Texas Bound

Well, my adventure of Christmas vacation began very shortly after I booted the kids out the door. Over a month ago, I had this great idea that Christmas break would be a great time to visit my good friend Jessica and her husband Grant in Texas. Grant is in Air Force pilot training and while they spent over a year in their previous location in Mississippi I never had the chance to visit. I knew that I wanted to make a trip but there was a big question about getting there. Initially, the idea was that I could convince enough people that a stupendous road trip was in order and we would drive. However, everyone wanted to go home and see their families and shot me down faster than I could stay on my feet.

Plan B was thanks to our good and wonderful friend Rita who offered me her husbands frequent flyer miles for the trip. I've found that nothing usually works much better than last minute plans so we got the tickets on Wednesday night to fly out Saturday morning. : ) Easy flying both ways and plenty of time for me to read two books front to back.

I got there Saturday around noon and we spent the day catching up, visiting the Naval Air Station where Grant is learning to fly a T-something (sorry, I have no memory for numbers), and visiting the beach. I got to sit in the simulator where pilots practice flying without actually flying and put my feet in the Gulf. It was cold but that hasn't stopped me before. I waded in up to my knees but didn't have extra clothes with me so decided to stop there. We also took around Flat Stanley who was sent to Jessica and Grant by Grant's mom's first grade (?) class so that he could report back to IL what South Texas is like. We completed our evening with Wii playing, a movie, pizza, and late night "teacher" talk. They have a great little apartment with an excellent, comfy couch and amazing TV/projector set up that definitely enhances all video/tv/Wii experiences. On Sunday, we went to church, lunch, and then Jessica and I shopped. I have to say it was a little strange to be in someplace so warm (65 and sunny) so close to Christmas but that didn't lessen the crowds out to get their last minute gifts. There aren't very many Christmas trees but lights on palm trees made up for it. They were also still playing "snow" Christmas songs on radio which I thought was a little odd since that doesn't happen very often in South Texas but tis the season so I guess they play it anyway.

I met a lot of their church and pilot friends who were all very friendly. I learned or at least heard more about planes, flying, moving, and the military more than ever before but it was great to have the chance to be in a completely different place out of my normal element just hearing and talking about what makes people "tick" and realizing how similar we really are even when we live completely different lives. On Monday, we decorated cookies with a couple of moms and their children from Jessica's church before I flew back to IL. Having both grown up in the country, we had never had the experience of a house full of kids playing, coming and going, and just hanging out, and what an exciting experience it was! Mostly, we just stayed out of the way until all the kids had sugared up and left the table and then we sat down to decorate a few of our own. It was fun to have the chance to relax and do something as simple as frost a cookie and add some sprinkles. I headed out on Monday afternoon hopefully giving Jessica and Grant the time they needed to pack up and ready themselves for their drive back to IL on Wednesday. It was great trip and I'm so glad and grateful to have such generous and loving friends!!


The plane Grant is currently flying. It fits 10 people if there is someone buckled on to the toilet. : )


Grant taking a picture of Flat Stanley in front of an airplane on the base.


Thanks Rita and Tim for making this trip possible!




The Beach!!


The simulator where I pretended to be something I am not: a pilot

Merry Christmas!

Well, it seems as if the busyness of the holiday has really consumed us all and myself is no exception. I would have argued if you had told me it had been two weeks since I've updated this but I would have lost so I'll quickly try to recap the last few weeks. It is amazing how quickly time flies.

The last week of school went by rather quickly with lots of Christmas festivities keeping everyone excited and the teachers on their toes. My first picture is of the Christmas basket that each person on staff received from the board of education. It had bread, apple butter, cheese, summer sausage, and my personal favorite cinnamon rolls. Mmmm.



The rest of the week was all about how "normal" I could keep the schedule to make sure that everyone stayed calm and we got something done. For the most part, we were successful with the my only crazy day being Wednesday. I'm not sure why but at the end of the day I was more than ready to kick them out the door and not see another student for two weeks. However, the last two days weren't so bad while I'm glad for the break I will be glad to see them in January. We made ornaments with their pictures on them for their parents-complete with glitter glue and lots of sequins. I hope they appreciate them as much as I do the ones that are currently hanging on my own tree. I gave each student a book, an elf ornament with his or her face in it, and a pen that looks like the hand pointer that we use during calendar time. I received my first "teacher" ornament, some scented oils, a mug and hot chocolate, and a bracelet.

The last day was of course the most exciting of all and we jam packed it full of sugar, singing, and playing. We made our ornaments in the AM and came back from lunch prepared to party. We played "pin the star on the tree," playdoh, decorated bags for the gifts, and decorated our own gingerbread men with pipe cleaners, sequins, and crayons. Then, the entire school went into the cafeteria for Christmas caroling with a sing-a-long video. Now, most of the time I don't think too much about how our school is only K-2 but at that moment when there were 320 students all under the age of 9, hyped up on LOTS of sugar, and 1.5 hours away from Christmas break all sitting in a very small room, I thought about it. Whew. The irony of it was that it was a sing-a-long video complete with words on the bottom of the screen that over half of them couldn't read. They sang along to the ones they knew and bothered everyone else when there were ones they didn't know. Oh well, it was a grand ole time. : ) Each grade level sang a song and then the teachers got up front and sang "All I want for Christmas is My Two Front Teeth" with raisins attempting to cover up our teeth. It was cute and the kids got a big kick out of it.



After that, we went back to the room for our snacks and treats. We had 3 kinds of cookies, 2 kinds of cupcakes, and LOTS of chocolate. There was too much and in the all the excitement I ended up with 3 boxes of cookies and 2 bags of chocolates that never even got opened. They also went out the door without their folders, a wristband that was their gift from the school, and the extra candy. Oh well, I'm pretty sure they didn't miss out. The room was trashed and it took me almost an hour after school to pick get everything back to almost normal before I headed out on my own adventure. It was quite the Christmas party.

