two

Two days left.

I tried my hardest to get assessing done today because I kind of thought that I was going into labor and decided that saving it for Friday might not be the best plan in the event that I am not actually at school on Friday.

I feel like I am making huge efforts to have everything really organized for when Jill takes over after spring break because she will need to do report cards about 2 weeks after she starts. Obviously that doesn't really give her much time to get to know the kids and grade them herself, so I am trying to have all the info ready so she only needs to do the data input on the computer. At this point I think I have pretty much everything done besides behavior--always the hardest for me.

I just finished going through the kids' journals and grading their writing so that was the last big chunk of evaluating I needed to do. I always prefer the truly objective items when it comes to report cards like whether or not the kiddo can count to 30. It's simple and easy to say they need more time, they've made good progress, or they can do it. The other items that are subjective are always so hard. Most things are developmental so I really have a hard time giving out pluses at this point in the year, yet the plus doesn't mean that they have completely mastered something it just means they consistently demonstrate it. I always like parents to know that there is still room for growth though. If a child consistently spells words phonetically now that doesn't mean that they have achieved all they will achieve in terms of writing and spelling for the year. So the same grade now and in June doesn't reflect the huge growth their actual writing might show.

I have been trying to really just enjoy this last week with the kiddos and appreciate how much they have accomplished so far this year. It's really cool to think that I am already impressed with the gains they have made and they still have a few more months to go. I have never had this many kids reading before and I am just such a proud teacher to see how well they are doing.

We'll have to wait and see if I actually get in two more full days with them because this little baby could come any time. I had a check up yesterday and the doctor said pretty much everything is in place. There has been some progression in terms of effacement and dilation and the baby is in position and very low. She said all I need now is contractions. I've been feeling tight all day and feel lots of pressure, so at this point I wouldn't be surprised if I end up in labor in the next 48 hours, but I also wouldn't be surprised if I'm still pregnant 10 days from now either....