School's Out For Summer!
School's been out for a week now, and today is the first day I've been able to really relax. For some asinine reason, I thought it would be a good idea to schedule 3 dental and one doctor's appointment during my first week off of school. What was I thinking? Well, one cavity, 2 extractions and one vaccination later, I'm finally able to have a bit of time to myself. And it is desperately needed.
The last week of kindergarten was frantic, to say the least. There was no wind-down. Instead, we had an event every. single. day. The kids seemed to enjoy it, but the parents were just as exhausted as I was! My partner and I took our 50 kindergartners to the Monterey Bay Aquarium for a field trip to wrap up our "By the Sea" unit of study. It was a LONG day, but a fun one. Most of the kids' parents went along, but a few didn't. I spent the day with my little Spanish-speaking student, Rosa. This child spoke no English at the beginning of the year, but during the field trip, she prattled on endlessly about what she liked and what she wanted to see more of. I was so proud of her! She also rolled her eyes at me when I wanted to visit the Sea Dragons again (see the picture of the weedy sea dragon below- these things were COOL). It's amazing how much this child has grown in one year. That, more than anything else, made me feel that I made a difference in kindergarten. It was hard to say goodbye to all the kidlets, but hopefully I'll see them around in years to come as I substitute teach (or, maybe even return to my school full-time!).
Which brings me to my job situation. Unfortunately, for now, things look bleak. I've been told by both the school district and the union that if we're lucky, they may be able to bring back up to number 25 on the re-hire list. I am number 55. *sigh* It's frustrating that how well you teach and work with students and colleagues is completely irrelevant in the re-hire process. It is all about your number on the list. It is what it is, I guess, but I'm still annoyed by the situation. In the meantime, I've sent my resume to a few places and am hoping to hear back from them in the coming weeks. Fingers crossed, I will get a job that still allows me to be home with the kids during school breaks.
On the home-front, things are going better now that school is out. May and much of June were not fun, but I don't know if it's fair to blame that on the transition of school ending, or if other factors were at play. I do know that I am partly at fault for the break-down in communication with Vika and Eamon. I have become too comfortable using the word "no." Sometimes I don't even really need to deny the kids whatever it is they're asking for, but because I am tired/frustrated/angry, I do. Actually, it was another blogger, Susan, who made me aware of this (although she doesn't know it). Oh her Facebook, she posted a picture of a sign that said "YES" with stars and happy faces all around it. Apparently, in her house they had declared a "Day of Yes" to improve communication and cooperation. One commenter said that when they have done similar experiments in their house, people seem to interact much more positively. So I decided to become a "Yes Man." When Vika asked if she could watch TV, I replied, "Sure you can! Come down as soon as your done cleaning your room." Eamon asked if he could eat one of his popsicles for lunch and I replied, "Yes, you can eat one after you're done with your sandwich." It's all about giving control to the kids in a controlled way (if that makes sense). The experiment yesterday seemed to produce far fewer arguments, so I'm going to keep trying it to see if I can train myself to take the same positive approach at home that I use with my students at school. I may let my kids in on the experiment too, to have them become "Yes Men." We'll see. I'm afraid that could backfire, but maybe I'll be pleasantly surprised.
Now I'm off to watch England play Germany in the World Cup (now that the USA is out I'm not sure who too root for. Why couldn't they put something together ion the FIRST half of the game???).
The last week of kindergarten was frantic, to say the least. There was no wind-down. Instead, we had an event every. single. day. The kids seemed to enjoy it, but the parents were just as exhausted as I was! My partner and I took our 50 kindergartners to the Monterey Bay Aquarium for a field trip to wrap up our "By the Sea" unit of study. It was a LONG day, but a fun one. Most of the kids' parents went along, but a few didn't. I spent the day with my little Spanish-speaking student, Rosa. This child spoke no English at the beginning of the year, but during the field trip, she prattled on endlessly about what she liked and what she wanted to see more of. I was so proud of her! She also rolled her eyes at me when I wanted to visit the Sea Dragons again (see the picture of the weedy sea dragon below- these things were COOL). It's amazing how much this child has grown in one year. That, more than anything else, made me feel that I made a difference in kindergarten. It was hard to say goodbye to all the kidlets, but hopefully I'll see them around in years to come as I substitute teach (or, maybe even return to my school full-time!).
Photo credit: Digidiver.net
On the home-front, things are going better now that school is out. May and much of June were not fun, but I don't know if it's fair to blame that on the transition of school ending, or if other factors were at play. I do know that I am partly at fault for the break-down in communication with Vika and Eamon. I have become too comfortable using the word "no." Sometimes I don't even really need to deny the kids whatever it is they're asking for, but because I am tired/frustrated/angry, I do. Actually, it was another blogger, Susan, who made me aware of this (although she doesn't know it). Oh her Facebook, she posted a picture of a sign that said "YES" with stars and happy faces all around it. Apparently, in her house they had declared a "Day of Yes" to improve communication and cooperation. One commenter said that when they have done similar experiments in their house, people seem to interact much more positively. So I decided to become a "Yes Man." When Vika asked if she could watch TV, I replied, "Sure you can! Come down as soon as your done cleaning your room." Eamon asked if he could eat one of his popsicles for lunch and I replied, "Yes, you can eat one after you're done with your sandwich." It's all about giving control to the kids in a controlled way (if that makes sense). The experiment yesterday seemed to produce far fewer arguments, so I'm going to keep trying it to see if I can train myself to take the same positive approach at home that I use with my students at school. I may let my kids in on the experiment too, to have them become "Yes Men." We'll see. I'm afraid that could backfire, but maybe I'll be pleasantly surprised.
Now I'm off to watch England play Germany in the World Cup (now that the USA is out I'm not sure who too root for. Why couldn't they put something together ion the FIRST half of the game???).
Enjoy your down time! I've always been jealous of the teachers' schedule. However, not jealous of your current job(less) situation. Fingers crossed for you that every thing works out satisfactorily.
I love the "Yes" idea. I could probably stand to try that too.
Sorry about work - that totally sucks. I hope it works out for you.
The yes idea is a great one - we try to do that at home as much as possible, and it really does work. Except when he gets in his "NO, NOW!" moods.
I love the "Yes" idea! And the photo - you should enter that one into some contest. It's awesome.