Let me just say that running an after school program is one of the most exhausting undertakings I have taken on in my years of teaching thus far! Maybe it’s the fact that I’m designing a curriculum for students that are VERY different from the students I teach during the day. Maybe it’s the fact that the students at my after school club don’t really want to be there on the “literacy day” and only show up so they can play soccer on Thursdays. Maybe I’m just exhausted because it’s SOL crunch time and this is just ANOTHER THING on my plate… you get the idea?

However, I am learning A LOT from this experience. I’ve learned how to say “Necesitas un libro los martes!” which means “You need a book on Tuesdays!” But more importantly, I’m learning that the research I did for my SIP was spot on! Kids need help with vocabulary. There was an activity I planned for my after school kids that I envisioned would be a five minute warm-up but it was actually a 20 minute activity because of the gaps in vocabulary knowledge. This was VERY helpful information for me in going forward with my planning.

So I guess my title wasn’t the best. I’m still trucking along. I’m just very daunted by the amount of extra work we have taken on by being a part of this cohort. I’m sure I’m not along there.