That will be my default blog post heading for the next 11 months.

I had another busy week. Just me. Routine as usual for the kids. Poor Alan was at work until midnight last night and probably working this weekend, so I guess you could call his week pretty busy as well.

I had my first solo teaching day on Thursday. I went into it feeling prepared and flying high. My mentor said that’s a great sign for success. :) The day went well, for the most part. I was able to tweak and refine my writing lesson since I taught it three times in a row. The way we are rotating classes this year is interesting. Have I mentioned it here before? I’m losing track. I taught a writing class three times and led a reading group. The lessons were ok but it was great to be able to refine the writing one over and again as I presented it to each new class. The third time was much better than the first. :) Reading group went well. I think they understood the point of the lesson, but my assessment at the end was poorly worded so it didn’t do an accurate job. I had a nice girl come tell me that the question didn’t make a lot of sense and perhaps I could word it a different way. She was right and I thanked her for the feedback.

The downer of the day, and what I’m stuck ruminating on, was our first “lock-down” drill of the year. I knew it was coming, we all knew it was coming, but things went a little amiss in my classroom and I didn’t handle it as well as I wanted to. All is ok, but I was frustrated. My principal says “that’s why we practice these things!” Sigh. I have very high expectations for myself. Higher probably than most others have for me. I want to be perfect, and I want to be perfect right now! That’s not unreasonable, right?!

On Monday I’ll be subbing in the class (teaching experience and a few extra $$, can’t beat that!) while my teacher does reading testing. This week begins our standardized testing as well, so that will be a fun new experience for me. New from a teaching perspective, I remember them from a student’s perspective!

We have no big plans for the weekend. I have fantasies of sleeping until noon, but my little (actually, he’s pretty big these days!) alarm clock will have me up bright and early every day. I need more time with them anyway. :)

For now, I have a lovely glass of wine, a basket (or three) of laundry, and a husband patiently waiting for me to come join him in the living room.

TGIF!

When I picked the kids up at daycare yesterday Lex was playing air hockey with a 4th grader. I came in, put my hand on Lex’s back, and said hello. The other kids says, to Lex, “Is that your mom?” Lex said yes and the other kid said, “Your mom is a teacher!”

Sweet!

I finished my second almost-full week of school. We’ve had two four-day weeks so far, next week will be the first full five day week!

Things are going really, really well! I’ve taught a few lessons and learned a ton. The 5th graders are smart and funny and just plain fun. I am surrounded by a super supportive, fun, welcoming staff. I couldn’t have asked for a better first placement… though maybe they are setting the bar high for future experiences.

I’m in the process of planning my first lesson. A basic map skills lesson. Wish me luck! :)

Today was my first day at UVEI! I’m so excited! It went really well and I came home feeling tired, but motivated. Let’s hope it lasts!

I started a new blog. I actually revived an old blog I started years ago when I was applying to nursing school. Like a lifetime ago! Check it out if you’re interested: exploring.learning.teaching. I thought it would be good to separate my personal blog and a somewhat more professional blog. I need to work on the style a bit, it’s kind of boring right now, but it’ll get there.

I had a bad dream last night. My first back-to-school (or maybe just to-school) dream. Hopefully my last. It went something like this:

I’m in a college lecture. The lecture is over and I’m chatting with a few people while digging through my backpack, looking for my schedule. I can’t find the schedule. Lots of crumpled up papers, but no schedule. I know I have another class to get to, but I can’t find my schedule so I don’t know where I’m supposed to go. Eve is with me, just hanging out in the periphery playing with another little girl.

I’m in a college lounge, still digging through my backpack looking for my schedule. I’m pulling out cracker crumbs and rocks and small plastic dinosaurs from my huge, black backpack, but no schedule. I see a big TV in the room and remember that I can get my schedule online. I pull my iPad out of my backpack, but it’s a big, bulky, all black device that doesn’t work. I try for awhile to get the iPad to work, but I get nothing. I call to Eve that we have to go. She wanders back over to me, holding hands with a different little girl.

I’m in the kitchen of my house, loading the dishwasher. I think maybe I don’t have a class now, maybe it was the final period of the day and I didn’t have a class that period. I know that’s wrong though and I really have to find the schedule. My kitchen is a mess and I’m trying to get it cleaned up while I remember where I have to go. I call to Eve that we need to go now and I find her (I’m outside suddenly, but smoothly) and a different little girl playing in the dirt. She is all dirty. Great. There’s one more thing I have to do now.

Back in the kitchen, I’m in a hurry so everything is going wrong. Liquids spill on the floor, the dishwasher soap powder spills. I’m flustered. I call to Eve that we really need to go now, though I have no idea where to, and (suddenly back outside again) she wanders around the corner of the house, holding hands with another little girl. I see Eve has a little white and orange worm sticking out of her nose, wiggling around. She seems oblivious to it. My body starts to convulse.

I wake up. Thankfully! It doesn’t take a genius to analyze this dream, just two days before starting at UVEI, starting down a new path that will have me more tied down and committed than I have been for the past six years! Though the dream stuck with me all day, I’m happy that the “feeling” of the dream did not. I didn’t spend the day feeling stressed or anxious, but the dream was quite clearly still there.

I did, however, get the orientation schedule today and they posted a whole bunch of documents and assignments to our Google drive. I read through them this evening, though I’m sure we’ll review them all together at orientation next week. Suddenly it’s feeling very real and very much like a lot of work!