Has anybody seen the new Disney movie "Cars"? It is all the rage right now with the kids in my class and I find myself wanting to see it to see what all the fuss is about. Larry the Cable Guy is the voice of the tow truck Tow Mater...should be pretty funny. I think we'll have a date night this weekend and check it out. Let me know if you've seen it.
Happy Weekend! :) Amy

OK, so my lesson for today was continuing on the theme of "Happy Birthday, America!" I read a book called "A is for America: An American Alphabet" by Devin Scillian. And it's just that...a beautifully illustrated, beautifully written children's alphabet book about America.
For the letter X it says:

The letter X should remind us of the importance of election day,
When all Americans rich and poor are allowed to have their say.
Some were told they couldn't vote if they couldn't write their name.
So they signed the ballot with the letter X and it counted just the same.

After I read this, one of the kids asked "What's a ballot?" And I had the privilege of being probably one of the first people (if not THE first) to talk to them about the concept of VOTING. I told them that is how we as Americans help elect our President and how we make the laws or "rules" that we live by. I also very briefly explained that people in other countries don't have this freedom and how lucky we are to be able to have a say in how our government is run. Now mind you, I'm not sure how much of this stuck with them, because they're only 3, but I know a few of them remembered the idea because today I said "Let's take a vote. How many of you want to play outside?" and one of them piped up with "That's like in the book you read to us!" Wow. What an awesome responsibility and what an honor...to be the first to introduce them to the idea of voting.

It's finally Friday! Can't wait to just RELAX this weekend! After going and going nonstop last weekend, I'm really looking forward to not doing much. Last weekend was very fun, but I didn't feel like I got to unwind after the long week. The daycare is closed Tuesday but we do have to work Monday. As for our 4th of July plans, we're still not quite sure what we're doing. I'd rather be home for the 4th, but since we aren't I'm not sure where we'll go. Last year we stayed home and watched the fireworks in our neighborhood. And the next morning we cleaned up all the crap in our yard from our inconsiderate neighbors fireworks trash. It was even on MY CAR! Boy, I was mad! So this year, I think we'll hop in the car and head somewhere else. I thought about going to D.C. to watch the big to-do up there, but I just don't know if I want to fight the traffic and stay out that late. I think we'll find somewhere a little closer to our house! :) At school this week, we've been learning all about Independence Day and the kids have been having fun with that. On Monday, we're having a birthday party for America. It is pretty fun seeing the kids start to somewhat understand the meaning of patriotism. Now when they see red, white and blue anywhere they say "Look, Ms. Amy! It looks like the American flag!" Pretty cool.
Happy (early) 4th of July!

I can't believe it's already Monday! This weekend was SO nice! Laurie and Jay were in D.C. for a few days so that Laurie could go to a conference and they came over for a little while. We took them to Brewbaker's for dinner and we all had a nice time. It was good to catch up with Laurie and visit with her if even for a short time. Oh, and she brought me an early birthday present...Philosophy's Pure Grace perfume. It smells SO good! Just clean like soap and water. Nice for summer. Thanks, Laurie!

Then on Saturday, Jason and I got up and drove into D.C for some exploring. We've always wanted to try a restaurant I heard of called the Cactus Cantina. So, we drove in and found it and man, it was well worth the drive! The food was amazing and it wasn't very expensive at all. Their salsa and margaritas were awesome! I'm sure I'll have to try to recreate that salsa I had there. Roasted tomato salsa...YUM! Then, Jason wanted to suprise me and take me somewhere I've never been before, so we went to the zoo. It was pretty late in the day by the time we got there and it was so muggy you could barely breathe so we decided we'd save that for another day. But it sure was a nice idea, honey! Thanks for thinking of it and being spontaneous!:)

On Sunday, we just ran some errands and did some shopping. Nothing to exciting, but it was nice to be able to just do whatever we wanted and not have to clean house or anything. I like having company on a week night, because by the time the weekend rolls around, my house is already clean! :)

Hope everyone else had a fun and relaxing weekend!

We started our "Luau Week" at school today. I think the kids had fun, but mostly I think they are too young to quite "get it" like I'd hoped. Fine by me. Mostly I did that for sanity's sake so that our normal routine is a bit different. Otherwise, it would have been the same old thing. What's the same old thing? Something like this:

7:15 - 8:45 Play outside
8:45 - 9:15 Wash hands for snack
9:15 - 9:30 Snack time
9:30 - 10:15 Circle time (where we learn the lesson of the day, read a story, etc.)
10:15 - 11:00 Center time (where we play games, work on art projects, etc.)
11:00 - 11:45 Play outside
11:45 - 12:00 Wash hands for lunch
12:00 - 12:45 Lunch
12:45 - 1:15 Brush teeth and get everyone ready for nap
1:15 - 3:15 Nap time
3:15 - 3:45 Get everyone up and ready to go outside
3:45 - 5:45 Play outside
And the next day?
Repeat.
Every.
Single.
Day.

