Livin' La Vida Loca!

I got a call on October 29th from the principal from Woodin Elementary School in Northshore School District. One of her teachers went on family leave the first week of October to adopt a son in Guatemala. After a couple of weeks, her long term substitute decided the job was too much and quit. Angela Kerr, the principal at Kokanee, where I have worked a lot, recommended me to this principal. I was flattered my name was recommended as someone who could help out when they were in a bind but also very nervous to hear the details of the job. First of all, it was a full day Kindergarten. KINDERGARTEN!! They are so young and needy. I felt my energy drain out of me right away. There are 24 children in the class which is a LOT of young and needy children. The kicker is that the class is a dual language program. Half the children speak Spanish and half speak English and they are emerged to help them learn a second language. The principal came and observed me on HALLOWEEN (the worst day of the year for teachers...tied with the day after due to the candy hangovers) and called me November 1st to tell me she'd like to have me teach the class until January 15th. I went to check out the classroom that day for about 15 minutes to see what I was getting myself into. Complete craziness! I don't think there were rules or structure and the kids were soooo loud! At this point, I started to freak out!

On top of the craziness with the kids, the classroom was a complete disaster. If anyone knows me, they know I like to be organized and clean. This was my worst nightmare. I couldn't see tabletops, desk tops, counter tops, floor space, etc. Everything was covered with random papers, piles, boxes, etc. The books in the library were thrown in with no system. The dust on shelves and around the room would make anyone sneeze. My heart stopped and I wondered how in the world I was going to teach in that environment. I came back the next day (Friday) and stayed a few hours after school cleaning up. I had no clue where to start. I cleaned off the teachers desk and did a few other small things, but it got late and I had to go. On Saturday, I met with the other Kindergarten teacher, who is super nice and helpful, to go over lesson plans for the next week. It was hard to plan lessons for kids I didn't now. Especially in a language I didn't know. I don't know how I got through that day but I did. I haven't been that overwhelmed in a long time.

To make a super long story with tons of details shorter than I could make it, I started on Monday (11/5) and I have not stopped working ever since. I went back to the "September" lessons of setting rules and routines in the classroom. The kids and I have been getting to know each other and taking things slow. The first 20 minutes of meeting the kids were accompanied by me learning about one of my students who had separation issues. His mom left and he started yelling and screaming. I couldn't hear anything or hear myself think. Luckily, the principal knew this would happen and came in to hold him down while he was screaming. I tried to get the other kids unpacked and on the carpet to introduce myself and try to be excited but all they could hear was this boy screaming. The kids started covering their ears and were saying they had a headache. Finally the principal went in the hallway with the child, but it was still very loud for a good 20 minutes. Serenity now!

We only had 4 days of school this week since Friday was a teacher work day. It felt like 4 weeks. I think the kids are very sweet and cute but there is so much to do and I feel like I was thrown into a construction zone . I've been going in before school and staying as late as possible after school before I have to go to my other jobs. I leave around 7 am and get home around 9 pm. I have been surviving, but it's just been a lot.

I am lucky to have a great assistant who speaks Spanish and is with me for 4 hours of the day. She has been my lifesaver. Half of the day is supposed to be ONLY spoken and taught in Spanish. I do the best I can with my high school Spanish, but even then, the 5 year olds correct me all the time. My assistant does a lot of the Spanish teaching, but we've had to cut a lot of time out of the day since I am not fluent. The principal knew this and had the option of hiring someone who was a fluent speaker, but decided to choose me since I had more experience. This might have been one of those times that I wouldn't have minded if I wasn't chosen for the job. :) I do feel lucky to have this opportunity to prove to this principal and others that I am a hard worker and that they would benefit from having me on their staff. I hope this will help with my job search for next year. When things seem overwhelming, I keep thinking about how this will benefit my future and hopefully the lives of the children in my class.

If you made it through all of this, thanks for staying with me on my long post. People have been asking what has been new and I haven't had the time to really let them know. Hopefully this will give you a small glimpse into the life of Fife right now. I'll keep you updated on my new adventure and how my Spanish is coming along. I knew I should have studied more in my Spanish class in high school! :) Adios for now.