I have been away from my blog for quite a while. Many things have been going on in my world, and blogging just wasn't one of the things that I was able to accomplish on a regular basis.
I had a terrific year teaching kindergarten. I have always enjoyed teaching the younger students, whether it was in music, drama, or gifted education, but this year I got to focus just on the kindergarten curriculum itself. The year started out crazy, with my car running over my leg on the second day of teaching kindergarten! I was so excited to be teaching kindergarten that I got to school at 7 am the first two days, (which is something unheard of for me!). I parked in a funny position, so I got out to re-park. After re-parking, I got out to check the space. My car started rolling backwards, and I thought that I could 'catch' it like they do in the movies. The car knocked me down and ran over my leg! OUCH! I hit my head hard on the pavement and was knocked out. Whew! That crazy car incident put me out of work for a couple of weeks. I was supposed to stay out longer, but I was anxious to get to work. Needless to say, I was in a LOT of pain for quite a while, with a swollen leg and 'stuff' like that. I muddled on through it, though.
The children in my class were wonderful, all twenty-three of them. I had a mixture of personalities that made for some very interesting days. Three of my students suffered from tragedies this year. The first was a young boy whose 23 year old mother passed away from that horrid disease called cancer. That little boy is so sweet, but he had to deal with many things this year in his life. During the winter, there were several very cold days and nights. On one such night, there was a house fire in which two little boys lost their lives. One of them was a student in my room, and the other was his little brother. That incident had me very upset for the rest of the year. It was a very difficult time for his family and for our school. Not long after that fire, another student's home caught fire. This time, however, there were no fatalities. The school helped both families with monetary donations to help them get back on their feet. My first year back in the classroom was definitely one filled with many trials, but also many joys. I say my first year back in the classroom, because I have been a 'resource' teacher for 18 years teaching gifted education. I love teaching gifted students, but I was ready to have my own classroom again. I truly believe that God put me in my particular room with my particular students for a reason, and I devoted my days to making sure that each and every one of those little ones were taken care of and loved each day.
The kindergarten curriculum is much different than it used to be, in that they are required to learn many things that used to be taught in first grade. Also, the new Common Core curriculum is difficult for them. The testing situation is rather ridiculous, too. We must test the children each week on letter sounds, words, and math. The testing process is something that I believe is just too-too much for these young children. Actually, there is way too much testing going on in all grade levels these days. There is a new program developed by the government called Race to the Top that requires educators to test a lot, in order for the 'boards of educations' to receive lots of money. Before this program, there was something called No Child Left Behind, which also required lots of testing as a requirement for dollars that were given to school systems. So, the real reason all of the testing is done in any school system is for the dollars - $$$$, NOT for the children. That is my rant, a short one compared to my normal rant, but there it is.
On the home front, I have been enjoying my darling little granddaughter who turned 2 this year. She is amazing. She is very smart, knows her numbers and letters, and talks all the time. She even uses pronouns correctly, which is an amazing feat in itself!! We welcomed little girl a week ago, and she is truly wonderful! I am so blessed to have two adorable little granddaughters to brighten my days!
My 92 year old Daddy passed away three weeks ago. He had been fighting a battle with congestive heart failure. He was a brave old soldier and mountain man, strong as he could be, but he finally lost the battle and went to be with my sweet Mamma in heaven. I love and miss him very much. Daddy had been living with me for two years, so it is difficult to roam around the house without him being in the living room watching Fox news or old Westerns on TV. I actually got to where I kind of enjoyed some of those news shows, believe it or not! I still watch the Westerns, because I love old westerns! Movies and television shows like those are not made anymore, unfortunately.
I am not posting any pictures today. I am just writing. Take care, and best wishes to whoever might find this little blog of mine.
I had a terrific year teaching kindergarten. I have always enjoyed teaching the younger students, whether it was in music, drama, or gifted education, but this year I got to focus just on the kindergarten curriculum itself. The year started out crazy, with my car running over my leg on the second day of teaching kindergarten! I was so excited to be teaching kindergarten that I got to school at 7 am the first two days, (which is something unheard of for me!). I parked in a funny position, so I got out to re-park. After re-parking, I got out to check the space. My car started rolling backwards, and I thought that I could 'catch' it like they do in the movies. The car knocked me down and ran over my leg! OUCH! I hit my head hard on the pavement and was knocked out. Whew! That crazy car incident put me out of work for a couple of weeks. I was supposed to stay out longer, but I was anxious to get to work. Needless to say, I was in a LOT of pain for quite a while, with a swollen leg and 'stuff' like that. I muddled on through it, though.
The children in my class were wonderful, all twenty-three of them. I had a mixture of personalities that made for some very interesting days. Three of my students suffered from tragedies this year. The first was a young boy whose 23 year old mother passed away from that horrid disease called cancer. That little boy is so sweet, but he had to deal with many things this year in his life. During the winter, there were several very cold days and nights. On one such night, there was a house fire in which two little boys lost their lives. One of them was a student in my room, and the other was his little brother. That incident had me very upset for the rest of the year. It was a very difficult time for his family and for our school. Not long after that fire, another student's home caught fire. This time, however, there were no fatalities. The school helped both families with monetary donations to help them get back on their feet. My first year back in the classroom was definitely one filled with many trials, but also many joys. I say my first year back in the classroom, because I have been a 'resource' teacher for 18 years teaching gifted education. I love teaching gifted students, but I was ready to have my own classroom again. I truly believe that God put me in my particular room with my particular students for a reason, and I devoted my days to making sure that each and every one of those little ones were taken care of and loved each day.
The kindergarten curriculum is much different than it used to be, in that they are required to learn many things that used to be taught in first grade. Also, the new Common Core curriculum is difficult for them. The testing situation is rather ridiculous, too. We must test the children each week on letter sounds, words, and math. The testing process is something that I believe is just too-too much for these young children. Actually, there is way too much testing going on in all grade levels these days. There is a new program developed by the government called Race to the Top that requires educators to test a lot, in order for the 'boards of educations' to receive lots of money. Before this program, there was something called No Child Left Behind, which also required lots of testing as a requirement for dollars that were given to school systems. So, the real reason all of the testing is done in any school system is for the dollars - $$$$, NOT for the children. That is my rant, a short one compared to my normal rant, but there it is.
On the home front, I have been enjoying my darling little granddaughter who turned 2 this year. She is amazing. She is very smart, knows her numbers and letters, and talks all the time. She even uses pronouns correctly, which is an amazing feat in itself!! We welcomed little girl a week ago, and she is truly wonderful! I am so blessed to have two adorable little granddaughters to brighten my days!
My 92 year old Daddy passed away three weeks ago. He had been fighting a battle with congestive heart failure. He was a brave old soldier and mountain man, strong as he could be, but he finally lost the battle and went to be with my sweet Mamma in heaven. I love and miss him very much. Daddy had been living with me for two years, so it is difficult to roam around the house without him being in the living room watching Fox news or old Westerns on TV. I actually got to where I kind of enjoyed some of those news shows, believe it or not! I still watch the Westerns, because I love old westerns! Movies and television shows like those are not made anymore, unfortunately.
I am not posting any pictures today. I am just writing. Take care, and best wishes to whoever might find this little blog of mine.
Glad you are back!!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Arlene!
Delete