Chalkdust

One day at a time

2009-09-21T18:18:00.002-05:00

Coaching is NOT the same as teaching.

I knew it wouldn't be, but I had no idea how vastly different my days would be. I work for a branch of the public school system that services Catholic schools. So I kind of have the best of both worlds - I get paid by the school district but I get to work in the Catholic schools. It's a sweet deal. I'm assigned to 2 different schools... so on Mondays and Tuesdays I'm at one school, on Wednesdays and Thursdays I'm at the other... and on Fridays, all 13 of the coaches are at the office for meetings and prep time.

Some pros about my new job:

The commute is SO much better. Both of the schools are 10 minutes from my doorstep, and the office is only 20 minutes away.
Since it's a shorter drive, I can sleep a little later in the morning. Always a plus.
I don't have to grade tests, plan lessons, go to parent conferences, or volunteer for committees.
I don't have to stay late to clean a classroom or run copies... so my day ends earlier than I'm used to.
The salary (of course).
I go to 3 different buildings a week, so there's always a change of scenery and plenty of new people to talk to.

And, of course, some cons:

I don't feel useful yet. This time of year is always crazy for me, but now I'm just kinda hanging out, waiting to get to know the teachers before I start bothering them. I know I'll be busy soon, but for right now, I'm just bored.
Since I'm only part-time at both schools, I feel like a visitor. My old job was always my home away from home, so this feeling of displacement is alien to me.
And on that subject... I miss having a classroom space. Since both schools are small and I'm only part-time, I work out of the faculty room and I carry my bag everywhere. I'm like a hobo, but with better clothes :)
I miss my former students and co-workers VERY much. I try not to think about it... but it's definitely still a hard thing to deal with.

It's an adjustment. I'm not at all unhappy, but I think it will take some time before I'm completely comfortable.

Changes

2009-09-17T17:15:00.005-05:00

Hello, internet!

I'm back... again. Some things have changed since I last wrote. At the end of July, I was offered a position as a Literacy Coach, and I accepted it. The decision to leave the Catholic school was definitely bittersweet. I loved everything about my old job except the salary... but I was ready to move on to bigger and better things. And not just for the money. After I finished grad school and got my Reading Specialist certificate, I started getting a little restless at the Catholic school.

I don't regret my decision to leave, but I do miss teaching. I miss decorating bulletin boards and organizing supplies. I miss chatting with my co-worker friends in the faculty room at lunch. I miss planning first grade activities and reading stories and singing the "Good Morning Song." And above all, I miss the kids. I REALLY miss the kids. I knew that would be the hardest part of leaving. Especially since I never got to say goodbye to the kids. I hate not having closure.

So... about my new job. I'm a Literacy Coach, which means I work primarily with K-3 teachers. I'm a resource for teachers who need new ideas for lessons and activities, I can provide professional development to the faculty, and I can model lessons for teachers. I assist the reading teacher with assessments when necessary and I help the teachers use the assessment data to plan lessons.

We're not in Kansas anymore, Toto.

Must I always be waiting, waiting on you?

2009-06-30T22:39:00.003-05:00

Props to Jack Johnson for the title of this post.

I am still smack-dab in the middle of a job hunt. I don't know if it's this hard for other teachers, or if I'm doing something wrong, but this is the 3rd summer in a row that I've been sending resumes. On the plus side... this year, I had 3 interviews that resulted from resume packets that I sent out last summer. All were district screening interviews, which means if I "pass" I get placed on a list. And if there's an opening, a principal can pull my name from the list and call me for an interview. About a month ago, I had a panel interview for a Reading Specialist position. I thought it went really well, but I never heard back from them. The same week that I went for that interview, I applied for another position within the same district... this time for a Reading Coach position. Yesterday I went for the written portion of the examination for that position. Apparently there were 60 people who applied for the job, and there are only 10 openings. The written exam is pass/fail... if I pass, there will be an interview next week. So once again, I'm waiting to hear something.

I hate waiting.

And the thing is, I'm not even sure if this is the job I really want. A Reading Coach works mostly with teachers... and in this case, the coaches are assigned to 3 or 4 different schools, which means I won't really have a "home." I love reading, and I love sharing my ideas for teaching reading... but above all, I love teaching reading to kids. Am I ready to leave the classroom yet? I really don't know. What I do know is that I can't stay in the Catholic school system much longer. I just can't afford it.

Keep some fingers crossed for me.

No more pencils, no more books... ?

2009-06-29T14:13:00.002-05:00

I know... I know...

I disappeared for a month. Or more. Again.

I had every intention of keeping the blog going, but it's so hard for me! Anyway. The school year is over at last, but don't think that means vacation time! The week after school ended, I spent 4 days in teacher inservice... the scintillating topic was "Creating Quality Assessments." Ooh... bet you're jealous. At least I got paid to go, so it wasn't a total waste. And for two of those days, I got to stay for several hours of summer school training.

The week after THAT (which was supposed to be my only free week until August), I got to babysit my adorable 13 month old godson. His father (my cousin's son, and also my godson) called me in a panic asking if I was free that week. Something about a scheduling conflict and his regular sitter being on vacation. Sigh. Of course I said yes. So I spent 5 days playing with the baby... watching the Sprout channel... changing diapers...

Which leads me to this week and (drumroll, please) ... summer school! Yeah, I caved. I'm teaching summer school. Not only am I teaching at my schoool, but in my own classroom. In fact, I'm teaching some of my former students. Talk about no vacation.

Today was the first day, and it was not without its mishaps. Per the instructions given in the tedious training sessions, I was supposed to test the kids in my group today. Each child is to be tested at their grade level, even if you have multiple levels in one group. Two minor setbacks... I had a K-1 group first, followed by a 2-3 group. All the K-2 tests have to be read to the students. I can't read two different tests at the same time, so that posed a problem. Turns out it didn't matter much, because they didn't send enough testing materials anyway, so I had to go right to Lesson One. Of course, today was the first time that I've actually laid eyes on any of the books (including the teacher's guide), so I had no time to review anything I was supposed to teach. The good thing is that it's a scripted curriculum, which I would normally hate. But it means no planning, which is awesome for summer school.

So that about brings us up to date. I'll make every effort to write more. I promise.

The joys of the job hunt.

2009-05-02T10:51:00.004-05:00

I'm so freakin' lazy about this blog. For the past two years, it's been damn near impossible to sit down and write about my day. I'm trying, though. Really I am.

Anyway... I took a personal day yesterday because I had a district screening interview. I had a screening interview for a different school district back in November, and it was pretty much the same thing: brief interview with random district principal, consisting of a set list of very general questions (managing behavior, creating classroom climate, communicating with parents, assessing student learning, etc, etc...), followed by a 30 minute writing sample in a computer lab (they provide a question, I spend 30 minutes bullshitting an answer). These interviews are really more of a formality. They already have my paperwork packet, which includes my resume, cover letter, references, clearances, certificate and transcripts. They already know that they like my qualifications. In fact, one of the people who interviewed me yesterday said only 15% of applicants make it past the paperwork portion. So this step is really just so the district can say they saw me in person before they pass my name on to the school principals.

I think I did well, though. The downside is that there is no feedback given in this type of interview. If they approve of me, my name goes into a database that all district principals have access to. If there's an opening, one of the principals can contact me.

So as it stands right now, I'm on two eligibility lists already. In one school district, I'm eligible for a position as a reading teacher... however, I've recently been told that the district has cut reading teachers this past year due to funding. I'm also eligible for an elementary position in another district (the one that screened me in November). And as of yesterday, there's a good chance I'm eligible in that district as well (also for elementary). But being eligible doesn't necessarily mean I'll get hired. It's frustrating.

Soon I'll have to start thinking about looking for a summer job. I just don't feel like thinking that far ahead right now.

Two and a half days left...

2009-04-03T19:40:00.003-05:00

... and then it's Easter break! A gloriously long "weekend," with no work from 12 PM next Wednesday until the Tuesday after Easter. That's five and a half days. I plan to enjoy every minute of my free time.

I've reached the point in the school year when I've had enough of the nonsense. This past week, I've found myself repeating rules that were laid down in September. Kids are coming to school without their folder or their take-home book... they're turning in incomplete homework assignments... they're full of ridiculously petty behavior that has "Spring Fever" written all over it. Oy. I had to pull out my "mean teacher" voice a LOT this week. Along with my disappointed face. (If I get early wrinkles, I know who to blame...)

On the plus side, my ADHD boy has been on meds since mid-March, and the change is unreal. He can sit at his desk without tapping his pencil or falling out of his chair. He finishes his work, and it's done neatly! His printing has gone from smudged scribbles to age-appropriate letters. His grades are already improving. He had failed spelling in the first and second marking period, but on the last two spelling tests, he's only gotten one word wrong. Amazing. I'm certainly not a firm believer in medicating difficult kids, but this proves that he just needed something to help him focus. And he feels so much better about himself. It's been wonderful to watch the transformation.

I can't believe it's April already. This year is flying...

A month of no Mondays.

2009-03-22T20:43:00.003-05:00

From a teaching standpoint, I'm not a fan of four day weeks. Sure, I love having a day to sleep in and get my errands done. But I absolutely HATE starting the week on a Tuesday. I feel like I spend my whole week falling farther and farther behind, trying to play catch-up on my breaks. Nothing gets done.

This month has been full of weeks like that. The kids have had off 3 out of 5 Mondays this month: a snow day, report card conferences, and tomorrow is our faculty retreat day. The retreat day is required by the Archdiocese. It's supposed to be a day of rest, rejuvenation, reflection and reconnection. (I went with an "r" theme...) Some years I think it's a waste of time, other years I think it helps to refocus me (another "r"!) for the second half of the school year.

I don't know what to expect from this year's retreat. I think there's going to be a guest speaker of some sort and probably a prayer service. One good thing about this year is that we're not having the retreat at the school. There's something refreshing about being away from the school. Anytime I go to a workshop or seminar that's not held on school ground, I feel like I have a renewed energy about my job. (It doesn't always last, lol.)

I'm trying to go into tomorrow's retreat with a good attitude. Maybe I'll get something out of it this year. We'll see.

music appreciation

2009-03-13T19:05:00.000-05:00

One more music-related story (hey, it's a theme)... And not surprisingly, it comes from the same child that I blogged about yesterday and the day before.

Since we were (FINALLY!!!) done with standardized testing and there is no class on Monday due to report card conferences, we spent today catching up on unfinished work and cleaning the classroom. Today's musical selection was something I dug out of my bedroom closet at my parents' house earlier in the week. I had been trying to locate the movie "Fantasia," when I found a storage box of old cassette tapes. Score! Among them was my beat up copy of Andrew Lloyd Webber's Requiem. I figured it was nothing my kids had ever heard before, so I played it while we were finishing up a writing activity. My little Music Man approached me and asked, "Is this opera?"

Given that Sarah Brightman hits some mighty high notes, it was a reasonable question. (And bonus points to him for knowing what opera is!) I told him it was sort of like opera.

"Ok," he nodded. "It sounds like something they'd play when someone dies."

At this point, I was more than a little shocked. I can't imagine that he'd ever heard Webber's Requiem played anywhere before... it's not very well known, and I don't believe it's ever been used in a movie. But it does have that certain eerie sound to it, seeing as how it was composed for a funeral Mass.

I pulled him aside to show him the cassette cover. "That word requiem is Latin for rest," I explained. "This actually IS music they would play when someone dies. How did you know that?"

He shrugged. "I dunno," he replied. "Just sounds like it."

I think the boy has a real gift.

Fab!

2009-03-12T13:02:00.000-05:00

Today during testing, my kids asked if I was going to put on music again.

"What do you wanna hear?" I asked.

"Beatles," replied one child promptly. (He's the one who requested Vivaldi yesterday... clearly the boy has good taste.)

"I'll only play the music without words during the test, kiddo," I said. "I have the instrumental Beatles that we listened to yesterday."

He frowned. "I like it better with the words," he said.

"I know, but the singing might be distracting during a test."

"That's okay," he informed me. "Me and you are the only ones who know the words, and I won't sing along."

Gotta love it!

Why I LOVE my kids...

2009-03-11T15:05:00.002-05:00

After a long and grueling morning of standardized testing (math section today... UGH), I let my kids do some fun creative writing in the afternoon. One of my girls asked if I could put music on, as I often do while they work. (During testing today, I played Debussy. Yesterday's test called for some instrumental Beatles. We're very well-rounded in first grade.)

"What do you want to hear?" I asked.

"Vivaldi!" requested one boy.

