Sleepovers

A few weeks ago, Sunni and I hosted sleepovers for the girls in each our classes. First we had the 5th grade girls over, and the next weekend we had the 3rd grade girls over. Both were fun weekends, especially since I taught Sunni's 5th graders. They were my first 3rd grade class when I moved to Turkey, 2 years ago! Both weekends were filled with pizza, movies, games, and of course some dancing! The weekend of the 3rd grade sleepover the weather was so nice, so we decided to walk to the park. I only have 6 girls, so it was manageable but still a bit stressful. I was very aware that we were "out in the city" and not confined in the safety of school or my apartment.

One of those week...

Life is always busy, but last week was just one of those weeks that was TOO hectic. For one thing, we had an accreditation team at our school visiting. For 3 years now, my school has been in the process of becoming accredited. The final process was having a team come to observe our school and confirm that we are indeed a reliable school worthy of being accredited. All the long hours and hard work paid off when we were told they were recommending us for FULL ACCREDITATION for 7 years! PTL. A really good friend was also in town for the week, and so I spent most afternoons with her. Leaving straight from school and getting home late at night. It was totally worth it, but by the end of the week I was drained. It all came to a point Friday morning when I woke up with a fever and was forced to stay home. I tried to reason that I could still go to school, but finally accepted that I needed to stay home and rest. I quickly wrote sub plans, gave them to my roommate, and went back to sleep. I am definitely a “go, go, go” type girl and therefore have to be forced to slow down. How kind of the Father :)

Cotillion Pays Off

About a month ago, my assistant principal came into my classroom on a Thursday afternoon, asking for a favor. For weeks they had been looking for someone to teach this Life Skills class on Table Manners to the 8th grade class. Someone told him I went to Cotillion back in the day. I reluctantly agreed, but then realized I would have my kids during the class period. My assistant principal (who has only taught high school), thought for a minute and then said, "Oh I can sub." Hahah I thought if he is available, why doesn't he just teach the Table Manners class! It cracked me up that he would RATHER sub in a 3rd grade classroom, than teach the 8th graders about table manners. Anyways, I ended up doing it and it was kinda fun. Took me back to when I was in 6th grade and mom sent me to "Pretty Me" class, and then again in 8th grade to Cotillion with my best friend, Natalie! For some reason my sibilings never had to do Cotillion, not sure what that says about me?? Can you label any of the parts in the picture below??

Funny Video about Bad Table Manners: http://http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=unXKYK0uRJ8