Cody is a fourth grade teacher at Talbot Elementary. He and his wife Kichelle have been married for five years and they are the proud parents to Kameron, who will be five on June 20th.
MORNING
6:00 a.m. After hitting the snooze button half a dozen times it is time to wake up and start my day. I pick out my clothes for work and hop in the shower.
6:15 a.m. I get dressed, brush my teeth and make up the bed. While my wife gets ready for work, I feed and let out our dog Honey.
6:30 a.m. Time to wake up Kameron. After pulling her blanket down and forcing the walking dead out of her bed, I help her get dressed and brush her teeth.
6:45 a.m. While my wife does Kameron’s hair, I begin the tedious job of feeding all of my many turtles. Approximately 25 plus turtles make up my Turtle Breeding Business “Swamp Life Reptiles.” Feeding time usually takes about 15 minutes to make sure that every turtle gets the right food and the right amount.
7:10 a.m. I am rushing out of the house to get to work (even though I live six minutes from my job). While on my way to work, I usually contemplate the meaning of life, what I am going to eat for lunch that day or listen to music to mentally prepare me for the job which is teaching elementary school.
7:17 a.m. I walk in my classroom and typically have students waiting at the door for me. I put on a Discovery Education video and wait for the morning announcements. I usually scroll Facebook looking for inspirational memes or answer emails from the previous evening because I am not really a morning person but oddly enough all 23 of my students are and always decide that early morning is the best time to tell me stories.
7:45 a.m. The morning announcements come on and we start our day. After announcements I take attendance to make sure everyone is present and ready for a fun day of learning.
8:00 a.m. We get started with English Language Arts. I work with students that are struggling to grasp the new concepts we are covering and find strategies that they might find useful. Once we learn and review our skill of the week it’s time to dive into the Wizarding World of Harry Potter and complete our novel study.
9:30 a.m. Reading time is over and now my students get to enjoy indoor recess time watching Kidz Bop dance along videos and GoNoodle videos. This is when I begin counting down internally for my bathroom break and my lunch which is really breakfast.
9:50 a.m. We line up and head to lunch. Yes, lunch at 9:50 in the morning, even McDonalds is still serving breakfast.
10:20 a.m. We start math right after lunch and this is when Mr. Sheppard is really in his element. Teaching math is my favorite part of the school day and it’s not because I had a bathroom break before class. After we complete math we go straight into science and then follow that with our social studies time.
AFTERNOON
12:35 p.m. It is finally outdoor recess time or “Teacher P.E.” as they call it in the school system. It is now a known fact that in fourth grade we play flag football during recess. We have three adult captains, we draft teams every two weeks, we play a championship with a trophy and this year we started lining the field. I would like to consider myself the Russel Wilson of fourth grade flag football.
1:45 p.m. I pick my kids up from specials and dismiss my students. They get to go home and I find some papers to grade or some work to do for the next hour because my contract says that I am on contract until 2:45 p.m. each day.
2:45 p.m. I rush to my truck and pull out of the parking lot with a quickness because softball practice starts at 3:30 p.m.
3:15 p.m. I arrive at Gainesville High School, unlock the gates and field and open up the bathroom for my players to change and get ready for practice. We begin promptly at 3:30 p.m. and end right at 5:15 p.m. every night, Monday through Friday, provided there are no games.
This is probably the most fun part of my day. There is something relaxing about hitting softballs at people and not getting arrested for it. Coaching is my outlet and my way of giving back and investing in the next generation of softball and baseball players.
EVENING
5:15 p.m. By this time I look like a zombie and probably smell like one also. I head home to see my wife Kichelle and my daughter Kameron.
5:30 p.m. I arrive home and immediately help my wife with whatever she needs, typically this would be giving Kameron a bath or helping her with her homework while my wife finishes cooking dinner.
6:00 p.m. We eat dinner together as a family, share about our days and really get to enjoy each other’s presence. This usually doesn’t last long because I usually inhale my food.
7:00 p.m. My wife straightens up the kitchen and the living room and I give Kameron a bath. Some days this takes longer than others because she likes to play in the bathtub with her collection of dolls.
8:00 p.m. We put Kameron down for bed. Since her birth we have maintained a very strict schedule with her. It is important that she gets her sleep but also that we get our sleep. We are very fortunate that Kameron has slept through the night since she was about six months old.
8:30 p.m. Once Kameron is down for the count my wife and I get to spend alone time. This is when we can be adults, we like to watch T.V. together, set goals and talk about our day.
9:30 p.m. My wife is usually asleep relatively early in comparison to myself. Once she is asleep, I usually go and sneak a snack or two. Somehow she always figures it out the next morning. Once she is asleep, I also get control of the remote and I usually put it on something completely different from whatever she was watching.
11:00 p.m. My eyelids are rolled to the back of my eyes and I am usually dreaming about my life as a famous wildlife conservationist. My adventures are pretty amazing if only I could remember them the next morning.
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