Another boy waved his hand in the air. "And after that, how about some Charlie Parker?"

I was more than happy to oblige :)

In the absence of children.

2009-03-02T13:59:00.004-05:00

Since I have a snow day, I figured it would be a good time to catch up on posting. And luckily, I have something to write about! Every time my kids say something funny, I jot it down on scrap paper and shove it in my teacher bag... where, of course, it gets lost until I clean the bag out. Which is what I did last night. I found several little pieces of paper with stories and quotes scribbled on them. Sigh.

I figured I should actually post them on here to remind myself that my kids ARE pretty damn cute... even the ones who drive me nuts.

So here is today's installment, both from the same girl. She's extremely cute and very bright. She's also one of the few blondes I've taught at this school (our population is mostly Hispanic, so I get a lot of brown and black haired kiddos). Her combination of cuteness and friendliness makes her quite popular with the other kids. Her mom once told me that she "plays" me at home... lines her stuffed animals up and teaches them. I bet that's cute to see.

One day, one of my kids did something that struck me as funny, so I laughed. Blondie smiled and said, "You always laugh. I like when you laugh. It makes me laugh." Which of course made me laugh again :)

Later that day, I overheard her correcting a boy who had used the word "ain't" in conversation.

"Ain't isn't a word!", she chastised.

"Yes it is," her friend insisted.

She shook her head. "No, it's not... my mom teached me."

I didn't have the heart to tell her that "teached" is just as bad as "ain't." Another lesson for another time, lol.

Snow day!

2009-03-01T22:44:00.002-05:00

All weekend long the buzz has been "the BIG snow" headed our way. I didn't think it was gonna happen (why get my hopes up?), but it's almost 11 PM and the snow has been falling for about 5 hours. It's laying on the grass and cars and just barely coating the streets. And as of about an hour ago, the news stations announced that schools are CLOSED TOMORROW!

Part of me is very happy to know about it ahead of time. It means I don't have to set my alarm. I can sleep in a little and not have to worry about getting everything ready for work tomorrow, "just in case." On the other hand, it takes some of the fun out of a snow day... the anticipation of waking up and peeking out the window to see how much snow has fallen, waiting for the radio to say the magic words, "All public and archdiocesan schools are closed." And then being able to roll over and go back to bed.

But either way, it's all good.

I intend to spend my snow day ignoring my to-do list. A snow day is like a freebie, and I think I should take advantage of that. I think I'll curl up on the sofa with a hot cup of coffee, a book, and a warm blanket, watching the snow fall outside. Then maybe watch some bad daytime TV with my lunch (homemade potato soup, saved for just such an occasion). Maybe I'll do laundry, maybe I won't. I've got time to figure it out. It's gonna be great :)

Happy Snow Day, if you've got one!

Phantastic!

2009-02-10T21:46:00.009-05:00

Today was one of those crazy, crazy days where no actual teaching gets done... but it was SO much fun.

Our second grade class entered a contest called Be a Phanatic About Reading, which is sponsored by the Philadelphia Phillies... and they won!!! Their prize was a school visit from the Phillies' mascot, the Phillie Phanatic. If you're not familiar with our mascot, he's kind of a cross between a bird and an anteater... big and green with a long snout and giant feet... I dunno, he's goofy-looking, but he's one of THE icons of the city. Anyway, the Phanatic came to our school today and he brought the WORLD SERIES TROPHY!!! It was awesome.

The Phanatic paraded through our school cafetorium with the trophy, followed by the second grade contest winners. Then our principal read a book about the World Series parade while the Phanatic acted it out.

The kids LOVED every minute of it (and so did the teachers, lol). When the presentation was over, each class had their picture taken with the trophy. It was amazing to see it up close.

I'm glad the second graders won the contest. They were so enthusiastic about books and reading in first grade, and they deserved to be in the spotlight for this.

Change.

2009-01-20T21:38:00.005-05:00

A few notes on today's inauguration... (I had planned on a longer post, but a head cold has my brain a bit addled and I'm heading to bed early tonight.)

~ I had actual lesson plans for today, but as soon as I pulled up Inauguration Day coverage on cnn.com, my kids were flocking to the laptop, hoping for a glimpse of our soon-to-be 44th president. I let them drift over to my desk during centers and writers' workshop, but by snack time I could see that we weren't going to get any book-learning done. I moved the laptop to a desk in the back of the room, hooked up the external speakers, and we sat to watch history unfold.

~ When the motorcade drove past, one of my girls asked, "Why are the cops chasing him?" Cue impromptu lesson on Secret Service Men...

~ During the introduction of former presidents, one student asked if Teddy Roosevelt would be there. Not sure how he knows that name, but I think I confused him even more when I tried to explain why Teddy wouldn't be in attendance.

~ Around 11:30, the whole school went down to the cafetorium to watch the ceremony on the projection screen. I expected the kids to get antsy or bored, but the majority of them sat and watched the whole thing with nary a peep. Impressive.

~ I was pretty sure I was gonna cry... and I did. But not during the oath or the speech (which is when I figured it would happen). No, the two moments that moved me to tears were completely unexpected ones. As Biden was being introduced, the cameras got a shot of Obama walking down the corridor, held held high... as soon as he appeared on the screen, the entire school erupted in applause. It was powerful. The second thing that made me cry was during the invocation prayer delivered by Rev. Rick Warren. At the end of the invocation, he began the Lord's Prayer ("Our Father, who art in heaven..."). Every single one of my students joined him in the prayer. I didn't expect that to happen (and, quite frankly, I was surprised that they were still paying attention!), and hearing their voices got me choked up while I was praying.

So even though our entire schedule for the morning was thrown out the window, I like to think my kids learned a lot today.

Lazy days

2009-01-19T11:44:00.003-05:00

Reason #652 that I LOVE having a day off: I'm spending a lazy Monday morning in my pajamas, drinking coffee and checking up on blogs. Sheer bliss. Anyway, on The Book Whisperer's site I found a link to something called Wordle. It lets you create "word clouds" and then change the font, color and layout. For a word-nerd like me, it's hours of entertainment :) Just thought I'd share the goodness with the rest of you.

And since it happens to be flurrying, I created my first word cloud about snow. Not my best work, but it gives you an idea of what the site does. (Click on the picture for a clearer view...)

Let the chips fall where they may.

2009-01-14T21:05:00.006-05:00

Kids come up with the best excuses... but this one takes the cake.

One of my boys brought a gallon sized ziploc bag to school with two packaged snacks in it (peanut butter crackers and a small bag of chips). He took it out at snack time and asked if he could eat it. I told him he wasn't allowed to have a snack from home at recess time (school rule - kids get pretzel and juice snack), so he put it back in his schoolbag.

When it was time to line up for lunch, I saw the same boy in line holding the ziploc bag again.

"Are you cold lunch?" I asked. (Most of our kids qualify for the free hot lunch. Others choose to bring a "cold lunch," which is a lunch brought from home.)

He shook his head no.

"Well, you can't bring a snack if you're hot lunch," I said. "You get a snack with your lunch downstairs. Go put it back in your schoolbag, you can eat it at home."

He shuffled into the coat closet and then rejoined the line.

When we got downstairs, one of my girls came over and tugged on my shirt. "He's got something in his pocket," she whispered.

I called him over to me. "Empty your pockets," I requested.

He looked at me and made a show of patting himself down.

"No... EMPTY them," I repeated.

He pulled the lining out of one of his pockets and then looked at me expectantly.

"And the other one?"

He lifted his shirttail and looked down at his other pocket. A red foil package of potato chips was peeking out. He stared at the pocket, then looked at me, then looked back at the pocket. He seemed genuinely surprised to find it there.

He then spent about three minutes tugging the bag out of the pocket. (God knows how he managed to shove it in there in the first place.)

"What did I tell you to do with your snacks?" I asked.

"Put them in my schoolbag," he mumbled.

"And....?"

"I did," he said. "They fell in my pocket."

I had to make sure I heard him right. "They FELL in your POCKET?"

He nodded.

"How did that happen?"

"I was putting them in my schoolbag, and the chips fell down," he explained.

"And they fell in your pocket?" I questioned.

Another nod.

"And you didn't know that they fell in your pocket until just now?" I persisted.

He shook his head.

I took a deep breath. "So, you're telling me that your bag of chips fell out of a closed ziploc bag and into the pocket of your pants, and you didn't notice it until just now?"

He nodded.

The funny thing is, he stuck by the story for the rest of the day. And he told it without the smiles, laughs or smirks that normally accompany a first grader who pulled one over on his teacher. I don't know whether to be impressed or scared.

I should have joined the circus.

2009-01-12T21:56:00.005-05:00

This year, I have the smallest class I've ever had: 14 students.

But there are two boys in my room that have enough energy to make it seem like I'm teaching 20 kids.

Very condensed synopsis of the boys: One boy has severe ADHD and has been evaluated, parents were supposed to make doctors appointments and have regular meetings with school counselor, but they haven't followed through. He loves to help in the classroom, but he's extremely disorganized, rarely completes assignments, and is currently failing 2 subjects. The other boy is the youngest of three (his next oldest brother is in high school), mom tends to baby him, he thrives on attention and seems to think that everyone and everything should revolve around him. He's very bright, imaginative and loves to write. Both boys are impulsive, hyper, loud and energetic. They rarely stay in their seats and are often in fights with each other.

Both boys have been this way since Pre-K, and I've spent the first 4 months of the year trying to manage their behavior through parent meetings, individualized behavior charts, positive reinforcement, classroom rewards (i.e. extra computer time, class jobs that they enjoy), school-issued consequences (i.e. lunch detention, incident reports), and in the case of one of the boys, an evaluation with the school psychologist.

Despite my efforts, not much has changed in the classroom. And now every day I'm faced with a dilemma. There are some days when I see that one of the boys is trying hard, and I go out of my way to encourage him so that he can bring good news back to his mother. Some days I am so frustrated with the CONSTANT interruptions, and I crack down on them everytime they start up. And then there are the days like today... when I feel so bad for the other 12 kids in my room that I want to ignore their noise (and arguing, seat-leaving, calling out, etc) and just teach over it.

I know consistency is the key to working with children. But it's starting to feel like I'm attacking them when I single them out for their behavior. On the other hand, the rest of my students don't have behavior problems as severe as those boys. And if I don't correct the boys when they do these things, I might be sending the wrong message to them, and to my other students.

And the bigger question... Is it wrong that I sometimes want to ignore them? Does that make me a bad teacher? I certainly don't claim to be the perfect teacher, but classroom management has always been my strong point. When everything I've tried isn't working, what do I do? Is it more important to teach the children who are doing the right thing? Or is it better to interrupt my lessons every few minutes to correct the ones who aren't? Is there something I haven't tried?

This is my 9th year teaching and it's still like a constant juggling act - trying to monitor all of my students, praise the good behavior, correct the disruptive behavior, AND teach ... oh yes, let's not forget the job that I was actually hired to do, lol. I have to do all of this (and more) and not lose my cool. Can you blame me if I drop a ball once in awhile?

Get to know Mo.

2009-01-10T18:33:00.010-05:00

Do you know Mo? Mo Willems, that is.

He is an amazingly talented award-winning children's author and illustrator. I became familiar with his work five years ago - reluctantly, I might add - after a student brought one his books into my classroom. A book about a rather two dimensional, stick-figure bird, which is entitled Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus. And I was convinced (based on the cover and title) that the book would be... well, stupid. As a book lover and future reading specialist, I couldn't waste my time on something that wasn't "quality" literature. But Justin kept coming in with this book, and giggling over it at recess. So one day I picked it up and flipped through it... and laughed right out loud. Since then, I have been on a mission to find everything that Mo has ever written.

The beauty of Mo's books is that he keeps them simple, but at the same time, highly entertaining. I read an article where Mo said he want his pictures to be so simple that a five year old could draw them. The books in his Elephant and Piggie Easy Reader series use a limited amount of words, which makes them perfect for my first graders to practice reading. His "harder" books are better for read-alouds, but still encourage lots of audience participation (which my students do gleefully). And the pictures are priceless. Mo does much of his story-telling through the characters' body language and facial expressions.

Mo is currently on tour promoting his newest book, Naked Mole Rat Gets Dressed. (Gotta love an author who knows that the word "naked" will cause children to erupt in contagious giggles...) Today I had a chance to see him at a local Barnes and Noble for a reading and signing. He read two books, answered some questions, and then signed books. I was highly impressed - he was as funny and engaging as his books. Unfortunately, flash photography was prohibited, so the pic of him reading came out blurry...

