Chicka Chicka Boom Boom! Looks What’s Going on in Our Room!

Hey! I have not disappeared! I went back to school mid-October and have been running full force since then. When I returned to school, the MCS exhibitions were 3 weeks away. I spent the next few weeks trying to acclamate my children to my way of teaching, creating projects for the expedition, trying to get organized, and attempting to catch up!!! I am a very organized person and the first day back in my room…I noticed that supplies, paper, junk, and more supplies were just stuck wherever.

I absolutely LOVE technology, computers, cameras, and more computers. I have never claimed to be the brightest in all of these areas, just very intrigued, interested, and motivated by it all!  I was so thrilled that I got the opportunity to attend the MCS Technology Conference November 6 and 7, since I had only been teaching this school year for a few weeks. I had had all intentions of presenting during this time, but was not prepared for all the catch-up paperwork as well as getting to know my students and their families.   I ended up having my precious baby 5 weeks early and stayed off work a little longer than planned from the beginning.  I have been staying after school as much as I can, but since the time change my co-workers have encouraged me to leave by 5.

I wish I had the time to look/play/research the many ideas and websites that I hear about. I am glad that I am in the profession I have chosen because I hear a lot of comments about certain websites!  I am looking forward to the 2008 Technology Conference Group getting together at some point after the holidays. I am very interested in the many ways we, as teachers, have used all the different skills and information from the summer camp in our classrooms this year!

I have almost completed Egypt’s pictures/renaming for MCS. I am getting nervous because the deadline is the end of next week and time seems to be flying more than ever! I plan on taking one day at a time with my classroom, but also have the future of my students in my thoughts at all times! I absoluetly love being the mother of two boys. It is the best feeling ever!

My mind races daily about precious little children. I have really enjoyed being home with my 3 1/2 year old son, Garrett, and my 7 week old son, Hayden.  Garrett is so helpful and loves being a big brother. Having two children has made my life much more interesting as well as busy. My husband works a lot of hours, so I spend a lot of time just me and the boys. Garrett loves to play any kind of ball outside and I never have enough energy to keep up with his! Hayden is a good baby and is sleeping through the night most nights.  Children are the most wonderful miracles!

Now, I also think a lot about the 22 children in my classroom that I have not met yet.  I have seen pictures of most of them, but cant match names with the faces. My baby, Hayden, has not had his shots yet. Once he has had his first set, I would like to go to my class and share him with my children and try to put names with faces.  I have big plans of doing a lot of school work the week before I go back to make sure that I am prepared and organized.  My children are on their 3rd substitute. I wish that it would have just been one the entire time. This worries me because I dont want them confused.  I have my fingers crossed that the one that started Monday will stay til the end of my maternity leave.

I feel lost when it comes to my job because I hear so many “rumors” of things that have changed this year. New rules from the principal and the new superintendent seem to be the topic of conversation a lot with my friends that teach at many different schools. I am very open to change, just like to know all the details. I don’t want to bombard my team with questions all the time so I am trying to just take notes until I return.

I have gotten myself on a schedule since I have been home and need to start preparing myself to return to work. I still have four weeks, but have really gotten addicted to certain t.v. shows…Ellen and Wife Swap on Lifetime!  I plan on getting back on a better work schedule starting next week to prepare myself for the 22 children in my classroom who I am dying to meet!

Kindergarten students come one day this week for testing and they all return this coming Monday for a fun-filled school year. I am very dedicated to my job and my family!!  I am enjoying being home with my newborn son and my 3 1/2 year old. We are all doing great!  I am gonna miss my students’ first day as a class.  I know they are being taken care of with the teacher taking my place and that is what matters the most! This is the first time in 10 years of teaching that I dont have everything done to start the school year out and not there when school starts.

I know that things will work out and this school year will be a lot of fun.  Having two children is the highlight of my life! I have always enjoyed teaching and I am sure everything will run smoothly!

My precious angel is here!!! Hayden Bennett was born Saturday, July 26 at 2:06 p.m.  He weighed 5.4 pounds and was 19 inches long.  I was put in the hospital on Friday because I had severe preclamcia and had a section on Saturday. He was 5 weeks early and had respitory distress. He has been in the NICU Nursery and will be till he gets to go home.  I have not been discharged yet because I have Post-Partum Preclamcia and Pregnacy Induced Hypertension. I have been improving daily, as well as my precious baby boy!!!!

