La Vida Loca

This week happened so fast I have no idea where it went. I started the week very excited that we only had half days (6 periods instead of 9) because of end of trimester exams. I quickly learned that that doesn’t make the week any less crazier during exams. A couple of the days this week I still taught all six periods, had a few meetings in the afternoons and then came home to hours of grading. Someone asked me this week how it feels to be on the other side of the exams, but I must say I felt just as nervous (if not more nervous) than my students. I wanted to see so badly that my students had understood what I had taught trying to remind myself that there was not much I could do about the students who chose not to study for exams or complete the homework assignments. I was a little discouraged that several of my kids didn't pass the English exams on Tuesday, but I was hopeful that the Spelling and Phonics exams would be better. When I got home from school yesterday I had a lovely surprise from our cat Luna. While Leslie and I were at school she knocked my two stacks of exams off the kitchen table onto the floor where she proceeded to spill her bowl of water on some of them and rip some of them apart. Leslie did her best to clean up the damage before I got home but needless to say I was not super happy. Thankfully only two were badly damaged. I just hope my students believe me when I say my cat destroyed their exams.

Anyway, all 107 of my exams are graded now and I feel a little more assured that most of them did indeed understand what I was talking about these last 5 weeks. Leslie and I have been having “grading parties” almost every night this week which usually include snacks, a movie like Pride and Prejudice, and mounds of exams and homework assignments. We are such wild partiers. Last night we even made buttermilk pancakes and scrambled eggs for dinner which were totally delicious.

After being up late finishing grading the 70 exams I gave yesterday it felt so nice to sleep in until 7:30 this morning. On the “to do” list this weekend, besides the rest of my grading and lesson plans I need to write, I’m hoping to spend some time lounging by the pool, read a book for fun, go running, meet up with some friends to do some hiking maybe at one of the volcanoes, cook an actual dinner, and enjoy a couple solid nights of sleep.