Us Right Now, September 2012

R is liking fourth grade, though all the cursive practice is frustrating for her. She took a break from piano this summer and just started back up again. As always, she loves any kind of creative play and is especially loving writing essays right now. (Poor kid. The child of two English teachers will never be normal.)

S is in kindergarten and loves it. He can read books by himself now and has worked really hard at learning to read. We routinely praise his efforts these days.

J will resume his master's next summer when he writes his thesis. As usual, he loves his teaching assignment, loves his classes, loves his job. He is truly a master of his trade.

Me? Well I am adjusting to a new position. It's temporary - only a year - at a middle school as a dean. There are certainly some things I love about the job, things I thought I wouldn't like. For example, I like middle school kids. And I like them a lot. They are still kids; they still play at recess. They are still willing to learn about their behavior. I never thought I would like a small school, but I get it now - I already know many students by name, which wouldn't happen at a school with over 2000 students. Because of the size, I can easily identify students who need some extra attention, see them in the halls regularly, and so on.

There are elements that have really challenged me, too. The adjustment hasn't been a simple one, that's for sure. I went from working at a school where I had a lot of friends, where I had a voice in what I did, but also in the direction of the school at large. As a new, temporary employee, my friendships are few and my role and vision are limited. On top of that, my hours are longer than I had expected; consequently, my goal to refocus on my family for this year has had to be readjusted.

Nevertheless, I am really glad I took the position. I get to learn from two different, though talented, administrators, and I get to see a different side of education on a day-to-day basis.

I am also working on getting my life organized again now that my master's is over. There is a lot of neglect around here - lots of weeds, dust, and piles of paper. Someday, I will feel I have conquered and not been conquered.

As a family, we are trying to figure out how to fit other organized activities into our kids' days. Between homework and piano, there doesn't seem to be much time. I know it sounds silly, but it's true. A musical instrument is a daily commitment, and homework for a scattered fourth grader takes hours.

I am glad to be blogging again.

Happy Thursday!

Our family right now

Thought I would toss out a family update:

Right now, Jason is back to school teaching all A.P. classes. He works hard at school and then picks up the kids, gets Roz going on homework and piano practice, and cooks dinner. On the weekends, he does the grocery shopping (at Costco, Trader Joe's and then maybe the regular grocery store) and often much of the cleaning. In short, he is working his butt off and functioning as the primary parent. I greatly appreciate everything he does, and at the same time, I hope to step in and do more of it as soon as things settle. He is also brainstorming topics for his master's thesis. As always he makes me laugh constantly.

Right now, Roz is back to school in the third grade. We love her teacher. So far, the GATE program hasn't made much difference, but we are hoping it will provide some enrichment for her. She hates homework with a passion, which concerns us. Hating homework at this age doesn't bode well for the teen years. She does passionately love reading, however. Swim lessons are on hiatus, and we are trying to decide if we will enroll her in art classes or karate. It's tricky - finding that balance between being appropriately stimulated and over-scheduled. Her favorite color has moved from rainbow to turquoise to purple, and she stills puts together some pretty crazy fashions. Often, she will disappear into her room to draw pictures and write stories.

Right now, Sawyer is in preschool and loves it. His teacher tells us repeatedly how sweet and easy he is. He loves to play with the dog and is into superheroes. His moving away from his train obsession makes his daddy happy and his mommy sad. As he always has been, he is a boy of routine. For example, he gets up every morning at 6 a.m., regardless of the day of the week, and immediately gets his fiber bar and eats it. He then plays for a while and then asks for an egg or a bowl of cereal.


Right now, I am heading off to my last CCSSO trip as teacher of the year. I am excited about a trip to New Jersey and New York, and although I am sad to say goodbye to my friends, I am looking forward to being more focused on my homelife and my plan to go on a residential retreat next year. (Yay!) I am no longer teaching A.P. classes and have replaced those classes with remedial English I, including one co-taught section. It's a stretch for me, but it has been a good stretch. I still teacher Senior Rhetoric, which I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE. My creative outlet lately has been cardmaking, since I can have a finished product in about in fifteen minutes. I am trying to cut back on responsibilities at work.

Right now, Shadow has learned sit, down, stay, off, and leave it. We are working on come, and in case you are a stalker considering breaking into our house, we are training him on eat the nose off that guy. He doesn't jump on the kids as much, and I spend much of my home time trying to find ways to channel his lab energy, especially since walks make him nervous and he doesn't chase balls. We have found some good lab activities, like chase the red laser dot and walk four houses before you panic and try to run home.




That's the family Right Now update. Hope everyone is enjoying the cooler weather.

Family Update

Goodness! Sometimes I read my blog and realize it's really heavy and, well, kind of dry. So I thought I would take a lighter approach and give a family update in the spirit of Stacy Julian:

Right now:

Roz has just finished science camp. She loved it, as did I. To name just one activity she participated in while there: She took an old iPod speaker station that she took apart and explored. She seems to be on the verge to learning to swim, which would be great. After all these years of lessons, she might actually swim across the pool. She finds homework boring, so although she misses school, she is glad to have the break from homework. She is also taking a break from piano lessons. This summer should be fun. She and I are loving reading together.

Sawyer is still obsessed with trains, but has branched out to cars, tools, and Spiderman, although trains are still his toy of choice. I don't mind, since I love them too. We love train rides, and with two trains in town we can ride, we have a fun summer ahead. He is also taking swimming lessons. He is starting a new day care/preschool this summer.

Jason is still working on his master's and is gearing up for his dissertation. His papers are really interesting, and I am learning a lot about post modernism by reading them for him. I am impressed with his hard work, passion, and insight.

I am taking a break from my master's and really looking forward to the summer ahead: Disneyland, Space Camp, naps, a few good books, lots of kid time, and some crafting.

Okay, so maybe this blog post is a little dry and a little Christmas-letter-family-bragging, but I wrote it so I am publishing it just like my students who refuse to edit out that paragraph they love but that actually detracts from the thesis.

Happy summer evening to everyone. I love these nights when the air is that perfect Nevada summer evening air - cool but not frigid, fresh and not hazy.