Earlier this month, our school levy failed (again), and the superintendent told me that my job would be eliminated (again) although it wouldn't be officially voted on until January, and would be effective at the end of the school year. Last year when the levy failed, they eliminated music K-6. Since I had seniority, I got shifted from teaching fifth and sixth grade band to teaching seventh and eighth grade band. Twelve music teachers out of nineteen were laid off. I was the lucky number seven (and the last one) that was kept. Now they will be eliminating probably all but three music teachers, and so I'll be gone for real this time. That is, unless the levy passes in May.
I of course don't want to lose my job (I feel so bad for the kids who are missing their art, music, and P.E.) however the thought of getting to stay home with my little rugrat is very appealing! I would love to be able to stay home and do crafts with my son (like these wonderful Christmas crafts from No Time for Flashcards)
I haven't been very crafty lately due to a lack of time. My friend T-3 and I did find the time the other day to pump out four of these chef hats for some of my students. We're doing a piece called Christmas in the Kitchen in which four percussionists are playing water glasses and pots and pans. We made them chef's hats and I thrifted some aprons for them to wear. It will be so cute!
I did make a blue baby quilt for my husband's cousin's new baby, Jacob. It was my first attempt at actually quilting. (I usually just use yarn and tie the layers together). Here are some photos of his cousin opening her gift:
I have been out on many thrifting and garage sale trips this fall and have found lots of good deals. My favorite item from my last trip was a Santa Claus suit for Joel. The outfit cost $5 which is 10x more than I usually spend (since my limit is 50c), however I figure the photos we take of him in it will be priceless and so it was worth it! I also found a tiger Halloween costume for Joel for $3:
My last thrifting trip also yielded a $9 black peacoat for myself and a wooden dollhouse (which I am so excited about!) for under $2. I took it home, cleaned it up, used some wallpaper samples to the walls, and painted a light blue over the old bright red paint job, and voila, a wonderful masterpiece for Joel when he's a little older!
The only other (somewhat) interesting thing I've done lately is clean out my closet, set aside many t-shirts that are
Hopefully it won't take me three more months before I post again!
Hi! I nearly missed this post as I'm way behind in reading and was going to skip everything up to the last few days.
ReplyDeleteWow, a teacher's job is not very secure these days, is it? And yes, its a shame kids will miss out on the more creative pursuits as many families would not have the means to pay for these things privately and they are so valuable for a well-rounded education.
I must say, that's a handsome little man you have there! The tiger costume is the cutest. Glad to hear you're getting in some craft time.
Good to hear from you; you've been missed in the bloggysphere!