Fall Break

After two 4-day weeks, I had a week off for fall break.  It seems crazy to have a break so soon, but I have to remember that every other school in the district has been in session since early August - a whole four weeks more than Pre-K.  Although I have spent most of the week being sick and lazy on the couch, I did accomplish something this week...I converted a dress into a skirt!

This is a dress that my dear roommate, Elizabeth, passed on to me (like she did with a lot of the clothing she no longer wanted).  The dress was really comfortable, but it just did not fit well on top.  I had to wear a cami or other shirt under it, which just ruined the comfort level.  Thus, I never wore the dress.

This is what I started with:

I tried on the dress and decided that I needed to cut along the bottom edge of the elastic waist.  After cutting, this is what I was working with:

I got rid of the top portion and added a waistband to the skirt portion.  I had some leftover elastic, so I didn't have to spend a penny!  I folded over the top to form a waistband and sewed around the band.  I forgot to leave a hole to thread the elastic through, but that was easily remedied by pulling out a few stitches.  I slid the elastic all the way around, stitched it together, and repaired the hole.  

Here is the finished product:

I attempted to do a similar thing to yet another dress (again, courtesy of Elizabeth), but have run into a few snags.  I may have to invest in something to repair the hem since I pulled the ruffles off....

That's all for now!

Remembering 9/11: Ten Years Later

10 years ago I had no idea what the World Trade Centers were.  This is my attempt to journal my experiences from September 11, 2001 – something I never did ten years ago.  I am doing this because I don’t want to forget.  Not that I would ever be able to forget an event like that.  This post is fairly emotionless, mostly due to the fact that I (a) didn’t really know what was going on while it was happening and (b) I didn’t yet understand the magnitude of the events on that day.

The planes hit the towers at 7:46 and 8:03 CST.  I would have just started class during my seventh grade year; the first class of the day was World History with Coach Topik.  I can remember sitting in the library with the rest of my classmates doing research for whatever happened to be the project of the week.  The librarian and Coach Topik were in the large storage room that held the TVs teachers could use.  As we wondered what they were doing over there, one classmate informed us that the president (George W. Bush) was making a speech.  My thought?  Big deal.  He’s just the president talking about something boring. 

I didn’t thinking anything else about it until I made it to my 3^rd period class – creative writing with Mrs. Tigrett.  Word had begun to spread about the attacks, and a friend of mine said that planes had crashed into the World Trade Centers in New York.  “That’s sad,” was my thought.  Once again, it got pushed almost to the back of my mind as I turned my focus to school (big surprise there). 

However, by the time I made it to 5^th period, the student body was buzzing about what was going on in New York.  I found out that there was another plane that air control couldn’t locate on radar and that it was supposedly connected to the events of the morning.  At this point, I was hungry for information about what was happening – obviously it was something big and important.  Word was that teachers had been informed that they should not tell us what was going on, though some apparently did pass on information.  Classes continued for the rest of the day with no new information seeping through the cracks.

I was going to stay after school to audition for a play.  When I got to auditions, I chickened out and chose to sit in the bleachers and work on homework instead.  After school, Mom picked me up.  I don’t remember what happened at this point – it’s possible that we talked about school or the events in New York, but I’m just not sure.  I do know that when I got home, I glued myself to the TV until dinner and the radio after that.  My classroom gossip was confirmed – the World Trade Centers had been hit by terrorists, the Pentagon had been hit, and a plane crashed in a field in Pennsylvania.

As the years have gone by, my love of this country has grown.  I am so proud of all the men and women who have, do, and will fight to protect this country.  And I am proud to be an American.

First Days in Pre-K

Well, the first week of school was last week, which explains my mysterious disappearance.  I would have updated this weekend, but, let's face it, I was too lazy. Now I'm waiting for my hard-working husband to get home (at 9:30!), and I'm struggling to stay awake, which is the perfect excuse to blog.  "To blog".... that makes this sound so official.  Maybe they should call it "to ramble", which is what I tend to do.

Anyway, here's the low-down on last week:

Monday:
Kelsey and I finished up the classroom and stuffed communication folders with paperwork in preparation for the Meet & Greet.  We met most of our students - probably about 18 of the 22 - and their parents.  This marks the first time that I've felt like a legit teacher.  The parents were asking me questions; the crazy part is that I actually knew the answers!

