How Cute!

Two of our friends, Jessica and Bri, dropped by one night this week with this adorable cupcake they found at Harris Teeter! When they saw all the tiger paws of course they thought of us, I mean I do live with Mr. Clemson. I had to snap a quick picture before Austin devoured it! Thanks girls! :-)

OHHHHHHHHH back to school...

So, it's that time of year again. The time when parents dump their darling kids (wink, wink) on the unsuspecting, yet knowingly apprehensive teachers for a new year. This is my third year at my school, fifth year teaching second grade...I'd like to think it should be a piece of cake- I should know better.

Lots of changes are being made. Budgets are being cut, and it seems more important now than ever to make sure we're reaching each and everyone of our students, giving them 100% of ourselves everyday, all day. We keep adding expectations for teachers and never taking anything off our plates. I like to pretend I can do it all and I'm super woman, but I know i'm really not.

My district has adopted a new math program...and all I have to say is when I plan I want to shoot myself. We teach one to three lessons in one chapter and then jump to another chapter. When I teach it, I end up taking 50 minutes for a 35 minute lesson. Quite frustrating. On top of this, I'm team leader to a group who has been sent out into the "learning cottages" and who is known for being, how should I say it? Outspoken. (I love all of them, I fit in so well- I can definitely be outspoken too so I'm not complaining). So anything new, confusing, or wrong ends up filling my inbox. I feel like I'm constantly doing secretarial work on top of trying to be the best teacher I can possibly be for my children who, by the way, desperately need me. Did I mention I've been told more than a few times this certainly isn't my class from last year. UGH. Was there some kind of airborne virus that infected these mothers the year they were born???

Enough ranting. On the brighter side, I'm excited that I'm kind of "in charge" of my team. I hope I can be a good leader to them and for them. This is also going to really help pad my resume if we do end up moving after this year. :-) I do have some super sweet kids that I really do already love. I'm sure I will learn to love the others- they certainly won't learn much from me until I do connect with them.

I hope the exhaustion of all that is going on will pass or I'll get used to it. The beginning of the year always is crazy busy. I know I can handle it, I always do. I'm just really thankful I have such a wonderful husband that will listen to my whining (at least for a little while), let me wake him up at 6 a.m. to say good morning, good bye and to ask if I look alright, and won't mind going out for dinner on a night like tonight when I'm worn out and don't even want to think about cooking. Not to mention the many other wonderful things he does to make my life easier. I'm just lucky! :-)

Good luck to all those other teachers out there who have recently started or about to start back. May your year be filled with good students, good parents, and lots of fun learning!

Words of Affirmation

Who has ever read The Five Languages of Love? I read it over 5 years ago, completely loving it. The information it gave me not only helps me show my love to my husband (he's an Act of Service person), but I can see what my kids are in my classroom and it helps me decide how to give them feedback, whether it's a pat on the back, a kind word, etc.

We recently had a party over at our house on a Friday afternoon before the real Welcome Back party for CSOL (Charleston School of Law). I hurried home from school to bake a few of my favorite snacky foods before everyone came over. I did a buffalo chicken dip (that my wonderful sister-in-law began making for our family- so I jacked the recipe!) and two gourmet white pizza's that I blogged about back in the summer. I was in the kitchen for about an hour, which I didn't mind at all. I love to make and bake things for my friends! But most of all, I love to hear feedback. Especially the good kind! I had so many people tell me how wonderful the party was, how great the house looked (we have done a lot to it!), and how good my food was. My head was swelling all night.

The nicest thing someone can do for me is tell me how much they appreciate me or what a great job I did. It makes me feel so special and makes me want to push myself to do even more. I know not everyone is like this and doesn't think this way. This is one reason why I have issues with education. It's a no appreciation type of job, where you give and give and give and hardly hear thank-you or good job. Administrators, interventionists, and DO people are too busy trying to figure out what you're doing wrong to notice the good things.

While I like to praised, I sometimes have to consciously think about praising others and make it a point to build them up. In our busy world, we try so hard to be so focused on fixing problems, that we lose track about what we're doing right. I guess I try to pay it forward, cause I need you to give it back to me!! :-)

It would be a sad world if no one said thank-you, good job, gave pats on the back, did things for others, or made it a point to connect and bond with each other. Pay it forward- do something nice for someone else and hopefully you'll get some love back!