Now, I DO understand that little ones need structure. Trust me, these kids LOVE the routine that comes from just knowing what to do during the day. But I find myself wondering "When do they get time to just be a kid?" No structure, no time constraints, nothing.
And the answer to that? At home! I am perfectly convinced that more than 1/2 of our class just does whatever the heck they want at home. I've seen the way the parents interact with their kids when they drop them off/pick them up. And while I do admit that is only a very short amount of time, you can tell by the way they talk to their kids whether or not they are made to mind at home. But, I digress.

What started out with me just wondering whether or not this daily schedule was a good thing or not somehow evolved into a criticism of some of the parents but that's not really what I intended. (Even though it DOES raise a very valid point there!) Now I'm wondering what you think. Do you think such a schedule is a good thing for kids? Keep in mind that I teach 3 year olds. Do you think that is too young to start that kind of thing? Or is it somehow getting them ready for kindergarten at an earlier age? Let me know what you think.

Know what my husband said to me this morning? Those magic words any woman loves to hear. "You look like you've lost weight." Why THANK YOU! Yes, I have lost about 10lbs. Now that I'm not chained to a desk all day and I'm up playing with kids non-stop, it's been a pretty easy diet!

The Red Tent by Anita Diamant

I LOVE this book! I don't feel I could give a review that would do it justice, but here's what Amazon.com has to say about it:

The red tent is the place where women gathered during their cycles of birthing, menses, and even illness. Like the conversations and mysteries held within this feminine tent, this sweeping piece of fiction offers an insider's look at the daily life of a biblical sorority of mothers and wives and their one and only daughter, Dinah. Told in the voice of Jacob's daughter Dinah (who only received a glimpse of recognition in the Book of Genesis), we are privy to the fascinating feminine characters who bled within the red tent. In a confiding and poetic voice, Dinah whispers stories of her four mothers, Rachel, Leah, Zilpah, and Bilhah--all wives to Jacob, and each one embodying unique feminine traits. As she reveals these sensual and emotionally charged stories we learn of birthing miracles, slaves, artisans, household gods, and sisterhood secrets. Eventually Dinah delves into her own saga of betrayals, grief, and a call to midwifery.

You should definitely read this one! It is beautifully written and fascinating.
Go. Now. Buy this book. Read the book. And let me know what you think, will you?

I had a problem with one of the kids in class this week. I won't really get into that story, but I'll just tell you that we had to send the kid to the office and write up a discipline report. (Not the first time for either of these things!) What I wanted to comment on is how my 2 supervisors backed me up. I had to talk to the kid's mom about his behavior and why he went to the office and needless to say, mom wasn't very happy. She got an attitude with me and I was worried that she'd talk to my bosses and try to make trouble for me later. When I reported back to my supervisors and gave them a word-by-word recount of the situation, they said I did everything right and that they were proud of the way I handled the situation. What is this?! Approval and support from your boss(es)? Wow! So that's what that feels like! Man, that's a great feeling. To know you've done well and done what is right and to have someone else recognize it and applaud you for it. That hasn't happened in a job I've worked at in a long time.

What a ripoff!

I can't remember if I posted about this or not, but let me give you a little background on this problem I've been having. Ever since we moved here, I have been miserable! Non-stop runny nose 24-7. And when you have that, you also eventually get a sore throat, earaches, and everything else that typically goes along with seasonal allergies. Back in September, I got to feeling especially miserable and went to an allergy specialist. He did the skin tests and tested me for about 40 different things and I did not react to one single thing! I was amazed! (Especially considering the fact that my dad, aunt, and cousin have the worst seasonal allergies I've ever seen!) So, he diagnosed me with "chronic non-allergic rhinitis". What is that? A chronic runny nose. I wanted to look at him and say "Well, DUH!" He sent me home with some nose spray and that was it. This nose spray is Nasocort AQ which costs $74.00 a bottle. I tried it and it did seem to help somewhat, so I just used it and that was that.

