Teaching Day

Here's some insight into my brain: When I sit down to blog, this is what comes out first:

[Some days I have planning days, and some days I have teaching days. Today was a teaching day. My first lesson was so much fun that I couldn't sit down an focus for any amount of time in the three hours before my second class. I did a little work, I walked up and down the hallway, I ate a piece of Halloween candy

Tomorrow is lab day and the Halloween party. Lab day should've been today, but I had to push it back because of the practical on Tuesday. Thursdays are tough anyway, because it's a shortened day for staff meetings. I have less prep time, and I teach back

Maternity leave]

Unfortunately, my audience prefers coherent and complete stories, so here's what a finished blog looks like:

Some days I have planning days, and some days I have teaching days. Today was a teaching day. My first lesson was so much fun that I couldn't sit down an focus for any amount of time in the three hours before my second class. I did a little work, I walked up and down the hallway, I ate a piece of Halloween candy, schmoozed with some colleagues, and did a little bit more work. On other days, I get into planning mode and can't wait until class ends so that I can get back to crafting lessons. Today was a teaching day.

Tomorrow is lab day and the Halloween party. Lab day should've been today, but I had to push it back because of the practical on Tuesday. Thursdays are tough anyway, because it's a shortened day for staff meetings. I have less prep time, and I teach back-to-back with the 5th grade science teacher, which makes cleanup and prep more challenging. This creates some logistical chaos with the experiment.

Moreover, tomorrow afternoon is the Halloween party. The 7th graders are having their first dance, and they get to dress up and eat pizza as well. They'll be excited tomorrow, which always makes teaching more challenging. For Halloween, I'll be the water cycle. I couldn't find any good ideas (these kids have never heard of Ms. Frizzle), so I'll laminate the different parts of the water cycle and pin them to my clothes.

The lab is testing how rock composition affects the rate at which water abrasion occurs. Each student will be given a film-canister-esque cylinder with chunks of granite and one with chunks of halite (rock salt). They will cover the rocks with salt and shake, then pour off the water. They will mass the rocks before the experiment and once every minute. They should see the halite decrease in mass noticeably, while the granite will not. I am so excited for the experiment, because they will be so excited. I also really can't wait to see another round of lab reports.

I found out yesterday that I may have to cover another class while the special ed teacher is on maternity leave, starting sometime in the next three weeks. I will teach a small group pull-out math class for three sixth graders. It sounds really fun, but at the moment the thought of planning and teaching another class is a little intimidating. Fortunately, I will be compensated. Also, it is possible they will find and hire a temporary teacher for then. Being flexible.

Today I ran 2 miles, which means I'm 3 days into my mission to be consistent. I want to run consistently so I can build mileage and train for a marathon in the spring. I am 4 miles into my 12 for the week. That means I'm 1/3 of the way through my weekly mileage and 2/3 of the way through my weekday mileage. I think I can do this.