I've several post ideas in my head so depending on how motivated I am this weekend this may be the one of several. Maybe not though. I actually have a list that needs work too.
I've said it already but learning about coins and money always bring out interesting classroom conversations. It's usually funny too. This week, after I explained that George Washington was the 1st President of the United States of America which was in fact a very long time ago. One student's response was, "before Jesus??" "No, a little bit after Jesus."
Then, I explained that on the back of a quarter is sometimes an eagle.
Side note, the US government changing all the quarters and making them all different on one side to represent the states is very confusing for five year olds and their teachers who have to teach them about identifying money. They should have been issued with a lesson plan on how to explain it and help kids identify them. Of course, I tell them it's the biggest coin but it's not really because of half dollars and no one see those anymore. Kindergarteners don't understand time or space. States-nada. Countries-nada. Years-nada. Somethings are so easy to explain and some just aren't.
Back to the story, I said that we had an eagle because it was the country's bird, and it represented freedom. The next obvious question was "what is freedom?" My dilemma? How do you explain the dichotomy of slavery vs. freedom to a five year old without making them think they're slaves? If you are a slave, you have to do everything someone else tells you to do. You can't say no, quit, and you don't get paid. I was just waiting for someone to connect the dots and tell me that he didn't have any freedom. It probably wasn't even close to happening but I stumbled through my explanation anyway. In my head, I tried to think of all the ways slavery is not like being a kid who has to listen and obey adults and their rules all day. Go ahead and try it. It's harder than you think. I tried to keep it to house work, cooking, and cleaning tasks. I probably failed and they have no idea what freedom means. Or maybe they do but they also get that they don't have any. At least, it doesn't feel like it anyway. We talked about Martin Luther King Jr. this week too so it's encouraging that we'd covered that first. I think I did do a good job of explaining that. Kids get fairness. Hopefully, that's the part that sticks. I'm counting on it anyway. They seemed pretty confused so I just collected the quarters and told them that most quarters don't have eagles on them anyway. Thank you U.S. Government.
Saturday, January 21, 2012
Saturday, January 14, 2012
A Great Man Lost
I came home a week ago Thursday wanting to post my pictures from the basketball game, snow, and some actual news and goings on in room 25. Then, I learned that this dear and wonderful man from my hometown died in a car accident that morning. It pretty much stopped everything else. It made a tiring day, exhausting. It made a happy heart, broken. It just hurts. It hurts because he still had so much living to do. He loved people the way God calls us to love people-the way God loves people. He always had a smile and "hi, Jessica" every Sunday I was back in church. He made a person feel like he or she was the only person that mattered just by saying hello. I don't know many people who can do that. It's an example we should all strive to attain.
As I read through Facebook posts, comments, and status updates from those who knew him, his wife, or children, I am struck by how much impact a life can really have. We should never think that our lives or what we do with them are insignificant. We will meet and interact with thousands of people in our lifetime. Do we pass them by while thinking about our own agendas or do we take a moment to make an impression? The impression that Greg left was that he cared about and loved you. He loved people because God loved him first and he wanted everyone to know that kind of powerful love.
Our significance in life won't be measured by how much money we make, the jobs we have, or anything else that can so easily be left behind. It's in how live and with those around us. It's how we treat people and participate their lives. When we are with others, do we leave them feeling cared for and loved? If you do, your life will be significant. I learned that from Greg. I know I'll be thinking about it often in the upcoming days, weeks, months, and year. I can only hope and pray that I'll be able to follow his example.
There are a lot of people with heavy hearts because of the loss of this man in their lives. I also think there are an even larger number of people who are better people because of this man in their lives. He will be missed until we meet again. Please be praying for his family and the entire community throw this hard time.
Psalm 24:1 The earth is the Lord's, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it.
If you didn't know him, here's a great blog from a friend that you might need a kleenex to read. It's way better than any I can do.
http://farmprogress.com/blogs.aspx/friend-greg-2946
This is also been my song of the week. It's exactly what I needed to hear. Great song.
http://www.sidewalkprophets.com/livelikethat
*Edit: I figure out how to link them so you'll have to copy and paste them. I tried to link them but they didn't come across at all.
