i'm a real teacher!

::DEEP BREATH:: okay. i made it through my first week. barely, but i'm alive.

my bedtime this week was 8pm...mostly because i couldn't keep my eyes open longer than that..&& a little because i was trying to retrain my body how to survive with little sleep...

it was a great week...my class is great...and my kindergarten team is AMAZING!

what a week, i heard everything from smacking lips when their mad to "but miss o'riley i'm going to miss you tonight" (from one of the kids while he was walking to his bus)....

here are some things i've learned this week:

1. i must learn more spanish.

2. 25 5-year old's need a TON of procedures (i knooooow that's what everyone told me..but i'm talking FOR REAL, haha)

3. procrastination SUCKS (i need to plan better this weekend)

4. 5 year olds CANNOT be quiet ALL the time. (cmon miss oriley). i need to learn to accept a little talking here and there during work times. plus...talking during work time sometimes helps the learning process along (sometimes its just talking ...but sometimes its learning)

overall, it was really a great week. it was a lot of 'survival'..i feel sad because i feel like i didnt teach as much as i wanted to but i have to keep reminding myself that i WAS teaching...it was just in the form of procedures (which will hopefully free up more of the school year for teaching)

3 highlights.

1. miss oriley lost her voice. it's not even that i've been YELLING a lot (i have been raising my voice a lot because 25 5 year old's are LOUD) buuut mostly because i've just been talking a LOT.

i told the kids yesterday "please quiet down miss orileys voice hurts and she can't talk loud"...20 minutes later one of my students - "but miss oriley i dont want you to lose your voice i like it!"

too cute!

2. getting puked on yesterday....one of my students told me his belly didn't feel good..and so when we were in the line for the bathroom he just started puking....ALL OVER. and some got on my toes...haha. and he puked all the way up the stairs..all the way through the lobby...(thankfully rachel and sheretta's class were at the bathrooms and so they watched my class while i took him upstairs to the nurse)

3. book buddies. we are pairing up with a 3rd grade class on friday afternoons to have them read to my kiddos. (and hopefully later we read to them)....it was great...the kids really seemed to enjoy it and for the most part they really behaved and listened to the stories! <3333

well, it was a pretty fantastic week overall.

i love kindergarten...i dont think i'll ever leave :)

xoxo miss o'riley.

OH! and i'll get pictures soon! i promise!

first day-eve.

well, it's the night before the first day of school....

most kids are probably sitting at home talking with their parents about what supplies they need, how mean their teacher is, how many uniform shirts they have... but here i am...COMPLETELY exhausted.

i must say...i have been going a mile a minute since i first found i had a kindergarten position..which had to be sometime in early june (i actually forget). i wouldn't have it any other way (i'm an over planner), but i am just tired. however, i feel prepared...and that feels good. of course there are a few little things i wish i could get done...but nothing major & i think i'll survive.

i have spent my entire summer preparing for this day. i had a week of kindergarten camp to give my kiddos a boost (and so i could meet them!). i spent all day today at the copy machine. i have spent more time on google translate than any human being should...all in all... im ready.

i dont even feel nervous. i am sure about 7:15am tomorrow i will feel completely different than i do now...but right now. i feel calm (and ready for bed). i even tried on my outfit for tomorrow 6 times with 3 different shoes :)

i am super excited. and super tired.

and that's all.

i'm sure i'll have a TON more to update tomorrow....

xoxo. kathi.

well, i have a job!

I guess I need to change my tagline ...since I have a job.

I got a job at the school I worked at last year (Imagine West) teaching Kindergarten. Whew...what a handful. It's nice to get the kids fresh, but it's also a BIG CHALLENGE.

I will have 27 kiddos starting August 8th!! (less than 2 weeks away!!) oh, and NO AIDE! HELP MEEEEEEEEE.

This week July 25-29 we are having Kindergarten Camp...right at the start of summer we had the incoming Kindergarten kiddos come in and we gave them assessments to see where they were...(kinda to see who has been to preschool and who hasn't)...then, we took the lowest kids and invited them to come to camp to get a boost before Kindergarten actually starts.

I had 9 kids off of my roster invited to come to camp (so far only 6 have showed). Yesterday I learned quickly HOW LOW they really are. Most are trying to cut vertically or can't even recognize their name when it's written down! WHEWWW we have some work to do.

I know it will be rewarding to see how much they grow this year...right now it just seems OVERWHELMING.

I just updated my facebook status to say how tired I am from these 6 I can't imagine when the other 20 join us!

