OFF TRACK!

Yes, for the next 2 weeks I am off track! I am so excited! One my first day off today, I really didn't do much, which was VERY nice! I just hung out at home and did a little shopping and tended Scott and Kim's little darlings... I do need to get going on planning for when I get back on track because I am going to California with my friend Sally next week! We are going to visit our darling and wonderful friend Tanya, who lives there and just relax. We are going to try to get on the Price is Right and go to Six Flags too. Neither of us have done those, so it will be a blast!

Anyway, I thought I would also give you a little update on the whole job situation next year too, if you haven't heard. I WILL be able to teach 4th grade next year! YEA! I was soooo relieved when my principal told me... hopefully I will be staying on the same track, but at least I get a chance to change a few things for next year and do some things better! My mentor teacher, in 4th grade right now, is moving up to 6th grade though, so I am sure another teacher will have to get hired for that position... Also, I feel bad because the 2 6th grade teachers that I was talking about last time are going to different schools so that they can teach 6th grade. I am sad that they are leaving, but at the same time I am happy, because if they would have chosen to come and teach 4th grade, I would have been "bumped out". All I can say is that I must be staying in the 4th grade for a good reason or else I would have been gone! I am so grateful for this! Also, I am grateful that my 2 new students that I got are doing well in my class, and their parents are a lot happier with the situation, so that is going good...it is just a lot more work keeping track of 2 more students!

Well, not much else going on, so I will have to let you know how the trip goes when I get back!

Craziness!

Spring Break is finally here for me! I am sooo excited to have a little refreshing break tomorrow and Friday! It has been QUITE a hectic couple of weeks!

The week after P/T Conferences was pretty good. It was fun on April Fool's Day to see my class's reaction when I wrote that the date was 3-32-09 and the day was Thursday! They came in and were sooo confused, but it only took them a couple of minutes to realize that it was April Fool's Day and they played along with me for a while... :) That same day I also got to take an extra long lunch, because our PTA does this thing where they have parents come in for half an hour after lunch is over and do a Teacher Appreciation Activity with the students. So, I met my mom for lunch and ice cream. It was awesome! I will admit that I really wanted to just go home after that though! :)

The craziness really started happening last Friday when I learned that I would be getting not one, but TWO new students on Monday...yes, TWO! I am now up to 28 students! AHHHH! They are twins, brother and sister, and the other crazy part about this it that they are from one of the other 4th grade teachers next door! Apparently, they felt that the teacher was (and I quote) "hostile" towards them... and they weren't willing to work it out with her, so guess who had an opening...yep, ME. So, I am now the problem solver in the situation...LOVELY. I can't complain though, because they seem to be pretty bright kids and have been pretty well behaved so far, but I guess time will tell. I was afraid that the other teacher would be mad at me, but she seems pretty indifferent, even happy that she doesn't have to deal with them, so I guess everything will be okay. I just feel bad for the kids though because they were a few units ahead in a lot of the subjects in the other class, and my class is just going over what they already learned, so that kind of bits for them to have to sit through everything again! I will have to let you know how that all turns out...

Today it was kind of fun because I had some kids bring in their "reptiles" and "amphibians" to show to the class because we are talking about them in science. One boy brought his turtle and fed it some fish in front of us. It was pretty darn cool! Another boy brought his older brother's tree frog. It sleeps during the day, so it wasn't moving around very much, but it was still very fun to see it! Here are a few pictures of them:

I also had them do some fun animal art where they drew an animal that had a silly "adaption", such as claws, polka dots, or big, hairy feet! We have been studying how animals adapt to their environment, so this was a fun activity to help them learn about it a little more! Some of them "went to town" on their pictures, so I thought it would be fun take a few pictures...here they are!

And for my last bit of craziness that is more recent (like today!), my principal met with each one of the teachers today and talked to us about teaching positions for next year. Well, when it came to my turn, she told me that I might have to move from teaching 4th grade! AHHH! (again...) She explained that there is a 6th grade teacher that took a leave of absence this year and might be coming back next year and there is another teacher that wants to move from 4th grade and teach 6th grade. So, that leaves 2 first year teachers from 6th grade getting bumped and they could be coming down to 4th grade or 1st grade (or going to another school). Depending on what they choose, I could be pushed out of 4th grade, because I am new. It is all VERY confusing and kind of nerve racking because I REALLY want to stay at this school, but I might have to teach 1st grade or something...it would be like a whole other 1st year of teaching again! I was told by another 4th grade teacher that I shouldn't worry and that I will still be able to teach 4th grade, but I just can't help it! I guess I would get used to teaching another grade, but it would sure be nice to get more in the "groove" of teaching 4th grade again next year! Anyway, that is my big soap box for the day... I will keep you updated for sure!

P/T Conferences, Hats, and Flowers!

I can't believe I survived last week! I never thought it would end because I had to do Parent/Teacher Conferences on Wednesday and Thursday night. Let's just say they were LOOOONG days! But they were actually okay because there really were no upset parents, they were either happy, supportive, or concerned and wanted to know what to do to help their child do better, which is GREAT! I just wish they all got better grades, but sadly, some of them got worse grades in some areas, so hopefully the problems can be fixed this term...

I got a surprise on Thursday morning though when one of my cute boys gave me a hat he made! He said he made it on one of those round looms. I thought it was sooo cool! I don't even know how to do them! I guess I need a lesson from him (or Auntie Cari who is an avid knitter! :) )! I guess you know you are liked and appreciated when a student gives you something like that! My mom also brought me flowers on Wednesday during P/T Conferences! I kept them on my desk all the rest of the week and brought them home on Friday. I got so many compliments on them and they smelled soooo good! Too bad they weren't from a guy....but thanks mom so much! I am so lucky to have such awesome parents to help me get through the crazy times in life...and this last week was certainly one of them!

Anyway, here are some pictures of the hat and flowers for your enjoyment!