Growth!!

Since my teaching assistant resigned last week, things went from bad to worse. I was looking forward to having some days with the classroom to myself. I thought I would be able to put some things in place so that when my new teaching assistant came on board I would have a better idea of what I needed from her. Instead, I discovered just how much help my last TA was. You never know what you have until it's gone. So I spent Monday and Tuesday just trying to hold things together as my one wild child ran around the room, destroyed classroom materials, pinched her classmates, and ran down the hall whenever we traveled. To make matters worse, our upper grades had benchmark testing this week and we were not allowed to leave the room for specials or go to outdoor recess Tues. - Thur. Also, it rained...a lot. So you can see how this created a recipe for disaster.

I prayed a lot, and God sent me Ms. Reed - a wonderful 76-year-old retired teacher who had no problem telling my students how important it was for them to sit still and pay attention so that they could learn. Also, I spoke with the counselor, assistant principal (who is in charge of discipline), principal, and the last year's PreK teacher about my challenging student. On Wednesday, I hit a wall and could not even begin to think about what I should do next even thought my lesson plans were on my desk. Everything started falling into place that day, and I am happy to report that we began to have productive afternoons on Wednesday. We have now had three good days. One of my students who could not even hold a pencil is now writing his name and other words. I have forged what I think will be a good relationship with a parent who called my principal early in the week with some concerns. I was able to step somewhat into my role of department chair, which I had no idea how to do just last week. I have no idea what next week will bring since Ms. Reed will not return, but I have hope!