The Last Day of Summer

Today, was a very good day, and as of 9:30 PM, I am not bummed. I hope not to be at all.

I actually decided to sleep in this morning, getting up around 9 AM, instead of 6, like it has been the past week. Meggie and I got up, and had breakfast, then did computer stuff. I ended up ordering $125 worth of pool stuff. I really didn't want to put more money into anything, since our summer spending was so high, but there were things I needed to close the pool. Max put a hole in the air pillow (for under the cover) that I bought last year. I also needed a new backwash hose, since the old one exploded. I had been getting away with just backwashing into the yard, but when I close the pool, I will have to drain several inches out of the pool. It's probably not a good idea to drain it all into the yard, so I ordered a 100ft of hose, which, in combination with the shorter hose I have, should get me out to the street. I also ordered a winterizing chemical kit, another bottle of test strips, and two types of chemicals that I needed.

After that, Meg and I brainstormed an idea we got from one of my aunt's at Crab Day yesterday. We were talking about baby stuff, and names, and all, and she told us this story about this friend she had that kept the name a secret, but gave very vague clues every week. I kinda thought this was a cool idea, so Meg and I drafted a list of clues that wouldn't give away the name, but would give people something to think about. Then, since we are the e-generation, we set up a blog for our daughter. Yes, she is still in the womb, and she is on the web. I love the age we live in. Well, anyway, the link is on the sidebar, but you can check it out here. We've already posted one clue, so leave a comment on that blog and put in your guess. On the side bar of that page, you can see all of the guesses we have so far.

Setting this up took most of the morning, so after that, we had lunch, while watching some more of Seinfeld, Season 6, including a featurette documentary about the making of an episode. Very interesting and informative. Meggie then took a nap, and while she was napping, I broke my rule about schoolwork. I sat down, and started to update my school web page. I got a little done on that, and then woke up Meggie, and we headed out to the pool.

We kept Max crated at first, because the pool was really messy, and needed vacuumed. I set up the vacuum for Meg, and she got to work. I put on goggles, and did a little bit of deep sea diving to get all of the leaves off of the bottom. You would've thought an entire tree had dropped leaves into the pool. I took a while, but we got everything cleaned out, and we then let Max in for a while.

Meggie made dinner, pasta & sauce, and we ate out on the deck, because it was beautiful. We spent the rest of the evening, enjoying our last day of summer, and watching 3 more episodes of Seinfeld.

Now, I wrap my night up with blogging, and some end-of-summer thoughts.

The Sunday of Summer Ends
My analogy for the weekend works well, but usually, I am not looking forward to a Monday, as I am the start of the school year. We'll have to see how I feel on 'Monday morning,' which doesn't technically happen till this Thursday. Tomorrow and Wednesday are both in-services. They don't really count as school starting, because there are no kids, and there is time to get your room set up and stuff. It is very low key. It all really starts on Thursday, when the kids get in, and the teaching starts.

What I Accomplished This Summer
This is the first summer in a long time, that I really feel like I got a lot of stuff accomplished. I mean, other summers have been very important, but usually, they are so busy, that at the end, you say, "Where did the time go?" I don't have that feeling this year. I am a list-maker, so here is my list of what I accomplished this summer:

• Built the deck
• Got the pool up-and-running, with balanced water and all.
• Kept the property looking good.
• Re-did the nursery
• Installed a new light in the laundry room
• Reorganized my music collection
• Actually used this blog
• Completely explored the various tools that Google has to offer
• Got a new toy, my Zen.
• Revamped our grocery-shopping situation, and set up a stock room in the laundry room.
• Visited family in Gettysburg.
• Had several house guests here: Brenda, Caitlin, Meg's mom, and Meg's dad
• Helped in throwing a kick-a** party for my dad.
• Was supportive as Meggie 'gestated.'
• Watched two seasons of Seinfeld
• Read several books (although have given up on the last one I started, maybe I'll pick it up again some day)
• Wrote curriculum maps for all grades.
• Made every worksheet that I need for the entire first marking period.
• Updated my band handbook.
• Got a major head start on my room setup.
• Attended the ActivBoard workshop
• Switched the handbell closets
• Ordered and picked handbell music for this season, and made up the schedule.

I might have missed some things, but I think it is a pretty good list.

What I want to accomplish this 'Monday, and the rest of the week' (school year)

• Always know what I am teaching. That is, have good lesson plans with clear objectives, and all materials ready. No more scrambling the night or morning before to make a copy a worksheet, or 'winging-it' when the class comes in.
• Stay ahead: on everything, but mainly on grading. I need to be organized from the beginning. My goal is to take a student's approach. Write down my 'homework' for the night, do it when I get home, and relax the rest of the night. I am not going to let the grading pile up, and then spend an entire weekend getting caught up. Also, as far as staying ahead, I plan to keep up the planning-ahead that I started this summer. In other words, I can spend the entire 1st marking period preparing all of my worksheets and materials for the 2nd marking period.
• Get better at discipline: this has been my weakest area every year I have taught. On one hand, I let too much stuff slide to avoid confrontation. I am inconsistent with discipline. I also don't yet think like a middle-schooler (I didn't even when I was IN middle school), and therefore, I have trouble understanding, and dealing with, some of the behavior problems I have. On the other hand, I let the kids get the better of me. I give a kid a demerit, and he/she argues with me. I argue back, and then get angry. The kid gets a kick out of the fact that it makes me mad, and then that makes me madder. I need to take the emotion out of discipline. I need to stop arguing with them. I'll never win. I also had a problem with drawing too much attention to my discipline system. I used to use a 'name and check on the board' system. Some kids LOVED seeing their name up there, and they enjoyed getting a demerit in front of the whole class. I am going to use a much more discrete system, and not let my class turn into the 'Demerit show.'
• Be a better, more motivating band director. I am not going to get into situations that make band a crappy experience. I am going to keep my cool when getting close to performance time. I am not going to let a few bad seeds ruin it for the good kids. I am not going to let a few bad seeds join the band, simply to annoy me. I am going to run better rehearsals, and be more prepared. I am actually going to take a look at the scores, and plan out my rehearsals. I going to put on a performance that I can feel confident about, and not crossing my fingers that it won't fall apart.
• I am not going to let school/work run my life. When I think back to last school year, it was like "Home is that place I go when I am not at school." I can't let it get that way. My job is a job. It's a good job that I like doing (most of the time). I do the job, so that I have money to live my life. By living my life, I mean, being with Meg, Max, and my future daughter. My enjoying time at home, blogging, going out (cheap, of course), and basically doing what I did all summer. I guess before I was still under college ideal that school is life. It really is for four years. You live at school; everyone you deal with is associated with school. You are immersed in the college experience. When you get into the real world, that's all you know how to do. Then, you get married, buy a house, get a dog, and have a kid, and the college model doesn't work there. This can be a major problem for some people, and it's not going to happen to me. I am done with college, and am living the life of a working adult, soon to be a family man. This person cannot revolve their life around school/work. I can still be a great music teacher/band director, and a family guy. I don't see why not.

Another pretty good list.

Well, it's 15 minutes past my bedtime, and I actually can't sleep in tomorrow. I have to pack up my laptop, and get my school paperwork ready to go, and then it is off to bed... the first 'school night.' of the summer. The 'Monday of Summer,' here I come!