*Warning: This might not be the happiest blog post. It has been a very emotional 2 days. I can't believe it's only been a 2 day week, because so much has happened. Very good things, and things so heartbreaking that I have been on the constant verge of tears for over 24 hours.
*I'm going to write my blog backwards this week. Tonight is the first night of Christmas break. I went to dinner with my husband, walked around the Plaza (so nice to be outside) and watched 2 stupid movies. No stress, no work to do...but a lot on my mind. Both of our minds. I dragged him into it all this week. It's nice for him to know exactly what I get to do everyday and how easy it is to be attached. His exact words: "I see how you could love these kids like they're your own."
*After school today, my husband helped me pack up my stuff (SO nice to have a helper!!) and then we headed home to pack up all of the gifts for the 2 families that we adopted. We packed the wrapped gifts in big trash bags. There were a LOT of gifts. Both families live in the same government housing. I didn't think through how it would go down--2 white people with tons of gifts, driving up to an apartment building. Students from my school poured out of the building screaming my name-so happy to see me at their home. It was sweet, but also so sad. We dropped off the gifts at the first home and received huge hugs from the mother and kids. Other people around the building stared at us as we left. We pulled up at the next area, and we saw people coming to each window as if saying: "What would they be doing here?" It was a strange feeling--not wanting to feel like the white people coming to "save the day" and also feeling a little scared. I needed to see that-to feel that. This is not far from where I live, but SO different than the life I've always known. When we dropped off the gifts at the next home, the apartment was full of kids. Older sisters watching younger siblings. No furniture, no sheets on the matresses on the floors. I can't explain what I saw. My husband described it as feeling as if you were in a Third World Country. But those are my babies-the homes they live in. I left not feeling guilt or judgement, but just utter sadness at the way things are. I am just so sad. Just because they are poor does not mean they have a bad life. It just means that they are not safe in the area they live in-the parks they play in are full of guns and violence. I was scared to be there, but my 5 year olds play there. I am thankful that my husband experienced that with me this time.
*Yesterday was a good day. My husband came in with me to school for the morning. When I asked my principal if it was ok, her response was: "I always think it is a good idea for husbands to see what we do all day long." :) After about 20 minutes of helping me before the kids came, he said: "Your daily life is so much more work than mine." Lol. My response: "But in a few minutes, you'll see why it's worth it!" And he did. He is so attached already! It was so nice to have a helper. When the kids came in, they were SO excited to meet him. We did a few learning activities and then made ornaments for their moms. My husband helped. He was so sweet with the kids-I know he cares about them--he has let me spent so much money, time and energy on them. He has never questioned me when I work late or have to visit a family. He has listened to EVERY story. Then he sat and played with them at centers. It was fun to see how he worked with them. He told me he was shocked at how small they were...but how much they knew. :) The rest of the day was great.
*After lunch we wrote letters to Santa to review the word: "Want." I was really impressed with their writing samples. One of my students that we adopted for Christmas wrote that she wanted shoes for Christmas. It's opinion writing, so when I asked her WHY she wanted them...she said: "Cuz my shoes is always fallin off-my feet are cold." (Guess what--you're getting them for Christmas!!!! Cute pink ones that you can show off!! I picked them out!!!) I just helped her sound out the sentence. :)
*After school I had a chance to talk with the mother of my student who has to move away. :( I asked her why they had to leave and she told me. Another father abandonment. Makes me want to throw up. One of my few families who had a father figure at home. I found out today, they may stay a little longer so she should be at school for awhile after break. I gave her my number and email in case she needs help with food or shelter over the break. She promised she'd call if she did. If I didn't come home to such a great man, I would be really tempted to HATE men. One of my students in her letter to Santa wrote: "I want my dad becuz he never comes to see me." alkjsdlnaldknfdlsndlkfs;lkdflsknkln:LASkdnl;fksmn. Those are my thoughts on that!
*I was so torn up last night. This morning when I ran on my treadmill, I listed to Lecrea. It helps to heal my soul. Pumps me up that the Lord can change things. I decided that we needed to party it up today. We needed a little joy. Today was an amazing day at school-our Christmas party/celebration day. I am SO proud of the work my students have invested this semester. The growth I have seen both socially and academically is beyond words. We partied all day long. We started off the day by decorating sugar cookies with our book buddies. Every year I can remember, I decorated sugar cookies with my family for Christmas. I wanted my students to get to do that too! Then we played Christmas Jeopardy. I was pretty suprised how much some of them knew-it was so fun. We went to centers--fun to see them interacting together-I looked around my class to see every student engaged. Playing learning games with friends, playing "teacher" at the library and holding the book up like I do to read to friends or working on writing at tables. We then went to our All-School Christmas Carol sing along (another reason why I LOVE my school!!). The choir led is in songs. I looked around my class...had 2 of my squirmy students on each side of me leaning on my legs as I sat in a chair. I realized that I am doing exactly what I want to be doing with my life right now. There was a line in one of the songs: "Give us a song. For all the despair and pain we see-just give us a song. A tune to help bring some joy." I looked around the crowd of kids in the cafeteria, thinking how true that must be for so many of them! How true it is for me. During that song, my students seemed to sense that I was sad. One by one, they looked up at me and smiled. As if to say..."It's ok, Mrs!" Strangely comforting.
We did lots of other fun activities and then after music class, we had our party. I showed a class slideshow that I made. They LOVED it. We finished our jeopardy game, had snacks and then had a dance party. :) The best part is that my husband came back. :) He had so much fun yesterday that he couldn't stay away! When he walked in, they all started to cheer. I'm not suprised they loved him--most of them do not have any men in their lives....the ones that do don't have very sweet ones. Ok, I'm being dramatic, 3 of my students have dads at home. 3!!!! Ok, done man bashing. I gave my students each a book, a candy cane and a pair of gloves. (Tired of those freezing hands at recess). Guess which was their favorite?! Yes...the gloves. They all put them on-LOVED them. :)
*I hugged all my babies goodbye-not sure what kind of break they will have. I don't want to sound work obsessed or sound like my whole life revolves around my school--I am excited for the break. I need time with my husband. No med school, no school work. It's just hard to leave it all behind. Especially after what I experienced tonight. I am still glad all of our amazing friends/family donated all of those gifts. Because it's not about me--it's about those kids having a few toys and some NEW, nice clothes/shoes/things to feel special. It's for the moms to give their kids something on Christmas morning. It's about beginning to break these stupid divides. We needed to see that. We needed to keep facing reality. When we got home, my husband said: "Back to our mansion."
*I am so excited to spend time with my in-laws. It's my first shared Christmas, and I am thankful to have 2 families that I love so much. In the teachers lounge today, everyone was talking about how hard it is to be with their in-laws. I just said: I love mine! Everyone was shocked. Then I get to go see my family and my sweet nephew and niece (It's been awhile since I've seen a white kid ;) haha. Seriously though). I feel so blessed. I plan on reading some Christian books, running a lot, sleeping a lot, eating a lot, and just being with my husband...and our families.
But first, I am going to have to run like 1000 miles on my treadmill tomorrow to try to lay all of this down. I am tired of being on the verge of tears.
I warned you that it was a sad blog post. I hope that you have a VERY Merry Christmas. We are all so blessed in so many ways!!
:)
Tuesday, December 20, 2011
Saturday, December 17, 2011
General Tso's Chicken
*I am so blessed. I love my students. I love my husband. I love my job. I love my house. I love our friends. I love our city. I love my family. I love my commute. I love running on my treadmill to Lecrae every morning to get ready for work. Can you tell I had a good week!?
*It was the last full week of school before Christmas. I've been testing like crazy, squeezing in fun activities wherever I can, and having so much fun making a fool of myself in front of my students. :)
*I'll start with the heartbreaking news to get it out of the way :(. On Friday when I came back in from dismissing my students, the secretary stopped me and told me that one of my students' moms had been looking for me. Because they are being sent back to their home country. Her last day of school will be Tuesday. My eyes filled up with tears. I am anxious to get a chance to talk to the mom, but I am SO sad to loose one of my students. This sweet girl who brings me drawings and cards every single day. Who came into my room barely speaking English, and when I just tested her, knew all of her letters, was writing sentences and reading books. BOOO! I am heartbroken.
*One of my students on the playground: "Mrs...I don't got no bed at my house. I sleep on the floor. I hope I get a bed some day." :(
*My husband and I are really praying about becoming Foster Parents. We are in the primary stages of praying and asking the Lord if this is our call....the more I am at work, the more I want to do it. I don't care if I'm tired or worn down-when I interact with my students and hear their lives and fears....it makes me want to start TODAY! Please be in prayer about that....And now to the hilarious parts of the week. There are so many!
*One student...First thing in the morning..."Mrs. I got you a present!!!"...later in the day-"Mrs. I got you a present-are you excited?!" At recess-"Mrs. I got you a present. I'll give you a hint...mar-k-er-s." Me-pretending not to hear to ruin the suprise..."Mrs! Did you hear me?! I got you markers!!! MARKERS!!!" :) lol The next day she brought me the gift and I opened it with her during centers. Her face was glowing as she gave me the gift. So sweet.
*On the Smart Board, I made a Jeopardy game with words that my students had to sound out. It had the music and everything. I split my class into groups of 4, had a scoreboard, and told students they had to whisper to each other to figure out the answer. I would call randomly on a student in their group, so they had to ensure that EVERY student in the group knew the answer confidently. I never expected it to go so well! The kids were at the point where they were saying: "I'll take the letter "a" for 200." It was so fun. Our school instructional coach came in and was SHOCKED to see the team work and how well they were sounding out words. It was so fun and they were so competitive. When I told them it was time for recess, they begged me to let them keep playing. :)
*At the end of the game, it was time for us to play a math game. I said to a student, "Go back to your chair my friend." He looked at me so sad and went over to move his behavior bear to the next level. I asked him what he was doing, and he said: "You made me move my bear." :( Me-"No. I told you to go to your chair. CHair. " Student-"Oh...ya. I can do that!!"
*We are writing "Opinion pieces" in writing this month, and we decided to make a class book about our favorite foods. I was asking my students about what their favorite foods are. Most said: Chicken Nuggets, Pizza, Macaroni and Cheese, etc. The trick was that they had to write WHY it was their favorite. I was walking around helping students sound out words, and one sentence said: "I like Macerone becuz it haz the cheez." And then I walked over to another student...I was frustrated with him for writing random letters down. He said: "It's not random....it says 'General Tso's Chicken'. My favorite food is General Tso's Chicken." Oh! Lol What a funny child.
*"Mrs. I love every single part of school. I even love just walking in the hallway holding your hand."
*"Mrs., this weekend I'm going to Chuckie Cheese for my birthday." Me-Wow! That sounds so fun. Who all is going with you? Student-My mom, YOU, my grandpa.... Me-I'm not going, sweety. Student-Just smiles.
*Next week we only have 2 days. I am so excited. On Monday my husband is coming into my class for the first time to help me. We are going to make ornaments as a present for thier moms. They are SO excited. We already made the gift bags, cards, etc. for the gifts. I told them not to tell their moms so it was a secret. "Mrs...is it ok if we tell our mom that we made them a present but we don't tell them WHAT we're making?!" Me-Sure that's ok! Student-Good, cuz I already did. :)
*I tested my students on "Reading Records" this week to check their reading level. They are expected to be at a level A or B. Most of my students did great. ONE student baffled me. He got 100% on A, B, C, and D!!! I am going to test him on E on Monday. SO exciting!!!
*We are having a school sing-along with Christmas carols, decorating sugar cookies with our book buddies, I got them some gifts, making gifts for their moms, playing a Christmas Jeopardy game, and then I also made a class slide show to the song "You Got a Friend in Me" for the Christmas party. When I made it, I was tearing up. Sure do love these kids. It's going to be an amazing week.
*Glen the Elf is still extremely popular. The mother of the child that is so mad that we don't call him "Chippy" told me that everyday when he goes home to tell her about his day, When he brings up Glen the Elf, he says: "You know-the Elf that Mrs. calls Glen, but his real name is Chippy".
*Tuesday after school I get to drop off the presents for the families that we adopted.
*Another highlight of my week? My husband's last day of school was Thursday. I'm so so so happy to see his smile again, to hang with our friends, AND to have his help around the house. :) Friday night I came home from work to flowers, a clean house, laundry done, groceries bought...BEST HUSBAND EVER!!!
*According to my husband, I am a Christmas light snob. I only like white lights and classy looking houses. Not a big fan of the blue or gaudy looking houses. It was fun to look at Christmas lights in the areas of mansions as I criticized their lights. Kind of pathetic how big these houses are...just 2 miles away from my school. The differences in wealth is sickening.
:) Happy Teach.
Then 2 1/2 weeks off with my husband and our families. I am so excited. Have a VERY Merry Christmas!!!
*It was the last full week of school before Christmas. I've been testing like crazy, squeezing in fun activities wherever I can, and having so much fun making a fool of myself in front of my students. :)
*I'll start with the heartbreaking news to get it out of the way :(. On Friday when I came back in from dismissing my students, the secretary stopped me and told me that one of my students' moms had been looking for me. Because they are being sent back to their home country. Her last day of school will be Tuesday. My eyes filled up with tears. I am anxious to get a chance to talk to the mom, but I am SO sad to loose one of my students. This sweet girl who brings me drawings and cards every single day. Who came into my room barely speaking English, and when I just tested her, knew all of her letters, was writing sentences and reading books. BOOO! I am heartbroken.
*One of my students on the playground: "Mrs...I don't got no bed at my house. I sleep on the floor. I hope I get a bed some day." :(
*My husband and I are really praying about becoming Foster Parents. We are in the primary stages of praying and asking the Lord if this is our call....the more I am at work, the more I want to do it. I don't care if I'm tired or worn down-when I interact with my students and hear their lives and fears....it makes me want to start TODAY! Please be in prayer about that....And now to the hilarious parts of the week. There are so many!
