.....of ME!!!!
A friend of mine suggested that I blog about my day, from start to finish. I think it might be summed up in one word: YAWN. hee hee. but, wth, here it goes........in painful detail, a day in the life of me.
5:30a......the alarm goes off.....i roll over and totally ignore the stupid thing.....alarm....smack...repeat.....alarm.....smack.......repeat.......alarm.........all right already!
5:45a......make my first attempt at waking the teen daughter, Princess Ann, toddle out to the sofa, and crash, pulling the throw blanket over my head. hubby makes coffee and takes a turn trying to wake the Princess (a totally sarcastic nickname for a rocker chick....but she can be one)
6:00a.....pry the second eye open and pour the first cuppa, heavy on the cream........yell down the hall to Princess to see if she's bothered to get up and get ready for school
6:20a.....leave with the teen daughter, and pick up my niece....head them off to school. drop them off,(because i'm a loving, nurturing mom, i send them off with "get the hell outta the car and have a nice day!") turn round and head back home
7:00a.....get home, wake the second kid up, the teen boy. Moose is a senior, and counting the days til graduation. he's 6'1", 230 lbs of male, and can be a total pain in the ass, especially in the morning......he hates to get up...none of us are really morning people...well, hubby is, but he's the odd man out, and the rest of us ignore him. as the teen son is getting ready, i'm getting dressed for work.
7:30.....it's never a good sign when your boss calls you, and starts the convo with a nervous laugh, and "i'm gonna really owe you one......" grrrrrrrrrr. i'm a substitute teacher, so i go wherever they send me. i work for a relatively large urban district. we have thirteen elementary buildings, including the kindergarten center, two junior highs, a freshman school, and the senior high. so far, i've been to all but three of our buildings. that's about to change, apparently, because i'm subbing for an art teacher who splits her time between the kindergarten center and one of the elementaries. i've never been to either of them before today.
7:40a.....leave the house with Moose(aka Em...depending on our mood and his general disposition), drop him off at the JVS. he's a culinary arts major at the local joint vocational school, which isn't far from the house. i have some time before i have to be at work, because today, i'm teaching at the kindergarten center in the morning, and one of the elementary schools in the afternoon. since i've got some time, i'm going to head to my mother's and have another cup of coffee. my sis is usually there, and we get to visit for about twenty minutes before i have to head to work.
8:45.......i'm running late....this is my first time in this building, and i don't know what the routine is, or if i'll have morning duty, but i couldn't find the stupid school. my boss gave me directions, but instead of writing them down i tried to rely on my lousy memory. bad plan. and, the part of town i was in was all one way streets going the wrong way, and crazy roads that dead end at one street, only to start up again three blocks later. arggggg! here's my directional tip tho: if you can see the funky neon yellow "school crossing" signs, you're within a couple of blocks of the school. and if worst comes to worst, ask the crossing guard. :) i've had to do that a couple of times when going to a building for the first time.
good news! the students don't even get there til 9: 15 and my first class isn't until 9:30. WHEW! bad news: there are no lesson plans and i'm faced with the prospect of amusing 4 classes of kindergartners for half an hour each, without letting chaos reign. huh. well, there are ALWAYS crayons. :) fortunately, the art teacher i'm subbing for has called in and suggested that because the kids went on a field trip to the zoo Friday, we might want to draw pictures of their favorite animal from their visit. GOOD IDEA!
i spoke to the teachers whose classes i would be having, just introducing myself to them in the hallway, and checking on what i needed to bring with me to class. when i walked into the second classroom, i discovered that the teacher had explained that they were having a sub and that she had spoken to me already. she must have given me a resounding endorsement, because as i walked in, one little boy said, "She IS pretty!!!!" yes, darling little boy, you are now my favorite. help yourself to candy. LOL. the art classes went well, everyone drawing their pictures of an animal they saw from the zoo. of course, one little boy drew a gas tanker GOING to the zoo. i reminded him that he was to draw his favorite animal. he drew monkeys climbing on the tanker. close enough. and one little girl pouted because she wanted to draw a horse, NOT an animal at the zoo. i suggest she draw a zebra because it was a striped horse. she decided zebras were stupid. i reminded her of the directions and walked away. she drew a zebra. :) of course, while i was in the integrated classroom (that is one that has many students with special needs, but also has typical, or regular education, students) we had a fire drill, followed by a tornado drill. :) glad i wasn't alone in the room. a couple of the teachers and aides were still in there. WHEW! i can't imagine having to direct 23 students of varying physical and cognitive levels on a fire drill in a strange school by myself. YIKES!
