Today was: So-so

I don't like Mondays. I think, if you go back and look at my posts for the last couple of weeks, I frequently mention that I just feel kind of "out of it" on Mondays - today was no different. Even though I don't do anything on the weekends, having three days off seems to wear me out somehow. Maybe it's an ALIAS hangover - that show can really hurt my brain.

Miles and I decided that I should probably be taking over a part of the day so that I am sure to be teaching every day, not just on my solo days. He let me pick whichever part of the day that I wanted and, for some reason, I chose Math. I guess I don't really know why I say "for some reason", because I actually kind of like Math, and I certainly don't mind the kind of Math that the kids are doing right now - patterns, and being able to distinguish between left and right. Plus, I really feel like I should be more proactive in the classroom - right now I'm kind of an assistant teacher, and I should really be a co-teacher. I was just hoping that I could put it off for a couple more weeks... Oh, and I'm going to do another "solo day" on Thursday. The only part of the day that I'm worried about right now is the Read Aloud time. Normally, this would be right out of the district mandated Reading Program, but Miles wants to try something new, having the kids talk about schemas and what their brains do when they read books. I'm just a bit unsure because I'm not certain that I can even explain these concepts.

That's all for today. Short, I know, but I'm tired and I need to rest up for the big ALL DAY FIELD TRIP TOMORROW. It looks like all of the adults that go will be responsible for 3 kids or so. This reminds me of being in 4th grade and going into Chicago to see a performance of The Nutcracker at Christmas time. My mom went with us so I was in her group - unfortunately, much to my EXTREME horror, the only other kid that got put in our group was Barney Sutton, THE CLASS BULLY. Man, I was pretty much terrified of this kid, and I just couldn't believe my bad luck. I mean, of ALL the kids that could've gotten placed in the group with my mom and myself they had to give us HIM. Truth be told, though, I don't remember him beating me up or getting unruly at all. In fact, I seem to remember him offering us some of his Bit'o'Honey candybar. Funny how you can misjudge people, eh? No - actually, the kid really was just a big bullying jerk.