*One student...First thing in the morning..."Mrs. I got you a present!!!"...later in the day-"Mrs. I got you a present-are you excited?!" At recess-"Mrs. I got you a present. I'll give you a hint...mar-k-er-s." Me-pretending not to hear to ruin the suprise..."Mrs! Did you hear me?! I got you markers!!! MARKERS!!!" :) lol The next day she brought me the gift and I opened it with her during centers. Her face was glowing as she gave me the gift. So sweet.
*On the Smart Board, I made a Jeopardy game with words that my students had to sound out. It had the music and everything. I split my class into groups of 4, had a scoreboard, and told students they had to whisper to each other to figure out the answer. I would call randomly on a student in their group, so they had to ensure that EVERY student in the group knew the answer confidently. I never expected it to go so well! The kids were at the point where they were saying: "I'll take the letter "a" for 200." It was so fun. Our school instructional coach came in and was SHOCKED to see the team work and how well they were sounding out words. It was so fun and they were so competitive. When I told them it was time for recess, they begged me to let them keep playing. :)
*At the end of the game, it was time for us to play a math game. I said to a student, "Go back to your chair my friend." He looked at me so sad and went over to move his behavior bear to the next level. I asked him what he was doing, and he said: "You made me move my bear." :( Me-"No. I told you to go to your chair. CHair. " Student-"Oh...ya. I can do that!!"
*We are writing "Opinion pieces" in writing this month, and we decided to make a class book about our favorite foods. I was asking my students about what their favorite foods are. Most said: Chicken Nuggets, Pizza, Macaroni and Cheese, etc. The trick was that they had to write WHY it was their favorite. I was walking around helping students sound out words, and one sentence said: "I like Macerone becuz it haz the cheez." And then I walked over to another student...I was frustrated with him for writing random letters down. He said: "It's not random....it says 'General Tso's Chicken'. My favorite food is General Tso's Chicken." Oh! Lol What a funny child.
*"Mrs. I love every single part of school. I even love just walking in the hallway holding your hand."
*"Mrs., this weekend I'm going to Chuckie Cheese for my birthday." Me-Wow! That sounds so fun. Who all is going with you? Student-My mom, YOU, my grandpa.... Me-I'm not going, sweety. Student-Just smiles.
*Next week we only have 2 days. I am so excited. On Monday my husband is coming into my class for the first time to help me. We are going to make ornaments as a present for thier moms. They are SO excited. We already made the gift bags, cards, etc. for the gifts. I told them not to tell their moms so it was a secret. "Mrs...is it ok if we tell our mom that we made them a present but we don't tell them WHAT we're making?!" Me-Sure that's ok! Student-Good, cuz I already did. :)
*I tested my students on "Reading Records" this week to check their reading level. They are expected to be at a level A or B. Most of my students did great. ONE student baffled me. He got 100% on A, B, C, and D!!! I am going to test him on E on Monday. SO exciting!!!
*We are having a school sing-along with Christmas carols, decorating sugar cookies with our book buddies, I got them some gifts, making gifts for their moms, playing a Christmas Jeopardy game, and then I also made a class slide show to the song "You Got a Friend in Me" for the Christmas party. When I made it, I was tearing up. Sure do love these kids. It's going to be an amazing week.
*Glen the Elf is still extremely popular. The mother of the child that is so mad that we don't call him "Chippy" told me that everyday when he goes home to tell her about his day, When he brings up Glen the Elf, he says: "You know-the Elf that Mrs. calls Glen, but his real name is Chippy".
*Tuesday after school I get to drop off the presents for the families that we adopted.
*Another highlight of my week? My husband's last day of school was Thursday. I'm so so so happy to see his smile again, to hang with our friends, AND to have his help around the house. :) Friday night I came home from work to flowers, a clean house, laundry done, groceries bought...BEST HUSBAND EVER!!!
*According to my husband, I am a Christmas light snob. I only like white lights and classy looking houses. Not a big fan of the blue or gaudy looking houses. It was fun to look at Christmas lights in the areas of mansions as I criticized their lights. Kind of pathetic how big these houses are...just 2 miles away from my school. The differences in wealth is sickening.
:) Happy Teach.
Then 2 1/2 weeks off with my husband and our families. I am so excited. Have a VERY Merry Christmas!!!
Saturday, December 10, 2011
Glen the Elf
I am siiiick. All of the coughing, sneezing teachers and kids finally caught up to me. I was so tired this week and went to bed early every night. Then Thursday I came down with it. Of course, being a first year teacher, I pushed through the day with a terrible sore throat and feeling dizzy for the majority of reading time. Strangely, it was one of the best days of teaching that I've ever had. I was so patient and the kids were really clicking with me. I realized I was being insane to teach like this, and didn't want to get the kids sick so I called in for a sub on Friday. My first day being gone. I was nervous, but when I went in to set things up for the sub that morning, all of the other teachers kept saying: "You look like death. You need to go home". I am spending the weekend on the couch. It really is perfect timing to be sick, because it's the weekend before a huge test for my husband. So he is studying constantly, and our friends loaned me the first season of Modern Family...so I'm good. :)
*We really did have a great week in my class. I never knew if I would really make Santa a big deal in my house when my kids are growing up. But I have had so much fun with my class-how their eyes light up just at the thought of magic. It is so sweet. One of the highlights of the week was when I read the book Elf on the Shelf. For those who don't know, it's a letter to the class from an elf who watches over you for Santa everyday and then at night, when the kids go home, he flies to the North Pole to report on how the kids are doing-(Whether they were naughty or nice). Then he comes back to school in the morning and lands on another place in the classroom. The rules are serious: You can't touch him or his magic will go away and he won't be able to go see Santa, he is not allowed to talk about to you but you can tell him what you want for Christmas, and you have to name him. I asked for several ideas...I got everything from Beethoven to Baby to GeeGee to Glen. I told the kids we were going to vote on his name, so he could tell Santa his name. Apparently my Elf doll looked a lot like an elf on TV named "Chippy". One of my kids raised his hand and with frustration in his voice, said: "Mrs., his name is Chippy. We don't have to vote. He ALREADY has a name." :) We voted on the name "Glen". Who knows where the name came from.
Glen watched the kids all day. During centers, I saw several kids walk up to him and whisper what they wanted for Christmas. But don't worry-they were SO careful not to touch him. :) The next day, I "registered" our Elf, Glen on the "Elf on the Shelf" website so that I could print off a personalized note from Santa. I gave it to the secretaries. At about 9:10, when we were doing morning calendar, the secretary came on the intercom and said: "Mrs...There is a special delivery for you in the office. Will you please send a student down?" I pretended to look really suprised and sent my Teacher Assistant down. When the student came back, his face was bright: "Mrs...it's from SANTA!!!" The kids were so excited. I read them the letter. Then they asked me to read it again. I hung it up so they could see it all day-they pointed it out to EVERYONE who came in the room. :) That should make for some good behavior for the next few weeks. ha
*One of my girls was pretty "weepy" one day. Usually she is perfectly behaved, but keeps to herself, so I was kind of concerned. We were working on a sort of short "e" and long "e" words. She was frustrated and put her head in her hands and started to cry. I pulled her aside and asked her why she was crying. She would barely look at me. I asked her if something happened at home that morning. She started to cry even harder, and hugged me. I finally got it out of her: "My mom cussed me out. I didn't mean to be bad." My heart sank. I went on to ask her: "Have I ever hurt you?" No. "Have I ever cussed or yelled at you or anyone in here?" She shook her head. "You are safe here. I'm not going to yell at you-if you feel frustrated or sad, I want you to raise your hand and talk to me, ok?" She nodded and gave me a big hug. This is the worst part of my job. It's hard to leave things like that at school.
*My hubby and I are praying about some big decisions. The sermon at church is still sticking with me and I've been reading my Bible every night this week trying to get some direction of what else the Lord is calling of us. I feel like He is slowly breaking me of my selfishness and is helping me to listen. A lot of times school, life and things are moving so fast that it's hard to sit back and reflect or listen. That's partly why I don't mind being sick this weekend. My house is a mess, I have no groceries, etc. but I have time to sit back and think...and pray. Which is good. I want to be sure any "good" we're doing isn't just because I feel so bad about how some kids have to live. I want it to be a call from the Lord.
*The VERY best thing that happened this week is that I am testing students in order to put grades in. (Now you might think, you are insane. Testing is so time-consuming, all the teachers hate it, it takes so much time away from teaching, etc....but read on!!) First, I tested them on their "Letter ID" (Whether they are able to tell me the name of the uppercase/lowercase letters without pausing or having to think). I was SHOCKED. My students had improved SO much! I looked back through the previous scores...at the beginning of the year, most of the scores were "0, 1, or 5", at the end of 1st Quarter...the scores had improved to "20, 15...and some were still 5 or less", this time, kids who had VERY low scores confidently knew EVERY letter. EVERY single kid improved a LOT. Even my lowest students improved a lot. I was so excited....
And THEN I tested Sentence Dictation. I tell the students 2 sentences and then say 1 word at a time. The student tries to write every sound they hear in the word. The sentences this time were: "Mom has gone up to the shop. She will get milk and bread." I watched as my students used all of the actions for letter sounds I had taught them. I watched them clap out sight words "W-i-ll says 'Will!" Several of my students got all of the sounds except for 2. ALL of my students doubled or tripled their scores from the first test I gave 1 1/2 months ago. I know this may not seem so exciting, but to me, it was affirmation that these little sponges are learning!!!!!
One student stood out in particular. She was in my lowest reading group. At the end of 1st Quarter she only knew 5 letter names, and on the sentence dictation test, she wrote random letters. On Thursday, I tested her. She got ALL of the letters, and scored a 20/37 on the sentence dictation. I started to tear up. I told her she was going to make me cry. She looked at me very confused and said: "Why?!" :) I told her I was SO proud of her, and that I was going to write a note home to tell her parents how hard she is trying and how much she is learning. There's no way I would forget to write that letter...she reminded me ALL day. :)
*After school, I told her mom how impressed I was. Her mom said: "I know. She gets up at 6 A.M. everyday to practice writing words and draw pictures and read books. She don't want to watch T.V. no more and it's hard to get her to eat dinner. All she wants to do is read and write." See why it's hard to call in sick? These kids are the sweetest things ever.
*In our staff development we were talking about "effort"...trying to get kids to not give up or act out when they are frustrated. I remember when I Student Taught 5th grade-I saw that a LOT, but my students this year are so different. I honestly can't think of a kid who is not super eager to learn. They are trying to sound out words in the hallways, always so eager to sing songs with me, etc.
There is so much to do in the next few school days before break. SO many tests to get-so many more things to teach, and I'm squeezing in as many holiday and winter activities as I can. I really want them to make a present for their parents too....I am SO excited for my husband. His next test is on Thursday, and then he is DONE for 3 weeks. We will get to have a life for 3 weeks. I still have school for a few days after he gets off, so for the first time, he will get to come help in my classroom. I have the BEST volunteer who comes in every Thursday to help with centers--she is also a counselor so I always have her work with students who need someone else to talk to. :) But...other than that, I don't really let other people come in the classroom. I am so excited to have my husband come fall in love with these sweet faces. I think he will see why I come home smiling almost everyday. It's hard not to have perspective when you are hugged and loved all day by kids who really need you.
*My students are especially huggy recently. I try to not promote a lot of "touching"...they used to try to touch my hair and stroke my boots when we would sit down for carpet time...I was always saying "Hands off, please.", touch my wedding ring or bracelets when I hold their hands in the hallways, but recently they are so huggy. On Wednesday, as the girls' line was walking into the bathroom, every single girl stopped and hugged me on their way in. The boys are hugging more too. I know it's not super professional, but they say kids need several "good touches" a day. They can hug me all they want.
*I am so excited for Christmas break to spend time with my husband, have some friends up, go to Christmas parties, spend time with family, celebrate our 1st Anniversary, have a clean house, bake a little, etc.
:)
*We really did have a great week in my class. I never knew if I would really make Santa a big deal in my house when my kids are growing up. But I have had so much fun with my class-how their eyes light up just at the thought of magic. It is so sweet. One of the highlights of the week was when I read the book Elf on the Shelf. For those who don't know, it's a letter to the class from an elf who watches over you for Santa everyday and then at night, when the kids go home, he flies to the North Pole to report on how the kids are doing-(Whether they were naughty or nice). Then he comes back to school in the morning and lands on another place in the classroom. The rules are serious: You can't touch him or his magic will go away and he won't be able to go see Santa, he is not allowed to talk about to you but you can tell him what you want for Christmas, and you have to name him. I asked for several ideas...I got everything from Beethoven to Baby to GeeGee to Glen. I told the kids we were going to vote on his name, so he could tell Santa his name. Apparently my Elf doll looked a lot like an elf on TV named "Chippy". One of my kids raised his hand and with frustration in his voice, said: "Mrs., his name is Chippy. We don't have to vote. He ALREADY has a name." :) We voted on the name "Glen". Who knows where the name came from.
