still digging myself out
Out of what, I'm not sure. I want to say Christmas, but the decorations have been put away for a week now. I just know that my craft room is a disaster, with several projects still waiting to be finished and my kids projects abandoned all over the floor. The laundry has piled up again. My dishes are two days behind (you don't need to call the health department yet Jill!) My primary list has changed but not shortened... there are just not enough hours in the day, dang it!!
I have mentioned before that I live deadline to deadline. Today's deadline was "Magical Monday" in Soren's first grade class. I go to his classroom for an hour and read a fairy tale, then do some sort of activity/craft for them to take home so they can retell the story to someone else. It is great fun- I LOVE being in my kids classrooms! But I am always frantic to pull something together.
Luckily, I pulled it together again and Soren, for a day, thinks I'm the coolest mom ever! (He is so funny, he hugs me at least 10 times every time I come to help! I am not looking forward to the days when he is "too cool" to hug his mom in front of his friends!!)
The fairy tale I read was The Tinderbox. It is really quite a gruesome tale, but it was on the list of approved stories and Soren really wanted a boy story- no more of those stupid princess ones! Well, this one has a princess but the main character is a soldier and he cuts off the head of the witch... needless to say- a good one for boys! After I read the story, I let the kids take turns pulling an object out of my bag (I heard Soren telling his friend how I always have the cutest bags- so funny!). They had to tell what the object had to do with the story. Then we made our own tinderboxes. I pre-cut and scored all of them so all the kids had to do was color the boxes with pictures that would help them remember the story. Of course, an empty box is no fun and matches are not particularly safe for first graders, so we added treats that they could eat only after they told the story to someone at home.
Everything worked out great and now I'm home, trying to dig myself out of the mess and looking ahead to the next deadline- if you don't count dinner as a deadline, presidency meeting tomorrow afternoon. You'll probably find me at the computer again tonight at 11pm trying to finish the agenda and staff list! Will I ever "catch up" and have a day of rest?!! In March, maybe.
I have mentioned before that I live deadline to deadline. Today's deadline was "Magical Monday" in Soren's first grade class. I go to his classroom for an hour and read a fairy tale, then do some sort of activity/craft for them to take home so they can retell the story to someone else. It is great fun- I LOVE being in my kids classrooms! But I am always frantic to pull something together.
Luckily, I pulled it together again and Soren, for a day, thinks I'm the coolest mom ever! (He is so funny, he hugs me at least 10 times every time I come to help! I am not looking forward to the days when he is "too cool" to hug his mom in front of his friends!!)
The fairy tale I read was The Tinderbox. It is really quite a gruesome tale, but it was on the list of approved stories and Soren really wanted a boy story- no more of those stupid princess ones! Well, this one has a princess but the main character is a soldier and he cuts off the head of the witch... needless to say- a good one for boys! After I read the story, I let the kids take turns pulling an object out of my bag (I heard Soren telling his friend how I always have the cutest bags- so funny!). They had to tell what the object had to do with the story. Then we made our own tinderboxes. I pre-cut and scored all of them so all the kids had to do was color the boxes with pictures that would help them remember the story. Of course, an empty box is no fun and matches are not particularly safe for first graders, so we added treats that they could eat only after they told the story to someone at home.
Everything worked out great and now I'm home, trying to dig myself out of the mess and looking ahead to the next deadline- if you don't count dinner as a deadline, presidency meeting tomorrow afternoon. You'll probably find me at the computer again tonight at 11pm trying to finish the agenda and staff list! Will I ever "catch up" and have a day of rest?!! In March, maybe.
posted by jenn | 1/08/2007
5 Comments:
I was actually behind on your blog, what's up with that??! That's good news.
I want to see the cute tinderboxes, what a fun thing to do. Usually when I read in Whitney's class it's just one or two books and then I'm done. Your project sounds so cute though. I love it that Soren told his friends you always have cute bags!
I'm feeling the weight of the return of responsibilities this week and am NOT liking it at all.
jenn, i am such a deadline person myself! sometimes something absolutely won't get done without some kind of deadline...even if i want it to.
your time with the kids sounds awesome. i bet they loved it so much. you are so creative. and i'm sure all of your bags are so cute!
Magical Monday sounds like a fabulous idea. I feel like I'm digging out, too. I can't even walk in my scrapbook room, or see any part of my desk. And I haven't had any time to get in there and excavate it either. argggh.
I totally work on deadlines -- I focus all my efforts on the nearest one, then move on to the next. If there are no deadlines involved with what I want to do, I sometimes wonder if I should create deadlines (is that even possible?).
Seriously, I keep thinking if only I could train my body to need less sleep I would probably be ok. There are not enough hours in the day. Until today, my house sounded about the same as yours--craft room a mess, several day's dishes in the sink, on the counter, piling up everywhere, and lost of laundry. It's 10:30-is and I'm about to put the last load of the day into the dryer. The only load I have left is my sheets--which I have not washed for an embarrassingly long time. I hope you catch up sooner that March--but who are we kidding, moms never catch up!
I wonder if cramming in school prepares us for real life, or if we just learn to live that way.
Life does seem to keep throwing things at us. It seems like we are always shoveling the walk while it is still snowing. And I find it's ALWAYS hard to come back to real life after the holidays.
Your tinderbox activity was wonderful and perfect, as you like it and are so capable of doing. Lucky kids. You were made for the classroom.
You have amazing energy and endurance and commitment to keep on going day after day. I'm so glad you make time to blog about it.
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