Just got back from my retention meeting for my poor little 2nd grader who spells nest like "musused". I met w/ the child psychologist, the principal and vice principal and the literacy coaches from the district. It was pretty intimidating.
Anyway, there is a "retention checklist" that I didn't know about that we fill out as a team and depending on the score the child gets that tells us whether or not she is a good candidate for retention. My 2nd grader scored pretty low on it which showed she was an excellent candidate so the decision was made by the team to keep her in 2nd grade for one more year.
Then the principal told me it was my job to call the parents to let them know. That was a fun phone call to make. I never want to do that again. The mom was fine, not mad or anything but upset and angry at the situation...it's something no parent wants to hear but it will be so much better for this girl to start fresh next year learning the basics instead of being expected to perform at a 3rd grade level and being frustrated that she can't.
Good times in public school!
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
Friday, April 25, 2008
Babies Really Cramp Your Style...
Happy Birthday Auntie Kat!! (that's a picture of Kat at the Coliseum in Rome...isn't she cute?)
I was supposed to go hang w/ Kat and a bunch of friends out at a cool happy hour place tonight...I was looking forward to it all week. Kevin was going to babysit and everything.
However...
Baby is still sick. She's got our cold and she's still got a fever from her shots last week. I picked her up from daycare and she was miserable...Sandra hadn't been able to get her to sleep much and she was just cranky and snotty and crying and clingy. She fell asleep in the car so I called Kat and told her I was going to go home and give her a quick nap and then I'd meet her out a bit later...
After the "quick nap" (an hour and a half), Maelin was not feeling any better. In fact, she was the grouchiest I've ever seen her. She was crying for no reason, would NOT let me put her down even to blow my nose (I'm still sick too), she wouldn't eat, wouldn't drink her water, wouldn't play, nothing.
So I called Kat again and told her how sorry I was to bail on her birthday fun, but I couldn't leave baby so sick. I wouldn't do that to her or to Kevin. Kat was very sweet and understanding but I'm pissed off.
I know it happens...kids get sick and plans get changed. I'm just mad because I hardly EVER get to go out w/ friends anymore because we're all busy, I'm usually really tired from work or I want to hang out w/ Maelin, etc. This was something I was really looking forward to and Kat's birthday only comes once a year. Last year, Maelin was only 3 weeks old so I couldn't do anything w/ her...
Maelin just now went to sleep. It's almost 11pm. Poor thing...she was coughing and feverish and just not a happy baby. It's too late to go meet Kat so I told her maybe we could get dinner tomorrow or something if Maelin feels better.
Boy...back in the day (ie: pre-Maelin) I was out all the time...almost every night. Now I plan one night to go out in 3 weeks and that gets canceled. Maybe I should just start planning birthday happy hours at my house!
Game is Over....
We heard from the buyer...she changed her offer to $227,000. That's still less than we owe on the place.
We canceled negotiations with her. The price of the place is $239,900. We decided that if she wants to be reasonable and offer something close to that, we'll talk but until then, the price is $239,900. So the house is still on the market...
We'll see what happens! In the meantime, we have 3 more showings this weekend...
We canceled negotiations with her. The price of the place is $239,900. We decided that if she wants to be reasonable and offer something close to that, we'll talk but until then, the price is $239,900. So the house is still on the market...
We'll see what happens! In the meantime, we have 3 more showings this weekend...
Thursday, April 24, 2008
Our First Offer...
So we finally got an offer on the house! We put it on the market on March 23rd for $239,900 and today we got our first offer. See what you think of the fun real estate game...
We bought the place 4 years ago for $219,900. After fees, taxes, etc. we need to get at least $228,000 just to be free and clear of the place. We won't make any money on it whatsoever.
The offer we got today is from a financially stable single girl. She offered $220,000. Funny. That's $20,000 less than we have it listed for. Wow.
So we countered with $239,900 and we'll pay her closing costs of about $6,000. That would leave us w/ a final sale price of $233,000 which would give us about $5,000 in moving costs.
We'll see what she says! There's no WAY we're letting it go for under $230,000. We'll stay there if we have to...
We bought the place 4 years ago for $219,900. After fees, taxes, etc. we need to get at least $228,000 just to be free and clear of the place. We won't make any money on it whatsoever.
The offer we got today is from a financially stable single girl. She offered $220,000. Funny. That's $20,000 less than we have it listed for. Wow.
So we countered with $239,900 and we'll pay her closing costs of about $6,000. That would leave us w/ a final sale price of $233,000 which would give us about $5,000 in moving costs.
We'll see what she says! There's no WAY we're letting it go for under $230,000. We'll stay there if we have to...
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
To Retain or Not To Retain?
I've been a public school teacher for over 5 years now...wow. In that time, I have NEVER had to retain a kid from passing to the next grade. We call it lots of things: retention, failing, holding back, not passing, keep back, etc. It is a much more complicated issue than you might think.
