Not Superwoman...

*Heavy, heavy sigh*

Where do I begin?

First of all, I do realize it's been a while since I've updated this blog.  Most of my time has been planning and writing on my other blog, reflecting on what I've been doing in my classroom with my students and the iPads.

Let me get one straight right now:  I love my job.

I started planning for this school year in June.  I don't go by the Book.  The Book is boring to me.  I think and (sometimes) act like a middle schooler.  I know what they like.  I know what works with them and what doesn't work.  I spend a lot--a LOT-- of time modifying lessons in a way that is both fun  and engaging to students.  Another thing you should know:  I work for GRPS.  These students need motivation.  A lot of it.  So I feel that it's my job, as their teacher, to make learning as meaningful as possible.  Be it with hands-on activities, technology, what have you.

So imagine my surprise when I was called into a meeting after school today (AFTER SCHOOL) to find out I was all of a sudden going to teach Fundamentals reading to a class of 6th, 7th, and 8th graders.  Starting tomorrow.  First hour.

Ok, I already take medication for anxiety because I hold myself to such high standards.  I don't half-ass things because I know what I'm capable of and my OCD will drive me insane if I do until I fix it and make it right.  If that makes sense.  I've never taught a Fundamentals class.  I've never taught middle schoolers that are at a first and second grade level.  I love a challenge and I know I can do it, but I absolutely NEED time to plan things ahead of time.

On top of this, I'm a member of our schools PBIS (Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports) team and am in charge of the fundraising aspect.  We, as a school, are not allowed to promote sales of junk food or any kind of food that can be consumed during the day, regardless of the fact that it would sell like crazy and make our team a ton of money.  So Future Hubby came up with the ingenious idea of holding a FIFA 13 tournament with interested students paying $5 to enter.  We've had a plethora of students bombard us with interest.  It's up to our principal to ok it.  *fingers crossed*  Our first school dance is the Friday before Halloween, and dammit--I throw kick-ass dances.  So we need to raise money STAT for this.

Add to all of this me dealing with my son stealing candy from his teacher and my daughter failing Science.  I'm a hot mess.  I am a Christian woman and fully believe God won't give me more than I can handle, but I'm feeling a little spread thin.  I love my students and I love my family.  But damn....I can only do so much, you know?

I'm not Superwoman....just trying to be.  :/  #woosah

No Beer and No TV Make Homer..Something Something

Go crazy? Don't mind if I do!...

This is what I felt like by the time 2:25pm hit today.  :58, specifically.

It's been one of those days.  Hence, the glass of wine closely within reach.  If you want to read all about it, you can read about it in my other blog, here. In addition to the craziness that happened today at school, I was asked to help give a presentation about the tech tools I'm using in my classroom and how I'm using them.  That will be October 5th, and I'm a little nervous.  Seeing that my track record with school technology has been sub-par, to say the least, I can see everything going horribly wrong when it's my turn to present.

Then, I get home to help my kids with their homework and reading.  Exhausted isn't even the word for it.  My intention was to leave you with a haiku to sum up my day...but there aren't enough syllables to cover it all.

Call Me Bloggy McBloggerton...

Why, you might be asking? I am now running 3 blogs:  this one (my personal one), my classroom blog (with my students), and a professional one where I'm keeping a diary of how the tech tools I'm using in my SpEd class is working (or not working, which seems to be the case lately).  If you care at all to read the circus that's going on in my classroom now, you may view that here.  

Do I have all this extra time all of a sudden? No.  Do I dream of blogging all day and night? No, no.  Do I love giving myself all this extra work on top of everything else I'm dealing with right now? Nooo..nonono...nonononono (say it the way Peter tells Helen Hunt in the Family Guy episode. If you don't know what I'm talking about, then never mind).  Regardless, I've got all three and it is what it is.  

Besides that, I'm in the midst of planning for my class tomorrow.  This is the first time I'm blogging during my lunch/prep. Future Hubby should be walking in the door any minute now.  He is currently subbing upstairs in the 6th grade wing for 6th grade SpEd (he's a Social Studies teacher).  So I'll wrap this up. My ham sangwich awaits me. Catch you all on the flip side...