Glen watched the kids all day. During centers, I saw several kids walk up to him and whisper what they wanted for Christmas. But don't worry-they were SO careful not to touch him. :) The next day, I "registered" our Elf, Glen on the "Elf on the Shelf" website so that I could print off a personalized note from Santa. I gave it to the secretaries. At about 9:10, when we were doing morning calendar, the secretary came on the intercom and said: "Mrs...There is a special delivery for you in the office. Will you please send a student down?" I pretended to look really suprised and sent my Teacher Assistant down. When the student came back, his face was bright: "Mrs...it's from SANTA!!!" The kids were so excited. I read them the letter. Then they asked me to read it again. I hung it up so they could see it all day-they pointed it out to EVERYONE who came in the room. :) That should make for some good behavior for the next few weeks. ha
*One of my girls was pretty "weepy" one day. Usually she is perfectly behaved, but keeps to herself, so I was kind of concerned. We were working on a sort of short "e" and long "e" words. She was frustrated and put her head in her hands and started to cry. I pulled her aside and asked her why she was crying. She would barely look at me. I asked her if something happened at home that morning. She started to cry even harder, and hugged me. I finally got it out of her: "My mom cussed me out. I didn't mean to be bad." My heart sank. I went on to ask her: "Have I ever hurt you?" No. "Have I ever cussed or yelled at you or anyone in here?" She shook her head. "You are safe here. I'm not going to yell at you-if you feel frustrated or sad, I want you to raise your hand and talk to me, ok?" She nodded and gave me a big hug. This is the worst part of my job. It's hard to leave things like that at school.
*My hubby and I are praying about some big decisions. The sermon at church is still sticking with me and I've been reading my Bible every night this week trying to get some direction of what else the Lord is calling of us. I feel like He is slowly breaking me of my selfishness and is helping me to listen. A lot of times school, life and things are moving so fast that it's hard to sit back and reflect or listen. That's partly why I don't mind being sick this weekend. My house is a mess, I have no groceries, etc. but I have time to sit back and think...and pray. Which is good. I want to be sure any "good" we're doing isn't just because I feel so bad about how some kids have to live. I want it to be a call from the Lord.
*The VERY best thing that happened this week is that I am testing students in order to put grades in. (Now you might think, you are insane. Testing is so time-consuming, all the teachers hate it, it takes so much time away from teaching, etc....but read on!!) First, I tested them on their "Letter ID" (Whether they are able to tell me the name of the uppercase/lowercase letters without pausing or having to think). I was SHOCKED. My students had improved SO much! I looked back through the previous scores...at the beginning of the year, most of the scores were "0, 1, or 5", at the end of 1st Quarter...the scores had improved to "20, 15...and some were still 5 or less", this time, kids who had VERY low scores confidently knew EVERY letter. EVERY single kid improved a LOT. Even my lowest students improved a lot. I was so excited....
And THEN I tested Sentence Dictation. I tell the students 2 sentences and then say 1 word at a time. The student tries to write every sound they hear in the word. The sentences this time were: "Mom has gone up to the shop. She will get milk and bread." I watched as my students used all of the actions for letter sounds I had taught them. I watched them clap out sight words "W-i-ll says 'Will!" Several of my students got all of the sounds except for 2. ALL of my students doubled or tripled their scores from the first test I gave 1 1/2 months ago. I know this may not seem so exciting, but to me, it was affirmation that these little sponges are learning!!!!!
One student stood out in particular. She was in my lowest reading group. At the end of 1st Quarter she only knew 5 letter names, and on the sentence dictation test, she wrote random letters. On Thursday, I tested her. She got ALL of the letters, and scored a 20/37 on the sentence dictation. I started to tear up. I told her she was going to make me cry. She looked at me very confused and said: "Why?!" :) I told her I was SO proud of her, and that I was going to write a note home to tell her parents how hard she is trying and how much she is learning. There's no way I would forget to write that letter...she reminded me ALL day. :)
*After school, I told her mom how impressed I was. Her mom said: "I know. She gets up at 6 A.M. everyday to practice writing words and draw pictures and read books. She don't want to watch T.V. no more and it's hard to get her to eat dinner. All she wants to do is read and write." See why it's hard to call in sick? These kids are the sweetest things ever.
*In our staff development we were talking about "effort"...trying to get kids to not give up or act out when they are frustrated. I remember when I Student Taught 5th grade-I saw that a LOT, but my students this year are so different. I honestly can't think of a kid who is not super eager to learn. They are trying to sound out words in the hallways, always so eager to sing songs with me, etc.
There is so much to do in the next few school days before break. SO many tests to get-so many more things to teach, and I'm squeezing in as many holiday and winter activities as I can. I really want them to make a present for their parents too....I am SO excited for my husband. His next test is on Thursday, and then he is DONE for 3 weeks. We will get to have a life for 3 weeks. I still have school for a few days after he gets off, so for the first time, he will get to come help in my classroom. I have the BEST volunteer who comes in every Thursday to help with centers--she is also a counselor so I always have her work with students who need someone else to talk to. :) But...other than that, I don't really let other people come in the classroom. I am so excited to have my husband come fall in love with these sweet faces. I think he will see why I come home smiling almost everyday. It's hard not to have perspective when you are hugged and loved all day by kids who really need you.
*My students are especially huggy recently. I try to not promote a lot of "touching"...they used to try to touch my hair and stroke my boots when we would sit down for carpet time...I was always saying "Hands off, please.", touch my wedding ring or bracelets when I hold their hands in the hallways, but recently they are so huggy. On Wednesday, as the girls' line was walking into the bathroom, every single girl stopped and hugged me on their way in. The boys are hugging more too. I know it's not super professional, but they say kids need several "good touches" a day. They can hug me all they want.
*I am so excited for Christmas break to spend time with my husband, have some friends up, go to Christmas parties, spend time with family, celebrate our 1st Anniversary, have a clean house, bake a little, etc.
:)
Saturday, December 3, 2011
"There she is!!! YES!!!"
*I have the sweetest, craziest, funniest kiddos in my classroom. It was HARD to get going this week--after a 5 day weekend, I was struggling on Monday morning. After pressing "snooze" for an hour, I got up and moving. I was grumpy and not wanting to go to work. Even when I got there, I wasn't moving nearly as fast as usual, but when the bell rang and I went to pick up my kids, I heard "There she is!! YES!!!" And my day was great from there. We had a wonderful week.
*I was teaching the sight word "want" on Friday. We talked about what we "want" for Christmas, clapped it out, and we were all reading our "sight word books" together. One of my kids raised his hand and said: "Mrs. -I thought you taught us that "ch" says chh--well-you said that word said "Christmas" but that Ch doesn't say "CH"...Why?" Good question kid. I am getting really tired of the English language. I teach the kids rules about what sounds the letters make and different blends...and there is ALWAYS an exception to the rule. You never realize how crazy our language is until you try to teach 5 year olds how to read/write.
*We have adopted several families for Christmas. Some of our friends came over last weekend to help us wrap all of the gifts. Our living room is FULL of gifts for these families, it is so exciting. My mom called today and said that she collected more donations, so now I think we can adopt another family! It has been so fun to shop/plan/have other people donate to these amazing kids. But I have still been a little nervous that maybe we were doing too much-that somehow the moms might feel a little offended. I was wrong. The absolute highlight of my week was when I dropped my kids off at music class on Monday morning. I was walking back to my classroom when I saw one of the moms from the family we are helping. She told me she wanted to talk about her daughter's progress. She rode the city bus up to school to see me...We went into the room and talked about her daughter, her family, how proud I am of her daughter (she started out knowing none of her letters, none of the colors, none of the numbers, didn't know how to write her name, etc. and now she is in one of my higher reading groups. She is SHOCKING me everyday)...I then mentioned the Christmas gifts...She said: "That is actually the real reason that I came up here. I wanted to say thank you so much-I really don't have no words. Bless you. Thanks so much." We went on to talk about a few more things and ways she can help her daughter at home and then she left. We haven't even given these families the gifts yet and they are so thankful.
*My kids love to sing more than any kids I've ever met. I was frustrated with my smartboard at the end of the day on Thursday, because I was trying to pull up a game and it wasn't working. I asked my students to sit quietly for just a second while I tried to fix it. One student started to sing a song I had taught them earlier that day. Then another joined. Before I knew it, my whole class was singing together. :) So sweet.
*We have been working on rhyming since the beginning of the year. Some kids picked it up really quickly...while others were a little slow to catch on. Me-"Let's try to think of a word that rhymes with 'black'." Student-"People". lol A few weeks later that student started to catch on. At any point in the day, if I would say a word, he would find a word that rhymes with it...During math time-"Mrs.-One rhymes with ton....right?!" "Recess...becess. That rhymes right?!" haha It is constant now. But at least he gets it, right?!
*I have been shocked at how VERY few of my students know nursery rhymes. I have started to teach one every few days. I hear them at centers practicing them with each other. Their favorite is "Hickory Dickory Dock".
*Usually all of the Kindergarten classes have recess together, but on Wednesdays, our schedule is different so we go to recess before lunch, alone. It is my favorite day of recess-because for one, there are less kids, so my kids get a chance to play on the equipment. But I also love to watch my class play together. They have become very good friends. This week was so funny. ALL of the girls were on the swings and playing "house" under the jungle gym. No one is left out...if someone is playing alone, my kids run up to that student and invite them to play. I love it....but the hilarious thing was the boys. They had organized a game of "Duck, Duck, Goose". Then they started to play robots and monsters. I just loved the way my students are so inclusive and such good friends. It was very fun to watch.
*Another highlight of the week was on Tuesday afternoon. I signed up for the "Junior Achievement" program, where a business person comes into your classroom once a week for 30 minutes to teach a lesson on money, healthy foods, etc. It was the final week of the program, so my person brought awards for each kid to have a little "Graduation". I had them sit on the carpet, and she called them up one by one to get their award. We clapped for each kid, and they were so proud. One student in particular was SO proud of each student. She was so funny as she was clapping and cheering for each kid. When it was her turn, the look of pride in her face was so sweet.
*One of my quietest students came up to me during math centers and mumbled to me: "Mrs...I think you look real nice today." And then walked back to his center. ha
*I had my principal almost in tears when I told her these funny quotes from Wednesday. I was wearing black tights under a skirt..."Mrs...now you have black legs like me! I LIKE it!" And another..."Mrs...you know who wears things like that on their legs? Superheroes. You kinda look like a superhero today!" When I got home and told my husband that, he thought I was making it up. I COULD NOT MAKE THIS STUFF UP! haha
*At the Med School my husband attends, there is a chance in the 3rd and 4th year that you will be sent to another city for clinicals. That city is our hometown. Not enough students signed up to go by choice, so they had a lottery to choose students to be sent. 20 students were going to be chosen. Although we have AMAZING friends and family there, and it would be nice to see them more often!!, I could not imagine leaving my school. I have the BEST principal, great teachers, I LOVE the kids, and I love how dedicated the teachers are to these students--we have walking clubs, running clubs, Science Nights, Reading nights, carnivals, cooking clubs, craft clubs, etc. all run and organized by the teachers. We love our Bible study and our proximity to our jobs. It would be so hard to leave the life we have right now. The night before the list was going to be released, I told my husband I was at peace either way. There were great benefits to both sides. And the truth is that we can not cling to what we have--not to the people in our lives, to the things, jobs, home, etc. that we have. I am positive that the Lord brought us here, so we had to trust that He would bring us to exactly where we're supposed to be. Well...we get to stay. No one in our Bible Study was sent, so we are very excited and thankful. It would have been nice to be around the WONDERFUL people down there, but for now, we really feel called to be here.
*For many reasons, I have never really enjoyed the Christmas season very much. But for some reason, being married has really changed all of that. I have had so much fun setting up our tree, buying/wrapping gifts for the students and for our families, and picking out things for my husband. I have Christmas music playing all the time, and tomorrow am going to buy all of the supplies to start making cookies/chocolate covered everything, etc. Of course, I am going to take them to school for the kids so that we don't eat them all. :) I feel very joyful and thankful this winter.
*I had a Smartboard (AMAZING technology-like a huge computer screen that you can touch/write on/interact with...great for games, etc.) installed in my classroom in August...but the projector needed to be lowered so that it would hit the screen. We were not allowed to fix it ourselves and had to wait on the district to come out and fix it. My connection for my elmo (camera projector) was in the back of my classroom and the screen was at the front. I had been running back and forth to project things for the kids to see and to point to what we were doing. My screen didn't have a "catch" so it was tied to a chair to hold it down...needless to say, my classroom looked kind of "ghetto". I didn't care, because I was just thankful to have the technology. Well-Monday, the men came to lower the projector. I was SO excited. They were drilling while my kids were at Centers. We jumped everytime the drill started. But I didn't care-I couldn't wait to use the Smartboard. I found out later that afternoon that I STILL couldn't use it, because the connection for the computer was both at the front of the room and the back of the room and there wasn't a cord long enough to connect them. Finally another technology person came on Wednesday and told me I could pull the cord to the front of the room myself. My kids were at Library class for 30 minutes. I told her I wanted to do it then to make sure it worked, while she was there. SO....I got a ladder, and pulled apart my ceiling...tile by tile...and pulled the cord to the front of the room. I moved tables, dust from the ceiling was all over the floor and me--but I finally got it out. Put the ceiling back, pulled the cord down. I won't go in to how we then got new teacher lap tops and I had to re-install everything and then it wasn't compatible with my board, etc. ...All I care about is that NOW I have a working Smart Board. The kids are SO excited. We have used it several times and they keep saying it's like "magic". I have been working like crazy finding fun games/etc. to reinforce skills. ha. What a week it has been trying to get it to work.
*My blog posts are getting longer and longer. Sometimes I think it's good just to type it out and reflect on my week. Some days feel crazy and exhausting, others I am smiling all day long. I am always praying that I can keep my eyes open for needs/issues that need to get dealt with...or just kids that need a little extra attention some days. There is so much that has happened/is happening in these kids' lives and they're only 5 years old. It really breaks my heart.
*Warning: Kind of sappy....I was running this morning on my treadmill, listening to Pandora and a song came on: "Who I am Hates Who I Was...by Reliant K. It got me to thinking about who I used to be in High School and College-the stupidity that I let define me, the relationships I messed up, and some of the very stupid things I cared so much about...I have changed so much in the last 5 months-these 20 kids really have changed me. I feel like I am living for a purpose and that the Lord is using me everyday. Working with these kids is slowly healing my heart and pulling me closer to Christ. Their natural SWEET instincts and innocent comments are helping me to realize why Christ called us to have faith like a child...