I am going to try and set goals each week and let ya'll know my progress :)

5 Goals for the first few weeks:

1.Teach the kids awareness (that the world doesn't revolve around them and they have to pay attention to other people's desires over their own sometimes)

2.Teach them how to follow a classroom procedure.

3.Teach them to listen to other people when they are talking.

4. Teach them to recognize and write their names.

5. Teach them to recognize and name numbers.

5 Goals FOR ME:

1. Organize all my materials in my file cabinet

2. Do another "beginning of the year" assessment with the kiddos.

3. Find some reliable parents that I know will be good to serve as room parents.

4. Start adding pictures to an "end of the year" yearbook-ish thing (this will be an ongoing project)

5. Contact all parents who don't show up to open house (which is next wednesday night)

xoxo

Miss O'Riley

is this mobile updating thing working?

Taco Soup!

Okay, here is something that is totally worth blogging about...food!

i found this recipe from my church's cookbook -- it's called Taco Soup. I've made it a couple times and it is AMAZZZING. i thought i'd share the recipe because it's totally easy, it just has a ton of ingredients.

1 (16oz) bag of mexican shredded cheese (i use the habanero kroger brand kind)

1.5 lbs ground beef

1 clove garlic

1 medium onion chopped

2 cans (small-ish ones) rotel (mild)

2 cans corn

1 small-ish can black beans

1 package taco seasoning

1 package hidden valley ranch dry mix stuff

2 packages swanson chicken broth (like those square looking things)...

1. cook the meat & drain (frying pan)

2. add onion and garlic with the meat in the pan and simmer (frying pan)

3. big pot- add meat/onion/garlic mixture

- chicken broth

- taco seasoning

- ranch mix

- corn

-beans

-rotel

4. head to simmer for 20 minutes (covered)

5. add the cheese & let it melt in....then serve!!!

serve it with Tostitos "Dippin Strips" Chips!!! (they are perfect for dipping :)

it's yum & quick!

an update.

i don't even know where to start...so let me just give you the highlights.

1. i am still working at imagine west ....actively looking for something different for next year.

2. i am still living at home, but couldn't be more happy about it right now.

3. i am missing my iupui friends like crazy.

4. i am still with mister taylor mitchell, and i am extremely, insanely happy. it has been the best 10 months.

5. i have grown closer to the Lord in the past 6 months than i have been since i was 15.

5a. i joined a small group that has been feeding me spiritually.

5b. taylor and i are learning what it means to put the Lord at the center of our relationship.

5c. i am self-feeding with the Word daily.

6. i am looking for a new car, please.

7. i have recently fallen head over heels for something new......netflix <3.

8. i have re-gained control of the sewing room....so if anyone needs cute little things, let me know!

9. taylor and i have adopted a beautiful world vision child....... :)

10. i'm considering a full-time missionary type job.

anyway, that'll do for now. at least it catches you up to the present. i'll think of something more witty to write about next post, promise.

and the reality sets in....

well, it's true. i have 3weeks under my belt now as a "real teacher"

it's been ridiculously stressful and the kids have really been testing me.


let's just say in the past 3 weeks we have had two weapons brought to school (one being a gun). it was honestly so scary & what was even more scary is the lack of understanding from the kids how important the situation really was. the fact that it was only in the last 30 minutes of school that we found out and the kids knew ALL DAY was what was really scary. we now have HALF of the 7th grade in suspension....ugh. and uh, also a kid swallowed a water bottle cap and it got lodged in his throat. the ambulance had to come (this all happened admist the gun drama) ahhhh!!!!

let's just say the 3 day weekend was MUUUUUUUUCH needed.


other than that i am now teaching a reading group of a few of the SPED kids called D.I. which stands for direct instruction. let me just tell you that it is terrible. some of the teachers use dog clickers in order to get a response from the students......yeh..

it is the most boring and scripted reading program i've ever seen in my life. they say that it works wonders but is it really worth it for the COMPLETE BOREDOM that both the students and i are having to endure. BLAH.

im hoping this reading group won't have to last very long. we'll see.


on top of all this crap i still havent been paid. now, im sure i will soon BUT it'll be 5 weeks that i work there before i get paid! UGH im sick of being BROKE.


besides my job life is going good. im getting ready for this crazy art fair on september 18th so i've been sewing from the time i get home until i go to bed each night. and uhhh..

any extra time i have i have been spending with taylor. he's great. and we're great. it's such a relief to not be in an argument with someone EVERY SINGLE DAY. also, being with someone who is not a soul-sucking ass :) (not to name names).


andddd. that's about it.


xoxo. kathi.