As I read through Facebook posts, comments, and status updates from those who knew him, his wife, or children, I am struck by how much impact a life can really have. We should never think that our lives or what we do with them are insignificant. We will meet and interact with thousands of people in our lifetime. Do we pass them by while thinking about our own agendas or do we take a moment to make an impression? The impression that Greg left was that he cared about and loved you. He loved people because God loved him first and he wanted everyone to know that kind of powerful love.
Our significance in life won't be measured by how much money we make, the jobs we have, or anything else that can so easily be left behind. It's in how live and with those around us. It's how we treat people and participate their lives. When we are with others, do we leave them feeling cared for and loved? If you do, your life will be significant. I learned that from Greg. I know I'll be thinking about it often in the upcoming days, weeks, months, and year. I can only hope and pray that I'll be able to follow his example.
There are a lot of people with heavy hearts because of the loss of this man in their lives. I also think there are an even larger number of people who are better people because of this man in their lives. He will be missed until we meet again. Please be praying for his family and the entire community throw this hard time.
Psalm 24:1 The earth is the Lord's, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it.
If you didn't know him, here's a great blog from a friend that you might need a kleenex to read. It's way better than any I can do.
http://farmprogress.com/blogs.aspx/friend-greg-2946
This is also been my song of the week. It's exactly what I needed to hear. Great song.
http://www.sidewalkprophets.com/livelikethat
*Edit: I figure out how to link them so you'll have to copy and paste them. I tried to link them but they didn't come across at all.
The Brandon Paul Game
Tuesday's IL-Ohio St. game didn't start until 8 PM. I was telling myself that I just couldn't go because it was too late. I get so keyed up during games that I wouldn't be able to go to sleep until really late so I needed to do the smart thing and stay home, watch the game, and try to go to sleep quickly after. I mean we were probably going to lose by a lot right? We didn't have much of a chance.
BUT
I just couldn't get it out of my head that they had a chance. This year's team is young and have been in almost every game so far. I knew they'd get up for this and what if they played the game of their lives and I stayed at home to go to bed early??!? I've been saying all year that we'll win some we're not supposed to win and lose some we're not supposed to lose. So far, that hadn't held true but it might that night. I'm always pretty positive about IL sports so I tend to always think they have a chance and that optimism certainly paid off. I just didn't want to regret it. So I didn't. I threw my hands up and said, "I'm going." Doesn't matter, I'm going. I might be tired but if they win it will be worth it.
And it was. By the end of the game, I couldn't even hold the camera still enough to take a decent picture.
When BP air balled the first shot, I turned to my friend who came with me and told her that wasn't a good sign. If there was going to be a person on this team who was going to carry us to a win, it had to be him. DJ was hurt, ML was going up against Sully, and no one else has that kind of star power. Thankfully, though he figured it out. In person, I just kept looking at the scoreboard and thinking "He's almost got half our points!? Can this keep going? Is this even possible?" Yes it was. It was amazing. I'll never regret it. I didn't get to sleep until after midnight. t was tired the next three days but you couldn't wipe the smile off my face. If I needed a little extra energy, I just thought about the game. It pumped me up and woke me up pretty darn fast. My great friend did manage to get these clear pictures for me though. Her hands weren't quite as shaky.
Never been a more proud Illini fan.
BUT
I just couldn't get it out of my head that they had a chance. This year's team is young and have been in almost every game so far. I knew they'd get up for this and what if they played the game of their lives and I stayed at home to go to bed early??!? I've been saying all year that we'll win some we're not supposed to win and lose some we're not supposed to lose. So far, that hadn't held true but it might that night. I'm always pretty positive about IL sports so I tend to always think they have a chance and that optimism certainly paid off. I just didn't want to regret it. So I didn't. I threw my hands up and said, "I'm going." Doesn't matter, I'm going. I might be tired but if they win it will be worth it.
And it was. By the end of the game, I couldn't even hold the camera still enough to take a decent picture.
