A Week in the Life of an Elementary School Teacher, Day 4

6:00 a.m.
I hit the snooze button.

6:09 a.m.
Did I really think 9 minutes was going to magically fix my sleep deficit? How ridiculous!

I know I've done this to myself. I feel as if there simply aren't enough hours in my day. As much as I love my students, I love my family more. I'd like to streamline my time at school so that I can leave sooner each night, but I don't know how to make my day more efficient, especially when I don't get my planning period. I may need to eat lunch in my room today, unless it's another indoor recess day.

I wonder: when time to get ready in the morning is short, do other women have the same debate with themselves about whether or not to shave their legs? I mean, I'm not going to wear a dress, skirt, or shorts in the next two days. Right? Too much information?

7:30 a.m.
My son and I leave for his school. I hope he's not late!

8:00 a.m.
Streamlining fail. I like to talk too much. I really do this to myself. I spend way too much time talking to my teammates and the the baby. She's just beginning to babble, and we all love it!

8:50 a.m.
My students are all smiles as they enter my room today, despite the hiccups from yesterday. "Isn't it nice to think that tomorrow is a new day with no mistakes in it yet?" This quote from Anne of Green Gables runs through my mind quite often. Each of my students deserves a fresh start every day. I know I do.

My kids are ON today! They are quiet and paying attention. They answer questions and ask questions of their own. They are inquisitive and respectful.

10:10 a.m.
I'm amazed that my students can sort sort two-syllable words by syllable patterns, recognizing open and closed syllables! And it would have been really cool, had my SMARTBoard lesson worked properly. The movable word cards were supposed to slide down into the denim pockets on the board, but I didn't have them layered properly, and the cards were on top of the pockets. Darn! I must remember to go back and fix that later!

10:30 a.m.
I have another hiccup with a behavior issue.

11:15 a.m.
Back on track, and I smile as I feel like I've done a good job with a student.

11:30 a.m.
Indoor recess again, but this time I put on a GoNoodle Indoor Recess video so that the kids can move and dance a little. I find myself hanging around for a few minutes to dance with them.

Our cafeteria has vegetables, fresh from the farm, and I feel the urge to try snap peas for the first time. I will never crave them, but they're okay. I use Google to look up the nutritional value of snap peas to discover they are good for losing weight or maintaining weight. How many do I have to eat to lose weight? Because we all know I don't have much time to exercise.

12;20 p.m.
Thankfully, the sinks in the boys bathroom are working again.

12:30 p.m.
We make our weekly trip to the Media Center to check out books.

1:00 p.m.
The remainder of my afternoon is filled with Writing, a successful avoidance of another behavior issue, P.E., my planning period (finally!), and a surprise video from a penguin researcher in Antarctica. Our class Skyped with her earlier this month, and she sent us a package today with a DVD, stickers, and postcard pictures of Antarctica. Our class flag flew over the penguin colony there, and we expect it back at our school any day. My students should also receive the postcards they drew and addressed to themselves at home, postmarked from Antarctica. This project is one of the coolest things I've ever done in the classroom. The video has lots of penguin footage. We'll have to finish it tomorrow because 13 minutes into it, we have to dismiss for the day.

3:30 p.m.
Car duty again

4:00 p.m.
I have a new student to tutor in math. Math is my favorite subject, so tutoring is actually quite fun for me. I enjoy discovering what gaps a child has in their knowledge and figuring out how to fill that gap. We play games to find out where I need to begin.

5:00 p.m.
Because of my new Thursday after school schedule, I forget to pick up my second student for tutoring. Totally knocked me off schedule. I reschedule for next Monday, clean up my room, check my emails, and talk to two of my teammates.

One of my other duties at school is as Technology Specialist. It sounds fancier than it is. I actually am sort of in an apprentice capacity, as the Media Specialist is teaching me what to do. She and I share some of the responsibilities. I check the work orders to send one on to someone who knows more than me. I don't know what is wrong with her projector, but it keeps turning itself off. I'll leave that to the professionals.

5:45 p.m
I leave for home.

6:00 p.m.
My husband and I make dinner and watch some T.V. while I "grade" some papers and blog. My son plays on his Xbox. I'm determined to go to bed by 10:00 tonight. Of course, that means that I'll probably wake at 4:00. (Six hours of sleep and all.) I have a load of laundry set to start washing at 3:00. God bless whoever invented timers on washing machines.