TGIW

When you get towards the end of the year...you have "Thank God it's Wednesday" along with "Thank God it's Friday." This is something I did not realize before today. Today after lunch and playtime is Science for a half hour. Then, Buddy Reading for a half hour...both in the place of Stations. If today was a Stations day, I would cry. I need a break from reading the decodable readers with the kids. It's hard to read the same 9 books over and over... Wednesday is my break from repetitive reading--I mean stations.

Tomorrow, we have AIMSWEB testing (don't ask ME what it stands for!). I'm excited because it's another break from routine...except that now I have one more student to test...a student that left for exactly two weeks and two and a quarter days and showed up this morning. GREAT! SUPER! She just walked in this morning and stood just inside my room and stared at me. And I just stared right back with thoughts like "Is she supposed to be in my room right now? Is it a joke? Is this a figment of my imagination? Am I starring at her? Stop starring and do something!" Finally, I said "Are you enrolled in my room? Go ask Andy and get a late pass, please," and went back to measuring with paper feet...(measuring using non-standard units).

Five minutes later her dad walks by, peeks his head in, and says "She's re-enrolled. Just did it!" I respond with as much of a smile as I could give in the shock, "Ok, wasn't sure what was going on...Thanks!" P.S. Angela was not with him...he came back another five minutes later with her in toe.

So far, it's all good in the hood. We'll see how long it lasts. Already my students are different (not worse, not better, not normal) because of this one kid back in the room. Any teacher can tell you, one kid can either make the class heaven or hell. So far, we're in purgatory. I'm not Catholic, but if my understanding is correct, that is exactly where we are. Any teacher can also tell you that one day you'll be in hell, next you'll be in heaven, then you'll be in hell for a week, back to heaven and somehow on your way down to purgatory. Teacher's are the closest thing to God because the move through those terminals almost as frequently as God himself...except when God goes to hell I'm sure it's just to see how everything is going and I bet he just pops right back up to Heaven like "Jeesie Creasy, glad I don't have to hangout in that joint for more than three earthly seconds." Teachers on the other hand don't just visit and see how the devil's holding down the fort and go home...we are actually hanging out there, being punished because we didn't let a student pick his nose, or eat his booger, or let him cry because I told him to stop both.

Sorry for the "enlightening rant", but that's my teaching life right now. As for the weather, it's snowing and 32 degrees Fahrenheit. I opened the door to walk out of my cabin this morning and was speechless and sure that I wasn't awake yet because there was snow on my steps. At least the snow didn't stick. This weather is so unpredictable that even the weather people can't figure it out. It's unnatural for it to be snowing and 32 in April. It's UNNATURAL for this Marylander to still have a winter coat on in April. Well, what was I expecting? I mean really, I moved to Alaska...

Love,

Edah

P.S. It doesn't hit dusk until 11:00ish-11:30ish. Sorry, if you want an exact time Google it!

View of my house on Monday, April 25, 2011.

View of the river from outside my house on Monday, April 25, 2011.

One of the school cooks gave me these yesterday. She got them while she was in Anchorage. She got a pair for all the ladies working at Marshall School. I felt honored that she thought to get me a pair! They are hand made by her sister! Pretty impressive!