I got two books signed... including the book that got me hooked in the first place:

If you're a teacher (or a mother of young children), I urge you to get your hands on some of Mo's books. You can thank me later.

Moving on

2009-01-07T19:23:00.012-05:00

I've been back for two days, and I think I'm doing well with getting the kids into routine. I implemented a schedule poster (which I made several years ago and never really used) to plan our day... which reduces the number of times I have to hear the inevitable, "Miss M? When is lunch??" or "Do we have art today?" At one student's request, I write a T next to any activity where talking is allowed (such as recess, center time, writer's workshop). The schedule has been keeping me on track, and I feel like we've gotten a lot accomplished since we've been back.

I'm also trying to get my classroom back in order. With all the holiday craziness, I feel like there wasn't any time to clean or organize or file anything... so my room is filled with piles of papers that need my attention. I figured I'd start with the easiest task - undecorate my classroom. I managed to get all of that done today, which means tomorrow I can start putting up the winter-themed bulletin boards (one for the New Year, one for the snowman theme). I'm glad the hustle and bustle is over, but my room really did look nice for Christmas.

Candy canes made by the kids (a lesson on patterns as well as the legend of the candy cane).

Poinsettias made by the kids (after reading The Legend of the Poinsettia, by Tomie dePaola).

This is a project I do every year... I send home a plain green Christmas tree cut-out, and they decorate it with their parents. I'm always amazed at how creative they get!

But, all of that is gone now. Gotta make room for the new stuff. I'll post pics of the new bulletin boards once they're up.

Happy 2009!

2009-01-04T17:11:00.004-05:00

Happy New Year!

Since I was on a break from work, I also took a break from blogging... with the exception of my last post about the car. Aside from that, there was nothing really worth blogging about. Christmas was peaceful and uneventful (just the way I like it!) and New Year's Eve was a relatively quiet night spent eating fondue, drinking beer and playing board games with a few good friends. In between, I spent my time catching up on all the things I haven't had a chance to do since the school year started: sleep (I think I took a nap every day, and it was fabulous!), visit friends, clean the apartment, watch bad daytime TV, and read. I enjoyed EVERY minute of it! And most importantly, I don't feel guilty for not thinking about work :-)

The car situation has finally been sorted out. My insurance company deemed my pretty red Toyota Rav 4 a total loss, which I was expecting. I used the insurance money to help get my new car, which is a 2008 Hyundai Elantra. It's also red, but only because they only had two '08s on the lot, and the red one was in my price range. I'm very happy with the car... I had an '03 Elantra before I bought the Toyota, so I know they're reliable and safe.

Well, the last few hours of my break are winding down. Tomorrow I'll be back at work, but without the kids. We have a faculty meeting and then we get some time to work in our classrooms. The kids start back on Tuesday. With any luck, I'll be able to get back on schedule by the end of the week. I think the bigger challenge is getting the kids back on schedule. They've had almost 2 weeks of later bedtimes, TV, video games, and sugary treats. Kinda hard to get back into routine after that.

I hope everyone else has a good week back!

Merry Christmas (?)

2008-12-24T15:00:00.005-05:00

My roommate woke me up at 3 AM to tell me that our neighbors were buzzing our door... apparently, someone's car spun out on the ice and slammed into my car (and the car in front of me). It was bad. Very bad.

So my Christmas Eve was spent calling my insurance company, taking pictures of the damage, cleaning out the car, waiting for the tow truck, and calling my parents to arrange for a ride. Ugh.

The good news (if you can call it that) is that the police have the guy who hit the cars. He was taken away in a police car before I even got outside. I don't know all the details yet. After the accident, it was about a half an hour before a neighbor came out who knew that the car belonged to me. So she buzzed our apartment until she managed to wake up my roommate, who went out to see the damage before coming to wake me up. By the time I got out there, the police officer was already finished writing up the report.

I have to wait to hear from the insurance company, but I'm fairly sure I'll have to start shopping for a new car soon. Oh, the timing...

The end is in sight!

2008-12-18T22:08:00.007-05:00

Tonight was our annual Peace Vigil, so that's one more thing I can cross off of my to-do list :)

The Peace Vigil is a schoolwide prayer service that we hold the week before Christmas. All of the families are invited to the church to watch each class sing a song about peace or Christmas, and there is a peace prayer in between each song. It's a beautiful way to get in the holiday spirit. My kids did a SPECTACULAR job, and I'm not just saying that because I'm biased. They sang "Keep Christmas With You (All Through the Year)" from Christmas Eve on Sesame Street. If you've seen the movie, you know that Linda teaches the neighborhood kids the song in sign language to surprise Bob. (If you haven't seen the movie, shame on you! It's a classic!) In October, I started teaching my students a sign at the end of each day until we knew enough to put together a verse of the song. By the time this week rolled around, they were pros. Tonight they outdid themselves. They were better than they'd been in any of our practices. They sang loud and clear, they didn't miss a sign, and they looked adorable.

Earlier today, we finished decorating the gingerbread house (which is actually Snoopy's doghouse from A Charlie Brown Christmas). It doesn't look too bad.

Also, here's a pic of the finished potpourri jars. I'm really impressed with the way they turned out. I'll have to keep the idea in mind for the future... maybe Mother's Day gifts or something.

Well, tomorrow is Friday. FINALLY. I'm looking forward to the faculty Christmas party after work and then... the weekend!!!

One day at a time

2008-12-17T20:27:00.012-05:00

I spent the last two days banging out things on my to-do list:

The kids know ALL their songs (for their various performances) inside and out, and even if they screw up, they're still gonna look damn precious :)

The mini potpourri jars for the craft sale at this weekend's Lunch with Santa are done. I glued all the ribbons on today and they look spectacular.

The ornaments that the kids are making for their parents (foam snowman picture frame from Oriental Trading) FINALLY arrived in the mail today. I still need to take pics of the kids (wearing a Santa hat, lol) and then the ornaments need to be assembled. Hopefully that won't take long. They can go home on Monday if I need an extra day or two.

I started the gingerbread house. The walls and roof are in place, and it needs to dry overnight before we can decorate. So far, so good...

I bought the ingredients for my chicken enchilada dip for the faculty Christmas party. I can assemble it Thursday night and microwave it Friday afternoon right before the party.

I bought the gift for the Pirate Party gift swap. The limit was $15, and I think I did a pretty decent job. I got this fleece blanket ($9.99) and a CD of holiday tunes ($5.99... and $2 of that gets donated to Salvation Army). I'm a whole whopping dollar over the limit, but... eh... what can you do?

And - just because I was bitching about not taking time to enjoy the holidays - I decided to use some leftovers in my kitchen to produce these lovely treats :)

Who can be stressed when there are chocolate covered pretzels in the house?

Tapped out

2008-12-16T21:05:00.003-05:00

I'm not feeling Christmas this year.

It's going on around me, but I haven't been able to take the time to enjoy it. I feel the whole "overworked and underpaid" thing a lot more now than I used to, and it's starting to interfere with the things I used to enjoy. Like Christmas. And my job. And my job at Christmas.

Our principal has been asking us for a lot lately. I know it's the season of giving... but I feel like I do that all year long. I give and I give and I give. It's the life of a teacher. Especially a Catholic school teacher in a poor parish. I should be used to it, but this year has been harder on me. (And on a lot of other teachers in my school, I'm sure.)

Every class has to have a song to perform for our annual Peace Vigil. (Done and done... my kids learned "Keep Christmas With You," from Christmas Eve on Sesame Street. In sign language, no less. They rock.) We also have to have a song for our Christmas caroling day next week. (Also done. "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer." Easy and fun.)

Lunch with Santa is this Saturday. Each class was asked to make some sort of craft that can be sold at the lunch. My class made potpourri jars out of baby food jars (donated), lace (leftover), ribbon and potpourri (purchased by me). They turned out pretty cute, but of course I wound up doing most of the work to assemble them. Each class also has to put together and decorate a gingerbread house (kit provided by the school) to be raffled off at Lunch with Santa. Sounds like fun, but try doing it with 14 kids in the room. Lol... last year's house was disastrous. I think it'll be easier this year now that I know what I'm doing. But I have to find some way to occupy the bulk of my kids while I let two or three kids at a time put the candy decorations on.

Moving on... Our faculty Christmas party is on Friday after work. Everyone was asked to bring either an appetizer or a dessert. We also have to get a gift for our Pirate Pollyanna. (Fun stuff... Everyone brings a wrapped gift and we put them in a pile. Then we each pick a number. Whoever gets #1 picks a present from the pile and unwraps it. Then #2 can steal 1's gift, or pick a new one from the pile... and so on... It always winds up being a really good time.) I'm fine with bringing the food and present, but the Peace Vigil is the night before the party, which means I'll be at work ALL day (from 7:30 AM til at least 8 PM), so I have to make sure whatever food I'm bringing is ready to go by Wednesday night.

We're supposed to buy a present for our classroom lunch mother - but I have no idea who she is, since she never shows up. I refuse to buy a gift for someone who doesn't do her job.

Each teacher also has an Advent Angel. It's kind of like Secret Santa - we leave little gifts anonymously for another teacher during the season of Advent. Since Advent is 4 weeks long, we usually leave about one gift per week. It's a nice idea, and I usually enjoy it. It's fun to be surprised by a candy bar in my mailbox or a cute little snowman notepad left on my desk. However, it's the 3rd week of Advent and I've only gotten one thing - a bag of Hershey kisses on my desk 2 weeks ago. Money is tight for me, but I've managed to find some cute gifts for my Advent Angel... and I wrap them up all fancy, just to make it more special. I've already left 3 gifts for my Angel. I don't know who has me (obviously), but I'm really feeling underappreciated.

And THEN... today our principal asked the teachers to bake cupcakes for Lunch with Santa. I don't know when I'm supposed to find time to make cupcakes before Friday (since I'm not going to Lunch with Santa this year)... and quite frankly, I don't want to do it. My financial situation is extremely bad this year, and I barely have enough money to pay bills and buy Christmas presents. I feel like every time I turn around, the school is asking me for more. I can't do it. I'm tapped out... financially, physically, emotionally.

It just doesn't feel like Christmas to me right now. I'm trying to find ways to enjoy the holiday season, but they're few and far between. I don't want the best parts of Christmas to get buried under my massive to-do lists. I'm completely running on empty right now. And the head cold I acquired from someone at work isn't helping...

You know what I need? I need one night of good old fashioned Christmas-ing. I need to put on my cozy flannel pj's and make some hot cocoa and spend the night wrapping presents while I watch the Grinch's heart grows three times it's size. I need to get in the car and crank up the Christmas tunes (even the really cheesy annoying ones) and sing along at the top of my lungs while I drive through the neighborhood looking at lights. I need to go to my parents' house and bake cookies with my mom. I don't know when I plan to do all those things, but I know I NEED to do them in order to preserve my sanity.

Ugh. It's time for a dose of NyQuil and a (hopefully) good night's sleep. I've got a long day ahead of me tomorrow.

Out of the mouths of babes

2008-12-15T22:23:00.004-05:00

One of my boys came up to me today and said, "Miss M, remember I said my mom was in the hospital?"

"No," I replied. "Is she okay? Is she sick?"

He shook his head. "No, she's not sick."

He then put his hands in front of his chest and said, "These? They were too small. She wanted bigger."

"Um... what?" I asked.

He nodded and moved his hands out, to indicate a more... busty... physique.

I believe it was the first time this year a child has rendered me speechless.

Parents, I've said it before, and I'll say it again: DO NOT tell your child anything that you don't want the entire world to know. Because your kids? They like to talk.

What's in a name?

2008-11-21T14:07:00.003-05:00

During center time today, one of my girls was "reading the room" with a pointer. She got to my desk and read my nameplate out loud: "Mrs. M."

I called across the room, "MISS M, not Mrs.!"

She gave me a blank look. "But there are two s's in that word... so it's Mrs."

"Well, that does make sense, but that word is Miss. Mrs. is only for ladies who are married." I held up my hand. "See? No wedding ring."

"Oh," she said. "But you look grown up. You should have a husband!"

Ah, the logic of a first grader.

a flurry of activity.

