It's been longer than usual....

Hi everyone. I know it's been a while since I wrote. This week was so super busy that I was lucky to get to bed before midnight and without a migraine each day!

First of all, it was Red Ribbon Week (for drug awareness). We wore fun things all week long which was fun, but also slightly disruptive - well worth it though :) We also had things going on for RRW all week long that changed our schedules, like pep rallies, planting flowers, and various events during lunch time. If you know anything about kids, you know that consistency is what holds things together. Needless to say it was a rough week!

Also, this week was the week in which we talk about bus safety and evacuations - another highly needed and useful event - but also disruptive. We had a video to show and then we actually had to practice evacuating a bus.

Wednesday night I taught my first night at church. I am helping the 1st-4th graders with our Christmas play - "The Animals of Chirstmas." It is going to be so cute!

Thursday happened to be Dad's Day Lunch Invasion, which is totally unrelated to RRW. A bunch of dads showed up (in their suits and ties lol) to have lunch with their students. It was a cool thing, but again...you guessed it...highly disruptive.

We also looked at some reading test scores from last year at our faculty meeting on Thursday that got me really stressed out about this year. I'm so worried about not getting ALL of our kids where they need to be! My goal for this year is for every single one of them to kick butt on DIBELS, but it's going to be a challenge. When I get in one of those moods, the only thing that makes me feel better is to go home and work, work, work, until I am completely exhausted but feel as though I have accomplished something. I was up very late that night working on Intervention lesson plans, analyzing data, and typing up passages to work with my students for oral reading fluency. In December they are supposed to read 20 words per minute! Right now I have several that are reading about 10, and a few that are only reading 5! Talk about stress...

Friday was our Fall Carnival and the kids were so pumped about it all day that hardly anything I taught got into their heads. Then I worried all day because my classroom was to be used for the "Little Tykes" (under 3 yrs) during the carnival.

Then this morning I taught Saturday school again, which was fun but tiring! I think I just need a break...

Yesterday the kids were so funny! I am working with them on using more advanced vocabulary, especially to express their feelings. Yesterday we worked on frustrated, embarassed, concerned, furious, proud, ecstatic, and exhausted. At any given time, 'Jake' was furious, frustrated, and EXHAUSTED. That one's in all caps because it is his new favorite word. He is always saying "But I'm just so tiiiiired...." Well not anymore. Now he's EXHAUSTED! He is also apparantly very frustrated with me because I was giving them stickers any time they used the big words. I was not aware that he did not like stickers, until he made that very clear by using his new words. He said "I am so furious because I am frustrated with stickers. I don't like them and every time I say a word, all you say is (mimicks me sarcastically) 'Would you like a sticker?' No! I don't want a sticker! I hate stickers!!! Ahhh I'm so EXHAUSTED." D-R-A-M-A!!! At least he used a lot of words, right?

One little boy lost the math game that he was playing and threw himself down on the floor screaming and kicking. A few minutes later he came up to me and said "I feel both embarassed and concerned by what I was doing on the floor." I told him that I felt the same way (lol), and then gave him two stickers.

I'm about to go for a walk with my sweet husband and our sweet dogs, and then I'm taking a long nap. A looooong nap. Have a great weekend!