Funny Moment

This past week we were learning our numbers 0-5. I was talking the kids through writing a number 5. I told them to draw a line from the top to middle, give it a belly from middle to bottom then put a hat on him. One of my little boys looked down at his 5 and back up at me several times. Then he said Mrs. Gillenwater is the 5 pregnant cause it kinda looks like you if you had on a hat! It was so funny, but after he said that and we talked about how the five looked like me all of my kids could write the number 5. I told my assistant that I would have to get one of those pregnancy pillows from the Motherhood Maternity dressing room to teach writing the number five every year!

Maternity Leave

Wow it has been forever since I have posted! Guess this year has been busier than I noticed! Today is my baby shower and I am super excited, we have my little boy a Big Bro shirt to wear and it is to cute!!! So what have I been doing this past month since I haven't posted? I have been preparing for maternity leave. This time is very different for me. With my son I was leaving at Spring Break and only coming back for 4 days at the end of the year, plus I knew we were moving and that classroom was most likely going to be my interims the next year. So I gave her complete control and let her do and change whatever she wanted! This time is different. I will only be out 23 school days, that's right I said only 23! I am due the week before our Thanksgiving Break which is only 3 1/2 weeks before Christmas Break! I am going back in January. With new evaluation system here in TN 15% of my evaluation comes from my students tested growth. So to recap a little I feel the need to be very controlling this time because 1) I am only going to be gone 23 days! 2) I plan to return to this school and classroom and hope to stay there a long time! 3) My evaluation score is partially determined by their growth!

So now the real question is how controlling did I become? Well let's see I have written the lesson plans for while I am gone. I understand that even writing my plans a week ahead is hard since things pop up, and things need to be retaught, but the skeleton is there. I have created the Power Points, activites, and centers for all the reading stories we do this first semester. I have created a detailed explanation of how center time works and how groups are determined (because I do realize my reading groups will change a little while I am gone!). Also, I have created everything for calendar time and have printed DETAILED instructions. We have worked so hard up to this point and they have got the routine down, plus they are starting to really act like Kindergarteners and are starting to read, I just don't want to lose all that. Is that wrong? Am I crazy (don't answer that!)?

That explains where this month has gone, preparing my regular days plus spending every free moment preparing for while I am gone! I have lots of things I want to post about and maybe now I will have time to now that my classroom is setup to run without me through December!

Here is a question for you now! What did you or would you do if taking a maternity leave? How controlling are you?

I just realized how much taking a leave shows your personality type. Hello my name is Type A!