horrible with my writing grammar. I apologize ahead of time for the random commas. My mom always called me the comma queen. Thankfully, I teach young children so I won't be teaching them incorrectly.

 

7. I am a sports lover. I love watching a good game of football and hockey. Thankfully my boys will help keep that love going as they bounce from sport to sport.

 

15 Other Blogs to Check Out

 

There are so many amazing blogs out there that I am yet to find. Here are just a sampling of the ones that I'm constantly going to.

 

1. Two Writing Teachers: Where my blog writing started.

2. A Year of Reading: Introduced me to the blogging world and all the professional development that is out there.

3. Runde's Room: I go to her constantly for art ideas and math journal ideas. A wealth of teacher fun.

4. Create*Teach*Share: Another great teacher website full of ways to enrich learning in the classroom. Her Boggle board is my favorite...my kids love it!

5. Mr. Schu at Watch. Connect. Read: An amazing librarian who shares great book trailers and upcoming books. A dedicated lover of books.

6. Deb Day at Coffee with Chloe: Her dedication to the children in her classroom inspires me daily and always puts tears in my eyes (both sad and joyous).

7. The Classroom Bookshelf: Always has connections on how to expand your teaching of a book. Grade level specific ideas, websites.....she's amazing!

8. Anita Silvey's Book A Day Almanac: The down and dirty behind some new and classic books. I learn something new every day on this blog.

9. Mr. Sharp at sharpread: A talented 4th grade teacher who inspires children with his passion for reading. Always a delight to see what's up his sleeve and what he's read recently.

10. TLC = Tech + Library + Classroom: A great site full of tech resources. I wish that I could have a library at our school like this. Incredible!

11. The Reading Zone: Always has something to either make me think or make me want to read.

12. Ruth Ayers Writes: I've never had the urge to write my own book, but I've enjoyed reading Ruth's journey as she continues to share her writing process. She may be bringing me over to the dark side. :)

13. Need math resources, look no further than Open Wide, Look Inside. I am constantly referring back to this site for snappy ideas to up my math time in the classroom.

14. Shannon Whitney Messenger: An upcoming author who gets me excited about her journey to get her first book published. You can't help by get excited with her.

15. Boy Reader: One of the first few blogs to introduce me to the world of book reviews. I enjoy his quick, concise reviews with a little fun. He rates his books with stars...I love that.

 

So many wonderful blogs to choose from. Thank you to everyone who reads my ramblings and those that leave comments. It means the world to me that people enjoy what I write about. Thank you!

 

 

Glass Blowing

Last weekend, we went glass blowing with my mom, sister-in-law, and niece. It was such a fun experience that I just have to share. My youngest son and I both made pumpkins so you get to see his step-by-step pictures. Here we go....

First, I have to confess that we initially went to make Christmas ornaments for the tree. When we got there, the gentleman led us to a display of choices and colors. We were to pick our glass piece and then choose two colors and how we'd like them made (with a swirl design or with dots). They had vases, bowls, ornaments, globes, pumpkins, apples, Easter eggs...the list was endless. Of course none of us chose to do Christmas ornaments. That will be for another trip.

When blowing glass, the handler must heat a regular chunk of glass and then cool the rod.

The next step is to ensure that your customer can blow on the tube to enlarge the sculpture. As you can see, my bulging cheek son has no problems blowing hot air.

 

Next, the handler rolls the regular glass into the colored glass pieces of your choice. To get the swirl design, they alternate sides on the chunk (blue, pink, blue, pink). To get a dot pattern, like my sons, they swirl the regular glass into one color and then dab the other color randomly around.

After that, the glass is heated in a big cement mixer like container. When near it, it is super hot. I imagine that this is probably one of Hades hobbies. I may need to write Rick Riordan and suggest it for his next Percy Jackson book.

Next, you are asked to blow into the tubing to help begin molding your masterpiece. J had so much fun blowing into the tube and watching the glass expand. He was concentrating hard on his job but had to sneak a peak at his handy work.

After some more heating and manipulating, the pumpkin glass is formed. Now it's time to sit back and watch how the stem is made. What a fascinating thing to watch.

Lastly, you admire your art and give the professionals a high-five!

I would have thought that this was the end of the process, but it wasn't. We had to leave the glass to cool in an oven for almost a week. It's very important that the glass cools down slowly so it doesn't break. We just picked up our finished products this weekend and I couldn't wait to share them with you all. Take a peak at the artists in my family.



My boys, mom, and niece. Aren't they special? I'm a lucky girl.

Maybe you can find a glass blowing near you and give it a try. We sure had fun and will be making a trip again soon. Hmm, I wonder if they can make turkeys?