Christmas Break

Oh the joys of Christmas Break! I believe the teachers enjoy it just as much as (if not more than) the students!

We had exams Monday - Wednesday of last week, which were easy days for me. I had three classes taking exams on Monday but only one each of the other days. Unfortunately, I caught a cold right in the midst of that. Nothing like sitting in your room feeling miserable while you grade tests all day. Ugh.

But like I said, easy days. We went out to lunch the final day too, which was nice, and one of my teacher friends came over to work on a craft project/Christmas present and being the sick, I fell asleep while we were watching a movie!

But... None of this is why I decided to write a post tonight. It's time to tell another odd anecdote about my life as a young teacher in the small town in which I grew up...

I STILL have the cold I had during finals. Still. And so I decided to sleep in today. I woke up rather late and then decided to stay in bed and watch Netflix. At about 11 or 11:30, my doorbell rang. I got up to answer it. In my pajamas. My pink pajama pants with Christmas lights on them. And a dark green shirt from my uncle's pub. It was some high school kid offering to shovel my driveway! It was great, because I haven't yet bought a shovel for my new house, but seriously, I answered the door in my PJs! And my OLD glasses that are ugly and don't fit my face! (I left my good glasses at my parents' house after spending the night there Christmas Eve, oops!)

Anyway, I hope you all had a fantastic Christmas, and enjoy the time you have off! As for me, I'll be enjoying one very long date with my couch and Netflix until January 2nd!

14 Hour School Day

You just have to love a 14 hour workday! (Yes, I did say FOURTEEN!!)

Especially when it involves...
-being responsible for the mathematical education of about 90 kids
-advanced students who refuse to actually try reading their textbook
-keeping track of 20+ study hall students who always want to spend that 50 minutes somewhere other than your classroom, where they're supposed to be
-having to confiscate a cell phone from one of these students
(I totally snuck up on him by taking off my heels and tiptoeing up to him... hilarious!)
-having all 25 students in your class working at the boards at the same time and shouting your name from 3 different sides of the room wanting help/attention
-students who don't understand when it's appropriate to (not) talk
-make-up tests
-phone tag
-unloading about $400 worth of pop from the back of a pickup truck
-tutoring at night school
-broken power strip/safety issues
-selling pop at a wrestling match
-trying to find the motivation to grade papers (I found a little...)
-running over to the middle school in the middle of things to watch my little brother's basketball game
-running back to the high school to sell MORE pop
-printing and running off at test at 7:30 pm because you forgot to do it earlier
-restocking the pop coolers
and then...
-walking home in the dark
-counting fundraiser money $$$
-staying up way too late because you've just finally gotten the chance to relax at 9:30 pm
-showering in the basement due to a drain backup in your nice bathroom

Okay, but all sarcasm aside, there were some really fantastic things about my day:
-The two kids who sit right in front of my desk first thing in the morning are both really sweet, nice kids who always make me laugh about something. (This is part of the reason I haven't changed their seats that period... oops, guess I'm being selfish! Also, it's much easier to check off their homework this way.)
-The morning announcements on the TV did not make that awful squealing noise that they've been making for the last few weeks.
-The aforementioned cell phone confiscation... SO funny!
-Walking tacos for lunch and mom joining us!
-Getting the power strip/safety issue taken care of promptly!
-One of the night school teachers playing Mumford & Sons!
-The pop delivery was something of a class advising miracle... long story there too...
-Having enough water/pop/gatorade and quarters to get through the wrestling match!
-Talking to really great students who work concessions.
-Seeing my parents and grandparents at the basketball game.
-Seeing my little brother win his basketball game.
-My student who sparked my memory and made me realize that I forgot to copy the test.
-Making her and the others working happy by giving them their favorite flavor of Dum-Dums.
-Good conversations with the roommate. (You should read her blog.)
-My roommate made cookies!
-Realizing that throwing my towel and robe into the dryer before I shower is obviously the best idea I've ever had.

Oh, and I also discovered the most hilarious blog ever while trolling Facebook tonight! (Did I really just say "trolling"? Oh no, the teenagers are getting to me. Next thing you know, I'll be calling people "salty"... apparently this is what you say when someone is in a bad mood/has a bad attitude... or something like that. That was my take anyway, urbandictionary.com says it's being angry or upset.)

Anyway, it's VERY sarcastic, so if you're easily offended by sarcasm, just don't bother, but everyone else, seriously go read it now, you'll die of laughter! (Well, almost... I really don't want anyone to die due to my blog post!)

