I just posted my last regular blog entry on The Debutante Ball, so I'm officially out of excuses not to be here. Here's what's happening: The summer is winding down. I'm heading back to the classroom this fall to be a long-term substitute in third grade. It's the same position I vacated a year ago. I feel happy and excited to be going back for fourteen weeks.

Were you wondering about quarantine summer highlights?

• Shef got his driver's license and tools around in a 2013 Rav4. He drives himself and Mac to cross country practice, which man... that's a game-changer.
• I finished copy edits on my second novel, Are We There Yet?. It's out March 16th. I hope it's good. I think it might be. You can decide for yourself.
• I am excited that my chin zits will be covered by masks for the foreseeable future. At the same time, I'm not excited about the pandemic. It's my least favorite thing ever, probably.
• Our school is starting on a hybrid schedule. I will be teaching live and in person, but only 10 kids at a time. Each kid sits at their own table. The plus is there will be plenty of space for that child to spread out and work. The minuses are several, including trickiness in terms of collaboration, community, and fun. But, we're going to try our best, and my co-teacher and I decided there will be a lot of art projects.
• My own kids go back to school on Mondays, Wednesdays, and every-other Fridays. They're on Green Team. Before the two teams were assigned, Shef really had a strong preference for Blue. Now, "all his homies rep green," and he seems fine with it. He's made memes to accompany his team selection.
• Shef and Mac will continue to go to cross country practice every day, which is another good reason to have the driver's license and the Rav4.
• I have been running a ton, and I think my work clothes still fit despite a Covid weight gain. I don't care about the Covid gain, really. There are more important things, and I like eating cookies and white bread. The running is good for clearing my head, which is fuzzy a lot of the time.

Right after I got done bragging about not having any back-to-school dreams, I had the worst one ever. I'll keep it short because dream retellings are not the best reading material, but here's the gist:

I showed up at school to teach even though before that very morning, I had no idea I'd be teaching anything at all. I didn't attend any of the teacher workshops. I had no lesson plans. I couldn't even find my classroom, even though it was my school and everyone had a familiar face. It was your run-of-the-mill nightmare scenario, me wandering the halls with my arms full, getting jostled by adolescents, and colleagues waving and smiling at me without providing any answers to my myriad questions.

And, so, I guess we can conclude that I'm feeling seasonal anxiety despite my adjusted career plans. Old habits die hard, I guess. And, you should probably not brag. These are the themes of this blog post.

We're in Week 3 now, so I'm quite experienced in third grade. At the very least, I now know how to get the students to lunch and back again. Their quietness in the hallway is another matter, but I'm taking my wins incrementally.

Lesson Planning: The trickiest part is not actually designing the instruction. That transfers well from one division to another. The hardest part is figuring out how long things are going to take. "This'll be a solid 20 minutes," I think to myself; and then it's either 10 or 40. It might be a good 10 or 40, but it wasn't what I was expecting.

Vocabulary: Sometimes I use words the students don't know, and they look at me like, "What?" These moments surprise me, but I just find a synonym and move on with life. Recent examples: insightful, problematic, and expedient. No worries here: studies show that using big words with little kids is a solid vocabulary-building technique.

Math: Of all the disciplines I now teach, math is the one I've never taught before. One of my students told me he's especially excited to be in my class because I'm a middle school teacher and certainly capable of challenging him in math. He thinks it might be his best year ever in math. I think positive expectations are key to success.

Sitting upright: While I've had to remind students of all ages to maintain posture during lessons (it was a always a rule, for instance, that you couldn't put your head down on your desk in my classroom), it's especially a thing in third grade. While we're having instruction time on the rug, I prefer that you're not rolling around. I also prefer that you're not dancing on the sidelines of the instructional space. It doesn't matter how cute you look while you're dancing; it's just not time for that right now.

I've completed my first week of teaching third grade. I'm a little giddy because of the fun factor. The children are adorable and tell me amusing anecdotes. Plus, they won't be writing multi-thousand word essays I'll need to grade on weekends and holidays.

This is not to say I won't have other things to do on weekends and holidays: the lesson planning and the scheduling and the understanding of students' needs and capabilities in many a discipline will take up that same time. But those tasks seem more interesting to me at this point in my career.

The whole switch has been exhilarating.

Here are some critical differences between teaching elementary and secondary that I've noticed in my first days in the former:

• One needs a slightly different wardrobe with swishier, more versatile clothing. Many of my outfits no longer suit because of the constant up-and-down of elementary teaching. A skirt needs to have a certain give and a certain length to make it work for sitting on the rug in a circle.
• The job is more physical, and I get sweatier. It's not that secondary teaching is sedentary by any means. But third-grade teaching with the necessary vertical flexibility I previously mentioned, plus the bending over at the waist, plus the line walking--I don't know. Something about it makes showering more imperative. This is not to say I didn't value cleanliness in my former capacities.
• The children all have something to tell me. It's charming, and I laugh and smile a lot. To be fair, I laughed and smiled a lot in my old jobs, as well. Teaching is teaching, and it's all pretty fun.
• But here's an excellent bonus: I've forced kids of all ages sing songs with me and repeat affirmations. However, I've never experienced total compliance and freedom from eye-rolling in grades six and up, no matter how catchy or helpful the song or affirmation. In third grade, though, they look at me earnestly and try their best in these activities. It's that simple.

