As I wrote the countdown in my title just now, it came to me why I've been feeling like butterflies, frogs, volcanoes and cry babies have been hanging out in my body lately! I'm at that point on the mountain where I've been climbing and climbing, and I'm getting pretty warn out, but I'm so close to that down hill turning point.
There's no point in pretending that it's all grand, the honey moon period is over! Well wait, I shouldn't say that…I'm still in love with teaching, still love my class and 2nd grade team, and my CT is awesome. Thank goodness for all of that. What isn't as romantic is juggling full time teaching (and not getting paid), a TWS, a Capstone project, after school babysitting, and a personal life. Let's just say the stress and the constant pit in my stomach from being overwhelmed has set in. I have no problem crying it out though, and moving on. I'm good at working myself up and feeling like life is crazy and scattered, but I always manage to get things done that need to get done, and I will continue to push through the second half of fall semester!
What's been put aside while I've been juggling the other stuff: Exercise, a healthy diet, water, deep cleaning, hanging with friends… hah, all the things that probably keep me sane!! The result: a few extra pounds on the scale, those awesome back muscles I was building are slowing going away, breakouts constantly (due to stress, diet, lack of water…), and probably contributing to my emotional state! Hey, at least I'm aware of it…right?! haha
My goals for this week:
-Try to work in at least a little bit of exercise, I need to start somewhere and a little is better than nothing!
-WATER WATER WATER…man I need water!
-I will devote time after work on my projects, even if it's only 30 minutes. A little every day adds up and I need to push myself through it in order to get these projects done.
-A healthier diet…I'm so good at eating healthy, but I'm also really good at eating what's convenient when I'm busy--or eating all the treats in the lounge at school. I will do my best to make healthier choices, then I know my body will start to crave the good stuff again, and my skin will clear up a bit!
-Taking a deep breath, and taking one step at a time-Because really, that's all I can do!
I needed to whine and pout and make personal goals public. It's a coping mechanism I suppose. Also, knowing I'm not the only person going through this program helps. I know my classmates are feeling a lot of the same feelings. WE will get through it and be proud that we did! AND graduation day will be that much more rewarding knowing the amount of time, work, commitment, and money we put into our future!
Now I can move on and get the job done!!
Besides the excessive stress, everything is great (bahaha!). I began teaching my TWS unit which is a 7 week unit on habitats. I'm learning how low on the totem pole science and social studies are. It makes sense, because the other subjects are foundations for so much. But it's also pretty sad because these subjects are the ones we usually get to do extremely hands on and interactive lessons with.
By the time I get started teaching after math and factor in about 5 minutes to clean up at the end of the day, I end up with about 20 minutes to teach science! I'm learning a lot about the stresses of teachers and how they struggle to fit in content throughout the day, and why science and social studies planning is definitely not a priority…and sometimes skipped all together! On the flip side I've learned how important it is to embed multiple subjects into lessons. Our school uses a reading program that embeds a lot of the science and social studies into it, thank goodness for that! Our kids seem excited about the content though, this age LOVES learning about animal habitats!
I had my first "formal" observation by my university advisor. That went well. She had great things to say about my teaching style. It's nice to get that kind of feedback and to be reassured that you're good at what you love! I know Nick will be surprised to hear that she loves my voice and presence in the classroom. I know that sounds like a weird compliment, but I tend to speak quietly and have to make a real effort to project my voice. She said my demeanor is one that the kids will soon love and trust if they don't already, what a compliment!
I know I have so much more to learn and that much of my learning will not happen until I get into my own classroom. I cannot wait to have that responsibility and that is a stress I will welcome!
That's all for now, have a wonderful week everyone! Hopefully by my 10 week check in, some bricks will have lifted off my shoulders…there's a good chance since week 10 is fall break! WAHOOO!!!!
Pick a keep calm, any keep calm. But really, I just need to KEEP CALM! :-p
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