On the way back from voting yesterday, I mentioned to the kiddos that they could get their backpacks ready for school. Then I told Taylor that he still had to label his items with his name.
“What?! That’s YOUR job!” says Taylor.
“What makes you think it’s my job?” I ask.
“Because you’re the Mom!” he replies.
Uh-oh. Obviously I’ve been doing too much for him.
On the eve of my returning to work tomorrow, I didn’t quite get everything accomplished as I would have liked to. But isn’t that the case with most of us? I don’t think I did too badly, though, considering I have three children at home and the family went on a vacation to FL for 10 days and Mom and I took the children to CO for a week. Here’s what I DID get done:
Books read (not in any particular order):
1) Silent Night by Mary Higgins Clark
2) part of Nighttime Is My Time by Mary Higgins Clark until I realized I had already read it!
3) The Guardian by Nicholas Sparks
4) A Thousand Splendid Sons by Khaled Hosseini
5) Ending the Homework Hassle by John Rosemond
6) The First Days of School by Harry K. Wong and Rosemary Wong
7) Cooperative Learning Structures for Classbuilding by Miguel Kagan, Laurie Kagan, and Spencer Kagan.
8) Numerous children’s books (to both Wesley and Jocelyn) and tons of magazines.
Projects done: 2 knitting projects, 6 pictures matted and framed, scrapbooking for 2006 nearly done except for Christmas, scrapbooking folders organized, living room and children’s rooms thoroughly cleaned, children’s consignment items just about completed, and numerous school projects from organizing, filing, printing, coloring clip art, stamping fan ‘n’ pick cards, etc.
Not too shabby! I won’t mention what I didn’t get done. Let’s be positive and look at what was accomlished 
Be sure to do the same with your to-do list!
Due to my Mom’s BMX accident, I’ve had to make some changes on the home front. (By the way, thanks to all of you who were thinking about us and praying! Mom’s doing better although she needs to have another pain medication change. She sees the Dr. Thursday afternoon to have her staples removed and goes to the physical therapist on Friday.) Taylor, Jocelyn, and Wesley are all signed up to attend Latchkey at school in the mornings so Mom doesn’t have to worry about putting them on the bus (not like she could being on crutches/wheelchair!). I managed to get a neighborhood girl to watch the kiddos while I’m in inservice the 8th-14th and I’m seeking another avenue to get childcare for inservices during the school year. Taylor’s old enough to get the other two home after school from the bus stop and they’ll probably drop by Mom’s to talk her ear off about their day before heading home to Ken, who should be home by then. I’m hoping that by going in to school early (my goal is to be there by 7:30am) I won’t have as much work to bring home so I can still plan on working out at the Y with Ken and spending time with the family after dinner. We’ll have to wait and see. It’s worth having the goal, right?! If you have any suggestions, I’d love to hear them!
Well, nearly. I go back this Wednesday and the kiddos go back on the 15th. I get a week long of meetings, collaboration, and brainstorming for the upcoming school year as well as a chance to get my classroom ready. Yippee!
I’m looking forward to this year for several reasons:
1) This will be my 1st FULL year as a licensed teacher. (For those of you that don’t remember, I finished my student teaching in Dec. ‘06 and walked right into a 4th grade position at a school I adore!)
2) There will be no curriculum changes. Last year we had both new math AND new reading series. Although I haven’t taught the beginning of 4th grade, I did teach 5th grade last year so that can’t be too different, can it?!
3) I get to set my own guidelines with my students. Unlike last year when I had to retrain my students to my wishes, not the prior teachers!
4) I’m signed up on committees. I’m on the writing committee and another one involving assemblies, etc. That should be fun!
5) My feet are a wet – albeit just a little! I have some clue how to teach!
I’ll keep you posted on a wonderful year of teaching!
