The New Kid + A Shoulder = Chocolates?

The week before mid-winter break was a rough one. That Tuesday New Kid finally crossed the all important line I had hoped he wouldn't.

He got physical.

With me.

He had been working at a table with several other kids on an art project when apparently Eeyore said something he didn't like. So, New Kid started poking holes in Eeyore's project.

First I asked him to move back to his desk to work. Then I told him to move. New Kid got angrier and angrier. Then I told him he could work at his table or in the hallway. He continued to get angrier. Finally, he grabbed his art supplies, construction paper in one hand, scissors in the other, and shoulder checked me twice as he walked out the door!

At that point I had an internal conversation with myself. It went something like this, "What the hell?!?" "Did he just do what I think he did?!?" "Did he really?" "Yes. He did!"

I thought New Kid was heading to the work table in the hallway, so I quickly and calmly had one of my other students go get the principal. (My classroom happens to be the closest one to the office.) I stood in the doorway to make sure New Kid was at the table, but instead he was already walking himself to the office.

Long story short, New Kid spent most of that afternoon in the office and had a day of in-school suspension on Thursday. That Friday, the day of our Valentine's day party, New Kid walks in and states that he has something in his backpack for me. And something for the principal. Great.

What is it?

A box of Valentine's Day chocolates.

No "Happy Valentine's Day," or "I'm sorry I'm a punk and cause you all sorts of problems." Just a, "Here," and the handing off of the red roses, heart-shaped box of chocolates from his backpack.

I guess you take an apology however it comes.

The funniest part of this whole incident is finding out what got New Kid so riled up in the first place. I guess Eeyore said New Kid's brother, "had a fat butt cheek." Yup, that's it. That's what started this whole thing...a large derriere, a big bootie, an oversized gluteus maximus.

Third graders are so weird.

(Here's me looking a little suspicious...To eat or not to eat, that is the question!)

Quotes From My Daily Planner

At the beginning of the school year, Urbanite Mommy (http://mom3908.blogspot.com/) gave me a personalized daily planner. At first I used it to write down the occasional meeting or doctor appointment, but it quickly became lost in my bag of good intentions. But in January I decided to re-purpose the planner into my "daily reflection/get these crazy kids out of my head/I'd better make note of this" teacher's diary.

Here are some of things I've written down in the past month and a half:

• "New Kid has been off. Today I walked outside to pick the kids up at recess and see him swinging Highlights around in a circle...by one arm!"
• "Deer in Headlights apparently threatened someone during chess today...chess!?!? of all things!"
• "Highlights kissed Eeyore at recess."
• "New Kid wore a fake tattoo sleeve today." (Boy, I wish I had my camera!)
• "Someone was overheard at recess saying, 'Get it done, get it done, get it done. Make a baby, make a baby, make a baby.'"

Can Marshmallows Go Bad?

As part of my research for finding (or creating) a job that isn't too stressful, pays okay, and is fun, I decided to try my hand at making Rice Krispie treats (Who knows...maybe I'm suppose to be the Duff Goldman of the buttery-marhmallowy-Rice Krispie world?!?!) Anyway, I decided to make some "Salted Brown Butter Rice Krispie Treats" since I had most of the ingredients already in my house. Unfortunately, they weren't the freshest or most exact ingredients ever...slightly past the "use by date" mini marshmallows, mostly crispy Rice Krispies, and table salt instead of sea salt. I did run into some problems melting the marshmallows, but the end result actually tasted yummy, especially the ones I put chocolate chips on! I can't wait to try making them again...after I hit the grocery store, that is! :)

Fill In the Blank

I recently met up with a friend of mine who spent the last three years teaching in Thailand. Now that she's back, she's decided to, "Give the photography thing a try," and has started her own photography business. (http://www.clearlykatie.com/) It was so inspirational to hear how she is following her dream, while not taking it too seriously and getting way uptight about it...or at least that's how she made it seem. :)

Anyway, our conversation got me thinking again about, "What I want to be when I grow up."

You see, I like teaching, but I don't love it. I find that I take home too much work, both mentally and physically, and that I don't think I'll ever be the amazing, creative teacher I know I could be because I've got too many kids in the class and not enough classroom support.

So, I've been replaying what my friend said and trying to figure out what I could give a try. "I think I'll give ____________ a try."

But the thing is, I don't know what my "Blank" should be!

I have lots of ideas; some of them are time consuming, some are creative, some require more schooling, some come with low stress, and others with a pay cut. Some require working in the summer, while others cost money to start up. I made a pro/con list for my ideas, but I still don't know what my "Blank" should be.

Any ideas for narrowing down the possibilities? How do I find a job that I LOVE, not just like? And for those of you out there that do love your jobs, what makes your job so great?

-Pigtailed Teacher

Bingo + Karaoke = A Good Time For All!

On Friday night a group of us hit the Greenwood Senior Center in Seattle for some bing0-karaoke fun. (http://www.greenwoodseniorcenter.org/) Some of us went early for the $5 spaghetti feed, while others came at 7pm for the main event.