Well, I don't want to put everything into one post so you'll have to wait for the story of my own adventure and frustrations with my Smartboard being installed for another day. I hope you have a MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

See You in the Funny Papers

1. I had a student today ask me if my parents called me "Lock." I told him "No. They call me Ms. Lock"

2. When told to "Zip your lips!" before heading out into the hallway, one boy replied (with his hand appearing to be holding a zipper by his lips), "Oh, Ms. Lock. It's stuck. Ugh. My zipper, I can't get it. It's stuck! Oh there, I got it."

3. Me: What are you doing in the bathroom"
Student (same one who got his "zipper" stuck): I don't know
Me: No, what are you SUPPOSED to be doing in the bathroom?
Student: I don't know
Me: WHAT are YOU to be doing in the bathroom?
Student: I don't know
Me: Yes, you do.
Student: I don't
Me: What is a toilet for?
Student: I don't know. I just don't know.
Me: What do you DO when you go into the bathroom?
Student: I don't know.
Me: Then never plan on asking to go in there again. Go sit down.

4. One day last week in a completely random moment for some reason that I have yet to figure out, my entire class began singing the ABCs. I was standing there in the front waiting to say something and they just burst out into song. I probably laughed out loud a little but I couldn't stop them. I mean really. It was the ABCs!

5. The same student who asked me back in September why I was wearing "man" shoes asked me one day a week ago why I was wearing "man" pants! I was wearing JEANS! Good grief.

It's Beginning to Look A Lot Like Christmas

I decorated my hall last Tuesday and you'll notice that one of them is a snowman which I plan to leave up until March. And Santa, while probably not exactly what the teachers of my multicultural education class would approve of is cute and the kids like it. Between three of the K teachers, we have a tree, santa, reindeer, and a winter wonderland in our hallway.

In case you are wondering why this is posted in the middle of the day, no we are not having a snow day but an SIP day instead. It's actually pretty interesting and engaging so far. I'm learning about phonemic awareness, literacy block, shared reading, guided reading, etc. However, I just thought I'd take this moment to multitask and update the blog as well. I don't think we are going to have a snow day for a while yet.

I can't believe we only have 7 more student days left until break. The semester has really flown by and it's hard imagine my first year is already almost halfway over. The kids are starting to get a little bit excited for Christmas, snow, holidays, and just the break. I'm finding that the better my plans and schedule are the better the kids are and the more we get done. The key is to plan, plan, plan and have LOTS to do. Never stay on something for more than 20 minutes. We have still been able to go outside but that is about to be over with temps below 20 tomorrow. I will spend part of Christmas break looking for more movement activities. We are finding it nearly impossible to hold still these cold, wintery days. My more immediate concern is making sure we have a lot of fun craft ideas planned for next week and making sure everyone has a cute ornament that parents and students alike will appreciate.

In Apartment 308

Well, school is going well and I didn't get a picture of our turkeys before I sent them home so until I get a picture of some of our Christmas decorations we are on a brief hiatus from room 23 updates. The only newsworthy happening is that I had a girl throw up in my classroom on Monday. Sooo, that's another first out of the way. Yeah and gross. All there really is to say about that.

So instead of classroom news and pictures how about some from the apartment? December (because of Christmas) is Bethany's favorite month of the year and she came back from Thanksgiving break fully prepared to celebrate. We spent most of Sunday night putting up and decorating the tree and other important areas.


Here is the view from outside. We are pretty sure everyone is VERY jealous and possibly thinks we are crazy.


Wider view of the whole room with the flash


Without the flash

As you can see, it is completely complete with presents, homemade childhood ornaments, lights, beads, and a star. Now all we need to complete the scene is a little snow and the forecast says my wait won't be long. Yippee!!

It's Been A While

I know it's been a while since I've posted last, and I can't say that it's been because I've been that busy. At first, I was waiting to remember the pictures and then I just didn't ever seem to get around to it. I'll start with the fact that my "nothing exciting planned week" last week ended with the making of plastic bag ice cream. Thanks to mom's recipe and her advice to head outside with it, we managed. We shook and shook and shook those bags of ice until we couldn't shake anymore. I actually suggest using duct tape instead of rubber bands. It didn't break and allowed everyone to shake to their little arms off. The end product was delicious and very exciting. The only usable picture I have is one that Mrs. E took out of her classroom window. Hence the reason the kids are turned around and you can't see me.

This week has been full of turkeys and thankfulness. I forgot to get pictures of our home made turkeys that we made by tracing our hands and feet but maybe I'll get some pix up by thanksgiving. We also made these place mats showing what we are thankful for and I did get a pix of those. They are starting inventive spelling so I'll leave it to you to see if you can figure out what exactly is is what they are thankful for this holiday season.





Tomorrow I go to smartboard training and Tuesday is the last day of school before a 5 day break full of turkey, family, and friends. I'm looking forward to it. Hopefully with a busy and productive weekend, I'll be super prepared and able to spend a weekend away from school and just enjoying myself. Happy Thanksgiving!!

Monday

I'm not sure if there will be much news to post about this week. We don't have anything very fun or exciting planned. I'm actually hoping for it to be mostly uneventful. We have Wednesday off for Veteran's Day and while it's going to be a little offsetting to have a day like that in the middle of the week, I am looking forward to the chance to work ahead and try to get really on top of things.

I don't think that I mentioned it before but the students did get free H1N1 shots/nasal spray vaccines last Tuesday. I qualified and could have gotten one since I am under 25 but didn't. I'm not really sure why but I guess I'll just have to suffer the consequences if I made the wrong choice.

In outside of school news, I am currently thinking about finding an apartment for year. So far, all of my options are unfurnished so if by chance you are looking to get rid of or replace any old furniture, just wait until August and let me know. I'd be happy to take it off your hands. : )

That We're Awesome!