Kid goes to school. Kid doesn't learn. For whatever reason (not cognitively ready, parents don't help enough, too many absences, wrong teacher, etc.) kid doesn't show enough progress for the teacher to be concerned about how he will do in the next grade level. The political climate says that teachers just pass kids along...even those who can't read. We don't care...we just pass them along. I wish it was that simple.
Research shows that retention, failing, keeping kids back, whatever you want to call it, DOESN'T WORK. Study after study proves that kids who were retained almost never catch up to their peers, are at a disadvantage socially, have low self-esteem, the list goes on. Here is a quick look at some of the insights into student retention:
MYTH: Repeating a grade improves student achievement. FACT: Fifty-four recent studies showed that, after some short-term gains, there were overall negative effects from retention, including measures of academic achievement. This means that retained children showed some improvement during the early part of the repeat year, but eventually went on to the next grades and actually ended up performing more POORLY on average than if they had gone on without repeating.
MYTH: Non-promotion prevents student dropouts. FACT: There is a significant relationship between grade retention and dropping out, however, it is in the opposite direction from what most people might imagine. The truth is that dropouts are 5 times more likely to have repeated a grade than high school graduates. Students who repeat two grades have a probability of dropping out that is near 100 percent! In the past these findings were largely ignored because poor achievement could be the explanation for both grade retention and for dropping out. Several large-scale studies have been done, however, that corrected for these achievement differences. The studies found that with equally poor achievement, students who repeated a year were still 20 to 30 percent more likely to drop out of school.
MYTH: There is no serious "stigma" associated with staying back. FACT: One study showed that the prospect of repeating a grade was rated as more stressful than "wetting in class" or "being caught stealing." "Going blind" and "losing a parent" were the only two life events that children said would be more stressful than staying back in school. In another study, 87 percent of children interviewed said that being retained made them feel "sad," "bad," "upset," or "embarrassed." Only 6 percent of retained children gave positive answers about how retention made them feel, like "you learn more," or "it lets you catch up." This supports a widely shared perception that retention is a necessary punishment for being bad in class or failing to learn.
If there's so much "bad news" associated with grade retention, then, why do schools persist in keeping kids back? The reason is that teachers and parents do not have the resources to conduct truly controlled experiments. Without these controlled comparisons, retention LOOKS as if it works, especially if you BELIEVE that it does! Consider how the performance of individual retained and control children is usually interpreted by teachers. A control child does very poorly academically, is considered for retention, but is "socially promoted." Next year, this child usually ends up in the bottom half of the class, still struggling. The teachers say, "If only we had retained him, his performance would have improved." Meanwhile, a comparable child DOES repeat, shows some improvement on some skills during the repeat year, but in the next grades ends up doing even more poorly than the control child. Believing that retention helps, however, and without being able to see the controlled comparison, teachers accept any improvement during the repeat year itself as proof that retention works; and about performance in the next grade they say "He would have performed even more poorly without that extra year. At least we tried!"
OK, so retention doesn't work... but what alternatives are available? There are actually several ways to provide extra instructional help that focuses on a student's specific learning needs within the context of normal grade promotion. Remedial help, before- and after-school programs, "Saturday school," summer school, instructional aides to work with targeted children in the regular classroom, and no-cost peer tutoring are all more effective than retention. Unlike retention, each of these actually HAS a research base showing positive achievement gains for participating children.
This posting is paraphrased from an article in a Reader's Digest a year or so ago. The article was based on information from Educational Leadership magazine.
Whether you agree with that or not, that's the climate now. Retention doesn't work. So what to do?
I have conferences tonight and tomorrow and for the first time in 5 years, I had to have the "talk" with a parent about the very real possibility that her daughter was NOT ready for 3rd grade and I was seriously considering holding her back. She seemed shocked...had she not been seeing the constant stream of "F's" coming home on EVERYTHING her daughter did? Did she not read the progress report which had "F's" in EVERY subject and a big note on the bottom to contact me asap? Did she not just listen to her daughter struggle to read her own writing because "knife" was spelled "nuffu?" Did she not think that moving 4 times this year and putting her kid in 4 different schools would make a difference?
I don't believe in holding kids back if they are trying and showing growth. However, if they've missed basic instruction and can't spell "yawn" (she spelled it "goungun") and have no knowledge of basic spelling, phonics, math, reading and writing rules, HOW can I pass them???
Just so you general public people know the hoops I have to jump through in order to keep this kid in 2nd grade one more year so she can HOPEFULLY stay in one school long enough to learn to read, write and do math, I've been copying all her work for the last month. I have documented the interventions I've tried with her...what I've tried, the length of time I've tried them, and their result. I've tested her every week on her reading skills and I sit with her every week during my plan time to help her understand the math we are doing. She's hopelessly lost. She can't even add 10 plus any number without help...next week we start 3-digit addition: how the heck is she going to be able to do that??? I've had my old mentor teacher come in once a week on her plan time to work with her one-on-one for 45 minutes on phonics and 1st grade reading skills.