11:30 i've survived the kinders and they've survived me. time to have lunch (i treated myself to Burger King....horrible for me, all sorts of fat and calories, but boy are Whoppers nummy) and then checked in with the teacher for whom i was subbing. she wanted to discuss what i was going to do at the elementary school in the afternoon. we decided that since it was April, i'd have the kids do pictures of "April showers bring May flowers". when in doubt, fall back on a seasonal theme.
12:40 lost again. yanno, two new buildings in one day is a little much for anyone. and they aren't far apart....you just can't get there from here. so, i drove round the neighborhood looking for the street that was actually going in the right direction. i ran into the school, getting funny looks as i make a mad dash for the office. and of course, there's only one person in the office, and a hundred things going on. luckily, another teacher takes pity on me and walks me to the art room. good thing, coz in this rabbit warren, i'd never find it on my own. i left a trail of breadcrumbs to find my way back to the office at the end of the day.
usually, i have my briefcase with me, and during prep times or lunch, i work on something for school. i'm in grad school, earning my licensure and masters in special ed, moderate to intensive disabilities. but i didn't think i'd have any downtime today, so i didn't bring my books. when i'm bored, i write or i draw. during my prep today, i got some colored pencils out and started doodling. as the kids were working on their pictures, once the class settled in, i kept doodling. the kids were fascinated by my drawing. i love little kids and their commentaries and compliments, "You're a GREAT drawer!" thanks! you're my new favorite! lol. the day went well, and i zipped off to grab Princess from track practice and head home to work on the project that is due on Tuesday for school. and here's what i created in school today:
Evening: Mondays and Wednesdays, i do cardio kickboxing at the local Y. it's taught by my besty, Karen. i've been doing it for about three years now, and its an awesome form of exercise. we lift weights first (shoulders, back and chest), then have class, then we lift for legs after class...tho i can often talk Karen out of legs :) Monday is also Heroes. it's one of only two shows, the other being Lost, that i watch with any regularity. its not that i don't like TV...its just that i've gotten out of the habit of watching it. i used to have to fight the family for the TV, and between school and kids activities, i always seemed to miss the shows that i liked. but now the kids are older, they have TVs in their rooms and one in the family room, so Monday hubby and i watch Heroes and Wednesday the world stops while i drool over Jack, Sawyer, Sawyer, and Desmond on their island.
so, that is the day in the life of ME! i doubt i'll be that detailed from now on. i'll try to just comment on the fun, the cool, or the crazy. but this first day deserved to be detailed (even if it is being written on Tuesday instead of Monday :) )
A friend of mine suggested that I blog about my day, from start to finish. I think it might be summed up in one word: YAWN. hee hee. but, wth, here it goes........in painful detail, a day in the life of me.
5:30a......the alarm goes off.....i roll over and totally ignore the stupid thing.....alarm....smack...repeat.....alarm.....smack.......repeat.......alarm.........all right already!
5:45a......make my first attempt at waking the teen daughter, Princess Ann, toddle out to the sofa, and crash, pulling the throw blanket over my head. hubby makes coffee and takes a turn trying to wake the Princess (a totally sarcastic nickname for a rocker chick....but she can be one)
6:00a.....pry the second eye open and pour the first cuppa, heavy on the cream........yell down the hall to Princess to see if she's bothered to get up and get ready for school
6:20a.....leave with the teen daughter, and pick up my niece....head them off to school. drop them off,(because i'm a loving, nurturing mom, i send them off with "get the hell outta the car and have a nice day!") turn round and head back home
7:00a.....get home, wake the second kid up, the teen boy. Moose is a senior, and counting the days til graduation. he's 6'1", 230 lbs of male, and can be a total pain in the ass, especially in the morning......he hates to get up...none of us are really morning people...well, hubby is, but he's the odd man out, and the rest of us ignore him. as the teen son is getting ready, i'm getting dressed for work.
7:30.....it's never a good sign when your boss calls you, and starts the convo with a nervous laugh, and "i'm gonna really owe you one......" grrrrrrrrrr. i'm a substitute teacher, so i go wherever they send me. i work for a relatively large urban district. we have thirteen elementary buildings, including the kindergarten center, two junior highs, a freshman school, and the senior high. so far, i've been to all but three of our buildings. that's about to change, apparently, because i'm subbing for an art teacher who splits her time between the kindergarten center and one of the elementaries. i've never been to either of them before today.
7:40a.....leave the house with Moose(aka Em...depending on our mood and his general disposition), drop him off at the JVS. he's a culinary arts major at the local joint vocational school, which isn't far from the house. i have some time before i have to be at work, because today, i'm teaching at the kindergarten center in the morning, and one of the elementary schools in the afternoon. since i've got some time, i'm going to head to my mother's and have another cup of coffee. my sis is usually there, and we get to visit for about twenty minutes before i have to head to work.
