Back!

After several weeks of complete and utter CRAZINESS, I finally have a moment to sit down and catch up on here.  I feel so out of the loop not being able to check in on everyone!  I still don't have internet at my house, but I'm hoping that changes on Friday, seeing as how payday is Thursday. :)

Anyways.  I got offered a last minute 3rd grade job with Dothan City Schools and moved down here a few hours after accepting the position and then started the very next morning.  That first week is a complete blur and I honestly have NO idea how I made it through.  That Saturday, just a couple days before my students came in, I was able to get into the classroom to do some work.  Jennifer drove down from Auburn, bless her heart, and helped me for several hours before having to go back to Auburn to go to work.  We spent close to 5 hours just trying to figure out how to set up the furniture.  I had 30 students on my roster and it was beyond difficult trying to fit 30 desks in there.  We were able to get the desks down to 22 and the remaining 8 were seated at the two small tables, which I did not like at all.

After the first couple days, my numbers settled around 24, so I only had two at one of the tables.  And while that was not ideal in any sense of the word, it had to work for the time being.  As crazy as my class drives me, I love them.  I said that one of the things I liked about Northway was that they challenged me, and I definitely have that challenge here.

About three weeks into school, we were informed that our numbers were high enough to where we were getting a new 3rd grade unit, and that next Monday, our classes dropped by six students.  I miss the kids that were pulled from my class, but I still see them every day.  One of them, regardless of which 3rd grade teacher has bus duty after school, makes a beeline for my door as soon as they are released to go to the bus duty room.  I usually have him sharpen pencils, erase the board, pick up trash, or play on the computer.  Another one gives me a hug every morning on her way down to her new room.  So sweet.

I'm still trying to get settled into my own routine of how I want things to work in and out of the classroom.  And now that I'm doing grad school, I really have to plan all my time carefully.  But unexpected things pop up, and that throws my schedule off.  For the most part, I can fly by the seat of my pants and everything still gets done.  But there have been a couple moments where it throws me for a loop and it really stresses me out.  I need to learn to not take things so personally and to be a little bit more confident in what I am doing in the classroom.  I have been trying to get into the habit of, one day a week, not bringing any school stuff home and instead of catching up on school work, I watch TV or read something for pleasure. 

However, my back is still a mess... So apparently, I don't know how to relax like I should be.  I need to make time to go see the doctor this week or next and set up an appointment with a massage therapist.  I wish I could have packed Helen and all her massage therapy wonders into my car when I drove down to Alabama.

So, to sum it up... School is challenging, but I enjoy it.  It gets a little bit better each week, and I know that by the time the year ends, I'm going to be very welcoming to the summer, but also very sad to see this class go.

We have two more weeks left in the first quarter, which is unbelievable! I can't believe how FAST it's gone by.  After each quarter, we have a break... I think that's such a genius idea.  First quarter, Fall Break, second quarter, Christmas Break, third quarter, Spring Break, fourth quarter, summer.  Love it!  And since there are only two weeks left in the first quarter, that means Fall Break is really close!

The house is coming along very... very... very slowly.  The complex finally installed my dishwasher, so now I can actually see my countertops and not a towel covered in drying dishes.  My dining room table is being delivered on Friday, and I'm hoping to also have the internet company come out and hook that up.  I'm going to go to a furniture store on Thursday after school in hopes that I can find a cheap-ish sofa that could be delivered on Friday, as well, so that my day off is still rather productive.