Rest

I spent a day at training today. Hopefully all went well with the substitute in my classroom today. I'm hoping that no news is good news. It was really nice to be done when the clock said we were done. No books to bring home. No extra hours of planning. In fact it was so nice I think I'll do it again for the next two days. Gotta love a three day training after a day off. :)

I couldn't decide which version to post so you get both. I love the bold color in the top one even though the background is blown out. But I also love how the almost complete lack of color emphasizes the patterns and the detail.

Too Busy

Life has been busy. Work is kicking me in the behind. I'm enjoying being back in the class, but geeeesh is it a lot of work. Tomorrow night is back to school night and I'll get to meet many of the parents. I always look forward to this. It's an informal gathering where we look at the curriculum, talk about expectations, homework policy, etc. But it's also a chance for parents to size me up so I hope I make a good impression. I think most parents care about two things from a teacher: 1) that the teacher knows what he/she is doing; and 2) that the teacher cares about the students. I'm pretty confident I'll pass both of these tests. Although not quite as organized as I'd like, I do have a pretty good grasp on what I'm doing. And I think it's obvious that I care about the kids.

I apologize for not visiting my regulars in a while. I hope as I get settled into the semester I can spend more time seeing what everyone has been posting. I have not had much time to shoot lately so here's one from the archives that I don't think I've had the opportunity to post previously.

Looking Ahead

Tomorrow is my last day of work. It closes the chapter of my four years out of the classroom as a math coach. We had our end of the year coach meeting and luncheon today. It was a day of goodbyes, best wishes, thank yous, and encouragements. So as I close this chapter, I look down the next path. Or set of paths. I'm definitely looking forward to working in a classroom again. It will be a welcomed challenge. I've already loaded myself up with text books and state standards to begin prepping for the school year. Plus, I'll be teaching summer school to 4th and 5th graders which get me back in teaching mode. I'm nervous, excited, and anxious all at the same time

But I'm also looking at what other things are down this path. I'm seriously looking into doing more with my photography. Professionally. Also, Lily will be turning 2 in August. What will life at home be like now that she is growing up so fast? All this reflecting is getting me to look at my priorities a lot more. There is nothing like having a child to show me how selfish I am. I'm involved in too many things. My hobbies are too time consuming so I need balance. And if I'm thinking of making my hobby become more, I have to figure out a way to do this or I'll have to let it go. I definitely need to pray about this. And I invite you to join me in this prayer.

Having said that, tomorrow night is the wedding in which I'll be assisting. I've packed all my gear. Checked it multiple times. I think I'm ready. Ready as I'm going to be. So if you're already praying for my previously mentioned area of need, would you be so kind as to pray for my friend and me as we shoot this wedding? Thank you so much.

Off to USC

Today's image is not new. It was taken just over two years ago in Yucca Valley. I've always liked to come back and look at this one. It was a long day today so I'm having difficulty coming up with specifics about what I like about this image and why I like it.

While spreading the news about landing a job to my coworkers last Friday, a fellow teacher told me about an upcoming training. The class I was hired to teach is the GATE (Gifted and Talented Education) group. As it turns out, the training was for today and tomorrow. Talk about last minute. After some emails and phone calls throughout the weekend I was told to show up at the training location on the campus of USC and hope for a vacancy. USC is not close to home so this was kind of a gamble. I remained hopeful and showed up. They did not enroll me right away. "Go to the first session and come back to see if we had some no-shows." I was told. Eventually I was enrolled. Most of the sessions were good. I feel that they were presenting the material as if they expected all of us to have prior knowledge of the program. Aside from that, I think the training is good and will be very useful as I get into my own classroom this fall.

You're Fired!

You're Fired! Only it wasn't Donald Trump that issued the words. In fact, I wasn't fired. But I did lose my position. All is well. Let me explain. I was told several months ago that if our state's current budget crisis meant there would be cuts to the educational program in which I've been involved for the past four years, I would be among the first to lose my position. As of last week, that possibility became reality. As some of you have known, I have toyed with the idea of returning to the classroom for some time now. Well, I no longer have to decide. The decision has been made for me. So, I am actively looking for a teaching position. If I do not secure one on my own, I still have a job. I would be placed in a school by the district. I would not have choice of school or grade level should that be the case. But I still have a job. So in the meantime, I'm trying to find a school of my choice and my grade level of preference- 3rd, 4th, or 5th, in that order. A year of K, 1st or 2nd just scares me! But God is in control. So I'm not worried. It's comforting to know that He is in control and that I still have a job. I'm actually quite excited about having a class of my own again. I'm looking forward to seeing what I can do with a single group of students throughout the course of a school year. I'm curious to see how I can move a class now that I've had all this extra experience and training. I have high hopes.

Image taken from this site.