The Past 2 years and My Newest Endeavor...

It's been a while!

I was never able to complete my list of things, as a teacher, that I complete in a day as I had planned and for that I am sorry!

A lot has happened in two years. I found out not long after I had posted last (about my upcoming 'teacher to do list'), that I was pregnant with our second child. It was unexpected and I was very worried for what this meant for my family and my career. 

During my pregnancy and after giving birth (end of 2015-mid 2016), I was unaware that I had been battling Major Depressive Disorder. I lacked the desire to do anything that I had previously enjoyed. I was bed ridden for days at a time. I will stop there because I could be here forever. I chose to leave my, then, school of 3 1/2 years because I thought that it was the workload. I took a job at a new school with promising plans for support and stability. Things did not change in my world. I was diagnosed in April 2017 and it made SO MUCH sense. Major Depressive Disorder is essentially general depression on CRACK. More aggressive and 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Once I was properly diagnosed and treated, I slowly started becoming my old self and it felt wonderful. 

Fast forward to May 2017. There is no tenure here anymore and I am an annual contract teacher. My contract was not renewed. Rather than seeking teacher positions elsewhere (I even had one offer and refused), I made the leap. I packed up my 6 years of teaching into a storage unit and haven't looked back. I had no clue what God had in store for my future and I was scared but I knew that I needed to spend more time with my family, including my growing little ones. I left teaching.

Here's why:
FAMILY COMES FIRST. I could not be a mother and a fire wife while working 60-80 hours a week. I refused to miss out on even one more second of precious time with my babies and my husband. 

Mia is now 1 and an extremely intelligent, driven, feisty toddler. I didn't know I had room in my heart for another child; Joie (my 4 year old) was my whole world. Then Mia was born. This is what I am in this world... to be these amazing little girls' mommy. 

And fast forward to exactly today. I teach my very first class as an independent contractor for VIPKID tomorrow at 7:30am. Did I mention I make my own schedule and work in my living room???

Here's my referral link if you guys want to check out what VIPKID is all about and become a VIPKID teacher! 

https://t.vipkid.com.cn/?refereeId=5848416

God knew what he was doing. Although I walked with blind faith, he was there guiding me. I am so grateful for this opportunity to work with such a spectacular company!

So for now, my posts will be updates on my bookings; it takes a while to really build up a good clientele base and I want to be able to keep track of my time with VIPKID in hopes of helping others. 

Thanks for listening and I apologize for the rambling in this one! Stay tuned for my progress through this new journey!

Jessica
hashtagteacherlife

Have you seen this???

http://www.upworthy.com/the-real-number-of-hours-teachers-work-in-one-eye-opening-graphic-3 

Eye opening and so very accurate!

P.S. I apologize I haven't been on for a while... New post coming soon! 

New Item on Teachers Pay Teachers!

Super excited that I just sold my first product on Teachers Pay Teachers! Check out my newest product! They are posters showing decomposition of numbers 10-20! It also has the fact families listed! 

Number Posters (10-20) Part/Part/Whole

#teacherlife TpT

Before I begin...

I realize now that some may misconstrue my first post as negative. Let me clarify my intentions before I post anything else.

I LOVE MY JOB.
I am a ball of stress most days and I get overwhelmed. However, I have known from an early age that being a teacher is what God has called me to do. Nothing is more rewarding than being involved with shaping these beautiful, wonderful, little minds. Every time that I have ever felt like throwing in the towel, every time I have said that I am done... God reminds me of the reasons I am here.

Whether it's a note from a parent who is thanking me profusely for the work that I have done with their baby or a picture from one of my kids that tells of their love and respect for me, I am reminded often of why I am here.

Some days, it isn't even anything tangible. I remember telling my kids over and over that they needed to come to an adult when they have a problem with a friend. I swear I was blue in the face. One day, one of my kids who normally is an instigator came to me to help them with their frustrations.That is why I am here.

I got a baby from another school just as the second semester was beginning. Her previous report cards showed that she was below grade level and was a struggling reader. She was in a new school, trying to fit in, and trying to get to second grade next year. At least twice a week she would come to me and ask if she was going to second grade next year. I would always tell her not to worry about that and just to do her very best. I would cringe thinking about those previous scores and grades I saw on her report card thinking, "How am I ever going to get this baby girl to second grade? I don't want to let her down." 

I worked with her over the following weeks; I immediately placed her in an intervention group as well. I watched her watch me during every lesson. I watched her work her little tushy off. She asked questions when she was confused and she loved small group with Mrs. Vega.

On the very last day of school, I got the opportunity to look her in the eyes and tell her "Guess what? YOU are going to second grade!" 

THIS IS WHY I AM HERE.

Here's my point. In addition to my posts about my days, I will also be sharing these moments as a reminder to my readers of just why we are teachers. I would love to hear from you as well! Please feel free to comment on any of my posts with your own favorite reminders!

#teacherlife #nobutseriously

So it's 3:32 AM and I am frantically gathering information to put together a list of everything I do in one day as a first grade teacher (during the summer and throughout the year). I am irrevocably frustrated with the lack of awareness I see every day from the people I love. People on the internet write all day long about how and why teaching is so incredibly grueling. Apparently the people in my life missed those blogs. 

Here is my plan. YOU CAN'T MISS MY BLOG WHEN I LITTER THE LINK ALL UP IN YOUR SOCIAL MEDIA NEWSFEEDS! 

So to cure this seemingly unending frustration, I will blog about my days as a teacher and do just that. You're welcome, FB friends. 

I pray that this aims accurately for the very core of the hearts of those near to me and that it gives them an excruciatingly accurate understanding of what my job really entails. 

I should note that although my sanity is what I am aiming for, nothing would make me happier than to help my fellow teachers break down the barrier of misconception between them and the ones they love. These misconceptions consistently spark resentment and frustration on both sides, and ultimately sadness on our side. 

It has got to stop. 

"How long could it really take?" "What did you do all day that you had to stay so late?" "Seriously, grading papers is fun. I could do it." "Why do you even have to go in on summer break? Just go in for a few hours beforehand and get everything unpacked." BYE FELICIA. 👋🏽 I cannot, in my right mind, spend another day in my career while the people around me wonder why in the world I am so stressed all the time from an effortless job where I play all day. 

By the way, where can I get one of those? I've got great references. 😆

-Jessica