Homework and other tidbits

Homework is called "homework" for a reason. It means do it at home. When your child is 4 years old, they don't know how to do it themselves. You have to help them. Oh well. If you weren't committed to helping your 4 year old learn, then why put them in private school???

I actually had a day today in which no one was in time out. Hallelujah! Today was a great day!

I can't wait for football to start this weekend. I can't wait for my fall shows to start, as early as next week. Although the Hills already started and it is everything a drama queen could ask for.
Monday is Prison Break and One Tree Hill. Both had huge cliffhangers and I can't wait to see what will happen. When will Michael find out that Sara is still alive? Will Lucas choose Peyton, Brooke, or Lindsay to go to Vegas and get married? We will all stay tuned to find out...

Things I Have Learned in the First Year of Being a Dad

Since Amanda is always blogging, I decided to take a page from her book and write one myself. Today Peyton is 11 months old and it got me to thinking about all the things I have learned the past year about being a dad.

1. I really enjoyed the first few months and holding a small baby. Not to say I don't love holding her now, but she doesn't let me cradle her like she did when she was smaller. She is more independent and I really wish I had cherished that little thing more.
2. No matter how many people tell me that "Da da" is easier to say than "Ma ma", it doesn't take away the specialness of her saying it first. I read and talked to her every night before she was born and I really think that had a lot to do with it being her first word. It might not have been but it really disappoints me when people try to trivialize such a special moment for me. It in no way affects the way it made me feel when she said my name the first time, but why people look to take that away from me or any parent will always astonish me.
3. I try to never let anything else come before spending time with my child. She grows and changes so fast that I can miss big events just by being a work. So I make the time, as much as I can possibly spare, to spend with her. I will just lie down on the floor and let her talk to me or tell her about my day. As I look back now I can't believe it has almost been a year and I can't tell you where the time went.
4. When they are playing by themselves, I like to just sit and watch her. It is amazing to look at all her expressions and how she studies things. She learns things quickly and sometimes it is almost like I witness that little light bulb going off when she makes a discovery.
5. I occasionally take lazy afternoons and just let my daughter sleep on my chest or beside me on the couch for a few hours. Believe me, their is no better way to spend my time and I feel so close to her at those moments.
6. No matter how bad my day is or how frustrated I may be, seeing my child takes it all away. She smiles or hugs me and all the things that make the world a bad place seem to disappear at that moment. That is the power of a child's love.
7. Trips and vacations will never be the same and I am really glad about that. I do miss going to the beach or pool and staying all day, but seeing my daughter discover the sand and ocean for the first time more than outweighs these things.
8. The night my daughter was born will be etched into my memory forever. I can tell you every detail of that night without a moments pause. It is one of those life changing moments that I will never forget and I am thankful for that.
9. I have read a lot of books on parenting and listened to a lot of other parents but when it comes right down to it, no one knows what's best for my child better than me and my wife. So now I just have learned to listen to the advice and take it all with a grain of salt. If I feel it is right, I may follow it. But if I don't and my child is healthy and not developmentally challenged because of me, then I think I am doing a pretty good job as a parent.
10. The last thing is a big one for me. I have come to realize that a daughter is really what I was meant to have for a first child. I think every man envisions having a son but I think my daughter has taught me so much more. I have become less selfish and more loving and I feel that the fact that she is a girl has helped me to get to that point. She is more delicate and more affectionate and I think I needed a little extra of that in my life. And I will always be thankful to her for helping me get there. In the end, I realize I should be grateful to God for just having a healthy child and I thank him every day for that.

Well, the 10 things I wrote above that I have learned these past 11 months are definitely not all the knowledge I have gained. But to me, they are the most important.

Although being able to change even the worst dirty diaper with one wipe is a handy skill to have also.

