ahora vamos a contar

i've been overwhelmed by low reading scores and intervention forms, meetings with administrators and my annual observation. but i'm alive and kicking and ready to begin my thematic unit on pandas, endangered species, china, and the chinese new year. i'm teaching money, maps, wood, nouns, and punctuation. and i'm working closely with two other teachers to make sure my kids' reading needs are being met. i'm going to get my shit together in terms of organization and planning and preparation. my observation stressed me the hell out but went surprisingly beautifully... my kids can be soooo good. They can also be sooo bad, as they were the following day when they went INSANE with the PE sub and almost knocked down a special ed student. After a long lecture and some absolutely silent work time (I never ask for silence unless i'm PISSED... i find it unnatural and unnecessary, and only asked for it because the little mocosos needed to prove their self-control), we went outside for the recess time i owed them. I was sitting next to a student who had to sit out for five minutes, and I guess I sighed or something because he looked at me with those big curious brown eyes and asked concernedly,

"Maestra, is it hard being a teacher?"

where to begin, my dear. where to begin...