We had a fantastic weekend!! It was so relaxing and the weather was perfect. The sun came out to play and we soaked up every second we could. Saturday morning we ventured to Weinheim for the farmer's market at their MarktPlatz. There is just nothing like fresh produce. It is insane how much better fresh tastes compared to what we get at the commissary. We ate lunch at a cafe and snagged some fresh produce, jam, and a bottle of white wine that was produced in one of the local regions. Then we hopped back in the car and went back to post for a baby shower. One of the females in Paul's unit is about to pop, so some of the other women in his unit threw her a shower. The best part was that we had no idea who she was, nor did most of the people attending the shower. Oh...I forgot another tidbit of information. The shower was held in a back room at the bowling center. Love it. Elizabeth and I managed to scoot away quickly, leaving Paul and Lenea stranded. Well not stranded exactly. They had a car. We couldn't help it. It was a beautiful day, and the thought of waisting it inside bowling was devastating. We decided to hop on the train to downtown Mannheim. We originally were going to try to buy some train tickets to Paris for next weekend until we got to the DB desk and the clerk told us it was going to be 276 euro. Whomp. Whomp. We decided that was out of our price range for a day in Paris. It is only a three hour train ride, so we were going to try and go just for the day until we heard the outrageous price. We will have to save that for some other weekend. After our feeling of defeat we landed in the shopping district. It is amazing how shopping seems to soothe the soul. After a couple of hours of walking around looking for a purple dress for Nicole's wedding, (which I found...YAY!) Paul and Lenea called so we headed home. That evening we went to the movie theater and saw Valentine's Day. It was so-so. Nothing I would rush to see if it is still in theaters.
Sunday we returned to Weinheim. This time we took a ginormous blanket and went straight to the park. It was gorgeous. I took a book and Elizabeth brought her homework. Paul and Lenea walked around Weinheim and eventually met up with us at the park. When we arrived at the park we were met with a surprise.
Sunday we returned to Weinheim. This time we took a ginormous blanket and went straight to the park. It was gorgeous. I took a book and Elizabeth brought her homework. Paul and Lenea walked around Weinheim and eventually met up with us at the park. When we arrived at the park we were met with a surprise.
I think it must have been some sort of family day event, because they had all sorts of games and tents set up for families.
The greatest part of the day was the sun. I even got a little pink on my shoulders. It was so nice. To top it all off we ate Greek for dinner. The weekend was so relaxing and perfect for a new and fresh week at work.
I started a full week of work on Monday with paperwork and training. Not my favorites, but I guess they have to be done. It feels like I have signed my life away. I signed and initialed what felt like 100 papers. I am not sure how much of an exaggeration that is, but sadly it probably isn't too over the top. During the afternoon I was able to observe in different classrooms to see what happens in each room. I spent a few hours in Strong Beginnings (this class is for 5 year olds who didn't make the September birthday deadline), and concluded my day in infants. Thank goodness I am not in infants. I don't think I have the gusto to survive in that room. It also proved to me that I am no where near ready for kids. Sorry mom. It will be at least five years before that happens. After work we headed to the commisary for groceries. Our refigerator was beverageless...no water, tea, or soda. We also needed a few random things like lunch meat, apples, yogurt, etc. It was a good start to the week, but I am so ready to be in my own classroom instead of seeing everyone elses.
Today was good. Not nearly as much paperwork, and I was able to spend a little more time in my room. I made a to-do list of things that need to be done in the room after observing in the other classes. I saw some great ideas in the other rooms, and remembered some things from my wonderful time in Kindergarten that I would love to add to the room. We are going to have a team meeting on Thursday where we will be able to brainstorm and collaborate on what needs to be done for the kiddos. I am pretty excited about my room and my team. I heard several awesome remarks concerning their work ethic, so we should work well together. I am the preschool lead and have four assistants. It is weird to be in charge of others, but I am excited about it. Unfortunately I am going to loose one of my team members because we will have too many staff members in the room now. The ratio for preschool is one adult:10 kids. The room has a capacity to hold 30 kids (YIKES) and we have 28 on the roster. I am pretty sure I had the deer in headlights look on my face when they told me this. I was expecting somewhere between 12 and 20 kids, but not 28. I was told that I will have 30 kids by the end of the month, which is quickly approaching. I have the largest room in the building, so space is not a problem. Chaos is the problem. 30 preschool kids between 3 and 4 years old in one class is pandamonium. I am going to try to figure out a way to group the kids so that we aren't so many kids in one area at a time. The classroom looks like it was once two classrooms and part of the middle wall was knocked down. I don't know. It will be lots of brainstorming with my team, but I am sure we can do it. I know that I am qualified for this. I just have to turn my noggin on and think it through. Most of today I simply observed some more in different classrooms. The staff was really supportive everywhere I went, so I didn't feel like I was intruding. They didn't treat me like an outsider, so I am thinking that this will be a good thing. We shall see.
