Crazy-Busy Day!

I was doing special ed today. I was incredibly busy until 2PM, and then it dropped off. I had a doctor's appointment at 5, but was free after 3:30. I ran home to do stuff in between.

I am going to a church convention tomorrow and Saturday, so I am going nuts doing laundry, trying to pack, and getting things settled with my girls (who are going to two different places) and my pets (BF will look after them.)

Because I have had depression for most of my life, but have also experienced what I now know are "hypomanic" episodes, I have just been diagnosed by my psychiatrist as Bipolar II. I now have a new medication that I will start taking; hopefully that will put me on a more even keel.

Day two not smoking!  Go, me!!

I will hopefully post after I get settled tomorrow; I am looking forward to my one night free of kids and pets! I will be alone in my hotel room, just me, my stuffed tiger, Chauncey, and my Nook. Bliss. =)

So I Haven't Blogged for a Couple of Days . . .

I've discovered a new hobby - pinning things to my boards on Pinterest.com. It is addicting - as Washington Post columnist Petula Dvorak says, it's like digital crack for women. Pinterest is also good for us "popcorn-brain" people because you can jump from picture to picture - oooh, shiny! I have spent ALL AFTERNOON pinning to my board.

Today marks the beginning of Lent. I attended the 7 AM service at my church. (Then I had to wait for the dishwasher repair man at home. To his credit, he did not say, "Ma'am, you've got something on your forehead.")  For my Lenten discipline, I have decided to quit smoking. I got up this morning and put on a patch, but it still agonizing. I have done this before, so I hope I can do it again. (I also told my boyfriend he needs to quit too, so neither of us are smoking!)

I tried to kind-of fast today. I ate breakfast, but did not have anything else until some cheese just now. I just can't give up cigarettes and food on the same day; that's just cruel and unusual!

Today has been a good day. I woke up early, ate breakfast, and went back to bed. When I got up again, I went to a local park, hiked a short trail, and shot a roll of 35mm film. I used to be good at photography in college, and I knew what to do from loading the film in the camera to developing it (black and white). I'd like to get back into it.

After I got home from the grocery store, I ate lunch while reading People magazine's tribute to Whitney Houston. I didn't watch her funeral because I knew I would cry.

I am playing the piano at my best friend's wedding in April, so I practiced the pieces ("Linus and Lucy" is the postlude - my suggestion!). Then a couple of friends came over, and we hung out for a bit.

Now I am just kind of hanging out at home with the dog and cat and relaxing. It's what I need, after my busy week!

My three-year-olds and I had a "come to Jesus" meeting first thing this morning. The discussion resulted in a (slightly) better day. Two of my boys were acting up, but I put their names on the board and told them they'd lose recess if they didn't turn it around. It worked! They got to play with their friends on the playground.

They had been asking me to read "The Three Billy Goats Gruff," so I did read it to them today, at the end of the day. They know that is a treat, and they love it.

Came home and took a nap. Then it was time to drive the girls up the road to meet their dad. In the car, Older Daughter had a "slap bracelet" type watch. In the dark, I couldn't see what it was. I asked, "Do you have a knife?" She was like, "Yeah, I'm gonna shank you, Mom." Then she turned it so I could see the watch face, and slapped it onto her wrist. =)

Homework

I helped Younger Daughter with her math homework! It was about geometry - angles - and I failed high school geometry (but managed to get an A in summer school). The angles corresponded to letters, answering jokes. By figuring out the punch lines, I was able to help her determine which angles were which. Go, me!

I. Am .So. SORE. I somehow managed to pull a muscle in my back yesterday, and it hurts today. More and more as the day goes on. But we made it through.

I had a pre-K class today. I was supposed to sub for a special ed teacher, but one of the regular teachers had a sub fail. So I was in the class, which was fine.

I am dealing with it with Biofreeze gel and ice packs. OW.

(This is yesterday's post. I had saved it as a draft instead of publishing it. Duh.)

Hmm. I don't know what happened to yesterday's post. I did blog, but it was pretty short.

Anyhoo, TODAY. 3-year-olds. Off the chain.

It started right from the get-go, when they ate breakfast in the classroom rather than in the cafeteria like they usually do. Then they got to visit the Mobile Science Center, which was very cool and a lot of fun. So they were wired up from the change in routine and the excitement of trying out all the different "experiments." Most of them did pretty well, but a couple of them had to be removed for not sharing or for hurting their friends. And then there was the boy who was dropped off by Mommy, who proceeded to cry for about half an hour because he missed her. Lady, that's why they have school buses!

After the science center, I brought them back to the room. I started doing circle time, and they were talking to each other, fooling around, and not paying attention. The assistant told them to listen and stop playing around, and I had to stop midway through and give them a talk about sitting on the carpet with their legs folded, hands in their lap pockets, listening ears and watching eyes on, and a bubble in their mouths unless it was their turn to talk.

