Mingos in the Watah! What in the Wuhld?

I have to say Memom that I went back to school this year and I am feeling really overwhelmed. I haven't been on the boards all week cause I am zombie tired (and grouchy). My classes this year are packed full and they decided to put 27 special ed students dispersed between my classes and also mainstream students in my college-bound classes who don't belong. I have three different rosters for each of my classes. Then they take the special ed co-teacher out of my room and give him two periods off (actually he is my consultant) but they didn't give us common planning time so I can't actually consult with him (except via email). So now I have three distinct levels in my classes and I can't keep it all straight. At this point I haven't even begun to learn their names. As you can hear, I am overwhelmed and discouraged and I feel like the administration doesn't care and simple heads to their office after dumping all this on us and close the door.:sad2::sad2::sad2:It's going to be a looonnnggggg year!


Ok I am going back to catch up on your report and get in the Disney spirit....
 
Oh Caren, sounds like some serious headaches and pressure to have to deal with along with wanting to do what is best for your kids!! I feel your pain!!

Our motto this year is 211 degrees to 212 degrees it's the extra degree that matters...well as a science teacher I can tell you that while extra energy can get water to boil, so can REDUCING the pressure. I wish you all the best with your classroom this year.

What a great story about that little boy! I bet he was thrilled to see his work on the board and hopefully his improvement will continue!! He has found a friend in you for sure!!

YAY for Brooklynn knowing, but poor Bella...hopefully she will have much fun looking forward to Disney and Santa Claus!!

Hey Jen...I showed that movie on the first day of school to do some goal setting with my students!!!:lovestruc
 
I saw something about the headless horseman at MNSSHP -- I have never been able to go, but I keep on YouTubing videos of it and it is SO cool! Ever since I was little, I have loved horses and horseback riding...I told Charles that being the headless horseman would be my dream!
 

Well that was our number one reason as well for choosing private school, but all the testing nonsense would be my number two reason. The other little girls that I keep after school go to the public school that my DD would've been sent to, and I am so disgusted by the things they tell me about when they get off the bus here in the afternoons. I am so thankful that my DD is not having to hear and experience those things. I wish I was rich so I could pay for them to go to private school as well. Private school certainly isn't perfect, but like you said, it's what's working for us and what we feel comfortable with. If we lived in a better school district, we would have considered public school, but the schools around here are full of gangs, drugs, sex, violence, you name it! It's awful! No way am I sending my kid to deal with that everyday. So as long as the Lord continues to provide the means , we will continue to send her to private school. Our schools here are so bad that if I could not longer afford private education, I would home school her. It's very sad, and makes me wonder how we got to this place? It wasn't that long ago that I went to those same schools and they were great back then. What's happened?

There is a lot of evil in this world, for sure, and we just have to do our parts to counter it with a lot of good. ::yes::

Private school is far from perfect, and it has its own set of issues, but each family works to do what is best for the children they dearly love. It would be nice if all public schools could be great again and could be safe and nurturing, but that is not the case.



Sorry school has been very tough for you. It is much different here, but I think that's the reason why I was never put in a private school and also the fact I've been above average in my testing and grades, so I don't know what happens to the ones who are below me, well... not enough, but anyways I'm glad to hear there have been a few bright spots though.


So nice of all the staff to send your custodian on a vacation and that's great you put together those princess bags, so sweet. Such a great treat for someone who's done that much for others and just hasn't done anything for himself.

That's great to hear about your little student having a little victory. It's very sad to know he's probably not going to last so long in school. I think the worse part is when they last for so long in school and no longer have the drive to really improve like with this kid. And you can't hug him? Awwww... I can't believe your whole district frowns up on that, that's just... not right, in my opinion, but at least you have really given him something to be proud of and made it known to really help drive him through the rest of school (:

I hope everything slows down for you soon, MeMom

If you see your teachers running out the doors in the afternoons, you'll know why! :laughing:

I don't think much is going to slow down, but I am glad to have a job. And I am glad that I have many Disney trips planned to help me keep my sanity. ;)



:grouphug:..for all my teacher friends! :grouphug:

What a special moment for that little boy in your class...I'm sure he felt proud to have his work featured on the wall.

Have fun today with your girls today in Alabama!

