Zzzzzzzzzz

Wesley fell asleep on the way home from school last night, about 5:30 PM.  He woke up this morning at 6:30AM.  13 hours. . . what a luxury!

Getting Closer

My full teaching block is coming near! Next week I’ll be teaching all subjects but Math Investigations (1 hr) and writing/science, which we squeeze in when we can. I am putting together a reading unit that all of the 5th grade teachers will use, which includes everything from the actual lesson plan to all of the copies, overhead transparencies, games, etc. The lesson plan itself takes a minimum of 2 hours to write up (that’s a seasoned teacher, not a rookie!) and at least 2-3 hours of copying, laminating, cutting, etc. I’ll finish the plan by Monday and then on to the copying!

What happened to the weekend??

It’s already Sunday evening and I’m sitting at my computer working on my lesson plans wondering where the heck the weekend went!  Friday took a long time coming and as I lay in bed that night I remember thinking, “Yeah!  The weekend is finally here!”  I am so tired of dealing with my allergies and the inability to breathe.  I was hoping to rest, spend some time in the yard, and spend time with the family.  Saturday came bright and early and after picking up our Heartland Share our family headed to church for our picture for the directory.  After waiting way too long and Wesly not cooperating with a smile, we ticked off the photographer when we turned down the 2 5×7’s that he wanted to charge us $60 for.  We stuck with the free 8×10, courtesy of the church and at least the Davis family will be represented in the 2007 directory.  That afternoon we headed to the Sedgwick County Zoo with one of Taylor’s friends in tow.  It was a lot of fun and I always enjoy the zoo.  So did the rest of Wichita, who seemed to have the same idea as we did.

Saturday night I scrambled to get my stuff from the Britches and Lace consignment sale.  I actually did quite well, and thanks to my spreadsheet where I had listed items and prices, I could ballpark what I had made.  If you’re into finding good deals as well as unloading your gently used children’s clothes/toys/maternity wear/baby stuff in general, check out www.britchesandlace.com or www.jbf.com.  I have participated in both sales and think they a great way to make an extra buck without the work or bartering at a garage sale!

Sunday consisted of working the church nursery, a trip to Wal*Mart for yard stuff, coming home and digging up bulbs and putting down mulch while Ken worked on the grass, finishing up the umpteenth load of laundry, vaccuming, then dinner, now lesson plans and updating blog, next — bed!  Wesley and I both have school tomorrow but since it’s an inservice, Ken is staying home to have Taylor and Jocelyn to himself.   And I wonder where the weekend went?!

My hard work pays off. . .

Up until today, I had to give up all of my hours of studying and writing lesson plans to a mere licensure from the state.  Today, I heard some wonderful news from my advisor.  She said that if I have more than 30 hours toward a degree from Southwestern College (I’ll have had 40 by the time I’ve finished this semester), then they will grant me a secondary bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education.  Yippee!!  I think I’m going to go ahead and walk in May’s graduation ceremony (they don’t have one for December when I’ll truly graduate) just for the fun of it.  Ours was the first cohort going through the Wichita East location and it’s a big deal.  Most of us have been together for the past two years and have gotten quite chummy.  Oh, and did I mention the hefty student loan debt?  I’d better get that job — quick!!

The week in review

This was yet another busy week at the Davis household.  It was the first full week of school, due to inservices and holidays, and with such a busy weekend prior, it certainly took its toll.  My allergies have been acting up something awful, Ken now has either a cold or the flu, and Jocelyn has started to feel yucky.  Earlier in the week Taylor had a bout of vomiting and kindly didn’t pass that bug on to anyone in the family!  Wesley has been relatively healthy, only clumsy!  He has scabs all over his little chest, knees, and elbows from a couple of tumbles on the concrete driveway!

Jocelyn had her first Brownie meeting for the year and came home with a mouse that had a long tail.  We were instructed to tie a knot in its tail every time she does a good deed around the house.  Does going to bed without complaining count as a good deed? Probably not.  Oh well, we’re working on it.

Our annual neighborhood block party is Saturday night and as the coordinator, I am officially resigning.  This is my last year to put it together as well as it being my Dad’s last year as President.  Someone else will have to get the petition signed to close the street, put together flyers, solicit businesses and individuals for prizes, coordinate bouncy castles, games and other entertainment for the kids, just to name a few of my duties.  I’ve already told the President that I’m not doing anything for them anymore (yes, that goes for the Easter Egg Hunt for 2008 and the garage sale of 2007!).  I’m going to be way too busy hopefully as a first year teacher than to worry about that kind of thing.

My first night of seminar class was Tuesday night as well.  Fortunately we only met for two hours but they were indeed a jam-packed two hours!  First we went over all of the paperwork and fees associated with getting our teaching license.  You’d think with all of the money we’ve already spent on getting our education, the least they could have done was grant us a license for free.  Of course not!  At least since I already have a substitute license I don’t have to pay the $44 to get an FBI background check.  Overall, on top of being in the schools a minimum of 9 hours per day, we have to complete interviews/topic discussions via the internet, build our file, and write a “mini” KPA (Kansas Performance Assessment) which is approximately 12 typed pages.  (The KPA is a required document from the state of KS to gain our permanent license.  We have 2 years to complete this once we start teaching.)  Our “mini” KPA is half the size of the one that we’ll need to submit later.

Let’s see, something that happened at school this week.  I figured that I’d have to deal with this at some point but I wasn’t prepared!  One of my female students came up to me and asked if she could call her Mom.  That was really unusual since 5th graders don’t usually ask this.  She seemed concerned about something so I asked her if she was all right.  She whispered to me that she thought she was starting her period and didn’t know what to do.  To be honest, the thought hadn’t even crossed my mind that this was her first time.  This gal is taller than I am, wider, and very well-developed.  She put her head down on her desk and cried because she was scared.  Her Mom ended up coming for her after lunch and I saw my student again after school when she was picking up her sister from kindergarten.  “Was it what you thought it was?” I asked. “No,” she replied.  I’m not sure what the deal was in the end but she ended up missing the last two days of school for the week.

I am beginning to get more responsibility in the classroom, too.  I was getting tired of watching my cooperating teacher (CT) teach the main math and reading lessons so she gave me the second reading block to teach next week.  I’m looking forward to it.  We’re starting a new concept at calendar on Monday and my advisor/professor will be coming to observe me teaching on Thursday.  I tried to videotape myself teaching today as I have to do reflections on what I see but the battery was that old that it didn’t charge.  Fortunately the technology gal helped me with a different battery and its back on the books for Monday.  I’m always nervous about videotaping, mainly because I hate watching myself but also because the students don’t act natural.  At least I can observe myself with my discipline technique!

Well, I’d better wrap it up as I still have block party issues to contend with and the agenda’s full for tomorrow.  So much for a relaxing weekend. . .

Mr. and Mrs. Darren Gould

Hurrah for Darren and Cheri who officially tied the knot yesterday in a lovely ceremony at the Wichita Center for the Arts!

The Tooth Fairy

Jocelyn has been wiggling one of her teeth for quite some time now and complained most of the four day weekend about how much it hurt her to eat with it wiggling so much!  This morning the annoying tooth popped out.  After much deliberation, she decided to put it in her shoe by her bed (she claims they do this in other “places”) with a snack of peanut butter crackers close by.  Seems she’s confusing a couple of holidays, but I’m sure the tooth fairy will still make a visit to the Davis household!