Mrs...I love you!

**I am prefacing this blog post by saying that I am very opinionated. I am posting this on here instead of talking about it, because you have the option to press "X" and close out. :) I promise to get to the Kinder stories though...hold out? :)

-This week I was informed about a certain politicians idea of how to "solve" education funding issues. Let's just say that I am disgusted on every level. It is so hard for me to come to terms with the fact that I live in a world where we are refusing to open our eyes. I understand that we are entitled to different opinions, but if we REALLY want to be like Christ...we should be very ANTI "The rich get richer, the poor get poorer" type of ideas.

--Another disgust? Hearing people say that "those poor people" need to earn something for themselves. The "Why should I work my butt off just to give out handouts?!" mentality baffles me. I guess it comes down to what we believe about whether or not we've earned anything that we have. I don't believe that I have. I believe EVERYTHING I have is a gift. I was born into a middle class family, my parents valued education and worked with me outside of school, my parents gave me a car (not a new car, but still a CAR!) to drive when I was 16, I took music lessons, I went to church every Sunday, I was encouraged to go to college, I could afford college, both of my parents worked, my dad lived at home, I didn't have to raise my younger siblings, I spent a lot of time with my youth group, I was rarely if ever approached with drugs or alcohol. I NEEDED NO "OUT". My life was easy. I grew up very priveledged. Of course I am now able to work a full time job, etc. I am not saying that we should expect nothing out of people, but I see how some of my kids are growing up. I understand why the cycle is SO hard to break. We have NO idea of what it is like. None.
Second--I have been to these homes. Before I went to visit my students' families, I thought I knew what poverty was. I thought I knew the disgusting difference in economic wealth. I had no idea. Do you really think people WANT to live like that? They are doing the best they can.

--Ok, let me say, there are definitely parents who do not deserve to raise such beautiful, sweet children. There are children who are abused, mistreated, neglected, etc. But those kids need more opportunities given to them through school than other kids do! EDUCATION IS THEIR ONLY WAY OUT OF THE CYCLE.

*I am reading a book called Radical, by David Platt. At first I didn't like it much, but being the multi-tasking girl I am, I was reading it today while running on my treadmill. (I get sick reading in a car, but not while running on a treadmill. Weird, right?!) It talks about how Christ calls us to be Sheep among wolves. The author talks about non-Christians looking at Christians really following the actions of Christ and thinking that we are INSANE. I want to care for these people who "don't deserve it" the same way that I know Christ would. I want to open my house, my bank account, my heart & my time to these kids. I am sorry to be ranting so much, but I am so sickened by the fact that the thought would even cross someones mind to make things even more unfair than they already are!!! Moving on....

--I really did have a great week. I have been working like crazy making new games for my centers. The only bad thing about new ideas, is a LOT more work. :) It's alright because the kids love to learn. One of the K teachers at my school gave me some great ideas. One is a letter writing station where kids can write letters to their friends in the class, then they can put the letter in the child's mailbox. When EVERY kid in the class has a letter in their mailbox, I'll deliver the letters. They begged me to make a mailbox for me, and the letters in there already are SO sweet. Man, I love them!

*It's the weekend before 4 tests for my husband, which means tons of time to be productive for me. Last night I baked, made center games, cleaned my house, and today I went to a teacher store. (He usually doesn't let me go alone, knowing I'll spend WAY too much!) I had so much fun buying games for my kids to play at centers. (At this point, I'd rather spend the money than the time). Some of the games said "7 and Up" but I knew my kids could do them. It continues to baffle me...These kids who were SO far behind coming into kinder, and now some of them are reading at 1st grade levels.

*I am so attached to my class this year. The thing I love the most about them is the way they all interact together. The environment in my room is SO sweet. I think a teacher can teach a lot of that, but I think a lot of it is them. They really care about each other. Recently though, some of my kids have been saying really rude things to each other. So during social studies I did a lesson using the Ugly Duckling. I gave each student a piece of paper when they walked in the door after library time. I asked them to draw their face on it. When they had done that, they brought their paper to the carpet and sat in a circle. We talked about what it means to be a good friend, etc. Then I told them I was going to read a book about some friends who were NOT good friends at all. And everytime somebody said something mean to the Ugly Duckling, we were going to crumple the picture of our face. Some of my students' faces were so SHOCKED to hear how mean the other ducks were to the U.D...I love that. Anyway, at the end of the story, I told them that I wanted them to flatten out their paper to look perfect like it did before. They tried and tried. I told them a paper with wrinkles was NOT acceptable. At the end, we talked about how we couldn't get the face back to normal because when we say mean things to our friends, it really hurts them. And that we can't take it back just by saying sorry. We have to be careful with our words. They have been much better friends since. :)

*During Centers: "Mrs...Johnny said a BAD word." Thinking it was 'stupid' or 'dumb', I asked my student not to tattle, but asked him what word he said. "I can't say it Mrs. It's REAL bad." I started to get a little concerned. Me-'Johnny, what word did you say?" Johnny shook his head. "I was just trying to write my name and I wrote it wrong, so I said a word." The other student said..."Mrs., He said "F***". I almost fell over. WHAT?! a 5 year old?! Now--this is probably my SWEETEST student. He has NEVER gotten in trouble. I pulled him aside and told him that was a VERY bad word and that we NEVER want to say that. At school OR at home. He nodded and started to cry. I had to send him to time-out just to ensure that he got the point. :( I still can't believe that! Wow.

