The Great Balancing Act.

I am standing on one foot. On a teeter totter.  With a bucket of water on my head and there is a goldfish named Johnny in that bucket counting on me to stand up straight so that he doesn’t fall and die.

That is a fairly apt description of my life currently.  Now I am not complaining I am doing what I’ve wanted to do since I was 15 and it’s good.  I mean real good. But it is this bizarre balance of should I over plan? How long is 50 minutes? How long is 75? how important are 12 of those? How can I can convince my students that numbers are important? How important are they? Oh and should I have a life outside of school? And how do you get one when you just moved 450 miles north? Where are all my friends you ask? well, in san diego.

I am loving this by the way. My own classroom with comics on the wall and a library behind the whiteboard.  Kids have been borrowing my books. it’s amazing.

I have a favorite by the way.  He’s in sixth grade.  The first day when I said I was from San Diego he said, “Have you been to comic con?” BEST QUESTION EVER. “Yea I have.” “Are there a ton of people?” “I’m pretty sure about 100,000.” “WOW”. Then yesterday he told me he was doing his whole poster on The Goonies. Then he was surprised when I said I had seen it. “Me,” I thought, ” kid you are 11. how have you seen it?” He is a total winner.

I busted a sweet rendition of say my name outside the library. one of my students was singing it and then i started and they were like, “damn Ms. Germain, you know the words.” They are pretty funny.

things I am not sure about:

1) kids retaining information.

2)kids learning with in the context of different styles of notes and lecture

3) routines and planning.

overall first two weeks have been solid.  I am dying for a more normal week but you know we all do what we gotta do.

Swim on, Johnny I think we’re gonna make it.

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