Parent/Teacher conferences went off without a hitch. I had lots of helpful advice from other teachers, the principal, and few parents of Kindergartners that I babysit for so I can't even say that I was surprised by any of it. Everyone was just excited to hear about their child in school and I hope that I was able to answer all their questions. I went by fast and now I've actually done everything I needed to do for next week so for the first time since school started, I'm not going back in this weekend! YEAH! It only took me a quarter and a half day off school to get it accomplished but I'm finally there. Hopefully, sometime after Christmas I can manage to make it more than once a quarter. I also got a new school laptop yesterday. It's a brand new MacBook and now I'll hopefully start doing more on it instead of my home computer. I don't think that I reported either that I will be going to Smartboard training on the 20th and hopefully getting it installed over Christmas break. Now, if only I can get them to put it where I need it and not just wherever they want . . .

My funny moments from yesterday:

1. After reading a story about dinosaurs, the book posed a question about what dinosaurs might learn about people if they were around and went to school and we were extinct. The first answer: "That we're awesome!"

2. We had popcorn for snack and some the students were eating the unpopped kernels. I told them that it was bad for their teeth but they explained to me that they weren't chewing them just swallowing them. So, I told them if they swallowed the kernels they would go into their stomachs and get hot when they ran around and POP. This got quite a few curious looks. A few minutes later, I realize that more students are eating the kernels. By the end of the snack, they were going around "listening" to each other's stomachs trying to hear them POP. One student told me on her way out the door to PE, "Listen, I can hear my stomach popping!" ; )

Oh yes, he did.

Today in a down time moment when we were finishing an art project, some of the kids that were finished were sitting at their desks coloring pictures. One student came to me with a piece of paper with two holes cut in it and said "Look I made a mask!" That's nice. Great. Next thing I know I look up to see the same child walking around the room with the "mask" GLUED to his face. Oh yes, he did. He used his ever creative imagination and the materials at hand (Elmer's) to glue his mask onto his face. I politely asked him to take it off at which point he was loudly proclaiming, "Ow, ow oow" and I was trying very hard not to laugh. This story gets better though when after taking it off I see that the green marker he had been using to color the mask has bled through the paper because of the glue and turned part of his face green. Oh yes, it did. Luckily, it was washable and he did not go home with green all over his face. Not sure how if I'm going to bring that one up at P/T conferences or not. Not really sure how to start that conversation, "Well, your child is very creative. Just yesterday he glued a piece of paper to his face because he didn't have any string! He then proceed to complain about how it hurt to take off but he sure was excited about that mask!!" Maybe not.

Parent/Teacher conferences are tomorrow night and Friday morning. Wish me luck! It's one place where I have yet to be on either side of the picture so if nothing else it will be one more "1st" out of the way. Looking forward to having it behind me.

Picture Time!

The fall party was complete success and the kids were only crazy for about 10 minutes right before we went to the Power Store. Otherwise, I was very proud and don't know why teachers hate holidays so much. My kids were awesome. ; ) We had 4 stations with playdoh, coloring, snack, and Halloween bingo. A kid brought pumpkin pie for snack so that was an extra special treat. We also had a magician come for an assembly that had everyone laughing hysterically.

Now, I'm going to see what I can do about putting up some pictures with covered or no faces of the kids. I wish you could see them though because they are very cute and pictures seem to bring out the best in them. : )

Fall Party Playdoh Table

Reindeer Ranch

We got to choose pumpkins to take home!

Feeding the reindeer

Pizza Hut

Happy Halloween! Uh, I mean Fall!!

Yeah, we don't get to have holiday parties here at PA, but we are going to have a party nonetheless. Officially, it is a "Fall Party" but since all of my students do celebrate Halloween, it is definitely a Halloween themed party. We will have LOTS of snacks, a movie, a game, a craft, and an assembly to finish off the day. I have a parent coming in to help and I'm probably not nearly as planned as I need to be for it to go off without a hitch but I'm jumping in anyway and excited to see how it all falls down.

Otherwise, it's been a pretty regular week. It's felt really long since it's the first 5 day week since the last week of September, but I was prepared for that. And really, they haven't been that crazy or hyper about Halloween. I let them talk about it at certain times and otherwise they are content to just be their regular 5 year old selves. Which is still loud and silly and crazy but just not more so than usual. However, I am glad that the actual day of Halloween falls on a Saturday and they won't be spending it at school. It is the small things that I am grateful for these days. I am also almost completely recovered from my hacking cough. It's still there but I'm always careful to "catch" my germs so someone else doesn't! All the kids are back too and excited as ever to be at school. YIPPEE!

I will report that I had to write my first discipline referral this week. I probably had reason to do it before this and probably let a few more things slide than I should have, but there had to be a first. Now, it's done and over with and if it weren't for the fact that I am writing it here I probably wouldn't be able to tell you what my first referral was a year from now. On a side note, you should know that we have 2 kinds of referrals. An "Ooops Note" and a real hard core discipline referral. The Oops Note is a "I messed up and didn't make a great choice so I got in trouble" kind of note. It usually involves the teacher calling the parent and the student sitting out of recess or getting a timeout. The principal sees them but is not involved unless the teacher asks him to be. You might get one if you pushed and shoved in line, talked all day and couldn't shut up, did a cartwheel in the hallway, etc. Basically, anything that isn't violent, vulgar, or a repeated problem. Discipline referrals are handled by the principal with the teacher, parents, and student.

I wrote mine for a student who has been refusing to do anything in the classroom. It's power and attention issue for him, but after 3 Oops Notes for the same thing, I decided to step it up. It was little things like getting in line or moving to a center or washing his hands but he just outright refused to do whatever I asked him no matter what else I said or did. So, instead of picking him up and throwing him, I let Mr. E handle it because by the end of the day I had tried everything I could think of and didn't want the other students to think the he was winning and start to do some of the same to see what they could get away with. That is exactly NOT what I need: a classroom full of students who do whatever they want. Or a nightmare. Basically the same thing. In the end, I think it was definitely the right thing to do, and it did help because he was much better today. I only hope it stays that way and it doesn't become a routine problem. I'm sure more insight will come from Parent/Teacher conferences next week. Ooohh yeah.

