Summer Recap

I actually technically have 3 more days of summer left, but Friday I need to go to the school bookstore, and Monday my daughter has her 9th grade (!!) orientation, today I am working.  Tomorrow is, therefore, my last real day of summer.  My (newly) 21 year old daughter leaves this morning, so it seems over today, actually. 

Of course, I came to work nearly every day this summer because both my high school aged kids are running cross country this season and they had practice.  I also worked four extra days, went to that conference, did 3 other days of curriculum work...so really not much summer.

That's my excuse for not learning to sew better, like I wanted, for not getting my garden really expanded, like I wanted, and not working on my quilt project, like I wanted.  I did read about 20 books, clean a lot, and spend time with my whole family at least a few days.  I also had a huge breakthrough with my horse - he is finally not afraid when people mount and not afraid when being ridden.  Of course, this big bad monster fear was hiding a huge lack of any kind of training.  The next obstacle will be getting him to realize that there is more to life than, "Kick means go, and pull means stop."  Too bad summer is over.

On the other hand, I am super excited to get back into the classroom with my new students.  I know so many of them - from coaching track and field when they were in elementary, many of them are friends with my son (who is their age), or siblings of other people I've taught, or the kids of people I've worked with in other schools (and this one).  It's weird.  I don't feel that connected to this community - even after 17 years here, just because we skip around to different masses at different churches, we haven't done a lot of community age-group sports, we don't do adult social things like golf or dance class or what have you - but when I look at 100 kids in my classes and have either coached them or had them sleeping on my couch, it's a different story. 

The registrar was very careful not to give me either my niece or my son, but I did end up with my son's absolute best friends in the world - frankly, that's just the same as having my own son - there've been summers that those boys haven't spent more than a night or two away from each other - they were either at our house or theirs.  For the record, I have taught my older two kids with no ill effect on either of us and it will be fine - but this current 10th grade son is just as relieved as I am that he is NOT in my class.  At first, we both wanted him to have my class, but then he realized that my class is most likely going to be organized in a different way than mine.  He likes the daily assignments, test/quiz, move on model - and I am a big messy question, lots of reading and talking and multimedia making and writing type of teacher.  I have to admit those cut and dried, just show me what to do kids are often quite uncomfortable having me until they catch on.  It's funny, because my son is really a much more project-based kid on his own things (most kids are), but he is a bit nervous about letting loose in school.

And the truth is, although it would help me, his brutal, critical honesty wouldn't always be fun.  It was one of the things I wanted to have him in my class for - to tell me the kid view straight-up but with some love - but my courage failed me.  Also, with his honors classes and second language class - he basically has set classes in the periods in which I teach, so the point is kind of moot - taken out of our hands.