It will be excitting for Brooklynn to have her MeMom all to herself.
You will have a good time planning and laughing together.
Bella will be fine...after all she get's her Mommy & Daddy all to herself that week!
Who wouldn't want to have Santa & Disney.

Did you make any ADR's for October?

I made mine for March this morning...after many tries online I gave up and called and got a very nice lady who got me everything we wanted.

No surprizes...we booked Wolfgang Puck Cafe, Chef Mickey's, 'OHana, Kona, Crystal Palace bkfst, Le Cellier and new for us Tony's Town Square.

I also added a day so we are going to go for 5 nights, 6 days!
Flights are booked too! Early arrival and late departure.
My DMom is the most excitted about seeing the F&G Festival.
I will probably book her the "Behind the Seeds" tour as a birthday gift.

I'm off to work...

We'll just do counter service on the October trip.

Jill has already explained to Brooklynn that there won't be a big Christmas, because we'll be leaving for Disney World later in the day. Brooklynn is fine with it. The girls have more than they need as it is. Jill donated all kinds of stuff to school and to a donation center in town just recently, and she's much happier with not having nine million toys in the house. Brooklynn is satisfied with art supplies, Barbies, and DVD's, and Bella love dress up outfits and purses. A little bit of those things, and they'll be happy as can be.

Thanks for understanding all the teacher whining. ;)

When we get back from Florida, I plan to stay and spend a day at home with just Bella, so that will be nice.



Hope you enjoyed Brooklynn's game! My mom went up to see my nephews game today too but it got canceled due to the rain! She was planning on hitting the outlet mall today anyways to get the grandkids some fall clothes...so she just got to go a little earlier!
Caleb and I went to Columbus, OH to Toys R us/Babies R us for a Thomas Celebration thingy...basicaly they give out free match game cards, coloring...they read some thomas books...and most importantly played with lots of thomas toys! He loved it and threw a huge fit when it was time to leave. We picked up a baby shower gift for one of my friends while we were there also! Then we went to the mall to hit the Disney Store but did not get anything. I am hoping the prices for the t shirts will be better in Gatlinburg at the Disney Outlet!

It was a beautiful soccer day here. :) We went to the mall, but there is no Disney Store. We went to Hallmark to get a gift, and Jill got a few things at Crazy 8. We ate at the food court. That was about the extent of that trip.



I have to say Memom that I went back to school this year and I am feeling really overwhelmed. I haven't been on the boards all week cause I am zombie tired (and grouchy). My classes this year are packed full and they decided to put 27 special ed students dispersed between my classes and also mainstream students in my college-bound classes who don't belong. I have three different rosters for each of my classes. Then they take the special ed co-teacher out of my room and give him two periods off (actually he is my consultant) but they didn't give us common planning time so I can't actually consult with him (except via email). So now I have three distinct levels in my classes and I can't keep it all straight. At this point I haven't even begun to learn their names. As you can hear, I am overwhelmed and discouraged and I feel like the administration doesn't care and simple heads to their office after dumping all this on us and close the door.It's going to be a looonnnggggg year!


Ok I am going back to catch up on your report and get in the Disney spirit....

I am sorry to say that I have probably not been very uplifting lately. I hope things will get better as the years wears on. I will have to be on the lookout for the good moments. I think our administrators are overwhelmed and frustrated, as well. Our principal is biding his time for another two years until he retires. He has clearly made it known that he is leaving at his 30 year mark.

I'll try to do a better job of getting us in the Disney spirit when I am able to hang out around here, which is not much any more.



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Maybe a little Animal Kingdom shopping will make us happy for a few minutes.

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Did you guys see this, or will you be buying it on DVD, or both?

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The lady that we hung out with on 4th of July evening, Kathy, bought three of the beaded mingos that day. She said she was putting them in her bathroom.

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Here's Bella checking out some African windchimes...

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but has anyone seen Brooklynn?