You would think this would be enough, right? Nope. On April 30, I have a meeting scheduled with the principal, vice principal, child psychologist, intervention specialist, literacy coach and district curriculum manager so we can look at my data and "discuss" retention or other interventions that I "haven't tried yet." Then "as a team" we make the decision on whether or not to retain. I've never been at one of these meetings before, so I'm actually a bit nervous.
So there you go. The next time you cry out at a bar or at a party that "teachers pass everyone these days..." think about me and the hoops I have to jump through in order to retain ONE kid in 5 years who desperately needs it. Keep your fingers crossed that this poor girl doesn't end up in 3rd grade next year expected to read biographies and writing multi-paragraph essays. She'd never make it.
Kid goes to school. Kid doesn't learn. For whatever reason (not cognitively ready, parents don't help enough, too many absences, wrong teacher, etc.) kid doesn't show enough progress for the teacher to be concerned about how he will do in the next grade level. The political climate says that teachers just pass kids along...even those who can't read. We don't care...we just pass them along. I wish it was that simple.
Research shows that retention, failing, keeping kids back, whatever you want to call it, DOESN'T WORK. Study after study proves that kids who were retained almost never catch up to their peers, are at a disadvantage socially, have low self-esteem, the list goes on. Here is a quick look at some of the insights into student retention:
MYTH: Repeating a grade improves student achievement. FACT: Fifty-four recent studies showed that, after some short-term gains, there were overall negative effects from retention, including measures of academic achievement. This means that retained children showed some improvement during the early part of the repeat year, but eventually went on to the next grades and actually ended up performing more POORLY on average than if they had gone on without repeating.
MYTH: Non-promotion prevents student dropouts. FACT: There is a significant relationship between grade retention and dropping out, however, it is in the opposite direction from what most people might imagine. The truth is that dropouts are 5 times more likely to have repeated a grade than high school graduates. Students who repeat two grades have a probability of dropping out that is near 100 percent! In the past these findings were largely ignored because poor achievement could be the explanation for both grade retention and for dropping out. Several large-scale studies have been done, however, that corrected for these achievement differences. The studies found that with equally poor achievement, students who repeated a year were still 20 to 30 percent more likely to drop out of school.
MYTH: There is no serious "stigma" associated with staying back. FACT: One study showed that the prospect of repeating a grade was rated as more stressful than "wetting in class" or "being caught stealing." "Going blind" and "losing a parent" were the only two life events that children said would be more stressful than staying back in school. In another study, 87 percent of children interviewed said that being retained made them feel "sad," "bad," "upset," or "embarrassed." Only 6 percent of retained children gave positive answers about how retention made them feel, like "you learn more," or "it lets you catch up." This supports a widely shared perception that retention is a necessary punishment for being bad in class or failing to learn.
If there's so much "bad news" associated with grade retention, then, why do schools persist in keeping kids back? The reason is that teachers and parents do not have the resources to conduct truly controlled experiments. Without these controlled comparisons, retention LOOKS as if it works, especially if you BELIEVE that it does! Consider how the performance of individual retained and control children is usually interpreted by teachers. A control child does very poorly academically, is considered for retention, but is "socially promoted." Next year, this child usually ends up in the bottom half of the class, still struggling. The teachers say, "If only we had retained him, his performance would have improved." Meanwhile, a comparable child DOES repeat, shows some improvement on some skills during the repeat year, but in the next grades ends up doing even more poorly than the control child. Believing that retention helps, however, and without being able to see the controlled comparison, teachers accept any improvement during the repeat year itself as proof that retention works; and about performance in the next grade they say "He would have performed even more poorly without that extra year. At least we tried!"
OK, so retention doesn't work... but what alternatives are available? There are actually several ways to provide extra instructional help that focuses on a student's specific learning needs within the context of normal grade promotion. Remedial help, before- and after-school programs, "Saturday school," summer school, instructional aides to work with targeted children in the regular classroom, and no-cost peer tutoring are all more effective than retention. Unlike retention, each of these actually HAS a research base showing positive achievement gains for participating children.
This posting is paraphrased from an article in a Reader's Digest a year or so ago. The article was based on information from Educational Leadership magazine.
Whether you agree with that or not, that's the climate now. Retention doesn't work. So what to do?
I have conferences tonight and tomorrow and for the first time in 5 years, I had to have the "talk" with a parent about the very real possibility that her daughter was NOT ready for 3rd grade and I was seriously considering holding her back. She seemed shocked...had she not been seeing the constant stream of "F's" coming home on EVERYTHING her daughter did? Did she not read the progress report which had "F's" in EVERY subject and a big note on the bottom to contact me asap? Did she not just listen to her daughter struggle to read her own writing because "knife" was spelled "nuffu?" Did she not think that moving 4 times this year and putting her kid in 4 different schools would make a difference?
