March 29 (Wed.)

Poetry is continuing to progress nicely… The kids are starting to get familiar with the routine, they know what to expect, and I think they are enjoying the activities, poems, and group opportunities. My timing is still pretty far off, they aren’t able to get finished with the group activities in the time I allow, and I don’t know when we read SSR last. I really like the strategy/skill presentation of each lesson. They seem to be retaining some of it… I’m also really liking the discovery part of the skill that is happening through the read-aloud. The whole time I read, they are trying to figure out what the skill will be for that day. They know that the read-aloud will exaggerate the point, so they are paying more attention to try and figure it out.

I really like the new vocabulary program. I can’t wait until next year when I have a workbook for everyone, so the kids won’t have to shuffle through their stuff to find all of the loose sheets. I’m just modifying the novice students’ lists by making them shorter, and they are working on it with Lynn. I really like the choice of words they are using, since they are reasonable and useful. However, I want to align the words to what we are reading. How??? I have no idea.

Overall, I shouldn’t complain. Things are going really well. The problem is me right now. I come in bedraggled and stressed because I can’t manage to get out of bed early enough any more. I’m not late, but I don’t have the time I used to have. I get settled WHILE I’m teaching B1, which is turning my brain into a three-ring-circus. I’m already exhausted again by B2. B2 is great in terms of being such a smaller class and having Lynn with me, but I feel like I’m ready to collapse, therefore making me much more irritable. Jerome won’t stop putting his head down. Danny is still falling asleep. Alex, Jarrelle, and Ruslan won’t shut up. Anthony and Blake won’t stop chewing gum and writing on their desks. Claudia and Johana are still cheating every chance they get. Gabby has taken over Sumaya’s brain and now they BOTH are constantly whining, “I don’t understand,” or “Mrs. Joooones!”. I didn’t go to school for 8 years to be a babysitter. I recharge a little by overeating sweets (pi day leftovers) during planning, which is also crammed full of meetings and things I don’t want to be doing. By B3 I’m sitting on the top of a desk, yelling at Marcus and Colton to be quiet and trying to get Robert out of la la land. When Social Studies rolls around I’m nothing more than a vegetable. My lessons are crap, they hate it. I hate it. It’s boring. I don’t like teaching Social Studies, I’m not trained to teach it, and I’m BAD at it.

Going to workshops for the next three days will be tiring in its own way, but I think taking a break from the kids will help a lot. I hate thinking about how they will terrorize the sub, but it’s not like I’m skipping out on purpose. I have to go to these conferences.