Back to school blues

[seastarmath]

Anyone else experiencing the "back to school blues?" I HATE the last day of vacation. (Still worth it, though.)

[Boxcar]

YES!!!! I'm grieving for my incredibly short vacation while cursing my procrastination! I'm sooooo not done with any of my planning yet! What happened????????

[hweber]

I am right with the both of you. I cannot believe that the break is basically over. I still have to do my math lesson plans for the week. Went to Office Max though and got a bag full of stuff at 15% off plus used my teacher card, so that was a plus for the day. Good luck to us all next week!

[David]

I have still have more of my holidays to go. We go back n 27th January so I am psyching myself up for then.

[Boxcar]

Ooooh, I'm jealous!!!

[dsmms]

I have a formal observation on Friday! The holiday is over for me! The bad thing is that my brain still wants to be on vacation, so I am coming up blank on thinking of a good lesson:cry2:

[SiobhanMarie]

The holidays have gone MIGHTY fast though! Only 3 weeks and my siblings are back in school!

[David]

The holidays always seem to go fast.....it's the bits in between that seem to go slowly. How many days is it till Christmas?

[Boxcar]

The hard part is I know I won't have the summer off... I have to wait till next December! :(

[lynn bambusch]

Gee, I was so ready to come back! We had two feet of snow on my back deck when I left for Florida, and it all melted while I was gone. I feel refreshed and ready to take on the next part of the year. It seems like once we're back it is just a mad dash until June....so much to do....so much to try to get taught...I'm just ready to settle in and get things accomplished. Of course, I'm usually ready to come back from summer break after three weeks.......
Maybe I need to get a life outside of work!

[Boxcar]

I think I'd be more excited if I had my plans done and if I had the same group of kids. I'm starting with a new group of children, and that can be a challenge.

I'm glad you are looking forward to school. It sounds like you are a truly dedicated teacher who loves her job!

[MeganC]

Typically our semester ends prior to the Winter Break, but we started school later this year because of construction in the district. This means that our semester won't end until the 16th. It is definitely rough coming back to kids you know you only have 2 weeks left with (if you have semester classes). I liked the whole, "Fresh Start" aspect of getting new kids after Winter Vacation.. now it's hard not to get sucked into the whole... "Oh man.. how am I going to last two more weeks with these kids..." syndrome. I honestly believe the kids feel the same way.

[seastarmath]

I have the same kids all year, but I did find it easier to return after the holidays when the semester ended with the Christmas break and the new one started with the new year. But then the merchants here who need the high school students to work in the resorts near here waged a "Save Our Summers" compaign and now we start school late in August and go until mid-June. (Before, we started early in August and we out late May.) Another reason I liked that better was that the high school students who finished in December could start at the community college or at a university if they so wished. Now, the time overlap keeps them from being able to do that.

[Dhe Poet]

I have been home with my children all the while and while I so enjoyed playing Monopoly and Life and every other thing that could be thought to do, I am so glad that they went back to school. We spent a lot of time at the library where I turned my 6 year old daughter on to Miss Mary Mack. She taught me a couple of lines I never knew. Jump rope rhymes! Our 10 year old son has really gotten into Harry Potter with reading all of the books and taking tests and really comprehending it all. What a thrill it was for us to get him the last book we got him as the movie has not yet come out and he knows what has happened already. The movie comes out in July I think. We can't wait. Thank you, you Teachers.

[SiobhanMarie]

I remember Miss Mary Mack! :)

[seastarmath]

Who is Miss Mary Mack? Sounds like an interesting story afoot.

[Boxcar]

Miss Mary Mack Mack
All Dressed In Black Black
With Silver Buttons Buttons
All Down Her Back Back
She Asked Her Mother Mother
For Fifty Cents Cents
To See The Elephants Jump Over The Fence Fence
They Jumped So High High
They Weren't Seen Till Next July July

[SiobhanMarie]

That's it!

[Boxcar]

We have a book based on this rhyme and many of the little girls will "read" it to me. They've memorised the words and love the idea that they can tell me the story now!

[Boxcar]

My lesson plans aren't done yet. I think I need to be put in time-out for misbehaviour. Although, I guess the problem is too much time away from working on them...

[teacher5]

:waving:I've been back 1 week and it feels like we never left. We had to start the first day back by giving a practice NYS ELA Test Part 1 on Monday (Rdg. Comp.) and Part 2 on Tuesday (Listening/Note Taking and Editing) because this coming week is the real thing. Most kids came back ready to work and did fairly well on both parts so I feel they are ready for the real test. Good luck to everyone in NYS who has to administer this test the week of Jan. 12th. And when that's over, we will test prep them to death for the Math test in March. When all these state tests are done in March in Grade 5 we are having a big celebration. The class moms come in with big tubs of ice cream, and all the toppings you can imagine, and we have a make your own sundae party. I only hope with our newly elected president that there is some reform related to all this testing. I heard he appointed the head of the Chicago City Public School System to be the head of our Federal Education Dept. Doing a little research I found out that the Chicago City School System does not have a very good track record. I am glad he appointed an educator, but those educators who are in administration often forget what it was like to be in the classroom. Only time will tell.:confused2:

[seastarmath]

: I heard he appointed the head of the Chicago City Public School System to be the head of our Federal Education Dept. Doing a little research I found out that the Chicago City School System does not have a very good track record. I am glad he appointed an educator, but those educators who are in administration often forget what it was like to be in the classroom. Only time will tell.:confused2:

I agree 100%! I am not very hopeful for reform. The problem isn't just with the education system: its the whole fabric of society. In our state, the education leaders are over in Singapore to see what we can learn from their system. They are looking at programs, but I hope they are looking at the students themselves and asking what in the culture is contributing to the success. No matter what recipe for apple pie you are using, your success starts with the quality of apples you are using.

[Boxcar]

I love the apple pie analogy!!! It is so true.

BTW, I'm so proud of myself. I finished my plans! In the eleventh hour, but they are done.

[smiley29820]

When we started back, it seemed like we couldn't get everything done. I guess it is because I'm not very organized at the moment. I should probably get it together!:rofl:

[Boxcar]

I'm in the more difficult stage now of "figuring out" each child. My group is challenging at times. I adore them but each student needs unique "handling". I'd say I've got about half pretty well understood. I know what behaviours they are likely to engage in, what sets off the behaviour, and how to address it.

[David]

I've been back for two weeks and I have the paperwork blues. Sometimes I think the paperwork means more to the administators than the children do.