Just One of Those Days

Today was a bad day. That is really all there is to say about it. Several things did not go as planned and it turned me into one very stressed out student teacher. As bad as today was, I still love what I do and I still love my kids. That makes it all worth it. At the end of the day, I really do love what I do. It might be frustrating at times and at times I may wonder what I have gotten myself into, but it's all worth it in the end.

I feel guilty for even complaining about my little problems. There are so many people in this world who have it so much worse than me. People fighting hunger, sickness, depression, and suffering from loss. Thank you God for making me humble.

Smile because you are alive and well. Praise Him!

Smarties...They Will Get You Every Time!

I took a few bags of candy to school Friday for my sweet little fourth graders. Two of the bags were completely gone, but there was half a bag of smarties left. Now this girl loves her smarties! I started to go dump the rest of the candy into the kids candy bucket, but instead I decided to take it home with me to snack on.

Here's were the problem comes in....I ate all of it in two days. Wow. I hate a problem.

What did I learn from this? Never, never ever take candy home with me because I will eat every bit of it.

I told Willie to take it away from me but he didn't. I decided to just eat all of it that way it would be gone and I wouldn't be tempted by it anymore. Anyone see a problem with this?

Happy Sunday Dears!!

Maybe all the candy I just devoured will get me excited and charged up so that I can push through finishing this dreaded 10-day. I will let you know how that works out. It is very doubtful that I will get anything accomplished. Yes, I do have Senioritis....it is a serious condition.

Thursday Thoughts...

I am stressed. There is really not anything else to say. Today I turned in one job application and then filled out another that I am turning in tomorrow. I am so nervous about the one I'm turning in tomorrow because I REALLY want that job. Like for real. It makes me so happy thinking about the possibility of having a job there next year. I will keep you posted on how the job hunt goes. No one ever told me how hard growing up was. Well, that is not entirely true. Plenty of people warned me, I just chose to not listen.

Speaking of growing up, today I went by the union and ordered my cap and gown. Insert sad awww here. I really do have mixed feelings about graduation. I go back and forth daily. One day I am excited and the next I am sad. I am excited about what lies ahead of me and sad about what I'm leaving behind. I am going to miss my friends dearly. I seriously consider my friends family. The hardest part will be leaving them.

Tomorrow is Friday and I can't wait for this weekend. This has been the longest week ever. All of my kids have just been crazy this week. I don't think they ever got back in the swing of things after being out of school for a week. It's amazing how much one week can change things. The last few days I have accumulated several letter and pictures from my students. They are just so sweet and I just have to keep them all. They make me smile! The problem is, I don't know what to do with them. I was thinking of making a scrapbook of them all, but I think that will take too much time. Any suggestions? I want something cute, but easy!

After a long day of school and filling out job applications, this student teacher is Tired with a capitol t. So what is the best way to relax after a long day? That's right....watching the Nanny with my Shira Lani!

Fireflies and Candlelight

There is nothing I love more at the end of the day than relaxing outside. Putting my feet up as I lie back in the big red chair that goes without being used most days. Listening to the crickets chirp as the cool breeze blows...bliss. I love Mississippi this time of year. In a word...beautiful!

Moving on, I recently made a few new purchase for my room....

I found the blue mason jar at a local antique store in my hometown. Antiquing has always been a hobby of my mom's but recently I have gotten into it. The dark bule jar is actually a coffee jar. However, I turned both of them into candle holders. Like I needed any more candles in my room. I already had five. Five plus the two new ones brings us to a grand total of seven. Wow. I say it's a little crazy, but Emily assures me that I'm just being resourceful and conserving electricity.

While we are on the subject of roommates can i just tell you that I love them! Lauren, Emily, and I all went for a walk last night around our apartment complex. It was so nice just to be able to relax and talk with friends. I really don't know what I would do without them. Tonight Alicia and I have share stories about our classrooms with each other. I am so blessed to live with three student teachers who can all relate to what I am going through.

Thirty three more days of student teaching left to go. It's a bit bitter sweet. I am excited to be moving on and graduating. I am so looking forward to next year when I can have a classroom of my own. However, I really love my kids. It is going to be very hard to leave them. I think they have taught me just as much, or maybe more than I have taught them. It is amazing the things kids can teach you.

Tonight has been a great night to relax with friends and let the stress of today drift away. Sometimes in life I think that we should all take time to go outside and watch the fireflies.

A good teacher is like a candle ~ it consumes itself to light the way for others.

-Author Unknown

A Day at the Zoo

Shira and I have been trying for a whole year to convince the boys to go to the zoo with us. Let me let you in on a little secret...the boys do not like doing things us girls consider to be fun. For example, going to the zoo. After a whole year of begging and pleading everyone finally agreed to go.

We left the apartment around 9:00 Saturday morning. Let's just say this minor detail did not make the boys any more excited about going to the zoo. We tried to tell them that they were going to have more fun than they thought they would, but they didn't believe us.

Once we got to the zoo the picture taking began...

All in all, it was a wonderful day at the zoo and a great time of memory making with my sweet friends.

Changes

The time has come....it will be a big change but I think I am ready for it.

It is time for a new blog design!

I am so excited the Willie is going to do a complete overhaul on my blog.

Where did my inspiration come form you ask....

Yes, you guessed it a box of tissues.

Last week while I was proctoring the practice MCT2 test I was walking around the room and all of my little kids kept needing a tissue for their poor runny noses.