*I put some extra food in the "Backsnack" backpacks this week for my kids who take them home...The kids are always so excited to look inside to see what is in there for the weekend...One came up and whispered to me while the other kids were getting their things ready to go home on Friday-"Mrs...is this from you!? I LOVE it!"
:)
*I was teaching the sight word "want" on Friday. We talked about what we "want" for Christmas, clapped it out, and we were all reading our "sight word books" together. One of my kids raised his hand and said: "Mrs. -I thought you taught us that "ch" says chh--well-you said that word said "Christmas" but that Ch doesn't say "CH"...Why?" Good question kid. I am getting really tired of the English language. I teach the kids rules about what sounds the letters make and different blends...and there is ALWAYS an exception to the rule. You never realize how crazy our language is until you try to teach 5 year olds how to read/write.
*We have adopted several families for Christmas. Some of our friends came over last weekend to help us wrap all of the gifts. Our living room is FULL of gifts for these families, it is so exciting. My mom called today and said that she collected more donations, so now I think we can adopt another family! It has been so fun to shop/plan/have other people donate to these amazing kids. But I have still been a little nervous that maybe we were doing too much-that somehow the moms might feel a little offended. I was wrong. The absolute highlight of my week was when I dropped my kids off at music class on Monday morning. I was walking back to my classroom when I saw one of the moms from the family we are helping. She told me she wanted to talk about her daughter's progress. She rode the city bus up to school to see me...We went into the room and talked about her daughter, her family, how proud I am of her daughter (she started out knowing none of her letters, none of the colors, none of the numbers, didn't know how to write her name, etc. and now she is in one of my higher reading groups. She is SHOCKING me everyday)...I then mentioned the Christmas gifts...She said: "That is actually the real reason that I came up here. I wanted to say thank you so much-I really don't have no words. Bless you. Thanks so much." We went on to talk about a few more things and ways she can help her daughter at home and then she left. We haven't even given these families the gifts yet and they are so thankful.
*My kids love to sing more than any kids I've ever met. I was frustrated with my smartboard at the end of the day on Thursday, because I was trying to pull up a game and it wasn't working. I asked my students to sit quietly for just a second while I tried to fix it. One student started to sing a song I had taught them earlier that day. Then another joined. Before I knew it, my whole class was singing together. :) So sweet.
*We have been working on rhyming since the beginning of the year. Some kids picked it up really quickly...while others were a little slow to catch on. Me-"Let's try to think of a word that rhymes with 'black'." Student-"People". lol A few weeks later that student started to catch on. At any point in the day, if I would say a word, he would find a word that rhymes with it...During math time-"Mrs.-One rhymes with ton....right?!" "Recess...becess. That rhymes right?!" haha It is constant now. But at least he gets it, right?!
*I have been shocked at how VERY few of my students know nursery rhymes. I have started to teach one every few days. I hear them at centers practicing them with each other. Their favorite is "Hickory Dickory Dock".
*Usually all of the Kindergarten classes have recess together, but on Wednesdays, our schedule is different so we go to recess before lunch, alone. It is my favorite day of recess-because for one, there are less kids, so my kids get a chance to play on the equipment. But I also love to watch my class play together. They have become very good friends. This week was so funny. ALL of the girls were on the swings and playing "house" under the jungle gym. No one is left out...if someone is playing alone, my kids run up to that student and invite them to play. I love it....but the hilarious thing was the boys. They had organized a game of "Duck, Duck, Goose". Then they started to play robots and monsters. I just loved the way my students are so inclusive and such good friends. It was very fun to watch.
*Another highlight of the week was on Tuesday afternoon. I signed up for the "Junior Achievement" program, where a business person comes into your classroom once a week for 30 minutes to teach a lesson on money, healthy foods, etc. It was the final week of the program, so my person brought awards for each kid to have a little "Graduation". I had them sit on the carpet, and she called them up one by one to get their award. We clapped for each kid, and they were so proud. One student in particular was SO proud of each student. She was so funny as she was clapping and cheering for each kid. When it was her turn, the look of pride in her face was so sweet.
*One of my quietest students came up to me during math centers and mumbled to me: "Mrs...I think you look real nice today." And then walked back to his center. ha
*I had my principal almost in tears when I told her these funny quotes from Wednesday. I was wearing black tights under a skirt..."Mrs...now you have black legs like me! I LIKE it!" And another..."Mrs...you know who wears things like that on their legs? Superheroes. You kinda look like a superhero today!" When I got home and told my husband that, he thought I was making it up. I COULD NOT MAKE THIS STUFF UP! haha
*At the Med School my husband attends, there is a chance in the 3rd and 4th year that you will be sent to another city for clinicals. That city is our hometown. Not enough students signed up to go by choice, so they had a lottery to choose students to be sent. 20 students were going to be chosen. Although we have AMAZING friends and family there, and it would be nice to see them more often!!, I could not imagine leaving my school. I have the BEST principal, great teachers, I LOVE the kids, and I love how dedicated the teachers are to these students--we have walking clubs, running clubs, Science Nights, Reading nights, carnivals, cooking clubs, craft clubs, etc. all run and organized by the teachers. We love our Bible study and our proximity to our jobs. It would be so hard to leave the life we have right now. The night before the list was going to be released, I told my husband I was at peace either way. There were great benefits to both sides. And the truth is that we can not cling to what we have--not to the people in our lives, to the things, jobs, home, etc. that we have. I am positive that the Lord brought us here, so we had to trust that He would bring us to exactly where we're supposed to be. Well...we get to stay. No one in our Bible Study was sent, so we are very excited and thankful. It would have been nice to be around the WONDERFUL people down there, but for now, we really feel called to be here.
*For many reasons, I have never really enjoyed the Christmas season very much. But for some reason, being married has really changed all of that. I have had so much fun setting up our tree, buying/wrapping gifts for the students and for our families, and picking out things for my husband. I have Christmas music playing all the time, and tomorrow am going to buy all of the supplies to start making cookies/chocolate covered everything, etc. Of course, I am going to take them to school for the kids so that we don't eat them all. :) I feel very joyful and thankful this winter.
*I had a Smartboard (AMAZING technology-like a huge computer screen that you can touch/write on/interact with...great for games, etc.) installed in my classroom in August...but the projector needed to be lowered so that it would hit the screen. We were not allowed to fix it ourselves and had to wait on the district to come out and fix it. My connection for my elmo (camera projector) was in the back of my classroom and the screen was at the front. I had been running back and forth to project things for the kids to see and to point to what we were doing. My screen didn't have a "catch" so it was tied to a chair to hold it down...needless to say, my classroom looked kind of "ghetto". I didn't care, because I was just thankful to have the technology. Well-Monday, the men came to lower the projector. I was SO excited. They were drilling while my kids were at Centers. We jumped everytime the drill started. But I didn't care-I couldn't wait to use the Smartboard. I found out later that afternoon that I STILL couldn't use it, because the connection for the computer was both at the front of the room and the back of the room and there wasn't a cord long enough to connect them. Finally another technology person came on Wednesday and told me I could pull the cord to the front of the room myself. My kids were at Library class for 30 minutes. I told her I wanted to do it then to make sure it worked, while she was there. SO....I got a ladder, and pulled apart my ceiling...tile by tile...and pulled the cord to the front of the room. I moved tables, dust from the ceiling was all over the floor and me--but I finally got it out. Put the ceiling back, pulled the cord down. I won't go in to how we then got new teacher lap tops and I had to re-install everything and then it wasn't compatible with my board, etc. ...All I care about is that NOW I have a working Smart Board. The kids are SO excited. We have used it several times and they keep saying it's like "magic". I have been working like crazy finding fun games/etc. to reinforce skills. ha. What a week it has been trying to get it to work.
*My blog posts are getting longer and longer. Sometimes I think it's good just to type it out and reflect on my week. Some days feel crazy and exhausting, others I am smiling all day long. I am always praying that I can keep my eyes open for needs/issues that need to get dealt with...or just kids that need a little extra attention some days. There is so much that has happened/is happening in these kids' lives and they're only 5 years old. It really breaks my heart.
*Warning: Kind of sappy....I was running this morning on my treadmill, listening to Pandora and a song came on: "Who I am Hates Who I Was...by Reliant K. It got me to thinking about who I used to be in High School and College-the stupidity that I let define me, the relationships I messed up, and some of the very stupid things I cared so much about...I have changed so much in the last 5 months-these 20 kids really have changed me. I feel like I am living for a purpose and that the Lord is using me everyday. Working with these kids is slowly healing my heart and pulling me closer to Christ. Their natural SWEET instincts and innocent comments are helping me to realize why Christ called us to have faith like a child...
*I put some extra food in the "Backsnack" backpacks this week for my kids who take them home...The kids are always so excited to look inside to see what is in there for the weekend...One came up and whispered to me while the other kids were getting their things ready to go home on Friday-"Mrs...is this from you!? I LOVE it!"
:)
Wednesday, November 23, 2011
We are THANKFUL!
*What a great week...so much happened that it's hard to remember everything...I did make it to Thanksgiving, which people say is a feat for a first year teacher. I honestly feel like my student teaching experience was my "first year". This year has been draining, and has taken a lot of time-there are definitely times when I feel like I don't know what I'm doing, but overall it has been an amazing semester so far. I feel like I was made to do this. It feels natural and easy to plan/make lessons because the kids are so eager to learn. Plus, I can handle any fit/crying when the kids hug you after.
*We had school spirit week at school...people always say that classrooms of kids take on the personality of their teacher-well I finally believe that is true. I am pretty competitive. At first my students were not so eager to win, but by the end of the week-they were going crazy with the spirit week. On PJ day ,I didn't want to dress down because I had a serious meeting with a parent and didn't want to dress down. One of my kids came up to me and said: "Mrs...you shoulda told me you don't have no pajamas. I woulda told my mom and you coulda wore her boxers". lol The next day was class color day-our color was gray. Me-Our color is gray, like my shirt. Student-And like my knee-look Mrs! Me-Ask me for lotion tomorrow morning! Lol
*I left my kids with a sub for the first time for half a day on Friday. I was so nervous to leave them-I hope this isn't foreshadowing to the kind of mom I will be-overprotective much!?-Anyway....I was texting teachers to see how my kids were doing...When I got back on Monday, the note said: "Your class did great. We had a lovely afternoon. They all missed you a lot." Several students said: We missed you so much, I'm so glad you're back.
*Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. Because we only had a 2 day week, we did a lot of Thanksgiving activities-made a "Thankful chart", read several books about being thankful, and made some turkeys out of cookies/candy with our 5th grade book buddies. One of my kids held up the reese's chocolate candy and said: "Mrs. I love this one that has chocolate, and then something, and then chocolate. I LOVE it." It was so fun.
*I feel so thankful to have a 5 day weekend-my husband bought me a massage for my birthday that I redeemed after school last night. The lady said my back was very tense-I told her that I work with 5 year olds-and she just nodded. I have the best family with the greatest cousins. They are some of my very best friends-I am so excited to play games, eat like crazy, and talk....but still part of me can't stop thinking about my kids...wondering if they're safe, and knowing they aren't having a feast like I am tomorrow. My husband and I are going to get our first Christmas tree on Saturday, going to see the city Christmas tree lighting, dinner with friends, game night, and a wrapping party to start wrapping all the gifts we have for the needy families.
*I asked friends/family for help adopting 2 of my students' families for Christmas-very needy families. When I asked for a Christmas list from them, I asked for sizes/wants for each person in the family...including the moms. One mom wrote: God bless you for doing this. This will help us more than you know. Another mom wrote: All I want for Christmas is for my kids to have a great Christmas. Thank you so much. **I have been so touched by how eager and excited people are to help. I honestly can not believe the generosity of people for kids they don't even know. I love and adore these kids and it means so much that people are so willing to help. It reminds me of the goodness of people...
*I had so much fun fixing hair, rolling up sleeves, zipping coats, and giving hugs this week. I know it seems weird, but it is one of my favorite parts of my job to play momma.
*I also LOVE watching these kids learning to sound out words to write/read. You should see them in the library center/during whole class work-they have learned SO much. It continues to baffle me. They love reading books to each other/quizzing each other like a teacher. They even lick their finger before they turn the pages like I do. So sweet.
*"Mrs...my momma has a hangover". "Mrs..we got a lotta people at my house. I got 8 cousins who live with me-plus my momma and their momma. It's crowded." :( Sometimes I wish they didn't tell me everything.
*"Mrs...I was scared to come to school at first, but I ain't scared no more. I love school. I don't want to go home-I want to stay here with you." Me-You know I love ya! Student-Yea...I know!!
*Today I am thankful for the show Modern Family. No matter what is going on in our week-it ALWAYS makes me and my husband laugh out loud-we don't have cable, so we watch it on hulu. Usually I have to pause it to laugh.
*I am thankful for my job, for my students, for their sweet faces that greet me each morning, for their hugs, for their reminders to me of the Lord's goodness, for my husband, for our home, for our SHORT commute to work/school, for our new friends, for our old, faithful friends, for our families, for how well we fit into each other families, and for time off to refresh with family.
A year ago today, my husband and I were trying to figure out which house to rent. I can't believe how much has happened/changed since then...we graduated college, got married, went on a honeymoon, got jobs, quit those jobs, went to a million weddings, met new friends, and started our careers. It has been an INSANE, crazy year but I have never been happier or more fulfilled. People say if you love your job, you'll never work a day in your life. I would do this for free. Really.
Happy Thanksgiving! We have SO much to be thankful for!
