It is Sunday but I still spent about 4 hours at school today. Sometimes I feel resentful of other teachers who seem to survive without putting in these extra hours - how do they get everything done? Am I simply that unorganized and incompetent that I cannot do what others do in the same amount of time? Or I am doing too much extra?

What I did today....
** put up a bulletin board - not an educational well-thought out teaching sample - just a bulletin board. Laminated pictures of the Upper Peninsula, deer, wolves, and such.
** Changed the window clings that had been up since school started from school things to snowflakes.
**Hung pictures of National parks in social studies room
** worked on geometry unit plans for after Thanksgiving - looked at standards, what I did last year, what I think the kids really need to be successful at activities that support standards, and other activities for things I simply feel they need to know/experience - made a few copies of some activities to send over to make multiple copies
**worked on upcoming social studies project - a poster on a Latin American country - typed up a basic instruction sheet and list of countries students can choose from based on resource books we have on hand
**copied rubrics for math project students will work on in class this week
** took my daughter in who cut paper for tomorrow's timeline activity and squares from cardstock for tangrams for geometry unit (also cut herself twice on paper cutter... she is 18!! my 7th graders would have been safer I think!!)
**updated website assignment calendars
**got out colored pencils and markers for timeline and math projects
**typed up some National Geography week fun question quizzes

Even looking back, I cannot see that anything, except the last part, is EXTRA. It will all make my job easier, and my teaching time more productive.

Bulletin boards - I wish I had more time to make creative presentations that tie in with what we are doing in class. I'd love to utilize these for project ideas, samples, enrichment activities, etc.. but I never seem to have time to actually plan these.

Of course, planning time during the school day is short- reading on the listserve today, someone mentioned the planning time their school had. Ours is really inadequate - 30 minutes before school - about 20-25 during student lunch which is actually when I eat since my lunch hour is at 2:05. I usually eat at my computer entering grades so I guess it is double-duty, but still, with this limited time, split into 2 sessions, I have to spend so much time outside of alloted "planning time" to jsut keep my head above water.

I wish someone would give me a magic wand to wave over my days to solve this time crisis....