A down week

It seems like I've been in a funk this year.  This is for several reasons.  First, I have little to no time due to having an infant at home and trying to provide nourishment during my free time...  Second, we are in a transition period and everything that I have known and loved will be changing next year.  And finally, my teaching strategies have been attacked this year.  I am trying to keep things positive because, like I tell my students, perception is reality.  If you think you are happy, you are happy.  If you think you are bored, you are bored.  I must be doing a good job of faking it, because many students told me today (on warm fuzzy day, a day of compliments in my school) that they enjoy my class because I am always happy and having fun.  Whew!  I don't like my bad attitude to rub off on others, and I already know that it rubs off on my co-workers from time-to-time. 

I'm also down this week because I feel like I'm a stinky teacher this week.  We have parent-teacher conferences this week, so my heart just hasn't been in the classroom.  I'm tired and worn out and really really ready for a four-day weekend (5 and a half hours left!!).  So my plans for the classroom have been to teach about Mardi Gras, the Cajuns, and the history of Le Grand Derangement.  Usually, I LOVE this time of year because I love talking about this stuff.  It's really personal to me because I love New Orleans, Quebec, and my family survived Hurricane Katrina in a hotel in the French Quarter and were shuttled out of NOLA by a local musician who just happened to stop at Zachary Richard's house (look him up, French teachers...he does GREAT things) for a quick shower. 

This year, however, it hasn't felt that great.  Instead of being excited about sharing all this great information, it feels like we're just taking a break and wasting time.  There hasn't been much CI.  There hasn't been much French at all.  I know that culture is important and I also believe that "fun" is really important if we want to continue to have a growing French program, but it felt like a cop-out for a lazy teacher this year. 

So I'm trying to think of ways to teach the students what I want them to know about Acadians/Cajuns next year without losing our CI momentum...  Thoughts?