He is a MIRACLE!!! He is doing so much better every time that we get to see him!!! He is eating better, in a regular bed, and off all machines!!!! We pray daily that he keeps getting better and he gets to go home soon!!!  Family is a very precious thing to me. It will be very hard to leave the hospital without my baby, but also know that he is being well taken care of and will get to come home soon!!

Miracles are very precious and Hayden will always be very special to me. I just thought I would let you know about my special day Saturday and ask for your thoughts and prayers for Hayden to improve daily and come home soon!!

I have been trying to play around with my camera to see what all it can do. It has many different functions that I have always wondered about. During Tech Camp, Scott talked about digital photography and the many different kinds of cameras. My head has been spinning ever since about finding things to practice taking pictures of.  I took my little boy to the zoo and we sat in front of the polar bears for over 30 minutes so I could watch and try to take pictures. I got so carried away with the picture taking that I forgot to really pay attention to the two polar bears eating, swimming, and playing together.  Scott has a digital photography class three days this next week and it is full. I am hoping that everyone does not show up so that I can have a spot. I love taking pictures at home and at school.  Sometimes my friends tell me its time to put the camera down because I am constantly trying to take pictures!!

My grandmother has been sick and I have been spending a lot of time on the road to visit her and make sure she has what she needs. While on the road, I have done lots of thinking of school and how to incorporate a lot of what I learned at Tech Camp into my classroom as well as sharing it with other teachers.

I have two friends who I used to teach with who want to get together for me to explain how to create and continue blogs and wikis. I am excited because it will be my first chance to share/teach the information that I learned and others learn from me! We are going to get together and hopefully they will have a blog set up when we are finished.  Its hard sometimes to talk to others about how excited you are with the new information you have learned when they dont really understand what you are talking about. After we get together, we should all be on the same level and Im looking forward to being able to be excited about a new idea I have and my friends know exactly what I am talking about.

I missed the play date scheduled for the Tech Camp because I was with my grandmother. There is another one coming up soon…and I will be there! My list of questions is growing!

My mind has been racing this weekend with many ideas on incorporating a blog into my classroom as well as sharing the idea with other teachers at my school. I have not quit talking to my friends and family who are not educators about all the new information I learned last week and have even been trying to encourage some of them to start blogs for their families. I have kept my laptop plugged in all weekend when I have not been on it so that I can play and look around for ideas at any time!

My best friend, whom I have been friends with since before Kindergarten, is moving to Bahrain with her husband and three children. He got a great job opportunity that they just cant pass up. I cry every time I think about it, including now while typing. I have been trying to help her all weekend to start a blog so that all her friends and family in the US can easily keep up with what is going on. We have also been talking about using SKYPE to communicate more often while they are gone. She has twin girls and I have a little boy, all who are 3 1/2 and I think it will be very encouraging as well as a learning experience for the children to be able to talk that way. I also want my classroom to write to Jamie and her family as a pen-pal experience and share things with eachother that are going on in both countries. I think my students will greatly benefit from seeing how people of other cultures live!

I have really enjoyed the past two and half days. My brain is overloaded, but keeps on going! I enjoy technology and have learned many new ideas. I have stayed up very late the past two nights and ignored any and all housework just to play on the computer and to investigate all the new websites we have been introduced to.

I am very anxious to talk to Ms. White about some new and bright ideas for the upcoming school year. I am going to to be out for 8 weeks after having my second, sweet little baby boy, but my mind will still be racing I know! I am going to create a Power Point Presentation to introduce some of the ideas I have learned this week to the faculty in hopes to encourage my co-workers to be as enthusiastic as I am!

I feel a lot better after spending two full days in Tech Camp. I still have a lot of questions and then forget them when I get there. One is what is the easiest way to contact the Ed Tech people so that when I do have a question, I don’t spend forever looking at a way to contact one of them. We have learned many ways to interact with each other as well as others and I am not sure which way I like the best or is the easiest yet.

I learned some new things about Digital Photography today that really intrigued me. I am the webmaster for my school and really enjoy taking and editing pictures. I also learned how to use a SmartBoard and was very, very impressed. I am anxious to talk to the administration to see what is available for our use as well as purchasing new items for the school!

I got to the TLA early this morning so I could figure out what was the problem last night with being able to link my name with my blog on the EdTech Wiki page. For some reason, I got it to work the first time on the computer this morning. It made me feel much better, but also wondering what I did wrong last night. I think I did the same thing.

I have made a big goal for myself today……to take absolutely NO written notes. I am going to use Zoho Writer to take all my notes, which is something that I learned all about yesterday. My mind is still racing and very anxious to learn lots more information!