It has been awhile since I have updated the blog, but I assure you, we are all well! We have had a very busy week and I finally have time to sit and share a bit of what has been going on.
Sunday marked the beginning of the school week for us. Having 3.5 weeks off for the Holidays certainly has its advantages. We loved the time off with family and traveling around Spain, but, I was ready to get back to classes. Having been back in Egypt for a full week before classes started, Hubby and I spent some time reorganizing our classrooms and creating new bulletin boards. It was actually really quite relaxing to work in a classroom that was extraordinarily quiet. Princess was at school and Dimples entertained himself with the white board and iPad. But, being in my classroom without my students was not the way I like it. I enjoy their chaos, their personalities and their humor. It is them that makes the classroom what it is...not what I put on the walls, although, I do find the classroom esthetically pleasing.
I was thrilled to see the students on Sunday. I could not wipe the smile off my face! I did miss having them around. I feel like I have had the chance to really get to know the students and as a result have a great rapport with them. It certainly makes teaching them a lot easier when we all get along.
However, one of my greatest strengths as a teacher can also be a great weakness. Ninety percent of the time, it is a strength, the other ten percent of the time is emotionally draining. This week represented a little bit of both sides which led to a particularly difficult end of the week. I have always been able to get to know my students very well. This is why they come and spend their lunch hours in my classroom, visit on their breaks and share both the happy moments of their days, as well as their sad moments with me.
So, when there is a lot of change in the lives of the students, or the class, or the dynamics of relationships, it becomes very emotionally exhausting. There is a lot of change on the horizon, some of which has already come to pass, more of which is yet to come. The coming week will prove to be challenging, as the biggest change occurs on Sunday, (more on this next week).
I have been documenting my experiences as a first year teacher, so I may share some excerpts from my journal next week. Consider them, Confessions of a First Year Teacher.
As for the rest of the family, Hubby is doing great, plugging away with his course load. Princess loves school and cannot wait to go there everyday. She passed her assessment so she is able to enter into the "big" school next year for JK and Dimples will *gasp*, start school on February 1st. He will be two months shy of being two years old and starting school full time Sunday - Thursday. That idea boggles my mind! But, when I see how much Princess has developed academically over the last 4 months, I cannot wait to see what will happen to the little man!
Some people have asked me about how our children are handling such an intense school experience so young. As I mentioned, Princess loves it. Going to school is her favorite thing in the world to do. To set the scene a little bit, the school she attends looks like any other school, except every classroom looks like a Kindergarten classroom. They learn numbers, shapes, letters and basic math. They color, they play and they sing songs. The teachers challenge the kids to accomplish great things and meet the kids where they are at. Princess speaks English as her first language and many of the kids in her class do not, so the teacher gives her more challenging things to do and tends to have higher expectations of her.
I am unsure as to what Dimples' class will look like or what they do in his class, with his age of children. We will have to wait and see for that one.
Am I a bad mother because I send my kids to such an intense learning experience so young? I do not think so. They are learning, they are developing AND, they are learning to speak Arabic, which is much more than I can say for myself. I know that they would learn and develop if they were at home, full time with me. But, when Princess wakes up in the morning exclaiming, "School Today, YAY!" I cannot help but smile.
Sunday marked the beginning of the school week for us. Having 3.5 weeks off for the Holidays certainly has its advantages. We loved the time off with family and traveling around Spain, but, I was ready to get back to classes. Having been back in Egypt for a full week before classes started, Hubby and I spent some time reorganizing our classrooms and creating new bulletin boards. It was actually really quite relaxing to work in a classroom that was extraordinarily quiet. Princess was at school and Dimples entertained himself with the white board and iPad. But, being in my classroom without my students was not the way I like it. I enjoy their chaos, their personalities and their humor. It is them that makes the classroom what it is...not what I put on the walls, although, I do find the classroom esthetically pleasing.
I was thrilled to see the students on Sunday. I could not wipe the smile off my face! I did miss having them around. I feel like I have had the chance to really get to know the students and as a result have a great rapport with them. It certainly makes teaching them a lot easier when we all get along.
However, one of my greatest strengths as a teacher can also be a great weakness. Ninety percent of the time, it is a strength, the other ten percent of the time is emotionally draining. This week represented a little bit of both sides which led to a particularly difficult end of the week. I have always been able to get to know my students very well. This is why they come and spend their lunch hours in my classroom, visit on their breaks and share both the happy moments of their days, as well as their sad moments with me.
So, when there is a lot of change in the lives of the students, or the class, or the dynamics of relationships, it becomes very emotionally exhausting. There is a lot of change on the horizon, some of which has already come to pass, more of which is yet to come. The coming week will prove to be challenging, as the biggest change occurs on Sunday, (more on this next week).
I have been documenting my experiences as a first year teacher, so I may share some excerpts from my journal next week. Consider them, Confessions of a First Year Teacher.
As for the rest of the family, Hubby is doing great, plugging away with his course load. Princess loves school and cannot wait to go there everyday. She passed her assessment so she is able to enter into the "big" school next year for JK and Dimples will *gasp*, start school on February 1st. He will be two months shy of being two years old and starting school full time Sunday - Thursday. That idea boggles my mind! But, when I see how much Princess has developed academically over the last 4 months, I cannot wait to see what will happen to the little man!
Some people have asked me about how our children are handling such an intense school experience so young. As I mentioned, Princess loves it. Going to school is her favorite thing in the world to do. To set the scene a little bit, the school she attends looks like any other school, except every classroom looks like a Kindergarten classroom. They learn numbers, shapes, letters and basic math. They color, they play and they sing songs. The teachers challenge the kids to accomplish great things and meet the kids where they are at. Princess speaks English as her first language and many of the kids in her class do not, so the teacher gives her more challenging things to do and tends to have higher expectations of her.
I am unsure as to what Dimples' class will look like or what they do in his class, with his age of children. We will have to wait and see for that one.
Am I a bad mother because I send my kids to such an intense learning experience so young? I do not think so. They are learning, they are developing AND, they are learning to speak Arabic, which is much more than I can say for myself. I know that they would learn and develop if they were at home, full time with me. But, when Princess wakes up in the morning exclaiming, "School Today, YAY!" I cannot help but smile.
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