My Colorful Drive

Between sunrises in the morning and turning leaves and combines, my 30 minute drives have become quite the array of fantastic colors. Sometimes, I think I should stop and take a picture but the thought of stopping the car and getting out just never really makes it further than a thought. I'm really trying to just appreciate the sunrise and it's beauty instead of being depressed that I am actually awake to see it and most days that goes pretty well. I just know that it's going to be a long winter of lots of brown for that drive so I hope to appreciate the colors while I have them. The trees really are quite fantastic with lots of reds, yellows, and oranges. I'm a pretty big fan of fall, cold weather, and winter but not the rain. I could without all the rain and I'm sure every farmer in the state of IL is thinking the same thing. GO AWAY RAIN!

In sickness news, I still had 5 kids gone on Friday. I'm really hoping we recover soon because too much of this and I'm going to forget what it's like to have a full class. Oh wait, I think I already have. Might be a long 5 day week next week. I am also getting another new student on Monday so I'll be up to 19. Whoo Whoo. I felt like crap on Thursday but toughed it out at school and was better on Friday. Today feels even better so I'm probably on the up swing. Never had a fever and the cough seems to be the only lingering symptom. With the trend of the previous paragraph: GO AWAY SICKNESS!

Reindeer Ranch

Today was very successful field trip number two to Hardy's Reindeer Ranch. It is literally just 5 minutes outside of town and made for a perfect Kindergarten trip.

I have been hit by the 2nd round of sickness so I only had 13 kids at school go on the trip. The most I have had all week has been 14. On Monday between the 4 K classes, we had almost 20 kids out. Eeek! They are slowly coming back, but it's been a quiet week so far. I'm not really managing to stay very healthy with a stopped up nose, horrible cough, and a teensy bit of a sore throat that comes and goes (possibly due to the coughing) but no fever and I feel pretty good so I'm just toughing it out. Can't let the sickness win! Luckily though, the Champaign County Health Department is going to give the H1N1 vaccine out for free to all the students next week. I pretty sure that's not what is going around, but hopefully, that will keep us from even more sickness starting and spreading rampant through the classrooms.

Back on the topic, we got to take a short hayrack ride, feed the reindeer, pick out a pumpkin, play at the playground, eat a cookie, and take a quick jaunt through the corn maze. I was given the map with the highlighted shortcut through the maze and told to lead away. You almost got a story about how the first year teacher got 60 kids and 5 adults lost in the maze, but luckily I have a better sense of direction than my brothers and we made it out in record time with only one extra loop. I'm pretty sure no one else even knew we weren't exactly on the highlighted path. I only had one student terrified of the reindeer and she got much braver after seeing the other kids pet them. I'll have to check to see if there are any pictures without kids faces before I post anything. I might have a few possibilities but we'll see. It was a quick morning but just the right amount of time for the group. It was a noon dismissal day so by the time we got back we sat down, did calendar, read a story, and went home. Everyone was tired and worn out for sure. The best part for me was the following conversation:

Student: Are we in nowhere?

Me: Ha! No, we're not nowhere. We're somewhere. We're in the country.

Student: The country???

Me: Yeah. The country. We left the town of Rantoul and now we are in the country.

Student: We're really in the country?

Me: See? We're surrounded by fields and there aren't very many houses. This is called the country. Not the a city anymore but the country.

Student: Hmm. The country. . . .

I could really tell they were having a hard time getting that vocab but I tried my best to educate them on such things. But she sure was convinced that we were in "nowhere." I think I convinced her it was the country which is actually somewhere but perhaps I just made her even more confused. Oh well. I tried.

Pizza Hut!

I have to put it out there and say that I have a great class. The majority of the time they listen, follow directions, and work hard. This was exhibited Friday on our field trip. There wasn't a single problem, and it was a great warm up for our bigger trip this week. At Pizza Hut, we got to go "behind the scenes" and see the ovens, where they wash dishes, the GIANT refrigerator, the bread crust rising machine, and of course make our own pizzas. The staff had them all ready to go and the kids added cheese and another topping if they wanted it. Then, they put it on the oven conveyor belt and waited for it to come out the other side. There was only 2 Pizza Hut staff members working so I had to help take pizzas out of the oven and cut them. I was a glorified Pizza Hut employee for all of 20 minutes. It was a lot of fun. Now I know what I'll do if teaching doesn't work out. : ) And, while all this was going on my kids who had their pizzas were quietly eating unsupervised out in the restaurant. Again, they are great. (I say this so that I can go back and read about them on days when I am not feeling so great about things. Have to stay positive some how.)

So to wrap it up, here is, as promised, a look at Mr. Pumpkin who is now on our stoop at the apartment. Yeah Fall!!

"But I forgot . . .

to wipe my bottom!" said to me by a mischievous little boy. My response? "Well, you'll remember next time." Bethany says I'm mean. I think it's survival of the fittest.

We carved a pumpkin today! I would definitely mark it as a success. Everyone was brave enough to stick a hand into it and the rest of the day they laughed about "our pumpkin" watching us. I have pictures of the final product but I left my camera at school so that I would have it for Pizza Hut tomorrow. I'll get to them this weekend and let you know how our first outing goes. It's sure to be an adventure that's for sure.

Otherwise, everything is going pretty well. Kids are a little antsy in the rainy weather but I'm doing my best to keep them busy. The end of the quarter is next week. I hope I've taught them something!!!

In 1400 and 92, Columbus sailed the ocean blue.

It's Columbus Day! Which means that I am at home in my apartment and NOT at school. I went in yesterday to get ready to Tuesday but decided to devote the entire day today to being a little lazy and catching up on all the things I'm usually too tired to do after school. I didn't set my alarm but only managed to sleep until 8:15. It's probably okay that I don't get too much off my schedule though. Tomorrow might be kinda rough if I get too accustomed to sleeping past 9.

Thus far, I have cleaned the bathroom, organized and cleared off my desk, put away summer clothes and got out winter ones, taken out the trash, and cleaned out the van. Not bad for a morning's work. This afternoon I'm going to go to Curtis Orchard and shopping with Bethany. Did I mention that I LOVE days off?