Tuesday:
First day of school.  Kelsey and I decided that we wouldn't give the students assigned seats so we could figure out who shouldn't sit by whom.  Big mistake.  By the time we realized our mistake, we didn't have a chance to fix it that day.  Then, after we came back from the playground, we had one student who decided he no longer wanted to be in our class.  He proceeded to jump off the carpet and run out the door - straight into the parking lot (we're in a portable "cottage").  Luckily Kelsey caught him ..... and took him straight to the principal.  For the next 30-45 minutes, the principal sat with him in our classroom.  We struggled through the rest of the day.  That afternoon we met with our principal and instructional coach, and they gave us tips and feedback.  We stayed until 7:30 rescheduling and planning for Wednesday.

Wednesday:
So. Hard. To. Wake up.  Wednesday went SOOOOOO much better.  Zeke scolded us for staying so late.  Our runner stayed in the classroom the whole time he was supposed to.  We only stayed until 4:45.  Such an improvement from Tuesday.

Thursday:
The days just keep getting better.  The hardest part was nap time (which we continue to struggle with).  Our students are understanding our routines, walking in a semi-straight line, and staying fairly quiet in the hallways.  At 5:15, we packed our bags and headed home.

Friday:
I made it to school in 52 minutes - a record!  Best day so far.  Routines are running smooth.  I'm loving teaching and I'm actually pretty good at it.  Who'd have thought?  4:30 rolls around, and we're ready to head home for a nice, long weekend.

This week promises to show improvement every day.

P.S. If anyone has tips for getting 4 year olds to nap - especially those who don't nap at home - I would be more than grateful!

Labels and Lesson Plans

As I have checked my friends' blogs over the past couple days, I have noticed a trend.  I'm calling it the "No, I haven't abandoned my blog" trend.  And I am following in their footsteps.

This past week, I spent a good portion of my time at school working in my classroom.  We finished labeling and organizing the 6+ centers, sorting through the math cabinet (finally!), cleaning, and beginning lesson plans.  We checked out how lunch and dismissal work - though it will change slightly once school begins.  Right now, College Heights is hosting "summer camp".  Basically, the Pre-K program was cut from 180 days to 160 days (thus why I'm starting next week), so CH offered summer camp for the four weeks that other elementary schools in the area were in session.

Monday is the Meet & Greet, and I'm hoping that a lot of our students and parents are able to make it.  I've met one little girl already, and can't wait to meet the others!  School starts Tuesday.  On the agenda for the first week is teaching them how to....line up, go through the lunch line, handle materials - crayons, blocks, books - wash hands, use the bathroom, eat snack, play on the playground......  And the list goes on! We'll be doing some "academic" instruction and lots of stories.  However, we don't even know our math curriculum yet - the training isn't until September 6.

I had a bit of a personal crisis earlier this week as I realized - I don't know what I'm supposed to be doing!  I'm a paraprofessional, which is essentially a teaching assistant.  But do I write lesson plans?  I have written a couple for the first day (which I am a bit rusty on after 4 months on vacation).  I find that I have formed some very specific ideas about how "my" classroom should look and operate...then I remember that I have to defer to Kelsey.  It is ultimately her decision.  It's her classroom.  For four years, and especially the last 2, I have been planning on having my own classroom.  Where I am the lead teacher.  I am envious of my friends who have their own classes.

But I don't want to leave the school district I'm in.  It's such an inspiring group of teachers, staff, and administrators.  I'm hoping to ride out the next year and learn as much as I can (especially about all the paperwork!).  I'm lucky that Kelsey - the lead teacher - wants us to have more of a partnership.  She just graduated as well, so we're learning about all of this together.  In the meantime, I'm going to continue checking the jobs posted site for Decatur and hoping that a lead teaching position will open at one of the local elementary schools.

Mac vs. Mac

If you were to ask me, I would tell you that I love my MacBook computer.  I've only had 2 problems with it in the 4 years I've owned it.  (1) Cracked plastic around the screen and keypad and (2) Crashed hard drive.  Granted, a crashed hard drive was frustrating, especially since I lost several papers I had worked ahead on.  But, because it was a faulty hard drive in the first place, Apple replaced it for free - a HUGE bonus to a broke college student! As far as the cracked plastic, I've had it replaced twice now - also for free because it is a "known problem".  Great!  Apple's on a roll here.  They've created a quality product and the service is incredible.

I've always known that Macs and PCs don't talk well, but most of that has been taken care of or made easier over the past few years.  Also, the school district I'm in now is all Mac-based, so I feel like I'm ahead of the curve.