8:45.......i'm running late....this is my first time in this building, and i don't know what the routine is, or if i'll have morning duty, but i couldn't find the stupid school. my boss gave me directions, but instead of writing them down i tried to rely on my lousy memory. bad plan. and, the part of town i was in was all one way streets going the wrong way, and crazy roads that dead end at one street, only to start up again three blocks later. arggggg! here's my directional tip tho: if you can see the funky neon yellow "school crossing" signs, you're within a couple of blocks of the school. and if worst comes to worst, ask the crossing guard. :) i've had to do that a couple of times when going to a building for the first time.
good news! the students don't even get there til 9: 15 and my first class isn't until 9:30. WHEW! bad news: there are no lesson plans and i'm faced with the prospect of amusing 4 classes of kindergartners for half an hour each, without letting chaos reign. huh. well, there are ALWAYS crayons. :) fortunately, the art teacher i'm subbing for has called in and suggested that because the kids went on a field trip to the zoo Friday, we might want to draw pictures of their favorite animal from their visit. GOOD IDEA!
i spoke to the teachers whose classes i would be having, just introducing myself to them in the hallway, and checking on what i needed to bring with me to class. when i walked into the second classroom, i discovered that the teacher had explained that they were having a sub and that she had spoken to me already. she must have given me a resounding endorsement, because as i walked in, one little boy said, "She IS pretty!!!!" yes, darling little boy, you are now my favorite. help yourself to candy. LOL. the art classes went well, everyone drawing their pictures of an animal they saw from the zoo. of course, one little boy drew a gas tanker GOING to the zoo. i reminded him that he was to draw his favorite animal. he drew monkeys climbing on the tanker. close enough. and one little girl pouted because she wanted to draw a horse, NOT an animal at the zoo. i suggest she draw a zebra because it was a striped horse. she decided zebras were stupid. i reminded her of the directions and walked away. she drew a zebra. :) of course, while i was in the integrated classroom (that is one that has many students with special needs, but also has typical, or regular education, students) we had a fire drill, followed by a tornado drill. :) glad i wasn't alone in the room. a couple of the teachers and aides were still in there. WHEW! i can't imagine having to direct 23 students of varying physical and cognitive levels on a fire drill in a strange school by myself. YIKES!
11:30 i've survived the kinders and they've survived me. time to have lunch (i treated myself to Burger King....horrible for me, all sorts of fat and calories, but boy are Whoppers nummy) and then checked in with the teacher for whom i was subbing. she wanted to discuss what i was going to do at the elementary school in the afternoon. we decided that since it was April, i'd have the kids do pictures of "April showers bring May flowers". when in doubt, fall back on a seasonal theme.
12:40 lost again. yanno, two new buildings in one day is a little much for anyone. and they aren't far apart....you just can't get there from here. so, i drove round the neighborhood looking for the street that was actually going in the right direction. i ran into the school, getting funny looks as i make a mad dash for the office. and of course, there's only one person in the office, and a hundred things going on. luckily, another teacher takes pity on me and walks me to the art room. good thing, coz in this rabbit warren, i'd never find it on my own. i left a trail of breadcrumbs to find my way back to the office at the end of the day.
usually, i have my briefcase with me, and during prep times or lunch, i work on something for school. i'm in grad school, earning my licensure and masters in special ed, moderate to intensive disabilities. but i didn't think i'd have any downtime today, so i didn't bring my books. when i'm bored, i write or i draw. during my prep today, i got some colored pencils out and started doodling. as the kids were working on their pictures, once the class settled in, i kept doodling. the kids were fascinated by my drawing. i love little kids and their commentaries and compliments, "You're a GREAT drawer!" thanks! you're my new favorite! lol. the day went well, and i zipped off to grab Princess from track practice and head home to work on the project that is due on Tuesday for school. and here's what i created in school today:
Evening: Mondays and Wednesdays, i do cardio kickboxing at the local Y. it's taught by my besty, Karen. i've been doing it for about three years now, and its an awesome form of exercise. we lift weights first (shoulders, back and chest), then have class, then we lift for legs after class...tho i can often talk Karen out of legs :) Monday is also Heroes. it's one of only two shows, the other being Lost, that i watch with any regularity. its not that i don't like TV...its just that i've gotten out of the habit of watching it. i used to have to fight the family for the TV, and between school and kids activities, i always seemed to miss the shows that i liked. but now the kids are older, they have TVs in their rooms and one in the family room, so Monday hubby and i watch Heroes and Wednesday the world stops while i drool over Jack, Sawyer, Sawyer, and Desmond on their island.
so, that is the day in the life of ME! i doubt i'll be that detailed from now on. i'll try to just comment on the fun, the cool, or the crazy. but this first day deserved to be detailed (even if it is being written on Tuesday instead of Monday :) )
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