This is going to be an exciting week because it's all about the letter P! We are going to carve a pumpkin and go to Pizza Hut! I have a feeling everyone will be more than a little excited. I'm excited anyway. However, it's going to be a challenge because I have way too much that I want to do in only 4 short days. We'll see how goes. : S

And, a story. Not from my kids though. This one is from the 30 year veteran teacher across the hall. This was a first for her which is probably hard to come by these days. It happened some time last week and she told us about it later that day.

To set the scene:

She was reading a book about nocturnal animals and there was a picture of a fox, owl, rabbit, and mouse. Students are sitting on the carpet quiet and innocent listening very attentively.

Teacher: What do you think the fox is going to do if he sees that rabbit or mouse?

Student: He's gonna rape 'em!!!

Teacher: (Dumbfounded and speechless) What!?!?!?

Student: Or eat em?

Teacher: Right. And on the next page . . .

Straight from the horses' mouth. No kidding on this one folks. There are really no more words because there just isn't much to say.

A New Arrangement

Again, not much to report. However, I decided that things were starting to get a little bit out of control. My thought is that everyone is becoming too good of friends and they just can't stop talking or arguing or playing. Therefore, I rearranged everyone after school today. I figure it's been the same since day 1 and now that I know the kids and who likes who and who likes to talk and who likes to pick fights, etc., I can do a better job. And, maybe keep them on their toes for a few days. At least, I hope so. I've actually had to shout twice in the last week to make myself heard. I've got to find something that works because I'm a little worried once things get away from me I'll never get them back. And that my friends, is terrifying.

I am getting a new student on Thursday so if you are keeping track I am at 18. I'm not sure I posted about having one start at The Pavilion (which is a place for kids with psychological issues) but she could come back anytime. Therefore, minus her, plus one new, I'm will be at 18. If she returns, I'll be back up to 19.

October is going to fly by with no school this Friday for the kids because of staff improvement, no school on Monday because of Columbus Day and a half day the week after that for more school improvement. We also have 2 field trips planned and before I'm ready it's going to be Parent Teacher Conferences. EEeeeK! Better get back to work. I've lessons to plan.

Deliberate and Intentional

There is not much going on in the classroom to report on this week so I thought I would just muse a little bit about what I've been thinking about on my drive home these first 6 weeks of teaching.

But first, a funny comment said to me on Monday:

Boy to me: (Gasp of shock and perhaps horror) You are wearing MAN shoes!

Well, thanks. Now, I'll never look at those shoes the same again. Maybe it's time to go shopping.

Classroom management is about being deliberate. It's hard because I just want them to know and remember what to do every second of every day. It is easy for me to forget that they are just still figuring out how to behave and act accordingly in the world. It's tiring to remember to repeat the expectations and rules every other minute or two. It's also easy to get frustrated and feel helpless when the boy you just reminded NOT to play in the bathroom is hanging from the stall doors. It's easy to get frustrated when you turn around and see three kids holding scissors, one eating/chewing on a pencil, and two crawling under their desks when they are supposed to be listening or working or looking at books or doing anything productive except all of the aforementioned things. But then I stop and think for a minute about WHY they're doing it. Because when kids do all these things, it isn't because they like to be bad or like getting in trouble. It's probably because they're just kids. Just kids who are five years old and don't have an attention span longer than 3 minutes--especially for just sitting and listening. It's probably because I'M not being very exciting or engaging and probably didn't remind them of what they ARE supposed to be doing. It's probably my fault because managing a classroom is about being deliberate.

DELIBERATELY planning engaging lessons

DELIBERATELY pointing out good behaviors instead of giving the attention to negative ones

DELIBERATELY repeating myself about what is expected

DELIBERATELY modeling everything I want them to repeat

DELIBERATELY explaining directions step by step

DELIBERATELY and consistently enforcing the rules with consequences

There is no assuming that everyone understands or "gets it."

There is no assuming that everyone knows what to do.

There is no assuming that these 5 year olds will start acting like adults tomorrow.

The more deliberate and intentional I am about EVERYTHING I do. The better my day goes for me and the students.

Will they EVER get it? Will I ever have any control? Do I have any control? Well, yeah, they will and I do. How do I know? Well, it isn't in those frustrating moments that's for sure. However, it is clear when I'm able to take a step back. Like when the sub only wrote positive comments and the parent helper for picture day said our class was "the best" at sitting and waiting our turn. You see, sometimes I wonder what my class looks like from the other side. I wonder if people are watching us go by and say "Wow, there goes THAT class" and "SHE must be the new teacher. Look at THEM" because sometimes it feels like that ALL the time. I wonder what if I'm doing anything right. UNTIL, one moment, one time, they do exactly as they are told, the first time, exactly as they should. And I realize that I have done something right and most of the time they do get it. It's just this reality that they are just 5 years old, crammed full of too much energy, never think before they do anything, and just dying to chew on something that gets in the way.

With the help of the K teacher across the hall, my students signed a big piece of posterboard to help me celebrate my birthday. I brought in Neapolitan ice cream with all the toppings for snack and we celebrated in style! B and A (two K teachers) got me chocolate lover's cake for all of to share too. We have feasted fabulously for two days and have about 2 more to go. So don't worry mom, I did have a cake on my birthday and my kids sang to me so I got everything covered. : ) I told them I was 23 and had at least one shout "That's how old my mom is!" Wow. I'm pretty glad I don't have Kindergartner right now. I had many well wishes and it was topped off by dinner with Grandma, Grandpa, John, and Bethany and a 2 hour amazing premiere of Grey's Anatomy.

Dad should will also be glad to know that his hard work hanging yarn and clothespins from my lights is finally being put to use. We read a great story called "Leaf Man" by Lois Ehlert and then made a leaf man which we have proudly hung from the pins. The kids loved it and I'd say they turned out quite well. Now, for a relaxing weekend of coloring, cutting, copying, and laminating for file folder games. Yeah!!