2008-11-20T18:49:00.005-05:00

I'm not a fan of Christmas music before the holiday season. (And when I say "before," I mean playing Christmas music the day after Halloween.) But it was flurrying when I drove home today, so I switched on one of the two (!?) radio stations in the city that are playing nothing but "holiday music" (read: "Christmas music"... since I've yet to hear a Kwanzaa or Hanukkah song). And I sang at the top of my lungs to "Feliz Navidad" (the Jose Feliciano version, of course, not the subpar Celine Dion rendition) while the snowflakes fell around me. Okay, in all fairness, it was as much rain as it was snow... but still. It was enough to make me want to load my mp3 player with winter songs, along the lines of "Let it Snow," and "Winter Wonderland" and "Baby, it's Cold Outside." Still too early for the hymns and carols, though.

Anyway. I've been busy, as always. I took a personal day on Monday to go to a screening interview for a Very Distinguished School District. I had applied for a teaching position there back in August, and they contacted me in October to invite me to this interview. There were about twenty other people there (not applying for any specific position... just trying to get into the district), and the whole thing lasted about two hours. First, an overview of the district and an explanation of their hiring process. Then we each had an individual interview with a district principal (the guy who interviewed me was AWESOME and happened to grow up in the same neighborhood as me, so we had a nice conversation about that). And finally, we headed to the computer lab, where we had 30 minutes to complete a writing sample. There was nothing personalized about any of it. The interview questions were the same for all of us, as was the writing prompt ("What are the qualities of an ideal teacher?"). If they like me, I'll be placed on a district list... and then I have to wait to see if a principal in the district is interested in interviewing me for an actual teaching position. It's all very complicated... but there's a reason they're such a good district. They're extremely particular about who gets in. Fingers crossed.

Last Thursday was the long-awaited meeting for my ADHD boy. His parents did show up, which made me very happy. But it was all downhill from there. The school psychologist led the discussion using the results from his evaluation. He told the parents that the boy should go to an ADHD clinic, where they will most likely recommend a combination of meds and behavior modification. He gave the parents a huge list of things to do, including: make another appointment with his pediatrician, make an appointment with the ADHD clinic at a local hospital, buy and read a parent's guide to ADHD, establish clear and consistent rewards and consequences for the boy at home.

The parents listened, but didn't say much, and I got the impression that they weren't going to follow through on everything he said. Our counselor asked about getting a wrap-around for him in school, since he needs such frequent monitoring, but that would also be the parents' responsibility. The counselor also pointed out that there's a 6 month waiting list for an appointment at the ADHD clinic. She asked, "What is Miss M supposed to do in the meantime? She has him for 6 hours a day, 5 days a week... and right now, he isn't learning." (Not to mention that I have a very difficult time teaching. And the other kids in my room are disrupted every few minutes by his noise, tapping, calling out, throwing things, etc...) The psychologist's suggestion? I should make a personalized behavior chart for the boy, broken into small time periods, and reward him when he stays on task. Great. He already has a chart like that, which I started at the beginning of October. The parents initial it every night. It hasn't changed anything.

The counselor offered to meet with the parents once a week to follow up on the appointments and see if they need any help. She scheduled the first meeting for this past Tuesday, which both parents agreed to. They didn't come. And when she called the house, the father said they "forgot" about the meeting. He also said he wasn't sure if his wife had tried to make any of the phone calls to set up doctor's appointments.

The boy was absent yesterday, and the class was SO calm. I got a ridiculous amount of teaching done. One of my kids even said, "Everyone's being so GOOD today! No one had to sign the behavior book!" I think they all felt the difference.

I'm not hopeful that anything will be done to resolve this issue. I think I'm going to spend the rest of the year trying to find ways to keep him focused and on-task so that he actually learns something. And honestly, I'm not sure it's something I can accomplish on my own. I've got a lot of teaching experience and I'm special ed certified, but there's only so much I can do with the limited resources we have in our school. His needs are definitely not being met. If I had him in a smaller classroom, or if he had a wrap-around... then maybe. But that's not the case. Sometimes this job is so frustrating.

Teaching? What's that?

2008-11-11T22:03:00.003-05:00

I keep telling myself I'm going to write, and then I keep finding reasons not to. (Most of those reasons are sleep, work, TV, reading... which can all basically be summed up as "lack of motivation.")

Anyway.

So there's this boy in my room. Telling you his whole story would require pages, so I'll sum up as best I can. (Be prepared for a long story anyway.) This boy was born very prematurely and spent the first 18 months of his life in the hospital. He never received any early intervention. This is his 3rd year in our school (he started in preK) and he has been a major behavior problem since day one. His issues include, but are not limited to: poor fine motor skills (i.e. writing, cutting, glue, etc), extreme hyperactivity, extreme distractibility, lack of impulse control, inability (or unwillingness) to accept responsibilty for his actions, poor reading (most likely due to his inability to focus), aggressive behavior (pushing, hitting).

I've been teaching for 8 years. I've taught all kinds of kids. When I say that he is the most extreme case of undiagnosed ADHD I have ever seen, I am not exaggerating. The child is literally unable to sit or stand still for more than a few seconds. If you ask him to stop a certain behavior - for example, repeatedly tapping a pencil - he immediately replaces it with another behavior, such as rocking his chair back and forth. He can't walk to the coat closet without tapping, hitting, poking or touching every child in his path. He hums, sings or makes noises while he works. Every single one of his crayons and pencils are broken, and none of his pencils have erasers left on their ends. If he has scissors to cut something for a project, he will make confetti with the scrap paper. If he's sitting on the rug while I'm teaching, he manages to find a piece of trash or lint on the floor to play with. He can't work cooperatively with others. He can't sit for a ten minute read-aloud without pulling someone's hair or throwing a piece of paper at someone or rolling around on the floor. He falls out of his chair at least twice a week.

Of course he has his strengths. He has a good memory. He always offers to help in the classroom. I certainly don't dislike him, but he has made the past two and a half months impossible for me. He is constantly "going," and my choices are either a) ignore him or b) attempt to redirect him (which, as I said before, works for all of 2 seconds before he finds another behavior to replace the first). And as guilty as I feel for doing it, I often choose to ignore him and teach over his noise. I have 14 other students in my room and I have curriculum to cover. I just can't spend my entire day shadowing him.

The kindergarten teacher tried to help his parents get him help, but she was unsuccessful. The parents claim they took him for an outside evaluation and they were told "nothing was wrong with him." They also claim that their pediatrician says the same thing. This year, I got our parent involvement counselor on board. We met with the parents twice and they agreed to fill out the paperwork for an evaluation.

On Thursday morning, there is going to be a big meeting: principal, parent involvement counselor, me, the boy's parents, and the school psychologist. I have no idea what the outcome of this meeting will be... but I DO know that the psychologist and the counselor believe that our school is not equipped to meet his needs. They both believe he needs to be in a smaller, more specialized setting. I think principal will also back that, but I'm not 100% sure. (After all, we are a tuition based school.)

As for me? Well... I hate to say that I want him gone. But every now and then I imagine how peaceful the classroom would be if he wasn't in it. And that makes me feel guilty. I wish there was some way we could help him in our school, but I just don't see how that's possible. The parents haven't really done their part to find help for him, despite all the suggestions and advice the school has offered. In fact, at the beginning of the year they seemed very open and willing to meet. Now it's difficult to even get them on the phone. The father even called today and said they couldn't make Thursday's meeting, because they forgot about a dentist appointment they had scheduled for the same day. I don't think they want to hear what we're going to tell them.

Should be interesting.

History

2008-11-05T18:17:00.006-05:00

Today I told my first graders that they are living in an amazing time, and they don't even know it.

First this...

And now this...
Someday they'll realize that they witnessed history. What an AWESOME time to be alive!

Spooooky.

2008-11-03T17:07:00.010-05:00

Thoughts and Observations on Halloween 2008

~ Any girl prancing around in a blond wig and glittery dress was presumably attempting to be Hannah Montana.

~ Boys' costumes haven't changed much in the past 5 years: Spiderman, Batman, or some version of the Scream mask with all black clothes.

~ Older boys don't bother with costumes. They wear jeans and a sweatshirt, carry a pillowcase (or open backpack) and show up on your doorstep for free handouts. Sometimes there's a mask, but it's usually on top of their head, rather than covering their face. I think this is so they can get better view of the plethora of "sexy" costumes their female counterparts are wearing.

~ Which brings me to this... There were more 12 year old girls with fishnets and mini-skirts than I cared to see.

~ While we're on that... my friend and I had an extensive phone conversation about those particular costume pieces. We decided that pretty much anything can be added to fishnets and a miniskirt to make a "costume." For example: add wings, and you have a fairy. Big hoop earrings and a bandana? A pirate! Wear horns and carry a pitchfork... devil! A tail and ears? Bunny! Doesn't take much imagination to create a costume out of that. (I've neglected to mention that my costume from last year was exactly that... fishnets and a miniskirt. Paired with a red hooded cape and a basket to become Red Riding Hood. Sigh. I've become One of Them.) But seriously... little girls and fishnets are a big no-no. That's what leads to 17 year olds with toddlers.

~ Speaking of mommies... it seems to be perfectly acceptable for a mommy to parade around the neighborhood with her itsy-bitsy little bundle of joy (clad in a cutesy-wutesy little costume) and hold out a treat bag. I'm talking 5 month old babies here. Pre-teeth. Who do these moms think they're fooling? I know damn well who's eating that candy. (By the way, my mom's rule of thumb is that the babies get Dum-Dum lollipops.)

~ Someone needs to teach kids some Halloween etiquette. Let's start with this: "Trick or treat!" It's simple. Three words. Some kids just walked right up to me, thrust their bag in my face and waited. No eye contact, no smile. And certainly no "Thank you," after the candy was dropped in the bag. And kids? When someone says, "Happy Halloween," it wouldn't kill you to respond.

~ Another word about Halloween etiquette. When someone gives you a piece of candy, it's not polite to respond with, "Is that it?" or, "Can I have the other kind instead?" And it's NEVER acceptable to try to score an extra piece of candy by lying and saying your brother is in the hospital.

~ A word about older trick-or-treaters in general: once you reach high school, STOP. Seriously. You're too old to dress up and collect candy from your neighbors. Go to Halloween parties instead. I actually had three or four adults (not in costume) come up to my door with treat bags. They were walking with a group of children, so I guess they thought they deserved candy, too.

It's no wonder I felt the need to hit the bar after the crowd died down. Screw the Halloween candy... I was ready for beer and wings!

In other news, my first graders enjoyed our mini-Halloween celebration in school.

Here are the girls...

And the boys...

And the jack o'lantern we (meaning, I) carved!

Who signed me up for this?

2008-10-28T19:55:00.003-05:00

This was my to-do list for my gloriously long 45 minute break while the kids were at art class:

~ Call a parent to set up a meeting
~ Make copies
~ Sort candy corn into bags for a math project
~ Put important papers into the kids' communication folders
~ Possibly laminate a poster (if time)
~ Go to the bathroom (yeah... imagine that!)

And this is what I did during my 45 minute break:

~ Sit through an incredibly long, incredibly dull Reading Team Meeting.

I forgot that it was tentatively planned for today... and I'm one of the 4 team members, along with Principal, Reading Teacher, and Reading Coach. (I'm the Integrated Language Arts Coordinator for the primary grades, which is how I got the dubious honor of being a member of this committee.)

And of course, the meeting took up my ENTIRE break. Thankfully, Reading Coach was kind enough to watch my kids for a few minutes while I ran to the bathroom.

I don't know why I even bother making plans...

My students on the election

2008-10-23T20:19:00.006-05:00

Some stories about the Journey to the White House:

Girl (noticing a picture of Barack Obama in the classroom): Hey, I know him! He's the guy who goes on TV and says, "I'm Brockabama, and I'm-a PROVE this message!" (Picture her doing the attitude head move.)

Another day, we had a very oversimplified discussion of how the Democratic and Republican parties believe different things. At recess, two kids were arguing over whether or not orange juice was disgusting (don't ask), one of my boys yelled out, "Text-to-self connection!" I just had to know.

"Why is that a text-to-self connection?" I asked.

"Because she thinks orange juice is good and he thinks it's nasty," he replied.

Hmmm. "And...?"

He pointed to my pocket chart with pictures and facts about the candidates. "When you read us that paper, you said that those two," (indicating Obama and McCain) "believe different things, and now THESE two," (gesturing to the OJ kids) "believe different things. Text-to-self," he concluded with a smug nod.

Can't argue with that logic.

I'm planning to hold a mock election in the classroom. Should be interesting to see how they choose. McCain was quite popular, because he flew planes... until they learned that Obama was born in Hawaii.