:)
*We had school spirit week at school...people always say that classrooms of kids take on the personality of their teacher-well I finally believe that is true. I am pretty competitive. At first my students were not so eager to win, but by the end of the week-they were going crazy with the spirit week. On PJ day ,I didn't want to dress down because I had a serious meeting with a parent and didn't want to dress down. One of my kids came up to me and said: "Mrs...you shoulda told me you don't have no pajamas. I woulda told my mom and you coulda wore her boxers". lol The next day was class color day-our color was gray. Me-Our color is gray, like my shirt. Student-And like my knee-look Mrs! Me-Ask me for lotion tomorrow morning! Lol
*I left my kids with a sub for the first time for half a day on Friday. I was so nervous to leave them-I hope this isn't foreshadowing to the kind of mom I will be-overprotective much!?-Anyway....I was texting teachers to see how my kids were doing...When I got back on Monday, the note said: "Your class did great. We had a lovely afternoon. They all missed you a lot." Several students said: We missed you so much, I'm so glad you're back.
*Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. Because we only had a 2 day week, we did a lot of Thanksgiving activities-made a "Thankful chart", read several books about being thankful, and made some turkeys out of cookies/candy with our 5th grade book buddies. One of my kids held up the reese's chocolate candy and said: "Mrs. I love this one that has chocolate, and then something, and then chocolate. I LOVE it." It was so fun.
*I feel so thankful to have a 5 day weekend-my husband bought me a massage for my birthday that I redeemed after school last night. The lady said my back was very tense-I told her that I work with 5 year olds-and she just nodded. I have the best family with the greatest cousins. They are some of my very best friends-I am so excited to play games, eat like crazy, and talk....but still part of me can't stop thinking about my kids...wondering if they're safe, and knowing they aren't having a feast like I am tomorrow. My husband and I are going to get our first Christmas tree on Saturday, going to see the city Christmas tree lighting, dinner with friends, game night, and a wrapping party to start wrapping all the gifts we have for the needy families.
*I asked friends/family for help adopting 2 of my students' families for Christmas-very needy families. When I asked for a Christmas list from them, I asked for sizes/wants for each person in the family...including the moms. One mom wrote: God bless you for doing this. This will help us more than you know. Another mom wrote: All I want for Christmas is for my kids to have a great Christmas. Thank you so much. **I have been so touched by how eager and excited people are to help. I honestly can not believe the generosity of people for kids they don't even know. I love and adore these kids and it means so much that people are so willing to help. It reminds me of the goodness of people...
*I had so much fun fixing hair, rolling up sleeves, zipping coats, and giving hugs this week. I know it seems weird, but it is one of my favorite parts of my job to play momma.
*I also LOVE watching these kids learning to sound out words to write/read. You should see them in the library center/during whole class work-they have learned SO much. It continues to baffle me. They love reading books to each other/quizzing each other like a teacher. They even lick their finger before they turn the pages like I do. So sweet.
*"Mrs...my momma has a hangover". "Mrs..we got a lotta people at my house. I got 8 cousins who live with me-plus my momma and their momma. It's crowded." :( Sometimes I wish they didn't tell me everything.
*"Mrs...I was scared to come to school at first, but I ain't scared no more. I love school. I don't want to go home-I want to stay here with you." Me-You know I love ya! Student-Yea...I know!!
*Today I am thankful for the show Modern Family. No matter what is going on in our week-it ALWAYS makes me and my husband laugh out loud-we don't have cable, so we watch it on hulu. Usually I have to pause it to laugh.
*I am thankful for my job, for my students, for their sweet faces that greet me each morning, for their hugs, for their reminders to me of the Lord's goodness, for my husband, for our home, for our SHORT commute to work/school, for our new friends, for our old, faithful friends, for our families, for how well we fit into each other families, and for time off to refresh with family.
A year ago today, my husband and I were trying to figure out which house to rent. I can't believe how much has happened/changed since then...we graduated college, got married, went on a honeymoon, got jobs, quit those jobs, went to a million weddings, met new friends, and started our careers. It has been an INSANE, crazy year but I have never been happier or more fulfilled. People say if you love your job, you'll never work a day in your life. I would do this for free. Really.
Happy Thanksgiving! We have SO much to be thankful for!
:)
Saturday, November 12, 2011
I can speak it too!!
*This week was kind of a rollercoaster of ups and downs. One of my students is starting to become a behavior problem-while in the lunchroom, he punched another student. I had to take him to the principal after lunch and he had to miss out on our first field trip. Just really praying about how to reach him and help him succeed. It's taking its toll on me. He is a good kid and has improved SO much academically, but it's like he has no impulse control. If someone cuts him in line/helps him clean up when he doesn't want it/etc. he hits/throws a fit. All of the kids in kinder are learning how to interact with others, but he's my one who's coming along much slower than the rest. It's hard not to feel like a bad teacher when a kid is starting to lose it.
*It's hard to explain to kids why it's not ok to hit someone....when you have a strong hunch that they are being hit at home.
*On a good note-we went on our first field trip on Friday. We went to see the play based on the book: If You Give a Mouse a Cookie. My kids were SO excited. As I was explaining the trip to the kids, one girl raised her hand with a worried look and asked: You're going to go too, right?! :) My kids behaved perfectly and laughed so much. It was a GREAT production. During the play, the kids kept looking back at me to make sure I thought it was funny too. They were so cute and had so much fun! I loved riding on the bus with them and leaving our area of town to experience something new!
*After centers we were lined up, getting ready to leave the classroom to use the restroom. A hilarious student that I write about a lot was still at his center picking up trash off of the floor. Me-"Thank you for picking up the floor, my friend, I really appreciate that". Student (Looking at me like I'm crazy)-"Mrs., I didn't pick up the FLOOR, that's WAY too heavy. I picked up the trash OFF of the floor. Will you please start callin me Mr. Trash man?!" **WOW!**
*A lot of times my kids are pretty sleepy acting in the morning during calendar time. They have a glazed look on their face for the first 20 minutes of school. I was up at the front acting like a clown-singing songs, smiling, trying to get my kids to wake up. Student: "Mrs., you sure do have a LOT of energy this morning. I have never seen a teacher with so much energy."
*About half of my students are Hispanic, and about 4 of them knew VERY little English at the beginning of the year. Although they are learning like crazy, sometimes I still translate some of my instructions into Spanish when they are looking at me like they have no idea what's going on. During math centers, I was explaining the instructions to a game in Spanish to one of my students. One of my black students looked at me and said: "Mrs....ahahskdjlskjfdlkan. See! I can speak it too!" Another said: "Mrs. I don't speak that language, so I have no IDEA what you're sayin". I had to turn away to laugh!
*In my last post I wrote about a student who, when given her Book-It for a free pizza at Pizza Hut, was very worried about how she was going to get there. My husband and I were planning on taking their family to a pizza buffet the day before Thanksgiving, but we decided to go this weekend instead. I went to pick up the family and we went to Pizza Hut to feast. It was so fun! We went all out with breadsticks, pops, salads, and pizza. I was so glad to see them interacting with my sweet, kind husband-I know too much about their father who is not so sweet and has hurt them in more ways that I want to know. They were very shy around him at first, but as lunch went on, it was so fun to see them open up and laugh with him. Probably the highlight of my week.
*I am excited for the holiday season-it is our first Christmas married-so excited to buy our first real tree, make some ornaments, share holidays between our 2 wonderful families, go to new church services, go to parties with friends, etc. I went Christmas shopping for my husband after lunch today. It was so fun because for the first time I have a full time job and can buy my cheap husband some things that he has needed for a long time...but it's also hard to find the balance between buying things that we want and looking around our house and seeing HOW MUCH WE HAVE in comparison to these kids that I work with. As excited as I am to eat Thanksgiving dinner with my family (my FAVORITE holiday)...I think about what my students are going to be eating that day and it breaks my heart. We are adopting several families for Christmas-I know some of our wonderful friends/family are going to donate to help make these sweet families' Christmas a great one...I am just struggling with the inbalance...I know material things do not give us joy-but having food to eat & clean clothes to wear seem pretty important.
*My favorite idea I've had all year was my class "Thankful turkey". The feathers I got back touched me so much-"We are thankful for Jesus and His love." "I am thankful for my teacher: Mrs. and for my family" "We are thankful for a job and a place to live" And my favorite one from a sweet GIRL student ;): "We are thankful for a job, a house, our family, and how much "Susie" has learned all thanks to his teacher." A pronoun there lost in translation....but I got the point. So sweet.
*My dad came to visit my classroom this week. He was shocked at how much I have to be "On my toes"....he was tired and had to leave after a few hours. :) ha. He also suggested that I be a little more "endearing" with my kids-after one of my students threw a fit and pushed a chair across the floor, I had to get in his face and send him to time-out. My dad patted his back. I never yell at my kids, but sometimes it's necessary to be a little harsh to get through to them. My dad is a sweet, awesome man...but he hasn't spent much time in the hood. My class is very well behaved and follows instructions really well-they get compliments from other teachers all the time. I know they know I love them-I hug them all the time and joke with them a lot, but if I let my guard down for a second--they would be OUT OF CONTROL! :) I wished he understood a little more-every girl wants her dad's approval. It was still fun to have him there--"Mrs. tell your dad to come over here so I can show him how I know my ABC's...I bet he likes the ABC's!!" Another student: "Are you her GRANDPA?!" haha
*My husband saw a mouse in our house the other night. My response was: "Let's move!!" I can handle spiders, bugs, etc. I am terrified of mice!!! My husband set up traps all over the house and I went through closets, and deep-cleaned the whole house. We've only caught one mouse-so I guess that says our house wasn't over-run. Still..GROSS!!
*Can I just say how thankful I am for the family I married into and for my family too?! Can I just say how thankful I am for the principal that I work for?! (Seriously...she is the NICEST, most dedicated boss I have EVER had!!) I am so thankful for my students, for my house, for my husband, food to eat, the BEAUTIFUL fall weather, candy, my treadmill to help me wake up in the morning, Diet Coke, that I live 3 minutes from work, our new friends/Bible Study in KC, our life-long friends in Wichita, weekends to catch up around the house & to spend some time on my couch resting.
*Most people like to take days off from work. Not when you're a teacher. It means so.much.more.work! My husband is in a wedding next weekend so I have to take a half-day off on Friday. I am excited to go spend some time with my family, but am so scared to leave my kids with a sub. They are good kids-I know they will be ok-but it is HARD to trust them with someone else for a few hours. Does that mean I'm gonna be one of those crazy moms!? ;)
*I am now a HUGE fan of the crockpot. I made chili last Sunday and it was SO easy. We ate it for leftovers several times this week. This week I am going to make something else. The cold weather makes me want to cook...well...sort of. :)
The Lord is good-I am learning. Thank GOD for His grace and patience.
:)
*It's hard to explain to kids why it's not ok to hit someone....when you have a strong hunch that they are being hit at home.
*On a good note-we went on our first field trip on Friday. We went to see the play based on the book: If You Give a Mouse a Cookie. My kids were SO excited. As I was explaining the trip to the kids, one girl raised her hand with a worried look and asked: You're going to go too, right?! :) My kids behaved perfectly and laughed so much. It was a GREAT production. During the play, the kids kept looking back at me to make sure I thought it was funny too. They were so cute and had so much fun! I loved riding on the bus with them and leaving our area of town to experience something new!
*After centers we were lined up, getting ready to leave the classroom to use the restroom. A hilarious student that I write about a lot was still at his center picking up trash off of the floor. Me-"Thank you for picking up the floor, my friend, I really appreciate that". Student (Looking at me like I'm crazy)-"Mrs., I didn't pick up the FLOOR, that's WAY too heavy. I picked up the trash OFF of the floor. Will you please start callin me Mr. Trash man?!" **WOW!**
*A lot of times my kids are pretty sleepy acting in the morning during calendar time. They have a glazed look on their face for the first 20 minutes of school. I was up at the front acting like a clown-singing songs, smiling, trying to get my kids to wake up. Student: "Mrs., you sure do have a LOT of energy this morning. I have never seen a teacher with so much energy."
*About half of my students are Hispanic, and about 4 of them knew VERY little English at the beginning of the year. Although they are learning like crazy, sometimes I still translate some of my instructions into Spanish when they are looking at me like they have no idea what's going on. During math centers, I was explaining the instructions to a game in Spanish to one of my students. One of my black students looked at me and said: "Mrs....ahahskdjlskjfdlkan. See! I can speak it too!" Another said: "Mrs. I don't speak that language, so I have no IDEA what you're sayin". I had to turn away to laugh!
*In my last post I wrote about a student who, when given her Book-It for a free pizza at Pizza Hut, was very worried about how she was going to get there. My husband and I were planning on taking their family to a pizza buffet the day before Thanksgiving, but we decided to go this weekend instead. I went to pick up the family and we went to Pizza Hut to feast. It was so fun! We went all out with breadsticks, pops, salads, and pizza. I was so glad to see them interacting with my sweet, kind husband-I know too much about their father who is not so sweet and has hurt them in more ways that I want to know. They were very shy around him at first, but as lunch went on, it was so fun to see them open up and laugh with him. Probably the highlight of my week.
*I am excited for the holiday season-it is our first Christmas married-so excited to buy our first real tree, make some ornaments, share holidays between our 2 wonderful families, go to new church services, go to parties with friends, etc. I went Christmas shopping for my husband after lunch today. It was so fun because for the first time I have a full time job and can buy my cheap husband some things that he has needed for a long time...but it's also hard to find the balance between buying things that we want and looking around our house and seeing HOW MUCH WE HAVE in comparison to these kids that I work with. As excited as I am to eat Thanksgiving dinner with my family (my FAVORITE holiday)...I think about what my students are going to be eating that day and it breaks my heart. We are adopting several families for Christmas-I know some of our wonderful friends/family are going to donate to help make these sweet families' Christmas a great one...I am just struggling with the inbalance...I know material things do not give us joy-but having food to eat & clean clothes to wear seem pretty important.
