Anyway, yesterday was my first day back in my classroom, though I don't technically have to be back until Thursday. It's kind of nice, though, to come and go as I please. I wake up when I feel like it, take a shower, and eventually get to work. As of Thursday, it's back to getting up early and putting in regular hours. Boooo!!! :(
I've learned something about myself, however, in these past two days. I've learned that it's really hard to set up a classroom when you're pregnant, especially when the furniture has been moved all around (they steam-cleaned the carpets this summer). I've also learned that I am so used to being totally independent, but that I'm going to have to start asking for help more often. Luckily, our school custodian (Mr. Jim) is awesome! Right away, he found me and told me that he'd be very angry with me if he found out I was moving/lifting things that I shouldn't be, and that I should never hesitate to call him. The guy probably weighs over 250 pounds and is well over 6 feet tall, so I definitely don't want to make him angry! :P But it was really very nice. So he's spent at least an hour in my room so far, moving bookcases, tables, and heavy boxes back to where they need to be. And when I mentioned that I would really love a more comfortable teacher chair, he went right out and found me one! Seriously, he rocks. I also asked him if he could wrangle up a few more student chairs for me, and he did. The guy works wonders!! (Note to all of my teacher friends: it pays to be nice to the custodial staff. They will totally hook you up!!)
Anyhow... I now have a totally sweet setup in my classroom... I'll have to take a picture of it to show you how cool it is, but I will attempt to describe it: At the front of the room, I have a small table set up (with my comfy chair, woohoo!). I have a super-fast computer with internet access, which is hooked up to an LCD projector (located in front of my computer on a cart) and a DocuCam!!!!! The DocuCam is the COOLEST THING EVER!!! It's basically a video camera that aims down toward the table. Whatever I put underneath it is projected onto my pull-down screen via the LCD projector. It basically makes my old overhead projector obsolete, because I can put ANYTHING underneath it, and it shows up on the screen in full color and in real time! My school district has been buying a bunch of these (the newest schools have them in every classroom), but my school only has a handful... and I am one of the lucky recipients! See, being a nerd pays off, sometimes! :) At any rate, I had fun playing with it all morning. I can also switch it so that the LCD projector shows what I'm seeing on my computer screen. So I can show kids things on the internet, how to do research, how to use MS Word, etc. All from my little station at the front of the room. And considering how swollen my feet have been getting lately, I'm pretty psyched about being able to sit down at least some of the time. YES!!! :)
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Pics of my sweet setup (added on August 15):
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