I don't believe in holding kids back if they are trying and showing growth. However, if they've missed basic instruction and can't spell "yawn" (she spelled it "goungun") and have no knowledge of basic spelling, phonics, math, reading and writing rules, HOW can I pass them???
Just so you general public people know the hoops I have to jump through in order to keep this kid in 2nd grade one more year so she can HOPEFULLY stay in one school long enough to learn to read, write and do math, I've been copying all her work for the last month. I have documented the interventions I've tried with her...what I've tried, the length of time I've tried them, and their result. I've tested her every week on her reading skills and I sit with her every week during my plan time to help her understand the math we are doing. She's hopelessly lost. She can't even add 10 plus any number without help...next week we start 3-digit addition: how the heck is she going to be able to do that??? I've had my old mentor teacher come in once a week on her plan time to work with her one-on-one for 45 minutes on phonics and 1st grade reading skills.
You would think this would be enough, right? Nope. On April 30, I have a meeting scheduled with the principal, vice principal, child psychologist, intervention specialist, literacy coach and district curriculum manager so we can look at my data and "discuss" retention or other interventions that I "haven't tried yet." Then "as a team" we make the decision on whether or not to retain. I've never been at one of these meetings before, so I'm actually a bit nervous.
So there you go. The next time you cry out at a bar or at a party that "teachers pass everyone these days..." think about me and the hoops I have to jump through in order to retain ONE kid in 5 years who desperately needs it. Keep your fingers crossed that this poor girl doesn't end up in 3rd grade next year expected to read biographies and writing multi-paragraph essays. She'd never make it.
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
Who Am I??????
We've all done these on email but I thought I'd put mine here instead of emailing everyone I know...
(if there's an x there, I've done it...)
( ) Gone on a blind date
(X) Skipped school
( ) Watched someone die
(X) Been to Canada
( X) Been to Mexico
(X) Been to Florida
(x) Been on a plane
(x) Been lost
(x) Been on the opposite side of the country
( ) Gone to Washington, DC
(x) Swam in the ocean
( x) Cried yourself to sleep
(x) Played cops and robbers (probably when I was a kid)
(x) Recently colored with crayons
(X ) Sang Karaoke
( ) Paid for a meal with coins only?
(x) Done something you told yourself you wouldn't?
(x) Made prank phone calls
( x) Laughed until some kind of beverage came out of your nose
(x) Caught a snowflake on your tongue
( ) Danced in the rain
( ) Written a letter to Santa Claus
( ) Been kissed under the mistletoe
(x) Watched the sunrise with someone you care about
(x) Blown bubbles
(x) Gone ice-skating
(x ) Been skinny dipping outdoors
So it looks like I need to go to Wash, DC and pay for lunch with pennies while writing a letter to Santa Claus after my car accident because I was dancing in the rain, followed by being kissed under the misteltoe while on a blind date watching someone die.
Hmmmmm......guess I better get on that.
1. Any nickname? My dad used to call me Dolly...not sure why
2. Mother's name? Linda or Linnie
3. Tattoo? Yup...music note on ankle. I love it!
4. Body Piercing? ears
5. How much do you love your job? I love it dearly in June and July!!
7. Birthplace?? Albuquerque, NM (I had to have Kevin's help spelling that...33 years and I still can't do it!!)
8. Favorite vacation spot?? ITALY ITALY ITALY ITALY ITALY ITALY ITALY
9. Ever been to Africa ?? Nope, but I would love to go
10. Ever eaten cookies for dinner? Thin Mint Girl Scout
11. Ever been on TV?? No...but I've watched my wedding video many many times...does that count???
12. Ever steal any traffic sign?? No...I grew up in a small town and we would have been busted
13. Ever been in a car accident?? No...knock on wood!
14. 2-door or 4-door vehicle?? 4..can't imagine getting carseat in a 2 door car
16. Favorite pie?? cherry
17. Favorite movie?? Gone With The Wind
19. Favorite holiday? Christmas
20. Favorite dessert? Cheesecake or Creme Brulee
21. Favorite food? Italian (you all saw that one coming, didn't you?)
22. Favorite day of the week? Saturday morning...I still have the whole weekend ahead of me
23. Favorite brand of body wash?? Whatevers cheapest and still smells nice...baby Maelin has me on a budget
24. Favorite toothpaste?? Colgate Total Whitening
25. Favorite smell?? Lilacs in the spring
26. What do you do to relax?? What's that??? On Sunday I planted some flowers while baby took a nap. That was about as relaxed as I've been in a year!
27. How do you see yourself in 10 years?? Hopefully in a bigger house, 2 kids, debt-free and getting ready to take my kids to Disney World and/or Europe
(if there's an x there, I've done it...)