When BP air balled the first shot, I turned to my friend who came with me and told her that wasn't a good sign. If there was going to be a person on this team who was going to carry us to a win, it had to be him. DJ was hurt, ML was going up against Sully, and no one else has that kind of star power. Thankfully, though he figured it out. In person, I just kept looking at the scoreboard and thinking "He's almost got half our points!? Can this keep going? Is this even possible?" Yes it was. It was amazing. I'll never regret it. I didn't get to sleep until after midnight. t was tired the next three days but you couldn't wipe the smile off my face. If I needed a little extra energy, I just thought about the game. It pumped me up and woke me up pretty darn fast. My great friend did manage to get these clear pictures for me though. Her hands weren't quite as shaky.
Never been a more proud Illini fan.
Sunday, January 8, 2012
Back to Work
Last week was a good way to get back to school. We had just teachers on Tuesday with some time to work in our classrooms. I was able to get into work mode without actually having to have the energy needed for students. Kids came back on Wednesday pretty tired and low key. The fire alarm puller had his best day of the entire year just by being a pretty regular student. He sat, listened, and followed directions. Pretty solid. Only going three days was perfect because by Friday everyone was tired and ready for a break already. Despite my love of cold weather and snow, I won't complain about this nice weather because it has allowed us to be outside and actually enjoy it.
We have five days of school followed by four days and MLK Jr day. We will be halfway through the school year on Tuesday and the 100th day of school will be before the February 1st. I don't there's much else exciting going on between now and then so unless someone says something funny I don't think they'll be much to post about. Don't want to bore you.
We have five days of school followed by four days and MLK Jr day. We will be halfway through the school year on Tuesday and the 100th day of school will be before the February 1st. I don't there's much else exciting going on between now and then so unless someone says something funny I don't think they'll be much to post about. Don't want to bore you.
Tuesday, December 20, 2011
If all the raindrops were snowflakes,
We wouldn't have to go to school tomorrow. Isn't that how the song goes? No?? Oh.
I want snow really bad because I think it's fun and fresh. It's December 20th for crying out loud. Christmas is 5, count em' FIVE (5) days away! If I didn't want snow in December, I would live somewhere else!
There's a funny thing about Kindergarteners and Christmas. They KNOW about Christmas. They are super excited about Christmas. They LOVE presents, trees, candy canes, cookies, and everything else associated with the holiday. BUT, they don't yet understand the concept of time. They don't understand that the anticipation should actually be for a 2 week break off of school. I try to tell them that they are about to get to stay at home for 14 days and they cheer because I say it excitedly but not because they really understand what that means. They don't appreciate getting to sleep in and not having to go to bed early or do homework. They look at the calendar with Christmas so clearly labeled with a nice little tree and still see the 5 white days before we get there so they don't get really excited. I mean they get excited about a Christmas game we might play or talking about Santa but really only when it's happening RIGHT NOW. Tomorrow, I will be asked 30 times before 10 when the party is going to be and what's going to happen and if they'll get to eat extra candy but they'll probably forget to ask about Christmas. 4 more days is practically an eternity. Why even waste the time when there are cupcakes to be eaten TODAY.
I want snow really bad because I think it's fun and fresh. It's December 20th for crying out loud. Christmas is 5, count em' FIVE (5) days away! If I didn't want snow in December, I would live somewhere else!
There's a funny thing about Kindergarteners and Christmas. They KNOW about Christmas. They are super excited about Christmas. They LOVE presents, trees, candy canes, cookies, and everything else associated with the holiday. BUT, they don't yet understand the concept of time. They don't understand that the anticipation should actually be for a 2 week break off of school. I try to tell them that they are about to get to stay at home for 14 days and they cheer because I say it excitedly but not because they really understand what that means. They don't appreciate getting to sleep in and not having to go to bed early or do homework. They look at the calendar with Christmas so clearly labeled with a nice little tree and still see the 5 white days before we get there so they don't get really excited. I mean they get excited about a Christmas game we might play or talking about Santa but really only when it's happening RIGHT NOW. Tomorrow, I will be asked 30 times before 10 when the party is going to be and what's going to happen and if they'll get to eat extra candy but they'll probably forget to ask about Christmas. 4 more days is practically an eternity. Why even waste the time when there are cupcakes to be eaten TODAY.
