Wednesday, February 08, 2006

What's that saying about the "best-laid plans?"

Do you ever just feel like there aren't enough hours in the day?

The plan: Make copies before the morning bell. Have my weekly teacher's aide work with some of my more needy kids on their spelling words while I do my guided reading groups. Have leisurely lunch, spend break sorting books into leveled baskets for the new lending library that I hope to implement next week. Straighten desks and leave work at semi-reasonable hour, like 3:30 PM.

The reality: Get to faculty room and see line of teachers waiting to make copies. Find out that copier is jammed. Decide to make copies after lunch while kids are in art class. Weekly teacher's aide calls to say she can't come in. Decide to put her group of kids on the computer instead. Internet not working, send those kids to reading corner. Have semi-leisurely lunch. Spend "prep" period: making copies that I couldn't make in the morning, watching second grade while Miss W takes a bathroom break, taking down a hallway display of winter poems that need to be graded, starting to sort books for lending library, running to bathroom, shoving lending library books into a corner, picking up kids from art. After school, drag books out of corner, sort into a semi-managable pile, call a parent who had left me a message earlier, straighten desks, talk to after-school teacher about a child in my room, chat with Miss W about a problem she's having with a parent. Leave work at 4:45 PM.

Not quite what I had in mind.

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