DRA and other bits of a Monday

Today is DRA marathon day. The phys. ed. teacher and the principal take the kids to the gym and the library respectively and keep them entertained and busy. The teachers come, take the kids out two or three at a time, and do reading assessments on them. I intend to finish my entire class today, because I know what I'm doing now and can organize to make the best use of my time and theirs. It should go smoothly.

I got a fair amount of sleep last night, except for two things. At eleven, Elizabeth woke up coughing and coughing. Piet got up to her, and she coughed until she puked. We spent a few minutes cleaning up and comforting after that, and the rest of the night passed peacefully with the help of Children's Tylenol. At about 5:00 a.m., the cats outside started their spring chorus. Two years ago when Elizabeth was a newborn, I remember waking up to that caterwhauling thinking it was my baby. Once or twice I woke her up before I realized she wasn't actually awake, that it was the cats. Well, this morning I could tell the difference between feline and newborn since I don't have a newborn anymore - but man, that's annoying.

Kids arriving soon, and I have prep to do for the DRA. Happy Monday, everyone.

DRA madness

Good grief, these tests are soul-sucking. The day is nearly over, I've done the entire class, but I don't know how I'll have enough energy left for the last hour of the day with my kids. Argh.

On the plus side, I don't think I have to redo any. There's only one kid for whom I may have guessed wrong, but it's such a slight difference I can fudge it a bit.

Day's nearly over. Thank God.

The babysitter

Elizabeth's new babysitter came over this afternoon to meet her.

We realized we needed a non-family babysitter a few months ago, because my sisters both got jobs where they needed to work Saturday nights and we were having a lot of trouble finding someone to babysit for our D&D games. So I went on a hunt. Since I teach grade five, I'm not legally allowed to have any of my students babysit. This is okay, since I wouldn't want someone I'm teaching now to work for me. On the other hand, I know those girls, and I would trust most of my girls with my child. They're good kids.

So, since my own students were out of the question, I started the next best place. I asked about older sisters.

My babysitter is the older sister of one of my sweet girls. The family moved recently so they're now a ways out in Stoney Creek, but it's not too far to drive after a game and this girl has a lot of experience for not-quite-fifteen. She's got tons of younger cousins, and her aunt also has a daughter in my class. She has babysat the younger child in that family since his birth two years ago. He's just a bit older than Elizabeth. The aunt reccommended her highly.

So she came over this evening for a meet and greet with Elizabeth, so I could show her around my house and tell her about bedtime routines, food and where the diapers are kept. She played with Elizabeth, she read to her, she sang along with her - and best of all, as far as my daughter is concerned, she has long, brown, straight "pretty cheveux". They took to each other right away.

So we'll see how Saturday goes, but I have high hopes for this one. She's young enough to be around for a few years, she's experienced, and she's from a family I like.

What's the going rate for babysitters these days? I paid her ten dollars for her two hours this afternoon, on the grounds that since I get paid for my prep time, so should she. Any advice?

Sorry, Ani

I owe you an interview. It's somewhere in my inbox, and I'll get to it sometime this week. I promise.