Thursday, December 8, 2011
Keeping up with the Joneses
We didn't like taping things to walls in the hallway so our principal ordered us bulletin boards. They finally got them all put up in October and since then it's been "keeping up with Joneses" bulletin board style. See for yourself. They show kids artwork, teacher artwork, teacher hard work, pre-bought kits, and a variety of other combinations.
Mine is the first one with the reindeer. "Rein in the excitement." That's right. Hold it in. Don't get too excited. BUT, it is supposed to snow enough to stick tonight so I'm no longer holding it in. BRING ON THE SNOW!!!
Mine is the first one with the reindeer. "Rein in the excitement." That's right. Hold it in. Don't get too excited. BUT, it is supposed to snow enough to stick tonight so I'm no longer holding it in. BRING ON THE SNOW!!!
Thursday, December 1, 2011
FINALLY something funny
Ms. Lock-I have a frog in my throat.
Student-Really? (He's totally serious.)
Ms. Lock-Yep. It's making my voice so scratchy.
Student-How did it get there?
Ms. Lock-I swallowed it.
Student-EHHHHHHH!
Much later
Ms. Lock-Do you want to look down my throat and see the frog?
Entire class-YES!! I WANT TO SEE! GET OUT OF THE WAY, I DIDN"T SEE!
I can still project if I need to and it doesn't hurt but my regular talking voice isn't sounding very good. In fact, one of my students just said it was different. I have a "new voice." The old one has taken a vacation I guess. It was pretty funny to see how long I could have had them going with the whole frog thing. They really bought in to it. I could almost see his imagination picturing me swallowing a frog and what it was doing down there and how was it going to get out and so on.
We came back from Thanksgiving break with GREAT attitudes and apparently our minds needed a break too because the interventionist who has been working really hard and intensively with my lowest kids saw three of them make HUGE gains. They have to name a random list of letters to see how many they can get in a minute and one girl DOUBLED her total from two weeks ago. She went from saying 19 with 5 errors to 41 and no errors. It's pretty amazing and why year round school is very beneficial. They need a break sometimes to help them refocus and come back strong. We won't be to year round by next year but hopefully the year after that. I think it would rock.
Also a funny story is that today the fire alarm puller klepto got INTO the trashcan. Yeah, the big one. He climbed inside. Probably just to see if he could. I have no idea what we will do with him. Too bad he didn't get stuck. Just kidding! Right?
Student-Really? (He's totally serious.)
Ms. Lock-Yep. It's making my voice so scratchy.
Student-How did it get there?
Ms. Lock-I swallowed it.
Student-EHHHHHHH!
Much later
Ms. Lock-Do you want to look down my throat and see the frog?
Entire class-YES!! I WANT TO SEE! GET OUT OF THE WAY, I DIDN"T SEE!
I can still project if I need to and it doesn't hurt but my regular talking voice isn't sounding very good. In fact, one of my students just said it was different. I have a "new voice." The old one has taken a vacation I guess. It was pretty funny to see how long I could have had them going with the whole frog thing. They really bought in to it. I could almost see his imagination picturing me swallowing a frog and what it was doing down there and how was it going to get out and so on.
We came back from Thanksgiving break with GREAT attitudes and apparently our minds needed a break too because the interventionist who has been working really hard and intensively with my lowest kids saw three of them make HUGE gains. They have to name a random list of letters to see how many they can get in a minute and one girl DOUBLED her total from two weeks ago. She went from saying 19 with 5 errors to 41 and no errors. It's pretty amazing and why year round school is very beneficial. They need a break sometimes to help them refocus and come back strong. We won't be to year round by next year but hopefully the year after that. I think it would rock.
Also a funny story is that today the fire alarm puller klepto got INTO the trashcan. Yeah, the big one. He climbed inside. Probably just to see if he could. I have no idea what we will do with him. Too bad he didn't get stuck. Just kidding! Right?
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