Armed Intruder School Drill

As a school teacher, there are MANY different drills that we have to practice so that in the event the disasters actually happen, we are prepared to help keep the students, and ourselves, as safe as possible. The most common drills, such as fire and earthquake drills, are those that I have practiced throughout my life starting in elementary school.

These days, the type of drills we practice each month has skyrocketed. Some of these include, Lockdown, Shelter in Place, Evacuation, and Active Shooter.

For those who may not know what these are, the Shelter-in-Place Drill is a plan that protects students and staff in the event of potential exposure to a dangerous chemical that could be released through:

- an industrial accident
- a chemical spill
- a break in a natural gas pipeline
- materials transported through our community
- a terrorist attack

A Lockdown Drill occurs when there is a threat or potential threat to staff or student safety in the area. Most often, this is due to police activity unrelated to the school, but in the vicinity. In a lockdown, the school is closed to all visitors, and students are supervised indoors.

Last year our school practiced its first off-campus Evacuation Drill, where we all filed out, in one very long line, and walked down the street to the local fire house.

One drill that hasn't been practiced at the school I'm currently at, is the Active Shooter Drill. The purpose of this drill is clearly in the title, and with school violence increasing, this is a frightening, but necessary drill to practice. The idea behind this drill is to run, hide, or fight, based on your situation when the drill begins.

Our school is set up with a phone app which every staff member is connected to. During each drill, we keep in touch with each other through texting, letting each other know when each teacher and class is safe, if anyone is missing, etc.

After our staff meeting Friday, I found out by accident that our principal was about to administer our first Armed Intruder Drill. There were staff children still in the building, and they had to be removed since we aren't ready to practice this with students in the building. Since I was free to go after the staff meeting, I almost left.

One thing to note before I continue. Our school is not very big. It's all on one level, making it far more challenging to run away without becoming a victim. With that in mind, here's what happened next.

Suddenly our principal comes over the speaker telling us there was an active shooter in the building, and to run, hide, fight. I was with two other staff members. We didn't know where the "intruder" was coming from, so we couldn't RUN. Instead, we closed our window blinds, pulled up the magnet from our classroom door so that the door was now locked, and turned off the lights.  We decided to HIDE behind the main teacher desk. Strange, loud sounds came next. It wasn't music, and it wasn't anyone yelling, it was just scary. It began to feel very real. We knew the "intruder" was closing in on us since the sounds were getting louder, and were prepared to throw anything we could at him. Periodically, I looked at my phone app and discovered that staff members were actually making it out of the building, which surprised me. Others were texting that after throwing things at the "intruder", he backed away and left. Since we were as armed as we could be, we were hoping it would be enough.

And then it happened. The "intruder" unlocked the classroom door. I figured that was going to happen. I didn't realize it was going to be so easy. He flipped the light switch on, which left us temporarily disoriented, and began throwing stuffed animals at us; the drill's equivalent to actual gun fire, or some other type of weapon. We threw what we could at him, our version of FIGHT. It was really just a stapler, water bottle, and a few other COMPLETELY pointless items and then he left. I'm pretty sure that had this been real, we would've been dead.

I couldn't believe how scared I was. My heart was POUNDING. The "intruder" was dressed in full riot gear, and he was wearing a helmet that reminded me of the one Ant Man wears.

Once he left our classroom, we didn't know which direction he went. We decided to try and RUN. By this time, our adrenaline had kicked into high gear, and we ran towards the nearest exit. To our dismay, the doors were LOCKED, which we didn't expect at all! We probably could've run to the next set of doors, but that would've put us back into the hallway where the "intruder" was. Hiding in the bathroom was our next best choice.  We turned off the lights, each got into a stall, locked it, and stood up on the toilet, like this:

A few minutes later, we heard the "intruder" coming AGAIN! We figured we'd be safer in the bathroom since he'd already been down that hallway. We were wrong! The lights were turned on again. I seriously thought I was going to have a heart attack. The "intruder" grabbed the door of the stall I was in and began violently shaking it. I managed to not pee my pants while standing ON TOP OF the toilet seat! Then suddenly, more stuffed animals were being thrown into the stalls, and one of them landed in mine. Once again, I would've been dead. After he left, and we were no longer hearing the sounds, we decided that we were done with the drill and walked back to the main office. We'd also died twice already, so we were finished trying!