My school is starting a week earlier than normal this year, which means summer was a week shorter. This seems like a hardship for many, including the people who like to get their work done without teachers in their faces all the time. I keep hearing, "As you know, we lost a week this year."

It might feel like we gain a week on the front side of next summer when we finish up in May. However, this fact doesn't help the people who are working their tails off to have things ready for next Tuesday when the children show up.

To kick things off, I bought a book called The Growth Mindset Coach, and we're going to focus on our first month's theme: Everyone can learn! I think we'll do a little writing about when we learned how to do something. I have an idea to write a little sample about learning how to teach. I'm learning all over again now, and I have to say it's pretty fun so far. I feel slightly sorry for my new teaching partner on whom I have to rely rather heavily. I'm trying to make up for that burden by exhibiting my sunny personality. I'm sure she appreciates it.

I was actually feeling like back-to-school was pretty in hand for year 19. I wasn't even really working past 7pm. I hadn't messed up anything major. The kids (my own) were getting to their activities. I felt confident and competent - a true pro. Super Mom, if you will.

You see where this is going, right?

On Thursday, I was walking out of lunch with KK, and she said, "Oh, I got a dinner reservation for 6:00 at Spoon River on Saturday."

"What?" I said. "We have plans on Saturday?"

Turns out, we'd agreed a month ago to accompany our bosom friends to a fundraiser this very night. Oh yeah! Right! Of course! And I'd already made plans for that night with another friend on whom I'd recently canceled. And Mac has a hockey game and no alternative transportation.

I'll fix it, I told myself. And I totally did fix it! Success! Until a kid piped up at the end of A period on Friday, "Hey, weren't we supposed to go take pictures?" Yep! Yes, we were! 30 minutes before she reminded me!

And, this weekend there are several lessons to rehash, one of which is going to take some serious time. Don't worry! I'll get it done between Shef's CC meet, the fundraiser, a family reunion of sorts, and the dinner with that friend that I've now canceled on twice. Whee! I've totally got this.

We're cruising into the routine with the last of the special introductory schedules on tap for today. That's good because my students are getting sick of these precious anomalies.

Let's just do the regular, predictable thing without random assemblies and advisory meetings, ok?!

I myself have had to make a couple of schedule changes that I'm on the fence about. Maybe you know I usually work on my upmarket contemporary fiction book from 5-6am? At least on school days?

Well, by the time I got out of bed at 5:03, put socks on, whipped up some breakfast, and tweeted to #5amWritersClub, it was like 5:17. Then, I had to take a break at 5:40 to make tea, and before you know it was 6 and I had written for only 35 minutes.

If I'm going to be #DoneByDecember with the whole book, that kind of schedule just isn't going to work. So anyway, the solution was clear. The alarm had to be set for 4:43. Now, I'm all ensconced by 5 and get a full 50 minutes or so for this round of revisions.

Yes, it's a little early in the AM, but the characters are getting signature objects. The locations are getting arcs. A minor character is becoming appropriately fleshed out. It's happening.

In the worry column, I'm starting to get a little stressed about copy editing. I'm not good at copy editing my own work, but hiring a professional is pretty expensive for a hobby book that doesn't yet have an audience. Especially when I've already had two go-rounds with a structural professional. But,  let's just think about this later.

We've been working pretty hard, preparing for the students to arrive next week. Before that happens, my fellow teachers and I have a million meetings. There have been six meetings so far.

During the meetings, I add to my to-do list. The list is filled with items that I cannot complete during meetings. The list has gotten to be about a full page at this point.

At the end of the day full of meetings, I changed into my running clothes, the clothes I remembered to bring with me to work for the purpose of exercising at the end of the day.

After I ran and while I waited to drive cross country carpool, I crossed three things off the long list. The tasks were all related to classroom decor. It'll feel good to have the classroom looking great. It'll get finished over the weekend, I'm pretty sure. That's when the magic will happen.

That's all I've got.

Summer's coming to an end. There are messages in my inbox about meetings next week. Agendas, to-dos, class lists, and all the rest.

This weekend, I'm going to just prepare myself with some hard core relaxation and writing and of course, driving the children hither and yon. I've got two books I want to finish. I'm behind on my book review tweets. I need to buy some name small name tags from the teacher store. Oh, and my driver's side headlight is out.

These are the kinds of tasks that are foremost in my mind on this fine Saturday. Also, there's the annual motto hunt. I love mottos. I've been listening to a new podcast called Happier in Hollywood, and the writing-partner hosts have one that I'm certainly adopting: "It's a good job, and I enjoy it."

A helpful reminder that is also true.

I'm also having a motto about being a great team player and not making too many waves. It's, "Get on the bus." When I say this to myself, I'm going to also sing the iconic ditty from a very odd children's television show that Shef liked. "Do do-do-do, Get on the Bus!" Very cheerful.

And finally in the motto department, of course, I'll continue to Be a Bright Light. It's just hard not to since that's just coded into my very nature.