When we went outside, five of the 19 students owed me time on the wall (watching while their friends played). Two snuck by me and I had to cart them back over. One little boy had been screaming inside the room like an Irish woman at a wake, so he owed time, too. Another little boy can't keep himself to himself. Anyway, I had to use my "mean Ms. P. voice" and tell them to "get on that wall! Now! Or I'm going to call Mommy!" (waving my cell phone at them). Of course, I don't have Mommy's number, nor do I have the authority to call her, but they're too young to know that. I did let them play after about five minutes; they're only three, after all.

Lunch was a fiasco (in the room again because the Mobile Science Center was using the cafeteria). That threw them off further. At one point I had about five children crying, screaming, and saying repeatedly that "I WANT MY MOMMYYYYYY!" (I did wonder how they would react if I started pretend crying and wailing that I wanted my mommy, too, but I didn't try it.)

Most of them slept at naptime, and they were better behaved when they got up. They ate a good snack (Cheetos! Yum!), and we had another circle time. The little boy who had been wailing this morning actually sat pretty well for this circle time, so I praised him highly for turning himself around; he got to choose his center first afterward. I am hoping that rewarding positive behavior helps reinforce the idea that this is how we behave in school. The children like to sing silly alphabet songs, so we started with "A is for Alice, who met an alligator" and ended with "James and Judy, James and Judy, jumped all night, jumped all day" for our letter of the week, J.

By the time we had center time, they were playing pretty nicely together. What a difference a nap makes when you are three! (And none of them peed their pants at naptime - YAY!)

I was happy to put them on the bus at the end of the day. Wow. And I have the same class tomorrow. They are so cute, though, it's hard to stay mad at them. At the end of the day, many of them hugged me and told me, "I love you, Ms. P.!" This is why I love teaching, even though at times it gets chaotic. The rewards are just so great.

Valentine's Day + Kindergarteners + Sugar

equals a very tired and sore Ms. P. at the end of the day! Actually, I was in a first grade class this morning, and they were okay; they just wanted to chat a lot. There was an assistant to work with one boy who had a behavior chart, which helped immensely. Out of 24 kids, only three really gave me any problems. One boy the teacher had warned about that he doesn't like to listen to substitutes was good as gold, so I praised him highly. I praised where I could, and took recess from those to talked back or refused to work. Of course, it's always different when the teacher is out, and it's a holiday to boot.

After lunch, I switched to a kindergarten class (half-day meetings). We did a math lesson, then they had a special. After their art class, it was PARTY TIME! You can imagine how hyped up they were. We gave them cupcakes, cookies, potato chips, and juice boxes, and then it was time to pass out the cards. They took great delight in giving out their cards to all their friends. It got a bit chaotic, but that is to be expected at the end of the day when they are sugared up and excited. A couple of them even gave me valentines, which was sweet because I wasn't even their regular teacher. Two moms came in to assist; apparently they are regulars in the classroom as helpers, so it was wonderful to have their assistance. The class also has an instructional assistant, so there were four adults in the room. We managed to get through until car riders were dismissed and buses were called. I told the assistant, "At least we get to send them home to other adults!" They all wanted to hug me at the end of the day and wish me a happy Valentine's day. Have I mentioned I really like the pre-k/kindergarten age kids?

The only drawback, though, is that since I have fibromyalgia, I get very sore from being on my feet all day and bending down to help the kids. But it's worth it, because they are such fun!

Books and Depression

The book I am reading right now is called It's Kind of a Funny Story. Younger Daughter has a copy and refused to lend it to me, so I downloaded it on my Nook. It's about a 15-year-old boy who gets into a prestigious high school and seems to have it all made. Then stress and depression start to get to him, and he ends up in a downward cycle culminating in a trip to the Emergency Room, which gets him admitted to the psychiatric ward of the hospital.

The story is very well written and rings true for this girl who underwent a major depressive episode in high school (and yes, I was also admitted to a prestigious high school). Craig, the main character, describes his feelings of depression and suicidal ideations in a way I can totally relate to. At the point I have reached in the novel, he is still hospitalized and working through his feelings of depression and guilt.

The only fault I find with this book (and this is because of who I am) is that it is very triggering for me, as someone who still struggles with depression. The author tells the story so realistically that it brings back memories for me. I notice that I feel more depressed. Is it the story? Is it situational? (Last weekend brought anniversaries of the deaths of my aunt and my father.) I can't tell yet. I will finish the book, and I recommend it highly, with the caveat that it may trigger feelings of depression in those of us who are prone to them. It sounds a little funny to say that a book is so well written that it is almost too realistic, but that is my take on it.

R.I.P. Whitney

I got up this morning, did the crossword, ate breakfast, then got my daughters up for church. Younger Daughter popped out with, "Did you hear Whitney Houston died?"