( ) Gone on a blind date
(X) Skipped school
( ) Watched someone die
(X) Been to Canada
( X) Been to Mexico
(X) Been to Florida
(x) Been on a plane
(x) Been lost
(x) Been on the opposite side of the country
( ) Gone to Washington, DC
(x) Swam in the ocean
( x) Cried yourself to sleep
(x) Played cops and robbers (probably when I was a kid)
(x) Recently colored with crayons
(X ) Sang Karaoke
( ) Paid for a meal with coins only?
(x) Done something you told yourself you wouldn't?
(x) Made prank phone calls
( x) Laughed until some kind of beverage came out of your nose
(x) Caught a snowflake on your tongue
( ) Danced in the rain
( ) Written a letter to Santa Claus
( ) Been kissed under the mistletoe
(x) Watched the sunrise with someone you care about
(x) Blown bubbles
(x) Gone ice-skating
(x ) Been skinny dipping outdoors
So it looks like I need to go to Wash, DC and pay for lunch with pennies while writing a letter to Santa Claus after my car accident because I was dancing in the rain, followed by being kissed under the misteltoe while on a blind date watching someone die.
Hmmmmm......guess I better get on that.
1. Any nickname? My dad used to call me Dolly...not sure why
2. Mother's name? Linda or Linnie
3. Tattoo? Yup...music note on ankle. I love it!
4. Body Piercing? ears
5. How much do you love your job? I love it dearly in June and July!!
7. Birthplace?? Albuquerque, NM (I had to have Kevin's help spelling that...33 years and I still can't do it!!)
8. Favorite vacation spot?? ITALY ITALY ITALY ITALY ITALY ITALY ITALY
9. Ever been to Africa ?? Nope, but I would love to go
10. Ever eaten cookies for dinner? Thin Mint Girl Scout
11. Ever been on TV?? No...but I've watched my wedding video many many times...does that count???
12. Ever steal any traffic sign?? No...I grew up in a small town and we would have been busted
13. Ever been in a car accident?? No...knock on wood!
14. 2-door or 4-door vehicle?? 4..can't imagine getting carseat in a 2 door car
16. Favorite pie?? cherry
17. Favorite movie?? Gone With The Wind
19. Favorite holiday? Christmas
20. Favorite dessert? Cheesecake or Creme Brulee
21. Favorite food? Italian (you all saw that one coming, didn't you?)
22. Favorite day of the week? Saturday morning...I still have the whole weekend ahead of me
23. Favorite brand of body wash?? Whatevers cheapest and still smells nice...baby Maelin has me on a budget
24. Favorite toothpaste?? Colgate Total Whitening
25. Favorite smell?? Lilacs in the spring
26. What do you do to relax?? What's that??? On Sunday I planted some flowers while baby took a nap. That was about as relaxed as I've been in a year!
27. How do you see yourself in 10 years?? Hopefully in a bigger house, 2 kids, debt-free and getting ready to take my kids to Disney World and/or Europe
Try Teaching 8-Year-Olds With...
No voice. Really, I'm sick and I've lost my voice. I can't speak at all...only a whisper. Try getting 23 8 year olds to quiet down or come in from recess or even give a simple instruction when you have to whisper.
It's almost read aloud time...maybe I can learn sign language really quickly? Hmmmmmm....
It's almost read aloud time...maybe I can learn sign language really quickly? Hmmmmmm....
Monday, April 21, 2008
End-of-Year Happenings
So I know that everyone has busy times in their jobs (accountants are crazy in April, lawyers are crazy before a trial, etc.), but this blog isn't about lawyers or accountants...it's about teachers and what public school teachers are expected to do every day.
Our last day of school this year is May 15...YAY! I had no idea before I became a teacher that teachers actually look forward to summer MORE than their students do. Funny. Anyway, we're out so early this year because all year we've had an extra 30 minutes tacked on to every day (we go from 8:15am to 4:15pm) so we could get out in May because they are FINALLY putting air conditioning in our building!! No more sweaty Augusts and bees flying around because we have the windows opened!
That sounds great, right? We get out before Memorial Day, we get air conditioning, everyone is happy? Wrong. It has created so much extra stress and work for us. Here's a list of things I need to get done before May 15. Keep in mind that I have students ALL day every day between now and then and I have to do most of this on my own time:
*Final grades and report cards
*ILP's (Individualized Learning Plans...these are literacy documents showing how I've helped my students that are reading below grade level. They must be signed by the parents and in their files. They are tedious and take forever.)
*Cummulative Reports (these take about 2 hours to do...they are a summary of a students' performance that follows them to the next grade)
*Create work for the students to do over the summer
*Get ready for Student-Led Conferences this week (I have to stay till 7pm on Wed and Thurs this week...fun)
*Order supplies from the district for next year
*Order all copies from the district for next year
*Create Back-to-School supply list for parents for next year
*Create class lists for next year
*Attend two staffings (generally about 1 hour each) for each of my 3 special ed students
*Attend a retention meeting for the one student that I have enough data for to hold back
*Take home my microwave, refrigerator and personal stuff
*Pack up my ENTIRE room for construction...this means ALL books, all computers, my document camera and projector, my games and puzzles, my art supplies, my files, my centers, my coat closet, my bookcases, desks, my stacks and stacks and stacks of student books, EVERYTHING. All of it needs to boxed, stacked and ready to go in a designated spot in my classroom by 4pm on May 17 because the construction people are coming in then.