This started as a Facebook status (the original list), but it just kept getting longer and longer and longer,  so I decided that I should update my poor little blog. I should stop neglecting it! (Seriously. I just read my blog post to make sure it sounded okay before clicking "Publish" and I realized that I could have talked about so many things these last few days!)

Spirit Week!

It's late, and I should be in bed, but it's also Thursday, and I haven't really posted anything about Spirit Week! We make a huge deal out of it, and it's so fun if you have the right attitude. Some of the teachers hate it, but I love this week because it's fun, it gets students involved, it boosts school spirit, and best of all... the teachers can wear jeans every day! Yes, there's the honest truth. I love Spirit Week because I can wear my jeans. And it's not even a pay day week, so I can wear jeans next Friday too. 3 Fridays in a row... score! (And I have a lot less laundry to do this weekend as a result!)

Anyway, tonight was the spaghetti dinner and the community pep rally. My mom came and ate with me, then I went to hang out with this awesome family I know. When I was in high school, I babysat these amazing kids all the time. Well, now they're growing up, but I still love them. And they have a cute new baby brother. So I went over to their table in hopes of holding the baby and catching up with the sweet girls (their big brother is now a freshman and a football player, so it was really just girl time). These kiddos' uncle is one of my coworkers, and he has a 5 year old and a 5 month old, so there were lots of kids hanging around. I sat with them for a long time, then went to the pep rally with them. I sat with their grandma who used to be the cheerleading advisor, so we had an absolute blast. And the 5 year old was totally my buddy all night.

When the pep rally ended, he was getting antsy waiting for everyone to be ready, so I took him home. He just lives down the street from me. But I walked to school, and I don't have a booster seat in my car (anymore... I had one when I babysat this summer!) so I didn't really take him home... I actually walked him home.

To be totally honest... we kind of ran home. NOT my choice! :)

It was a fun evening. I love little kids, but my are they a handful.

And this is why I don't teach elementary school... I'm exhausted.

Goodnight!

Working with Teenagers...

Sometimes it's great... other days... well, they're TEENAGERS...

(Meant to post this Monday after a frustrating afternoon.)

But really, it's not that bad. I usually really enjoy them. One of my girls from last year stopped in to see me today and made me laugh so hard. Teenagers can be really sweet.



And another of my usual odd little anecdotes...

Tonight I was sitting on my porch watching Hulu and knitting. Yes, I know I'm a weirdo, but that's what I was doing, and I was quite enjoying myself. It's been gorgeous outside lately.

And then this group of girls walked by. Four of them. It's dark outside. I've got a porch light, but I can't really see the girls on the sidewalk. One says, "Hi Miss _________, you have a nice house!" I seriously have no idea who that was! Okay, actually, I think it might have been the little sister of a student of mine, who knows me from when we sell pop at the volleyball games, but I really am not sure at all! But that seems fitting, because if they weren't middle schoolers, I'm pretty sure they were freshmen. Oh well.


Anyway, enjoy this picture of my scarf I was knitting! It's a bit longer now than it was when I took the picture, but not as long as it should be. I realized I had knit a row when I should have purled (or vice-versa) and so I had to unravel 15 rows. :(

Sorry the quality kind of stinks... my crappy phone is the only camera I have since my camera I bought when I graduated high school finally kicked the bucket a couple of months ago!

On that note, I am finally up for a phone upgrade in 1 week, which I've been counting down to for a year or more! But I can save that rant for another post, maybe after I get my new phone!

*Sigh*

It's been a tough couple of days. One of my coworkers had her baby this weekend (exciting!) but that means I am now teaching her calculus class. (We can't let just anyone teach calculus!) So, needless to say, the last few days have been crazy. I know how to do calculus... I'm good at it and I even think it's fun (I know, you think I'm nuts)! But it's not easy to give up my class once a day to someone else. So far he (the sub/my ex) hasn't had a chance to teach them anything new, since we had a test today and all this craziness just started yesterday, but it's still weird. I don't like leaving them. I like the calculus class a lot, but I don't know them yet, so we'll see how things go.

I do have a funny anecdote about the first day though! (Yep, that's anecdotes are kind of my thing.)
As I checked the homework the first day, I walked around and looked at the students, and as I got to each one I said, "name?" and then marked their 5/5 on the correct spot. Well, one of the calculus students is the son of another one of our math teachers. So when I got to him, I said "Oh, so you're [insert his name here]..." The kid next to him blurts out, "It's never good when the teachers say it like that!" (You have to imagine the tone of voice.)