The "intruder" was up there, with his helmet off. I went up to him, with a smile on my face, and told him that he wasn't very nice! I also informed him that had I known he was in full riot gear, I would've slammed a chair into his face when he first came into our classroom!! I didn't want to hurt an innocent person, but man, that would've been awesome to try!!

I learned many things from this drill:
- instead of hiding behind the teachers desk, standing by the classroom door with a chair ready to hit him when he walked in would've been MUCH MORE EFFECTIVE! Again, had I known he was in full gear, this would've happened. Whoever was in the room with me would've been armed with something MUCH MORE likely to hurt the "intruder" and help keep us alive.
- The RUN option is first for a reason. We were sitting ducks in the classroom. We had no idea where he was, but if we had, we would've kept running until we found an open door.
- Adrenaline isn't always a good thing. It was very difficult to make smart choices while my heart was basically in my ears! I don't think this would change though, had it been real.
-I'm much more aware of where I should run, if this drill were to happen again...or if it was actually happening.
- I'm grateful the students weren't there for this. There were staff members who genuinely lost control of their emotions. Even though we knew it was a drill, it FELT SO REAL. Some hadn't heard the last part about it being the RUN, HIDE, FIGHT and weren't expecting anyone to barge into their classroom.
-It turns out that most of the staff "died" during this drill. It really puts things into perspective when you realize how quickly life can change.
-I don't feel nearly as safe inside my classroom as I did before that drill. I also believe that we need more training about how to properly handle this, should it ever actually happen.

I'm hoping that there is some sort of school-wide debriefing, and that the gentleman who was the "intruder" leads that debriefing. I want to know what we did wrong, and how we can fix it in the future. Tips are always welcome!  It turns out that he works for the National Guard, and does this type of drill often.

I found this in my house yesterday. Technically it belongs to Brandon, but he's not into stuffed animals anymore since he's almost 10! In honor of the stuffed animals that were being thrown at us, I've decided to donate it to the cause!

Change Is Never Easy

...especially when you weren't looking for it to begin with.

The past 2 months have been a challenge...a HUGE challenge.  I thought loosing my job was difficult.  I was wrong.  That was the easy part!

After I obtained a new job, many decisions had to be made, and quickly.  Should we stay in Tooele, in a house we LOVE and commute into town so that we could stay in our fabulous ward and near our terrific friends, or should we pay more on rent and move closer?  After number crunching and much thought, we decided it would be best to move to West Jordan.  The next problem was our lease.

The beginning of August, right after receiving the new job,  I informed the property management people that we would probably be breaking our lease and moving, so they needed to get on the bandwagon and find someone to rent the house.  We didn't want to break the lease, but moving to West Jordan would put me 5 minutes away from work instead of almost an hour away.

The beginning of August I began packing.  By the way, I HATE PACKING!  Members from our ward came out the night before we moved and helped us load up the U-haul truck.  Saying goodbye wasn't easy.  The morning we left I put the last box into my car, and just stood looking at the front of our house...in tears.  I didn't want to go, plain and simple.  I wanted to unload the truck myself, unpack all the boxes, and continue living in a place I had grown to love, and go back to the job I loved more than anything.  Since that wasn't going to happen, off we went.

We now live closer to the Salt Lake airport.  I LOVE hearing the planes that are preparing to land. We also live across from a small airport that is used for flying lessons.  There are a lot of military helicopters in the area, and where they are the coolest thing to see flying in the air, they are SO VERY LOUD!  

I began training for my new job, and was looking forward to the new school year.  I was sad to move, but grateful for the new job that came so quickly and looked promising.  Well, it hasn't been the easiest transition.  We're almost 7 weeks into the new school year and job.  I keep thinking that things will get easier; and they aren't.  I seem to take 1 step forward, and 2 steps back.  I am busier than ever with things that, as a teacher, I shouldn't have to be dealing with.  I've developed an insane caffeine addiction...the people working at the gas station around the corner from our house practically know me by name, and I continue to gain weight.  Oh well, with all the stuff on my plate, who has time to exercise anyway?!?  No matter how much I remind myself each day to be positive and look for the good things in life, I'm just not happy.  I miss my friends, our old house, ward, and most of all...my old job.  I've been back to Tooele a few times since we've moved, and it's been too much for me.  I've had to avoid driving by the school while driving into Tooele.  We all knew each other's first names, what was happening in our lives...we were family.  I lost my family when I lost that job.  That is what hurts the most.