*Test every single kid to see their reading levels. This takes about 20 minutes per kid
*Enter all this data into the system
*Give the MAPS test to every single kid...3 times. Enter data and create spreadsheets to put into their files
*Sign off on my special ed kids goals for the year
*I'm part of the team that hosts the Volunteer Tea for the parents who help out. We need to set up, buy stuff, make tea, etc.
*I'm also part of the team that is hosting the Retirement Party for the retiring teachers...we have to set up, buy stuff, etc.
I think that's it???? Oh wait...I still have to teach kids! I still have lesson plans to do, homework to grade, reading groups to manage, etc. We have to do it quickly because we have so much to cover since our year is 3 weeks short...we haven't even gotten to multiplication yet...
I'm starting to hyperventilate, so I better stop writing and start grading or packing or something...
Our last day of school this year is May 15...YAY! I had no idea before I became a teacher that teachers actually look forward to summer MORE than their students do. Funny. Anyway, we're out so early this year because all year we've had an extra 30 minutes tacked on to every day (we go from 8:15am to 4:15pm) so we could get out in May because they are FINALLY putting air conditioning in our building!! No more sweaty Augusts and bees flying around because we have the windows opened!
That sounds great, right? We get out before Memorial Day, we get air conditioning, everyone is happy? Wrong. It has created so much extra stress and work for us. Here's a list of things I need to get done before May 15. Keep in mind that I have students ALL day every day between now and then and I have to do most of this on my own time:
*Final grades and report cards
*ILP's (Individualized Learning Plans...these are literacy documents showing how I've helped my students that are reading below grade level. They must be signed by the parents and in their files. They are tedious and take forever.)
*Cummulative Reports (these take about 2 hours to do...they are a summary of a students' performance that follows them to the next grade)
*Create work for the students to do over the summer
*Get ready for Student-Led Conferences this week (I have to stay till 7pm on Wed and Thurs this week...fun)
*Order supplies from the district for next year
*Order all copies from the district for next year
*Create Back-to-School supply list for parents for next year
*Create class lists for next year
*Attend two staffings (generally about 1 hour each) for each of my 3 special ed students
*Attend a retention meeting for the one student that I have enough data for to hold back
*Take home my microwave, refrigerator and personal stuff
*Pack up my ENTIRE room for construction...this means ALL books, all computers, my document camera and projector, my games and puzzles, my art supplies, my files, my centers, my coat closet, my bookcases, desks, my stacks and stacks and stacks of student books, EVERYTHING. All of it needs to boxed, stacked and ready to go in a designated spot in my classroom by 4pm on May 17 because the construction people are coming in then.
*Test every single kid to see their reading levels. This takes about 20 minutes per kid
*Enter all this data into the system
*Give the MAPS test to every single kid...3 times. Enter data and create spreadsheets to put into their files
*Sign off on my special ed kids goals for the year
*I'm part of the team that hosts the Volunteer Tea for the parents who help out. We need to set up, buy stuff, make tea, etc.
*I'm also part of the team that is hosting the Retirement Party for the retiring teachers...we have to set up, buy stuff, etc.
I think that's it???? Oh wait...I still have to teach kids! I still have lesson plans to do, homework to grade, reading groups to manage, etc. We have to do it quickly because we have so much to cover since our year is 3 weeks short...we haven't even gotten to multiplication yet...
I'm starting to hyperventilate, so I better stop writing and start grading or packing or something...
Sunday, April 20, 2008
Maelin's 12 Month Shots and Other Things
MaeMae got her 12 month shots on Thursday. I took my last day off (when I had pnenomia at the beginning of the year, I used up all my sick days) on Thursday and I took her to a new doctor and she got her shots. We decided we hated Kaiser for babies...we never saw the same doctor twice, their office hours were obnoxious and they were so busy, they were always late seeing us. So when Kevin had his open enrollment at work, we switched her to his insurance. It's actually cheaper than Kaiser so we are now able to go see Dr. Jen at Pediatrics at Cherry Creek in Stapleton (which is very close to my work). She was great. The office was brand new and clean and wasn't crowded and she spent over 30 minutes with us just chatting about different things.
Maelin got her shots and she's still feeling under the weather. Poor baby. Turns out our little girl is going to be a big-headed (literally!), skinny tall girl! She weighs 20 lbs now and is 30 inches long. She's in the 25% for weight (meaning 75% of kids are heavier than she is), 75% for height and 90% for how big her head is!! Funny little thing.
