Week One Report

So I've officially been back teaching for a week now.

I LOVE IT!!!! Seriously.

Most of my kids are coming to me with D's and F's. Lots of them come from broken families. A handful of them are the "troubled" kids. I don't have any Honors kids, in fact, most of them don't even try to pass. These kids are already drinking, smoking, and doing drugs (not all of them, but some of them are). They've been passed over and ignored.

These kids need to be loved on and I'm so blessed to be the one to do it. They're respecting my rules, trying their best to refrain from potty mouth syndrome, and they are turning in their work--which means they are DOING their work. They even volunteer in class and participate.

I have learned that I have to keep them busy and give them a logical reason for why they are doing something. If I give them any down time, they get crazy. Some of them are still testing me a little but most of them just do what I ask.

The hardest part of all of it is rushing out of school to go pick up Ansleigh, coming home, starting dinner, cleaning up, doing laundry and taking some time to "play cook" and "play color." We eat, she gets a bath, she goes to bed. Then I'm trying to figure out what I'm going to wear the next day and does it need to be ironed? Gotta get in the shower and then dry my hair. There isn't quite as much time for facebook and tv shows anymore. Quite frankly, the time I do have, I don't want to be on facebook or watching tv; mostly I want to just go to bed.

I didn't realize what a mess our closet was until I started using it. If you'll recall, I've been wearing pajamas and jeans and tshirts for 3 years now. The only time I really used the closet was for Sundays or to put away hubs' clothes. I've already determined that during Spring Break, I will battle it out with that closet and get rid of a lot of junk. Mark my words.

My buggy-boo has been doing great with this! She begs to go play with Carrie friend's little girl all the way to their house. Half the time, she doesn't want to leave when I go pick her up. One thing I've noticed is that the little things that used to annoy me (excessive whining, bossing around, repetitive tv shows) don't bother me as much anymore. I cherish the time I have with her.

I do have some pretty good student stories but it is already past my bedtime. I know some of you have been worried and thinking about us and praying for us (and we appreciate it!!!) and I just wanted to let you know how we're doing in this big change.