Well, the time has come to return to my paying job. It's been a lovely reprieve here on spring break, and I've accomplished plenty of tasks. Here are some highlights:

I'm sort of finished with the complete rough draft of my book project. In the last week of break, I forced myself to write 1000 words per day. I once again learned the lesson that writing begets writing, and by the end, cranking out the words wasn't totally excruciating. Except on the days that it was. When I say "sort-of finished," I mean that I still have to write some scenes, but very few compared with the number I've already written. Don't worry: I'm going to keep going.

I have supported Shef in the getting of his braces. Braces are mighty unpleasant. None of us like the braces. Shef especially doesn't. I think later, like in several years when his teeth are straight, we might all be grateful that we spent thousands of dollars on braces.

I spent time with many members of the family, and I was reasonably well behaved throughout. I hosted a family dinner, I met a cousin I'd never known before, I went on a whole vacation with my in-laws, I spent full days with my children and my dog. And there was almost no yelling.

I think we can all agree this was a successful spring break. I'm going to give it 5 of 5 stars. That's how good I think it was.

In order to get through the back to school crush, I've been putting tasks aside until certain dates.

Like, I shelved my fiction writing project on August 2nd - the last day of my summer online writing course. I decided I wouldn't open it up again until September 15th.

Sure enough, I clicked on the Google doc yesterday.

I didn't anything to it while it was open, and to be honest, I felt a little wave of panic as I scanned the paragraphs about Isobel at the English Department meeting. Luckily, I have a path forward. All I really have to do is consider looking at the words.

Next week, I start class again and my teacher will tell me just what to do.

Another task I've shelved is exercising. I just can't. I can only walk the dog and teach. By October 1st, I'll be ready. That's the drop date, and I might start doing barre class, or at the very least, the 7-minute workout.

When will I start getting the Weekly(ish) out Weekly(ish)? I think soon. There will probably be one this weekend. It'll probably be enjoyable to read, or at least not riddled with grammatical errors.

Yesterday a kid in my 7th grade class asked me how he knew he could trust me on questions of grammar, usage, and mechanics.

Kid, this isn't my first rodeo. I've been thinking about subject-verb agreement for 20+ years.

Grammar Camp

Project Land vs Grammar Instruction

I feel like I've cleared the last hurdle, and I'm coming through the final meters of the Back-to-School sprinting obstacle course.

How's that metaphor working? It's like Olympic Track and Field and Ninja Warrior in one. In this case, the last hurdle was Back-to-School night, and the sprinting Ninja course was the first few weeks of school. Speaking of, did I mention I went to Ninja Warrior Class with Mac? The resulting muscle soreness was extreme, but I did the class in the name of risk-taking and #lifelonglearning.

Anyway, last year, I gave advice about how to behave at your child's back-to-school night.  The tips would have assuaged my nervousness if you were in my audience. This year, I didn't even get nervous. I just gave the talks. After a while, it seems like you know how to do your job and to convey to others that you know how to do your job.  Turns out for me, it only took seventeen years to reach this point.

Now it's Thursday, and I have two days left this week before I have a reprieve to dig out of the grading hole (metaphor!) and to catch my breath (which I've lost from the sprinting Ninja course, obviously). I'm going to pace myself and fortify with coffee. I'll keep you posted.

Mom Probs: A nonstop Saturday in February 2013.

Hit Babies. A Word Savvy Classic.

We've done it again: We've started the school year.

The Good: I'm pumped about my curriculum and my students. My advisees are adorable. My bosses set a wonderful tone for the year with a calm, positive, and mindful first assembly.  Shef seemed happy and confident to be a "middle of the middle school" seventh grader and finished one spot out of varsity in the cross country run-off. Not bad for a sevie! Mac's teacher is empathetic and caring. When I picked him up, I could already tell he trusted and relied on her. Heart melt.  I mean, really.

The Bad: It's time for the usual exhaustion. This is not a surprise. It's an annual thing.

The Ugly: The humidity isn't doing much for my hair, as you can see in this photo.  Today, I've done a little braid, which I find to be passable. Let's be honest: I'd prefer to be pretty, but passable will have to do.

Tonight, I went to Shef's back-to-school night.  I thought MY back-to-school night was stressful, but the poor elementary teachers have to give 75-minute presentations!

Shef's teacher, Mr. B., was pretty fantastic. Totally charming, and he made second grade seem like the BEST YEAR EVER. Afterward I told Mr. B I thought he was great.  He seemed appreciative. 

I generally appreciate it when people compliment my back-to-school night presentations.  The other day, one dad told me he thought mine was "very hip."  Love that guy.

Just now, Shef told me that he wasn't planning on dating until college.  Good, Shef!  Let's go with that!

This is a photo our babysitter Claire took as Shef and I were leaving for our first day of school together.  

As we all know, this is generally what happens when we try to take a nice family photo.

Anyway, we both had awesome days.  I have the nicest students, and I feel like I'm working in a dream, pretty much.

Shef was psyched because now that he's a second grader, he has REAL HOMEWORK. And an assignment notebook. Totes official. I wonder how long we can make this excitement last?