The Trip I Didn't Expect to Take...

I like to plan my trips as much as possible. However, this coming weekend I will be taking a trip that I did not plan on taking. It came up at the last minute when my mom called me and asked me to come get her and take her to my dad's. So after a rush to adjust my schedule, talk to my boss, and figure out the money situation, I think I finally have it planned. It's going to require 18 hrs on the road and I'll be staying at 4 different place. To top it all, my car doesn't have A/C. Hopefully it'll be cool next week--otherwise it's going to be a very long and hot trip. Here's how the trip breaks down so far:

Friday--Get off of work at 5:30 and be on the road by 6:00 to Petoskey to stay overnight with my boyfriend. (2 hrs)

Saturday--Get up at a decent time and get on the road by 10:00 to drive to my mom's house in Bloomingdale. (4 hours)

Sunday-Tuesday--Stay at my mom's and help her with canning and freezing the fruits and vegetables from her garden. In addition, I'll probably have to mow her lawn with the push lawnmower-(not gas or electrical powered, one of the old style ones where you're force it was makes it go). She's got a couple of acres so it's basically a full day of mowing the lawn. I think it's her getting me back for all those years of hell I put her through.

Wednesday--Get up really freakin' early and drive my mom to my dad's house in Marquette to get her car. (8-9 hours)

Thursday--Take my car into the shop in Marquette as well as go to the dentist to get my teeth cleaned-(**no cavity vibes**)

Friday--Stay in Marquette at my dad's

Saturday-Head to Sault Saint Marie to my apartment with my mom. Both of us stay overnight here. (3 hours)

Sunday--Mom leaves my place and head's back down to her house.

Yeah, it's gonna be a long week next week. And this week is no better as it's the final week of the semester. Then on the 7th of August I start my job for the rest of the summer. I'll be working a minimum of 10 hours. a day with a maximum of 12.5 hours a day. In addition, I have 2 overnights in August as well-(I stay overnight with the child I am going to be watching for August because her mom will be out of town.) Luckily, I have August 18th-26th off, so maybe I'll get to relax then. But, Brian is moving up here sometime this month...I don't remember when. Then school starts again on September 6th. Thank heavens that I am a senior and almost done!

So yeah, expect some stressed out, tired, caffiene induced posts for the month of August!

Today was....

Well, not too bad. Definitely better than I expected. I was expecting another day of swearing, fighting, hitting, whining, crying, and tantrums. But it wasn't at all like that. Here's a breakdown of the good, and the bad, from today:

Bad:

The kids mom called me at midnight to ask me if I could motive her kids to clean their room while I watched them today.

She had just finished drinking 12 beers when she called.

The baby completely skipped his morning nap, he WOULD NOT SLEEP.

The baby just cut 3 bottom teeth 2 days ago.

The baby hates any and all teething rings.

Their room hadn't been cleaned in 6 weeks.

It took the 3 of us 2 hrs. to clean their room.

Good:

Me and the kids made a game out of cleaning their room so they thought it was fun.

The kids didn't swear at each other at all today.

The kids were not as wild as they were last time.

The 4 year old didn't whine nearly as much. Only 5 tantrums today!!!

They asked me before they did stuff.

Their room is now clean AND organized!

We had fun today because I wasn't refereeing their fights all today.

I didn't hear the words "I'm Bored" from either of them all day!

So that's the jist of my day. I'm really really tired now, and I really really don't want to go to class tomorrow. I've got a long week ahead of me, but that's another post for another time. Let's just say all of my assignments are due for this class, I have a 3 hr. training session, and I'm going to have to drive 18 hrs. around the state of Michigan this weekend. Yeah, definitely another post :)

Won't Be Seeing Much of Me This Weekend...

Because I have a TON of homework to do for this class. Next week is the last week of class and everything is due. My current "to do" list consists of:

1. Finish reading "Little House in the Big Woods" and write a paper on it answering the 10 historical questions given out in class.

2. Put together a Caldecott book presentation complete with visual aids and class activity.

3. Put together a poetry presentation with 6 poems written by yours truly.

4. Finish putting together my portfolio.

5. Go to the library and observe a story hour for elementary school age children. Then write a 2 page paper on my observations.

