Man, oh man, Fall. You’re a doozy this year. I bit off a lot–a new part-time teaching job, taking H to 3 therapies a week, plus a HUGE feature that I worked on for 6 months. I just submitted it on Friday, so we’ll see how that goes down. It’s been so busy that I never posted about my other 2 magazine articles published this fall.
Tag: Teaching
A few weeks ago I wrote this post for GeekMom. I’m reposting it here because today I have orientation for my new teaching job. The wardrobe is on my mind a lot.
It’s that time of year again, when back-to-school commercials take over the airwaves and summer feels like it’s slipping away. But all of the school talk is focused on getting the kids ready for a new year. What about the teachers? We like new things in our closets, too.
Read more on 14 Quirky Pieces for Teachers’ Back-to-School Wardrobes…
Lots of things are happening around here. To start, these adorable mug rugs (featuring Laurie Wisbrun’s Perfectly Perched) are now available in my Etsy shop.
In writing news, I’m also a new contributor with Felicity Huffman’s mommy site What The Flicka?! My first piece went up a few days ago, it’s very exciting stuff.
And then my last announcement is kind of a big one.
2013 did not go as planned. At the beginning of the year I fully expected to still be a teacher at the end of it. That’s not how the year worked out, and I’ve spent the last six months trying to figure out this new identity. Stay at home mom? Work at home mom? Temporarily at home mom?
The truth is that I have no idea what 2014 will look like, at least not professionally. I’m pretty sure my home life will still be as warm and fulfilling, and my friends and family will still be amazing. I hope it will be full of creativity and new knowledge. I hope I try lots of things and don’t completely fail at them all.
I loved today. Such a great summer day, and a great unwind after some stressful work times. Tuesday is my last day of work, so I’ve been closing up the library, saying my goodbyes, packing up and hauling home all of my personal work stuff. That has occupied a lot of my thoughts the past week, so today was a really nice respite. At this point I am mentally done and gone, I just need the days to physically end.
Saturday was Dr. Seuss’s birthday, and last Friday was Read Across America at school. I made paper bag Cat in the Hat hats with all the K, 1, and 2 classes during the week. I worked with the PTA president to put together some fun prizes for a Dr. Seuss door decorating contest. I sent out Dr. Seuss trivia all week. It was a great week for books, and it was also the first time in my current district that I’ve tried working on school-wide programming for Read Across America. Last year I was on maternity leave by now, and the year before that it seemed like teachers really did their own thing. So I haven’t been in the spirit since my last big program 3 years ago. It was great.
I love this time of year at school. Every year during the short Thanksgiving week I have the 3rd and 4th graders help me change The Library Tree from fall to winter. It’s a small thing, but I love those rituals.
Read more on It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the (School) Year…
I have not even had a chance to finish my Halloween decorating at work, but I did get this bulletin board done last Friday. I’m in love with it. I love doing bulletin boards, but the past couple of years I hadn’t really had time to organize myself beyond my beloved library tree. This year is different. I love my Blast Off With Books board (a program that’s turning into a big hit, by the way). I still love my library tree. And now this back of the room board I’ll change up frequently.
I went back to work today, and I did much better than I thought I would. Adam stayed home with H, and I got lots of photos and updates about her during the day. But I also just felt surprisingly good to be working again. Using that entire catalog of brain functions and social skills again just made me feel like a better mom when I got home. Yes, it sucked not to be able to give her hugs at any moment. And yes, I may get hysterical tomorrow when I drop her off at the sitter’s and see how she reacts to being left with someone she doesn’t know very well yet. But today I was able to leave home at home to get stuff done for the kids’ arrival tomorrow, and then I was able to leave work at work, zero in on her when I got home, and then do whatever prep I had left for tomorrow after she went to bed. I was one of the first teachers to leave the building today, and I did not feel guilty about that.
I don’t have my Halloween decorations up yet, but I do have all of my October displays out.
I love my displays so much more now that I’m doing the signs in color. And work has been so great this month, I’m tackling a ton of projects that are so satisfying. My brain is working pretty well during the 2nd trimester, so I’m taking advantage before it turns to mush again in a couple of months. I’ve totally revamped the Battle of the Books program at school, I’ve got the schedule finished for the library moms, I put in another great book order, I finally tackled the filing system my predecessor left behind, and all my lesson plans are written through the first week of November.