If only all decisions were that easy.

losing motivation

2008-10-19T12:41:00.002-05:00

I haven't been motivated to post much lately. This is the same problem I had last year, which is why I stopped blogging in mid-September. Stuff happens at work that I wanna write about, but by the time I get home, cook dinner, eat, and clean up, I'm too tired to type about my day. And quite frankly, reliving a particularly rough day can be annoying. I like to try to leave my work problems at work so that my time at home is relaxing. (Easier said than done, I know...)

It's a toss-up. Writing about the things that happen at work is very therapeutic. Blogging gives me an outlet to air my grievances or ask for advice. But part of me feels like I'm the only one who reads this, so it seems like a waste of time to go through the trouble of posting it online, when I could be writing it down in a journal, or better yet, calling a friend to talk about it (which has the added benefit of getting immediate feedback). I dunno. I don't think I'm ready to give up on blogging yet. I just need to find time to actually sit down and do it.

With all due respect...

2008-10-04T10:06:00.004-05:00

This is my 8th year teaching at this school, and over the years we've gone through all sorts of discipline plans. One year we had a "Caught Being Good" policy, where kids who were caught doing something good got to put their name in a box for a weekly drawing. We had "infractions" (written slips that the parents had to sign) which died out after awhile and then later resurfaced under the new name of "incident reports." We tried Restorative Practices, lunch detentions and of course, the tried and true, "handle as much as you can in the classroom before you call for the principal." We had a discipline copybook, which students had to sign if they did something (talk in class, curse, fight, disrespect a teacher) or if they failed to do something (homework, follow directions). We used the copybook my first year... then we switched to something else... and then we brought it back last year along with weekly notices to parents for students who signed it.

Last year we decided that there was a serious lack of respect in our school. We came up with a schoolwide campaign to reward the good behavior while toughening the consequences for disrespect (hence the lunch detentions and resurrection of the discipline copybook) ... but somehow, the reward portion fell through the cracks. So this year we formed a committee to "recognize respect." I think it's important for the students who are consistently respectful to be rewarded for their behavior. I once read that students who are behaving rarely hear their name spoken in a classroom. Think about it: how many times do you say the name of the student who is talking, calling out, getting out of his seat? The kids who misbehave often get more attention than the ones who do the right thing.

The new schoolwide plan is to reward students whose names aren't in the discipline book. At the end of each month, those students will be announced over the loudspeaker and they can go to the office to receive a certificate and a prize from our principal. Anyone who wins for 3 consecutive months will be invited to an ice cream party. Yesterday we awarded the September prize, but we decided to do it as an assembly... to get the kids excited about it. And for the most part, they were.

The kids who didn't get rewarded? Well... it was a mixed bag as far as reactions went. The younger ones were noticeably disappointed. Some were shocked that they didn't win (although it wasn't a surprise... if they know they signed the discipline book, then they know they weren't eligible). Some of the older ones merely looked bored or indifferent. And one 8th grade girl who didn't win announced very loudly, "Well, MY self-esteem is lower now." This from the girl who was already suspended this year for mouthing off to her homeroom teacher and telling her to "shut up." This girl started in our school last year and was almost expelled for her blatant and repeated disrespect towards students, teachers and school policy. She has some nerve taking away from the students who earned their reward.

It just seems like no matter what we do, we can't motivate everyone to show respect. But on the plus side, there were a good number of students who were rewarded for doing the right thing. And that's a step in the right direction.

I need to ask for a raise.

2008-09-25T20:07:00.004-05:00

A member of our faculty (one might call her a principal member of our faculty), has an 8 year old granddaughter with a disability. She was "normal" until the age of 2... at which point her mental development slowed considerably, while her body continued to grow. At 8, she is almost as tall as me (at least 5' 4") and is wearing a woman's size 14. She spent most of last year in a clinic, where she lost 100 pounds and worked on her social development. Now that she's no longer in the clinic, she needs to be in a school. So this faculty member decided to enroll her granddaughter in our school and put her in my first grade classroom. Apparently, she's only supposed to be in our school long enough to get her evaluated, after which she'll be placed in a more appropriate environment.

I was given very little notice about this temporary placement (as in, I found out the day before), and so far, it has NOT been working out. This child can barely write her name, has never been to a real school before, and has a tendency to be socially inappropriate. When she's engaged in a task she enjoys (listening to a story, working in literacy centers, having recess with the other kids) she's fine. But as soon as she gets off-task (which is usually when she gets bored with what she's doing or when the work is too hard for her), she becomes a problem.

Imagine having a one year old in your classroom while you're trying to teach. Now imagine that said one year old is about the same size as an overweight teenager. That's the best way to describe what it's like. As soon as she gets off-task, she begins to walk around the room, knocking things over, tapping kids on the head, pushing kids, clapping my chalkboard erasers in the kids' faces, using my fly swatters (which my kids use as word pointers) to hit people... and when I try to approach her to stop her, she laughs and runs away from me. Much like a toddler would do. She thinks the whole thing is a game. And what makes it worse is that several of my students are terrified of her. She knows it, and she targets them. When she gets destructive, I have to call for her grandmother to come get her.

It's like I'm teaching special ed, without the small class size and the teacher's aides. And without the salary.

Our school psychologist has already started the evaluation process. When he's finished, I'm almost 100% positive that she'll be taken out of our school.

At least, I hope that's the case. I don't know how much more of this I can handle.

Checking in...

2008-09-23T20:05:00.002-05:00

I keep meaning to write... but things have been a little crazy. (In short: job stress and money stress.) My class is still small (16 students), but there are a few issues in the classroom that have been weighing on me. I affectionately (?) refer to this group as my "special ed" class. (I'll write more specific details about them later... too tired to get into it tonight.) At the end of the day, I am usually so exhausted that all I wanna do is sit on the sofa (I mean, ridiculously uncomfortable futon) and veg for a few hours. Yesterday was particularly bad... and I really wanted to come home and start blogging about it. But once I walked in the door, I couldn't bring myself to do anything work related. So after dinner I threw on my sneakers, grabbed my mp3 player, and walked around the block twice listening to soothing tunes (Ryan Adams and Nick Drake were in heavy rotation). I felt much better after that.

So instead of airing my grievances tonight, I'll leave you with some funny stories. I'll save the heavy stuff for another time.

Story 1:
I was walking up the steps to the faculty room with my phone in my hand, when one of the 8th graders noticed it and asked to see it. I held it up, and since I had just flipped it open to check for messages, the display screen was still lit. She saw a picture of my 17 year old godson holding his son (2 months old at the time the pic was taken), and she said, "Is that your baby daddy?" I didn't think people actually said that. I thought it was just in bad rap songs.

Story 2:
Yesterday morning I asked the kids to go to the rug for story time once their folder was put away. My Attention Seeker (who, incidentally, has been doing quite well the past few weeks) was the last one sitting. He looked around the room and noticed that everyone else was on the rug. He jumped up and said (seemingly to himself): "Hey, I already got my folder! What am I waiting for, an invitation?"

Story 3:
When I was taking my kids down to lunch today, I passed the 4th grade on the steps. The following conversation ensued:

4th grade girl: "Miss M, you look older than when we had you. I think it's your hair!"

Me: "What?! What's wrong with my hair?"

4th grade girl: "It looks different now. It makes you look older."

Little Old Man, patting me on the shoulder in an attempt to console me: "She meant to say younger. It makes you look younger."

He shot daggers at the girl, who dissolved into giggles. I really miss that class.

The Missing Crayon Mystery

2008-09-15T19:26:00.003-05:00

I've been very organized so far this year. (It was one of my "new school year" goals.) As a result, my lessons are planned and I feel fairly well prepared each day. And then I walk into the classroom and it all goes to hell.

Today's reality kick-in-the-pants came during a math lesson. We were learning that when we reverse the order of addends, the sum remains the same. The math workbook page had an activity which required the kids to color boxes to illustrate the concept. For example, 3 red boxes plus 2 blue boxes equals five boxes altogether... and 2 blue boxes plus 3 red boxes equals 5 boxes altogether. Not too difficult. I introduced the lesson by demonstrating with animal cut-outs on a felt board. All was well. Then I asked the kids to take out the things they'd need for the lesson: math workbook, pencil, red crayon, blue crayon. This request was met with mass chaos:

"I can't find my red!"

"Neither can I!"

"I have my red, but no blue..."

"My blue is broken!"

"Hey, I have 2 yellows!"

"He stole my crayon!"

"I don't have a red OR a blue!"

"I think I left my crayons at home..."

After a quick pouch inspection, I discovered that only half of the kids still have a full set of crayons. Each child was given a brand new 8-pack of Crayola crayons on the first day of school (which was only 9 days ago), along with a brand new zippered pencil pouch to keep supplies in. I don't allow them to take their pouches home, for fear they won't come back. I sweep my room every day... I've only found maybe one or two stray crayons. So where did all the crayons go?

Sheesh. I'll add it to the list of things to address at Back to School Night.

(By the way... the math guide book doesn't offer an alternative activity for kids who lose their crayons. I could have substituted different colors, but I probably would have run into the same problem. I wound up doing it as a group lesson on the white board, which wasn't nearly as interactive, but... it was the best I could do.)

All night long (all night)

2008-09-09T20:29:00.003-05:00

(Forgive the Lionel Richie inspired title. It's been stuck in my head all day, lol.)

My Attention Seeker has been keeping me on my toes since school started. I went to Mrs. S to get some of his story, since she taught him in both pre-K and K. She told me that she had the early intervention counselor observe him in K. The counselor made some recommendations for both home and school, so Mrs. S. gave me a copy of that list. Basic stuff... give him five minute warnings before transitions, praise him for the positive rather than call attention to the negative. Mrs. S. also used a behavior chart for him based on his most frequent inappropriate behaviors (calling out, tantrums, hitting, etc), but she said it wasn't very successful. I might suggest it when I meet with his mom.

I found out a little about his family situation, too. He's the youngest of three kids. The oldest son is in college, the middle son is in high school. My unprofessional opinion? He was an "oops baby." That's not necessarily a bad thing... unless the mother treats the youngest like a baby much longer than she should. He still talks in a babyish voice - a bit louder than the other kids, kind of whiny, still says his r's as w's ("weeding" instead of "reading"). I'd chalk the last one up to a possible speech problem, but then I heard how his mom talks to him. She uses a very exaggerated tone of voice with him, almost like she's speaking to a three year old.

And the clincher? This morning, Attention Seeker came into my room and made a beeline for me.

"Miss M, my mom said she was so, so proud of me!"

"Good!" I said. "What did you do?"

"Last night I slept by myself for the first time. I slept by myself ALL NIGHT. My mom was so, so, SO proud of me!" He grinned.

I looked up, a bit distracted by the morning rush of kids unpacking and running to the coatroom. "Cool... wait, where do you normally sleep?"

"With my mom," he answered, matter of factly. "But last night I slept by myself the whole night!"

So, there you have it. Six years old and still sleeping in his mom's bed. Let's just hope last night was the beginning of a new trend for him and mom.

The times, they are a-changin'...

2008-09-07T19:43:00.005-05:00

Every year I do an "All About Me" unit to start the school year. One of the projects in the unit is a self-portrait. First, each child draws his or her face on an oval. Then I distribute a copy of a poem on a t-shirt pattern. The kids fill in the blanks on a poem by writing hair color, eye color, age and name to make it personalized. When they're finished, the face gets glued to the t-shirt, and the new "kids" get hung in the hallway.

This is the poem... found on the internet years ago:

____ is my hair,

____ are my eyes.

I'm ____ years old,

I'm just the right size.

My name is ____,

And as you can see,

I'm very happy

To be me!

Every year, I'm surprised by how much my little guys know. And I'm not talking academics. I'm talking pop culture and street slang. And as a teacher, you gotta keep up with it... or else you won't be able to deal with situations like this:

On Friday, while we were discussing color words for hair, one of my girls raised her hand and said, "Miss M? Some girls have highlights. What color should they write?"

And later... one of my boys began embellishing the mouth he had drawn.

"What are you drawing?" I asked.

"My grill," he responded.

Yeah. He also drew himself with a mohawk and an earring in each ear. I can't wait 'til his parents see that at Back to School Night.

Although, in their defense, nothing tops the year one of my boys drew himself with a giant green booger coming out of his nose. Pure class.

Jumping back in.

2008-09-03T18:04:00.005-05:00

Today was the first day of school. Since we split our first day into 2 days, I only had students with last names beginning with A-L. Which meant I only had 5 kids today. (My grand total is 14... so I should have 9 tomorrow.)

