BELATED BLOG: And the school year comes to a close

I worked in a classroom setting for about a year and a half after college, but in retrospect it was nothing.  This past school year was my REAL first year of teaching and sometimes I'm surprised I survived.   My kids (all 13-16 years old) caused me to challenge myself in terms of patience, mind-set, way of acting/speaking and effective teaching methods.  The good news is that as CRAZY as they made me, I never felt completely hopeless.  Despite feeling exhausted and somewhat apathetic about teaching come late May, my kids and I muddled through the year well, and I know numerous areas for growth come August!

On a more fun note, our 8th graders took a class trip to Washington, DC...my old home!  Although I don't have many photos sans kiddos, we had a great time!  We did all of the super tourist-y things like Smithsonians, riding the metro, White House, tour of the Capitol...and the kids even got to see several Universities (include AU!!).  We'll do a few things differently next year (like get a bus for most of the days!) but overall the trip was a great success!  The most memorable moment, however, was a girl (from my chaperon group) who set a piece of bread "on fire" in the microwave because she heated it for FOUR MINUTES...really?!?  Luckily everyone escaped unharmed, and the kids got to see how well the Arlington Fire Department can respond to a hotel fire.

Washington from Lincoln (minus the reflecting pool)