Since we've been getting kicked out of our house so much lately, we've been heading over to the Cherry Creek Mall to play on the food. It's sooooo much fun for baby Maelin. She loves crawling around and she also loves the other kids. It's so great for her to be social and play with other kids as much as she can. Here's a picture of her enjoying the food place:
She's also discovered how much she loves walking! Kat and Jeff bought her this lion thing for xmas and she LOVES it. We only have 3 1/2 weeks left of school and although I'm crazy busy (more about that later) trying to get ready for the end of the year, I am so excited that it's almost time to spend every day w/ baby again! We're going to go to the zoo, the pool, the park and just hang out at our (hopefully!!) new house and play in the NEW backyard!! Here's a fun picture of baby Maelin enjoying her bath. (sorry that it's crooked...Maelin is crawling around getting into everything and I don't have time to turn it!)
Maelin got her shots and she's still feeling under the weather. Poor baby. Turns out our little girl is going to be a big-headed (literally!), skinny tall girl! She weighs 20 lbs now and is 30 inches long. She's in the 25% for weight (meaning 75% of kids are heavier than she is), 75% for height and 90% for how big her head is!! Funny little thing.
Since we've been getting kicked out of our house so much lately, we've been heading over to the Cherry Creek Mall to play on the food. It's sooooo much fun for baby Maelin. She loves crawling around and she also loves the other kids. It's so great for her to be social and play with other kids as much as she can. Here's a picture of her enjoying the food place:
She's also discovered how much she loves walking! Kat and Jeff bought her this lion thing for xmas and she LOVES it. We only have 3 1/2 weeks left of school and although I'm crazy busy (more about that later) trying to get ready for the end of the year, I am so excited that it's almost time to spend every day w/ baby again! We're going to go to the zoo, the pool, the park and just hang out at our (hopefully!!) new house and play in the NEW backyard!! Here's a fun picture of baby Maelin enjoying her bath. (sorry that it's crooked...Maelin is crawling around getting into everything and I don't have time to turn it!)
Monday, April 14, 2008
Bad Blogger!
So I realized why I've been such a bad blogger lately...I can never do it! At work, I can't post anything because I'm busy...well, working! At home, I can't post anything because I'm busy playing with baby or we've been kicked out of the house so lookie-loos can come look at it and then not make an offer.
So, I apologize to all the Maelin fans (I don't kid myself...I know the reasons you all come here is to see pics of baby Maelin. She's much more interesting than I am) who have been checking in to see how the baby is doing.
I just don't have time!! We were able to be at home about 3 hours this ENTIRE weekend. We were kicked out on Saturday from 12-6pm and then yesterday from 11-5:30pm. Any offers yet...nope! We've had 2 couples who keep coming by (they've come by 3 times now...what's to see on the third time they haven't seen yet is beyond me. Our house isn't that big!) and their realtor says they are close to making a decision.
Great....I'm glad you're close but we have a baby and it's REALLY hard to keep the house perfect and then find a place for baby to play and nap while you're lookie-looing at our house for the 3rd time!!
Anyway, it's going pretty well. We've had about 24 showings since it was listed and our realtor says that in Wash Park the average showings before an offer is about 27 so we're almost there. I only have 4 weeks left of work!!!!!!!! Yay!!!! Then I get to hang out w/ baby Maelin every day. I'm so excited...
I've been working on her first birthday post...haven't had time (or computer access since we're never home anymore) to finish it so I'll get that up as soon as I can. Baby is totally adorable lately. She's figured out how to walk by herself...pushing her little lion-push-thing and she's pretty proud of herself.
She's got more hair and 3 teeth and we go for her 1 year checkup/shots on Thursday. I promise I'll do my best to get pics and her first birthday post up as soon as I can. Keep checking back!
Wednesday, April 9, 2008
Maelin's 1st Birthday (part 2)
Here are a couple of pictures of the baby girl enjoying her birthday cake. She was actually very neat about the whole business...proving that she values nice clothes!
Tuesday, April 8, 2008
Maelin's First Birthday! (part one)
So I'm at work and I just had to post really quickly about Maelin's first birthday. I'm hoping it will let me put some pictures up here so you can all see just how adorable baby girl was, but it may not so I'll add them later if that's the case.
Party was great fun! We had it at a park near our house and the weather couldn't have been nicer...about 65 degrees and breezy and wasn't too sunny. We had a great turn-out...about 40+ people came including my sister from Seattle, grandmas and grandpas, aunts and uncles and cousins and all sorts of friends. Maelin sure is a loved little girl!
We had a great time. We had great food and beer and a pinata and baby loved her cake! I'm going to try to put a bunch of pics up because those tell the story much better than I could.
Suffice it to say, I can't believe my little angel is already one year old. Where does the time go? It's just indecent how quickly kids grow up. Now she's busy playing with all her great bday presents...lots of great clothes and toys and puzzles so we'll be busy for a while!!
p.s....I just tried adding pics and it wouldn't let me (gggrrrrr!) so I'll do it when I get home. Check back!!