Now you may be wondering why a bunch of 30/40 somethings would want to hang out at the senior center on a Friday night, but you have to understand that this event has become the hippest place to be on the first Friday of the month! There's an eclectic mix of all ages, and the wine and beer only cost $3. The music is great, and the crowd is rowdy! This time over 160 people reserved tables, which was good since they ended up turning away people at the door!

If you're ever in the neighborhood on the first Friday of the month, you should check it out for yourself!

A Week in Review

Since the beginning of the new year I've been trying to jot down notes about how school went. I'm keeping the entries short and sweet, just enough to remember all the crazy ups and downs of the classroom. Here's some of the more stressful moments of this week:

• One student (Let's call him "D.H." for Dear in Headlights...what he looks like when he gets in trouble and tries to play dumb) threatened another student while playing chess...chess, of all things!
• I called New Kid's mom's cell phone to let her know about the incident report coming home in his backpack. Didn't get to talk to mom, but listened to her ring back tone..."Birthday Sex" by Jeremih. (If you haven't heard it before, you might want to look it up and give it a listen. It gives this story so much more wrongness than you'd expect.)
• I also had to call another student's house to let her mom know about the incident report in her backpack. Let's call this student Highlights. I didn't get to talk to Highlight's mom, but did talk to an older gentleman (grandpa, maybe?) who didn't want to take my name or phone number down. No surprise I haven't heard from Highlight's mom yet.
• Took away New Kid's Ipod after risking a power struggle with him. When I "won" the battle, I felt like I was from that reality t.v. show, "World's Strictest Parents."
• New Kid continues his crappy week, with lots of talking back, crawling under the tables, and refusing to do work. Called his mom at lunch, but all I got was another round of "Birthday Sex." New Kid was mad that I called home, so he refused to go to lunch. I had to call the principal to stay with him until she could get him calmed down and out of my room.
• New Kid was playing too physical at recess. (Why was he playing when he was suppose to be walking around with the playground duty, hmmm?) Anyway, he got another write-up and wouldn't go to the office to calm down. This time I had to have the nurse come and deal with him since the principal was out of the building.
• New Kid came back calm, but grew angry again when he realized he didn't get Friday Free Time due to missing homework. Had to get the nurse again.
• Highlights pretended to flip off a classmate and then threatened to rip off two boys' ears and skin.

Where Did the Weekend Go?

Every Sunday night I find myself wondering, "Where did the weekend go?" Even this weekend seemed to fly by and it was a day longer than normal. I think I've decided that every once in a while I need to write down what I "have done," and ignore my endless "to do" list. That way, I feel like I've actually accomplished something. So here's what I've done since I left work on Friday (in no particular order) :

• took a nap
• attended a partner massage class
• babysat one of the cutest babies around
• picked up Taco Bell for lunch
• planned a ghetto-fabulous birthday party
• picked up pizza for the party
• picked up an ice cream cake for the party (I love me some "ice cream and cakey cake!")
• picked up gifts for the party
• wrapped gifts for the party
• picked up adult beverages for the party
• decorated for the party (while the afore mentioned cutest baby took a nap)
• watched a bad movie (Beyonce's Obsessesed)
• had adult beverages (orange juice + Peachtree Schnapps = yumminess)
• ate a pizza dinner
• ate cakey cake
• watched part of Saturday Night Live
• slept in
• got a peppermint hot chocolate (thanks to one of my Christmas coffee cards)
• took a walk around my new neighborhood
• did three loads of laundry
• watched another bad movie (Dear Me: A Blogger's Tale)...I had hoped to be inspired, but sadly I wasn't. At all.
• corrected a math assignment
• corrected the spelling tests
• corrected two reading tests
• watched a disturbing movie (Nursery University)...It's a very well done documentary about the competitive world of nursery schools in Manhattan.
• corrected a reading assignment
• corrected the science final project
• watched another movie (Up by Disney/Pixar)
• corrected two sets of cursive
• inputted all of the above into my grade book
• slept in again
• had breakfast at Ikea
• delivered meatballs to two friends
• explored a local fabric outlet
• went to the Salvation Army (Bought my mom lots of yarn for less than a dollar a skein!)
• had a late lunch in the International District
• tried two new Asian pastries
• talked to three friends on the phone
• hit an uber Christmas clearance sale at Kmart (Bought myself the holiday cookie jar I had been looking at. Instead of $19.99, it was only $0.99! I got seven bags of stuff for a little over $18! Woo-Whoo!)
• tried out a step aerobics class at a gym I might join
• returned something to Ross
• had dinner (and a glass of wine)
• took a shower
• watched Chuck and Heroes
• put some of my laundry away
• scooped the litter boxes (and washed my hands twice)
• talked to my parents on the phone
• and blogged

I know that sounds like a lot, but when I think of the ongoing "to do" list in my head, I can feel my anxiety start to rise. I didn't use to feel this way. I think all aspect of life became more stressed when I started teaching. Any suggestions for how to deal with it all? I'd love to hear suggestions. :)

-Pigtailed Teacher