A day in the life of a Teacher----the week before spring break!!

The week is passing slowly and it seems there is soooo much time between now and spring break starting April 10th.....ugh make it go by faster!! I know the people out there that are not teachers are probably saying at least you get Spring break.....but I have one response for them. If you worked with 20 of your kids all year you would deserve one too.....far too often people underestimate the work and time that teachers put into their jobs. I am here to fight for the rights of teachers across America.....let me give you a little insight into the life of a teacher!!

7:15 -arrival-wait in a line to make photocopies for the week, as you approach the photocopier.....opppps it's broken and wont be repaired till next week----after fighting with it for 45 minutes you give up and realize the 4-5 hours you spent last night planning are now thrown out the window because you can't photocopy any of the sheets you need for the acitvities you planned, let alone the homework, weekly newsletter, or spelling list.

8:00-Go to the library to pick out books that you had planned to share during a read aloud---you pull out your list to and start shuffling through books to realize although the library says they have one of the other 80 teachers in the building must have taken the book and not checked it out. 15 minutes later you head back to your classroom and post the morning message, homework assignment you just printed off (b/c the copiers don't work) and pass out morning work folders.

8:30 Students arrive 10 minutes early and you take field trips slips, lunch money, parent notes, parent phone calls and respond to parent emails about ridiculous questions and reasons why there students homework was not turned in on time.

9:00 Take attendence, get interrupted by announcements, stating that busses are running late and redo attendance. Students arrive late, take more field trip slips, lunch money and notes. Get numerous phone calls asking for students to go to Speech, EC, ELL, Counseling, and AIG.

9:30 Read Aloud- quickly pick a book out of the library that you dont think you have read and do a read aloud with some skill in mind, and quickly come up with an activity to do with the book, for example read, "Pumpkin, Pumpkin" and have students create a story circle using sentence strips you purchased with your own money(b/c pta and school budgets don't provide supplies).

10:00-Guided Reading Groups begin and students come in every five minutes after returning from EC, ELL, Speech, Counseling, and AIG. Do informal running records documenting each students reading level, field questions from the 5-6 kids that just came in and don't know where there group is and what they are to do (despite the fact that the school year is almost over and we have been doing this from day one). Repeat yourself at least 10 times, loose track of what you were saying and what you were doing. Continue this pattern for the next 60 minutes.

11:00-Recess----Announcement saying that the playgrounds are closed due to testing and they will be closed until further notice......again, think on your feet, bring kids back to class and have them revamp the schedule for the day. Do math now as opposed to after lunch because now after lunch will be recess which means that won't leave enough time for Math, so do Math now, Writing later, and Social Studies/Science at the end of the day.

11:05-12:15-Teach Math lesson on timelines. Students use their data sheets that they filled out for homework last night, pass those out. Show example of how to create a timeline, do a guided practice using their information for 15 minutes. Allow students to work independently, field questions from the 5 kids who didn't turn their homework in, and listen to the they were too busy last night to complete their homework!" Pull the group of kids who didn' t complete their homework and help them guesstimate the answers so they can have a completed timeline.

12:15-Lunch-Bring the kids to the lunchroom, have them get their lunches and sit them down at the table, break up at least 3 food fights, supervise students who are having silent lunch....start asking yourself what was I thinking getting into this career.

12:45- Recess- Supervise students outside on the playground, break up at least 10 fights, comfort 12 children who fell down and are now in "huge amounts of pain" Send at least 3 kids to the office for little cuts and scratches, 2 for ice. Pull two boys off of each other who seem to think that laying of top of each other is acceptable. Explain to them that that type of behavior is not acceptable at school, nor will it be tolerated. 3 minutes of peace and quiet before the other heard of children come out.

1:15-Writing-Bring students back into class and get them settled with their Writing journals. Teach mini-lesson, avoid the child who is desperately panting as though he was out in the dessert for 5 months and is dying for a drink, so the entire class doesn't follow suit.

1:35-Mini lesson is complete and now students have 5 minutes left to write...........hmmm, that worked out much better in my head......

1:40-Specials- bring students to specials class (YES!!! first bathroom break of the day!!!) Go to a meeting, call a parent, grade papers, prepare for Science/ Social Studies, email the 10 parents who are concerned about the carnival this week as opposed to their child's academic progress. Meet with your mentor, PLC (Professional Learning Community planning/complaining time), get called into Administrations office and explain that you have a parent you can't contact, SAP (Student Assistance Program) meeting, fill out SAP paperwork, IEP meeting, parent conference............any and all of the above!

