My typical work day...

Before you think that all I do here in Honduras is have fun and travel, I would like to give you the schedule of my typical work day just to show you that I do work... a lot!

5:15am  
Wake up (if I am lucky- sometimes Nichole wakes me up at 6:10 when I am late)  and get ready.

6:35am
Picked up by school bus

6:45 am 
Arrive to school and dash to my classroom and rush to get things as organized as I can in 25 minutes in order to feel somewhat prepared for the day ahead.

7:10am  
Students enter classroom. Help get kids settled. I developed a system where I put a timer on the   promethean board with a 3 minute countdown and they need to have their bags unpacked and sitting down within those 3 minutes. It works very well! Then the students copy down the day's agenda and turn in their homework. Well that's what they are supposed to do anyway... we're still working on it.

7:25      
Spanish class- another teacher teaches them Spanish so I get an extra 1/2 hour to prepare for the day. Thank goodness- I just can never get enough time in the day!

8:00      
Pray with the students, do calendar, finish agenda, try to remember to do attendance, and teach  math

9:20      
Recess- I spend this time preparing for the afternoon subjects if I am lucky. Often I spend this time helping students who need extra help with homework or simply help with desk organization. Everything takes longer with my students because some of them still speak and understand little English.

9:40      
I teach Language Arts, Science, and Social Studies straight to 12

12:05    
We are all ready for lunch. I scoot them as quick as possible so I can make it out for yard duty

12:35   
Teach 1 or 2 subjects and some specials where other teachers come in. I am so thankful when there are special subjects in the afternoons because that means I get some time to get re-organized! Often these preps are spent just cleaning my desk- somehow by 1:00 my desk is always overflowing with papers!

2:30    
Bell rings and students get ready to go home. I walk them to the bus, say good-bye and go back to
my classroom to clean up the mess and prepare for next day.

5:00    
Go home. Sometimes I go home on the 3:10 bus but lately its been 5

Evening  Spend several hours lesson planning, preparing materials for next day, and grading.

And then repeat schedule 5 times...

It is exhausting, but I love it!! I love teaching; I love my students; and I love learning how to be a better teacher each day and constantly trying new things to make things go smoother in my classroom. I thank the Lord for giving me the strength each day, and that my students put up with me despite all my shortcomings as a first year teacher!