To makes matters even more fun, the house in Tooele hasn't rented yet, because the property management company has been sitting on their butts doing nothing to get it rented.  So the landlords are mad at us, which I understand.  I'm frustrated because they've known about this since the beginning of August...plenty of time to find another family to rent it, in my opinion.  Moving back over the mountain has proven to be more expensive, too.  You'd think that making more money would mean you'd have more money....I should know better by now!  Since there's only 3 of us in our family, a ridiculous amount of money comes out of my checks so that we avoid owing money come tax season.  Medical insurance will begin to be taken out next month, and the price of that is going up quite a bit too.  (Again, thank you to Obama and his STUPID "insurance" idea) When that happens, I'll end up taking home less each month than I did when we were in Tooele!!

My health is also getting worse, and I'm now on another medication to hopefully give me better control.

I know that this was the right choice.  Of the 3 job offers I received that day, I know this was the job I was supposed to take.  I also know this is where we were supposed to move to.  What I'm struggling with is this:  WHY IS THIS SO DIFFICULT?  WHY am I so unhappy when I know this is where we're supposed to be?

 I'm tired of not knowing WHY we're here. WHY did this all have to happen to begin with?  WHY wasn't this entire issue worked out when those involved didn't want me to loose my job and fought to keep me at the school to begin with?  I have ideas about that one, but you'll have to ask me!!

I was happy in Tooele, making a difference, working with people I adore, at a school Brandon LOVED.  I was finally making friends, which is something that doesn't come easily for me.  We were in a house that, where it had flaws, on a whole, we LOVED.

AAAAUUUUGGGGHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I feel a little better now.  Okay, not really, but venting is always healthy, in my opinion!

I'll leave you with three quotes that I found.  These are easier said than done, but I'm working on it!

Trust me, I'm trying VERY, VERY HARD to remember all these things!

When God Closes A Door...

somewhere he opens a window...or two, or three, or four!

The past 5 days have been the most incredible of my life.  I have found myself feeling the deepest sorrow, and the greatest joy.  Friends I was aware of, and friends that have always been there, just in the background, have rallied around me to show their love and support in ways that I never thought possible.

Last Friday I found myself in a situation no one ever wants to be in:  needing new employment.  After spending a few hours crying, I gathered myself together and got to work.  I would much rather have curled up into the fetal position, crawled into bed, and eaten chocolate while watching Burn Notice, (especially since my marathon has yet to be completed!) but I needed a job, and quickly.

By Sunday evening I had applied for over 35 jobs in 4 different school districts.  As of yesterday morning (Tuesday), I had 3 interviews set up just for that day, which was amazing.  That was a first for me.  I was hopeful that one of these positions would pan out.

My confidence had been shaken to its core.  I was doubting my abilities, I was scared, and didn't know what I was going to do.  That's when the cavalry arrived.  Actually, that's when the entire ARMY arrived!  As word began to spread Friday about what happened, my phone started ringing, text messages started flowing in, and they didn't stop until Sunday night!  Friends and family wanted to know how I was doing, if there was anything they could do for me, and encouraged me not to give up.  I was blown away by just how many people took time out of their day to contact me.  One friend called me four times throughout the day on Friday, because she wanted to check up on me!

Friday afternoon as I began updating my resume and applying for jobs, I asked former coworkers for letters of recommendation.  Not only were they incredible about getting them to me quickly, but they were the most AMAZING letters I've ever received!  Tears flowed as I read what was written about me and what I have to offer as a teacher.  These letters lifted me up when I needed it the most.  To those of you who wrote them:  thank you will NEVER be enough.  I went from feeling like garbage, to knowing that I have value.

I had been going non-stop since Friday.  To add to the stress of everything in life, my car decided that NOW was the time to stop working.  We had taken it to be diagnosed on Saturday.  Some issues were found, and then Saturday afternoon, once we were home, my transmission began showing signs that it was dying.  When being put into reverse, and every time it would switch gears, it would buck.  Not just a small buck, I mean a HUGE, freak-you-out, jolt you forward buck.  Great, just great.  It's the scariest when it goes from 1st to 2nd, but it's enough to worry the average person.  I am scared to death of car trouble, so this hasn't helped at all.  This is the 2nd transmission my car has had, so to say I'm unhappy would be a huge understatement!

