FREEDOM!!!

At precisely 3:30 this afternoon my summer vacation began. *sigh*

I have been looking forward to this day for quite some time. It's been a rough month for me. There were days, even weeks, when I didn't know if I was going to make it to the end of the year. But here I am, relaxing in my summer duds, planning to get a movie from the library, contemplating which books I'll read this week.

And to counteract my terrible, horrible, no good, very bad month one of my students gave me a note during class on Thursday. I didn't read it right away because she asked me not to, but I think I've read it 15 times since then. It's extra sweet because I was positive I wasn't getting any of these notes this year.

Today's Holiday: Memorial Day

Thank you to the military service men and women 

who have sacrificed so much for this country.

Today's Holiday: Circus Day

Today is certainly a day for clowning around. In 1884 the Ringling Brothers Circus opened in Baraboo, Wisconsin. The seven brothers were highly regarded for their integrity and soon found themselves in the throngs of success. In the late 1880s, they purchased some rail cars and took their show on the road. Eventually the Ringling brothers purchased the Barnum & Bailey Circus and combined the two after running them separately for a while.

Celebrate today by wearing a clown nose, painting your face, or trying one of these trapeze moves. You could also make a trip out to Baraboo, Wisconsin, to visit Circus World. (I've actually been there, and I really liked it. We went on a family vacation to Wisconsin when I was a preteen, and the rest of the trip was horrible not as well liked.)

Ways to Start the Day

A. Wake up 35 minutes before your alarm goes off after sleeping for 6.5 hours.

B. Skip breakfast. You're out of milk, and you don't feel like making eggs.

C. Lock yourself out of the house on the day your roommate won't return until after dark.



My choice? D. All of the above.




Actually, I can't complain about today. Student behavior wasn't bad--no one left condoms in my room (that was yesterday) or asked me inappropriate questions. I didn't have to deal with any crisis situations, and I actually accomplished quite a few things during my prep. The best part about today is that it officially starts my weekend because I'm not going to school tomorrow! Wooooohoooooooo!

Today's Holidays: Mother's Day & Clean Up Your Room Day

Hopefully, you were already aware of Mother's Day. But my guess is you did not know today is Clean Up Your Room Day. I think it's quite ironic that this year Mother's Day and Clean Up Your Room Day fall on the same date. (Mother's Day is always the second Sunday in May and CUYR Day is always May 10th.)

Many people celebrate Mother's Day by purchasing thoughtful gifts to express their appreciation for their mothers. Some people make a special dinner or take their moms out for a special meal. I, however, have a serious problem. Gift giving is not one of my love languages. Actually, it's more like a foreign language to me, so if you can think of something better than a greenhouse gift card for my mom, please give me a call this morning before noon. My mom deserves something special. Afterall, she has put up with me for the last 27 years.

How are you celebrating Mother's Day this year? Will you be participating in Clean Up Your Room Day?

Counting My Blessings: It's Friday!

I'm feeling better about life today. My classes were much better behaved today than they have been for the past, oh you know, three weeks. It was fabulous really. I'm thankful today is the beginning of a relaxing weekend.

And the end of the work day today leaves only 11 school days between me and SUMMER VACATION!!!

An Open Letter to Block 7 & Translation

Open Letter:

Dear Students of Reading in Block 7,

Over the course of the past 10 months, I have made a point of getting to know each of you as readers, but also as individual people. In fact, I have come to love each of you dearly. Although the first 9 months of the school year have been quite productive and satisfying, the past month has caused me to reconsider my current occupation as I have become increasingly dissatisfied with the working conditions you provide. While your academic progress was initially very promising, it has recently been compromised by your inappropriate and unacceptable classroom behavior. This makes is increasingly difficult for me to provide quality educational experiences.

It is with great regret that inform you that I am no longer able to serve as your classroom teacher. Therefore, I am resigning as your reading teacher effective immediately. I regret the inconvenience this will cause, as you still have six more class periods scheduled before the end of the year. Unfortunately circumstances have left me no choice but to resign. If problems arise, you may contact the principal in the main office. He is aware that my sanity has been threatened, and is willing to help in whatever means he can.

Sincerely,
Miss S
_________________________________________________________________________

Translation:

Block 7,

I quit. I cannot deal with your rudeness or inappropriate questions for one more day. I informed the principal about your antics today, and he said he would deal with you.

Your ex-nicest teacher,
Miss S

PS. For the record, I am neither pregnant nor coming out of the closet. But thanks for asking.

Today's Holiday: National School Nurse Day

Yesterday was Teacher's day, and today is a day for celebrating other school personnel. It's National School Nurse Day. My school, understandably, doesn't do much to celebrate School Nurse's Day. However, I'm sure there are schools out there who have more to celebrate. I'll leave my commentary to that.

Suggested ways of celebrating this holiday: send a card, give a small gift, stay injury and illness free for the day. But there's always the option of getting hurt on purpose, so you can make a trip to the nurse's office to tell the nurse how much you appreciate him or her.

More on the importance of School Nurses.

Today's Holiday: National Teacher's Day

Today is a day to celebrate all that teachers do to enrich the lives of young (and not so young) people. I celebrated this wonderful holiday by taking the day off.

Not really. I actually took a professional day to identify and schedule my students for next year. I spent the morning collecting and sorting ISTEP scores and other test data. I made my list and checked it twice. With 10 minutes 'til the final bell for the day, I handed my list off to the seventh grade teachers to check for errors. Sounds exciting, no?

My students, on the other hand, celebrated National Teacher's Day by being ridiculously difficult for the subsitute teacher. Those punks are not going to be happy on Thursday when they have to deal with me.

This time of year can be especially stressful for those in the teaching profession. Your words of appreciation will mean the world to the teachers in your life. Take time this week to shoot an e-mail, send a card, or make a personal visit to a former (or current) teacher.

Counting My Blessings: Day of Rest

What a week! After standardized testing, tension among people I love, cranky teenagers and not enough sleep I am enjoying this glorious day dedicated to rest. The Good Lord certainly knew what he was doing when he made the seventh day of the week one of rest. I think I'll spend the afternoon reading a good book in the hammock in my backyard.

Today's Holiday: Brothers and Sisters Day

If you missed National Sibling Day on April 10th, today is the perfect day to show your appreciation to your brothers and sisters! Maybe you've always had a good relationship with your siblings, or maybe you'd like to disown them. Either way, they'll always be your siblings. Take time today to send a card, give 'em a hug, or invite them out dinner. What you do doesn't matter as long as you find a way to show some love.



Think I'm making this up? Check out the explanation behind this blog series.

Little Bits of Today

Student: Did you know diarrhea is hereditary?
Me: What?
Student: Yeah. It runs in your jeans.
Me: Pwhahahaha! That's hilarious. I think you just cured my bad mood.


Reading "Congratulations! Your Loan Account is Paid in Full." (The funky capitalization is just an extra bonus.)



Unpacking this:



And being reminded that "The only thing that matters is faith expressing itself through love." (Galatians 5:6)

Today's Holiday: Mother Goose Day

Some of you may be celebrating May Day, but did you know that today also doubles as Mother Goose Day? This holiday was created by Gloria Delamar in 1987 with the purpose of giving people a day to enjoy all over again the nursery rhymes of their youth. Relish the nostalgia by digging out your old Mother Goose Rhymes book and rereading your favorites. My favorites were "Five little pigs" and "Jack be nimble" Oh, and who didn't like "Diddle, diddle, dumpling"?

Can't find your Mother Goose book of rhymes? Read through some of your favorites here.

Learn more about this holiday at The Official Home of the Mother Goose Society.