Positive Points Monday

Hey friends!

I'm trucking through my last college course for my reading endorsement and I'm so close to being finished.  Don't you love how good it feels to check something off your list?  What an amazing feeling...I can't wait!  :)

Last week was actually somewhat decent...besides a slight mental breakdown on Friday with being overwhelmed.  ;)  So here are my positive points from school last week:

1.  My kids did really well on their weekly assessments!  If you teach 1st grade, you might experience the same thing.  The first week or two is really rough because the kids aren't used to having to study and take tests.  Boy does it show!  The parents freak out because they think their kid is behind.  The students freak out because they just didn't know what to expect.  The teachers freak out because they think their class is really low.  But after everyone settles in after a couple of weeks you start to see a more accurate picture.  Parents calm down.  Kids get the hang of it.

2.  I got all of my lesson plan templates pretty much set up and ready to roll.  Now that I have a good idea of my schedule and all my pull-outs, I was finally able to settle on what each week would look like and how much time I have (or rather DON'T have, but that's another story) to teach everything.

3.  I have to tutor a student in my class for 40 hours as part of my last course for my reading endorsement.  We got 5 more hours knocked out last week at school!  AND, the best part is that he is doing SO well.  It's AMAZING to see how far he has come!  I couldn't be any prouder of his accomplishments.  I have proved to myself that narrowing down the individual struggles of a student and attacking them is far more influential than tossing the kids a couple new strategies here and there without really focusing on the lacking skill.  At the same time, it has made me slightly more frustrated because I wish I could do that with ALL of my students.  Alas, time is not on our side.  ;)

It really helps me to focus on the good things that happen throughout the week at my job.  This year is SO different and SO stressful and I have to keep looking for these things daily, otherwise I think I'd completely lose it.  I've come close a few times, but remembering the good helps offset the bad a little bit.

Let me ask you a question, compared to other years, how does this year compare?  Is it one of your best years?  Just like normal?  Definitely not the best year, but could be worse?  Or the worst of your career?  I'm trying to keep this post positive, but I really want to know if it's just me that's going through one of those slumps in her career or if this is something that's facing all of us.  I'd love to hear your thoughts.  :)

Praying you all have a great week!  :)

Blessings...