Monday Was So Manic I Had to Wait 'Til Tuesday to Post!

Yesterday was one of those Mondays that makes a teacher glad that there only a few more Mondays to endure before summer break officially begins. Like the title says, I was on the go the entire day, and my bed felt so wonderful when I finally got in it!

FIRST OF ALL...
I am thankful that God has given me a job. It's not a perfect job, because, honestly, I don't think such a thing exists, but it is the right job for me. There are certainly challenging moments and days, and sometimes I go home at the end of the day wondering if I really made a difference at all. Then, most of the time in the next day or so, one of my students will say or do something that makes me remember why I became a teacher in the first place. I am so glad I answered the call to teach.

SECOND OF ALL...
Whoever decided that kids (especially young ones) should have to take standardized tests is crazy! Some of the questions just make me cringe. It's not that I haven't taught the content, because I have, and I think I've done a darn good job at it, too. It's that some hair-brains who have obviously never even met a child, much less raised or taught one, made the test questions up, and these poor kids are left scratching their heads (or banging their pencils, or braiding their hair, or making faces at each other across the table, or asking silly questions, or asking to go to the restroom...). You get the picture, but I can't help but think I'd probably be doing the same thing if I had to sit through this!

And I have to play the bad guy, which I absolutely hate. I have to remind a classroom of ansy 6 and 7-year-olds that they need to do their best because their second grade teachers will see their scores, yet they can't talk for about two hours. YEAH RIGHT!!! And, yes, I really do have to read each question and answer choice aloud twice, and I really DO have to keep saying, "Choose the answer you think is best.", even though I said it on the first five questions, because that's all part of the test-taking language as well. And, no, you can't doodle in your test booklet.

We didn't take the "official" CRCT in first grade this year like we usually do, so we are having to take it this week, starting on a Monday morning after a Friday fieldtrip, no less. This made for a very long and tiring school day! OKAY- VENT OVER! I promise!

THIRD OF ALL...
I did get a new set of 6 virtual computers in my classroom. This will allow me to offer so many new learning opportunities next year! I've been waiting for them since December, and they finally got installed last week. Now, to figure out how to get them working properly!

FOURTH OF ALL...
Tacos for supper- yummy, easy, and quick, which was great, because while Brent got ready for work, I headed to Clarkesville for a meeting at church. Thank goodness Nana and Grandad were willing to keep Chandler. (You know I had to bribe them... YEAH RIGHT!). We even got a surprise- Aunt Alison is already here, a little earlier than we expected! My meeting didn't last too long, and we even got to visit a little longer than I thought we might. By 8:00, it was time to head home. My sweet little munchkin was out like a light in less than five minutes, and thankfully he stayed asleep as I lifted him out of his carseat and carried him to his crib.

FIFTH OF ALL...
An old friend of mine is in desperate need of prayers. Please, as you think of it, pray for this friend.