*My favorite idea I've had all year was my class "Thankful turkey". The feathers I got back touched me so much-"We are thankful for Jesus and His love." "I am thankful for my teacher: Mrs. and for my family" "We are thankful for a job and a place to live" And my favorite one from a sweet GIRL student ;): "We are thankful for a job, a house, our family, and how much "Susie" has learned all thanks to his teacher." A pronoun there lost in translation....but I got the point. So sweet.
*My dad came to visit my classroom this week. He was shocked at how much I have to be "On my toes"....he was tired and had to leave after a few hours. :) ha. He also suggested that I be a little more "endearing" with my kids-after one of my students threw a fit and pushed a chair across the floor, I had to get in his face and send him to time-out. My dad patted his back. I never yell at my kids, but sometimes it's necessary to be a little harsh to get through to them. My dad is a sweet, awesome man...but he hasn't spent much time in the hood. My class is very well behaved and follows instructions really well-they get compliments from other teachers all the time. I know they know I love them-I hug them all the time and joke with them a lot, but if I let my guard down for a second--they would be OUT OF CONTROL! :) I wished he understood a little more-every girl wants her dad's approval. It was still fun to have him there--"Mrs. tell your dad to come over here so I can show him how I know my ABC's...I bet he likes the ABC's!!" Another student: "Are you her GRANDPA?!" haha
*My husband saw a mouse in our house the other night. My response was: "Let's move!!" I can handle spiders, bugs, etc. I am terrified of mice!!! My husband set up traps all over the house and I went through closets, and deep-cleaned the whole house. We've only caught one mouse-so I guess that says our house wasn't over-run. Still..GROSS!!
*Can I just say how thankful I am for the family I married into and for my family too?! Can I just say how thankful I am for the principal that I work for?! (Seriously...she is the NICEST, most dedicated boss I have EVER had!!) I am so thankful for my students, for my house, for my husband, food to eat, the BEAUTIFUL fall weather, candy, my treadmill to help me wake up in the morning, Diet Coke, that I live 3 minutes from work, our new friends/Bible Study in KC, our life-long friends in Wichita, weekends to catch up around the house & to spend some time on my couch resting.
*Most people like to take days off from work. Not when you're a teacher. It means so.much.more.work! My husband is in a wedding next weekend so I have to take a half-day off on Friday. I am excited to go spend some time with my family, but am so scared to leave my kids with a sub. They are good kids-I know they will be ok-but it is HARD to trust them with someone else for a few hours. Does that mean I'm gonna be one of those crazy moms!? ;)
*I am now a HUGE fan of the crockpot. I made chili last Sunday and it was SO easy. We ate it for leftovers several times this week. This week I am going to make something else. The cold weather makes me want to cook...well...sort of. :)
The Lord is good-I am learning. Thank GOD for His grace and patience.
:)
Saturday, November 5, 2011
You KNOW her?!
What a GOOD week. I feel energized this weekend. I am going to spend today cleaning my house & cooking. I took a very busy friend's advice and made a menu for my week so that my poor husband won't be stuck eating cereal everyday for dinner. :) I am excited to get some things done today! My husband is so stressed studying, so that leaves me time to get my house back in order.
*My birthday is coming up and I asked my husband to let me splurge just a little. I have an appointment scheduled for a massage, a pedicure and I'm going to pick up a piece of cheesecake on the way home to split with my husband. Best birthday EVER!? YES!! I feel like I've been working non-stop, so it will be awesome to have a 5 day weekend for Thanksgiving with family too!!
*I get to take our kids on our first field trip on Friday. I am so excited. You should have seen them when I was explaining what a field trip is, where we're going, etc....They were on the edges of their seat and when I finished, several of the girls started clapping. Pure joy. So sweet.
*I got a new student this week...I was really proud of my students for how helpful and sweet they were to her. It was fun to see how welcoming they were.
*In my classroom we share our supplies...so we have table boxes in the middle of each table with pencils, crayons, glue, scissors, etc. I was starting to get annoyed that some tables are not keeping them very organized, so on Tuesday night, the "Clean Fairy" left candy at the table whose box was organized. The next day when the kids got to school, I told them the Clean Fairy had come and was so happy to see one table was very clean, and that she left a present for them. "Is she like the tooth fairy but for clean? You KNOW her?!" And later when writing time was over..."Put the pencils back nice-the clean fairy might come!!!":) I have a volunteer who comes every Thursday to help with center time. When she pulled a chair to help one of my struggling students with writing, he said "Are you the fairy?!!" She looked at me totally confused. ha My classroom has never been more clean. Problem solved.
*In running club we have been training for a 5K...it's this Sunday. We ran our last training run on Thursday after school. My partner ran in dress flats and skinny jeans. 2 miles. That is dedication. It is going to be so fun to run the race tomorrow!
*I started teaching money and the value of the coins. We started with the penny-colored a penny, cut it out, and put it in our "Piggy Bank". Then on the spot, I made up this cheesy song "A penny's worth one cent, a penny's worth one cent, a penny's worth one cent, woohoohoo!" It went over well. "I love this song!" "That's a fun song!" We sang it several times, and then as I was helping students with math later, my whole class broke into the penny song. Put something to music or rhythm and kids will remember it!!
*I was an ABSOLUTE clown teaching Social Studies on Wednesday. I finished my lesson early, so did a short lesson on not rushing to be at the front of the line/pushing in line/etc. It was called: "What is Mrs. doing wrong?!" I was running, pushing, knocking chairs over, etc. The kids were laughing so hard. One of my quietest students: "Mrs., my mom says you're a REAL good teacher-and I think you're REAL funny too!"
*We're making a class turkey. I was ready to leave one night after school until I got a good idea. I called my husband and said I'd be a little late, but it was a good reason. I sent home a "feather" with each family and asked them to write something they are thankful for. When they send it back, the feathers will go on our class turkey. Even when people have very little, they still have so much. For one-they have these AWESOME kids. When I wrote my feather as an example, I wrote: I am thankful for my class. They said "For US?!" Their faces were full of pride. :)
*We do pizza hut book-it in our class...If the parents read to kids and keep track of the minutes, at the end of the month they get a coupon for a free pizza. One of my families filled it out, but when I passed the coupons out, said: But we don't have a car, how are we going to go get that pizza?" It got me to thinking about how excited I am for Thanksgiving...food, family, fun, 5 days off school!!!, but that most of the kids will not have very much to eat that day. My husband and I decided we're taking one of the families who has really reached out for help (and my student who asked about the pizza) to a pizza buffet the day before Thanksgiving. Is it sad that I'm more excited for that than to eat my Thanksgiving meal!?
I found this awesome quote on Lecrae's facebook: "You can impress people from a distance, but if you want to impact them, get up close."
*There is a good chance that my dad might come up to visit and volunteer in my classroom this week one day. I am so excited for my students to meet him-a sweet, kind man. What an example he will be to the kids! Plus he's a banker, so they can sing the "cool" penny song for him. hahaha
*We went out to a trendy place for dinner last night and walked around First Friday art shows. It was SO fun-I could only handle so much modern art before we hit up Blockbuster for a funny chick flick. ;) At least we were cultured for part of the night!
I love to zip coats, give kids clean pants when the have accidents, tie shoes, and play momma all day long. These kids bring out a better side of me. I have changed so much in the last 4 months and I am so glad. I feel like I am constantly feeling the presence of the Lord, and that I am desperate for the Lord's strength everyday. I don't want anyone to think I am a good person for doing what I am doing or to give me any credit-I seriously feel totally blessed to have this job with these kids. I always tell my husband, I'm doing what anyone would do in this situation! The need is SO great. We have to open our eyes to help!!
:)
*My birthday is coming up and I asked my husband to let me splurge just a little. I have an appointment scheduled for a massage, a pedicure and I'm going to pick up a piece of cheesecake on the way home to split with my husband. Best birthday EVER!? YES!! I feel like I've been working non-stop, so it will be awesome to have a 5 day weekend for Thanksgiving with family too!!
*I get to take our kids on our first field trip on Friday. I am so excited. You should have seen them when I was explaining what a field trip is, where we're going, etc....They were on the edges of their seat and when I finished, several of the girls started clapping. Pure joy. So sweet.
*I got a new student this week...I was really proud of my students for how helpful and sweet they were to her. It was fun to see how welcoming they were.
*In my classroom we share our supplies...so we have table boxes in the middle of each table with pencils, crayons, glue, scissors, etc. I was starting to get annoyed that some tables are not keeping them very organized, so on Tuesday night, the "Clean Fairy" left candy at the table whose box was organized. The next day when the kids got to school, I told them the Clean Fairy had come and was so happy to see one table was very clean, and that she left a present for them. "Is she like the tooth fairy but for clean? You KNOW her?!" And later when writing time was over..."Put the pencils back nice-the clean fairy might come!!!":) I have a volunteer who comes every Thursday to help with center time. When she pulled a chair to help one of my struggling students with writing, he said "Are you the fairy?!!" She looked at me totally confused. ha My classroom has never been more clean. Problem solved.
*In running club we have been training for a 5K...it's this Sunday. We ran our last training run on Thursday after school. My partner ran in dress flats and skinny jeans. 2 miles. That is dedication. It is going to be so fun to run the race tomorrow!
*I started teaching money and the value of the coins. We started with the penny-colored a penny, cut it out, and put it in our "Piggy Bank". Then on the spot, I made up this cheesy song "A penny's worth one cent, a penny's worth one cent, a penny's worth one cent, woohoohoo!" It went over well. "I love this song!" "That's a fun song!" We sang it several times, and then as I was helping students with math later, my whole class broke into the penny song. Put something to music or rhythm and kids will remember it!!
*I was an ABSOLUTE clown teaching Social Studies on Wednesday. I finished my lesson early, so did a short lesson on not rushing to be at the front of the line/pushing in line/etc. It was called: "What is Mrs. doing wrong?!" I was running, pushing, knocking chairs over, etc. The kids were laughing so hard. One of my quietest students: "Mrs., my mom says you're a REAL good teacher-and I think you're REAL funny too!"
*We're making a class turkey. I was ready to leave one night after school until I got a good idea. I called my husband and said I'd be a little late, but it was a good reason. I sent home a "feather" with each family and asked them to write something they are thankful for. When they send it back, the feathers will go on our class turkey. Even when people have very little, they still have so much. For one-they have these AWESOME kids. When I wrote my feather as an example, I wrote: I am thankful for my class. They said "For US?!" Their faces were full of pride. :)
*We do pizza hut book-it in our class...If the parents read to kids and keep track of the minutes, at the end of the month they get a coupon for a free pizza. One of my families filled it out, but when I passed the coupons out, said: But we don't have a car, how are we going to go get that pizza?" It got me to thinking about how excited I am for Thanksgiving...food, family, fun, 5 days off school!!!, but that most of the kids will not have very much to eat that day. My husband and I decided we're taking one of the families who has really reached out for help (and my student who asked about the pizza) to a pizza buffet the day before Thanksgiving. Is it sad that I'm more excited for that than to eat my Thanksgiving meal!?
I found this awesome quote on Lecrae's facebook: "You can impress people from a distance, but if you want to impact them, get up close."
*There is a good chance that my dad might come up to visit and volunteer in my classroom this week one day. I am so excited for my students to meet him-a sweet, kind man. What an example he will be to the kids! Plus he's a banker, so they can sing the "cool" penny song for him. hahaha
*We went out to a trendy place for dinner last night and walked around First Friday art shows. It was SO fun-I could only handle so much modern art before we hit up Blockbuster for a funny chick flick. ;) At least we were cultured for part of the night!
I love to zip coats, give kids clean pants when the have accidents, tie shoes, and play momma all day long. These kids bring out a better side of me. I have changed so much in the last 4 months and I am so glad. I feel like I am constantly feeling the presence of the Lord, and that I am desperate for the Lord's strength everyday. I don't want anyone to think I am a good person for doing what I am doing or to give me any credit-I seriously feel totally blessed to have this job with these kids. I always tell my husband, I'm doing what anyone would do in this situation! The need is SO great. We have to open our eyes to help!!
:)
Saturday, October 29, 2011
Whispers
*This has been the most insane week ever. Meetings everyday after school, Math & Science Night after school on Tuesday, and I completely lost my voice yesterday and taught with a whisper. But it was a GREAT week.
*Science night was one of the highlights of my week. We had the local weather man come for an assembly that afternoon to get the kids excited. "Mrs...this is SO fun!" We were even on TV! Email me and I'll send you the link! Our med school friends and their spouses volunteered in a "doctor" room. We made skeletons out of pasta and red twizzlers, they got to dress up in scrubs and other doctor tools to get their pictures taken, and get their heartrates moving. It was so fun to see our friends interacting with the kids I love so much. The kids were in heaven to have so many cool young people in one room. The school had robots, animals, a star lab, etc. and our room was extremely popular. Exhausting but worth it.
*One image that sticks with me this week is one of my hilarious little kids walking down the hallway. Her hair was EVERYWHERE, a toothless smile, shoes untied, holding up her pants, dragging her backpack and jacket behind her...walks up to me and says: "Morning Mrs..." and gives me a big hug. Makes these insane weeks seem very calm.
*One of my families does not live within walking distance and does not have a car, so I went to pick them up for science night. The kids were waiting at the door of their apartment building jumping up and down screaming "She came! She's here! We get to go! YESSSSSS!" On the way in the car, they told me about how when people shoot guns in their playground, they have to run inside as fast as they can. But they're really fast so they don't get hurt. People asked me if I was scared to go pick them up in that area, my answer was: the kids walk and play there everyday.
