Weekly Wrap-up for January 26, 2014: On the Cold, A New Semester, and Whitman.

I've been so absorbed in finishing up some prep work that I almost let the whole day go by without posting! Whoops!

I guess my schedule is a little off because we had Friday off (a cold day....). And while I would like to say that I was super productive this weekend...I wasn't. I've been feeling pretty achy, so I took the time to relax a bit, organize some things around the apartment, and do hardly anything. :) It was lovely.

There is talk that we may not have school tomorrow because of the cold....if so, that will be our 5th day off from school since we returned in January! eek! We're also at that point where we're "out" of snow days and any more means we'll make it up in June. And, if that happens, it means our last two exams will be pushed back AGAIN. I feel for the kids-to prepare and be ready to take exams on Friday, and then to have them looming all weekend? Eek. No thank you. I guess we'll have to see what happens.

Truth be told, I honestly don't mind the cold or snow. I actually quite love it. My only complaint is that since trading in my Jeep last winter (last March I think!), my new car, a 300, is TERRIBLE in the snow. It's days like today that I miss my Jeep ever so much. :/ At least our lease is up in just one more year-I'm definitely getting another Jeep! I miss the way it just ran through everything!

Anyway, assuming I go back to school at some point in January, we'll be starting a new semester. I'm excited to have my kids mixed up (my classes stay the same-they just move around a bit to accommodate some of their other classes). I need the change, and so do they! I'm also getting a few new kids. Last year, because I gained new sections of classes, I had a LOT of new names to learn second semester. This time, I have 10? That should be easy! I guess I'm lucky to have pretty much the same kids-we've really connected this year, so we can continue on that route!

I did find out that both of my American lit (sophomore English) classes are huge-36 kids each. I'm not entirely thrilled with those numbers, especially since second semester is a little more intense than first semester in terms of projects and grading. I guess I'm going to have to get more creative.


Besides schoolwork and cleaning, I've spent some time this weekend revisiting some favorite poems. There's something about the cold that pulls me to poetry. This morning I settled in with Whitman's "Song of Myself" and was reminded of just how much I love it. I think I'm going to put Whitman beside my bed for some nighttime reading this week.

I'm also in the middle of Under the Greenwood Tree by Thomas Hardy. I'm hoping to finish it early this week since my grading will be light. I'm not sure what might be next...perhaps the next in A Song of Ice and Fire? Or any other suggestions?

Have a wonderful week and happy reading!