Tomorrow is filled with videos. Yes. Videos. Luckily they have my transcript, so I am going to be able to bypass some of the training due to the courses I took in college. I also found out that Thursday I will see what it is like to open at 5:30 am, so I will be getting off at 2:30. Friday I will close at 6. Next week I will start my normal hours from 9-6 with an hour lunch break. I am not crazy about the time slot, but I have no choice. All lead teachers work the same hours. Luckily the sun stays out until about 9 pm, so I still have several hours of sunshine after work. I am loving life!
I started a full week of work on Monday with paperwork and training. Not my favorites, but I guess they have to be done. It feels like I have signed my life away. I signed and initialed what felt like 100 papers. I am not sure how much of an exaggeration that is, but sadly it probably isn't too over the top. During the afternoon I was able to observe in different classrooms to see what happens in each room. I spent a few hours in Strong Beginnings (this class is for 5 year olds who didn't make the September birthday deadline), and concluded my day in infants. Thank goodness I am not in infants. I don't think I have the gusto to survive in that room. It also proved to me that I am no where near ready for kids. Sorry mom. It will be at least five years before that happens. After work we headed to the commisary for groceries. Our refigerator was beverageless...no water, tea, or soda. We also needed a few random things like lunch meat, apples, yogurt, etc. It was a good start to the week, but I am so ready to be in my own classroom instead of seeing everyone elses.
Today was good. Not nearly as much paperwork, and I was able to spend a little more time in my room. I made a to-do list of things that need to be done in the room after observing in the other classes. I saw some great ideas in the other rooms, and remembered some things from my wonderful time in Kindergarten that I would love to add to the room. We are going to have a team meeting on Thursday where we will be able to brainstorm and collaborate on what needs to be done for the kiddos. I am pretty excited about my room and my team. I heard several awesome remarks concerning their work ethic, so we should work well together. I am the preschool lead and have four assistants. It is weird to be in charge of others, but I am excited about it. Unfortunately I am going to loose one of my team members because we will have too many staff members in the room now. The ratio for preschool is one adult:10 kids. The room has a capacity to hold 30 kids (YIKES) and we have 28 on the roster. I am pretty sure I had the deer in headlights look on my face when they told me this. I was expecting somewhere between 12 and 20 kids, but not 28. I was told that I will have 30 kids by the end of the month, which is quickly approaching. I have the largest room in the building, so space is not a problem. Chaos is the problem. 30 preschool kids between 3 and 4 years old in one class is pandamonium. I am going to try to figure out a way to group the kids so that we aren't so many kids in one area at a time. The classroom looks like it was once two classrooms and part of the middle wall was knocked down. I don't know. It will be lots of brainstorming with my team, but I am sure we can do it. I know that I am qualified for this. I just have to turn my noggin on and think it through. Most of today I simply observed some more in different classrooms. The staff was really supportive everywhere I went, so I didn't feel like I was intruding. They didn't treat me like an outsider, so I am thinking that this will be a good thing. We shall see.
Tomorrow is filled with videos. Yes. Videos. Luckily they have my transcript, so I am going to be able to bypass some of the training due to the courses I took in college. I also found out that Thursday I will see what it is like to open at 5:30 am, so I will be getting off at 2:30. Friday I will close at 6. Next week I will start my normal hours from 9-6 with an hour lunch break. I am not crazy about the time slot, but I have no choice. All lead teachers work the same hours. Luckily the sun stays out until about 9 pm, so I still have several hours of sunshine after work. I am loving life!
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