Anyway, I gave a test in Algebra I yesterday, a test in Geometry today, and an Algebra II quiz today. And yesterday I didn't finish grading because I was buried under the weight of the calculus and everything else going on. I had started one class yesterday, so I finished those during night school tonight, then brought home the whole pile of the rest of my papers (it's huge!)... I finished the other class of Algebra I but I think the rest are going to have to wait.

I am, however, caught up and even a little ahead with the calculus! I'm really enjoying it, even though its' a lot of work. I like the challenge.

Oh, and I was observed both of the periods I taught Algebra I today, if there wasn't enough going on already! One period by my vice principal and the other by my mentor.

:)

Today I thought I'd introduce you to my favorite comic: XKCD! It's... A webcomic of romance, sarcasm, math, and language.

It's hilarious. And nerdy. Oh, SO nerdy. It was first introduced to me by a math professor in college. I wish I could remember which one it was that she showed us that day... anyway...

The artist draws stick figures, so on first glance, you might think he's not so good... WRONG. He's awesome. Like this one: Click and Drag. I seriously haven't found the end of the picture. (This is a rather recent one that I just discovered today, and what prompted me to write this post.)

But I think I should introduce you to a few more of my favorites while I'm on the topic of the best comic ever.

Flow Charts: How to read flow charts presented in flow chart form!

The Carriage: mouseover the comic... his mouseovers are the best part

Movie Narrative Charts: this one is just genius... click on the comic to enlarge it

Newton and Leibniz: for the true Calculus nerd...
Sierpinski Valentine: LOVE IT

Oh, and then this earlier one called "Useless" which I've included here.

There are many more I love, but those are just a few that really stand out or that I found in a quick search or that I think you would enjoy. And if the author of the comic read that last sentence, he'd probably have something to say about the run-on, but hopefully my promotion of his comics makes up for the fact that I can't really write very well and totally lack his creativity. But anyway, you should check them out because they're awesome.

Reflections on Blogging

Blogging... I don't even know what to say about the experience. I'm a math teacher. Writing isn't really my thing and yet I do enjoy writing sometimes. I LOVE to read but I always HATED writing papers when I was in high school and college. It wasn't that I was bad at it, it's just not something I enjoy. I have a journal, but it's mostly full of notes I've taken at church and random tidbits about how things are going in my life, and the occasional ranting about things I'm really excited or really upset about. It's mostly just a way for me to get stuff out of my head and on to paper, so I can stop overanalyzing it.

But anyway... 

...I tend to get a bit off topic...

I think I mostly do this because I love stories. Obviously, as a public school teacher, I can't just tell the whole world about every bit of my day. Teaching has its highs and lows, and you live with the good and the bad. But here's the thing: I work with teenagers every day. If you don't spend much time around teenagers or it's been a while since you were a teenager, let me remind you of something... teenagers are a whole different breed of humans! And sometimes they just make life interesting. 

As I look back on my blog, I'm flooded with memories of the last year and I'm really glad I started this blog. If you want to know what inspired me to write it, you can read my first ever post, entitled Today I was told I should write a book.... A lot of my blog is just random musings about daily life of a teacher, and a lot about the struggles of my first year. But what I really enjoy is is telling funny stories. Like the day a student basically told me another teacher was "hott" or yesterday's post about lunch! I also wrote another one recently with 3 random stories all from that week. Some of the posts are actually serious reflections of my job and my life, but they might be boring, unless you're really interested in learning about the trials of the first year of teaching. 

Anyway, this post is kind of a little trick to get you to read my old posts. Sorry? :) 

Oh, and if you're interested in reading a really awesome blog about writing, read my roommate's blog.

Lunch Encounters of the Weird Kind

So, this evening I was telling my roommate about something that happened at lunch and she said that I just HAD to write about it on my blog. And she made up the title. Because she's a writer, and I'm not, so she's the creative brain when it comes to these things. Anyway, here's the story, and if you want to know more about her, I posted a link to her blog a while ago.

Okay, so here it is...