My First Substitute

Day was a scheduled School Improvement Day or SIP day. Students only came until 12 and then, the teachers get together and learn about how to be better teachers. This time, all "new" teachers were to get the special treatment and spend the whole day in meetings instead of just the morning. Consequently, I had to make sub plans and prepare for a sub. While I dreaded the entire process the whole time I was doing it, it actually forced me to create a sub folder and prepare for the off chance that I wake up puking my guts out someday and absolutely cannot go. Otherwise, I'm going to make it because I HATE making sub plans and I've only had to do it once for a 1/2 day. Perhaps it's just because I'm new at this and don't hardly trust myself with my plans let alone someone who is coming in blind. I've MADE the plans and most mornings I'm still turning in circles to figure out what I'm doing. Anyway, it worked out very well and there was more than enough stuff for the sub to do and only one behavior problem from someone I expected to have a behavior problem. This has also left me a little confused about what day it is because since I didn't see the students it didn't feel like a school day but it was because there are only two days left already this week.

While I was supposed to spend the entire day learning about the next reading strand, the literacy coach who planned the day ended up being sick. So, we had another person who knows everything about it and just wasn't prepared to give the presentation and we didn't get to have it all day. We ended up going back to our buildings and spending the rest of the day learning about how to use the PDAs. Depending on your perspective, we either got the shaft or the best of both worlds. Personally, I would have liked to spent a little more time working on the reading stuff because it's more complicated and a lot less self explanatory but this is the nature of working with kids. Plans change.

As for the first two days this week, it seems as if Mondays will typically be pretty good and Tuesday a little rough. For some reason, that's been the pattern and Tuesdays are always just a little bit crazier. Maybe it's because everything goes so well on Monday that I let my guard up but for some reason the kids get away with more and seemingly poke, push, jab, and talk more than usual. For crying out loud they all hate to be touched but can't . . . . stop . . . . . . . . touching. And I'm not even talking about each other. I mean they do that too with pushing and poking and pinching, but it's the constant need to have their hands doing something that just makes me shake my head and sigh. For example, cutting anything at all including but not limited to chairs, glue bottles, tables, pencils, napkins, hair, fingers, and every once in a while paper, holding pencils, rapping pencils on the desk, sorting pencils, hiding pencils, eating crayons, and my favorite chewing on the pencils. Maybe someday they'll figure it out someday or at least I hope so. Until then, I take the stuff away and ask them if they would like to go back to preschool because I used to work with preschoolers and they eat crayons and cut their own hair and I thought I was a kindergarten teacher but if all I had was preschoolers we can go right back. And, believe it or not, this actually works. Apparently, they actually do enjoy being in kindergarten. : )

Mr. E=Mystery?

Here at Pleasant Acres, our principal has a really long last name. Consequently, he is more commonly referred to as "Mr. E." Apparently, this is a wee bit confusing for young children who are still learning how to spell. Let me explain. When one of the first grade teachers was helping a student write a letter to Mr. E, she looked over his shoulder and found him addressing the letter to Misteree. Yeah, that's right. Mystery. They have no idea what abbreviations are and go ahead, say it out loud. That's exactly what it is. Mystery. The name of our principal. Or at least what 200 of Rantoul's youngest think is the name of our principal. Ha!

Applesauce & PDAs

We were talking about the letter "A" this week so on Friday I decided we should make applesauce. I played pretty well but didn't get to school early enough to cut up as many of the apples that I would have liked to have done before the kids got there. However, I had the ingredients (apples, water, sugar, cinnamon&sugar) ready to go and actually have just the right amount. My goal was to have most of them cut up and in the crockpot at the start of school so that I could just cut up one or two in front of the kids and let it start cooking. Instead, I had about 3/4ths of them done and spent an hour getting the kids to work on "A" worksheet pages while I waved the knife around and tried not to cut up my thumb and start bleeding everywhere. I had already grazed the skin once and put a bandaid on one thumb which was noticed very quickly. When asked whether or not I had cut myself I replied that I was using the bandaid to protect my thumb from getting cut which wasn't exactly a lie but didn't exactly answer his question either. It made our room smell absolutely delicious and tasted just the same! The kids really enjoyed it, and I think it's definitely a keeper idea for next year.

Fridays can always be a little crazy at school and this one was no exception. It seems to me like Power Store Fridays are even crazier than most. The Power Store is this cabinet with pencils, school supplies, and small toys that the kids can buy with their "SOAR" tickets that they have been earning the last few weeks for being respectful and responsible. Most kids get between 8 and 15 in two weeks. Then, they go and spend their tickets on junk, but they LOVE it. Anyway, since my kids are in Kindergarten they aren't quite ready to count and pick out their prizes by themselves. This requires me to go through and count their tickets and then tell them which 5, 10, or 15 ticket prizes they can buy. Each class only has 10 minutes at the "store" so we don't have time for 18 kids to stand up there and have their tickets counted and then look at everything and pick something out. There is a poster with all the choices on it that goes around and I make them choose their prize and put it on a sticky note on their plastic bag of tickets. Then, when we go to the store, the teachers helping grab the bag, take the tickets, and hand out the prize. This also prevents us from standing in the hall for 10 minutes which for me is pretty much my worst nightmare. Do you know how hard it is for Kindergarteners to stand calmly and quietly in hallway without small toys in their hands!??!? Impossible. That's how hard. So to make this long story a little shorter, I have to make sure that the kids are really independently busy while I count the tickets and help them choose the prize. I did an impromptu art project last time which worked well, but this time with a planned apple tree making project I wasn't quite as successful. When the kids left for PE at 2:30, the room was trashed, the project was not done, and I felt more than a little bit out of control and we had 5 minutes after they got back to pack up and get ready to be dismissed. Ah. We made it okay though and I will continue to look for a good project to make Fridays a little more successful in the future.

After school, I hadn't planned to stay very long because it was Friday and I had actually done quite a lot for the next week and felt like I knew I could come back on Sunday and get everything perfectly ready to go. Then, at 3:30 they asked us to go the library because the technology man was there. Not only was he there, but he had brought our brand new PDAs! What originally was just a 10 second thing to put the software on our computers became a two hour thing where we played on our PDAs and tried to figure out all the cool things that they do. I'm pretty sure I haven't really explained this to many people, but the entire teaching staff is getting a PDA to do assessments and primarily DIBELS. DIBELS stands for Dynamic Indicators of Early Literacy Skills and is an assessment used on students to figure out how much reading intervention and help they need. The Title I teacher has already "DIBELED" all my students so their results are already compiled and ready to go in my little handheld device. : ) It is very cool and fun to play with but at 5 we decided that we better go home because we really could play with it just as easily at home. I was surprised and pleased though with how well my students did on the assessment. Most are in "green" which is okay and only 1 is in red which is that she doesn't know much of anything. Definitely an indicator of who I need to be paying close attention to. There is going to be a lot to learn with it and a lot of changes as it the district figures out how we can use them most effectively but I think I'm going to like it.