One of my boys is especially... hmmm... how can I say this politely? Energetic. Talkative. Impulsive. Stubborn. I'm sure there are more good adjectives, but I'll stop there. He's not malicious or mean. (Yet.) But in the four hours that he was in school, he managed to slap another child in the rear, cut his own shirt with scissors, insist that I change his seat, interrupt me (while I was giving directions, reading a story, and talking to the class), interrupt all four of the other kids during our First Day ice-breaker game, poke a boy's glasses, rip a corner of his name tag (I usually tape them to the desks, but I haven't been able to find clear contact paper ANYWHERE this week), and call one of my girls a "butt." Whew. Busy day for him.

Unfortunately, I had to talk to his mother about him after school. I let most of his behavior slide, chalking it up to First Day syndrome... he hasn't been in school all summer, so maybe he doesn't remember how to sit quietly or keep his hands to himself (wishful thinking, lol). But I had to tell mom about the mini tantrum he threw, which led to him cutting a hole in his brand new school shirt. I'm sure she would have noticed it, so I wanted to explain what happened.

A summary of the tantrum: he had to do a project which involved him tracing his hand and cutting it out. He kept yelling that he couldn't do it, it was "too hard," everything I tell him to do is "too hard" (the only thing I had told him to do thus far was sit down, listen to a story, and work on this particular project). He got so frustrated that he crumpled his first paper, begged me for a second one, demanded that I trace his hand for him AND cut it out for him, and crumpled the second one after I told him that I would help him (but not do it for him) if he tried his best to do the work himself first. Then he put his head down (the very picture of despair) and cried for about two minutes. After that, he was all smiles again... and before I knew what happened, he grabbed his scissors and gleefully snipped a hole in his shirt.

Oy vey. It's gonna be a fun year.

But otherwise, things went smoothly. I have the second half of my class tomorrow. And then Friday... the WHOLE CLASS. A whole whopping fourteen of them.

Goodbye, summer... I'll miss you.

2008-09-01T21:27:00.007-05:00

Ah... the last week of summer... the last week of freedom.

I spent most of the week in work, finishing my classroom. But I also made some time to enjoy the end of the summer. On Tuesday I went for dinner and drinks with two teacher friends (we all worked at a charter school together my first year of teaching). On Saturday night I went to my best friend's house for a wine and fondue party. (Soooo very tasty.) Yesterday I saw my other best friend and her husband, who were visiting from South Carolina. And today I went to my parents' house for swimming and barbecue. It's official. Summer is over.

When I was at my parents' house, I found some photo albums from my first two years at my current school. (Remember the good old days, before digital cameras? When we actually got our pictures developed and put them in albums?) In the back of Year One's album (2001-2002), there were some wallet size school portraits of students I had that year. There was also a wallet sized baby picture... one of those hospital pics of a newborn baby with squinchy eyes and teensy little fists. When I flipped the pic over to see who it was, I laughed right out loud. The baby in question is in my class this year. He was born when his sister was in my first grade class... January of 2002. Crazy. I've literally known him since he was born.

Makes me feel old.

Well, tomorrow it's back to work. We have a faculty meeting all day... and the kids start on Wednesday. Happy Back to School, everyone!

Short and sweet

2008-08-28T23:24:00.003-05:00

Went to work today and finished my classroom. As much as possible, that is. It's ready for children. I'm not.

Found out there are now 13 students registered for first grade (6 girls, 7 boys). That number may or may not change before next Wednesday. As of right now, it is my smallest class to date.

Also found out that Secretary forgot to order first grade copybooks when she placed the supply order. Eesh. No biggie... I'll just do without until they get here.

By the numbers

2008-08-27T16:44:00.004-05:00

7: Number of days until the kids start school.

12: Number of children who are currently registered for first grade.

16: Number of desks that are set up for student use.

10: Number of extra desks that are piled in the back of the room (at least until I get a final head count).

Oh well. Despite the ridiculously low enrollment, things are going smoothly. The classroom is almost entirely ready. I just need to shove a few more things in the closet before the kids start.

Even though the class list isn't finalized, I put up this year's "welcome" bulletin board... there's a name on each grape.

I left a few grapes open in case any other kids show up. Doesn't hurt to be optimistic, huh?

A work in progress... still.

2008-08-25T21:40:00.008-05:00

Our school has made some changes since last year. The three empty classrooms that used to be rented by the public school across the street are now being rented by a Head Start school. But they asked that all three rooms be on the first floor. In order to make that happen, third and fourth grade needed to move upstairs... and so did the faculty room.

Today I figured out just how much that's gonna suck.

Got to work, walked upstairs to put lunch in fridge. Walked downstairs to work on my room. Walked upstairs to refill water bottle. Walked downstairs again. Walked upstairs to get backing paper from the closet for a bulletin board. Walked back downstairs. Walked upstairs to eat lunch. Sat for awhile. Walked back downstairs to finish working on my room.

I'm gonna get quite a workout this year.

Anyway, most of the big stuff is done. And I took pics!!!

This is a back corner of my room. It mostly just stores center materials and books on tape. This year I decided to label EVERYTHING. (I could lie and say I'm trying to create a print-rich environment, but really it's just so I remember where everything goes.)

This is one view of my reading corner. The display bookcase is new! My principal found it in a closet this summer and thought I might like it. The back of it holds big books. I'm really excited about it. Right now I have all my "back to school" themed books on display.

My reading corner from a different angle. This is my favorite part of my classroom.

My calendar corner... otherwise known as my OTHER favorite part of my room. I just think it's colorful and cozy. This is also where the kids sit for story time.

And this monstrosity is my desk. Ugh. It's the last thing I plan to tackle. It will have framed pictures and a potted plant on it, damnit. I vow it!

That's it for today.

everybody dance now!

2008-08-20T12:09:00.002-05:00

I'm taking a few days off from working in the classroom. There's not much else I can do until I know how many kids I'm gonna have. I'm going back in tomorrow to drop off some supplies (chart paper, sentence strips, desk nametags... the usual back-to-school necessities) and put some stuff back in the closets. Then I'm not going back again until next week, when I plan to sort all the books and label their desks.

In the meantime, I discovered this fabulous website. It made me smile... go watch it, so you can smile, too!

http://www.wherethehellismatt.com/

one day at a time

2008-08-18T18:36:00.007-05:00

Today was Day 4 of setting up my classroom. It's slow-going this year. I've known since last year that I wanted to look for another teaching job, so when I packed up my room in June, I REALLY packed. I sorted everything (books, posters, supplies) into two piles: things that are mine (i.e. paid for with my money or brought from home) and things that belong to the school. In the event that I got a job in another school or district, I wouldn't have to spend all summer sorting through everything trying to figure out what was mine. I also took every single decoration off the walls... including things that normally stay up, like my alphabet and my number line.

Since I didn't get a job, it wound up just making more work for me. When I went back last week to set up, I had to start from scratch. I had to re-sort all my books into baskets by author or subject, I had to go through two piles of posters to see what needed to be hung up, I had to rehang my alphabet and my number line. Tedious.

By the time I left today, most of the big stuff was finished. My calendar corner is set up, my reading corner is finished (and looks much better than before), and I have a bulletin board started. I have 16 desks out, but I have no idea how many kids are in my room this year. I heard that 8 are officially registered. The rest will come trickling in soon enough. I don't anticipate more than 20, since there were only 19 in last year's kindergarten class. We'll see.

The kids don't start 'til after Labor Day, so I still have plenty of time to finish setting up. I'll get some pics up soon... when it starts looking more like a classroom, lol.

I got some 'splainin to do...

2008-08-13T23:33:00.002-05:00

For those of you who used to read this blog... I did not fall off the face of the earth. I started blogging about last school year, got as far as the second week of September, and then... I dunno. I just stopped. I felt like I didn't have anything interesting to say, and I was boring myself with what I was writing, and I didn't feel like doing it anymore.

But now I'm back.

I kind of missed blogging about teaching. Truth be told, I'm a myspace addict... so I did a lot of blogging over there during my hiatus from this blog. Since I stopped blogging here in September, I decided to root through my myspace posts and find things related to teaching that might fill in the gaps. It's not much, but it'll do.

Project: Organization

2008-08-10T18:36:00.001-05:00

I've decided to make a New Year resolution! No, I haven't gone off the deep end. I know it's August, not January. I'm thinking in teacher terms... a New School Year resolution! I figure, people make New Year resolutions because they want to improve something about they way they live. So I'm going to make some New School Year resolutions to improve the way I teach.

'Tis the season... stores are a-buzz about Back-to-School sales, and teacher websites are filled with Back-to-School tips, tricks and ideas. When it gets to this point in the summer, I start getting antsy about going back to work. I start to miss the kids and the classroom and the routine. To help pass the time, I go through pictures from previous years to see how I set up my room and what kind of projects I did on the first day of school. Then I hit some teacher websites for new ideas. I pull up my file of old ideas and add the new ones to the list. And finally, I go through the revised list and color-code it according to my needs (by subject, by season, etc). Yes, I AM a dork. I freely admit it.

Now, onto the resolutions:

♦ Stay organized!
♦ Keep desk clean. It should NOT be piled with papers, projects and miscellaneous odds and ends that don't have a home. I want to be one of those teachers that has a plant and framed family photos on her desk.
♦ Keep a binder... possibly two. One for parent-teacher communications, one for schedules, lists, calendars, etc. Keeping everything in binders means less loose papers on my desk. (I hope.)
♦ Declutter!!! I don't need to save everything! Sort things into piles: throw away, give away, put away.
♦ Plan ahead. (This will be the hardest...) Lessons, assessments, projects. It will make my life easier in the long run.
♦ Don't volunteer for as many things as I have in years past. I don't get paid overtime for these things, and it takes away from my "me-time."
♦ Don't feel bad about not volunteering for everything. When you add up all the things I've done in the past 7 years, I think I'm entitled to some time off.

There are a few others, but they're more specific and I'm still sorting through my ideas. It's a start.

Molding young minds = Priceless

2008-05-18T18:27:00.003-05:00

I'm currently job hunting, and clearly it's been far too long since I've done it. Gone are the days of sending a resume and cover letter. Most school districts now require the following items to be sent in an "application packet" in order for you to even be considered for hire:

♦ Resume/cover letter
♦ PA Standard Teaching Application (5 pages, plus an essay)
♦ Letters of recommendation (3)
♦ Medical form (including a recent TB test)
♦ College transcripts = $13 (I went to 3 different colleges... two for undergrad, one for grad)
♦ Criminal Record Background Check = $10
♦ Child Abuse Clearance = $10
♦ FBI Fingerprinting = $40
♦ Copy of PA Teaching Certification*

A few days ago, someone pointed out that he got into the military with less paperwork. And I don't think he was exaggerating. So basically, it's easier to get a government issued rifle than it is to get a job as a teacher. Lovely.

The entire application packet is about 20 pages. Which means I have to get some big mailing envelopes and pay extra for postage when I mail them. The cost of all these background checks and fees doesn't bother me as much as the inconvenience of putting together a packet for a school that may or may not contact me. But most districts have made it quite clear on their website that "incomplete packets will not be considered." I wonder what they do with all the packets they reject? I hope they recycle... Save the trees!!!

Anyway, I've already started sending letters of interest and resumes to some districts. Keep your fingers (and toes) crossed for me. I just can't afford to be a Catholic school teacher anymore.

*FYI, here's what it cost me to get certified as a teacher in PA (excluding tuition from 3 different colleges):

♦ Praxis test = about $130 (registration fee plus test fee)... multiplied by 7 (I had to take 4 tests for Elementary Ed and 2 tests for Special Ed when I got certified in those areas in 2000. I had to take 1 test for Reading Specialist when I got certified in that area in 2008.)
♦ PA Teaching Certification = $80 ($40 when I applied for Elementary and Special in 2000... $40 for Reading Specialist, added this year.)

Fed up.

2008-04-10T18:15:00.003-05:00

I love my job. I really do. I rarely complain about the little things that piss me off, because the good usually outweighs the bad. But tonight it just went too far.

Our school has been holding a Family Reading Night once a month since February. It came about because a parent requested that we have "fun things" for the parents and kids to do together. (It should be noted that this particular parent hasn't shown up for any of the three Family Reading Nights we've hosted. Nor the spaghetti dinner we held for Catholic School's Week. Nor the Beef and Beer fundraiser we had last Saturday.)

We had a modest turn out for February's Family Reading Night - about ten students and their parents. March's Dr. Seuss themed night turned out about twenty kids and their parents. So hopes were high for April's installment. We planned to read books about insects by author/illustrator Eric Carle (of "The Very Hungry Caterpillar" fame) and follow it up by making creepy crawly snacks... ants on a log (cream cheese spread on a celery stick topped with raisins), dirt & worms (chocolate pudding and crushed Oreos with gummy worms) and so forth.

