A room fit for a wild beast

Being three (going on 13), the boy wants to do everything "ALL BY MYSELF". In order to accommodate this, I have been working on upgrading his room to a more preschool appropriate space and shifting all of his baby/toddler things into the guest room as it will eventually be the baby's room. The first thing I did was remove the too-tall dresser that I worried would one day crush the boy while he struggled to remove underwear and socks from its top drawer. I replaced it with a small piece I bought at our church's rummage sale for $2 and jazzed up with some blue paint and new hardware. It's basically a cheap piece of junk (as the hubby says, "Ya got what ya paid for") but it serves its purpose. Now underwear, socks and pajamas can be easily, safely and independently removed. The next step was a new bed. CJ took apart the crib and stored it in the basement (so that guests can still enjoy a full sized bed until the baby arrives) and I found a wooded bed frame on Craigslist for $32. Paul was thrilled to have a big boy bed and tried to cram every single stuffed animal in his collection under the covers. Sadly, there was no room for him at that point and we needed to compromise on who would stay and who remained in the basket. The first few nights in the new bed were a little rough, but he has adjusted quite well to the openness of it all. In the meantime I also brought in the larger bookshelf to accommodate his large collection of reading material. The boy loves his books. Funny side story: the other night I went to check if he was sleeping and found him on his belly, head propped up in his hands, reading by the light of his nightlight. It was too cute.
The last step was completed last night. CJ installed a closet organizer that allows Paul to reach his own clothes and return the hangers without assistance. He was so excited at the prospect of picking his outfit that he picked and re-picked at least a dozen times. And look at all the room we cleared out for MORE CLOTHES! Yippee!! As you can see, the boy is very happy with his new room.

The new journey

August. The dog days of summer. The only month that has no official holiday. And the time in a teacher's life when you realize that summer is halfway over. (Those of us who don't teach summer school anyway!) I start a new teaching job in a few weeks and have to admit that I am a little nervous. New situations are generally pretty intimidating to me, but this particular job is a bit more so because I am returning to teach in the district where I received my education. I will be co-teaching English for three periods with two periods of resource room. The school runs their English program a little differently. Students in 9th grade all take freshman English. Then in 10th, 11th and 12th grade they choose their class based on the literature. My classes will be 10-12 graders. Tomorrow I am going in to meet the other new special education teachers (& hopefully my co-teachers) and find out what literature we will be reading. The best part is that during the second semester the English department focuses on Shakespeare and puts together a performance for the end of the year. There is a lot to be excited about, but also a lot of anxiety about making a good impression. I am thankful to have had this past year of high school experience with some fantastic co-teachers; here's hoping this coming school year will be great too!