Positive Points!

I feel like a total slacker.  I know I don't have to explain, but I will.  Last Sunday I had every intention on getting this linky up for Monday.  We decided to do a freezer meal swap at our school.  It was a great idea!  Well, in the midst of making my enchiladas, I passed out.  Literally.  I fell over and hit the floor.  My husband wanted to take me to the ER, but I insisted that I was fine.  He ended up calling the on-call doctor, which happened to be my doctor.  He talked to me and said I sounded ok and wanted to see me the next day.  So off I went to the doctor the next day and something about my blood pressure fluctuating a lot from one extreme to the next, hence my passing out.  He pulled me from work Tuesday and Wednesday.  Thursday I felt great and was happy to be back at school.  That night I had one of the worst migraines I've ever had and my son had a fever of 103.  This was all in the middle of the night.  I woke up Friday and the migraine wasn't gone (it was better, but not gone) and poor baby still had his fever.  So I ended up staying home Friday, too.  :(  What a week.

Even in the midst of totally unexpected and chaotic circumstances, I still managed to find some good in the two days that I was at work. :)

1.  All of my beginning of the year assessments were FINALLY finished!  I feel like I can really start thinking about TEACHING!  :)  That's one huge task that's finally done!

2.  One of my quiet kids is finally coming out of his shell.  He has really blown me away by how much he can do.  He would barely speak a word to me the first few weeks of school.  That's how shy this kid was!  But he has really started speaking up, making friends, and getting involved.

3.  Have you heard of or tried Whole Brain Teaching?  This is my biggest positive.  It was recommended to me because I just didn't know what to do with my class this year.  They are very antsy and have a hard time listening, paying attention, and staying on task.  I was in tears a couple of times because I just didn't know what to do.  I pulled out every trick in the bag that I knew of and it just wasn't sparking anything with them.  I went to the Whole Brain Teaching website and signed up.  Then I went to YouTube and found several videos.  I immediately ordered the book on Amazon and had it in my hands 2 days later.  Y'all.  This has completely transformed my class in a matter of two days.  I've never seen anything like it and I've never had anything work so well!  I told my student teacher that she must think I'm crazy for trying a completely new system 2 weeks into the new year.  But I told her that's the life of a teacher!  Some groups just need something different.  Good teachers are willing to do something different to meet their needs.  So check it out - especially if you have a squirmy class!

Have a great week, friends!  I'm just trying to stay caught up on life right now, especially in my last 7 weeks of being pregnant and trying to finish my reading endorsement class.  I will check in every Monday, Lord willing, and every other chance I get!  :)