Jen's Notebook

Living in eastern Washington gives students a variety of weather to go to school in. Mainly it’s wind!!! The wind blows here during every season but summer!!! We have nice cool autumn breezes that help us feel that it’s time to pick apples and get ready for Halloween! WE have wind chill factors of 5 and below in the winter, which shut down recess of any kind for weeks on end. Causing all kids to ache to go back out and play on the playground. And then we have spring winds. BY spring winds I should say late February and on winds. Gusts of over 50 miles an hour. Winds blowing non-stop everyday and night for weeks at a steady 20 or more miles per hour! Yikes!!!!! The wind makes everyone at school act differently. I’d say I can’t wait for the spring winds to stop blowing but that would also mean the end of the Kindergarten year and my wonderful bunch of students moving on to first grade. Isn’t funny how each thing we wish away also takes with it something we will miss?

I’m so sad to admit I haven’t blogged on my web sight in well over a year. Why??? The main two reasons are CCSS and New teacher evaluations! Yikes!!! Every teacher in America understands with only that said. So, I am now a year and a half into teaching CCSS in every subject and half way to finishing my first year in the new evaluation system. With that said, I am so tired! 🙂 I wonder how new teachers are going to make it through all of this. My district has no set curriculums so we are inventing everything and I am on the long comprehensive form of evaluation. If I had known this is what it would be like all those years ago would I still have become a teacher? If I am really honest with myself the answer would be yes. I love working with the students and their families, being around other educators who have so many great things to offer, and most importantly I have found that I truly love inventing curriculum! So, yes I would be a teacher again and again! Teachers are hardworking, caring, kind, and all together a great group of people! Thank your child’s teacher today for what they do! It will mean more to them then you can ever imagine!