Quote(s) of the Week

At job #1:

Daisy:  I like your earrings, Ms. Gayle!
Me:  Thank you!
Christopher:  Don't ever by cheap earrings, 'cause my sister bought cheap earrings and she got an infection in her ear.  (Short pause)  Are those cheap earrings?
Three quizzical faces turn in anticipation of my response.
Me, taking a moment to determine how I can spin the truth that they are, indeed, cheap earrings, but not wanting to admit it to 3 seven-yr-olds:  Well . . . they're from England!
Three incredulous faces turn towards each other and exclaim, almost in unison:  WOW!  Ms. Gayle is soooo cool!



At job #2:

Karli:  Ms. Deborah--wait, is it Ms. or Mrs.?
Me:  It's Ms.
Karli, a bit bewildered:  Wait.  You're not married???
Me:  Nope.
Karli, completely astonished:  Buy, WHY???  You're soooo pretty!





Moments like these remind me how much I love my jobs!

Two Thousand Five Hundred Dollars

Apparently, that's my price.

That's the amount I'll get paid for working summer school for 20 days.

*sigh*

You see, what had happened was, I went to offer my services as a sub.

Twenty minutes later I left scratching my head, wondering how in the world they got me to agree to teach the full term.

Those wily co-lead teachers of mine who call themselves my friends!

But I figured since I'm not going back to work at the beginning of August I'll have a bit more time to recover.

I'm actually not all that tired.

Perhaps it's the 12+ hrs of sleep I got every night last weekend.

So, yeah, I'm teaching summer school.

All those brilliant and insightful blog posts I have rolling around in my head will just have to wait a wee bit longer before finding their release.

And I'm thankful I'll have a couple thousand more to add to my England Fund.

I just wish the dollar wasn't so weak up against the GB pound!

I'm MIA

Knee deep in costumes, sequence and hot glue.
With slightly burned fingertips.
Papers scattered all over the classroom.
A stack of Kinder diplomas threatening to topple over.
But I'm still alive!
Just thought I'd let you faithful visitors know!

Excitement!

Ms. D was walking down the hallway and her water broke! So we're about to have a new baby on our Kinder team! How fun!!

But boy is that a good excuse to get out of all the end of school activities! Why didn't I think of that???

In a few hours I'll start getting my 3 kiddos ready for the Speech Competition. I'm not that nervous yet. Only about the weather -- the sky is looking ominously cloudy. And I'm wearing a skirt and open toe shoes. I hate getting my feet wet in my shoes.

The kids know their stuff, though, so that's good! Even Marlon manages to make "The Gettysburg Address" a bit more lively. Quite a feat for a 2nd grade LEP student, huh?

I had a restful day of test administration yesterday. Yeah, you read that right! There were only TWO kids retesting, so I just sat in a desk between them and read a book. I finished it around 2:30 but still had 2 more hours to kill. It was torturous! But the other teacher came to my aid and gave me a Sudoku puzzle. Anything with numbers makes my brain go wacky, but I actually managed to finish 3 of them.

Ok, time to go off and educate America's future generation. We only have 10 days left together!

The silly things I say

"You can get your shoe out of the trash now."

"No sweetie, it's not pick on tree; it's pecan tree. And it's mockingbird, not monkeybird."

"That's not how you wear your shirt!"

"I don't believe you have the audacity to (insert misbehavior here; for example "step out of line")."

"That was a rhetorical question."

"Rule #1: Lift the toilet seat and don't drop pee anywhere! The girls don't want to sit on that!"

"Adam is a boy; so you say he, not she."

"I don't know what it is . . . just eat it . . ."

"Be careful around my computer. Unless you have $1200 to buy me a new one if you break it!"

"Abel, did you pooh on yourself again?!"

12 a.m. & still awake

But I'm doing something I love, so I don't mind.

Being creative to put together my class's science fair project. It doesn't look like much so far:



but give me another hour at least.

I work best under pressure.

These are keeping me awake:



The coffee in the mug provides constant caffeine, of course. And the water in the tumbler induces constant visits to the bathroom. Hmm . . . that's probably TMI but it's past midnight - what do you expect???

************
UPDATE: Need to get ready for work but here's a pic of the almost final product, as promised:



I'll take proper pictures w/ my digital camera when I have the whole display up. Lord only knows when I'll actually get around to uploading the pics . . .

Oh, and this is basically the experiment we did.

