Life Lately...

is b-u-s-y.

But, the end is in sight. :) The play is the last weekend in September and the first weekend in October and then our marathon is October 11th, the next weekend. Not that I'm necessarily wanting either of these things in and of themselves to be over, but I am wanting my nights and my time back, to a certain degree at least. I could compromise and have my evening activities end at like, 6pm or 7pm, as compared to 10pm or 11pm, and be one happy girl.

But I'm not complaining, really I'm not, because it's all fun stuff. It's just a lot of fun stuff all at once. ) On top of work, which is also crazy, but fun.

I'm teaching four classes--one beginner ESL, two Vanguards and one pull out class for kids who can't read. At all. And the pull out class is by far my favorite.

At the end of last year my principal sent out an email saying that she needed someone in the English department to go to a training the district was mandating and teach a class the district was mandating, for students in the schools identified as dyslexic. I didn't really want to because it was 60 hours of my summer vacation and a lot of work, but something kept nagging at me to email her about it. So, a few days before the end of school I did, and now I am the dyslexia coordinator at my school.

Except, come to find out, we only have one student identified as dyslexic. And he can't read hardly at all. And then I discovered another student in my ESL class who can't read at all. And then as soon as I started talking about my kids who can't read teachers around me started saying that they have kids in their 6th, 7th and 8th grade classes that can't read at all either. So now, in my "dyslexia" pull out class, I have 7 students in all 3 grades who I am teaching how to read.

Some are from refugee camps in Africa. Some are from various South American countries and moved around and back and forth growing up and basically just missed a lot of school. Some came to America and got skipped a couple of grades because they were tall or looked older. All of them just got passed through the grades once they hit fourth and fifth grade, even though I'm sure their teachers knew they couldn't read. And over the years they've gotten really good at faking it, pretending they can read, pretending they know what's going on when they have no clue and acting out in class to take everyone's attention off of the fact that they couldn't read.

So, I feel like I'm teaching kindergarten. Another teacher's aid and I are in there with these 7 kids every other day, doing A,B,C's flashcards and practicing what sounds each letter makes and reading together and sounding out words and learning sight words and practicing all of these things on Starfall.com. And it literally is my favorite time of the day because these kids know they can't read and they want to read and we have decided that this is the year it's going to happen. In that room, for that hour and a half, it's a safe place--they don't have to feel stupid for being 16 and in the 8th grade and not able to read and they don't have to act out and fake read. And they're starting to see some hope--one was even talking about going to the university when he graduates high school, which was so cool because at the beginning of the year he told me he didn't think he could ever get out of 8th grade.

As I look back on how things played out with this class, with what was supposed to be a dyslexia intervention class and has now turned into a reading intervention pull out class for middle schoolers who read on a pre-k level, if that, I really feel like God was leading me to sign up for the dyslexia training back in May. And I am so glad I did, because I am loving working with these kids. They are going to be reading at the end of the year--their hard work and determination is already starting to pay off and we're only 2 weeks into the work--and I cannot wait to see them at the end of the year, reading.

Their names are Francois, Gerson, Darian, Jose, Semeni, Nancy, Jacqueline. Please pray for them this year because they're up to a big work this year.

So, yes, life is crazy. And in about 15 minutes we have to go run 9 miles. But, we've got a crock pot full of beans and rice that has been simmering away all day to come home to, and no Joseph practice tonight so we can run on our time table, and we both have good jobs that we enjoy. So, amidst the craziness, I just have to keep reminding myself how blessed we are.