Algebra II went really well, and before heading to lunch, I spent some time drawing out the graphs for my examples tomorrow so I'd be better prepared. Therefore, I got to lunch a little later than usual. My friend was talking to this sub. Apparently they took post-secondary classes together when they were in high school. So I politely join the conversation. The guy does physics and math, so he obviously wants to get on the good side of math teachers so that he can get more sub days, and hopefully ones where we leave a little more than a pile of worksheets.

So when he finally gets up to leave, he comes over and introduces himself to me. "So-and-so by the way." And then he gave me an awkward limp fish handshake and bowed. Yes, he bowed. How was I supposed to react to that? I think I said something along the lines of "nice to meet you to." Curses, why am I so polite?!

After he left, one of my favorite story-telling teachers came over and did the same thing to me. Said he needed to practice his greetings! Too funny. Then they asked if he kissed my hand, because apparently that's what it looked like he had done. Thankfully he did not! Oh, and did I mention that he was oddly tall?

Then he came back to make tea or something. He was looking around like he was lost, so I told him where the sink was. Seriously, will I ever learn to shut up? Then he overheard part of my conversation with one of the retired English teachers who was subbing and used that as an opportunity to strike up another conversation with me about something he thought we had in common. I kept inching toward the door, offering my last reply as I was stepping out of the teachers' lounge!

Rough Week

Bad tests this week in Algebra, then some remediation and MUCH better grades, but it took two days away from time to do new things. Then my car died. And talking to parents is always stressful. We had conferences at the beginning of the week, which started the week off with a really long day. And kids that were late to help with the fundraiser at the volleyball game.

None of the stuff was too horrible, it was just a long week and a lot at once, and it just seems rough sometimes, you know?

Sleepy

 Last night my roommate and I went to a bonfire at my parents' house. We had a lot of fun, but we didn't stay too late. I was beat by about 11. That's what teaching does to you. It destroys your ability to have fun on Fridays. Really. If you want me to be functioning past 11 we should really hang out on Saturday, after I've had time to catch up on my sleep!

I feel quite pathetic around my brother and all of his friends who are still in college.

Oh, and a word of advice... if you ever want to talk your little brother into helping you with something... ask his girlfriend!

I Told You It Was Bad...

See! My desk is a horrible mess!

Wednesday:  In the bottom left corner of the picture (the upper left corner of the desk) you'll see a pile of extra papers. These are additional copies of tests/quizzes that have already been finished or class handouts that I ran a few extras of... I probably don't need any of them! Then there's a stack of binders. And then another one. I see 4 total. There's also a blue file folder (Algebra II) and a red one (Algebra I). I see my travel mug, regular mug, and a can of Cherry Coke. The yellow folders standing up are my attempt to stay on top of make-up work for kids. (The black planning book has been a huge help with that.) The little slips of paper in front of those are reminders for kids who signed up to sell pop at the volleyball games.

There's also 2 remotes, a plethora of sticky notes, a form that I need to finish filling out tomorrow and turn in, and a pile of papers (make that two piles) that really should be sorted through to throw away, actually deal with, or file.

And of course, 2 math books and a name tag my cousin felt the need to make me last year.

Organizational Nightmare!

Did you notice? I changed the title of the blog! It's a little more accurate now, even though the URL is the same. I don't have any amazing or funny stories to tell, I just thought I'd give you a little info on what this year has been like and how it's been different.

First of all, if I haven't said it already, year TWO is WAY easier than year ONE!!! I hardly ever bring work home, I don't have to spend hours planning, I have a really nicely organized planning book, my lessons are pretty much always ready to go, I'm caught up on Geometry copies for probably the next two weeks, I have nothing to grade but a couple of make-up tests, and things are just going pretty smoothly all around. 

But not everything is perfect. My desk is a colossal mess at the moment. Granted, it was typically messy last year, but I feel like I cleaned it up a lot more often! The thing is, I've decided to start organizing some of my papers differently. I really like the new system, but the transition means a lot of stuff everywhere. I've arranged all of my geometry keys into one nice 3-ring binder, so when someone is absent and wants to know what went in the blanks on the notes or whether they did their homework correctly, they can just check the binder. And if someone misses several days, I don't have to dig through 3 different folders to find every single last thing. I also have a separate folder for the originals so I know what to copy. I think I need to get rid of most of my little file folders now that I'm organized this way, except maybe one per chapter for tests, quizzes, and other various things I don't want it to be easy for kids to get their hands on.