Officially broken up...

...with my PC.

Yes, I did It.  I made the switch.  I am now the proud owner of an iMac.  It cost a pretty penny, but I can see it's totally worth it.  I'm still trying to figure out how to work the trackpad, but there'll be more time to dink around with it tomorrow.  I'm so excited!

Never mind that I may or may not still have work to do for school tomorrow.  How can I not play with my new toy??

Anyhoo, I would do more but I want to get back to doing nothing productive. :)

Damn that Murphy and his Law...

Let me start off by informing you of my original plan for my students:
1. They'd come in, sit down at a laptop, and play the video already set with a "Play Me" card on it.
2.  They'd watch the intro video.
3.  They'd get super excited and tell me I'm the best teacher on Earth.
4.  They'd raise me on their shoulders and and sing, "For She's a Jolly Good Fellow" while I pump my arms in victory.

Here's what really happened:
1.  Shortly after getting to my classroom at 0630, I quickly realized the laptops were running RIDICULOUSLY slow.  IF they were working at all.  So my original step one got slashed right there.  After a mini freak-out session and some hyperventilation, I decided I'd just play the video for them as a class instead of watching them on the laptops.
2.  We did watch the video, so "check" on step 2.
3. The two boys I have in class got excited.  The girls just kind of looked at me with a blank look on their faces. (Note:  no mention of being the best teacher on Earth).
4.  There was no singing.

I'm not gonna lie, it did take a little wind out of my sails.  I think they're still a little confused as to what we're doing.  I plan on handing out the "User Manual" tomorrow and explaining everything more in detail. (Thank you, Hyle Daley, for your wonderful layout!) I think my biggest concern right now is the technology (laptops) not working correctly for them to view our website.  They have iPads, but we can't view Flash on those. So I might have to do some last minute changes to my website and put it in HTML format.  Here's a sneak peek at it, for you curious ones.  DISCLAIMER: It's my first time doing a gamified website like this! Go easy on me, now.  Click here for my website.

Alright, on a completely different note, I'm starting my first Fantasy Football league tonight.  I'm such a noob when it comes to this, but I'm interested and ready to get into it! Off to my draft...wish me luck! :)

Shot...

My nerves, that is.  Holy hell. My 11 year old, Lexi, is starting middle school tomorrow and I may be more nervous than she is.  I teach middle school.  I know what goes on.  Granted, it's not the same district I teach in, but it's basically the same.  I cringe to think of all the things (aka Life) that she will be exposed to now.  Catty girls, and gross boys trying to talk to her. Ugh.  Stupid, mind-in-the-gutter-thinking boys.  Wish I could put a protective shield around her. :(

On top of that, my 5 year old Cameron starts kindergarten tomorrow.  He's not too happy about it.  I wish I could take him to school and walk him to his room tomorrow, but I will be in my own classroom.  That's the thing that sucks about being a teacher--you have to miss all the school stuff that happens during the day with your kids.  They're growing up too fast.

Last, I'm introducing my gamified course to my special ed students tomorrow for the first time.  My students are Learning Disabled, meaning they are just at a lower grade level in reading and math than their peers.  I created an intro video to get them excited about it.  I'll post a link tomorrow--it's nowhere near where it's supposed to be.  I'm getting to school at 0630 tomorrow morning to set up the laptops and putting the "Play Me" signs on them and making sure all is good to go.  I'm not nervous because of the students.  I had them last year as 7th graders and they're an awesome group of kids.  It's the possibility of technology failure; we don't have the best laptops, you see.  I hope the Flash is installed and working.  Also, I hope to God I don't hear, "This is stupid."  I put in ENDLESS hours of work over the summer working on flipping parts of my class as well as including gamification.  I will flip out (no pun intended) if I hear those words.

So I bid you all goodnight as I down my glass of wine.  My list of things to do is growing in my mind as I type this and I just know I'm not going to get a good night's sleep at all.  Keep your finger's crossed! It's showtime...

This is why I'm not a Michigan fan...

Spanked doesn't even cover last night's game. Let's just not talk about it and maybe the shame will go away.

That is all...