Less than one week!

Well, I have less than one week before I start summer school. I am looking forward to teaching and getting more practice in. I picked up the required texts and am going to look them over tonight.
So wish me luck!

Aaah! I’m back!

I have been unable to post because, first, my own personal laptop was broken by one of my students. Secondly, the L.A.U.S.D. laptop that I’m using suddenly stopped allowing me to post. Well, I was on one of my favorite websites, Ebay, and figured out how to fix the problem.
Thank goodness. I’m back. I’m back. [...]

Underwear by Mary Elise Monsell

Underwear (1988), written by Elise Monsell and illustrated by Lynn Munsinger is a charming little book. I bought it a couple of years ago for David. He enjoyed it, but Phillise loved it. She thought it was so funny.

The title character in the book is Zachary Zebra who did not like buttons or snaps or [...]

The Hungry Thing by Jan Slepian & Ann Seidler

I am so happy that I found this book, The Hungry Thing (1967), written by Jan Slepian & Ann Seidler, with pictures by Richard E. Martin. It is very hard to find. I found it on one site for $87.00. The cheapest that I found it for was $27.00 on Ebay. I knew that I [...]

Got a story to tell…

*** WARNING- This post is kinda’ long ***

Got a story to tell, like to hear it, here it goes. All this week is Vacation Bible School (VBS) at my church. I love it. This usually signifies that the school year is over, firstly. Secondly, I get to spend the whole week with my husband and [...]

Thought I’d never finish

Whew! I finally finished cleaning my classroom. It was such a mess.
Firstly, I inherited very messy closets. Nothing was in order. I didn’t know what I had in that closet for a couple of months until I had the time to fully clean them out.
When I finally finished, I discovered that I actually had [...]

Being an assistant is not the same

Ever since November, when I got the  shock and wake up call of my life when I started my first teaching job. I have found out that being an assistant is not the same as being a teacher. If I didn’t know it before then, I know it now. It was a very rude awakening.
When [...]

Laptop down

My laptop is down. One of my students decided that he wanted my personal laptop. He thought that if he broke it that I would give it to him to fix it and to have it. Of course I felt like killing that kid, but there is nothing I can do because I have no [...]

Advice from a recovering first year teacher

If I had to give any advice to a first year teacher, it would be to be flexible and patient. It might sound simple, but it’s true.
Those two things are what got me through this year.

I’ve been through the storm and the rain…

Those words are the beginning of a gospel song that I just love. It says so much.That is exactly the way that I feel. I’ve been through so much this year- with it being my first year of teaching.
Everyone kept telling me that it would get better. Needless to say, I just did not believe [...]

I made it!

I cannot believe it. I made it through my first year of teaching. There were so many times that I wanted to give up and quit.
Thankfully my pride, my teaching program, and my student loans just wouldn’t allow that.
But, yes it’s finally over! I cannot believe it passed by so fast. It’s like a blur. [...]

My little boy!

My little boy is getting big. He graduated from elementary school this week. He is officially not my little baby anymore.
I feel so sad. I remember him being a baby just like it was yesterday.
Where did the time go?

Back at school

I’m back at school after having been absent all last week. I finally got the training that I so badly needed.
It was excellent. I feel great. I finally feel prepared. I hope that I no longer feel like an incompetent boob anymore. I know that everything takes a bit of practice, but I am so [...]

In such a funk…

I am so bored. I have been in such a funk lately. I don’t even know what to do with myself.
T.V. shows that used to excite me no longer do so. I don’t want to read. I don’t want to write. I don’t want to stay in, but I don’t want to go out. What [...]

Missing them…

Even though the students in my classroom are so unruly and sometimes disrespectful, I miss them when I am absent. Last week, I was away from them for a whole week.
I’ve never been absent for a week!
I called one of my assistants to check up on them and found out that three of them had [...]

Teaching someone how to read!

Teaching someone to read. Ah, what a challenge! That has been one of my most pressing problems this year. Most of my class (7/11 students), either could not read or was reading 2-3 levels below grade level. Hence, the behavior problems.

Note: Students who act up because they have reading problems would rather be thought of [...]

A Fancy Nancy party!

Just in case you don’t know about Fancy Nancy (2005), it’s a children’s book, written by Jane O’Connor & illustrated by Robin Preiss.
The first book in the series is Fancy Nancy. The second is Fancy Nancy & The Posh Puppy, and the last one is Fancy Nancy- Bonjour Butterfly.
The little girl in the book, Nancy, [...]

A tribute!

This post is dedicated to one of my professors-my favorite professor @ Azusa Pacific University- Kathleen Berk. She fought a brave battle to the end, but in the end, the cancer won. It was a very aggressive cancer. She worked until the end, relying on oxygen to sustain her as she fulfilled her obligation to [...]

She turned around!…

Let me start by saying that Memorial Day was a phenomenal day. I barely have the words to describe how I’m feeling. I released over 30 years of pent-up hate and anger I had for my maternal grandmother. I knew that all the drama surrounding the relationship that my brothers & sisters and I [...]

A hectic Saturday!

I had such a hectic & crazy Saturday. It took me awhile to calm down. The day started off normally enough. However, by 4:00, I was in tears.
Why?
Well, my husband and I went to a hazardous waste disposal site. Our plans after that was to go to one of my sister’s house for a little [...]

Max Elliot Anderson news!

Here’s the latest on author Max Elliot Anderson:

Kid’s adventure author sends message in a bottle.
Max Elliot Anderson, author of action-adventures and mysteries for kids, has begun a real life adventure to encourage summer reading. On Saturday, May 31, he released a special bottle into the Rock River, near his home [...]

So tired!

I  am so tired of my students’ behaviors. Thank God there are only 10 school days left. I am counting not only the days, but the hours.
It’s almost over!

A sticky situation!

I am in such a sticky situation. My position for next year is so up in the air. That’s why we, most of the teachers in L.A.U.S.D., are going to be walking out. It’s only going to be for an hour. We will be picketing in front of the school and passing out leaflets to [...]

What is pink hand?

What is pink hand? That is what my little girl, Phillise, asked me a couple of minutes ago.
That is such a funny question. The funny part is that I knew exactly why she was asking me that question. My little boy, David, is such a germaphobe that he will not use my older son’s bathroom. [...]

Just the way I feel…

It’s the end of the year and I’m starting to feel that old familiar feeling-melancholy. I hate this feeling. I feel so vulnerable, so emotional, so out of control.
I have such conflicting feeling. On one hand, I want the school year to end. However, on the other hand, I know that as much as I [...]