Tuesday (yesterday) came and it was time to interview.  I got into my car and took Brandon around the block to a friend from church who was going to watch him.  Going around the block in my car was enough to make me nervous.  We were engaged in small talk, when my car trouble came up.  My friend offered to loan me her car for the day, which I couldn't believe.  I kindly said thanks, but no, and left.  I was 3 blocks away when my phone rang.  It was my friend.  She had been talking to her husband, and they insisted that I come back and use their car since I would be going to quite a few places that day and they wanted me to be able to focus on my interviews without the stress of whether my car was going to work.  So off I went in what I consider a luxury car, compared to mine; another unexpected and welcomed blessing.

My interviews went really well.  After the first one, at a public school in Salt Lake City for 5th grade,  I had an email on my phone asking if I could interview at another school that day.  So I ended up with a FOURTH interview! Wow.  My second interview was at a charter school in West Jordan for 3rd grade.  When I left that interview, I had been all but offered the position.  The 3rd interview was also at a charter school in West Jordan for 5th grade.  I had only been out of the 3rd interview for about 5 minutes when I received a phone call from the director offering me the position! I have never heard back from a potential employer THAT quickly!  The 4th interview, at a public school here in Tooele for 6th grade, went well, and I was home by about 4pm.

And then something monumental happened for me.  I've never had the opportunity to be able to think about the pros and cons of potential jobs.  I've only been offered one at a time in the past.  By 5pm, I had 3 of the 4 schools offering me the position that I had interviewed for!  I was STUNNED. I even had my phone ring 2 more times that night with principals asking for an interview, which I declined because I already had 3 great offers and A LOT to think about!  The people I interviewed with were very impressed with my letters of recommendation; so again, thank you ladies for helping me land three offers!

That night friends were all excited and curious about what had happened, and which school I was going to choose.  Instead of having a TON of  individual conversations about it, I figured I'd write a blog post so all my fabulous friends could satisfy their curiosity!  So, where will I be teaching?  In the end it wasn't that tough a decision to make.  I am a charter school teacher, and I LOVE to teach using Direct Instruction.  I will be teaching 3rd grade at.....

Navigator Pointe Academy

This school in is West Jordan, Utah, and they use Direct Instruction teaching methods, and teach the same spelling, reading and math programs that I've been teaching the past 3 years.  I am so excited to meet new teachers and students.  This will be a wonderful place to work.  Brandon is also very excited to meet new teachers and students.  He's even more excited that I'll be teaching 3rd grade.  He's in 2nd this year, so he knows that means I'll be nearby.

I want to take a moment to thank EVERYONE who has helped me the past 6 days.  Your support, no matter how you gave it to me, is recognized and appreciated.  Pep talks, sweet, uplifting comments, a listening ear, watching Brandon, letting me borrow your car, copying resume information for me since my printer doesn't work; HOWEVER you helped me, it won't be forgotten.  This journey has shown me just how blessed I am, and I love you all very much.  My heart is full, and I see the many ways my family has been blessed.  In the past, I've gone days, weeks, even months before landing a teaching job.  This all started last Thursday, and was over 5 days later.  

IN.CRE.DI.BLE

We don't know if we'll be moving to West Jordan or not.  From Tooele, it's a 45 minute drive both ways.  I hate commuting, so we will see what happens with that.  For now, I'm just so grateful for all the wonderful people I have in my life, and the blessings that have been given to us.

Training doesn't start for me until the 18th of August, so it looks like I'll be able to finish my Burn Notice marathon after all!!

Teacher Humor

This is the last week of summer vacation.  I can't believe it's already come, but it has.  As I prepare to go back into "teacher mode" next week, here are some funny quotes I found on pinterest about teachers.

This is exactly how I feel right now!

I did this just a few weeks ago.  Getting to the stores before everyone else was SO AWESOME!

This is how I feel right now!

#1, 2, 5, 8 are my favorites!

Who are we kidding...I don't hide the candy I eat at all.  I eat it in front of them!!!

Isn't this the truth!

The Long and Winding Road

Yes, a Beatles reference.  Get ready, there will probably be more of them.

I've been trying to write this post for over a month, and I am still struggling with it today.  I don't know why, it's just hard.  I wasn't sure if I should just "Let it Be", but I need to get this off my chest.

