Here I go, again?

The kids are all packed off to their respective schools. And while I am not sure this place where I live can actually be construed as a "nest", it is empty. Or at least partially so. I still have dogs. As a public school teacher, it is back to work now. Given that fact I cannot conceive of a lack of material to blog about. Maybe I will actually blog on this site instead of in my head.

From Summer to School

I have just caught up on some blog reading and thought I would post a few thoughts.

What can be more exciting than a week with my 2 and a half year old twin nephews, a mission trip to Peru, a weekend in upstate New York to share in the joyous occasion of my great niece's pending arrival, another week with my 2 and a half year old nephews, a wonderful vacation with great friends to Tybee Island, Georgia with a side of Savannah and some Paula Deen cookin'?

BACK TO SCHOOL, THAT'S WHAT!

The past two weeks have been filled with workshops and work days getting ready for school to start. I have a lot of new ideas that I will be implementing so I am looking forward to getting started. I had a peek at my class rosters and noticed that I have mostly 9th graders this year. This is also exciting for me. My assignment as a self-contained special education teacher often finds me with students who are either repeating my class or students that I have had for another class that I taught. I am excited because I am getting "new" kids - I don't know the first thing about them nor do they know the first thing about me. Teens coming straight from middle school should scare the daylights out of me but I only have one thing to say.....bring 'em on! I got a new toy this year, namely my very own SMART board mounted on the wall in my room. Now I have to learn how to use the darn thing.... I may not have a new bookbag or a new lunchbox, but I am totally ready for school!

Until next time,

Bonnie

P.S. My great niece, Mackenzie Leigh. was born a week and a half ago! I am a first time great aunt!

Time For Some Blogging

So I am not the worlds most dedicated blogger... can anyone relate? I can blame it on my job, the laundry, the dogs, dog hair, dust or dirty bathrooms, sheer exhaustion, or a million other things - but needless to say it hasn't been my most productive project. On the other hand, I have been reading more blogs lately and I am at least thinking about blogging. If only I could document daily (or every couple of days) what happens at work, as it happens, then maybe ideas will start flowing and I may be able to benefit from comments from others. This school year has been a battle much of the time, but if I have learned nothing else in the last five years I have learned that expecting things to change much over the next five years is like expecting my digital converter box to be hooked up to the little TV in the bedroom before June 12th. In other words, it ain't gonna happen! Kids will still be lazy, apathetic, rude, and downright uninterested in school and there is not much I can do to change that. Or is there? I sound like all the things I do for my students is for nothing and I know better than that. It's just that the negative always seems to outweigh the positive; so many efforts seem to be counterproductive despite my efforts. On the other hand, I do get to celebrate victories when they happen... the best and most recent being a particular student passing a particular state assessment test that he had been struggling with since entering high school and, just in the nick of time, he earns the score he needs to get the diploma he wants... and I quickly forget about the unwilling attitudes of the majority... MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!

Until next time,

Bonnie

"Time" For Some Sewing!

Since we didn't have any actual snow, but still had a "snow day", I was able to accomplish a little project. This ladybug dress is for a dear friend's granddaughter. This beautiful little girl and her incredible parents will be returning to the mission field next month to a place where the weather is warm (in other words, no snow days!) and I had promised a homemade gift. Sewing is something I rarely have the time to do these days, but something I genuinely love. My grandmother spent many hours teaching me this craft and for the most part it took! This being inauguration day, recalling the gift of my grandmother is quite appropriate. You see, she lived in Washington back in the day and worked as a seamstress. She made lots of clothes, even some gorgeous gowns for some fancy DC parties. I believe she sewed for a particular family; making all their clothes. Me, I do well to make an occasional frock now and then. When my girls were little, I loved sewing their Easter dresses, and every Christmas Eve meant new PJ's and sometimes even a bathrobe. So today, all was not lost! Yes, we will have to make up a day of school, but I took my scissors, fabric and thread, and stitched up a snowstorm!

A Much Needed Break

Well it is a much needed "long weekend" off work where I will recharge my batteries and go back for a couple more days of the semester, then final exams, then its the "beginning of the year all over again!" I look forward to this as I really need to start again...while I will have the same kids for part B of the course, I will be less the ones who didn't quite make the grade and those who have spent too much time out of school to be able to move on. Also, I will get my self-contained Ecology class which I "L-O-V-E" love! My math kids will get jumbled up so I will have a different mix in each of the two classes. Yes, a new start to what has proven to be a very challenging year is just the ticket. Maybe I am being a little pessimistic, but I believe I have had a less than successful school year so far...and I want so very much for it to go the other direction. I need a diagnostician, a Dr. Gregory House so to speak, to help me figure out what will give me an edge, where I can feel like I am making a difference and that students are learning...not so much learning Math or Ecology...but learning lessons that are much more valuable. I know better than to think I don't make a difference at all...and that is why I can go to work every day. But I want to do better. I need to do better. It all comes back to how I got mixed up in the business of education. Yes, I am supposed to be doing this.

Still Learning

Ok....this is Bonnie's wonderful friend..she will remain nameless though..
Anyhoo....Bonnie is still learning how to blog. She has been sooo busy , but really wants to get her blog going. Stay tuned..she'll be up and running soon!