Mounting Pressure

I've thoroughly enjoyed Spring Break -- I've lost myself in a couple of Shannon Hale's books, which I love Love LOVED! I may have to do a review of Princess Academy one of these days since it's fresh on my mind. I love her writing style and genre. If ever I become a writer it's the genre that I'd want to write - suspended somewhere between childhood and adulthood. Hmm, that would be Teen, wouldn't it . . . interesting . . .

Anywho, the week has passed way too quickly and as much as I would love to continue reading out by the pool, it's time to return to reality. Yet I can't help but realize that I may have left reality, but reality didn't leave me. It's an ever-present creature crouching in the back of my mind. I can lose myself in a well-told story but as soon as the book closes or the t.v. is silenced or my prayer is prayed, I feel the eyes of that creature bore into my brain. And boy does it hurt!

I don't know what I'm saying anymore.

It's not that I don't want to go back to work tomorrow. I do. I miss my friends and students. It's the stress at work that I don't want to go back to. Report Cards. Black History program revisited. Science Fair. Returned Test Scores. Graduation Prep. Awards Ceremony. Speech Competition. Next Year's Plans.

No wonder I feel more and more ill with each minute that passes.

And instead of finishing my Report Cards I'm blogging. 'Cause blogging always helps, right?

Never Ever Again

This afternoon I had to do something I hope to never, ever do again. I was asked to type up the Spanish translation of a letter explaining that one of our school's prekindergarten-4 students died over the weekend.

His family was at their church for a baby shower Thursday. He was in the childcare area and somehow wandered away. When they couldn't find him after an extensive search someone remembered that the neighboring house had a swimming pool in the backyard. Everyone ran and jumped into the murky water. It was so turbid that they couldn't see the bottom, so they just dove and dove. Until they found him.

Please pray for Anthony's family, especially his brother, Eli. They were just a year apart and inseparable. Also pray for Anthony's teacher and classmates. A grief counselor was on campus and explained what happened to his friends. But they're only 4. His teacher, especially, is taking it hard. He was more than a handful, therefore spent most of his days at his teacher's side.

Lord, may You pour out your comfort and grace in this time of mourning . . .

Ain't it SAD?

Of course I couldn't let Single Awareness Day come and go with no mention of it. I was actually just browsing old posts from February of '05 and '06 and had to laugh at Tirzah and my old V-Day posts (is that grammatically correct?). Of course my fav will always be the SAD survival guide for single girls. It's great! And not that far-fetched, actually.

So I have a confession: I'm actually not a V-Day hater anymore. I don't know if I ever was. Maybe it's easier not to hate it since I'm out of college? Or maybe since I've been teaching my students fill that void with their flowers and cards and chocolates? Or maybe, just maybe, I'm actually content in my singleness??? I dunno.

Receiving gifts is definitely my top love language. Last year I raked in the gifts with my kids! Esp the flowers! Not so much this year. And that's after weeks of me telling my kids how much I love flowers and that's what I wanted for V-Day. I was quite bitter that the mom who works at a FLOWER SHOP bought me a memo cube.

I know, I know, I sound horribly selfish and ungrateful, don't I? Well, the truth is I am horribly selfish and ungrateful at times.

Anywho, I love my kids and I know they love me. They were so excited about the day and making cards for each other. We had a good day. And the best was when my Spanish kids came over to deliver cards they each made for me. One little boy, Alex, I've known since he was 3 and in his card he wrote, "Ms. Gayle, yuo are my favorite tichr." Awww!!! All the cards are cute and I hope to scan and post some. Eventually. Maybe.

Oh, I almost forgot! I did get a bouquet of a dozen red roses . . . torn from the page of an advert! HILARIOUS! And rather witty for the quiet LEP 5-year-old Ashley!

"I am a dog."

Ok, I need to clarify something. Despite my whining and complaining, and despite my constant state of stress and exhaustion, I don't really hate my job. Sure, we have unrealistic expectations laid on our backs week after week. Yeah, we have to work our rears off to earn every single cent we're paid. And I might as well just stick a bed in the corner of my classroom 'cause it will save time (no commuting) and money (darn high-priced gas). So call me crazy when I say I actually like it. Maybe that's 'cause I know I'm doing what I'm supposed to be doing.

It's the actual teaching I love. Seeing a child go from not recognizing one letter from another to writing their own sentences within five months. And that's no exaggeration!

Aris, one of my LEP students (Limited English Proficiency), barely knew any letters and sounds back in August. She's quiet and one of those that's easy to overlook in a class full of . . . challenges. But I worked with her as I could and had my aide work with her and, most importantly, her parents at home. She came every Saturday to tutorials and rarely missed school. I worried that still wasn't enough. I knew she got the letters and their sounds down a couple of months ago. And earlier in January she read a beginning reader book to me. That was amazing!

