The rest of the week of training

So sorry I've been so remiss with my posting. It's been really hectic in the Evans' household lately. I think I left off this past Tuesday I believe with New Teacher Orientation day 2.

Well, Wednesday was pretty much identical .... another day of listening to a speaker and taking notes. However, that night I met up with my friend Laura for dinner at Olive Garden! It was really nice - the food was great and the company much appreciated. We got to talking (as women tend to do) and didn't leave until 9:30, which is actually my bedtime when I have to get up early in the morning. Well worth the late evening though!

Thursday morning was a little different, because it consisted of several mini-workshops with different speakers (much more enjoyable than a solid day of a single workshop). Thursday afternoon we were supposed to go to our own campus and our administration would have some sort of orientation or something for us. Mine didn't, though. So I walked around the school, familiarizing myself with the layout and visited with some of my co-workers as they set up their classroom. I also rummaged through my classroom just to see what all was already there and what I would need for the following day. After our mandatory day was over, I found my new favorite teacher store right by Willowbrook Mall. I have to make SO many name-tags for my students (because if they lose them, I have to be able to replace them) so I had the teacher store laminate them for me, for 25 cents a foot. It was a good decision because Mom came over to our apartment that night, we had dinner together and then listened to music, talked and cut out the hundreds of little name tags together! (THANK YOU, MOM!)



In case you were wondering what the different shaped/colored name tags mean, we are required to use certain colors to signify the ways my students will travel home. I found different shapes that also signify the same thing, except for car riders. With them, I just drew a little car at the top of each star:

Yellow (Bus) = Bus riders
Red (Star) = Car Riders
Green (Apple) = Day Care
Brown (feet) = Walkers/Bike-riders

Then, on Friday, Mom & I got up bright and early to go take a look at my classroom and get started with some setting up! This is what the classroom looks like so far:





You may notice that there is only one bulletin board that we hung up. This would be because I found out I'm sharing my classroom with the bilingual pre-k teacher at our school. When we finally got in touch with each other I found out she had pretty specific ideas of how the centers should be put together and where it should be arranged. I can understand that there is probably a strategic way to best utilize the space, but I was REALLY disappointed to get there and not really be able to work on anything. I really, really want my own classroom, but that will only happen this year if we get a whole bunch more pre-k students registered. I've been saying many prayers that I go full-time, and I'd appreciate any that you may be willing to say as well.

Since there wasn't a whole lot I could do, sadly, Mom and I eventually decided to leave the school rather than just sit and stare. When I got out to my car though, and we started driving to Ihop for brunch, we quickly realized the the A/C in my car wasn't working! Oh, no. We stopped, ate, and then went back to the teacher store to finish getting the remainder of my stuff laminated, because we figured we may as well be productive and cut out little buses while we wait at the mechanic. At this point in the day I was so frustrated with so many things that Mom also suggested we splurge and get pedicures - which we did! Thank goodness the girl I had knew what she was doing because she was actually able to help my toe out! (It's been messed up since moving to Houston - badly.) Thank you again, Mom :)

It was just what we needed. Then at the mechanic they diagnosed the problem and said my A/C Compressor was in terrible condition and dead. I also needed an oil change. He gave me a quote, and I was disappointed by the amount (almost $1,000!), but there's no way I want to drive around Houston in the heat indexes we've been having lately (upwards of 110 degrees) without A/C in my car, so I decided to go ahead and get it fixed. It's now blowing cold air again, thank goodness.

That same night Bryan came home!! He's now officially moved to Houston, although he'll be working remotely for Brazos Technology for 2 more weeks. I'm SO glad to have him home again. He made Mom & I margaritas and they were amazing.

Saturday morning I got up bright and early to attend yet ANOTHER training ... that (drum roll, please) ... it turns out I didn't need to attend at all because of the grade level I teach!! I was pretty annoyed, because who wants to get up at 6am and get dressed up on a Saturday when they don't have to!? They said that since I was already there, I may as well stay for the morning session on learning how to use the Starboards, but that there was really no point in me coming back after lunch for E-Instruction since Pre-K really never uses that technology.

For the rest of the day, I hung out with Bryan, and later Collin & Laura too. We ate, went swimming & watched a movie. Laura helped me cut out my few remaining name-tags, too.

And that brings us to this morning! We got up, attended Prince of Peace Catholic Church (we're still looking for a church home), which was a really nice service. The little girl (maybe 6 years old?) next to me mimicked everything I did the whole service. It was pretty cute. Now we're just doing some chores, getting some work done and relaxing.

And that's pretty much it .... sorry for the delay!!