One more day until we get a week of vacation! I’ll be at a literacy conference tomorrow though, so vacation kind of starts tonight. Unless you consider the fact that I have to leave the house at 6:30am tomorrow morning and won’t be home until 5:30pm…. so maybe vacation starts tomorrow night.
Anyway, prepare for a rambling post. I am SO ready for vacation. Things seem to be falling apart around here. Coming apart at the seams. We are all pretty ready for a break. Unfortunately I have a Vaca To-Do list that’s quite extensive. Sigh.
I’ve applied for several jobs this week. I REALLY would like to get one of them, though I’m barely prepared for interviewing. One of my top vaca to-do list items is to prepare for interviews, on the assumption that I will indeed get one. Positive thinking, right?!
Eve is doing well, as far as I can tell, except I think she has two cavaties. We have a dentist appointment in June so we’ll know for sure then. Lex, however, isn’t doing as well and I’m hearing troubling reports in all areas regarding his behavior. We are working with him and trying to figure out what’s going on. Reports of anger, aggression, and just plain meanness. Not his typical personality! The guilty mommy in me thinks it must be because our schedule is a bit chaotic this year, I’m not as available as I have been in the past, we have long days, frequent daycare, and he’s on a bus every day. But the realist in me is trying to prevail and hold strong to the idea that maybe it’s not all my fault. :) Maybe there are other things going on, developmental changes, social structures forming, etc. We’re working with him. It hurts my heart though to hear reports of him being aggressive and mean to peers.
And I’m just so tired. I keep thinking, “It’s just for this year,” and Alan keeps saying, “We just need to get through this year,” but in the back of my head I know that if I get a job (which would be a good thing!) then next year will be even harder. Teaching all day every day. Being responsible for 18 little minds for an entire year without anyone else to fall back on. That’s a lot of responsiblity! And I just taught a disaster math lesson today, in front of my supervisor. She was nice and pointed out the good parts, but we both know it was a disaster. Ugh.
And I’m just so tired. So. Tired. Always.
On that note, it is after 9pm and I have to be up early (as usual) so I’m going to stop bitching on the blog and go drink a(nother) glass of wine, fold some laundry, chill with my hubby and Colbert, then go to bed. Tomorrow is another day.
❤️Life gets very hard sometimes
We love you
I’m w/ you on the tired-in bed RIGHT after the kids most nights; then, I tend to wake up for the day by 4am!
Looking for a job is exciting/nervewracking; I interview candidates for our extern or other allied health positions; different than teaching but much can generalize. Questions we ask: where do you want to be in 5 years? (will they be with us long enough to make the time worth investing in their training); describe how you might deliver difficult news to parents (terminology may vary depending on the sophisticatedness of your audience; gentle; ask if parents had noticed any concerns about it too); can you give me an example of a time when you felt you’d made a mistake and how you remedied it? (excellent chance to see an example of taking responsibility for an error and addressing it toward a positive outcome, or how something you’d initially thought was a mistake was still a good experience and had a silver lining because you learned X); give me an example of a time when you had to disagree w/ a supervisor-how did you handle that? (show you understand chain of command; being able to have a conversation about a different opinion w/o losing the working relationship; understanding there may be a time when safety dictates needing to take something to another level); how much would you like to be paid? (I don’t ask this but if you were-don’t fall for it. The answer is something like: I’m sure you’ll make a fair offer to the best candidate for the position; given my training and experience, I think I’d be a good fit and very much hope to be chosen. Other advice, get familiar w/ the school (or company)-view their website and a few school board minutes. You might ask some of the staff you taught in if they would be willing to pretend to interview you; wear your interview clothes and shake hands and everything. Also, if you get the ‘tell me about yourself’ question, best to say ‘would you like to know more about my work experience or my personal life/hobbies’ so you know what they’re after. Hope any of this helps, sorry I wrote a short book! Best, Leah
Be gentle with yourself.
Instead of “getting through” this year, find a way enjoy the process. Remember you chose this! (This might be as much for me as it is for you; it has been my mantra through 4+ years of post-grad school… lots of unforeseen bumps in the road. I think it builds resilience. And I think the wrinkles and gray hairs make me look distinguished if not a little unsexy.) You’re right that Lex’s uncharacteristic behavior is his way of communicating something deeper. Vacation and down time will no doubt help him… as will your fantastic and intuitive parenting skills. Lastly, 12 years in and I still have disaster math lessons sometimes. Reflection is important, but try not to beat yourself up over it. Miss you!
Does the time line for his behavior coincide with Karate lessons? He may have found an outlet for some sub-concious pent up frustration, aggravations, and or bullying/teasing from years past. Maybe observing behavior of bigger other kids on the playground or bus, and he’s testing the system. Alan might want to sit in on a Karate class just to observe the message being conveyed to the kids. By that I mean the true philosophy of Karate philosophy.