Party was great fun! We had it at a park near our house and the weather couldn't have been nicer...about 65 degrees and breezy and wasn't too sunny. We had a great turn-out...about 40+ people came including my sister from Seattle, grandmas and grandpas, aunts and uncles and cousins and all sorts of friends. Maelin sure is a loved little girl!
We had a great time. We had great food and beer and a pinata and baby loved her cake! I'm going to try to put a bunch of pics up because those tell the story much better than I could.
Suffice it to say, I can't believe my little angel is already one year old. Where does the time go? It's just indecent how quickly kids grow up. Now she's busy playing with all her great bday presents...lots of great clothes and toys and puzzles so we'll be busy for a while!!
p.s....I just tried adding pics and it wouldn't let me (gggrrrrr!) so I'll do it when I get home. Check back!!
Thursday, April 3, 2008
Crying It Out (CIO)
So anyone who's a parent knows what CIO stands for: letting your baby Cry It Out. That means, in a nutshell, instead of running in to comfort them in the middle of the night when she cries, you leave her there. You have to let her scream for as long as it takes and eventually she'll figure out you're not coming and fall asleep. The theory is that the baby learns that night time is for sleep time and she learns to self-soothe and she becomes a more independent sleeper. She should cry for a pretty long time the first few nights and then less and less as she figures it out.
Sound heartless??? I sure thought so. Last week was the worst week sleep-wise we've ever had with Miss MaeMae. Even topping when she was a baby. We would put her to bed and she'd wake up around 1am and wouldn't go back to sleep till around 4am or so and then I'd have to wake up at 6 to go to work. We were total zombies. Nothing I tried worked: nursing her, rocking, putting to bed with me, etc. NOTHING. It was torture. Kevin and I were so cranky and exhausted and work was hell. It was horrible.
Last Friday, in tears all day long, I asked about 5 people at work what we should do. All these folks have kids of their own so I figured they'd have some insight. Every single one of them said we needed to let her CIO. They said she was old enough now to figure out that night time was for sleeping and it wouldn't damage her, etc. My vice-principal said that w/ her first child (she has 3), she did what we've been doing and would run in every time the baby cried or made noise and her daughter didn't start sleeping through the night till she was 4 YEARS old. Then w/ her 2nd and 3rd kids, they just let them cry and they've been great sleepers since 3 months. She said you can tell the difference between a "I'm hurt" cry and a "I'm up and want to get up" cry. I agreed with that. Everyone said it was horrible the first few nights but that it was so worth it and all their kids were great sleepers after trying it.
Kevin and I decided to try it. We were at a loss of what else to try. The whole family was miserable...Maelin was exhausted, we were zombies and something had to change.
Sunday night was the big test. At 2am, I heard MaeMae start whimpering. Usually, this is when I'd run in there and start rocking her and the "for god's sake, go back to sleep!" game would begin. I got up and sat on the couch and Kevin came with me and we listened to her whimpering become cries, cries become sobs, sobs become screams. It was horrible. She sounded miserable, angry, confused and I felt like a horrible mommy. I kept whispering to her that we were there, but her screams continued. It took EVERYTHING I had to not run to her and pick her up. Only the thought of her having sleep problems till she was 4 years old kept me from doing it. Also, they were right...I could tell she was crying a "mad" cry, not a "hurt" cry.
After 25 minutes of listening to my baby scream (the longest 25 minutes ever), her screams turned to sobs, which turned to hiccups which turned to ..... silence. It worked. Baby put herself to sleep.
Of course, I was wide awake, so I stayed up till 5am, but Maelin slept till 8am. Of course, we're on spring break now (whoo-hoo!), so I'm lucky that I don't have to work this week or I'd still be exhausted.
Monday night came. I prepared for another night of long crying. 3am. Maelin wakes up and starts screaming. I get up and sit and listen to her...the screams are not as loud as Sunday night and after 15 minutes, they are gone completely. Baby put herself back to sleep after 15 minutes. Could CIO be working????
Tuesday night. I'm in bed and it's 4am. I hear vague crying and I turn the monitor off and just lay there. After 5 minutes, I turn it back on fully expecting to hear screaming. Nope....nothing. I wait 5 minutes more. Nothing. Maelin has put herself back to sleep after 5 minutes. I say a quick prayer of thanks to everyone and go back to sleep.
Wednesday night. I put baby to bed and I go read. I'm feeling very energetic and thinking of all the stuff I have to do to get ready for her first birthday party on Saturday. I fall asleep. I hear baby crying at.....7am. Could it be?????
Maelin slept through the night!!! For the first time in 2 months, it seems as though CIO has worked. Maelin figured out that nighttime is sleep time and did not wake up!! She's in a great mood, I'm in a great mood, we've all had enough sleep and life is great!
I'm sure we'll have some setbacks, but for now I'm sooooooo happy that we stuck it out and tried it. It was a miserable few days but so worth it. I'll keep you posted on how it continues to work out.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