I hyped it up all week with my first graders. I put the event on our homework sheet and on our website. It was listed on our school calendar. The principal sent an invitation to all students in kindergarten through fourth grade. She bought ingredients for four different snacks and I spent last night typing up the recipes for the treats so the kids could make a "cookbook" after hearing the stories.

Two children showed up. Two.

You know how many teachers were there? Six. The principal, the reading specialist, the librarian, and the teachers from first, second and third grade.

But that's not even why I'm pissed. I actually had fun with the two second grade girls who came. They were both in my class last year, and they were really excited about making the cookbook and the bug treats.

No, I'm pissed about something that one of the parents said to our second grade teacher. She said, "Did you ever consider having this on a weekend? The parents work all day and they're tired on weeknights." Miss W replied, "We've been here since 7:30 this morning, and we haven't been home yet." What does this mother think we do all day? I spend 7 hours a day with 23 six-year-olds... I'm exhausted by 3 PM. THEN the mother said, "If you did this on a Saturday, you'd get a lot more parents." Oh really? Last weekend we had a Beef and Beer fundraiser... about 40 people came. Five of them were parents. The rest were faculty, and family and friends of faculty. We hold a Family Unity Mass three Saturdays a year (with food afterwards)... I think 2 families from my classroom came to the last one. We sold tickets for a Saturday night Philadelphia Soul game. About 10 families bought tickets. I'm not sure what else the school can do to encourage parent participation. It was so sad to see the teachers standing around the school hall tonight... tables set with ingredients for the snacks, books piled and ready to be read... and no kids.

So now I'm just fed up with the whole damn thing. I was so disgusted by the apathy on the part of the parents, and by their misconception of what our job entails, that I actually cried on the way home. It was partially out of frustration and disgust, and partially out of exhaustion.

Maybe I'm partially to blame. Maybe I volunteer too much. Every Thursday after school I teach CCD for an hour. So today I got to work at 7:30 AM, taught from 8:00-2:30, taught CCD from 3:30-4:30, grabbed a quick dinner at Wendy's with Miss W (because there wasn't enough time for either of us to go home between CCD and Family Reading Night), and then started setting up for Family Reading Night at 6:00. When it was over, we stayed and helped clean up. We left work at 8:00, and I got home at 8:30. That's a 12 1/2 hour day. I ate all three meals in that building today. And I don't get paid overtime.

I don't know what to do about it anymore. I think we've done all we can do as a school to reach out to parents. The rest is up to them.

A reminder

2008-03-02T18:08:00.001-05:00

On my fridge, there is a note... written in pencil, in the careful printing of a first grader: "Miss M, you are so pretty. From, Isaiah."

You know... in case I forget.

2007: A Recap

2007-12-28T12:22:00.004-05:00

We're nearing the end of 2007, and I decided to take a few minutes to reflect on the past year. I have to say, it was one of the best years I've had in a very long time. Allow me to recap the highlights for you:

~ Even though I was technically finished my grad school classes in December of '06, the graduation ceremony was held in February. So I started my year by graduating with my masters... and a 4.0. And I don't feel bad bragging about that, because I worked my ass off to get it.

~ Also in February, I threw myself a graduation party. I figured I earned it, especially considering I hadn't done anything special for my previous graduations. It was a kickass good time.

~ In April, I was in yet another wedding (number three!)... and despite the drama preceding the Big Day, I had a good time at the ceremony and SO much fun at the reception. And I LOVED my dress.

~ In May, I bought a new car. I'd wanted to buy a red SUV for ages, and I finally decided to do it. And I'm so glad I did. It's an awesome car.

~ In June, I got to visit my some friends in New York. While I was there, my best friend went into early labor... and her and her husband welcomed their son into the world two weeks early!

~ In July, I took the trip of a lifetime... three weeks in Australia! It was an amazing trip. It wasn't exactly a vacation, because I was there to chaperone a boychoir. But I had the BEST time getting to know the boys, hearing them perform, and seeing the sights Down Under.

~ Also over the summer, I threw three awesome parties. A Memorial Day party in May, a Wild West Bonanza in August, and a Kill the Booze party at the end of the summer. All good times, as always. (And yes, my parties always have names...)

~ In September, I started looking at apartments... and found one! So at the end of September, I finally moved out of my parents' house!

~ And not a moment too soon... because in October I turned 30. The big 3-0. It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. And I got to eat fondue!!!

~ In November, my roommate won a radio station contest... and got tickets to see Dane Cook! She took me and two other friends... we got to ride in a limo and meet some of the local radio personalities. And Dane was hysterical!

~ Then this month, my roommate and I threw our first party in the apartment. We packed the place with as many friends and family members as possible. Good stuff indeed.

All in all, it was a fantastic year. 2008 is gonna have to work awfully hard to top it. I'm ready. Bring it on, bitch.

One of those days

2007-11-20T12:19:00.002-05:00

You know when you wake up and just KNOW that it's going to be a bad day? Yesterday morning was one of those. When I woke up it was cold and rainy. I felt like crap. It was gym day at school, but it's the gym teacher's week off (we only have him every other week), which meant I wouldn't have a break all day. I went to make coffee and discovered that I left my travel mug in my car over the weekend... and I wasn't about to go out in the rain and get it. Sigh. Then just before I left the apartment, I decided I had enough time to run to the bathroom. And the toilet decided to overflow. Good Lord. The toilet handle has been sticking lately, making the water run until you jiggle the handle. So of course when it overflowed, the water kept running and I couldn't get it to stop. And then I had to clean it up, because I couldn't just leave water all over the floor all day.

UGH.

Work was freezing. It was between 55 and 57 degress inside the building and it was still cold and damp outside. All the kids were in jackets and gloves. The boiler has been replaced, but not all the pipes are hooked up yet. The heat won't be on til Friday, which doesn't help us any, since we're off on Thursday and Friday for Thanksgiving. Lovely.

People suck

2007-11-16T12:17:00.001-05:00

I got some news yesterday about a former student, who is currently in sixth grade. Another teacher discovered welts all over his legs and sent him to the nurse. He told her that his mother did it with a belt. The nurse called DHS (Department of Human Services) to file a report, because we're bound by law to do that when we suspect abuse or neglect.

I'm having a hard time dealing with it. I taught him and his sister (currently in fifth grade) when they were in first grade, and I tutored the sister after school for a semester... so I know the mother pretty well. I just can't believe she would do that to her own child. I've seen abuse before, when I worked at the charter school. Bad abuse. A handprint on a second grader's cheek. Lashes from an electric wire on a fifth grader's upper arms. Over one hundred tiny round cigarette burns all over the body of a first grade boy. I don't care what people say about television and movies desensitizing us. It doesn't get any easier or any less nauseating to hear about it again now.

I had yard duty today, which means I had to be outside supervising the lunchtime recess. I got to see the boy and his sister for the first time since I heard the news. Of course I didn't let on that I had heard anything when I talked to them. But it was good to see them and give them a hug. If for no other reason than to assure myself that they were, for the moment, safe.

A moment of calm

2007-11-12T12:14:00.004-05:00

After a relatively early dinner (like "early bird special" early, lol), I took my seat on the futon (ugh) with a pile of work. I found a jazz music station on cable and worked until "Heroes" came on. After "Heroes" (which was AWESOME, by the way), I switched to some smoky big band music and returned to my work, this time armed with a mug of tea. It's nice to have a moment of calm.

In other news, we have no heat in work. Still. Since last week. I'm not normally cold. Even when it's cold out, I manage to walk around work in short sleeves quite comfortably. But our building is ancient... high ceilings and concrete walls that suck in the cold air and hold it all day. It was at least 10 degrees colder in the building than it was outside. Some teachers have space heaters. I do not. And I can't afford to buy one just for a few days of cold. So today I wore the following: long johns, sweat pants, socks, a long sleeved t shirt under a polo shirt under a fleece jacket, fingerless gloves (makes it easier to write), and a scarf. And I was still cold! It's supposed to be a tad warmer the next two days, before the temperature plummets yet again. The heater guys said it could take a week... maybe more, maybe less. Cross your fingers.

Back to my tea... and my Tommy Dorsey. Life is good.

Just in case you wanted to know

2007-10-16T18:06:00.003-05:00

People who were born on October 16th...

~ Noah Webster (lexicographer)
~ Oscar Wilde (author)
~ Angela Lansbury (actress)
~ John Mayer (musician)
~ Suzanne Somers (actress)
~ Tim Robbins (actor)
~ Eugene O'Neill (playwright)
~ Kellie Martin (actress)
~ Flea (musician)

... and me!

On moving and apartments

2007-10-04T12:10:00.003-05:00

Hello friends!

I'm officially moved in to the apartment. And I consider myself pretty much settled. Sort of. Kind of. Currently blogging from my classroom, since our DSL isn't hooked up yet.

My bedroom is fine, except I need to buy some bookcases. My bookcases in my bedroom at my parents' house are built in to the wall, so I couldn't take them with me. The kitchen and bathroom are very well furnished. But the living room is lacking in seating. We have my brother's old futon for a sofa (and guest bed, if needed), but that's about it for seating. Our dining room furniture is a card table and four folding chairs on loan from my parents. It's not fabulous, but it's a place to eat. We're going to look into Ikea, Kmart and other inexpensive options for extra chairs and a dining room set. And someday, who knows? Maybe we'll get all crazy and buy a coffee table or coat rack. Imagine it!

I went to my parents' house for dinner on Tuesday night. It was an interesting experience. It felt kind of like home... I set the table and washed the dishes, just like I hadn't even left. But I felt like a guest there. None of my things are there anymore. However, my new home doesn't feel much like home yet, either. All my furniture is there, but it still isn't HOME. In fact, since I moved, my classroom feels more like home than either of my other homes.

Anyway... time to teach CCD. More later, when we get decent internet at the apartment.

Dree and the Terrible Horrible No Good Very Bad Day

2007-09-28T12:07:00.001-05:00

(With apologies to Judith Viorst)

When I woke up this morning, my allergies were making my nose run and my eyes water.

It was humid outside again and the only work pants I had clean were long pants.

I could tell it was going to be a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day.

That's what it was, because when I was walking to my car with my breakfast in my hand, my peanut butter waffle fell peanut butter side down.

As soon as I started my car, my gas light went on.

I knew it was going to be a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day.

We had a fire drill in the rain. Then we had a second fire drill later because the first one was so bad.

My students were wild things.

I had yard duty, and I HATE yard duty.

When I got home from work, I had a letter saying that the red light camera caught me and I owe $100.

It was a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day.

Some days are like that.

... But, in all honestly, it wasn't so bad. After work we had a faculty wine and cheese party to celebrate a successful first month of school. I can't believe it's going to be October already! And I already have pretty much every weekend booked. I love fall and fall parties and fall activities! Yay fall!

And... for those of you who haven't heard, I'm moving out. Finally. My goal in life was to be out of my parents' house before I was 30... and by some miracle, it actually happened! A friend and I started going apartment hunting a few weeks ago and after much newspaper searching, many phone calls, and a few frightening visits, we found a really nice twin duplex about ten minutes from both of our parents' houses. It's got a lot of space (but not a lot of closet space...), it's in a quiet neighborhood, and the price is decent.

Tomorrow is moving day... yay! We both have plenty of furniture for our own bedrooms, and our moms have supplied us with plenty of things for the kitchen. But the living room will be quite bare. I'm bringing my brother's futon for a sofa, and we're borrowing my parents' card table and folding chairs for the dining room, until we get a real table. But as of tomorrow... it's home! Let the adventure begin.

The Back to School Curse

2007-09-22T12:01:00.003-05:00

Well, it's almost the end of September already. I've only had my kids for eleven days. Eleven days doesn't sound like long at all, but apparently it was enough time to catch a cold from one of the little buggers. Not sure which one, but I'm sure they all had germs that contributed to this illness. It's of the runny nose, raw throat, coughing, sneezing, headache variety. (Basically all the symptoms covered on the NyQuil bottle.) It's not so bad that I have to call out of work, though. If I worked an office job or something like that, I would have called out. But it's just not worth the trouble of writing lesson plans for a sub. It's easier to go in and suffer quietly while trying to control a class of 22 energetic six year olds. They're cute kids, though. And smart, so far. No complaints yet.

Okay, time for another dose of DayQuil.