*During writing time, we are writing "All About" Books...This week we did "All About Dogs". We talked about everything the kids knew about dogs and made a web. I asked if any of my students had a pet dog. A few did. I asked if anyone else had any kind of pet at their house. One student raised her hand: "Mrs. I used to have a pet ladybug, but it died." :) LOVE it!

*In the prize box last week, I put some headbands. I wear headbands a lot now because I have short hair...One of my little girls: "Mrs. I'm gonna pick this headband cuz I really wanna look like you." :)

*Probably my favorite lesson I've ever taught was the Friday before MLK Jr. Day. I was a little nervous about how I was going to teach it, considering that I am the only white person in my room. ;) When they came back from PE class, I asked them to have a seat at their tables. I said: "If you are a girl, you can go to whatever center you want, play whatever game you want and talk as much as you want. Go ahead. If you are a boy, put your heads down and do not talk. If you talk at all, I'm moving 3 behavior bears!!!" Somehow I kept a straight face. The girls were so excited. I was afraid the boys would cry. I let it go on for about 2 minutes. Then I called all of my students to the carpet. I told them that was an experiment and assured the boys they were not in trouble. I asked them how they felt. I asked the boys if they thought it was fair. A resounding "NO!!!" was the answer. We went on to talk about MLK. I read them a story about him, and explained the segregation of blacks and whites. Their faces were full of both  pure shock and disgust. We talked about how it doesn't matter what we look like on the outside, but what is on the inside that is important. That we want to be good people, etc. and that makes us beautiful. Then I sent them back to their seats. I gave them each a paper towel and a handful of M&Ms. I asked them to seperate them by color. Once they all had them grouped, I told them to eat their favorite color of M&M. "How does it taste?" 'GOOD!' They all responded. Then I asked them to close their eyes and pick a random M&M. "How does it taste?" One student-'Mrs., it tastes EXACTLY the same.' We went on to talk about how the color of our skin doesn't matter. We decided as a class that we don't care what people look like and that differences are good. I bit into an M&M and showed them the inside. I bit into another color and we saw that the inside was exactly the same. We decided that they should mix all the colors together and enjoy them that way. One of the boys: "Mrs. I sure think it looks better this way!" Me-'I agree Tommy!' :) They ate their M&Ms and colored a book about MLK Jr. until it was time to go home. I wish our society thought more like 5 year olds....

* While they were eating their M&Ms..."Mrs., when you have babies, are you gonna be a mom?" Me-"Yes. But I don't have babies now do I?!" Students-NOO! But you do have a nephew and niece! One student-"Mrs. You never show us no picture of them." I went to my desk and grabbed a frame with a picture of my sweet nephew and niece. I took it around to each table and showed them. "AWWW! SO cute" Me-Their names are Luke & Natalie. Students-"Luke and Natalie?!" (Their faces showed that they thought those were the weirest names ever...My thoughts--I know, white people names:) haha)

*My sister in law gave me robots for Christmas for my students to decorate. For our Friday fun activity this week for the kids who had good behavior all week, I pulled out markers, turned on some music and let them decorate them. "We get to take these home?!" "Can we name it?!" I knew they'd be excited, but I had no idea HOW excited they'd be. "Mrs., I named mine Luke." :) At the end, I told them they were from my sister, and asked if they wanted to say 'Thank You'? They all wanted to, so we made a video of them saying thank you to her. :) Great way to end a Friday.

*"Bye Mrs. See ya Monday." Student runs off. Student comes back looking worried. Me-"DId you forget something?" Student-"Mrs. I love you!!" Hugs me and runs off. :)

*"Mrs. I had a real good dream last night. You was in it."

*I offered to have indoor recess in my room everyday this week. The other teachers thought I was so sweet. The reality is that I picked Toy Story for the kids to watch. It's my fav kid movie and I wanted to see the whole thing. ;)

*It is so cold out. I have turned into the queen of wearing boots-I LOVE boots. "Mrs. I know the white people, they like those shoes like that. I want some too." Haha....umm?

*I was so sad about my sister the other day, after talking to her I felt so discouraged for her. Then my husband asked me a question about school. I went on about my kids for an hour. I smiled as I went to bed. They bless me much more than they know. While running today, I reminded myself that I can't take a single second for granted. I have to give it everything I have. For all I know, I could go for an MRI tomorrow and find out I have the same thing that my sisters do. I could lose my ability to live such a demanding life. Until then, I will live 100% devoted to these kids. People keep warning me to slow down and not burn out...I get it, but I truly don't see how you can burn out when the kids are so needy and so sweet. I will sure be hearbroken if I don't get to teach K next year!!!

*I am so blessed to have the greatest husband. I really did marry my best friend. I can't wait until next weekend to get to spend more time with him. Weekends like this, though, give me a chance to be a good wife. I always feel so tired/overwhelmed with school work that I don't get to clean the house as well as I want to, or cook, or bake, etc. But this weekend I get to be a "good wife" and that makes me happy. The little things... :)

*I'm really starting to pray about what I should do this summer. I spread my paycheck out over the year so I can have time to volunteer....I'm thinking about volunteering at the after school center a lot of my kids go to--they have a summer program, or maybe taking in a child, or maybe starting a women's BIble study/breakfast at the government housing a lot of my families live in....Really praying for the Lord to lead. He will.
**I have become a little obsessed with Yo-Yo Ma. He was in town and the tickets were sold out for months. :( My husband tried to trade KU Bball tickets for YoYo Ma tickets. THAT is true love, right?! Oh well...YouTube is good enough for me! :)

Happy Weekend!!

:)