Now fastforward a few months to about 3 weeks ago. Again, the runny nose started. I thought maybe I'd just caught a cold from one of the kids at school. Let's see if it goes away. Nope. I got a sore throat, a cough, and an earache too. So, having used up all my samples, I broke down yesterday and bought the outrageously expensive bottle of medicine. And today, I started coughing and could not quit. I coughed so much I almost threw up. I coughed so much that my supervisor threatened to call 911 if I could not catch my breath. I finally quick hacking and said "OK, guess this is not going away. I have to go to Urgent Care and see if they'll prescribe me something to help." I left work, with my supervisor threatening to drive me to Urgent Care herself, and saw the physician assistant. She said she can't imagine me not having allergies and prescribed me 5 things to take. Biaxin (antibiotic) for bronchitis she said I developed from 3 weeks of sniffling, Maxair (inhaler) to help me breathe, floxin (for a middle ear-infection), Diflucan (to counteract the negative side effects of the Biaxin), Mucinex DM (to help with the cough) and Claritin (for my ALLERGIES)! I don't think I have ever been on so many medications at one time! All of this cost me a whopping $280.00! But oh no, I don't have allergies. YEAH RIGHT! I think if this gets better, I will march myself back to that allergie specialist and demand that he figure out just what the heck I AM allergic to and discount the price for making me suffer through another 8 months of misery.
So in the past week, I have spent $354 on medication. Good thing we get 80%reimbursed from our insurance. It's still a ripoff though.

Confidental to one of my readers (you know who you are):

Wow! Congratulations! I'm so happy for you! :)

Wish we lived closer,
A

P.S. Note to self: This is not a race...just because she did doesn't mean you have to too! Must remember. :)

Things are going well at work. The class is gradually adjusting to me being their new teacher and they seem to be settling down. I'm really enjoying my work there and spend a lot of hours online researching lesson plans and planning activities. Good news! This week, one of my supervisors pulled me aside and said that she received a compliment about me that she wanted to pass on. She said that the mother of one of my students told her that since I've been there, her son has been hitting his friends less and has less trouble in the mornings when she drops him off for school and that mom thinks it has something to do with me being there. And my other supervisor commented that the other teacher and I seem to have a calming effect on the kids and that she's noticed that there is much less chaos coming from that room now we are working together in there. WOW! I was so flattered! I wanted to them that I feel like all I do is fuss at the kids all day and get onto them about stuff and were they crazy or something?! :) I also wanted to tell them how grateful I was to be receiving such praise about my work with the kids. Especially since I'm still so new and trying to figure everything out and adjust to suddenly being in charge of 12 kids. Coming from my last job where I hardly ever heard positive comments, this was SO appreciated! But how do you say something like that and not sound like a dork? So, I just smiled and said thank you and told them how much I enjoy working there. Hopefully they felt the magnitude of my gratitude for those encouraging words without me having to say anything. I really finally LOVE my job! What a world of difference it makes when you are finally doing something you are passionate about instead of just something to pay the bills.

Eventually, I'd like to work with older kids. Maybe 4s or kindergarten age. Possibly 1st or 2nd grade. I enjoy the age I'm working with now, but I'd be happier if I didn't have to worry about "accidents". Not to sound mean or anything, but that totally grosses me out. Lord help me when I have kids of my own. Although I must say, I'm doing much better even with that. Someone is always grabbing me or hugging me with some unknown slimy, wet substance on their hands and I just try not to guess what it is. But I do end up washing my hands about a million times a day and I usually have to take a shower right when I walk in the door.

One of the boys decided to see how many paper towels would fit in the toilet. I caught him just as he was about to drop in another huge handful. And those of you who know me and know just how easily grossed out I am will be amazed to hear what I did next. I put on a rubber glove (THANK YOU whoever decided we needed those in our bathroom!) and fished out the wad of soggy paper towels. Then I mopped up the floor where the kid also decided to pee on the floor. Who knew I was now employed as a janitor? But ladies, you'll be happy to know that when I'm teaching what to do in the bathroom, I am teaching them that they have to put the toilet seat down. Who knows if that little lesson will stick with them, but at least I tried, right girls? :) (By the way, if you think that's funny, have you heard Brad Paisley's "The Toilet Seat Song"? It's hilarious!)

Gotta go for now. The coals are hot and ready for us to cook some chicken for dinner. Hope everyone is having a good weekend! Maybe I'll try to blog some night soon about my "Fabulous Find" recently. But for now, I've got to get cookin'!

Something was definitely in the air today! Every single kid in class was CRAZY! Even the mild-mannered, well-behaved ones were just absolutely NUTS! We even had one bite another kid's ear! Ridiculous! What is it about when one kid acts up, they all decide it's the thing to do. I think all I did today was yell. It sucks to have to be the bad guy. Near the end of the day today, one kid said "I don't like you!" and I replied "That's ok, you don't have to like me. But you do have to do what I say."
Maybe tomorrow will be better. I hope so, because I bought sunglasses and bubbles for each of the kids and a bubble blowing gun for myself and I really wanted to see their reaction to that but there was NO WAY they were getting them after the stunts they pulled today. I sorta understand what it's like to be a parent now. Well, not really because if these kids were my own, they would know better than to act that way because if they did, they'd get a spanking for sure!
Lord, please grant me some patience...but hurry up! :)

(This post edited to fix one of my famous typos. Definitely is definitely one of those words I always spell wrong! I usually spell it definately. Drives me crazy!)