I also want to put together a binder of all the Algebra I homework. That way they can do the same thing... look in the binder if they want to see the steps for a particular problem. One of my cooperating teachers in student teaching did this, but she had a spiral notebook. I like the 2-ring binder idea better because I can add, remove, and change assignments more easily. I'll probably do this with Algebra II eventually too, but for now I'm still using my notes from 10th grade for that class. (Yep, that's right, teaching it from my own high school notes! We're still using the same book, and the teacher I had is right next door!)

Anyway, this means my desk is COVERED in binders. I have 2 binders for Geometry, 1 for the class of 2015 (I'm their advisor), and the one I think I'm going to put the Algebra homework in. And until I shoved them in a drawer some recent morning, I had my sub binder and my teacher handbook. I really need a better organizational system for storing these binders. Maybe if I ever get that bottom desk drawer organized again...

So anyway, I had originally titled this post "Musings About Year Two," but I think the new title is better, don't you?!

3 Random Stories

I had a headache before lunch. My Algebra II class came in and I yelled, "SIT DOWN." That sure got them quiet. I do raise my voice on occasion, but I don't actually yell all that often. Then I said, "Well, at least I know one way to get you to shut up. I have a headache so you're going to get out your homework and be quiet." Or something like that.


So today a teacher came into the teacher's lounge at lunch. Told us about a situation with a student. One teacher was so shocked she spit out her McDonalds' Happy Meal Milk, while the teacher next to her spun around and nearly died laughing.

My roommate majored in English (as you know if you checked out the link I posted to her blog). I (obviously) majored in math. So this weekend we had an argument that only the two of us could have. We debated the spelling of a math word. Oh, and I won. Ha! (The word was "collinear" by the way.)

P.S. We started watching NUMB3RS on Netflix. You really should check it out if you've never seen it. I'm in love with Charlie. If you know a hot genius like that, send him my way. (lol)

Check Out My Roommate's Blog!

Yes, I totally stole her title, because she just promoted me on her blog about 20 seconds ago (maybe 2 minutes by the time I finish typing this)! She's a wordpress girl, but you should check it out anyway. She's a writer. Seriously, she's writing a novel. So yeah, we have totally different career aspirations... math vs. literature... but we're great friends.

You see, when I was hired last year, it was about 2 weeks before school started, and I was hired at my alma mater, so my first year of teaching was spent living at home with my parents. But this spring, I became a real adult and I bought a house! So in addition to not updating my blog over the summer because it's a teaching blog and I wasn't teaching school, I also didn't update because I was busy with cleaning and painting and remodeling and babysitting. (You've gotta do something to make some extra cash when you buy your first house!)

So anyway, go check her out. Because one day she might be a famous Sci-Fi writer!

http://dorothylynn.wordpress.com

Year Two

I could have SWORN I had updated a week or so ago! Guess not! The year is off to a good start. I'm "teaching" night school two days a week and already busy with fundraisers for the sophomore class. Also, we had our first meeting for the second year of Ohio's Resident Educator program. Busy as can be!

Year Two Fast Approaching!

This first year teacher has reached August, which means the full year one is about over! Guess the blog needs a new title...

I haven't thought about school much this summer. Tried to just take a mental break from it and I've been working on my house and enjoying life. I've also been babysitting. I prefer to call myself the nanny though, because we keep busy!

I've made one trip to the teacher store and found a book of Geometry worksheets that work out to give you a word, phrase, picture, or something similar if you do everything right. That way students will have an idea of whether or not they're on the right track. They're great for sick days or professional days! I've been to my classroom, but there's not a ton to do there. I don't decorate the way my friend who teaches elementary does! What I really should be doing is beginning to work on what I want those first days to look like, but who knows how much thought I'll give to that next week on vacation. Guess those 4 week days when I return and the two teacher work days will be important for that!

Also I will be having lunch with my new co-advisior for the Class of 2015... No more popcorn! We're moving to pop, so we're moving up in the world!

Just thought I'd quickly post to say that I haven't dropped off the face of the earth, I'm just enjoying the schedule of a teacher, because I must say, it's pretty great!

Enjoy what's left of summer and hopefully I'll revamp this soon!

The Things Teenagers Say...

I could probably write a book on crazy things teenagers say, like when they hear a rumor that I'm dating a coach, they come to class and ask me, "Are your favorite sports to watch soccer and tennis?" But that's nothing to what happened today.

We had a fire drill, and after a few minutes of standing outside, a male teacher summons everyone back in, saying, "We've got work to do!" Then the best thing ever happens. One of my female students says...

