Watching "Overwhelmed" Happen

In the center where I work, my classroom is considered the most tough to work in. The kids coming into my room go from a 1:4 ratio (1 teacher to 4 kids) in the toddler room to a 1:10 ratio (1 teacher to 10 kids) in my room. My classroom has a preschool component to it in that we do 'centers.' Due to the centers there's more transitions. The kids in my classroom don't drink from sippy cups, they drink from open topped cups. In short, there's more kids overall, more kids per teacher, more transitions, more structure, and a slew of other things.

In the 4 1/2 months I've been working at this place, I've had 2 people come work in my room for a few days. They come in because they are being considered for an assistant position in my room. I've seen both people go from gung-ho, excited to be there at the beginning of the day to completely overwhelmed, not knowing what to do by the end of the day.

So imagine my surprise when the first day I have a student teacher and she was just as gung-ho at the end of the day as she was at the beginning. Seems like it's going to be a good 6 weeks with her :) I'm excited!

Muscle Building Weekend

So there's this pole barn on my mom's property. 25 Feet by 35 Feet. It's a great storage area. It doubles as a garage and a place to work on small building projects--as well as house the various lawn mowing, snowblowing and weed wacking equipment. Problem is, this pole barn is packed to the brim. You can cram the lawn mowers in there, if you move the car outside of the pole barn first. You can park a car in it, if you move the lawn mowers out first.

Among the lovely 'gems' in this pole barn are:

1. Shelves broken beyond repair

2. Shelves not broken beyond repair, but stacked high with boxes of stuff that my grandfather put in there--a long time ago. He died in 1998.

3. Boxes upon boxes of stuff that my grandmother stored in there....not that long ago...she died in 2002.

4. Furniture that has warped, molded, and become nice little homes for rats, ground hogs, mice, birds, and the occasional hornet nest.

5. Lots of random tools, wires, ropes, screws, nails, dead batteries, equipment that hasn't worked since before I was born.

I wish my camera had worked so I could've taken a picture before we delved into the mess. Oh yes, we are conquering the pole barn one measly shelf at a time. We're calling it a summer project, but we'll see if it turns into a summer/fall project.

Pictures will be coming....aaaaaaaaalll summer long.

Buzzing Around

Most of you have noticed that I haven't been blogging much recently. Sure I can go through the list of regular excuses; I'm tired, I work all the time, I have nothing to say, etc. All valid excuses, but they're not right for the reason I haven't been posting.

The number one reason I haven't posted is this: I have too much to say and cannot find the words to say it. I have so much buzzing around in my head, but the words just aren't coming. Every time I write a post, it ends up being a rant. I don't want to post nothing but rants. I want to be constructive, think things through, shed new light on a situation--that's why I write....to find new ways, get answers, think of things differently.

When I'll post again, I don't know. Perhaps tomorrow, perhaps it will be a week. I'm trying to convince myself to post once a week, working up from there. Wish me luck...and sorry for the absence.

Calling all Parent & Educators!!!!

I need help. Fair week-(as in state or county fair)-is coming up in 8 weeks and I need to get the lesson plan for it done. 3 big areas I need activities for are:

1. Art

2. Blocks

3. Sensory Table

I need 5 activities for each. Any input is GREATLY appreciated!!!

P.S. I have 25 kids ages 2.5-4 years old