If you were to look at my computer now, you would never be able to tell that it was four years old.  Sure, the design is slightly different and I still have an actual apple on the command key, but it still looks pretty good.  I didn't even realize my computer was getting "old" until I went to have the cracked plastic repaired a couple months ago.  The "genius" from Apple took one look at my computer and said, "Whoa...you've had this a while."  I was thinking to myself "A while?  I've only had it four years...".  I didn't think much about his comment after that until today.

I wanted to video chat with Amanda - my sister - and see what her dorm room looked like and how college was going for her so far.  First we tried Skype, but I couldn't hear her.  She couldn't set up iChat and doesn't have Gmail (shocker, I know!).  I tried to download Facetime...only to find out that I had to have the Mac App Store to do so.  But I can't get the app store because the software on my computer is too old.  To upgrade the software would cost me $29.99.  So, Amanda recommended Oovoo.  I ran into the same problem there - I needed to have Mac OS X 10.6 or newer.  I have Mac OS X 10.5.8.  Really? 5 different video chatting methods, and not a single one was working for us.  I am quickly realizing that my 4 year old computer just isn't up to speed with the brand new technologies that are emerging daily.  The problem is...my MacBook is such a quality product that I don't want to even consider having to replace it anytime in the near future.  I guess I may just have to splurge for the software update.  But that will have to wait for another day and a paycheck...

To move or not to move...that is the question

When I tell people that I'm working an hour away from where I'm living (which you've probably heard me bemoan several times already), they always ask why we don't move.  That's a good question...why don't we move?  My response has been that we can't break our lease, which isn't up until next June.  In March, when we signed all the papers, we chose the beginning of June because the school year would be over and I could facilitate moving at that point.

Well, Sunday, after returning from graduation, I pulled out our pages upon pages of paperwork to check about ending our lease early.  I found the section that detailed the fees and penalties associated with early termination, and they included giving 60 days notice, paying an extra month's rent, and paying "market value" for the months we have already lived here.  We signed the lease when there was a special for $125 off monthly rent.  Once we calculated the fees, they amount to nearly $2000.  Then we had to take into account moving costs.  To make a move worth it, we would have to lower what we pay each month in rent despite the fact that we'll save money on gas.

To my surprise, we found several properties online in Duluth - where Davis works - that fit our parameters.  I spent Monday and Tuesday visiting different complexes, looking at apartments, and gathering more information.  I also used crimemapping.com (a nifty tool if the local police departments participate) and apartmentratings.com  to find even more information.  (One of the complexes we looked at only had a 7% recommendation rate!)  And I came to a conclusion.  I don't want to move.  I LOVE the complex we're in now.  For the space, price, quality, and safety of the apartment, it just can't be beat.  If we were to move, we would be compromising on safety and quality.  I told Davis all of this, and he agreed.

So, this is the saga of how we decided NOT to move.

Graduation Thoughts

Tomorrow marks a day that will be bitter-sweet.  Graduation.  It is the official ending of my 4 years at The University of Alabama.  It is the closure that I didn't have in May.  And as much as I yearned for that closure just 3 months ago, I am almost sorry to see it come now.  I am glad that UA postponed graduation.  It is supposed to be a happy time, and in May - even now - we're all still dealing with a tragedy.

Throughout May and much of June, I felt like I was blowing in the breeze.  I felt as though, come August, I would be returning to UA, just I had the previous 4 summers.  I even had dreams that involved me being late for classes and stumbling my way through student teaching - typical "back-to-school" dreams.  By mid-July, training for my new, grown-up job began, and it was then that I felt a real change.  I realized that I am no longer just a student, but a teacher.  I have a classroom and a roster.  I get to help my lead teacher plan and execute lessons - though it seems as though I will be doing a bit less as far as lesson planning than I did as a student teacher.

In just three hours, I will be on my way to Tuscaloosa.  But this time it is to say goodbye.  I know - it's never truly a goodbye.  I will always have the memories, friends, and Roll Tide spirit (even though I'm in the heart of Georgia territory).  But I am still sad to see this chapter come to an end, even though I have already begun another.  It's like when you finish a really great book.  I always want more from the author - maybe another character's point of view or a second book in a series.

My hope today is that I don't lose touch with the friends I made.  That those who attend graduation tomorrow will celebrate not only their time at UA, but also the time of those who can't attend and the lives of those who died in the tornado.  That the spirit of Tuscaloosa shines proudly.

Roll Tide.