"That Mr. ----------, he is one good looking man!"

Me: "What?"
Her: "Nothing"
I laugh.
She says, "I didn't think you were listening!"

I love my job.

Even on boring test days that result in hectic afternoons.

"As you all know..."

One of the things you should know if you're soon going to be a first year teacher is this: sometimes you'll find out things that everyone assumes you already knew. This could be bad. You may have neglected something important, or you may have some unforeseen responsibility, or you might need to clean a popcorn machine, or... I don't know! But the point is, it's usually not good to find out something that you were supposed to already know. No one likes that.

But sometimes, finding out something you didn't already know can be really good. Exciting even. Like this:

Today I got an email began: "As class advisors you all know you are invited to chaperone the senior class trip to Cedar Point..."

I definitely didn't know. I saw the trip on the calendar and thought, "Gee, I wonder how you get yourself signed up to chaperone that?!" But it was just a fleeting thought, because I figured there was no way the new girl was going to get a day off to go to Cedar Point.

But apparently she does.




[And that popcorn machine... a few freshmen are definitely getting pulled out of study hall for that one...]

Oops!

To my blog-reading friends, sorry it's been so long! I've been extremely busy helping my best friend plan her wedding, supporting my kids at sporting events (our basketball team made it to the Elite Eight), running my little brother around town, getting paperwork together to buy my house, and just generally dealing with being a first year teacher on top of all this!

I gave my Algebra II students a test Friday. It was over a LONG chapter. We reviewed for 3 days and they still complained (they don't always study...)! So I put off grading them this weekend thinking they might be a bit of a bear to grade. But I did take them home... I tried to be good (I'm not really sure I ever intended to do it over the weekend). Anyway, I took them out of my book bag in order to find the few that weren't finished so those students could finish today, and I just went to take them out of my bag, and what do you know, I left them at school! THIS was HONESTLY a mistake. Not doing them on the weekend... that was a choice. But I was going to at least get started tonight... guess I'm not now because there is no way I'm driving to the school and sneaking around those dark hallways to retrieve them now!

I'll miss you all if the kids riot and kill me tomorrow... (kidding! They're good kids... usually)      ;)


So what else have we been up to? Well, we celebrated Pi Day in all of my classes! We gave each digit a different color, then made a paper chain with each digit corresponding to it's color. I think we went through about 400 digits! It was fun. We also ate delicious round things!

Presidents' Day

I just love that it's Presidents' Day! I caught up on some much needed sleep and generally wasted time for a good part of the day, which means I'm spending my evening grading papers.

I just finished grading tests from my first Algebra II class. They did really well! I still have to finish grading the other class... but I graded the first page of them Thursday night, so that's half the battle.

Grades are due by 8 am, so I have to get all of this done tonight. Then I've got to finish whatever planning I didn't get done Friday. Hopefully I can remember what all that is!

Grading Grading Grading

Life has been so crazy lately! I had a couple of easy weeks and now I'm busy and have lots of work again. I thought of something that needed blogged about the other day but can't for the life of me remember what it was.

I let my students talk me in to buying a Singing Valentine Tuesday... for my little brother. Then I went over to the middle school and watched the whole thing! And recorded it with my camera, which I just happen to keep in my purse. It was fun.

Graded Geometry tests today while my Algebra II students took a test. Grading those now. And watching Big Bang Theory too, of course. Have a great evening blog readers!

A Taste of Year Two

Since one of the classes I teach uses the same book as the school where I student taught, I've been getting a taste of what next year (as a second year teacher) is going to be like. It's WONDERFUL. I haven't brought any work home for three days!

We are having some unseasonably warm weather. And it's February 1st! I hear that this month shall also bring a huge snow storm, but as an educator, I'm also COMPLETELY okay with that. But for today, I'm enjoying the chance to pretend it's spring. Sitting outside in my gazebo with my laptop is pure bliss.

So why mention the weather in my teaching blog? Well today my last class BEGGED me to take them outside. I checked with another teacher to make sure this was okay, then we busted out of there! I only had 14 in that class today, so I let them sit out on the patio to work. I walked around and helped out and counted them about once a minute (felt like working at camp). But it was great because the sun was shining and I couldn't have asked for a more beautiful February 1st. 

Sorry I've been gone so long. Things got crazy for a while, both teaching and personally. But I'm still really loving my job! :)