I don't know exactly how many tissues I passed out that day but it was a lot. So lets just say that I looked at the box a lot.

I fell in love with the design and decided that it had to be my new blog design.

This guy was super excited when I told him. Not. It's a good thing he love me!

It's Wednesday...blah...

Well boys and girls, instead of the Monday blues, I have the Wednesday blahs. I went to bed last night and woke up this morning feeling like crap. Therefore, I was unable to go to see my sweet children today. This also means that I has used my last sick day. Great! Hopefully I won't get sick again between now and May. I'll let you know how that works out.

The weather outside today describes my mood perfectly. It has been coming a light drizzle all morning. The sky is a light shade of gray, every now and then the sun graces us with it's presence. This may sound kind of depressing, but I love days like this. It's the perfect day for curling up in bed with a good book. It's also the perfect weather for sitting outside on your patio in a lounge chair, which I am currently doing. My friends Morrish, Kohn, Glasser, and Wong & Wong are keeping me company. I need to be learning lots about them since I have a huge test tonight and am not nearly as prepared as I should be.

Two more days!!! Spring Break please hurry!

I hope you have a wonderful Wednesday!

Glee with Emily G!!

It's Tuesday night and it's 7:00. You know what that means! For those of you who don't, let me fill you in. It's time for Glee with Emily G!

We are all snuggled up on the couch laughing our heads off.

Happy Tuesday! I hope your night is filled with glee! I'm so punny!

Countdown and Life Lessons

Only four more days until Spring Break! This student teacher is super excited. The next four days can not go by fast enough.

This week we are giving nine weeks test. Gross. On tops of that, as if it wasn't bad enough, I am finishing up my ten day. Also only four more days left to go on it.

I don't really have anything planned to do durning my week off and that's the beauty of it all. I am so excited to have the opportunity to lounge around all day in my pajamas. WooHoo!

I plan on doing nothing for the first few days, then I think I will try to become productive around Wednesday. ha. I will let you know how all of that works out.

Four more days!!!

Moving on to a totally different topic...

Last Friday three of my students got into trouble for doing something that the had no business doing. I will not talk about what they were doing, let's just say they all knew better.

I had a heart to heart with one of the girls who knew that what she was doing was wrong. She allowed one of her "friends" to pressure her into doing it. I talked with her about how we have to make wise choices about the people we surround ourselves with. We were both in tears by the end of the conversation. This morning she came in a told me , "Ms. Holley, I talked with my mama about what you told me Friday and she said that she agreed with you. I think you are both pretty smart ladies".

It's times like these that reminds what is important. It is important that I teach my kids all of the "school" things they need to know, but I feel it is more important for me to teach my kids life lessons. They may not remember how the respiratory and circulatory systems work together, but the life lessons they learn will stick with them the rest of their lives. I have the best job in the world! I get the wake up everyday and go make a difference in the lives of 40 kids. One word: Awesome!

MIA

Oh my Goodness!!!

Where has this girl been...it has been WAY too long...17 day actually.

Let me try to catch you up on what I've been doing.

Warning: this could be the longest blog post ever!

Baseball season has started and it is in full swing. I absolutely love this time of year, but it sure does make my life a little more hectic. Sy is only a freshman, but he has seen some varsity playing time. Nothing in the world can make me happier than watching my baby brother doing what he loves. He has a passion for the game that is evident. I am so proud of him. Here's a few pictures of the season so far.

School has been crazy busy lately. I have been observed twice in the past two weeks by my university supervisor. He came last Friday the 25th, for my informal observation. I was super nervous about this because the teacher I am placed with suggested I teach math. Teaching math is defiantly not in my comfort zone. I have never been good at math and I was super nervous to be graded on how well I did teaching it. Long story short, my lesson went great and I received a perfect score. To top it all off, my supervisor said he really loved the way I taught math and he was very impressed with the way I controlled my classroom. That was music to my ears. This Friday the 4th, my supervisor came back to watch me teach my 10-day lesson. I was feeling more confidant this time because I wast teaching science, the human body system, I was defiantly feeling more in my element. It went great and he said that I was becoming a much more polished teacher than I was last semester. Still makes me smile to know that I am getting better at what I love.

I was sick almost the whole month of February, I could not figure out why I was not getting over it and getting better. After three visits to my doctor and I fingers stick later, I was told that I have seasonal allergies. Great! Not! I have been taking a nasal spray for the past week and I am feeling tons better! Which is wonderful news since I am outside so much this time of year.

This weekend we were supposed to have ball game every day, but thanks to the monsoon we have had the last two days, they were canceled. This opened up time for me to finished getting everything finished and put together on my ten day. Getting the binder organized and put together is the worst part of the whole thing. I am more than half way done with it and it's not due until April 14 so I am super happy.

Friday night I ran to CVS with mama and we made the mistake of going down the "As Seen on TV"row. I am such a sucker for infomercial and usually the product is not as great as it looks on television. However, this little baby is wonderful. It helps me keep all of my ten day paper organized. If you are a teacher, or a teacher to be, I defiantly suggest you getting a wonder file.

One final thought before I get back to work on my ten-day...I have to have one of these! Graduation present? I think so ;) Speaking of graduation, that is coming up in 69 day! AHHH!! I have to get those applications and resumes turned it. Stress!! I think I need this Ipad to reduced my stress. Haha.