Ok, maybe I lied...

I said I would start sharing things on here soon, but it's been a while. The last three weeks were HELL. In case you don't know me, let me give you a little bit of background...

I took over a first grade bilingual class on Feb. 1. The totally incompetent permanent sub had been there since August (why she wasn't replaced sooner, I don't know). I shadowed her for two days and took over on the third day. (I came to find out later that this lady was CRAZY - everybody was tired of her b/c she had no manners and never knew how to do anything. The most frequent comments I got the first two weeks I was there was, "Bless your heart." and "good luck.") The kids were not used to working at all. Most of them weren't reading at grade level in Spanish or English. I came in and dusted off everything, re-arranged the desks, centers, etc. I was trying not to shock the kids so I tried to slowly change the routine. They were used to doing whatever they wanted and I had a few who would cry and get their way. They still cry because I require at least five sentences when they write, but it's not a daily occurrence anymore. I've been living at school looking through the piles of papers and I STILL manage to find things in cabinets, etc. (I'm not exaggerating when I say that some of the "important papers" she gave me put in the kids' files were balled up and she was ironing them out in front of me!). It's been hard, but I've learned A LOT.

So, back to why the last few weeks have been hell. Everyone was getting used to our daily activities, and here comes the chaos. Beginning on April 4, we had two weeks to administer the TPRI, written retelling, and DRA in English and the Tejas LEE in Spanish. These are tests that have to be done individually. So I'm supposed to test each student during the school day and score their tests and put them into the computer system. The only reason why I didn't run out of there was because this very nice resource teacher came in to help me. She didn't have to do that, but I think she felt sorry for me b/c although I've seen these tests before, I've never had to administer them so it takes me longer than some of the other teachers who know exactly how to do it. When I finally finished that, the TAKS arrived and since the older kids were testing, they cancelled specials and computer time, so we were in the room ALL DAY!!! Of course, our routine was totally off during this time.

It's amazing how much kids are creatures of habit and it really stresses them out when you change things on them. This last week was all about going back to our schedule and reviewing our rules. We actually had to practice for about 10 minutes, walking in the halls without talking, pushing, touching the bulletin boards and the walls. I've been more consistent with my conduct system (I have to admit, that is my biggest challenge). I have this quote that I keep on my board that says "You have to give credit for trying." I have to remind myself of that everyday. I'm looking forward to August when I get to start from the beginning instead of jumping in the middle of a storm.