It's Friday! Friday! Whoop!

Can you hear me singing? Can you see me doing a little jig? This makes it time for what? Time to link up with DoodleBugs and read about everyone's week! Today my lead teacher was gone and then my "room mate" went home sick, leaving the monkey to run the zoo.  Woo-hoo. I was afraid I wouldn't have enough to do, but didn't clock out until 15 minutes later than I normally clock out. But we might be out of busy work next time there's a lull in the activity!
Five for Friday

1.  Monday should start off wild and crazy, our first "official" day of guided reading groups. I am nervous, it is one group after another in the mornings! We will have a few minutes to catch our breath between the first and second groups, but no time what-so-ever between the next couple groups. Yikes! I just remembered that we have a meeting between the first two groups! I am glad that my table looked like this before I clocked out today:

1st grade, 2nd grade, 3rd grade.... ready to go! 

2. Finished our benchmark testing!!!! I won't be looking at THIS screen again for awhile!

This was actually fairly painless and I got to meet a lot of students. I can't wait to build a relationship with them!

3. This was my week of "morning supervision." I read to Second grade students in the reading room from 7:45 until 8 in the mornings.  I was terrified to start this! I have no idea why, because I LOVE to read to kids. The first five minutes there are not a lot of students there, they are trickling in. So I started off reading out of Chrysanthemum, my all time favorite book. Then we switched over to Spencer's Adventures: Hair in the Air! by Gary Hogg.  Have you read this series? I could only find Hair in the Air, and The Great Toilet Paper Caper. But these two books are great read aloud books especially for primary grades. They are hilarious and the chapters are short. We ran out of time. I have offered for the person who has supervision next week to read, but if she doesn't finish it we will finish next time I have supervision.

Here my Punky is wearing the wig I wore to read yesterday! I wore it so the students
who may not know what a wig/rug/toupee is could see one (and because
there is more laughter when I wear it).

4. We did a lot of organizing information yesterday and today after we finished all our testing. Organizing data so we can put it to work! That is what data-driven education is all about! Love it!

5. I am trying to stay focused on the positive and keep some semblance of serenity. I have already discovered the joys (?) of working with a lot of women who have their own sets of worry and problems; that I am still super insecure and want everyone to "like" me, somehow that means I am a competent teacher.... haha. I am aware that most everything is outside my control, with the noted exception of the attitude I take toward life, that is the one thing I have control of.  And how great is my life anyway? I pray I never forget this and that I can remember to say the serenity prayer often and offer grace to those around me.

Happy Friday everyone! I hope you had a blessed week and that you've gotten to a calm place with your class family! I am grateful for my job, but I miss being part of the teaching community from the trenches. I am grateful that I can be the best I can be and hopefully my teaching skills will shine through and I will be offered a teaching position in the district!