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Yippee! AK shopping is a great diversion from the craziness of life! :thumbsup2

Just like you have "those" days at school .... so does everyone else ..... nobody is safe. I think it would be a fairytale to love your job every second of every day.
I went to work and boy was I glad to come home. Just one of "those" days. :hug:

Good to hear you had a nice time with the girls just hanging out.
Please Disney Gods...give MeMom back her Disney Store. :worship:

I don't know what Crazy 8 is? :confused3

We did see African Cats in the theatre. Despite it's sad parts, I will still buy the DVD.
Lexi said the other day, that this movie came very close to making her cry.
(She said that while making fun of me for crying while we watched Toy Story 3)
She thought it was so funny that even though I knew what was going to happen, I still cried.
I guess I'm just an old sap. :rotfl:

I told my kids this will be a smaller Christmas too!
As my kids get older they do want less but it's the price tags that are getting bigger.
I miss the days when Aaron was happy with a $1 Hot wheel car and Lexi with a $5 My Little Pony. :rotfl:

As I go off to work this morning I can smile thinking...this day next week.... we are driving to Syracuse to start our vacation!!! :dance3:

DMom told me last night that she wants internet in the room.
So I will be able to post pics for all of you while we are there. :)
 
Great AK shopping pics! I liked the pins best of course! ;) I didn't know they were doing African cat mystery sets, maybe there will be some left next time we get down.
 
AK shopping pics did indeed make me smile on this somber 9/11 morning. So looking forward to our upcoming trip/escape from reality! Sorry things at school are so stressful for you. :hug:
 
AK is the one park where we have never spent much time shopping. We haven't even gone in many of the shops. Looks like they have some pretty cool stuff.
 
Hope your school year stress eases soon....hugs to you. I understand the pressure!

Great shopping pictures from AK. I saw so many things that were neat at AK.
Cute Zebra Brooklynn!
 
Alright, I guess I'll have to pick some stuff from the endless shopping pictures (Great photos, btw!), since that's how I work... I guess I'll go with the 2011 Animal Kingdom pin. Though some of the more "authentic" stuff might be better... Hmmmmm... I don't know...

:thumbsup2 to Brooklynn's Zebra Disguise... shhhhhh... ;)
 
Wow MeMom, the changes in your district don't sound very pleasant. I'm sure similar things are going on up here :( I start full time student teaching tomorrow with a very nice social studies teacher. He teaches 11th and 12th grade and I'll be there all day, everyday until December. I hope I am able to live up to the standards that awesome teachers like you set so high.

Animal Kingdom is always a good way to make us DISers happy. Definitely the most detail oriented park, in my opinion. I love Brooklynn's zebra face :rotfl:
 
I adore these spoon rests!! The design is so pretty! Ours is just boring stainless steel .

I think Jackie has several pieces of this collection. We'll have to get her to show us what she has. I love them, but they just don't fit in with my kitchen theme.



Yippee! AK shopping is a great diversion from the craziness of life!

Just like you have "those" days at school .... so does everyone else ..... nobody is safe. I think it would be a fairytale to love your job every second of every day.
I went to work and boy was I glad to come home. Just one of "those" days.

Good to hear you had a nice time with the girls just hanging out.
Please Disney Gods...give MeMom back her Disney Store.

I don't know what Crazy 8 is?

We did see African Cats in the theatre. Despite it's sad parts, I will still buy the DVD.
Lexi said the other day, that this movie came very close to making her cry.
(She said that while making fun of me for crying while we watched Toy Story 3)
She thought it was so funny that even though I knew what was going to happen, I still cried.
I guess I'm just an old sap.

I told my kids this will be a smaller Christmas too!
As my kids get older they do want less but it's the price tags that are getting bigger.
I miss the days when Aaron was happy with a $1 Hot wheel car and Lexi with a $5 My Little Pony.

As I go off to work this morning I can smile thinking...this day next week.... we are driving to Syracuse to start our vacation!!!

DMom told me last night that she wants internet in the room.
So I will be able to post pics for all of you while we are there.

I know every job has its bad days. It just seems like the education field is getting really dumped on right now. I was thinking on the way home from Jill's this morning about the desire to be happy - and what that would entail.

I decided happiness for me would be
1) heaven forever with all those I love
2) enough money to pay my bills, have plenty to give to all of the others that I want to give to, and finance 4-6 Disney trips a year
and
3) a job that made me really want to go and do it.

So, I told God on the highway in my 4-Runner, that I wanted, quite simply, to be happy. ;) We'll see what He does with that information. :laughing:

Internet in the room will be great! We get updates! :dance3:

Jill has made it very clear to Brooklynn about a small Christmas. Bella won't care one way or the other, since she's too young to get it yet.

I think it was called Crazy 8. It was like Gymboree - lots of matching groups of things.

I have cried at many a youtube video, so I think I am most definitely a sap. ::yes::






Love the Brooklyn zebra!!!

