I'm a pretty good teacher. My kids learn the stuff. I always have stickers in my room. And candy for my fellow teachers. I attend meetings and rarely pretend to go to the bathroom just so I can play a quick round of Trivia Crack. I answer emails. I participate in every dress-up day. But, of course, I have a few bad habits.
I like to video my ELL kids every few weeks so that I can see progress. This week I asked one of my kinders "How old are you?" and he answered "Monday! Monday Tuesday. WizzdayTursdayFriday." "Oh! I didn't know you knew the... Continue Reading →
I had my flatulent little princess first thing this morning. She was sitting in my lap and we were playing sentence-building games when she ripped a glorious one that vibrated my legs. I'm serious. My thighs jiggled.
I just looked down my shirt and realized I had forgotten about the papertowel I had stuffed in my sports bra to soak up the sweat a few hours ago. It's hot in Brazil. Sometimes when I get undressed at night, these paper towels just fall out, and I realize I'm turning into my grandmothers far sooner than I expected, tucking kleenex and toilet paper away in clothing/skin pockets.
People often ask me what has changed since I've moved to Brazil. There are things that I notice, things maybe others notice more than me. I'm not sure. But here are some basics: My most intense conversations are with bugs. For example:... Continue Reading →
Nothing is quite so beautiful and terrible all at the same time as an all-school Christmas musical. Our first rehearsal was Wednesday, and I was shaking with silent belly laughs, tears streaming down my cheeks from watching the little kids perform.
Wednesdays are hard, man. Even spelling the word is hard. (Am I the only person who still has to go "Wed-nes-day" in her head when writing that one out? Along with "def-in-ite-ly be-a-u-ti-ful." Every time. And I'm 30. And teach... Continue Reading →
I look forward to Mondays. I look forward to the challenges I will face with my students. To the words I will discover they don't know and figuring out a meaningful way to act them out and a poster I... Continue Reading →
We had Character Day on Friday at our school, as it was "I Love to Read" month. Each class has been reading a book and they dressed up as characters from things like Charlotte's Web and Matilda. I took the... Continue Reading →
Here is what I have accomplished: Went to the last Giants regular season home game, stood idly by as my cousin almost caught a Buster Posey ball, had my first chicken nuggets in two months, which is a record abstention,... Continue Reading →
I live in one of the most beautiful, sexy, energetic places in the world. However, it is a Saturday night*, and I am currently sitting in my living room, in stained yoga pants that have never once yoga-ed, in the... Continue Reading →
Sunglasses Always Fit 