What's the big idea((r))?

I have learned a few things from being out east about how they pronounce some words differently here.

1. Everyone says idear - not idea like it is spelled but idear. Where does that /r/ come from I wonder?

2. Everyone pronounces the word route -root- like a tree root. In Wisconsin we say route - like it is spelled but here is is root....? Hmmmm.

I have been corrected for saying route wrong - in a nice way of course - but I will stay strong and say idea NOT idear!

I have been enjoying the beauty Vermont has to offer and especially now that the trees are starting to change! I had the chance to go along on a field trip last week to Putney Mountain with the 3rd and 4th graders. We were bird watching - looking for falcons, eagles, hawks and other birds - to go along with there raptor unit. It was absolutely gorgeous! The two pictures are from the field trip!

I have been getting involved in my community: big brothers/big sisters, coaching 3/4 grade soccer and volunteering at PTO events!

I love my job and I guess I can say: so far, so good!

1 month on my own and the car breaks down....

So as I am sure you have read (you better be reading all my posts!) I went to Boston over Labor Day weekend. Well with NO problems we (my bestie that came to visit me and I) got home later Saturday night and were exhausted (physically) from the day. We decided to not go out for dinner but to head over to the grocery store to grab a frozen pizza and some wine. We go to the store, get our stuff, check out and then head back out to the car. Really very normal. Until I sat in the drivers seat and turned the key to my horror hearing nothing happen. OH MY GOD. THIS IS NOT HAPPENING. So I tried again- nothing. We decide to sit and let it sit for a couple of minutes. Try again- nothing. AHHHH I don't know anything about cars or know what to do. And of course my cell phone is sitting at home charging.

Luckily my friend who was with me (thank God I was not alone on this one) had her phone so I call, who else, my dad. Of course he tells me he doesn't know what to tell me - what was I expecting, him to know what to do all the way in WI??? So we try a couple of different things- nothing and try to find someone to jump it- no one.

Okay so we decide to just get a cab (are there even any in Brattleboro???), go home and try to figure it out in the morning. The biggest concern I had was getting my friend back to the airport. On Labor Day. At 7:00 AM.

We do find a cab, a nice guy who talks a lot and seems pretty legit, get home and just breathe. Well I try to just breathe.

Next morning- we call a couple of different airport shuttles and find one (thank God) and then have to find someone to drive us to Greenfield, MA where the shuttle is picking up (like 25 minutes from my house) and luckily my teacher friend (thank God) agrees to take us. She tells me- oh you poor thing, and does whatever she can to help (including later on driving me to the car place a few times and helping me figure out what to do!!!).

So, crisis one of trying to get my friend home is dealt with. Then Tuesday after work I go to the car place to see if they have had a chance to go walk across the street to the grocery store parking lot where my car is sitting. No they have not. Okay, then what to do? They give us a jumper 'box' (jumper cables attached to a battery box that you can use to jump your car without another car) and YAY the car starts. I feel that this is a good sign! I drive it over to the car place and they agree to get to it tomorrow.

So I call the next day and they say some car terms and something about the battery - so I say go ahead and fix it, whatever you need to do so I can have it back (after 5 years of no car and only having one for a month or so, who knew I would get so attached to having it?) after school Wednesday.

The crazy thing is that it was a new battery that was just put in a month ago when I bought the car, and I know it was for sure because it was my dad's friend who did it for us...or so I thought...I get to the car place and they show me the 'old' battery - which has a date stamp of July 2000 (well according to the guy who is telling me this). Wow I am thinking, that is crazy because why would my dad's friend not put a battery in when he said he was, etc.

So I get the car back having paid my check for the new battery and service and am on my way.

Of course there is more to the story. So I talk to my dad, who talked to his friend who put the battery in and it really WAS a new battery. The date stamp on Interstate batteries is shown by the numbers 1 through 0, 0 meaning 10, for 2010. So if it was in fact a new battery, it must have been a defective battery, which means it is under warranty by Interstate. So now I must call the car place I went to, tell them all of this about the date stamp and Interstate's warranty on defective batteries and hope to get my money back maybe. I know I have been avoiding it because it is kind of awkward but oh well, I need to get over it and it would be nice to get that $100 back.....I will keep you updated on what happens!

Oh, my life! :)

Boston!

So one of my bestest friends came to visit me over Labor Day weekend - which was AMAZING to have a true true friend with me in the flesh. She suggested that we go to Boston for a day trip over the Saturday she would be here. So we got up kind of early and set off on our drive to Boston. It was a 2 1/2 hour drive to the outskirts of the city and then we parked at a subway station, Alewife. We parked there and then took the subway into the city, to the downtown crossing.

