Just a lil' update...

Came home last night and promptly fell asleep for 14 hours!!
Graded assessments for several hours today.
Must spend time (probably several more hours) planning tomorrow.
Supposed to get interviewed on Tuesday to see if I keep the job or not.
Really digging most of my kids.
Really freaking out about the responsibilty of keeping them.

Yay, for day one!

Well, we survived the first day of school. It was nice getting to drive to school with Michael, although I didn't see him all day since primary grades and intermediate grades are segregated completely. We were so tired when we got home that we subsequently crashed for a three hour nap! That should mess with our sleeping schedule nicely!
Overall, today went well. It was choked full of beating rules and regulations into their little heads. We literally practiced walking to and from recess multiple times. They loved that! Did I mention it was hot? I told them, "If you don't like doing this, you could always just do it perfect and go right into our nice air-conditioned classroom?" Guess what? The next time was perfect!
In honor of my deep hatred for yard duty, I of course had it today. This school does yard duty differently than any other school I have been to. Usually, you just do one recess (i.e. all morning or all afternoon, etc.) all week long. At this school, each week you do all the recesses for one day. My day as it turns out is Tuesday. Uggh, it was brutal! First day of school, uncomfortable shoes, hot, needing/wanting a break, and forgot my sunglasses in the classroom during afternoon recess. Oh, and I was wearing a black top while monitoring the black top!
Well, I better at least go try and get some more sleep. Today they were subdued, but I expect their full personalities to start coming out soon enough...may as well be well rested for it.

One more day till school starts!!!

~Freaking out a little~

Maybe, maybe not...

I know I am not supposed to get my hopes up about this job or anything, but...after putting in a day of stapling up bulletin boards and arranging desks in neat little rows and sharpening a ton of pencils, I am kinda starting to get my hopes up. Maybe I will change my mind after I actually meet the kiddos. Haha!
As a side note, the classroom assignments were posted outside the school office today. My class' list states the teacher's name as "Vacant". I found this pretty funny for two reasons.

1. "Vacant" is my new favorite insult (i.e. "Oh, man, you are soo Vacant!", see it sounds much better than "dumb" or "stupid").
2. I wonder how many kids will call me Ms. Vacant on the first day of school.

Tick, tock...

It is time to play the waiting game. I applied and applied to jobs but didn't get one offer. So when I was asked to sub the first week of school at the same school Michael has a job at, I took the opportunity. It is a third grade class that does not have a teacher assigned to it yet. The principal told me he won't have time to interview me until after the first week of school, but that I am at least in the running to take/get the job. I know I should be happy about this but I just feel more in limbo than ever. Honestly, all it takes is someone who has a day more experience than me (which is by no means rare) or someone who is bilingual to apply and I am OUT. I was told not to "go crazy" setting up and decorating the room. I don't even know how to approach this with the kids either. If I tell them I am only temporary they are going to treat me like I am temporary. If I don't say anything, and don't get the job, the rug is going to feel pulled out from them when I say "see ya" in a week. Option three is that I float through the week half assed and don't make the strong start that is so necessary to a successful school year. Can you say, "conflicted" boys and girls? Nice job, I knew you could do it! Let's have a cookie!

No more teachers, no more books....

no more students' dirty looks!
Oh my god!
Oh my god!
Oh my god!
I can't believe I survived the last 3 months and 9 days!
Those kids made me sick over and over and over again.
I seriously fumbled through everyday and took a huge hit to my teacher ego everytime I saw any test scores.
Some days were so bad I nearly quit (a few times) and some days were so bad I considered (and am still considering) a new profession.
I am still glad I got the experience for my resume but good lord I hope the next class I take is a little...no, A LOT, better. Easier, nicer, and more polite would be great too.
For the record: I still hate yard duty and have learned that doing report cards are a nightmare.

"mines"

So, I spend all day trying not to get my kids to say that something is "mines".
Here is a very typical example that may occur daily in room 3:

Ryan snatches Jackie's pencil out of her hand.
Jackie wails, "Heeeyyy, give that back! It's mines! Ms. Carbajal!!!!"

Scenario number two:

Caprisha swipes Elio's green crayon.
Elio whines, "Heeeyyy, that's not yours! It's mines! Ms. Carbajal!!!!"

Get it? Okay, so I'm in Dollar Tree today after school buying some end of the year bribes and what do I hear? Some grown lady telling someone else (who is three aisles away mind you), "Oh, I don't care, it's not mines." Augghhhh! To make matters worse, she is toting around three kids I will no doubt have to teach to NOT say "mines" in a few years.