Do I Like Fall?

Hi, I am doing this post as part of a Writer's Workshop.  The subject I chose was "10 Things You Like About Fall". 

Well, first of all, Fall is not my favorite season.  Summer is, followed closely by Spring.  I hate the cold and love the heat.  However, there are a couple of things I do like about Fall.

#1. This guy has his birthday in the Fall.  No, he doesn't look like this anymore, but I can remember   when he did.  He is going to turn a big old 4 this November.
#2.  He is going to have a little brother, also in November.  Two very good reasons to like the Fall :)
#3.  I do like Fall decorations.  The colors are warm and pretty.
#4.  Fall foliage in Northern VA is amazing!  Every day I see it on my way to work.
#5.  School starts.  I don't always like getting up at 5 am, but I do enjoy my job.
#6.  Christmas is coming, with 2 grandchildren, this should get even better :).
#7.  I am keeping my fingers crossed for some snow days this year.  We had none last year :(.

Ok, that's is where I kinda run out of steam.   Like I said before, I really don't like the cold and right now all of the stink bugs in the world are trying to get into warm places, like inside our cars and houses!!! Double and Triple Yuck!!!!!

Here's to a pretty fall, a snowy winter and an early advent of Spring!

Life, school and a visit from Jack.

     Well, here I am 4 weeks into school and Friday was the first day we had a full load of 8 students.  8 students, a physical therapist, an occupational therapist and two assistive technology trainers.  Which makes for a very crowded classroom, sigh :(.
     It's been a very busy month, getting used to a new computer program for IEP's, which is not quite ready for us to use, getting used to new students and their parents, getting used to a new principal.  Change can be difficult and is always exhausting in my opinion.  It doesn't mean I won't be happy about the changes, just that I take a while to get used to new things.
     Last weekend I brought Jackson home with me.  He was not very happy about leaving Mommy and driving to Nana's house with Nana.  It's amazing how much it hurts your heart to hear your grandchild cry :(.  He eventually brightened up enough to find Iron Man in Target to buy and to tell me he didn't want to eat out, he wanted macaroni and cheese at Nana's house.  So that's what we did and he was delighted to find out that Pop Pop had been busy shopping and that there was now a new box of dinosaurs to play with and a put-together batcave with a miniature batman.  He already is the owner of a large castle like structure which contains a firehouse and police station.
     We spent a wonderful morning at the Air National Guard Air Show.  Jackson loved looking at the various aircraft and was thrilled to be sitting in a helicopter!  The best part however was the hangar set up as a children's play area with many bounce houses and slides which he loves, especially if there are other children to play with :).  We then went to the zoo on Sunday, but Jack wasn't really into it, he said he wanted to see the lions, but once seen, he gladly walked on.
     He is getting to be such a big boy and almost cuter than one child can possibly be :).

    

A New Year

Well school and started and the kids are back :)  I started out with 5 students who were coming back from previous year/years and then found I had two more and then one more.  8 students are all I can have, 8 students and 2 full time para professionals.  This is because the needs of my students are usually greater than those of students in a more typical early childhood special education class.  And believe me sometimes 3 adults are definitely not enough!  Just to get the kids into and back out of the classroom takes more than 3 pair of hands.  I have to go outside the classroom to get enough help.  Thanks goodness our speech pathologist has some free time to help us.

It's been a difficult start of the year.  Although I stayed in the same school, I was moved to a new classroom and have a new room mate.  I ha vethe only classroom for students with multiple disabilities which shares a classroom with another ECSE class.  We have a lot of equipment besides the wheelchairs we need for out children.  All the kinks are being worked out, though.

It is easy to forget how much new students change the atmosphere of your classroom.  It takes one or two years for many of my students to learn the routines and expectations.  Now these have to be taught all over again to the new students and of course they come with specific learning needs of their own.

And of course it didn't help that I was sick all week :(.  I went to an amazing outdoor concert given by Jason Mraz with my 26 year old daughter, Holly and evidently the high levels of pollen had their way with me.  I have been coughing and wheezing ever since.  I was coughing so hard that I had to go to the doctor to check on my sternum that I broke last year.  I presently have an order for an xray to use if it continues to hurt or gets worse.  I also have instructions from my doctor to not lift anything heavy!  Ha, like that's going to happen :)

All in all, it's been a tiring week and I am truly glad to have a 3 day weekend. I know it's going to be an amazing year.  My experienced students have grown and my new students seem to be a lot of fun.  I am very lucky to be able to love the work I do.