2:25-Pick students up from specials-reprimand the student who just bang-koked another studnet in his "private parts-the front ones Ms. Laarman" Call the students parents-oh wait the number is disconnected, no email, no contact. Send the student to the office-student returns saying "Admin. is in a meeting and the office staff won't allow me to sit and wait" Fill out a behavior form, while teaching a lesson on Communities Now and Long Ago....students work independently as you finish the refferal form and re-send the child to the office. Child returns five minutes later saying they won't be able to meet with him.

3:15- Pass out homework, pass out field trip slips to kids who lost theres! Write note to parent of student who injured another student and whom you can't contact. Find 6 letters in students binder that you have previously sent home that have never been opened or read. Quickly run down photocopy-oh wait the photocopy machine is busted! File the notes in the students portfolio.

3:30-Dismisall.....thank-goodness.. Late bus duty

3:45-Late bus duty, supervising students while you wait for the bus to arrive......

4:00-still waiting.......
4:15- Bus finally arrives-load students and RUN!!
4:20- Go to office to speak with social work about student whose parents you can't contact.....oh wait....they left at 3:45.
4:25-Return to room to email social worker, respond to 15 more parents....prepare morning work for next day, write morning message on board, print homework, and prepare for the next day praying to GOD that it will be a better day than today.
5:00-Load up bag of papers not graded, report cards, QAP (Quarterly Academic profiles) that need to be filled out, find literacy sheets that need to be turned into the Literacy Coach of all the literacy scores.

5:30-Finally leave school

5:45-Arrive home, cook dinner, clean up dinner,

7:00-Sit down-pull out all the paperwork that needs to be turned into-QAP, Report Cards, Literacy paperwork.......

10:00-Finish school work
10:30-Relac with your hubby-to-be
11:00-Retreat to bed-completely and utterly exhausted

2:30-Wake up in the middle of the night with a great idea on how to teach elapsed time

4:30-Wake up-realize you have a staff meeting/literacy meeting/PLC meeting at 7:30 in the morning.


5:30-The day starts all over again!!

Finals and All

Well, another semester is gone. I have one more and I will finish in June with my ZA endorsement.....YAY!! Finals are this week, so the weekend has been packed full of studying and finishing projects. However, last night was fun.....Jeff's brother Jamie and his family came in from Detroit for a vist. It was nice to hang out with them and all of his family. It gets a little crazy with sooo many kids running around the house....I mean every body's kids were over last night. AYAYA! After the kids went to bed, we all went out bowling and played some pool. I sucked at bowling, but actually did pretty well at pool. I kicked Jeff's butt in the first game and then we won agianest his two brothers....so it was good times. Today is packed full of more studying.....so until later....thats all.

March is here

March is here, the semester is almost over, YAY! One more semester of school and then I will officially be complete with my ZA endorsement and life can go on again. Other than that not much has been going on lately....I hurt my back again this weekend, its pretty bad....but i will survive as always. My friend verald is in Vegas for a week and I'm jealous....I'm sitting here in frigid Michigan. Jeff is well.....just busy with school and doesnt really have much time for fun.....but that too will soon be over.....he has one more semester and he will graduate with his assoicates degree......LET'S CELEBRATE!!

Have a good one

Life Update

For those of you, whom it has been a while since I have spoken to you or seen you this is my life update in 500 words or less. I can be soo funny sometimes :)

2000: High School Graduation

Fall 2000: Indiana Wesleyan Universtiy

Winter 2001: Left IWU (thank goodness-horrible expereinces)

Fall 2001: Cornerstone University (What an amazing God-centered place)

Winter 2005: Graduation from Cornerstone with a degree in Elementary Education. Life was great a cornerstone, great friends, great times, great education, and great life lessons learned and many heartaches experienced. Many wonderful professors whom have impacted my life for the long haul.

Summer of 2005: Many heartaches and finally meeting the one!

July 2, 2005: Jeffery and I took our first date....and talk about fireworks and I mean that both in terms of chemistry and literally !

August 2005: Six weeks of dating and I move 14 hours away....talk about long distance relationship...ugh, the good, bad and the ugly.

Oct 2005: Home from North Carolina and Jamie and Jeremy's wedding!!

Feb 2006: Chad and Lindsey's Wedding....Yay, more time with my boy ;)

April 2006: Visit Ms. Rassmussen in Wisconsin one last time before she heads out to Montana and Arizona....shes my cross country friend, dont blink because she'll be in a new state in no time!

Fall 2006: Enrolled back in school to get my ZA endorsement

July 2, 2006: 1 year anniversary-- I cant believe it's been a year!!

Febraury 2007: Almost finished with my degree, physcially and emotionally exhausted from working fulltime and going to school fulltime. The end is near. June 2007 is graduation!

Stay tuned for more exciting news!!

It's about time :)

I am finally taking the jump back into the technological world and creating my very own blog site. Hopefully, this site will allow me to keep in better contact with my friends far far away :) Love ya'll.