I'm going to go backwards here but on Thursday we had staff social event where as many people who wanted to met at TGI Fridays for dinner and getting together outside of school. I went and had a fun time even when the principal came and sat right next to me. : ) I was a little surprised he came but everyone was glad he did and it was fun to get a chance to see everyone a little bit more relaxed and out of "school mode."

I know I haven't talked about the other staff and principal much but besides the Kindergarten teachers I haven't really had much interaction with either. On Friday though I did actually have an actual conversation with the principal about how school was going, my class, and other general things. I already knew this but he is very nice and easy to talk to as well as extra supportive of his teachers and staff. He is very involved with helping teachers with problem students, parents, and just everything that comes along with being a teacher. He is very hands on with students and about being open with teachers so that he can help in any way that he needs to. However, he leaves the instruction to the teachers and trusts us to do what is best and involve him when we feel the need. Having only heard stories of other principals, I feel very fortunate that my first experience is proving to be a very positive one.

Well, I think I've written enough for one week and with no ILLINI game to watch, I'm off to do some Saturday projects. An oil change, the bank, a haircut, and bedroom room organizing! Looks to be one dandy of a day. : D

On the News!

We had a lot of excitement at PA today when the channel 3 WCIA folks showed up for the morning assembly. Walmart was doing a promotional to support the community and came to give away 10 $100 gift cards to the teachers. They also brought cake and balloons! They put all the certified staff names in a basket and had ten students come up and draw a name out. Each time a name was called the news lady would run up to the teacher and ask them what this meant to them and how exciting it must be. It was a little chaotic but a very fun start to the morning. And, yes, I did win one. : ) I don't think my clip will be on the news though. I'm pretty sure the camera man wasn't fast enough to get the camera on us. I declined to be one the two teachers to give a real interview after it over. I let two second grade teachers take care of that.

In other excitement, I got my first paycheck today! Not quite enough to pay off everything that I have racked up on my credit card bill but luckily I will get another one before it comes due. I now feel like an official full time real world person.

In almost excitement, one of my students got sick on the playground today. I feel bad for her but am really glad it didn't happen in the room. It's already hot, humid, and stinky anyway. I'm pretty sure adding vomit and then cleaner to the mix would have made for a REALLY long afternoon. I am trying to stay away from the sickness but it doesn't help that I come home to it too since Bethany brought all of the symptoms for N1H1 here from home last weekend. She swears it's just cold, but I'm making the meals. I haven't made up a sub folder yet so I can't be sick or gone. It's just not choice. MUST STAY HEALTHY.

Open House

Well, I thought this would be easier to keep up but I am not doing a very good job. : P

We have moved into September very smoothly. Even after a three day weekend, it didn't take as long as I thought it would to settle back into routine. The kids are starting to settle in too which means a lot more silliness and a lot less paying attention. I've done my best to crack down and try to keep reminding myself that they are just being kids and school isn't always the most exciting place. (Despite my best efforts.) I am also down to 18 students as two have withdrawn since the beginning of the year. Of course, this makes classroom management a little more manageable, but I think I will still miss one of them in particular.

Tonight was Open House. There were hotdogs, chips, and ice cream for all the families and then they could come into the classrooms. I had about 8 students and their parents. Not as many as I had hoped, but everything went very smoothly. We made an "All About Me" book for them to take home and to have out on the tables when they came tonight. In the "When I grow up I want to be a ______," I was a little surprised by the responses. A little different from what I remember as a grade schooler. Including my favorite from one of the cutest tiniest little girls in the class, "a garbage truck driver." Others included a fashion model, bus driver, Dad, and one teacher! Yeah!!! While I won't be able to post any actual pictures of my kids here, this is the closest I can get. We made these pictures of ourselves last week. Take a peek at how 5 year olds depict themselves these days. We also spruced up our hallway with these colorful collage rainbows.

Full Days!

Today was the first full day of school!  It last from 8:50 to 3:20, but I actually didn't think it felt that long.  The kids did though and asked more than a few times if it was time to go home yet.  : )

Otherwise, they did great and had a very productive morning.  The afternoon was not quite as good but hopefully that will get better as we settle into the long day.  

I am down to 19 kids because one transferred schools, but they all show up, on time, everyday!  I have had quite a bit of parent contact already but luckily very supportive parents.  They want to know what is going on but are good at following up at home.  I am still staying at school until 4:30 or 5 and then bringing stuff home to do but am starting to feel fairly caught up.  Now, it's time to move on to the "projects" list that I made for when I actually felt a little bit okay about what I had to do.  

The First Note

Besides a note from a parent asking for paperwork, I had yet to receive any notes from parents.  That is until yesterday.  This is the note word for word:

M wanted me to write a note.  She won't tell me why so here's the note. Thank You, Ms. G

HA!  Definitely a good way to start the year.  I prefer this over one another teacher got that was not so nice or friendly.  Otherwise, we are starting to settle into a routine.  I planned WAY too much for the first week.  However, that will make planning for next week that much easier.  I have 1 boy who is going to be challenge and is definitely testing me but everyone else has responded well.  There is a lot of asking to go home, to recess, or lunch.  They do work well though when we are actually finding the time to work on something.  For those of you who don't remember Kindergarten very well, we are learning how to write the letters, name colors, shapes, and basic reading ideas.  Basic but necessary.  

And finally what everyone has been waiting for . . . pictures!  Before and after of my classroom.