AND THEN, on Friday she brought her journal over to me. She didn't say anything, which is her style, and just pointed at what she had written. I asked her to read it to me. She said, "I. am. a. dog."

"Wow," I replied. "Did you write that?"

She emphatically nodded her head and I just smiled while thinking, Yeah right.

You see, LEP students don't usually write grammatically correct sentences. LEP students don't usually say grammatically correct sentences. Especially SIX YEAR OLD LEP students. Plus, Aris' sentence began with a capital letter, ended with a period, and contained spaces between real words. An unusual occurance for an English-language Kindergartener.

I was excited about Aris' progress but thought maybe it was a fluke. Then, while walking around this morning I saw what she was writing. Again she had the sentence, "I am a dog." Underneath it she wrote, "Ther is a str(star)." And under that she wrote, "I hav a dog." AMAZING!!!!! What's even more amazing is she even had some sentences written in Spanish!

Ok, I'm not sharing this because I think I'm an amazing teacher. Puh-leez! There is sooooooo much I don't know, and I feel like I'm winging it on a near daily basis! But I share this because I don't want to forget it. I want to remember that this is why I'm doing it; this is why I don't just chuck it and quit when the stress gets incredibly unbearable and lonely.

It Breaks My Heart

I don't work in the nicest of neighborhoods. For those of you who know Houston, I work a few blocks southeast of Sharpstown - not an area you want to find yourself in alone at night. Southwest Houston is constantly in the news - people are shot, stabbed, robbed, etc. And my school is rather sizable, so every time I hear something on t.v. about the area I listen for the names of the streets and wonder if it affects any of the students I know.

Unfortunately, last week it did.

In the class I'm testing this week, there's a little boy, Jason, whose father was stabbed to death. Jason is such a sweet boy. He's very shy and quiet, even moreso now. His father was the one who brought him to school every morning and picked him up every afternoon. His father was the one who sat down and did homework with him, who encouraged him to learn, who helped him believe he could learn. His father was the one who paid for all the field trips and attended all the extra-curricular activities. Now his father is gone.

I don't claim to have known Jason's father personally, and I'm certain I couldn't point him out in a line up. But I'm still grieved that this family is left without their father, their rock. And the saddest thing is Jason is so young, it's possible he may not remember his father 15 years from now. And given the statistics, it's probable his life will take a drastically different direction now that his father was murdered.

So I pray that Jason and his two brothers keep their father's memory alive by pursuing their education like he wanted them to. And I pray that they find another Father who lavishes His love, acceptance, and encouragement upon them every single moment of their lives . . .

Saturday Morning Funnies

So I'm at work. On a Saturday. Yipee.

But the funniest thing just happened. We did a short group writing. It was predominately girls speaking up, so here's what they had to say:

I have a dog.
Her name is Sophie.
She likes to play.
She plays with girls.
She does not like boys.

I thought it was cute, but didn't know how the 11 boys in the room felt about it.

One boy, Noel, just finished his story and brought it over for me to staple. He had the cutest dog drawn on the back cover -- it took up the whole page and it had an over-sized head. On the inside he changed the story up a bit:

I have a dog.
Her name is Sophie.
She likes to play.
She plays with boy.
She does not like girl.

How clever is he?! Then he drew a picture of a little boy and a dog with a frisbee in its mouth!

After I started typing this another student finished and brought me her book. She kept the story the same but decided to add captions to her illustrations. For the last sentence, "She does not like boys," she drew a little dog and a boy. The boy is asking the dog, "Can I play with you?" And the dog responds, "No." (But she actually spelled it n-o-w -- she's only 6, for crying out loud!)

Unfortunately, the two star students aren't my regular students. And quite frankly they're so smart, I don't really know why they're in Saturday Tutorials. Oh well. They gave me a laugh.

What a Wacky Week

I've been in a funky mood this week. I'm fed up with the ignorant people around me and I have no patience for them 'cause I've also been fighting a cold. Yeah, I was only back with my kiddos for two days before I felt my throat tightening up. Anywho, I was in a meeting yesterday and it was driving me crazy because people were asking some ridiculous questions. I was already annoyed that I had meetings scheduled every day this week except Friday, but I'll probably have to work late Friday because we start testing Monday and then have Family Night Tuesday night. But that meeting was rough. I kept remembering an old saying my previous director would tell me: "Common Sense ain't common." Ain't that the truth!

