My new Job!

So after almost 4 months of unemployement I finally got a job! It's part time and pays a lot less then what I used to make but hey I get to wear a fanny pack so who can complain right?! I have to say you can store all kinds of things in them. I can see why Hulk Hulgan held on to his for so long! I also get to wear a whistle while I am on lunch and recess duty! I opted for the bright yellow neck lanyard I mean why stop at just the fanny pack! I am an aide at Lafe Nelson Elementary and every 30 or 40 minutes I am doing something different with different kids all day. I start by helping 2nd graders who need extra help in reading and good grief I have forgotten all the rules there are! I mean it's a wonder I learnded to read with all the rules and different sounds a letter can make; who ever thought up the English language had a wicked sense of humor! I then read with two 3rd grade boys, and can I just say this is funny considering the fact that I am not a fan of reading! I have to say I am getting into it though, those Goosebump books are genius! I then get to spend a whole hour with a 1st grade class that I love! I can be having the worst day and then one of them will come up and say "Hi Miss Leslie" and give me a hug its great! I work with the slower readers in that class as well, but the teacher Mrs. Lewis is great and lets me do other things as well. After that it is Kindergarten recess duty and owe the drama these kids have! A day does not go by that a little girl or boy does not come up to me crying because their friends don't want to be their friends anymore! There are also some Pop Warner cheerleaders that give me a cheer everyday! For those of you that know my "love" of cheerleading this is always a fun time! I then get the lovely job of lunch duty with the 6th graders. Now I ask you...how in the Heck does one try to show that they are in charge and should be respected when they are wearing a freaking fanny pack?! Seriously? would you I wouldn't! I have learned to use it as a source of punishment though and if or when a kid gets out of line they get threatened with the fanny pack and having to wear it for the duration of lunch. I have to say it works like a charm! Once that is done I finish my day with 2nd graders in math! Many of you are laughing at this and I can understand as it has been my nemisis all my life. I get to work with the kids that need a lot of help so we are about on the same level so it works just fine! It has been fun and I enjoy it a lot. Don't be surprised if you all get fanny packs from me for Christmas though!

NKOTB The Sequel!

So as many of you know I was pretty much the biggest New Kids on the Block fan ever! It was border line over the top my best friend at the time Erika Baysinger and I ate,slept, breathed everything New Kids. The ultimate was going to their concert back in the 8th grade! By the way if anyone who reads this knows or keeps in contact with Erika I would love to get back in touch with her. Back to the subject though. My dear caring friend Randy Quinn was nice enough to get me into the New Kids fan club and on the email list when they first made their come back! Bless his heart! I won't lie when they were on the Today show I was planning on mocking the upper 30-40 year old "boy wonders", but no it was like I was 13 again and Jordan Knight was singing directly to me! I got as giddy as a school girl and planned right then and there that some way I would go to their concert again! As luck would have it a couple of friends thought the same thing (they were no where near the die hard I was LOL!) so sure enough we got out tickets and oh my goodness I am not ashamed to say it was by far in the top 2 of the best concerts I have ever attended. Mind you I have not kept up on their music old and definitely not new, however all I needed to hear was the first 3 notes and I was "Hangin Tough" all night! I screamed all night and new Jordan Knight heard my many pledges of unfailing love to him. I only wish I had my camara, my friends took pictures but as mentioned above they are not the devoted fan like I am and do not understand the critical importance of getting me the pics ASAP. It was a great night and I have to give a big thank you to my friend Randy Quinn! I'll I have to say is "You got the Right Stuff!"

A little old school for ya!
And a little new school!
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Same sweet moves!

Math Aarghhh!

Ok so this whole going back to school thing has been quite an adjustment especially since I have been out of school for about 10 years. I wasn't the brightest student then and so it makes it a lot of fun now! Most of the classes are ok as long as you actually read the chapters in the book. This is new to me, but I'll be darned if the answers to the tests really aren't in there! The one class that has been my biggest worry is the Math for Elementary Teachers. You would think it would be easy, and for most it is, just a bit of a refresher course and learning the teaching techniques. I am what they would call math challenged though and have been my whole life. As many of you probably know since you are all parents yourself a lot of schools are now going to a new method for teaching math which involves using "manipulatives" and the "base 10" blocks. Let me just tell you that I had a hard enough time learning the basics as it was now they want us to teach the kids how to show how math works. Fractions in particular are my newest pain. We have to show with blocks what 1/2 of 2/3 looks like. Back in the day this would be a multiplication problem that you just multiply and reduce if possible. Not so much now! It's been fun! I drive to Willcox every Monday and spend 4 hours learning this stuff because the teacher at EA is a Freak! Seriously 4 of us are driving and I know that 3 others just dropped the class because he's so special! The teacher over at Willcox is awesome though and totally understands my math anxiety! In fact she even gave me a paper on it with the Math Bill of Rights. I have to share these because if any of the rest of you feel the way I do about Math you will love these! At the end of the semester I will do a blog just on this class as well because it is a very small class being offered my Cochise Community and each person it that class is quite interesting. So I'll keep you posted on that as well.

Math Bill of Rights

* I have the right to learn at my own pace and not feel put down or stupid if I'm slower than someone else.
* I have the right to ask whatever questions I have.
* I have the right to need extra help.
* I have the right to ask a teacher or tutor for help.
* I have the right to say I don't understand.
* I have the right to not understand.
* I have the right to feel good about myself regardless of my abilities in math.
* I have the right not to base my self-worth on my math skills.
* I have the right to feel view myself as capable of learning math.
* I have the right to evaluate my math instructors and how they teach.
* I have the right to relax.
* I have the right to be treated as a competent person.
* I have the right to dislike math.
* I have the right to difine success in my own terms.