PledgeCents Classroom Cause

Hey, everyone!

I hope that you are doing well.  I wanted to give you a chance to act on a wonderful opportunity for you to support my students.  I am working on raising $355 over the next 20 days in order to provide students with the best education possible.  This campaign is going to be geared towards restocking the supplies.  My students are at a Title I school which means we service low-income families.  You can read all about the need, students, and school at the cause website (click invest in the box to the right).

I would ask that you contribute if possible by donating and/or spreading the word to anyone you know who might be interested in supporting this classroom.  It would really help if you could share the cause via your Facebook, Twitter, blog, or email to your friends, family, and co-workers.

Please note that if I do not make the goal that we will purchase as many supplies as we can with what we receive.

Thank you in advance for your support!

I'm Following the Right Path

So, I was talking with my sister-in-law, Ly'chel and I was saying how THIS blog may actually work.  Well, this is not my first blog that I have started.  This is at least my 5th attempt.  My first blog was just a way for me to try to vent about different topics but I never committed the time to it.  Then I tried several smaller topics.  When finally it clicked.  I needed to do one blog about everything--"Everything Michele".

I realized that my "everything" is several things, I cannot isolate myself as the roles sometimes mix.  So with "Everything Michele" I can just share me and all the things about me.

Yesterday, I received confirmation that I am doing the right thing with this blog and some of the other things that I want to do.  In yesterday's post (http://everythingmichele.blogspot.com/2017/01/you-would-not-believe-my-day.html), I wrote about my day, basically, I went to work in high spirits and faced several challenges, the major one being that my classroom windows were broken by blocks.  Now overall, I was very optimistic about my day.

Today, on my way to work I realized something.  Yesterday, I found a rock in my classroom, on the floor right in front of my whole group chair.

The reason why this, for me, is confirmation that I am on the right track is because even though I was not at work, I can see that God had protected me.  If I had been in the classroom when the rocks had been thrown in the classroom, the rock would have landed at my feet.  I would have been fine.  The rock that landed where my feet usually are was the largest rock that I discovered remaining in my classroom.  So although I was not the actual target metaphorically I was and I would have been fine.  I need to continue on this process, continue to work on the things that I want to work on.

So publicly, I wish to thank God for my life, my family, my blessings that I have today and that I will receive tomorrow.

You Would Not Believe My Day

Today has been a day.  As a teacher, today was my first day back to work after being home for Winter Break.  It was quick but relaxing at the same time.  Last night, I stayed up late working on lesson plans I have completed plans for January 3rd until January 17th.  If I get inspired today, I will also have plans for at least until the 24th and if I'm really ambitious through the 31st.

I digress...

This morning I wake up, I'm trying to get myself in a positive mindset.  Overall it's working.  I get to work at 6:40, walk into my room and I see my furniture out of place.  I'm like okay that's fine they did some cleaning over the break, it's cool, I'm early.  I'll put my lunch away, print my lesson plans, and then I'll fix the furniture before the children get in.  Before I leave I notice my blinds, that are in the area where my furniture was moved, are not the way I left them before the break.  I pull up my blinds and find.

I leave out to go find someone to talk to but the Principal isn't there yet.  I go back inside to find.

I was so shocked but I didn't let it get the best of me instead I just told myself just go on ahead and copy your lesson plans.  So I go to the copier and the red light is on and the message for service is on.  Okay, fine, I'll just go to the teacher next door and print to her classroom, that shouldn't be a problem.  It wasn't.

I go back to my classroom and the principal is inside surveying the damage.  She tells me to keep the children away from the carpet, use the tables fine.  So I'm looking over the plans and trying to find out what I am going to do.  She comes back and says okay you need to combine with the other prekindergarten teacher.  So I sit there and I try to figure out what I needed to be ready to take my students into the classroom next door.  I can't figure anything out so I just go next door and try to settle in.

The other teachers in that room are asking me how we were going to do it.  I was just like we're going to wing it because our classrooms have not been set up for 22 students, even though technically that makes one full class.

All in all, I'm still feeling happy, hopeful, a little shocked but mostly I'm concerned for the people  children who did this.  One thing I will say is that they have a good arm, they should look into baseball because they have to be throwing fastballs or curveballs.  But if they find the children, what will the outcome be?  Will they be suspended? expelled?  For me, it's a double-edged sword.  These children clearly need some attention, help, and support.  Schools should be a pillar of the community, a place to cherish and value but instead, it was vandalized.  Even when things happen that shouldn't we should be able to provide some sort of support to these students.

Mirrors & Windows Introduction

In a post I made, last January in my blog Talks with Tots, I wrote about my thoughts on the comments that Stacey Dash made (see the link below for details).  Now, I am going to from time to time reflect on my mirrors and windows to help me and you to understand how our experiences shape who we are.  I want to create a dialogue where we can feel comfortable expressing who we are based on the images that are made in our likeness and the images and the images that are different.

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