YES.

One of my students thinks I look like Faith Hill from the Monday night football intro. YES.

I have not yet killed the klepto fire alarm puller. YES.

With the help of Skittles, my students are now sitting in their seats 75% more of the time than they were 2 weeks ago. YES.

Thanksgiving break has officially started. YES.

I have tomorrow to cook, do errands, catch up, and sleep in. YES.

My only plans for the weekend are eating and hanging out with family. YES.

It's cold outside. YES.

Basketball season is here. YES.

Tornados in November

Student: Ms. Lock, it's tornado weather!
Ms. Lock: No, it's just a lot of wind and rain. There's no tornado.

three minute interlude of writing instruction

Class is interrupted by another teacher.

Teacher: Ms. Lock, we're under a tornado warning. We're moving classes to the hall.
Ms. Lock: Everyone line up!

We spent 30 minutes of our afternoon sitting on the floor in the commons area trying to keep 240 students quiet and sitting calmly on the floor. My students just assumed it was a drill and quickly began complaining that it was boring and why couldn't we go back to class yet. As far as I know, there was never a funnel cloud spotted but some hail and strong winds. The area was under a warning for the better part of 30 minutes until the conditions passed. Good times in Kindergarten.

Keeping Up

This last week had it's share of big ups and downs. It started off rather terribly with a visit from the school psychologist as she was trying to observe one of my students. The entire class was just really restless and not doing anything particularly well. She was aghast and I was feeling pretty insignificant. It led to a couple of conversations with my principal about what we can do to get everybody back on track and my mean face firmly planted on. It was only a four day week but it definitely ended better than it started. The next 7 days before Thanksgiving break will be a lot of going back to the basics. We are going to keep it simple and matter of fact. Stay in your seat. Raise your hand.

Sometimes I wonder what it will be like to teach for 30 years. That's a LONG time. I think for the most part it would be good. However, I wonder about how I will survive things like packing a sack lunch everyday. How many containers of yogurt will I eat in 30 years? I'm not so sure about that.

2 more things
Illini football makes me depressed. I will forever be fan but I'm also not sure how I'll survive 30 years of that either.

I am 98% sure my van would not have started when it was cold last week. When I was scrapping the frost off my windshield, that's what I was thinking, "I made a good choice to get rid of the van."

Thursday Thoughts

This is going to sound very shallow and lame but the only thing that gets me through Thursdays is Thursday night TV. I am wearing sweats and waiting for Bones, Grey's, and The Mentalist. While I'm waiting, I'm watching NCIS and Castle from earlier this week. I'm also doing laundry and writing this blog. By the way, NCIS from last Tuesday is HILARIOUS.

We have decided that Thursdays aren't really the best days. As teachers, we're feeling the weekly drag and the kids are typically just all kinds of riled up. I've also noticed that the end of the first quarter tends to bring out whining. I've had loads of whining lately which is just about driving me crazy. I think everyone is over tired from Halloween, 5 day weeks, and the drag of school. It's the reason year round school is a good idea. I don't know if we will get to it as fast as next year but here's to hoping we try. We need two week vacations about mid-October. The extra sleep would do everyone a world of good.

In three years, I've improved at some of the little things. I'm still working on others. I've remembered to teach my students how to push in chairs. I've yet to figure out how to teach them to pick up their trash.

There is a mouse that lives my ceiling. I hear him chewing on the tiles during my plan time and believe you me is it disconcerting. The janitors have put in a trap for him but it's yet to catch anything. He's just running around up there trying to get down to the crumbs. I hope he finds the trap first. I need him to go away.

Saturdays

This was my Saturday. Baking Halloween cookies while I watched the Illinois game. I took my cookies to a Halloween party and went as depressed Illini football fan-no costume necessary.

We had a great field trip last Monday to the Reindeer Ranch. The weather was sunny and 60. There was a little wind but it didn't bother the kids any. Everyone did a great job on the bus and outside. No one was afraid of the reindeer and no one got hurt. It was a very uneventful but successful field trip. It's a great short trip; and since we probably won't be able to go to the zoo because of budget restrictions, the best one we'll go on this year.

Tomorrow is Halloween and I've been told it's a beast of a day. It's been on Saturday and Sunday the last two years so I haven't had to deal with the chaos that is this holiday. We are having a small party and an assembly to keep the teacher's sane. We don't get to dress up like we did back in the day. I remember enjoying it as a kid but as a teacher I'm pretty gosh darn sure I'm glad we don't do it. Trying to put 22 students in costumes which they will then immediately begin pretending to be sounds like an awful nightmare. I'll stick with playdoh and a "Circus Boy" assembly thank you very much.

I went in to school today for the second time this year. I haven't spent nearly as much time prepping this year as the last two but I don't think it's been a good thing. I've been relying too much on what I think I know but it hasn't been working. I needed the extra time to gather my thoughts, get extra prepared, and put myself in a good place for the next three weeks. We have three weeks and two days until Thanksgiving break with a four day week thrown in the middle so I know it's going to go fast. I'm afraid it's going to go too fast and we won't accomplish the things we need to get done. I'm okay with where we are right now but I know we've still got a long ways to go. I've settled back a little and in Kindergarten that's never a good idea. They'll just run you right over. Today was a preventative measure to ensure that doesn't happen. Here's hoping it works.

October Happenings

We were rained out of our field trip last week. It was the most absolutely miserable day in October that we have had so we elected to stay at home. It was smart choice because we would have had to spend the entire on the bus. We are going to go tomorrow (Monday) instead. It's supposed to be 65 and sunny and if the weather is anything like it is today it will be perfect. We are going to the Reindeer ranch again. The Fireman (good? no?) is not going with us. I'm 98% sure he would run off into the corn maze and we would have to send up flares and search parties. It's been decided that it's just safer for him to stay at school. He has also started stealing things. He's quickly becoming a 5 year old kleptomaniac. He's taken a Capri Sun out of another student's lunch box, a 5 dollar bill off my desk, gum out of the speech teacher's purse, and the list goes on. Maybe his nickname should be Klep.

We still managed to salvage the week by carving a pumpkin on Friday. This is the third year I've done it and I wondered before I did it if it was a good idea. It's fun and the kids enjoy it but one slip up with that giant knife . . . but I didn't slip up and I got really good pictures of my kids digging out the pumpkin guts. One girl is even holding her nose while bravely reaching in to pull out a few seeds.




The end of the first quarter is tomorrow. I can't believe it's been 9 weeks already. One quarter of the year done already?!? How is that even possible??

Randoms

We have settled into a pretty good routine in room 25. I need your help figuring out a nickname for the "alarm puller, shirt cutter, attention span of a gnat" kid. It just so happens that he has the same name as one of my brothers and it's really starting to ruin the name for me. I have a feeling I might start shuddering when I hear the name and that's probably not good when it happens to also be family. All suggestions are welcome. It needs to be catchy and short and quick. GO.

Parent/Teacher conferences have come and gone. This is a four day weekend for the kids and a three day weekend for me. It was hard to imagine how we survived last year with no holidays. We had so many five day weeks I forgot what long holiday weekends felt like. I think I'm going to remember pretty quickly though. DVR here I come.

The new ride is great. It still has the new car smell and starts every time. It gets pretty good gas mileage (27 hwy) and has already started to store my random crap. Currently there are balloons, clothes that need to be given away, and a printer.

I like that the weather is nice but it needs it to be about 10 degrees cooler. The combines, wagons, and tractors are out and it just doesn't feel right to no be able to put on a sweatshirt. I LOVE sweatshirts.