Foggy Days

Our front window this morning

So, it's common in the winter time in this part of California to have the schools call "foggy day schedule", which means that school is delayed for two hours because it is so foggy. It can be really nice because you get an occasional slow-morning. The kids can sleep a little longer and we aren't rushing around like maniacs. However, now that I'm living a teacher's life.....sadly I still have to get up early and get ready because if I waited until they officially "call it" foggy day, it would be 6:30 ish and that is WAY too late for me to start getting ready.

This morning is a foggy day. I was totally ready by the time I found out....but now I can catch up on a few emails and some blogging...and enjoy some extra time with the girls.

I'm only on day four of student teaching....and I'm trying not to dwell on having 17 more weeks still! Its definitely intense. But I have enjoyed myself and what I'm experiencing quite a bit. I REALLY like my Master Teacher. The funny thing is, I wouldn't really pick her to be my kids' teacher....she's just not a fit with their personalities, but as a co-worker, I really like her. She is so welcoming to me, and even let me completely take over the class for about 20 minutes yesterday to read a story with them (she thought I did great......thank you, LDS church for YEARS of teaching opportunities). She is also giving me a master copy of every assignment or project we do so I can have resources to draw from later down the road.

Trying to balance my old full-time mom status with this new full-time working status is interesting. Luckily, I only miss out on seeing my older girls for about an hour after they get home from school. Peyton is harder for me to not see because I'm used to her being my little buddy all day long. I do feel happy with her set-up....starting next week she will have a mix of Tucker, Lindy, my Mom and a really good day-care/pre-school (for about six hours per week).

When I get home...which is around 3:30....all I want to do is hang out with them (or completely veg, but that's not an option). But I quickly have to think about what the five of us will eat, and getting homework done, practicing piano, getting baths, picking out clothes....plus cleaning up messes and refereeing fights (all with the help of Tucker, thank goodness). And finishing all that by 7:00 so we can start the going to bed process. It's all a bit crazy. And after they go to bed, I have about two hours where I can catch up....but by that point I'm so tired from the 5:30 am wake-up and fast-paced day, I want to do NOTHING.

I have to note that I have had to eliminate a few key things from my life to make this possible: Harmony, and Primary Presidency, volunteering in the classroom, and going to bed late. There's no way to do it all.

I've also decided that, unless it's absolutely necessary financially, I will probably teach part time for a few years after I'm credentialed. There are lots of charter schools/home schools around here and the teachers actually are assigned specific students to make sure they are on track with the curriculum. You can have anywhere from 4 students (which is four hours per week) to 40 students (full time). You get paid by the hour and it is very flexible.

But let's get through this semester first!