Spinach Quiche and School Stuff

Today, I tried a new recipe for Spinach Quiche that proved to be a real keeper. I'll be sure to share it at the end of this post. After we had brunch (because that's what you call it when you finally eat breakfast at 1:30), Jason mowed and trimmed the yard and I went to work on lesson plans. I ended up spending almost 5 hours on 8 lesson plans! I think they turned out great though. I am very proud of them and hope the kids will like them and they will have fun.
We're learning about:
Letters and alphabet sounds
Father's Day
All about Me (I am Special)
Manners and sharing
Independence Day
Silly songs and Stories
Pets
and Tall Tales

Each lesson plan has activities, books to read, coloring pages, songs and snacks. No, I didn't have to do all of this, but I really wanted to find lots of things that will keep their attention. That's hard with 3 year olds! Tomorrow, I'm having a meeting with my co-teacher to share our ideas and secretly I hope she's impressed. (She said the former teacher didn't do much with the class.) But that's not the main reason I did all this work, I really wanted to make good quality, fun and entertaining, informative lesson plans. I hope I succeeded!

Anyway, I've been at this computer for what feels like FOREVER, so I'm off to spend some time w/my hubby. We're making turkey burgers and hotdogs on the grill tonight and hanging out on the deck.

And before I forget, here's that recipe I promised. Try it, it's SO GOOD! (Even if you think you don't like spinach!)
Spinach Quiche

INGREDIENTS:
2 Tbsp butter or margarine
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 small onion, chopped
1 (10 ounce) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained
1 (4.5 ounce) can mushrooms, drained
1 (6 ounce) package plain (or herb and garlic) feta cheese, crumbled
1 (8 ounce) package shredded Cheddar cheese
salt and pepper to taste
1 (9 inch) unbaked deep dish pie crust
4 eggs, beaten
1 cup milk
salt and pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS:
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
2. In a medium skillet, melt butter over medium heat. Saute garlic and onion in
butter until lightly browned, about 7 minutes. Stir in spinach, mushrooms, feta
and 1/2 of the Cheddar cheese. Season with salt and pepper. Spoon mixture into pie
crust.
3. In a medium bowl, whisk together eggs and milk. Season with salt and pepper.
Pour into the pastry shell, allowing egg mixture to thoroughly combine with
spinach mixture.
4. Bake in preheated oven for 35 minutes. Sprinkle top with remaining Cheddar
cheese, and bake an additional 15 to 20 minutes, until set in center. Allow to
stand 10 minutes before serving.


Note: This recipe is very forgiving! If you don't like mushrooms, omit them. Add some cooked, crumbled bacon (or real bacon bits) in or even ham. Or use whatever type of cheese you have on hand instead of the cheddar. (I used grated Swiss and it was excellent!) You just almost can't go wrong with this recipe!

Good morning class! Oh wait...I'm not at work today. :) How was my first week at work? Pretty good, overall. I finally learned all the kids' names. (Always helpful when telling certain ones to quit throwing blocks at their friend's head.) But if I accidentally slip and call one by the wrong name, you can be sure they let me know it! It's quite entertaining and sometimes I do it on purpose just to see their reaction. (Ok, I don't really, but it makes a good story, right?)
This week, I have surely been tested, but I guess that's to be expected with any kids when they are experiencing change. One kid told me he hates me and he can't wait for Ms. Heather (their old teacher) to have her baby so she can come back. This is the same kid who kisses me and almost knocks me over with hugs every single day. Such is life when you're 3 right? We have some great kids in our class and they are all at different levels of learning right now, so it's a challenge to keep everyone's attention when teaching a lesson or doing circle time. I've got to sit down this week and plan some lessons. The other teacher and I take turns teaching a new lesson each week. This week, we (and by "we" I mean "she") turned our classroom into the ocean. I came in one morning and it was done. I would have helped if I knew anything about it, but maybe she wanted to wait until I've been there longer? Who knows. But we both agreed that we'd come up with a month's worth (or two) of lesson plans and sit down and share them with each other on Monday so that we can both have some input in the class lesson plans.
Overall, I am really loving this job! I come home exhausted every day though. Last night, I came home and took a shower, ate dinner and went to bed at 7:30. I was wiped out! I knew that I'd be tired, but when you're not used to taking care of even one kid and then you go to taking care of 11, then you are in for some tired nights! But one good thing this has done for me? (Besides giving me experience for the future, of course.) It has made me realize I don't want to have a baby any time in the near future. 11 screaming 3 year olds are remarkably good birth control. :)
Now I'm off to plan some lessons. Wish me luck!
P.S. Maybe next week, I'll take my camera and take pictures of my classroom and the kids. They are such hams!