So, the last few weeks of school were ridiculous.  Between ALL THE DATA the school requires (ya know, since they're a data driven school), the constant unorganization from the administration, and complete chaos going on around me, I was looking forward to summer so much.  My first year of teaching was almost under my belt, and I was so excited to once again start exercising and continue loosing weight.

School was out on Thursday, June 7th.  We had to come back on Friday, the 8th for our grade level district meetings.  We were going to plan out the next year.  Usually there are 7 people in our meeting.  Two for each 3rd grade class, and our Team Leader.  However, that day, there was an extra person in the room.  A lady who had been a Teacher in Training, hoping to acquire a job for the upcoming year.  I thought it was odd that she was there, but went with it.

The next Monday we had to go back to school for our contract resigning/evaluations.  They are an "at will" employer, so you resign each year.  Administration had set the times for us, and when I saw it the week earlier, I found it fishy that I was the last person to have my evaluation.  To be honest, I had this nagging feeling that wouldn't go away.

But let me go back for a moment.  A lady that works there, we'll call her S, decided she didn't like me, and to this day I have no idea why.  Unfortunately, S is the LAST PERSON you want not liking you.  Word is that administration doesn't like her, and has been trying to fire her.  I don't understand why that is something they're TRYING to do.  If it's an "at will" employer they should be able to can her if they like.  However, they keep her because they like how she disciplines the students who cause problems.  She puts the fear of God into them, and I'm not kidding.  She scares me, and I personally don't like how she disciplines, but I never vocalized this.  She's "Mean Mrs. Mustard" to the Beatles "Mean Mr. Mustard"!

One of our after school responsibilities is to teach an extended day class.  I was given those who needed help with their reading fluency.  Probably the most difficult class to do after school because you have to help one student at a time and keep the others reading.

I struggled with this in the beginning of the year, and I went to Administration and asked for tips on how to do it successfully.  No one ever came in to demonstrate and I finally figured out a way that worked for the class and never heard that I was doing anything wrong.

There are also cameras EVERYWHERE at that school.  The only places they can't be found are in the bathrooms....and I'm not kidding.  And Administration will watch each classroom at random to make sure the teacher is doing what they should be doing.  Well, since a teacher can't be 100% AT ALL TIMES, it's inevitable that Admin will catch you at about 80-90%, which happened to me in November.  I was called in and asked the watch the video and discover what I could have done better.  I was devistated, but I watched the video at home, and they were right....it was bad.  After talking again with Admin, I NEVER HEARD ABOUT THIS AGAIN.  We have Academic Coaches that randomly come in during Reading and Math groups to evaluate us, and my evaluations were always great.

So now we're back to Monday.  You can probably guess where this is going, but the story gets better and better.  It was time for my evaluation/resigning when I saw S walk into the office with Admin.  The moment I sat down, I knew exactly what was happening, and I couldn't believe it. 

 
SAY WHAT?  I couldn't speak.  I was simply trying not to cry.  I was told that after having several demonstrations on how to improve teaching reading fluency (which is an absolute LIE...no one ever came in to demonstrate), I hadn't improved in that area.  I was also told that my attitude was a problem.  This was brand new to me.  After the discussion in November, no one said another word about it; leaving me to believe I was doing great.  I didn't say a word back to them, I just got up and left.

I had to go talk to the nice lady in HR and turn over my Macintosh (which was the saddest part about being fired...not re-hired, whatever!)  She took my key, and then I realized that I still had personal stuff in what was my room.  She had to follow me to the room, and I suddenly felt like a criminal the way I was being followed around.  I left a lot of teaching stuff there, and later told the other 3rd grade teacher to get her butt in there and take it all for herself! 

I left and broke down into tears.  WHAT IN THE WORLD HAD JUST HAPPENED?  I felt like I was on Survivor and had just been blindsided during a Tribal Council meeting!  Was Jeff Probst (host of Survivor) going to show up and officially take away my fire?

I went to lunch since I didn't feel like going home, and the word began to spread.  I wasn't the only stunned person.  And then I started to get mad....very mad.  Admin knew weeks ago that they weren't going to re-hire me.  Why didn't they talk to me sooner?  I could've been looking for work WEEKS ago while there were still teaching jobs open for the next year.

S SHOULD NOT HAVE BEEN IN THAT MEETING....PERIOD.  I think she was there because she didn't like me and in case I decided to ask questions or get upset she would probably have butt in.  S is not an official part of administration.  Her presence there was to intimidate me, which it ALWAYS has.

