For the first time since early June, the office supply store advertisements are correct – the back to school season is upon us!
Daddy has a week and a half before reporting for before-school staff development and he doesn’t want to talk about it.
I? am turning 1 (in 4 days!), so I don’t have any school to go back to.
For only the second time in 25 years, Mommy will not be going back to school this September – she’s, again, staying home with me!
She will not be unpacking her supplies and organizing her books. She will not be sharpening what seems like 3,000 pencils or cleaning off desktops. She will not be scouring the school for 25 matching chairs, or moving her plants into the windowshelf “jungle” area. Her “homeworkopoly” board will stay tucked away for another year. She will though continue to help students with English such as helping verbs, verbs, nouns, and advanced English skills.
While Mommy loves staying home with me and wouldn’t trade it away, she’s grateful to remain in her position as the after-school drama teacher – she *loves* her job! Seeing as there are no better “back to school” stories in our house, below is an excerpt from an essay Mommy wrote a few years ago for an “I Love My Job” contest… AND as an added bonus, here is a picture of Mommy from her elementary school days.
Every morning, I get to school early to prepare my classroom for a fresh new day; I write the day’s schedule on the board and make sure that all of the materials I will need are ready. Those calm “moments of zen” before my students arrive are pleasant, but my day does not really begin until my students begin trickling in.
Officially, students are to wait in the cafeteria until they are dismissed to homerooms for first period. Unfailingly, however, I have my “early birds,” the kids who shyly slip into the room before the bell has rung. Z quietly takes a seat on one of my “comfy” chairs and catches up on some reading. A asks, “Miss Perone, can I take the chairs down?” L trips in, always breathlessly and somewhat disheveled, and hands me her crumpled math page. Can I help her with this problem?
This morning, though, our normal routine is replaced with energetic preparation for Fifty Nifty, our musical about the 50 states. After the show, we will hold a reception in my classroom to celebrate the publication of our state books. I reflect on our first performance of the year in October as I guide my actors to their places.
S, a reluctant reader, has jumped three reading levels in these past 6 months and speaks his lines with fresh confidence and enthusiasm.
J, shy and almost inaudible in our first show, projects to the back row and gets a laugh from his interpretation of a lyric.
B, energetic and outgoing from the start, has learned to focus his energy and concentrate on his actions.
Today, I stepped back and allowed my kids to shine. I pressed play on the cd at the appropriate moments and smiled encouragement from the side, but for sixty minutes my kids were in control.
