Monday, November 24, 2008

maybe my longest blogger absence

Wow. I have not been around these parts for awhile. I have to admit, I haven't been writing OR reading. Usually, I at least keep up on my favorite reads...I have some major backtracking to do.

It has been a CRAZY year. As in school year. (Some of us still measure our lives in semesters.) New grade. New program. New resolution to be best math teacher ever. Recollection of desire for life balance. Scratch new resolution; just be a much better math teacher. Thank you, Mia, for the book. I have so not properly thanked you yet, except in the fact that I have really tried to put the book to use (I have a feeling you might appreciate this more anyways!), which I'll tell you more about later...I am not joking when I say it has REVOLUTIONIZED my thinking about primary mathematics instruction. I am a new woman. I am talking about this book!

Now, it is Thanksgiving break, and things have just recently started slowing down. Exhale. We are finally starting to work on the house a little (pictures coming), and also to get out into the world of 3 dimensional people a little more. We've been hitting what we call hippie church, and have very good intentions to go on walks in the neighborhood.

Since I was last here, I have been...

Honestly, I've mostly been teaching. And thinking about teaching. It's the new program and new grade thing...I hope next year I can feel what it feels like to do the same thing for two years. To be honest, I'm a person who does things better in spurts, but I've been working on my attention span, and I think I can do it! Seriously, I could go without the stress! I keep thinking that I cannot teach and have a baby at the same time, but I haven't even given myself a chance to see what teaching without a whole bunch of extra stuff and changes is like!

Eating good food. Really. And bad food, too. But lots of good food. B and I have been waking up and eating eggs and sweet potatoes cooked in olive oil every morning. Then, we read a passage from Pema and sit to meditate for 20 minutes. It is very balancing, and I have been much more 'present' at work, which is great, because what a waste to work with 6 year olds and not be present!

Working (or rather, giving very good suggestions to B) for how to feel super safe in our ghettoasis. For real, we hear gun shots almost every weekend now. We life in a great neighborhood, actually, full of pretty nice homes, but it's close enough to whatever seedy motel or wherever that we do hear them. Kind of a lot. When we call the police, the Cheers theme song plays. Coming from Little House on the Prairie, I just have to say, "um...are you kidding?" But to be honest, it's good for the soul. I feel like facing a reality that many of my students have faced, and just people in general, and just facing it only a tiny bit more than I did before, humbles me a little. Having said that, we have a super fab alarm system, and check out our peep hole! It's MAGIC! Thanks, B!


Oh, and seriously. I got a new president. Best one EVER!!!