I just keep thinking about what I did that made them feel that I wasn't the right fit for their school.  Like I mentioned earlier, all of my academic coach reviews had been fantastic, no one from Admin ever came to talk to me, nothing.  And this school is so big on wanting their teachers and students to succeed.  What a bunch of garbage.  They failed with me BIG TIME.  I wasn't given the opportunity to know that my job was in jeopardy, so how could I have fixed anything?  It also now made sense why there was an extra person at our district meeting; the new lady was going to take my place.  How nice of them.

And if being fired wasn't bad enough, salt was then poured on the wound.  I had called the HR department back to ask about my final check and insurance (yep, I'm no longer insured) when I was asked if I would like the Director (who wasn't the person to officially fire me) to write me a letter of recommendation.  Huh?  Sure, why not.

Then I got the letter.  Here are parts of it:

"I am delighted to write a letter of recommendation for Wendy Toale.  We have been pleased with her job performance and consider her a capable teacher and contributor to our school.........
"Wendy is an excellent classroom manager as well.  her students understand the clear expectations she outlines, and they rise to meet them.  Positive reinforcement is also used in her classroom, and its effect is that her classroom is one where learning is always taking place....
"I consider her an excellent candidate for employment."

Is your jaw hitting the floor the way mine still does when I read this?  It's a great letter, but if you liked me so much, WHY DID YOU JUST FIRE ME?!?  Is it just me, or does this seem like a very hypocritical letter?

This has really shaken me up.  I have lost all confidence in what I spent the past 12 years of my life working so hard to accomplish.  And I've even began doubting if I really want to do this.  Somedays I feel like the guy on the left, other days the guy on the right.

I know that everything happens for a reason, but come on!  The more I thought about it the more I realized that it's OK that I don't work there anymore.  This charter school is a lot of talk, and not a lot of action.  The biggest bummer is that Brandon was going to attend Kindergarten there in the fall, and I wouldn't have to pay daycare anymore because it's full day Kindergarten there.  Well, now we'll have to pay some sort of daycare again.  Oh well.

Needless to say, my summer has sucked.  I have no motivation to exercise and loose weight, and now I'm once again on the hunt for a job.  I'm considering just subbing again.  A LOT LESS STRESS, and work.  I won't have insurance, or get paid through the summer, but I can leave the crap at the school at the end of the day.

I'm also considering writing the Director a nicely written letter about how they could've handled the situation better.  I don't mind being fired....it's the way I was fired that chops my hide and makes me want to throw up.

Oh well, what do the Beatles say:   Ob-la-di, Ob-la-da, life goes on!


I get by with a little help from my friends!


I WILL SURVIVE....HEY, HEY!

Not a Beatles song, but still fun!

Working Vs. Stay-at-Home Moms

I have a feeling that I'm going to catch a lot of heat for this one, but oh well.....BRING IT ON!

Back in college, before marriage and becoming a mother, I wrote a paper about the controversy surrounding working and stay-at-home moms.  It's been on my mind A LOT the past few weeks, as I've been feeling incredibly overwhelmed and at my whits end.

Below, I've scanned the paper I wrote, since it's easier than retyping it!  Yes, I had to scan it because it was typed before the internet was popular, and when I still used a word processor and saved articles on a disk instead of a computer!  Man, I feel old! 

It's in the biggest print I could get it in....bare with me.  It's also a long paper, but I believe it's worth the read!

Ok, so that was my paper BEFORE I had a child.  It was made clear in my last paragraph that I clearly thought working wasn't going to be a problem.

I've been on both sides of this controversy.  I worked as a substitute teacher until Brandon was born, and then didn't work afterwards.  I've been the stay-at-home mom.  I don't remember much of it because after Brandon was born, my health began to decline and I was having seizures on a regular basis:  I probably couldn't have worked even if I wanted to!

When Brandon was about two, I slowly began working again.  I worked a few hours as an After School Program Teacher, and then began working as a Kindergarten Aide.  That was no problem because they were simple jobs that didn't require much.   

We moved to Utah, and I began working pretty much every day as a substitute teacher, taking on the long term substitute teaching jobs.  These were more of a committment, but I was able to leave it at the end of the day because I had plenty of time at school to figure out the next day.

