Busy...Busy...Busy

I so did not want to get out of bed this morning.  I just wanted to stay curled up in my pillows and blankets and sleep.  I need to start going to be earlier.  Staying up until 11PM and getting up at 5AM is wearing on me.  Yet, I just have a hard time shutting my brain down any earlier to go to sleep... so much is running through it, and every time I try and close my eyes thoughts are flying around my head.

It's been a long week.  And it's only Thursday.  With Family Nights, Track Meets, and after school meetings, I'm not even getting home at a reasonable time.  Tonight is another late night.  It's Art Night at school, and that lasts until 7PM.  That means I won't make it home until about 8PM.  

But, I do what I need to.  There will be plenty of time for me to sleep when I retire.  

I've added another activity to my already busy schedule, and that's coaching summer softball.  All three of my kids are going to play, so I figured I might as well join in.  I'll be coaching the 13 and under girls' softball team.. which will also be Peanut's team.  She's going to be 14 in a couple of weeks, but the deadline for age was January 1st, so that's the team she gets to be on.  Which I'm happy about.  It'll be like old times.  I coached her softball team when she played 10 and under ball.  It's been a long time, but I'm so excited to be doing it.

Butter is going to be on the 13 and under baseball team.  And, he's going to be one sore little dude starting next week.  He'll be doing track until 5:30 each night, and then playing baseball from 6-7PM.  He said he wanted more exercise, but I'm not sure he knows what he's in for.  That's A LOT of exercise.

Jelly will be playing on the 6 and under T-ball team, and she can't WAIT.  She's so excited to be doing a sport.  She's been going on and on and on about how she wished she got to do something like Peanut and Butter, and now she'll finally get the chance.

Saturday is our first meeting with all of the players, coaches, and parents.  And, we have to be there at 9AM.  So, I won't even get to sleep in on Saturday.  We'll be up bright and early in order to make it to that meeting.  I'm already thinking that I'm just going to spend the entire day on Sunday in bed, just catching up.

Yesterday was a pretty good day in my classroom.  Despite the kids being pretty hyper because of the warmer weather, and the end of school getting closer by the minute, they are working hard.  The whole Minecraft thing is helping BIG TIME with that.  They are constantly asking me when they are going to get to play, next, and I'm constantly telling them that we get to play as soon as we get all of the other stuff taken care of that we need to take care of.  That makes them really buckle down and get to it.  If I can keep them focused by offering up a couple hours a week playing Minecraft, I'm IN!

Yesterday was also the day that my kids got to find out the contest winners for the Conservation Poster contest many of them entered last month.  We get a visit from the Park and Wildlife Committee and they offer up a contest for designing the best posters.  Winners are chosen from each grade level, the entire school, and the entire county.

One of my girls won 2nd in the grade level division, and another girl won the WHOLE THING.  Best poster in the COUNTY.  That's out of about 600 students.  I was so proud of her.  She really worked hard on it, and she came up with the idea all by herself.

She created a tree out of pipe cleaners, and then colored it in.  She then stuck on 3D leaf stickers.  On top of the stickers, she glued thumbnail pictures of our entire class.  When she asked me to print out the pictures, I had no idea how she was going to use them, but the final product was AMAZING.

My 2nd place winner won $25 for her poster, and my grand prize winner won $100!! 

I love how creative my kiddos are... and they really are.  They enjoy writing and art, and I love that they enjoy those things.  They are also big fans of technology, and I'm loving the fact that I can help introduce more technology in to my teaching.  They are writing their own blogs, and I'm seeing the development of their writing really improve each and every week.  Many of them have started making crossword puzzles from their weekly spelling words on the computer each week.  And, they are really enjoying the chance of doing online lessons with MobyMax.

Technology is just something that HAS to be taught.  Any future I want for these kids is going to involve some form of technology, so might as well hit them hard with it while they enjoy doing it.

As for me, I'm just bouncing along with them.  In my world, that is my classroom, I don't have to worry about rumors, gossip, negativity, or drama.  And I've realized that's just where I need to stay while I'm at work.  Those things seem to follow me around like the plague.  I think it's better that I just do what I do, and stay in my safe little bubble.  Then I don't have to worry about hurting anyone's feelings, saying the wrong thing, or getting my own feelings hurt.  I enjoy being in my classroom, it's where I'm happy.  Nothing else matters.  I'm just going to do my job and go home.  Period.  I'm going to leave my personal life at the door when I get there, and leave work at work when I leave.

Which is how it's supposed to be.  

I have to stop thinking that work is a social hangout.  A place for me to make and spend time with my friends.  I have one purpose and one purpose only when I step in to that school building:  Improving the lives of my students.  That's it.  No more, no less.  I'll do whatever I need to do in order to do my job, but everything I do will be completely 100% fueled by my students' needs.  Not my own.

And that's all I have to say about that.

It's time for me to go, anyway.