Sick Day

I hate taking sick days. Seriously, I'm the worst person to get sick. I hate hate hate being sick. I get GRUMPY and whiny and I hate it. I know that right now, I'm more susceptible to getting minor colds, etc. but it's not a fun perk of being pregnant. And since it's my first pregnancy and baby, I'm being extra extra careful. After feeling absolutely miserable all day yesterday---and yup, kinda shared that misery with my students---and almost falling asleep in our faculty meeting, I decided (with some urging from my hubby) to take today and rest.  Still not feeling great, but sleeping in did feel really good. Until Shelby (our yellow Labrador) woke me up. So far today, I've drank 2 glasses of pineapple juice, used a whole box of tissues, and have not left my pjs. Yup,  I'm having a certified sick day. I'm even at the point where I'm watching my favorite Christmas movies. When I move on to Disney, yall know I'm really not feeling good.

But, having some time at home to myself has given me time to think about how my first month of teaching kindergarten has gone. Most days, I absolutely love love love teaching kindergarten. Days like yesterday, well, I was wishing I wasn't even at a school. Just when I think that my little ones are doing great and are on a roll, things happen to remind me that they're five and I have to be careful with my expectations....

My students are really progressing overall. I get really excited when they realize that they can read/identify a word.... we've moved from almost zero words to being able to read/identify the following words: I, can, red, blue, yellow, am, apple, and green. Next week, we're adding three more words to our list. Their coloring skills are really improving, and several of them are progressing nicely with their cutting and gluing skills.

Handwriting is a big big issue. We've spent lots of time working on A, a, B, and b. But they're still struggling to retain it. HELP!! What can I do to ensure that they remember how to write these letters neatly?  I have found a few wonderful resources online to help them grasp the concept of the three lines, but honestly, it seems that some of my students just don't care. Sigh.

The other area that I'm really concerned with is my classroom management this year. Previously, I've NEVER had a problem with my management skills. But this year, my students really seem apathetic towards any sort of consequences. I've used a rainbow behavior clip chart this year. For half of my students, the rainbow chart works great. They love working towards getting to the top of the chart. However, I'm having difficulty with the students that it doesn't matter with. I'm considering using individual behavior charts for the few that are not concerned with the rainbow clip chart....something that goes home everyday in their home folder. THOUGHTS?

On a personal note, hubby and I are very excited about the pregnancy. We registered this weekend at Babies R Us, and online at www.myregistry.com. So far, we're planning on doing brown and cream (white) in the baby's room with blue and red accents. We bought a rug at the Pottery Barn outlet by us, and that's kind of been our inspiration for the rest of the nursery. So, here's a little bit of our inspiration/thoughts/plans for the baby's room....

I really want the baby's room to be a place where we're all comfortable, and since we're not finding out the baby' s gender (at least, that's the plan right now), I want it to be ready for a girl or a boy. And since yall know that I will be in there A TON, I want to feel comfortable, calmed, and re-energized! I want our child to know that they are loved, and how much we want for them! On one way, I'd love to frame children's book covers as art, too. Gotta have that educational aspect! Once a teacher, always a teacher. We're trying to choose things that we can use down the road with future children. Let's face it---we're going down the baby road!! :) We've also picked out our stroller and car seats.... feel like we're starting to figure out things that we're going to need. It's incredibly overwhelming how much STUFF babies need.... but it'll all be well worth it!
Can't wait to meet this little one and hold them in my arms!! :)