Summer came, I wasn't working again, and found time for not only Brandon, but for myself.  Granted, I was ready to ship Brandon off to Timbuktu by the time summer was over, but the point is, we had PLENTY of time together!

And then working full time began in September.  It is kicking my butt!  I'm up at 5am, off to preschool by 6:20am, straight to work to miss traffic, on my feet all day, done with school at 4:15pm, back to pick up Brandon, and home by 5pm.

That's when my second job starts.  Dinner, entertainment for a demanding, tired, grumpy four year old, grade school papers, (among other school tasks) bathe four year old, clean up dinner, put four year old to bed, and by the time that all happens, I'm ready to fall asleep by 8pm....and quite often, that's exactly what I do!

I miss the hour I took each day for myself.....to exercise, to cook healthy food, to relax! 

Both working and stay-at-home moms work hard.  However, today, I would LOVE to be a stay-at-home mom; and I can't believe I'm saying that!  I would LOVE to be home to keep the house in order, since messy kitchens, laundry all over the place, and complete disorganization makes me insane!  Healthy dinners?  Check- I would completely be on top of it!  Weight loss?  Check- it would still be happening because I would have a little TIME for MYSELF!

I keep hoping that work will slow down, but it hasn't happened yet.  I know that it will, I just don't know WHEN it will!  I was telling Nick the other day that I only have enough brain to focus on work right now; there's no room for anything else.  Until that slows down, I don't really exist!  Heaven only knows how crazy I would be if I had more than one child......kudos to those mothers!

I LOVE MY JOB.....I just need there to be three of four more of me...or more hours in a day.  Maybe we could try cloning me and see what happens?!?  One clone could be responsible for keeping the house clean and running all the errands, another would be in charge of meals, and another would be responsible for all the extra school stuff I have to do each day.  That would leave time for me to be able to exercise each day and actually spend some quality time with my family!  Hey, it could work!!

Moms:  if you're able to stay home, be grateful.  Smoke is practically coming out my ears because I'm moving so quickly!

The First Week of School

I am a third grade teacher for the American Preparatory Academy charter school.  They have one campus in Draper, Utah, another in West Valley City, Utah, and they've built another campus in West Valley.

I work at the brand new campus, which is still under construction.  So much so, that teachers weren't able to even get into the building to prepare their classrooms until last Friday, August 26th....with school starting Monday, August 29th!

It was a whirlwind of a weekend.  Luckily many parent volunteers came to help the teachers make their rooms look as "put together" as they possibly could in such a short amount of time.

This has been the LONGEST, and most TIRING week of my life! 

Since I live in Sandy, I'm about 30 minutes away from work.  I also now have to deal with traffic, which I've been blessed to never have to worry about before.  I have to be at school at 7:45am.  So Brandon and I are out the door by 6:45am each day so that I can avoid the morning traffic.  I don't get to leave work until 4:15pm, and by then the afternoon traffic has begun.  And don't even get me started on Utah Drivers....and I thought California Drivers were bad; they are NOTHING compared to Utahans!  I get Brandon from school, come home and make dinner, sit for a few minutes, get Brandon ready for bed, and I'm back to bed by 9:30pm to start the next day.  It's been a crazy schedule.  I've had caffeine pumping through my veins this week, not blood!!

Being at a brand new school definitely has it's advantages though.  The biggest is that everything is brand new (duh!).  But there is a lot of enthusiasm with the staff and the students who are at this school for the first time.

This week has been all about teaching the students procedures.  American Preparatory Academy (APA) is all about Direct Instruction.  Aren't sure what Direct Instruction teaching is?  Read here to find out all about it.

By Tuesday the marjority of our curriculum should have arrived, and we'll be starting with reading and math groups.  Yep, I went an entire week without the majority of my curriculum, and since there wasn't a fence around the playground yet, the students (and teachers) were forced to stay inside for recess!  Did I mention it was a long week?!?

I have a great class.  They are catching on quickly to the direct instruction techniques we use to get the attention of everyone.  I'm naturally a loud person so  I've almost lost my voice because of all the cheering and teaching of class rules.  It's been great.  I can't wait to see how they progress, and how I can become a better teacher.

Here are some pictures from my classroom.  Please remember, I only had about 2 1/2 days to be inside it, with construction workers constantly coming in, making it more difficult to put my room in the order I'd like it in!

My bulletin boards aren't finished yet 

Front of the classroom 

Back of the classroom 

Outside