We then took another subway up towards where Bunker Hill is. We looked up at Bunker Hill (it looks like a miniature version of the Washington Monument in D.C. but is not that miniature) and thought what is so special about this? We learned that Bunker Hill is not just a monument but was actually used in the Revolutionary War as a lookout and a place to shoot cannons from. So we had the grand idea to climb up the steps to the top.......all 298 steps........however many minutes that took later (not to mention we were coated with sweat) we had reached the top. The view was nice and luckily it was pretty breezy up there to cool us off and dry off our sweat! You would think the way up would be harder but I swear the way down was crazy. Our legs were shaking and feeling weak so both of us were holding on to the railing and going slower than old ladies! We heard a guy saying that it is hard on the lungs on the way up but harder on the legs on the way down ... so right!

After our 'adventure' we headed along to follow the Freedom Trail. We saw some old cemeteries, Paul Revere's house, some old churches, the old state house and just a bunch of areas of significant Revolutionary War history.

After our truly authentic Boston lunch (NOT - we ate at McDonalds) we saw some really cool street performers. It was a bunch of guys moving and break dancing who seemed to gather up a huge crowd. Then they were involving the audience by having six people get in the middle so that one of the performers could jump over them. SO they worked the crowd, played some music, danced and of course collected money (how could we not give some, they were so cool and super attractive as well) and then came the big finale. The crowd was pumped up and we waited and waited and then finally one of the guys ran up and jumped over the six people (they were bent over). It happened so fast but it truly was amazing. I will have to get the video clip of it to put up!!

Next stop was the Boston Commons - it was super pretty and a HUGE park. It was like two big parks right next to each other, but separated by a street. It was busy, lots of people sitting, enjoying music, walking, hanging out with their dogs AND then the best part ... the wedding party photos. Saturdays are a common wedding day but even more common I guess is getting your wedding pictures done at the Boston Commons. We creeped on the 3 different wedding parties we saw - some dresses were better than others...but all the flower girls were cute! They even had some swan boats in the pond, I wanted to go for a ride but the line was really long.

After a long but fun day in Boston we ended up in Chinatown and then a little touristy area near the subway station. My friend bought a Boston sweatshirt and I bought -of course- a keychain to add to my pointless keychain collection. We headed back on the subway to where the car was - our feet and legs tired and truly worn out but with good cause!

2 down...how many to go?

I have officially completed my first two weeks of school - even though they were short weeks - and my brain is tired. I like all my kids, I like everyone I work with and so far I really do just like everything. The hard part is getting over how surreal it is to be a 'real' teacher and not a college student anymore. Also, getting over the fact that I am super young compared to all of the other teachers and aides. I know that I graduated college, have my degree, have knowledge and (some) experience BUT I just don't feel like I'm with a group of my 'peers'.

Luckily my principal and special education director are super supportive and check in with me regularly to see how I am doing and what I need help with.

Last week I also went to a PLC, Professional Learning Community, Training which was very helpful and made me feel like even though my peers aren't my age or seem like my peers they ARE and I need to establish myself keeping that in mind.

I have gotten the hang of how the school runs, which classrooms do what and have finished MY schedule and started some informal inventories to see where my kids are at so I can see what I need to do to get them where they need to be. :)

First Day!

Yesterday was my first day and it just flew by. The first week or two of a special education teacher who has a 'resource room' who sees kids 30 minutes a day here or an hour a day there is kind of in 'limbo' with no set schedule yet. So for this first week I am just peeking in on some kids and hanging out in the general education classrooms to get to know my kids and observe them a bit.

I started the day with doing some paperwork/organizational stuff and then headed into one of the 3/4 classrooms. They do multi-age classrooms here at NewBrook so there is one kindergarten class, 2 1st and 2nd grade rooms, 2 3rd and 4th grade rooms and 2 5th and 6th grade rooms. I was hanging out with the larger 3/4 classroom that is team taught with 2 general education teachers. That particular classroom has 6 kids in it from my case load so I got a feel for the ones I will be working with. After doing a couple of activities the class got together with the other 3/4 class that is a little smaller in the multi-purpose room (gym, auditorium and cafeteria) to play some fun games. One we played was charades in small groups. I joined one small group and facilitated and even got to act out a few things; going jogging, flying a kite and playing golf :)

I ate lunch in my room with my para-educator and then was planning on hanging out in the smaller 3/4 room but got side tracked with organizing a file cabinet.....so fun, I know! Before I knew it the day was over - it went by SO fast!

I got home around 5:00 but I know that once I get farther into the year and have more to do and plan I will probably be living at school!

Of course, when I laid down to go to sleep last night all I could do was think of things I had to do, obsess over how to do things, what to do and tooooo much. It is hard to shut your brain off to sleep!

So today I got to school a little earlier and will most likely stay a little later, getting a little done at a time. Oh, and I spent the morning with the kindergarteners - they are too cute!