*I woke up yesterday morning with NO voice. I am not sick and feel fine, but I could not talk above a whisper. I jumped on my treadmill to try to loosen up my throat, drank hot tea, took a hot shower, but nothing worked. I was a little worried about how I was going to teach all day, run a fall party and take my kids to an assembly without a voice. Plus, 2 of the other K teachers had a sub that day! It was hilarious to see my kids' faces when I whispered "Good Morning!" to them. All morning, they all whispered back to me. It was kind of peaceful...My husband and I went out to dinner and to the Goodwill to pick up some more things for our costume. I never realized how much I talk. It was refreshing to listen to him the whole night instead of hear my own voice.
"Mrs. Want to hear another joke? There was this truck, and it threw up! hahahaha" Um? :) ha
*I went to visit a mother yesterday who requested that I come talk to her in person about her daughter. She confided some serious things in me. We ended by hugging and talking about how the Lord provides us a father figure when we don't have one we want to know. I had to deal with another issue with a child at school yesterday as well. Worried about the safety of my kids. My 5 year olds have experienced more than any adult should EVER have to. I know it's not biblical or of the Lord to hate. But I hate men who hurt their children. The greatest ministry a man can have is to be a good father. We need more male role models in the areas of poverty. It makes me sick.
*I"m kind of glad I can't talk today, because I really need time to be quiet and process.
*We are having a Halloween Party tonight to thank the med students for coming to Science Night. I'm making all the dips and goodies. Every year, my husband and I dress up as a fun cartoon couple. He kind of carried the costume this year because I have been so busy. It is going to be so fun.
*Warning: A little cheesy. I used to watch the movie Freedom Writers or The Blind Side and wanted to give up my life like that and devote myself to kids in need. But I always vowed to myself that I would still have a life. Well, the truth is, my job has consumed my life. It's not just the long hours, frozen meals, but even on the weekends, I am thinking about these really hard issues my kids are facing. I'm processing all the time. I'm just really thankful for my husband who is so understanding and cares about these kids just as much as I do. He lets me spend money on them all the time, and understood when our date was pushed back an hour last night because I had to go visit a family. I'm just really thankful for him.
*I love seeing the lights turn on for my kids. We have started to read books in my small groups that they take to the library center and read to themselves. The kids are really reading. The kids are stretching out sentences. "I cllt mune" (I collect money). "I play hd and sek" ( I play hide and seek). I've never taught Kindergarten, but the improvement I've seen baffles me. They are SO excited to learn, so it is SO fun to teach them.
*3 day weekend!!!!! The only thing better than a 3 day weekend is a 4 day work week! WOOHOO!
:)
*Science night was one of the highlights of my week. We had the local weather man come for an assembly that afternoon to get the kids excited. "Mrs...this is SO fun!" We were even on TV! Email me and I'll send you the link! Our med school friends and their spouses volunteered in a "doctor" room. We made skeletons out of pasta and red twizzlers, they got to dress up in scrubs and other doctor tools to get their pictures taken, and get their heartrates moving. It was so fun to see our friends interacting with the kids I love so much. The kids were in heaven to have so many cool young people in one room. The school had robots, animals, a star lab, etc. and our room was extremely popular. Exhausting but worth it.
*One image that sticks with me this week is one of my hilarious little kids walking down the hallway. Her hair was EVERYWHERE, a toothless smile, shoes untied, holding up her pants, dragging her backpack and jacket behind her...walks up to me and says: "Morning Mrs..." and gives me a big hug. Makes these insane weeks seem very calm.
*One of my families does not live within walking distance and does not have a car, so I went to pick them up for science night. The kids were waiting at the door of their apartment building jumping up and down screaming "She came! She's here! We get to go! YESSSSSS!" On the way in the car, they told me about how when people shoot guns in their playground, they have to run inside as fast as they can. But they're really fast so they don't get hurt. People asked me if I was scared to go pick them up in that area, my answer was: the kids walk and play there everyday.
*I woke up yesterday morning with NO voice. I am not sick and feel fine, but I could not talk above a whisper. I jumped on my treadmill to try to loosen up my throat, drank hot tea, took a hot shower, but nothing worked. I was a little worried about how I was going to teach all day, run a fall party and take my kids to an assembly without a voice. Plus, 2 of the other K teachers had a sub that day! It was hilarious to see my kids' faces when I whispered "Good Morning!" to them. All morning, they all whispered back to me. It was kind of peaceful...My husband and I went out to dinner and to the Goodwill to pick up some more things for our costume. I never realized how much I talk. It was refreshing to listen to him the whole night instead of hear my own voice.
"Mrs. Want to hear another joke? There was this truck, and it threw up! hahahaha" Um? :) ha
*I went to visit a mother yesterday who requested that I come talk to her in person about her daughter. She confided some serious things in me. We ended by hugging and talking about how the Lord provides us a father figure when we don't have one we want to know. I had to deal with another issue with a child at school yesterday as well. Worried about the safety of my kids. My 5 year olds have experienced more than any adult should EVER have to. I know it's not biblical or of the Lord to hate. But I hate men who hurt their children. The greatest ministry a man can have is to be a good father. We need more male role models in the areas of poverty. It makes me sick.
*I"m kind of glad I can't talk today, because I really need time to be quiet and process.
*We are having a Halloween Party tonight to thank the med students for coming to Science Night. I'm making all the dips and goodies. Every year, my husband and I dress up as a fun cartoon couple. He kind of carried the costume this year because I have been so busy. It is going to be so fun.
*Warning: A little cheesy. I used to watch the movie Freedom Writers or The Blind Side and wanted to give up my life like that and devote myself to kids in need. But I always vowed to myself that I would still have a life. Well, the truth is, my job has consumed my life. It's not just the long hours, frozen meals, but even on the weekends, I am thinking about these really hard issues my kids are facing. I'm processing all the time. I'm just really thankful for my husband who is so understanding and cares about these kids just as much as I do. He lets me spend money on them all the time, and understood when our date was pushed back an hour last night because I had to go visit a family. I'm just really thankful for him.
*I love seeing the lights turn on for my kids. We have started to read books in my small groups that they take to the library center and read to themselves. The kids are really reading. The kids are stretching out sentences. "I cllt mune" (I collect money). "I play hd and sek" ( I play hide and seek). I've never taught Kindergarten, but the improvement I've seen baffles me. They are SO excited to learn, so it is SO fun to teach them.
*3 day weekend!!!!! The only thing better than a 3 day weekend is a 4 day work week! WOOHOO!
:)
Saturday, October 22, 2011
I am SO happy.
Mice everywhere!-One of the other K teachers found a dead mouse in her closet this week and saw a live one run across her floor on Friday morning. Friday after school, all of the teachers were coming back inside from releasing the kids-our lovely secretary put on a hat that had been sitting on her desk for about 3 days. When she took it off, one of the teachers said "Hey! You have a piece of fuzz in your hair." When she reached to take it out, the "fuzz" (A dead mouse!!) rolled out of her hair, down her body onto the floor. Guess that's what we get for working in an old school?! We could not stop laughing.
*We weren't allowed to take our kids to the pumpkin patch. I was so sad-my husband and I went a bought 20 medium sized pumpkins and one large pumpkin. During our reading time, I pulled out the big pumpkin and the kids guessed what was inside (Most of them had never carved/owned a pumpkin before)-We cut it open and I let each kid feel, see, and smell the inside (We're working on using our senses.) Later that afternoon, for our special Friday activity, I pulled out the smaller pumpkins, layed them out and let them each pick one out to paint. They were so excited. During the activity I heard-"I am SO happy!" "I love this day!" "This is so fun".
*My husband had a test yesterday....which happens 1 time a month. This means last weekend we had NO time together and this weekend we get to be normal people. For 2 days, he doesn't have to study or listen to lectures. Last night we went to dinner and a movie. It was SO fun. Just going grocery shopping together is such a treat! In some ways, it's not so bad because it helps us not take anything for granted! I was asking my 40 year old co-teachers for suggestions about what movies to see because they have more of a life than I do right now. :)
*I heard this song on the radio when I was driving home from my job at a daycare last April. It's cheesy but literally changed my life. After hearing this song, when I got home, I told my husband I was modivated again to find a job in the inner city. http://youtu.be/LR0lPDcwh-E. We heard it last night on the way home from our movie: rolled down the windows, cranked up the heater and screamed the lyrics.
*The thing that annoys me most? Commercials and signs to save the starving pets in our city. I think we should start first with all of the children who go hungry and who are homeless before we can think about the cats and dogs!
*I have decided that anyone who has a full time job, kids, and still cleans their house and cooks is my hero! I can't imagine doing all of this plus having kids! And let's be honest...most nights I don't even cook. ;)
*"Ms....I. am. a. robot. Watch.me.run. I.am.a.robot." :)
*After library checkout, I give the kids a few minutes to look through their books and "read" them. I heard several of my students playing "teacher"....saying and doing the things I do. So cute. "The title is the name of the book. Good job friends."
*"Ms...I just love that dress. You are so cute."
*My student who falls out of his chair about 5 times a day, throws up when he cries (which is a lot), covered the whole paper in scribbles when asked to try to write his name the first few days of school, knew 0 of his letters, chopped up our "Chicka, Chicka, Boom, Boom" tree into tiny pieces when learning how to use scissors the first week of school, was tested last week and now knows 20 of his letters and their sounds, he is interacting better with his peers and was our star student this week. You should have seen his face. It's amazing to see how much children can succeed when given a structured atmosphere. Did I mention that he's 5 and the oldest of 6 kids?
*I can't sleep past 8am on a Saturday, drink hot tea every morning and we're going to a wine tasting with friends tonight. That makes me an adult right? :) Ha.
*"To love another person is to see the face of God". I feel like I'm seeing the Lord's face every single day these days.
:)
*We weren't allowed to take our kids to the pumpkin patch. I was so sad-my husband and I went a bought 20 medium sized pumpkins and one large pumpkin. During our reading time, I pulled out the big pumpkin and the kids guessed what was inside (Most of them had never carved/owned a pumpkin before)-We cut it open and I let each kid feel, see, and smell the inside (We're working on using our senses.) Later that afternoon, for our special Friday activity, I pulled out the smaller pumpkins, layed them out and let them each pick one out to paint. They were so excited. During the activity I heard-"I am SO happy!" "I love this day!" "This is so fun".
*My husband had a test yesterday....which happens 1 time a month. This means last weekend we had NO time together and this weekend we get to be normal people. For 2 days, he doesn't have to study or listen to lectures. Last night we went to dinner and a movie. It was SO fun. Just going grocery shopping together is such a treat! In some ways, it's not so bad because it helps us not take anything for granted! I was asking my 40 year old co-teachers for suggestions about what movies to see because they have more of a life than I do right now. :)
*I heard this song on the radio when I was driving home from my job at a daycare last April. It's cheesy but literally changed my life. After hearing this song, when I got home, I told my husband I was modivated again to find a job in the inner city. http://youtu.be/LR0lPDcwh-E. We heard it last night on the way home from our movie: rolled down the windows, cranked up the heater and screamed the lyrics.
*The thing that annoys me most? Commercials and signs to save the starving pets in our city. I think we should start first with all of the children who go hungry and who are homeless before we can think about the cats and dogs!
*I have decided that anyone who has a full time job, kids, and still cleans their house and cooks is my hero! I can't imagine doing all of this plus having kids! And let's be honest...most nights I don't even cook. ;)
*"Ms....I. am. a. robot. Watch.me.run. I.am.a.robot." :)
*After library checkout, I give the kids a few minutes to look through their books and "read" them. I heard several of my students playing "teacher"....saying and doing the things I do. So cute. "The title is the name of the book. Good job friends."
*"Ms...I just love that dress. You are so cute."
*My student who falls out of his chair about 5 times a day, throws up when he cries (which is a lot), covered the whole paper in scribbles when asked to try to write his name the first few days of school, knew 0 of his letters, chopped up our "Chicka, Chicka, Boom, Boom" tree into tiny pieces when learning how to use scissors the first week of school, was tested last week and now knows 20 of his letters and their sounds, he is interacting better with his peers and was our star student this week. You should have seen his face. It's amazing to see how much children can succeed when given a structured atmosphere. Did I mention that he's 5 and the oldest of 6 kids?
*I can't sleep past 8am on a Saturday, drink hot tea every morning and we're going to a wine tasting with friends tonight. That makes me an adult right? :) Ha.
*"To love another person is to see the face of God". I feel like I'm seeing the Lord's face every single day these days.
:)
Sunday, October 16, 2011
I Recognize I'm Not My Own!
"It's all a gift undeserved that I shouldn't have known. Every moment I covet-I'm just earning Your judgement. So in times that are good--in times that are bad. For any time that I've had, I will be glad. I will boast in the cross, I'll boast in my pain. I'll boast in the sunshine, boast in this rain.What's my life if I'm not praising You? Another dollar in my bank account of vain pursuit. I do not count my life as any value or precious at all-let me finish my race. Let me answer my call. Tomorrow's never promised-but it is we swear. Think we're holding our own? Just a fist full of air. God has never been obligated to give us life...Patiently You turn my heart away from selfishness. I live to show Your glory. I'm dyin to tell Your story."-Lecrae. I can't tell you how many times I listened to this song in the car today. Seems to fit all too well!
*We got some bad news in my family this week, so I put my work on hold and went home for the weekend. It's hard to see someone you love suffer. I feel like we have rewound 10 years. It was so refreshing to be around family and some close friends.
*My mom helped me find a bunch of crock-pot meals. Hopefully we can move away from cereal and salad this week. :)
*We had apple week at school on Friday. We made Applesauce together, I made apple muffins, apple juice, apple chips and apples. We graphed which one was our favorite. "Ms....I wish my mom could cook like this!!!"
*Is it weird that I'm excited for school tomorrow to see my students?
:)
*We got some bad news in my family this week, so I put my work on hold and went home for the weekend. It's hard to see someone you love suffer. I feel like we have rewound 10 years. It was so refreshing to be around family and some close friends.
