Home Visits

If you are unfamiliar with the Head Start program, you probably don't know that Head Start staff members are required to visit the homes of all of their students twice a year. February is the time of year that we are doing the second of these visits. Basically, it's a parent-teacher conference at the child's house instead of school. Since HS students are low-income, this gives us a better idea of what type of conditions the kids are living in and helps us to get families the help that they need.

As you may imagine, these visits are quite a little adventure. You have not smelled the things I have smelled in these homes anywhere else. Many of them are dark, dirty and cluttered. My visits at the beginning of the year were shocking. I had never been in such rundown homes before. I couldn't believe people actually lived in some of the dwellings I entered. Thankfully, this time the homes have been much improved overall from the first of the year.

Still, it is a bit scary to go in some of the homes. There was one with a huge pit bull right outside the door. The family actually had to meet us in the yard so they could hold down the dog on its back and cover its eyes as we walked into the house! The dog was growling the whole time, and the mother (who was holding the dog down) couldn't weigh more than 9o pounds. That was a little scary. I am nervous around big dogs anyway, especially ones that want to kill me. Then we went into another family's home that was filled with these little gnats. They were circling my head the whole time I was trying to fill out the paperwork. Sadly, these home visits were pretty good overall though. At the beginning of the year we went into some houses that were so filthy we couldn't even sit down...the furniture was black with something that looked like tar. Since then, that family has moved, so I can only hope their new home is cleaner! Don't get me wrong, there are parents who keep their homes clean and do a lot with the little money they have, it's just that the majority of my families are not like that. I still have another full day of visits this Friday.

I love the kids in my classes, and after seeing the environments they face when they go home from school, I understand their needs much better. I wish I could take them all home, so they could see what it's like to live in a nice, (usually) clean home where they get regular baths, clean clothes and attention. There are kids all around us that don't have the basic things we take for granted and most people will never notice. My job has opened my eyes and my heart to those kids. I will never forget the things I have seen this year and I will be a better teacher in the future because of it.

Will you be my Valentine?

This week at school we've been getting ready for Valentine's Day. We decorated our mailboxes for our cards, sang Valentine's Day songs, and read books like The Night Before Valentine's Day.

Today was the big Valentine exchange, and the kids were SO excited! They were all so proud of their cards and they couldn't wait to share them. Unfortunately, they were also so excited that they were having a hard time doing pretty much anything we asked of them. We had a LOT of fighting. We survived (pretty much in one piece) and got all the Valentines delivered. We had three children who forgot to bring cards, but luckily I had bought extras, so I just wrote out the Valentines while they were playing in centers and everyone had something to give. We got tons of candy...I may have gotten more stuff for Valentine's Day than I did for Christmas! The cooks made the kids rice crispy treats with Valentine sprinkles too, so they were thrilled. Anyway, the week is over, since we have tomorrow off for Lincoln's birthday (a definite perk of living in Illinois!) I have to work on Friday, but the kids don't come back to school until Tuesday, so it should be a restful 5 days.

NOTE: I bought the kids those Nerds Valentines, the ones that come with the candy. Just an FYI, I did not care for the messages on the cards once I opened them. I wouldn't have bought them if I'd known I would be giving the kids cards saying "Love the nerd you're with" or "Here's looking at you, nerd." What kind of teacher says that to a kid??! I guess this one does!

Snow, Snow, and More Snow!

I haven't written in a while, but if you don't know, last week we were hit with around 8 inches of snow. Here are a few shots I got on the one day I was off work:

Our house

Jason clearing off the driveway


Edgar getting ready to go outside (Yes, he has booties!)

Playing in the snow!

One happy puppy ready to come inside

School was cancelled from Tuesday to the end of the week. I still had to go into work every day except Wednesday, when we got the bulk of the snow. We still have snow on the ground, except it's all a huge sheet of ice now.

Today was the last day of school for the kids this week. It was our first full week of school in I don't know how long, and it was a rough one. Teachers were sick; kids were sick. I had tons of fighting, crying, screaming, running, vomiting, snotty noses...you name it, we had it. One girl even ripped a fist-full of hair out of another child's head. And I got pee all over my leg (no, it wasn't my own pee). It was a nightmare.

Now I'm looking forward to a relaxing weekend!