I'm ready for my stint at this job to be over. There are so many demands and they all happen at the same time. This week alone we had a major project to hand out, report cards due, a family night to plan and training for the national exam we administer next week. Friday we give out the report cards and the kids get out at 1 but we have to stay and work. Monday we start testing and I already mentioned Tuesday is a late night.

I almost feel bad 'cause I've basically checked out already. I don't talk much in meetings and I'm only doing what I need to do when I need to do it. I feel bad because I feel like I've left my friend Melissa out to dry. I'm usually the one always staying and working with her, helping her out. But this week, I don't really care. How horrible is that! But she does take too much on. She doesn't know how to say no and I can't live with myself if I left her to do everything alone. But this week I've been in my own little world. I think because I'm ready for a change. It probably doesn't help that I received my new passport in the mail. So yeah, I'm impatient for change.

What's funny is I'm not a big fan of change. But I know it's necessary. And this year, I NEED a change.

And I still have four months left! Aaahhhhhhh!!!!!!!!

I survived!

Words cannot express the joy I feel in having this week over with! I'll post more later but I just wanted to let you all know I survived our Winter Program, our crazed director/principal, our classroom party madness this morning, and our company Christmas party tonight. The latter explains why I'm still awake at such a ghastly hour, but it was a nice end to a stressful week -- eating, dancing and laughing with friends; sitting outside in the middle of downtown Houston with not a care in the world (don't worry, I wasn't alone); and just taking time to enjoy life. Not to mention, being out on a SCHOOL NIGHT!
Thank you, Jesus, for carrying me through, not only this crazy week, but this difficult year . . .

Mission Accomplished!

Typing works out the cramp in my hand after squeezing bottles of glitter glue for over an hour. Here's a snapshot of my final product (from my MacBook camera, of course, so a mirror image yet again!):



Even though all 22 stockings are not pictured, they're all drying, ready to be stuffed. I really hope the Dollar Tree glitter glue dries and stays on until Thursday. I decorated the first stocking an hour and a half ago and it's still a bit gummy. I may be crying this time tomorrow, if not. Seriously. I'm barely able to keep my emotions in check these days.

Anywho, I had to dig around in our Harry Potter closet to find the stocking stuffers. Thanks to the Marines' Toys for Tots, all my kids get an awesome book. I also stocked up on pencils and erasers for them.




Once it's divided up, I know it won't look like much but they'll love it, nonetheless. I wish I could do more, though.

"I wish I could do more." Hmm . . . that's probably been the theme for the year, if not my LIFE, but that'll just lead to an emotional vomit post that prob doesn't need to exist. Perhaps I should refrain from posting until the stress has passed . . .

Note to Self

Remember to breathe.

And eat.

And sleep.

Don't forget the words to "Jolly Old St. Nicholas" tomorrow night.

Don't forget the steps you made up and taught.

Don't fuss at the kids for responding to chaos with chaos.

Stop procrastinating and GET TO WORK!

Thankful

"Thanks, Ms. Gayle!"

"For what?"

Looking at me incredulously, "For everything!"

What are you thankful for?

"Is that a bowl?"

Smiling, "Yeah..."

"You're thankful for a bowl???"

"Yeah. 'Cause it holds my cereal and keeps it from going all over the table!"

Hmmm . . . I guess she has a point and the right to be thankful for whatever she wants!

stress sucks!

it gives you migraines.

makes you irritable.

and impatient.

causes you to sleep restlessly.

makes you want to eat everything in sight.

gives you a sick feeling in the pit of your stomach.

turns you into a horrible person.

makes it hard to be a gracious, loving christian.

i'm fighting the urge to punch a couple people in the face. seriously. but i somehow think that's something Jesus wouldn't do.

*sigh*

Dieting Can Be Hard

When your desk looks like this everyday:



These pics are actually from a few weeks ago, but I still get at least a bag of chips, two bags of cookies, and two or three juices EVERYDAY. But thankfully, I'm not tempted to cheat. The chips are the hardest, but recently it's been Ranch flavored Doritos, my least fav. And the cookies have been the plain animal crackers (I only like the one from the cool little-circus themed box). Plus I rarely drink juice, so that's not a problem.

Besides South Beach, the other major thing going on is I'm finally an official Kindergarten lead teacher. That means I'm privileged and one of the chosen to attend special banquets, luncheons, and meetings. My first is a trip to Austin next weekend. All the ladies are going Saturday so we can stop in San Marcus and shop, and all the guys are coming Sunday after they attend the Texans game. As much as I love new shoes and accessories, I would so rather go to the football game! Oh well. So much for remaining under the radar.