My First-First Day of Kindergarten

As another teacher said to me later this afternoon, "you will now never have another first "first day."  I made it through my first day as a teacher!  Wow.  It seems like it has been a long time in the making.  It was GREAT first day.  I didn't have any criers except for a brief moment in the middle of the day when one girl got a little overwhelmed by it all and teared up a teensy bit.  She recovered very quickly though so I'm not going to count it.  They all showed up right on time and for the most were a little shy.  A few chatterboxes that can't seem to get the idea of waiting their turn to talk but I really think it is going to be a great class.  They listened pretty well and we made it through the day without anyone getting hurt, getting lost, crying, or having an accident.  

We also didn't get much done except the rules, reading 1 book, part of calendar, putting their supplies away, recess, and a little bit of play time in the classroom.  I only had 1 boy manage to sneak his supplies home at the end of the day and nobody got lost.  I almost didn't get 1 child on the bus, but I remembered at the last minute and because one of the buses broke down and things were running slow, he made it right on time.  Getting everyone in the right place at the end of the day is definitely the most chaotic.  1 boy doesn't like to play at recess and 1 tends to wander aimlessly around the classroom but I don't think anyone said anything really funny or off the wall.  Shucks.   They had a lot of questions, and it is going to be very easy for me to forget that I have to explain EVERYTHING and I think that's why the 3 hours felt like 6.  I was wiped by the time everyone was finally gone.  Big day tomorrow with PBIS school tours and demonstrations.  Thankfully, no extra work for me.  This weekend, PLANNING.  BIG planning.  

Oh yeah, and when I come home, I moved out of G&Gs and into the apartment with Bethany.  Whew.  I am going to sleep like a baby.  There are still a few things like sweatshirts and my printer at Prairie Ridge but I will stop and get them tomorrow.  For now, I just really wanted something to sleep in and stuff to make a lunch for tomorrow.  Now, if only I could figure out how to plan centers . . . 

Week 1: Monday

The first week of school!!  

I spent all day in training for the reading curriculum that I will be using.  It's called Gretchen Courtney, and I think it is very good stuff.  It's a little complicated for Kindergarten and will need tweaking and adjusting to make it really work for me and my classroom, but I think I will enjoy doing it and working with the district woman who is helping us.  I also met a few other new teachers in other buildings but didn't make any instant friends.  

Then, I had two hours to prepare for open house!  I finally have a class list so I spent it quickly writing out names on name cards and on stars for their cubbies.  I have nineteen students.  10 girls and 9 boys.  10 white and 9 minorities either black or hispanic.  Two boys and possibly a third who were retained and will be in Kindergarten for a second year.  However, they were retained because they have August birthdays and were just very young and immature last year. Otherwise, it is a wide range of ages.

There were not a lot of parents, but I did meet 4 students and about 6 parents.  I wasn't extremely prepared and couldn't answer all their questions, but I still had one parent ask about volunteering and coming in to the classroom to help so that was definitely the highlight of the day!  These seemed to be the more dedicated of the parents and some awfully kids that are a small piece of happiness (aka: cute).  I'm pretty sure I'll have a hard time falling asleep tonight thinking of everything to do tomorrow and the first day on Thursday but I'm off to try anyway.

In the Beginning

In the beginning, I had only a few upside down tables, 3 pocket charts, a cart of books, 2 carpets, a random collection of posters, and what seemed like miles of empty walls, chalkboards, and bulletin boards.  After four hard long days of sorting, stapling, shopping, arranging, sorting, sweating, rearranging, shopping, laminating, cutting, and stapling I have 5 right side up tables covered in stuff, 1 upside down table covered in stuff, 4 beautifully decorated bulletin and chalkboards with nothing on them, 8 tubs of categorized books, a calendar area, 8 tubs of sorted toys, and a brain that won't shut down.  

It's come a long way in four days and still has a long ways to go in the next four.  Reinforcements arrive tomorrow to help me move into my apartment and help do a few jobs in the classroom if time allows.  I'm tired and a little bit crabby but there is no one here to mind. 

 The highlight of the week was definitely visiting the School Shop today and getting to buy lots and lots of stuff.  I was a little pressed for time so I didn't really get to browse the way I would have liked but that leaves all that much more to discover next time.  Next time, Erg Adoo.  It's a place in Springfield that one of the other teachers is obsessed with.  If I liked The School Shop, I can't imagine what that place will be like.  

I'd Like to Offer You . . .

I've heard that it's a good idea to write down everything that happens to better remember and learn from our experiences.  I think I have a a great opportunity for both in creating this blog so I've decided to try and see how far goes.  This is my teaching story.  This is how it started.

I scheduled my interview on a Thursday and interviewed on Friday.  The only person there was the superintendent and it lasted three hours.  Just him and I.  Talking.  For three hours.  It went well.  Then, I waited.

On Thursday of the next week (one week after scheduling the interview) I was at work at the CDL when N came down to my room to tell me that the superintendent was on the phone.  I assumed that meant they were talking with my boss for a reference but what she really meant was that they were on the phone for ME.  Oh.  I took the call and was offered the position of Kindergarten teacher.  I said I wanted to see the classroom and meet the principal but when I hung up, I told everybody I had a job.  You couldn't have wiped the smile off my face.  The first to find out?  My boss.  The next?  Everyone else at work.  I couldn't call anyone else to tell them until I got off work but still got to celebrate with great people that I had worked with for 2 years.  

Leaving work, I tried to call White Lake to tell mom, dad, Jim, and Nolan but nobody answered.  Second call?  Bethany.  I didn't know much about it except to say that I had a job but that was all that was important.  I got through to White Lake after hanging up with Bethany and everyone celebrated my news.  Mom cried.  I didn't.  Next?  FACEBOOK!  That was pretty much how everyone else found out.  It's the best way to spread news.  In total, I had 22 comments and 10 "like this" comments on my status.  

By Saturday, I decided that since I had already told everyone else that I was going to teaching Kindergarten maybe I should call and officially accept the position and I did.  It felt great to know I was gainfully employed for at least 1 year.  Especially since my summer jobs lifeguarding and at the CDL were over that Friday.  Now if only I could see my classroom . . .