I didn't believe her at first. How could that have happened? She was such a talented singer, with so much to offer. When I was in high school and read Seventeen magazine, I saw the pretty young model and read that she was an aspiring singer. Her vocal career took off in the 1980s, my high school and college years, and I was impressed at the strength and power behind her voice.

Like so many of us, though, Whitney had her own demons. A tumultuous marriage to Bobby Brown, repeated miscarriages, drug use and abuse as her star rose. She admitted to Katie Couric that she was both "her best friend and her own enemy." I can relate. I am saddened to think that she was never able to overcome her demons and died tragically, of unknown causes, at the age of 48.

Now she is singing with the heavenly chorus of angels.

R.I.P. Whitney. We will always love you.

(Trying to link to the video - having some technical difficulties!)

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Older Daughter: "Throw your cold coffee out, Mom!"

Younger Daughter: "Throw your mom out!"

Older Daughter: "Don't throw Gramma A. out. She's nice! Besides, I think she's still good; I don't see any mold on her."

Yes, my daughters are as crazy as I am.

Down by the bay

Where the watermelon grow, back to my home, I dare not go
For if I did, my mother would say . . . .

And I was making up funny rhymes for the kids in the class, like

"Did you ever see Susanna, eating a banana, down by the bay" and
"Did you ever see Camille, eat a Happy Meal, down by the bay" and
"Did you ever see Elaine, dance in the rain, down by the bay."

Well, the kids just fell out laughing. I promised them I would try to think up rhymes for the rest of them next time I was in the class. It was just whatever popped into my brain this afternoon. What fun, teaching pre-K!

And another busy week in pre-K comes to an end. Boy, am I glad it's Friday! It's been a good week, just crazy. Today, I was fortunate enough to be in a room with a student teacher from our local college, so I mostly served as backup.

This afternoon, at 3:10 (kids start getting dismissed at 3:30), we had a fire drill. At the end of the day, on a Friday! But it went just fine.

I am hoping to go to bed early. Younger Daughter is going to a middle school dance, and is very excited. She is getting a ride there and back with a friend's dad. (She and her friend, a boy, are not going TOGETHER. It is not a date; they are not even going as friends. They are just carpooling. LOL.) She is parading around, announcing, "I am sex-see!" Should I be worried?

When I woke up this morning, my first thought was, "I'm not in the Bahamas." I was having a dream that I went to the Bahamas with my college roommate and a few other girlfriends. The beach was beautiful, but there were giant spiders all over, and we had to take anti-malaria pills because of them (never mind that malaria comes from mosquitoes, not spiders!). I found myself wondering why I hadn't taken the pills before we got there.

Normally spiders don't bother me, but these were big spiders, and at one point I was screaming and running away from them.

In the dream, the medication made me sleepy, so at the end of the dream, I was waking up and trying to figure out how to turn off the alarm clock. Turns out it was my real alarm clock waking me up for school! Hence the confusion about not being in the Bahamas.

The Wonders of Pre-K

So let me just say at the outset, I love teaching pre-kindergarten kids. They are still little and sweet. And when they're not, they still hug you and tell you they love you.

I posted yesterday about how the kids were all off the chain.Well, the same held true today. One little boy in particular was having a really rough time of it. I ended up carrying him down to the bus at the end of the day because he refused to go. (Mommy got a call about him.) Whatever we wanted him to do, he refused. I have some sympathy for these little guys because some of them don't have a lot of stability at home. But when you start kicking chairs and shouting, "Shut up!" at the teacher, that's where I draw the line.

So we made it through to the end of the day; I read the kids "The Three Billy Goats Gruff," which they love. I have to read it for them every time I'm in their classroom. (I told the classroom teacher I'm kind of like a one-hit-wonder with that book!)

Then we went on the playground for a few minutes. I had just gotten out there and was talking with two other teaching assistants when all of a sudden - WHAM! a soccer ball flew out of nowhere and hit me smack on the right ear. (It was accidental.)  The ear's not bleeding or ringing, just hurting a little, so I haven't done anything about it. Most likely it will be just fine.

I tell you what, though - that kid is the next Pele, the way he kicks that ball!

Off. The. Chain.

Wow - the whole school was wound up today. Well, the kids; not the teachers. All the regular classroom teachers were in a meeting today, so the school was full of substitutes. All the assistants were yelling at the kids; the children were just that off the hook. I commented to my assistant that it was as if someone fed all the kids a bowl of crazy for breakfast. (Actually, it was Pop-Tarts, but same diff for hyperactive little people!)

And the day draaaggged on . . . but finally 4:00 arrived. Everyone agreed it was a long, slow day.