6. Finish the literature circle activities for "The Watson's Go to Birmingham"

7. Finish the take home final exam.

Then next week I have to turn in everything and give 4 presentations in class. In addition, I have 2 job offers on the table right now and am trying to figure out which one I am going to take. I need to figure it out soon because I only have a week before the semester is over.

I would like to speak to the person who said that college is the best time of your life. I have more stress in my life now than I have ever had before.

I hope you all have a fun weekend, I will be locked in my room doing homework.

Quick, Grab a Pen!!!!

And write this day down in preschool teacher history!!!!!

At 1:51pm, 21 minutes after nap time started, 4 teachers got to take a 45 minute break because EVERY CHILD WAS SLEEPING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

In the 2+ years that I have been working there, we have NEVER, I repeat, NEVER had every child sleep at nap time. There was always at least one child who did not sleep.

Sadly enough, during our 45 minute break we all just looked at each other because we didn't know what to do. Nobody needed a nose wiped, a shoe tied, a fight broken up, or to be entertained.

I'm amazed that in 2 short years THIS would be what excites me. But alas, I feel that I have become a true preschool teacher because it really is the little things that matter :)

Hope you all had a great day like I did!!!!!

I'm Bored!!!

The words every babysitter, teacher, and parent hates to hear from their child/children. I babysat for 3 kids today and shortly after they woke up & ate breakfast, they started complaining about being bored. So to get rid of the boredom we did a few things:

1. Played on their scooters

2. Went for a 30 minute walk

3. Ate lunch

4. Colored with chalk

5. Played with bubbles twice

6. Played with play-doh

7. Made books

8. Colored

And what do you think they said as soon as I took 15 minutes out of the day to make their lunch and feed the baby??? Yup, you got it. "I'M BORED!!!"

Read Read Read!!!

I am a huge advocate of reading to infants and children many times a day, every day. Reading is the foundation for comprehension, fluency, a rich vocabulary, and success in school. Almost everything in school requires reading. If a child struggles with reading, he or she will struggle with school. I am reading a book right now that I recommend for new parents and teachers. It's called 'The Read-Aloud Handbook' by Jim Trelease. Although there are some parts that are a bit on the boring side, it is a good book that should be read by every parent and teacher out there. The book is formatted in a question and answer way. The most common questions about reading aloud to children and infants are posed and Mr. Trelease answers the questions effectively an honestly. In addition, at the end of the book there is a whole section of books that he recommends to read aloud to infants and children. Each book he recommends has a short summary of the book and the estimated grade level of the book.

One particular question and answer in this book really hit home because I have said it over and over again to many parents. The question is about when to start reading aloud to a child. A child should be read to from day one. In the beginning, it doesn't matter what you read because a newborn does not comprehend the information yet. It is more about conditioning at this stage and should be done so that when the child gets a little older, he or she will know how to treat books and will know what they are for. In addition, reading will become a positive experience for the child and he or she will have a healthy attitude about books and reading.

So I will step down from my soap box now, but remember...READ READ READ!~!~!

Still Alive and Kicking....

A rundown of my life for the past month....

I got a B- in my economics class. Dropped my literature and culture class to take a children's literature class. The class has sucked up most of my time. Cramming 14 weeks worth of class into 6 weeks gets a little crazy. But I'm getting stuff done and just want the class to end.

My hours got cut at work. I'm now only working in the afternoon's so I lost 10 hrs. a week. Work is going pretty well. The kids have more than enough energy every day. The elementary school aged kids all have this attitude that they are superior to everybody at the center...including the teachers. It's been an uphill battle but it's only 3 more weeks and then we're closed till September. I've been babysitting a lot lately, it's nice to have the extra cash but I feel like I never get away from kids sometimes. If I wanted kids 24/7 I would have my own!

Things are moving right along with my boyfriend and his school plans. He'll know his class schedule later this month, so after that he plans on looking for a job and we'll coordinate moving his stuff up here.

The biggest change this month is that I've been diagnosed with a social anxiety disorder as well as a panic disorder. They put me on Paxil because I was barely able to leave the house without having a panic attack. It's going well so far, I go back to the Dr. later this month for a recheck.

I guess that's about it for now. Have a great 4th of July!