plans

Sometimes plans don't go as you would like. Some things take longer than you would expect. Sometimes there are delayed starts due to weather. Sometimes students just aren't getting the point. The whole day, as a teacher, is about adjusting your plans to meet the students' needs. And still, we make plans, over and over again, hoping that one day everything will click and we'll be able to teach everything that we actually need to.

Next week I am administering tests to determine the levels of English Language Learners in the kindergarten grade level. Thanks to the awesome budgeting of my district, a sub is not funded for the time that I am out testing, which leaves my assistant on her own for a couple of days. Granted, she has her teaching degree, but our regular schedule involves us both teaching at different points during the day through centers and small group activities. With this in mind, I have had to completely revamp several of my days next week to account for her being on her own.

In this planning, I get a little more freedom than usual. I have been able to create worksheets and have fun with my plans. The unfortunate thing about sub planning is that you don't actually get to do all of the fun things that you are leaving behind for someone else. So, as frustrating as creating sub plans can be, I relish the opportunity to be a little more creative, even if I am not the one to benefit from all of the work that goes into it.

On top of my being out for testing next week, I have other fun things to accommodate for in my planning. On Thursday the Albuquerque Zoo is coming in to do a presentation of "Zoo to You." Through this our students will be able to meet some of the cool animals at the zoo. We also have that beloved day, Valentine's Day, on Friday. Yay for hyped up kiddos. At least it falls on a Friday this year so I don't need to deal with the sugar coma following their sweet indulgences on the holiday.

Here's a peek at one of my fun creations for next week - sight word graphing!

figured out

Well, yesterday afternoon I worked on getting all of the TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages) junk cleared up. It turns out that the district office had lost all of my paperwork for everything - my application for working toward my TESOL endorsement (meaning they also didn't have me in the system for a TESOL stipend) and my application for TESOL course reimbursement. As a teacher I don't make much money, and as a grad student, the money that I do make is spent on tuition. Hopefully having these issues straightened out will help out a little bit.

As for now, it's back to the grind. Another grad school class tonight. This week is feeling really long already. I'll be thankful for our day off on Monday, from both teaching and grad school (it will mean I can do work for teaching and/or grad school).

back to reality

Last night grad school started back up. It will be so nice when we finish up our program next year. The mister and I have once again tripled up on classes, which will mean a busy semester. However, it also means that we will not have to take classes this summer. It also means that we will have a comparably light year next year. Our capstone course will require a lot of work, for sure, but we only have nine credit hours to complete over the course of the year. We just may be able to breathe a little bit.

Reality this semester also includes the implementation of the school district's turn around plan. While my principal is retiring at the end of the week, our interim principal will only be here through April. The superintendent announced yesterday at a staff meeting that the changing of principals throughout the district will take place in April, following the culmination of state testing. This way, principals will be a part of the decision making when new hires are made for next year, when goals are submitted to the district and state for next school year, and when budgets are made. It all makes sense to me, but it will also mean a lot of change for a lot of schools at the end of the school year. I guess it also means teachers will be able to decide if they want to stay at their current school with a new principal or if they want to move elsewhere prior to next school year.

With the coming of the new semester, I was also reminded of how disjointed things in our district are. One of the programs in the district provides tuition assistance for teachers seeking TESOL endorsement. I applied for this assistance in November. Yesterday, the mister received notice of a purchase order being placed for his tuition assistance, my name was not on the list. I emailed the director of this program today and she said that she must have misplaced it. I will take copies of my application over to the office today, but she cannot make any guarantees that I will receive those funds because she lost my original paperwork. Needless to say, I went to bed a little angry last night.

My anger was calmed a little though based on the fact that I received a nice little check from Target yesterday as a result of their Field Trip Grants program. In the fall I applied and our trip to the Albuquerque Zoo is now 70% funded. Yay!

to be seen

Today I get to fully embrace this fall break thing. By putting in my time yesterday, I can sit back and soak up the freedom of not having lesson planning to worry about. I am also fortunate in that I do not have any major grad school assignments looming over me this weekend. I can breathe. What a wonderful feeling!

This afternoon the mister and I are headed to Chinle and Canyon de Chelley. If you just tried clicking on that link, you'll understand why I titled this post "to be seen." Thanks to the government shut down it is to be seen what I will be able to experience in and around the canyon. One component of this trip that does look to be in my favor is that the canyon is technically Navajo land, the government shutdown cannot take away tribal lands, even if it can shut down the visitor's center.

The mister has a 55k race through the canyon tomorrow. He will have the opportunity to run where many gringos do not have the chance to go. He will be able to pass through native lands and run to the base of Spider Rock. I am so excited for him to have this opportunity and cannot wait to hear about his experiences.

In the meantime, I will soak up whatever components of the Navajo culture that I can. I will drive around the rim and see what there is to be seen, assuming that the government cannot shut down the roads that go to people's homes in the canyon. I will also enjoy the cultural celebrations and presentations that will take place this evening after race packet pick up. We've also decided to turn the next 36 hours into a Navajo cultural celebration by also stopping in Window Rock, the capital of Navajo country, to visit the historical museum and zoo on our way to the canyon.

I'll let you know what the government shutdown is doing on Navajo land tomorrow! Until then, here is a photo of the canyon that the mister took last May when we visited.

mobile learning

Today I submitted a grant to promote mobile learning in my classroom. This is not a very costly grant, but one that will make a world of difference in my opinion. I simply asked a local foundation to fund clipboards for my students.

Why clipboards? Well, quite simply, I want my students to be able to produce work at or in locations other than their work table. I want them to be able to walk around the classroom and find words that they would like to use in their writing. I want them to be able to be a part of math drama and use what they learned, in the moment, to solve problems that are on their worksheets. I believe that I can revolutionize the work that my students produce, simply by promoting movement while learning. It may sound silly, but I'm pretty excited about the possibilities if I am funded.

Just think about your school experience. When were you most excited about learning? Was it when you were sitting at your desk, staring into a book? Or was it when you were actually applying what you were learning, in a meaningful way? I think we all like to be up and moving, and I think that statement applies to kindergarten students even more. No one likes to be tied to one place, especially when there are more exciting alternatives to achieving the same means. My method of helping my kinders do that is clipboards.

Fingers crossed!