It's That Time of Year Again!

March 15 has come and gone and of course, I got my lovely little pink slip. Does anyone else wonder why it is not actually pink? I think that might make it a little friendlier. Now the waiting game begins. I have no idea what will happen for next year. Right now though, I have way too much on my plate to dwell on it. The week I received mine, I had my last formal observation for the year on Structured Academic Talk and report cards were due. The following week, I had parent conferences. This weekend was the beginning of my Spring Break, and really, who wants to spend their week off worried about whether they will have a job for next year or not? Not me! I have decided to wish for the best and be the best kindergarten teacher I can be for my kids for the rest of the school year. This is the only way I can get through this time. I know that I am a good teacher and I also know that I have absolutely no control over the current negative budget in my district. So why spend my energy worrying about it? I am ready to enjoy my Spring Break!

So much to do and so little time...

The work never ends for a teacher. I think about lessons in the shower. I think about ways to improve my students behavior on the way to work. I think about how in the world I am going to ever find time to organize my desk as I pull into the parking lot. As I walk into my classroom, I think about when I am supposed to plan and organize small group instruction. While I teach my morning reading group, I think about how I never seem to have enough time for partner reading. As I welcome my afternoon Kinders, I think about finding the time to finish the mountain of paperwork that is BTSA. As I gulp down my lunch in 15 minutes, I think about the writing lesson I am going to teach and wonder when I can find the time for my students to share their work. As we finish writing, I think about how we didn't have time yet again to share their writing. As I teach my afternoon reading group, I think about Friday and how the entire time will be spent assessing instead of teaching. As I teach math, I think there has got be a more exciting way to teach the concept of more and less than using the workbook. As we do centers, I think, are my activities meaningful enough? And if they aren't, how can I fix that? As I dismiss my students, I think, finally I can sit down and plan! Until I realize I have a staff meeting to go to!! As I sit in the staff meeting and listen to the differences between sentence starters and sentence frames, I think about how I never have enough time to effectively plan for these instructional strategies. As I read the handout on the importance of vocabulary development for English language learners, I think "Wow, this is really important! I can't wait to effectively plan for this and implement it in my teaching!" As I walk out of the meeting and into my classroom and back to reality, I am faced with my highly unorganized desk, the BTSA folder, and all the other things I am already trying to plan for and I think, "Boy am I tired!"

The New Year-2010!

This is my first blog post which just so happens to fall on the first day of the New Year! Imagine that timing! My purpose for this blog is to reflect on/vent about my experiences as a new teacher. I currently teach kindergarten which is harder than it sounds. But one of my resolutions for the year 2010 is to be more positive about teaching kindergarten. Let me reiterate that-the resolution applies to my feelings specifically about teaching kindergarten. I generally feel very positive about teaching in general-except that we (by which I mean-ME) are waaay underpaid! Speaking of pay, I was paid today! This is great news because a few weeks before the Christmas break, we were notified by payroll that we would not be paid until Monday, Jan. 4!!! Way to put a damper on the Christmas Break/New Year's Eve festivities! That being said, yay for direct deposit!!!