August

And so it seems that July just started and here it is August already. New starts begin tomorrow morning! Three of the students took their mini-boards and have officially left me. I am proud of each of them and feel confident that they can go far if they just relax and believe in themselves.

The class size has been growing lately which is a good sign. I much prefer teaching a larger group than a small one. Not a huge group mind you but a good 15-20 students seems perfect. Currently I have 17 students I think so that is great.

I hope everyone is enjoying their summer. It won't be long now and we will be looking at Christmas around the corner.

Vacation

Can you believe it, I am on vacation. Or as I prefer to call it this go round a Staycation. Recently one of my cars was involved in an accident. State Farm decided it was driver error on the part of the driver of my car. So... there went the vacation money! Such is life. I did buy myself a neat camera for my vacation gift. Not as cool as a waterfall but now I can take cool photos of the waterfall.

My class will be being covered for me by a wonderful past student, now friend and co-worker. And this post is really intended to tell you about her. I first met her several years back when the factory she worked in decided to outsource its work overseas. (One of the beginning errors that helped put our country into the mess it is in now in my opinion) She was offered an education to compensate for the loss of work. She and a friend of hers chose cosmetology. She was a very demanding and curious student. Once she completed her studies my boss and I courted her for some time (a few years!) to return and take the instructor course. Finally she broke down and did. She took the course, passed her test and became one of the most competent instructors I have ever had the joy of working with. I am indeed blessed to have her in my life. I feel certain my class will be in very competent hands this week.

Thursday Morning

The week has gone quickly. The newer students are learning very quickly. They seem really eager to grasp the new concepts. This is really good on my side of the desk as it is MUCH easier to teach a willing student than one that balks at every move.

The weather is fantastic outside. Summer in Michigan is amazing and I know some days I want to play hookie so I fully understand if my students fall into the trap now and then.

The class took a test in Salon Ecology yesterday. At times this chapter seems difficult but this time around the average test score was 96%! Do I have wonderful students or what?! I am so proud and pleased with them.

Today we will be going over the state board permanent wave procedure. Only a few changes and each of them designed to make better prepared stylists in our future.

I hope everyone has a super great day. The birds are out chirping in full force this morning.

Holiday

So, where I work if the holiday falls on your regular work day you get it off with pay. To even the score with other co-workers they get to pick a day to take off in exchange for the true holiday. So, with that in mind Friday was my 4th of July holiday. Makes perfect sense when you break it down. Except for the fact that I am totally in a routine. During my 3 days off in a row I still woke up at or before 5 am., still tried to stay in schedule and now my whole being is out of whack. And tomorrow I return to work! Add to my frustration the fact that I work this week and then have 9 days off in a row! I am going to be a mess and then some. But, I am going to relax, take frequent naps and enjoy time with my son and grand kids. I am not going to worry about my students and how they are doing. I am not. I will not! Who am I kidding they will be text messaging me throughout the week. Or I will be texting them! That was NOT the wisest thinking they did teaching me how to text!

Field Trip!

Today started off as a really difficult day for me. I woke up in the night with a migraine and felt horrible as I prepared for work. Once I got there my head started to ease up some. The students prompted me to go on a field trip to local beauty supply stores. This is always a popular thing for them and for me. We went to Sally's where as luck would have it there was a Clairol Demonstrator. She spoke for a bit and then gave out samples of their new color line. How exciting! Tomorrow we will be able to try out the colors we got today on our manikins.

We all went to lunch at Buffalo Wild Wings (my favorite field day food) and then we went to Ikea for towels.

We got back to school in time to do a few manicures and some personal styles using the new flat irons I bought at Sally's. They had a great deal too, but the bigger flat iron and get the tiny cute one for free. I really like free by the way.

I really enjoyed the day. And to think I almost thought I was too sick with that headache to even go in! Have I mentioned that I have the very best students in all the world? cause I do.

Happy Fourth of July

I hope everyone had a wonder and safe holiday weekend. I really enjoyed myself yesterday. And rested almost all of today. Some of my students took off for the weekend and I hope they made it there and back safely. A few students were planning a barbecue at their homes with family and friends. I hope those turned out well also.

New students start this Tuesday. I always enjoy new starts, all eager to learn and full of expectations for the future. Several students are practicing to test out of my room very soon. I wish them well. They have really come a long way since they arrived.

Summer is in full swing and we have a full task ahead of us. I for one am eager to get started.

Change

So, we had the meeting last night as to the changes being made for the cosmetology test coming July 15th. While there are several changes for the most part they entail being forced to be clean and safe. If you have ever been in my classroom these are the most important things I stress each and every day. Remember, you can't be too clean!

There are a few little changes in procedure which in my opinion only make the test easier. My class will be getting into these in depth in about.... two hours.

They also added a few more questions on state law but took just as many away from another topic so there are still 100 questions on the theory test. The way I look at it, they could have brought back finger waves and then folks would really have reason for complaining. Especially the ones in my room who fuss about them all the time. You know who you are folks!

So, I am off to class to attempt to instill some much needed knowledge into eager minds. Wish me luck!