School is a germy place

You would think a hospital is a germy place, but a school- let me tell you. All day I watch my kids put their pencils and crayons in their mouths, nose, behind their ears- wherever they can. All day I say "Do not put your pencils in your mouth or nose." but do they listen? No. They are 4 years old.
Then as they wipe their nose on their hands and then dig their hands into the crayon bucket I think to myself,"is there any way to sanitize crayons?"
And they get up to wash their hands pretty often during the day (with one squirt of soap and one paper towel) but right after they wash their hands they say, "I have to go potty." It is a useless cycle.
Peyton has gotten sick. Not saying it came from school but it did. She threw up twice today and doesn't want to eat and is very tired and had a fever at one point. I feel so helpless when she is sick and I just want to cry because I can't stop it.
Tomorrow is my first semi-field trip. The police, firemen, and ambulance services are coming to school for our lesson on Community Helpers. It should be very exciting. And stressful.
Well, more on that later. Here is a link to my school if anyone wants to see my classroom pictures.
Just go to www.peachtreeacademy.com, click on teacher pages. Go to the last page and click on Private Pre-K Newsletter. You should see it there.

5 Things I have learned in the last week

1. No matter how many times you tell a 4 year old to not make a mess while eating, they still make a mess on their hands, mouths, noses, eyes, hair, shirts, tables, chairs, and floor around them.
2. Being a teacher of any kind is a lot harder than people think and a lot more time goes into the preparation that anyone thinks. I mean, you have to get the summers off just to make up for all the time you spend at home during the school year making flashcards and checking homework and planning lessons.
3. It is really hard to tell a parent that their child has been bad that day even though all day you told that child that you were going to tell their mommy and daddy about their bad behavior.
4. I miss my Peyton every second of the day. I am so thankful and glad I got the 10 months at home with her that I did but I miss her so much. I don't even mind too much when she cries at night because it means I get to hold her close.
5. I also miss my hubby and my friends and getting to talk normally to adults and being able to say "Darn" or "shut up" if I want to.

Bonus: Preseason NFL football really means nothing to me because the star and best players either do not play or do not play to their fullest potential so when the season starts, we'll see about my Colts losing to anyone's inferior teams... :)

Classroom pictures!

This is the main work area for arts and crafts, writing, and drawing.

My desk and Birthday board

So this may be short but I can share the pictures I took of my classroom. They were taken at rest time- my favorite part of the day! Other than that, I'm beat so I will blog more tomorrow!

Here are the activity centers and the cubbies for their naptime blankets!

Here are their bookbags and the not-so-good apple tree I made!

Today the class was AMAZED by a magnifying glass and some things we looked at with it. If I had known that, I would have gotten it out Monday morning!

New job, new life

Hello! Sorry it has been so long. I'm sure the 2 people who read this were wondering where I've been! I got a new job! And it is an actual career stepping stone! I am now a Pre-kindergarten teacher! I have 10 students (6 boys and 4 girls) and we have been through 2 days of school so far. The second day was much better than the first. The first day they used words like "butts" and "penis" but today was much calmer. Thank goodness! I was really nervous yesterday but it seems to get better the more control I feel like I have over them!
One student who just showed up today didn't actually say any words to me until about 12:00pm today. I would ask her questions and she would just stare at me. No nods, no shakes, no words. I was a little worried about it. Finally she started talking during our math flash card game. I guess she gets excited by numbers! Tomorrow I hope she actually forms a complete sentence in conversation with me. The funny part is, she is the only student who can already read, and her parents say she can write as well. So she could at least write me a note telling me "yes, more milk please" or "no, I'm done." :)
In the meantime, Jamie and Peyton are adjusting to me going back to work. Lucky for me (I think) Peyton is in the same school as me, right next door. We literally share a wall of our classrooms. When I was setting up, I could hear her crying and it broke my heart. And I have to duck when I walk by her room so she doesn't see me because when she does, she starts crying. Her teacher says she is getting better every day and the afternoons are better than the mornings. They must be because they made handprints today with paint. What a task to take on!
So I feel very lucky to have a teaching position now and I hope it is the beginning of a great career. I still have to go back to school eventually and also get a temporary certification until I get a degree. So that will be fun. I'm not sure when I will start. We'll have to see how the year goes!
Tomorrow I will try to take some pictures of my class and classroom! It is so cute I think! And as long as I take a picture in the morning before lunch they won't have food and milk on their faces.