Determined

Would you believe that I got to work at 7:00 a.m. today and left at 9:00 p.m.?  What can I say... I am a determined person. Although some of what I disagreed with my administrative reviewer about is simply a difference of opinion, it is important to me that I meet her demands for several reasons.

#1) Being right is never as important to me as the bottom line- excellence. It is how I got passing grades in classes in college where I despised the professors.
#2) Nothing she suggested would be bad for my students; it could only help. While I don't really feel like giant word posters are super crucial (or really worth the hours of my time that they took to make), they certainly can't hurt... and they give me a chance to play with my scrapbooking paper and the diecutter.   :-)
#3) I need to get my whole bonus. I only have this week to show that I am an excellent teacher and then a very short time when I get back. I'd rather be seen for my whole worth now than be worried about proving myself when I get back- I mean, who knows what repairs and reteaching I may have to do when I come back. I have faith that the sub I have picked is going to do an excellent job, but I've never actually seen him teach, so I don't know for sure.

So... I spent 2 hours after school creating a word window since I don't have room for a word wall (pictures to follow- I'm actually pretty proud of it).  She requested more writing visuals, so I dug out the posters I used last year that I didn't think I had wall space for this year, borrowed a ladder, recruited a willing husband, and found ways to hang them from the ceiling (hard to explain, my room is shaped funny, but it works). I turned the simple notes I had for tomorrow's lesson plans into perfect lesson plans with SWBAT objectives and teacher/student responsibilities, and prepped my boards for tomorrow. I cleared my desk (okay, half of it), so that I can stop worrying about my desk being a mess when I go into labor (not kidding, I literally have nightmares about it), and changed my unit board from narrative writing to revolution. Thus.... all is in order. There is always more that could be done, but for now, it is as good as this 38 week pregnant woman could do...  but I must say, for being done by a tired and cranky pregnant lady, it is pretty damn good.
:-)