One cute story: the train runs behind the school, and we were out on the playground when it came through. All the little people raced over to the fence as soon as they heard the whistle (as if it doesn't come through at least twice a day every day of their little lives!). They were jumping up and down excited, and I had them all wave like mad as the train passed the school. The engineer is nice and always toots the horn and waves to them. I hope going past the preschool is the high point of his ride!

I realized something today about having a non-linear brain: orderly subjects like geometry and symbolic logic elude me because I just don't think that way. You're supposed to go from point A to point B to point C in order. My brain goes from point A to point B to point Z, and hey! that makes me think of point J . . . and so on. It's good for creativity, but not so good for the logical patterns of life. Ah, well, I know it, and I just have to work around it.

I think that's why I do well writing everything down where I can see it, and having orderly lesson plans. I need things written down to keep me straight; I am overwhelmed when the plans go awry. But I don't let on to my students that I'm feeling out of control, of course.

I will leave you with "A Teacher's Motto":

I will not yell in class. I will not throw things in class. I will not get mad and hit anyone in class. I will not have a temper tantrum, and I will always be good . . . because I am the teacher.

One thing about being a teacher:  we always know when there is a full moon because the kids are off the chain. I had three-year-olds today, and I've been in this class before. They are a good group of kids, but today they were off. They were acting crazy and not listening ALL DAY. One little girl started jumping on other people's cots at naptime, then running around the room. When we came in from recess, she wanted to stay outside and have me chase her. Then when it was time to go to the bus, she refused to go, so I had to pick her up and carry her to the bus like a sack of potatoes. In the process, I wrenched my already-injured right knee.

Another little boy peed his pants at naptime, but he was pleased that it didn't get on his Spider-Man shirt. The assistant told him, "Spider-Man never pees his pants!" So he wants to be more like Spider-Man in the future. Hey, whatever motivates him!

Another thing about being a teacher is that we get injured A LOT. I like to say teaching is like pro football:  100% injury rate, but without the high salaries.

After school, it was time to take Younger Daughter to a doctor's appointment, then go to the grocery store. Still ahead: laundry and dinner. Woo-hoo my life is exciting! NOT. It's a tough job being Super-Mom, but someone's gotta do it! =)

Well, Poop.

I was hoping the Patriots would win. Only because they beat the Ravens, and I hate the Ravens.  (I remember when the "Indianapolis" Colts were in Baltimore.) But there are a LOT of Giants fans here on the Eastern Shore, and they are celebrating.

Blogs I Like to Follow

So, you might be curious. What kind of blogs does the 43-year-old teacher with a popcorn brain follow?

Here are a couple:

http://missbanshee.com/

http://TheBloggess.com

http://hyperboleandahalf.blogspot.com/

Just a few to whet your appetite!

The first quarter just ended, and the commercials are on. (I wonder why there are so many ads for vacuum cleaners? Maybe because they know all their viewers have dogs or something!). They told us the game would be back after commercials - "Don't go away. Sit! Stay! Good humans!).

When I am at home by myself, I find myself talking to the livestock (read: Bailey and Sophie) a lot. It's tough for an ADHD person to do - we need someone to bounce our thoughts off of!

Pigskins or Puppies?

Okay, y'all - I love football. I really do. But since my team hasn't made it to the Super Bowl in 20 years (Washington Redskins, I'm looking at you), I am watching the Puppy Bowl and the Kitty Half-Time Show with my dog, Bailey, and my cat, Sophie. I love the Piggy Pep Squad and Meep the Bird (who is tweeting, of course), along with the hamsters in the blimp. When the game started, they played the National Anthem; I stood Bailey on his hind legs and put his right paw over his heart as I sang along with the music.

The "game" is full of cuteness. I mean, puppies, y'all. I may watch part of the Super Bowl when I get back with the girls (they are with their dad this weekend), but I'm not really into it this year.

So, go, puppies, in Puppy Bowl VIII!

Let me introduce myself. I am Megan, age 43, divorced, with two daughters, age 12  and 16,  I have a cocker spaniel mix, Bailey, and a grey and white tabby cat, Sophie. I am a vegetarian, and I have a wonderful boyfriend. I didn't decide I wanted to be a teacher until I was 39. This blog will hopefully chronicle my activities as an aspiring teacher and a Christian (Episcopalian). I love my pre-K kids; they make me laugh every day! I sing and play the piano, and I am hopelessly addicted to bad puns and jokes!

Hello World!

I am an aspiring teacher with a brain I like to compare to a Fisher-Price popcorn popper (yes, I DO have ADHD, thank you very much). My thoughts pop and bounce off each other like the plastic bubbles inside the popper that little children like to run over the ground to see the bubbles go pop-pop-pop! One never knows where my train of thought will go, which makes it interesting for me and everyone else. I can start off on one subject, only to end up on something entirely different. Life is never dull for me because of my "popcorn brain."