Looking for Spring Break!

It's been a while since I've bragged on these cuties. They will both be two in May! I'm so glad they live close enough to see each other to be able to be friend-cousins. It is fun to watch them play together!

TWO BEAUTIFUL GRANDDAUGHTERS

I've long neglected my blog here, but I have had a busy year with family! My life has been filled with the happiness that comes with being a grandmother. My two granddaughters, Kenna and Madilyn, have brightened every day. Kenna is 8 months old today and Madie will be 9 months on February 7. Both girls have added joy the family in many ways. Both are crawling now and Madie is well on her way to walking. I'll have to really give the house a thorough going over in the coming months to keep things safe in my home. Kenna is here 24/7 and Madie comes to visit when things are not so busy in her own home. I look forward to the summer when they are moving around better and I have free time to play with both of them.

Where are you?

FURTHER DOWN THE ROAD

Okay, so I've neglected my blog for a while. It's been a rather busy year with twists and surprises. No, the student teacher did NOT work out and he was "asked to leave" the program at the university. The year was really hectic because we had to put up with construction going on for our new building. The section where my room WAS is now going to be part of the new parking lot. We all had to pack up everything before school was out so that our part of the building could be demolished. It was difficult to teach and pack and re-schedule and , well, you get the picture.

School is now out for the summer and I am going to be really busy this summer with my FIRST GRANDDAUGHTER!! Yes, Kenna Cheryl Summers was born May 20, 2009 at 7:49 pm. She is the most delightful end-of-school present that I could ever have. Kenna is precious and beautiful, a very contented little girl. When people comment on how much she looks like Rachel and ME, I am amazed that others can see what (I thought I imagined) I see also. Rachel was so sweet to have given Kenna family names. Kenna's grandfather's name is Ken and my middle name is Cheryl, so I am one proud MeMe. Life is sweet! HAPPY BIRTHDAY TODAY TO MY DAUGHTER RACHEL (proud mama of Kenna).

FAMILY TIME

Family Time is about love, time, distance, and choice.

BUMPS IN THE ROAD?

All I can say is that I really need a bigger room at school! Okay, that 173 count is now up to 181 students. It may not seem like a big deal to those who don't teach, but when the class sizes reach 32 and 33 students in a classroom, problems do arise. If the other foreign language teachers had the same or even close to the same number, I would not be as unsettled as I am. Oral work? Forget it! Do you know how long it takes to get responses from over 30 students in one class period? There isn't enough time because you have to mix up the activities to keep the students listening and responsive. Grading papers? In the good old days I always had each day's papers graded by the end of the day because of student cooperation and willingness to learn through actually doing their own work and not cheating when we corrected answers in class. This is now and not the good old days, so it takes two days to grade a major test because I don't use scan-tron tests (multiple choice, matching, etc.). I may have to create a file of scan-tron tests, even though that type of testing is really not beneficial to students in a foreign language class.

On the bright side, the students that I have are decent--no ruffians, bullies, potty-mouthed kids so far! There is a lot to be said for having students you like even if you wish there were fewer of them. Their first test was last week and I am really proud. Class averages were great! Four of the classes averaged in the upper 80's, one class a 76 (no surprise to me), and the one that makes me really happy is 6th period with an average of 92.

My student teacher didn't show up the first two weeks of school and his supervisor from the college sent an email to check up on him. I'm not sure if this one is going to work out or not from the get-go. He did show up yesterday, so we shall see what happens!


Bumps in the road, maybe so,
since school is in full swing.
Too many students, too many rules
for me to do my thing!

The art of teaching is at stake
when red tape ties my hands.
So don't complain, Administrator,
when I don't meet your demands.

I'll do my best to do what's right
for the students, not for YOU.
When you cruise into my classroom,
oh, don't tell me what to do!

I'll hurdle the bumps in my own way
and take it all in stride.
But if you challenge my classroom realm,
be prepared for a bumpy ride.

BACK TO REALITY

Well, I've been back to school in-service for 6 days. The most that I can say is that I am really tired and still have so much to do before school starts for students on Monday. Once again, I have a huge load of students, 173 at this point. And, once again, I have the largest number of students in the department. The up-side of all this is that I only have one preparation, Spanish 2, and I still have conference and lunch together giving me one and a half hours to regroup for the end of the day. Tomorrow I'm going to do something that I haven't done in years - I'm going to go back to school to get my room in a bit better shape than I left it this afternoon. I moved into a new room and I need to finish putting away some of my materials, or maybe I'll just throw a bunch of stuff away! Oh, another "nugget" thrown my way: I'll have a student teacher this year. I've had about 5 or 6 through the years, and I haven't had a good experience with one yet; I've even had a few removed. For the first time I have a male student teacher. I've met with him and was favorably impressed, so I am very hopeful for a positive experience. Time will tell!