Today was: Just OK

The Kindergarten teacher in me feels like I should have a heading (like the above) every day for quick reference. We'll see how long I can remember to keep it up...

So, yeah, today was just ok. Not great, but not horribly awful. Besides the fact that ANOTHER student wet themself today (that's two days in a row, for those keeping count), I suppose most of it was due to the fact that I just wasn't feeling "ON" today. I woke up dragging, got to school dragging, and just couldn't really muster up a bunch of energy all day. Could it be related to the fact that yesterday there were 4 or 5 kids who were coughing and sneezing (Didn't your parent teach you to cover your mouth?!?)? Also, maybe I just didn't have my Vitaball early enough this morning? Mid-way through the day, my SFSU supervisor showed up to drop something off for me and she asked me, "Is everything alright today?" I'm not sure if she meant it this way, but it really seemed like she could somehow tell that I wasn't at 100%.

At one point during the day, I got to work with half the class at a time while they were in the Reading Center. Yesterday, they all picked two books out of the classroom library to put in their "Book Browsing" folders, and during Reading Center time today they had to familiarize themselves with only those two books. Well, I was immediately inundated with calls from ALL SIDES - "Eric! Read to me!" It's really difficult trying to give equal attention to every student - I just feel so bad when I don't get to work with every kid everyday. Unfortunately, I probably divide most of my attention among only those kids who actually ask for help - I've got to make it a goal to keep track of who I give extra attention to each day, and make sure that I make my rounds equally over the course of a week. SO, there was me at the Reading Center feeling completely overwhelmed and zapped of energy. One of the students, a boy who has an unreal amount of energy, kept asking me to read a Clifford book to him because he didn't know how to read. Well, I KEPT TELLING HIM, "There are some things that you CAN read. Even if you don't know all of the words on the page, you can still look at the pictures and get an idea of what is going on in the story." After MUCH prodding, he finally took the book, and began to tell the story as he understood it just from the pictures. AND, of course, he was pretty much right on. That was probably my greatest success today (maybe I should also have a "Greatest Success" header here each day too, huh?).

The most interesting thing that happened today was that I got to sit in on a meeting between Miles, the Principal, the Special Ed teacher, a Speech & Language therapist, and the two mommies of the student in the class that has CP and is in a wheelchair. As I walked in the room and I sat down (after asking the parents if it was alright that I was there) I thought, "Wow, this is REALLY confidential stuff I'm taking part in..." SO, I won't go into too many details, but, I will say that I contributed a bit to the discussion, and for that, I was quite proud of myself. In a nutshell, the parents wanted to be sure that their daughter was getting included in EVERY aspect of the classroom (activities, routines, circle time, recess, etc.) even though it is difficult for her to get around. I had heard things about the parents that made me a bit intimidated (overbearing, demanding, etc.), but, when I sat there and saw them tear up as they expressed their sadness for their daughter because she will have to spend the rest of her life in a wheelchair, and their extreme pride at how she is becoming more and more capable every day, it just melted my heart. It's just so amazing to see two people care so much for their child. Why can't all parents care that much?

The girl with autism had a pretty bad day. She was so disruptive at one point that I had to grab her to try to restrain her. Not fun - actually, pretty scary. I've worked with kids for years, but I'm not used to that kind of thing, so I'm afraid of using too much strength/force and injuring her. Thankfully, Miles spoke up to the girl's mother and said that he, too, isn't comfortable with restraining her. As it looks right now, I don't think the girl is going to last much longer in the room - it appears as though "forces that be" in the school are going to recommend that she be put in a special school. Her mother really wants her to be included in a "regular classroom", but I'm not sure how realistic that is...

Old Man Update: Well, he hasn't been by in over a week. Yes, we are the proud residents of an unfinished back porch which still makes it difficult to use our kitchen. Last night, I looked out the back window and watched him using an electric saw on a piece of wood that he was HOLDING. Do you understand what I'm saying here? He wasn't using any kind of saw horse, but was HOLDING the piece of wood up against his body to stablize it while he sawed at it with a POWER SAW. Wow, this guy is really going to hurt himself one day, and, I get the feeling that he won't be eligible for workman's comp.