Five for Friday....

It's Friday, Friday! Yesterday was the NEW Friday for me, but I was only in my classroom two days this week because my little Punkin was sick and was generous and shared with the rest of us! Yikes! Link up with Doodle Bugs for the all the lastest! I love Five for Friday, from posting to reading what is going on and gaining perspective, to reading about other people's struggles, to venting my frustrations, to finding the good things to dwell on from my class.

My Five this week feels a lot like a rehash to me. I guess I am stuck on the same thoughts over and over and over. So bear with me faithful few, I have always heard you talk about what is going on and if something is wrong you talk about it until it doesn't hurt (so much) any more.

1. My Punky got sick Wednesday morning and I went up to the school early and wrote sub plans and came home and put my head in the sand and tried not to imagine what was happening in my class without me. Anyone else feel this way? That NO ONE can take care of your kiddos like you can, and that a sub will certainly ruin your class even if for only one day? But it turned into two days.... I felt... sluggish the first morning and as the day wore on I felt less like myself and less like myself. By evening I had such a horrible headache I considered crying but I didn't dare because it would hurt worse. And then I look over at my daughter on the couch and she is shivering and saying how cold she was and she's flushed and I touch her and she was burning up! Yikes! So I called my blessed principal and she found me a sub for the next day too.

Finally able to rest...

2. The transition from centers to more independent writing activities is starting to smooth out. I got to look at and assess some of the students work, they are figuring out how to work quietly, and they are staying on task! Yay!!!

Rule 2 is: Follow Directions Quickly.  Was this too harsh? (seriously, I want to know)

We are focusing on finishing old projects. The above project was discovered stashed in a students' desk.... since some time before the middle of March. I have been stressing to students that they need to finish their work and not let it pile up.  This is one of the things we will discuss in our writer's conference this week.

Here is this delightful rubric again. I got it from a free download and I posted about it last week,
get more information here. 

3. The new pet! Whoo! We got a hamster for our classroom. My children are thrilled. I have said over and over and over and over (and over?) that we will never have a rodent in our house.  But guess where classroom pets go over the summer. That's right... I am the proud (?) owner of a hamster. Here are a couple photos. Most of the photos I took didn't turn out because this little guy is "not snuggly and cuddly" (translation: not friendly and doesn't like to be held or touched), so she runs when you touch her or try to even watch her too much.  I have plenty of blurry photos of my little hamster running as fast as she can on her little wheel. Yes, I am a little bit excited about this little rodent. 

I'm sorry, snuggly or not, she's cute! :)

4. Boo-hoo.... pity party in progress. You can join it right here. Leaps of faith seldom work out the way I have them planned. And I have noticed that God seldom ever asks me for input in regard to my life. Boo hoo. I would love, love, love to work in my own town.  But my own town won't even look at my resume or call my references! So I am sad for myself and licking my wounds even though I know that my God has a job out there for me. Here's the whole pity list: I am now applying for jobs as far as an hour commute away, I can't get my hometown to look at me professionally, I will be leaving a teaching team I love and students I adore and so far I cannot figure out how I'm going to pay my bills. So I am counting on the prayers of my family and friends to help me remember that my God will supply all my needs and I am so grateful that friends and family support me in every way possible. 

5. Gratitude reigns (rains?). I am SO grateful that I will be living in MY HOME again in two months! TWO MONTHS! Whooo..... 

This is the house we are renting in our current town.

Our Home that God put in our lives and I miss terribly.... see you soon lovely home! 

P.S. Only 16 days of school with students and 17 days for teachers, then a mass exit-us (haha... exodus, get it?) for me, clearing out my classroom so they can a) move my class across the street, and b) so the new Kinder teacher can get it organized how she wants it.