Hey, Jackie, don't you have some of those AK pieces? Will you show us what you have collected so far?



Great AK shopping pics! I liked the pins best of course! I didn't know they were doing African cat mystery sets, maybe there will be some left next time we get down.

We should have gotten a mystery pin. Brooklynn loved the movie. Maybe in October, if they have them.



AK shopping pics did indeed make me smile on this somber 9/11 morning. So looking forward to our upcoming trip/escape from reality! Sorry things at school are so stressful for you.

I know my school troubles are nothing like what many are going through, so just tell me to SHUT UP whenever you want to! One of the kids' friends from high school died Friday of an aneurysm. He was 27 years old. Lives are lost in tragedies like 9/11, children lay sick in hospital beds and hungry in countries all over the world, and I think I have the right to gripe about anything??? :sad2: Shame on me, for sure! I am so grateful for the family and friends I have, and I rejoice that I have a job to gripe about. :thumbsup2 It will still be stressful, but there are far worse things.





AK is the one park where we have never spent much time shopping. We haven't even gone in many of the shops. Looks like they have some pretty cool stuff.

You aren't much of a shopper anyway, so that doesn't surprise me. You should check some of them out sometime and give us some pictures of you and the family in some cool safari hats with Mickey ears. :earsboy: :earsgirl: :earsboy:



Brooklynn makes a very cute zebra! Can't wait to see her next month!

I think perhaps she is looking forward to seeing you, as well. :cutie: I am sure she will talk your ear off when she gets to you.



Hope your school year stress eases soon....hugs to you. I understand the pressure!

Great shopping pictures from AK. I saw so many things that were neat at AK.
Cute Zebra Brooklynn!

I wonder if there are any really excited teachers left in the country?!?!? :rotfl:

AK has some unique things. If someone wanted to have a really neat African-themed room, they could sure get some cool stuff there.



Alright, I guess I'll have to pick some stuff from the endless shopping pictures (Great photos, btw!), since that's how I work... I guess I'll go with the 2011 Animal Kingdom pin. Though some of the more "authentic" stuff might be better... Hmmmmm... I don't know...

:thumbsup2 to Brooklynn's Zebra Disguise... shhhhhh... ;)

You should hear her giggle when she thinks she is hiding. Last night, Jill went into Kroger to get ice cream. Bella went with her, and Brooklynn stayed in the car. She decided to hide from Jill, so as Jill approached the car, I rolled the window down and asked her if she had seen Brooklynn, because Brooklynn had gone in to find her. Jill assured me she had not, and she just had no idea where her big girl was. Brooklynn was softly cracking up all hunkered down in the seat. She thought it was hilarious when Jill opened the door and found her. ;)



Wow MeMom, the changes in your district don't sound very pleasant. I'm sure similar things are going on up here I start full time student teaching tomorrow with a very nice social studies teacher. He teaches 11th and 12th grade and I'll be there all day, everyday until December. I hope I am able to live up to the standards that awesome teachers like you set so high.

Animal Kingdom is always a good way to make us DISers happy. Definitely the most detail oriented park, in my opinion. I love Brooklynn's zebra face

You may be joining in our whining sessions soon! :laughing: I hope you have a great experience. Maybe high school is better. Or maybe it is worse. I know I don't want to teach anything over 4th grade again. I used to want 5th, but as the years went by, and with what kids say and know and do today, I keep lowering the age I like. :upsidedow

Best of luck to you!!!


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I am very happy to report that after three and a half hours of work this afternoon, I am now only five steps away from being finished with the outline I have to do for the first evaluation. Maybe another hour and a half, and I'll be done. I hope my kids who have been out playing today all over the city are feeling my lesson vibes and will do a better job of listening and absorbing because of all of this paperwork. At least, that is the way the big guns think it works, I guess. :confused3

Come on, fall break! :woohoo:
 
Shopping at Animal Kingdom! What a wonderful way to end a weekend! :) There are always such great finds there! Good luck with your outlines. Those kids are very lucky to have such a caring teacher!
 
Well, what do you know, I was only 41 pages behind instead of the 150 that I had predicted :rolleyes:

I won't comment on everything, I'll just say that I love your reports and I'm so glad you have chosen to share your trips with us :goodvibes

Hopefully life will allow me to be back on here on a regular basis!
 















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