*My mom helped me find a bunch of crock-pot meals. Hopefully we can move away from cereal and salad this week. :)
*We had apple week at school on Friday. We made Applesauce together, I made apple muffins, apple juice, apple chips and apples. We graphed which one was our favorite. "Ms....I wish my mom could cook like this!!!"
*Is it weird that I'm excited for school tomorrow to see my students?
:)
Saturday, October 8, 2011
I LOVE this school....they give us food!!
What an incredible, exhausting week. I really needed to debrief. I went on an 8 mile run this morning through the beautiful trees of fall with JJ Heller Pandora. Last night after having a date night with my husband, while he was studying, I sat on my back porch and listened to JJ Heller while looking at the stars and reflecting. My new favorite song for life right now is
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oyPBtExE4W0 this song! I listened to it over and over.
*I joined the Backsnack Program team to pass out backpacks full of food on Friday afternoons to kids who don't have enough food to eat on the weekends. I was assigned to distribute backpacks to the Kindergarteners.....So on my plan break I called my group up to the office and explained what was in the backpacks. You should have seen their faces. It was like Christmas. "You mean we get to take this home to eat?! Just for me!?" It was hard not to cry right there. The kids were so proud as they took their backpacks back to class, knowing that they would have food for the weekend. As they were leaving, I heard one of the kids say: "I LOVE this school-they give us food!!" Later during one of my kids' birthday snack time-one of my kids asked if she could take her juice home to go with her "lunch". I told her this was not lunch, but a birthday snack. She pointed to her backsnack backpack I had given her earlier-and said-"No, Ms.-to go with my lunch tomorrow."
Student-"Ms., I'm excited because my dad gets out of jail today." How many 5 year olds should have to say that?! :(
Student-"Ms., I'm excited because my dad gets out of jail today." How many 5 year olds should have to say that?! :(
*One of my kids came up to me after recess and said-"Ms. can I have some of that stuff you put on your hands earlier? My legs are all ashy." What a special treat to get lotion from your teacher. haha :)
*We have been talking about the seasons changing and how this season is called "fall". We talked about how the leaves change colors, the weather gets cooler and the leaves fall. When I went to pick up my kids from recess Friday, they were playing in the leaves and chasing the ones falling to the ground. Several of them ran up to me: "LOOK! We're having a leaf party!!!" :)
*"Ms. want to hear a joke?-There was this spider and jelly beans were coming out of his EYES! HAHAHAHAHAHA" :) Oh my.
*"Ms.-I really love it when you read to us." We had about 7 minutes' extra time after we packed up on Friday afternoon before the bell rang. I chose a student who was sitting so quietly on the carpet to get their library book that I would read to the whole class. (When I read aloud to the kids-they are on the EDGE of their seats, absolutely silent and ALL of the kids are focused-it is so sweet). About halfway through the book, I realized the bell was about to ring. "Friends, we need to get in line to go home. We will have to find out what happens to these chickens on Monday." Student-"Will you PLEASE read us 1 more page?" Me-"We really need to get ready to go home for the weekend. We'll finish the book on Monday." 3 students-PLEASE?!! Me-"Ok! ok!" How could I refuse kids wanting to read a book!?
*My most popular item in the prize box this week were little coloring books. But then a problem arose: "Ms., I don't have crayons at home." I let the kids who chose coloring books go pick out 6 colors from my crayon tub to put in a bag and take home. Again-like Christmas morning. :)
*For the next few weeks, I will be testing my kids on letter ID, phonemic awareness, sentence dictation, counting, etc. for grade cards. I tested letter ID on Friday-one of my kids came in with 0 letters in August. Yesterday he positively knew 30/54 uppercase/lowercase letters. I was shocked. He was so serious as he told me the letters that I kind of laughed. I didn't think he saw me. "Ms., why are you laughing?!" Oops! :)
*I had a few new teacher moments this week of feeling overwhelmed, but am SO thankful for a volunteer coming to help in centers once a week, a great evaluation from my principal, and an incredible team to work with.
*SO thankful for the beautiful fall weekend to run, walk, clean, plan, sleep, and spend time with my husband.
"Therefore, because we have this ministry, just as we have received mercy...we will not give up." 2 Corinthians 4:1
:)
Tuesday, October 4, 2011
"Can you PLEASE separate the Peanut Butter?!"
Highlights of the week so far:
*Running Club-One of my long-time dreams (ever since I read about one in my running magazine) is to start a running program for teen girls to build self-confidence in the Inner City. You can imagine my excitement when I found out my school already had one! Yesterday was the first meeting. I am around 5 year olds all day so it was a BIG change to run with the older kids-much more attitude. :) Any girl who can run 1 1/2 miles in skinny jeans is my hero. I am on the hunt for running clothes to fit these girls. We are training for a 5K. So fun.
*When stressed out: some people drink, some break out, some eat....apparently I talk-er YELL-in my sleep. Paul has a different story every night while he's studying being interupted by my screaming in our room. Last night it was: PAUL!! Did you seperate the peanut butter for the kids?! Every kid needs peanut butter. Did you?? Can you PLEASE separate the Peanut Butter?!" How attractive. What a sweet, timid wife he has. HA
*I was so nervous to send clothes home with some of my kids yesterday. I know they need help and need clothes that fit/are clean/etc. but I was so scared that parents would be offended. Today both girls walked in the room wearing their new clothes, looking as beautiful as ever.
*You know you're pathetic when one of the highlights of your day is getting a Color Printer of your own for the classroom!!! It will be so much easier to make centers/games for the kids now-and cost us a lot less at home. Ha. You should have seen the kids' faces when I was telling them how excited I was. Not quite sure what to think!
*Do you want to know the best part of living in a Hispanic area of town? Store-bought guacamole is the best I've ever had!! :)
*Me-What are some healthy foods that you like to eat? Student-I like McDonalds. Me-Well, McDonalds probably is not the healthiest choice...Can we think of something else? Student-I like the Apple Pies at McDonalds. Those are GOOD. That seems pretty healthy right? :)
*Me-(with my man voice in the morning from my terrible cold)-Friends, I am sick with a bad cold. It is really important for us to wash our hands, cover our mouths when we cough and drink a lot of water so that we don't get sick! Student-So do you not wash your hands Ms. !? hahaha
*"Mrs-you are so funny. You are such a funny person and teacher." Gotta love feeling popular with 5 year olds. ;)
:)
*Running Club-One of my long-time dreams (ever since I read about one in my running magazine) is to start a running program for teen girls to build self-confidence in the Inner City. You can imagine my excitement when I found out my school already had one! Yesterday was the first meeting. I am around 5 year olds all day so it was a BIG change to run with the older kids-much more attitude. :) Any girl who can run 1 1/2 miles in skinny jeans is my hero. I am on the hunt for running clothes to fit these girls. We are training for a 5K. So fun.
*When stressed out: some people drink, some break out, some eat....apparently I talk-er YELL-in my sleep. Paul has a different story every night while he's studying being interupted by my screaming in our room. Last night it was: PAUL!! Did you seperate the peanut butter for the kids?! Every kid needs peanut butter. Did you?? Can you PLEASE separate the Peanut Butter?!" How attractive. What a sweet, timid wife he has. HA
*I was so nervous to send clothes home with some of my kids yesterday. I know they need help and need clothes that fit/are clean/etc. but I was so scared that parents would be offended. Today both girls walked in the room wearing their new clothes, looking as beautiful as ever.
*You know you're pathetic when one of the highlights of your day is getting a Color Printer of your own for the classroom!!! It will be so much easier to make centers/games for the kids now-and cost us a lot less at home. Ha. You should have seen the kids' faces when I was telling them how excited I was. Not quite sure what to think!
*Do you want to know the best part of living in a Hispanic area of town? Store-bought guacamole is the best I've ever had!! :)
*Me-What are some healthy foods that you like to eat? Student-I like McDonalds. Me-Well, McDonalds probably is not the healthiest choice...Can we think of something else? Student-I like the Apple Pies at McDonalds. Those are GOOD. That seems pretty healthy right? :)
*Me-(with my man voice in the morning from my terrible cold)-Friends, I am sick with a bad cold. It is really important for us to wash our hands, cover our mouths when we cough and drink a lot of water so that we don't get sick! Student-So do you not wash your hands Ms. !? hahaha
*"Mrs-you are so funny. You are such a funny person and teacher." Gotta love feeling popular with 5 year olds. ;)
:)
Sunday, October 2, 2011
No Furniture
I am a first year Kindergarten teacher in an urban school. My life has been flipped upside down in the last few weeks and I am glad. My husband is in his first year of Med School which adds to the chaos of our lives. During the week we eat a lot of frozen meals or cereal for dinner, have no clean laundry, forget that there is a life outside of our insanity, and have very limited time together. But we have never been happier or more fulfilled.
-This last week I had a student throw up, one wet their pants, many tears, tied 1000 shoes and received lot of hugs. I love teaching Kindergarten. Only 2 of my students knew ANY of their letters or numbers at the beginning of the year. This week several of my small group read sentences and sounded out words. They're like little sponges. It is worth all of the work because they are so eager to learn!
-I have been swamped with planning lessons, arranging my classroom, keeping up with testing schedules, etc. that I have not had as much time as I want to to connect with my students outside of the classroom. Until this week. A switch changed this week. At my school we have a walking club every Tuesday after school. Several of my kids were signed up. I had a LONG to-do list but ignored it for an hour and went walking with my kids. We held hands, talked about the most random things they wanted to share about their lives, and enjoyed the changing color of trees and beautiful weather. It energized me.
-I had conferences last week and got to talk to families and get a feeling for the need my kiddos have. It is more than I anticipated. I was given the chance to give away a backpack, sign up my kids for free food through the backpack club and more. It reminded me of why I have put in the long hours-these families need an advocate.
-Then I went to an in-home conference. At the home of one of my sweetest students. The mother does not have a car, phone or computer, so the only way to talk to her was to go to her. It broke my heart. A small apartment with many people living there, with no furniture. I have been trying to process ever since.
-We have so much. It is ridiculous. I am disgusted by the disproportion of wealth in our country. But also really modivated to do something about it. People are trying the hardest they can. I have 5 year olds in my class who have see more than most adults have. The more we open our eyes and are generous with our things, the more we can even things out. I have not earned ANYTHING I have-it's all a gift. We have to give it away.
-At a kids sale this weekend I was buying clothes for some of my students-the lady asked me how many kids I have-I said-20....but I'm not a mom, I'm a teacher. :)
-The most popular items in my prize box this week (out of playdoh, toys, candy, etc.) was juice and used crayons. Kind of heartbreaking.
-"Ms.-I love school. I don't want to go home. I want to stay here with you." Makes the ridiculous, all-consuming schedule worth it.
-From one of my kids who was sick the day before: "Ms., Was everyone real worried about me? Were they wondering where I was? Don't worry-I was just sick-I'm ok now."
-Me: What do you want to be when you grow up? Student-A soccer ball.
I am blessed. I am energized from a weekend of shopping for my kids, playing ultimate frisbee, running the hills with my husband, watching shallow shows on Hulu and spending time on my porch swing thinking about the call Jesus has for my life. I am not my own. I just pray that I continue to open my eyes to the need. I love my job. Ready for another crazy week!
:)
-This last week I had a student throw up, one wet their pants, many tears, tied 1000 shoes and received lot of hugs. I love teaching Kindergarten. Only 2 of my students knew ANY of their letters or numbers at the beginning of the year. This week several of my small group read sentences and sounded out words. They're like little sponges. It is worth all of the work because they are so eager to learn!
-I have been swamped with planning lessons, arranging my classroom, keeping up with testing schedules, etc. that I have not had as much time as I want to to connect with my students outside of the classroom. Until this week. A switch changed this week. At my school we have a walking club every Tuesday after school. Several of my kids were signed up. I had a LONG to-do list but ignored it for an hour and went walking with my kids. We held hands, talked about the most random things they wanted to share about their lives, and enjoyed the changing color of trees and beautiful weather. It energized me.
-I had conferences last week and got to talk to families and get a feeling for the need my kiddos have. It is more than I anticipated. I was given the chance to give away a backpack, sign up my kids for free food through the backpack club and more. It reminded me of why I have put in the long hours-these families need an advocate.
-Then I went to an in-home conference. At the home of one of my sweetest students. The mother does not have a car, phone or computer, so the only way to talk to her was to go to her. It broke my heart. A small apartment with many people living there, with no furniture. I have been trying to process ever since.
-We have so much. It is ridiculous. I am disgusted by the disproportion of wealth in our country. But also really modivated to do something about it. People are trying the hardest they can. I have 5 year olds in my class who have see more than most adults have. The more we open our eyes and are generous with our things, the more we can even things out. I have not earned ANYTHING I have-it's all a gift. We have to give it away.
-At a kids sale this weekend I was buying clothes for some of my students-the lady asked me how many kids I have-I said-20....but I'm not a mom, I'm a teacher. :)
-The most popular items in my prize box this week (out of playdoh, toys, candy, etc.) was juice and used crayons. Kind of heartbreaking.
-"Ms.-I love school. I don't want to go home. I want to stay here with you." Makes the ridiculous, all-consuming schedule worth it.
-From one of my kids who was sick the day before: "Ms., Was everyone real worried about me? Were they wondering where I was? Don't worry-I was just sick-I'm ok now."
-Me: What do you want to be when you grow up? Student-A soccer ball.
I am blessed. I am energized from a weekend of shopping for my kids, playing ultimate frisbee, running the hills with my husband, watching shallow shows on Hulu and spending time on my porch swing thinking about the call Jesus has for my life. I am not my own. I just pray that I continue to open my eyes to the need. I love my job. Ready for another crazy week!
:)
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