Irresistible!

2007-09-13T21:28:00.002-05:00

Just a short story for today. Longer post coming over the weekend.

This week, I introduced my new students to the concept of DEAR (Drop Everything And Read), which we do every day after lunch. (When I was in gradeschool, it was called Sustained Silent Reading, or SSR, but I have a problem with the "silent" part of that concept... first grade reading is never silent.)

Allow me a brief digression: My reading corner is my pride and joy. It took me almost a year to get it set up exactly the way I envisioned it, but the end result was well worth it. Instead of books on shelves, I bought baskets in all sizes and colors (mostly from the dollar store) and sorted the books by subject, author, season or concept.

My reading corner

Some of my book baskets

So anyway, in my cat basket is a non-fiction book about cats. It includes pictures of newborn kittens, and for that reason alone, it has become one of the most poplar books in my classroom. Yesterday one of my girls had that book and she began waving her hand wildly in the air to get my attention.

"What's up?" I asked her.

She got a dreamy look on her face and said, "Miss M... can anyone resist kittens?"

"Excuse me? Did you say resist?"

"Yes. Can anyone resist them? They're just so cute!" She hugged the book to her chest with a smile.

Wow. Can anyone resist such a precious comment?

Year Eight - Day One

2007-09-05T13:55:00.001-05:00

As far as first days go, this one was rather uneventful. The kids are sweet - albeit a bit talkative - but no drama, no tears, no behavior problems (yet). Based on last year's roster (adjusted for transfers and new students), I have a tentative 26 names on my class list. However, only 18 of them have officially registered. Usually I wind up with almost the same amount of kids on the "expected" list. This year seems to be different... unless a whole bunch of parents show up tomorrow to register. It's possible that I'll only have around 20 this year. I've got 26 desks set up, 26 folders labeled, 26 sets of workbooks in 26 cubbies... because you just never know what to expect. We'll see.

However, it was nice to see some familiar faces today. My very first students are in SEVENTH GRADE this year. I can't believe how old they are! I have to dig out my photo album from my first year and see all their little innocent first grade faces. In my room this year, I have the younger siblings of several former students. I remember when some of them were babies, tucked away in car seats and strollers during parent conferences. Time certainly flies.

One of my brand new boys is already putting a smile on my face. Today he announced that he was the "best, best reader" in his last school. I asked him if he could find any words in my room that he knew how to read. After looking around for a few minutes, he walked over to my map of the US. He pointed and read, "Alaska," then pointed again and read, "New Mexico." Certainly impressive, especially since he correctly identified both states. I don't know if he learned about those states in kindergarten, but even the fact that he remembered them was impressive. After reading First Day Jitters, a cute story about a teacher who doesn't want to go to school on the first day, I told the class how teachers sometimes get nervous too, even though we're older. My new friend asked how old I am, so I told him: 29. "Oh," he said. "You're older than my dad. He's only 20-something." Gotta love it. :)

While all is well in my classroom, the school itself is falling apart. In addition to losing our Pre-K and our art teacher, we're now also losing our librarian. She's only staying until the end of September. That's another 45 minutes a week of break time down the drain. And our 8th grade teacher (who's been with us for about 10 years) called last week saying she needs to take a month off for medical leave... effective immediately. So now the fifth grade teacher who just retired last year is back as a sub until Mrs. R. returns. It's a rocky start to the school year. Hopefully we'll be able to make it work.

negative energy

2007-08-27T22:12:00.001-05:00

I went back to the classroom today... there were a few other teachers there that I haven't seen all summer. Usually the first day back is a more happy occasion, with everyone catching up on summer vacations, family stories and school-related news. Today had a different feel. Tensions were high and morale was low. Our new K teacher (who was formerly Pre-K) is trying to adjust to a new classroom, new materials and a new curriculum. On top of that, our pastor wants her old classroom completely cleaned out so that our Director of Religious Education (DRE) can use the old Pre-K classroom as her office (she's part-time, so she'll only be in the building three days a week). Last week, Principal argued with Pastor that Mrs. S. had more important things to worry about than sorting through the Pre-K supplies, and asked him if we could use the back of the room as storage until Mrs. S has time to deal with it. Pastor agreed. Principal left for vacation on Thursday (and won't be back until tomorrow). When we walked into the building today, everything from the Pre-K classroom was sitting in the hallway. Bookshelves, storage bins, toys, chairs, CDs, baskets, books... you name it, it was on the floor. Apparently the DRE and our custodian (plus a few helpers) were asked by Pastor to get the room cleaned out. Mrs. S. was understandably upset and overwhelmed when she saw the mess. Her new room is filled with K supplies and there isn't much room to store all the Pre-K supplies as well. And since some of the Pre-K supplies were things that belong to Mrs. S., she has no choice but to sort through the pile before her things get lost or misplaced. I felt really bad for her. If I get my own classroom together early, I'm going to see if I can help her with anything.

In addition to that drama, some of the teachers found out today that we're not getting an art teacher this year. That didn't go over too well at all. It was fuel for the fire, at that point.

On the bright side (and yes, there is one)... I saw my good friend Miss W. (second grade teacher) today. We always say we're going to keep in touch over the summer, but it never works out. Usually we're traveling (this summer it was Mexico for her, Australia for me), working (she did camp, I took the summer off), class (although not this summer, since I graduated this year) and of course, hanging out with our own friends. So the first time we see each other in August, we spend no less than an hour catching up. We always pick up exactly where we left off. Today we talked about books for quite awhile. We both read Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows over the summer, and there was much to discuss. And we're both in a book club, so we shared what we've been reading (Eat, Pray, Love for her; Night for me). That hour of conversation was uplifting in the face of all the morning's drama.

Sigh. I'm hoping tomorrow is a better day.

All About Teaching

2007-08-24T22:29:00.001-05:00

I copied this from another teacher's blog... but now I can't remember whose blog it was! Anyway, I thought it was a fitting meme, now that everyone is in Back-to-School mode. And all good teachers could use a little reflection before they start the new year. :)

I am a good teacher because... I absolutely love what I do. When I was younger, I never felt like I was really good at anything. But then I started teaching and I knew I had found my niche. When I'm not teaching, I'm thinking about teaching. When I am teaching, I'm thinking about ways I could improve. Teaching is what I do best.

If I weren’t a teacher, I would be... a children’s librarian, perhaps. Books and reading make me extremely happy. The only thing that makes me happier is sharing my love of reading with children.

My teaching style is... energetic, creative, flexible, compassionate, fun, quirky, musical, hands-on, noisy… and it’s all me.

My classroom is... my home away from home. I know every nook and cranny of that room and I take great pride in its appearance. It’s a gallery of the children’s work. It’s a safe haven for my students… criticism-free, bully-free, insult-free. It’s a place where books come to life and where first graders become authors and illustrators.

My lesson plans are... a guideline, but not a script. And they’re usually not done on time. And above all, they are not set in stone. I stick to the curriculum, but I’m all about the teachable moments. Those are the best part of teaching.

One of my teaching goals is... to turn my first graders into readers. Even the reluctant ones. I’m convinced that there is a book out there for everyone, and all we have to do is find the perfect fit. Another constant goal is to make learning so much fun that the kids don’t realize that they’re learning.

The toughest part of teaching is... admitting that I’m only one person and that sometimes, I need to take some “me” time so that I don’t fall apart. I can’t solve all the problems of the world in one school year. I can’t guarantee that every child I teach is going to learn everything he needs to know by June. But that won’t stop me from trying.

The thing I love most about teaching is... it’s both consistent and varied. I know what’s expected of me, I know the curriculum inside and out, and the faculty has become like a second family to me. But every year I get a new crop of kids, each with their own unique personality. And you just never know what’s going to come out of their mouths next. It’s never boring.

A common misconception about teaching is... that anyone can do it. I’d gladly hand over my classroom and all its responsibilities for one day to any non-teacher, just to see what would happen. Another misconception is that teachers get nights, weekends, and summers off. Some people don’t realize the long days and late nights we have with things like Open House and Back to School Night and parent conferences. And they don’t know that we spend our nights writing lesson plans and grading papers and worrying about the one student who doesn’t quite seem to be on level with the rest of the class. And they don’t realize that many teachers need to take a second job just to make ends meet (because Lord knows we aren’t paid nearly enough for what we do). And don’t forget the summer classes and workshops we take to keep our skills sharp.

The most important thing I’ve learned since I started teaching is... I affect every child that comes through my classroom, sometimes in ways that I’ll never know. And I’ve also learned that I can’t do everything. And I’ve learned that I’m capable of so much more than I ever realized.

Going back

2007-08-22T18:44:00.001-05:00

I went back into my classroom this week. I haven't set foot in the room since our last day of school in June. On Monday I went by myself and hauled boxes out of the closet. Today I brought my cousins Kyle (16) and Kaitlyn (8) to help me. We got a lot done. Kyle moved all of the desks into groups, took heavy boxes of workbooks down from the closet shelves, and moved my bookshelves back into place. Kait had a blast setting up my reading corner, organizing my stuffed animals, and sharpening pencils. It was a huge help. I'm bringing Kait back tomorrow to help out with a few more things. It's starting to look like a classroom again.

So on that front, all is well.

However, there were some major upheavals in our school over the past few months. At the end of last year, we had hired 3 new teachers (K, 3 and 5) and our former K teacher accepted the job as principal for this school year. At the beginning of August, the new K teacher backed out of the job because of a serious illness in the family. It was at this time that our principal realized that we only had one child registered for Pre-K. After much discussion with the pastor, it was decided that we would close Pre-K, and that our Pre-K teacher would teach K this year. In addition to that, our principal had been trying to hire a new art teacher to replace the one who left last year. However, because we're losing so much money by closing Pre-K, our pastor doesn't think we can afford a new art teacher. Which means the classroom teachers will have to teach art on their own (which is not a huge deal... at least for me). But it also means that we get one less break during the week. That's 45 minutes of prep time that we count on. It's gonna be rough losing that.

Two weeks and counting!

THREE YEARS!

2007-08-16T21:46:00.002-05:00

It's my blogiversary! Three years blogging!

I feel like I've been slacking off on the blogging lately. I blame grad school for the lack of posts during the school year. And as for the summer... well... I just haven't done anything worth blogging about. Except for Australia, and I did write about that. It's my new blog-year resolution to write more. I'll try.

So in honor of my blogiversary, I've once again updated my blogroll. I noticed that several of those blogs haven't been updated in many, many months, so they've been removed. And my book list has also been updated. Anyone who has suggestions for books or blogs that I should be reading, leave 'em in the comments section!

Australia: Week Two

2007-07-31T23:15:00.002-05:00

Week one of the tour was all about adjusting (to the tour schedule, to our chaperone groups, to being away from home). By week two, we were all very comfortable with each other. It's funny how well you get to know people after spending three straight weeks with them. I didn't know any of the boys in the choir (except for my godson) prior to this trip. Now I know many by name (and some by reputation...), and I had the opportunity to really talk to several of them.

I also bonded a lot with my four charges. My group ranged in age from 10 to 13 years old, and they're a lot of fun (unless they didn't get a lot of sleep... then they were just cranky). My role was part mother, part chaperone and part friend. I noticed that we went from polite to comfortable in a matter of days. When they boys came back from their billet homes in the morning, they came over to hug me and told me about their night. The boys weren't allowed to contact their families at all while on tour (no phone calls, no emails), so I was the closest thing they had to a mom for three weeks. Luckily, my group didn't suffer any major homesickness. Pretty remarkable, considering it was the first tour for two of the boys. I didn't really get homesick either. Although I did miss certain things: my dog, my own bed, my cell phone. I kept in touch with most of my family and friends through email and myspace, and I called my parents after every flight, to let them know we landed safely. And all of the families at home followed us by reading the tour blog, which was updated on a regular basis by one of the choir directors.

Like I said, we all fell into tour routine rather quickly. I was exhausted by 9:30 every night, but I was having so much fun that I didn't care. One morning, another chaperone (who has been on all six concert tours) asked me, "Would you do this again?" I answered without hesitation: "Absolutely." I knew it would be a lot of work, and I knew we would have free time... but I didn't expect to enjoy it as much as I did.

A big part of the tour routine was travel. It involved a lot of walking (oh, the blisters!) and a lot of bus rides and a LOT of flights. I used to be afraid of flying. Prior to tour, I'd only flown to and from Florida three times (which is only an hour long flight) and to and from London once (which is an eight hour flight). That's eight flights in 29 years. By the end of this tour, I had survived a total of TEN flights in three weeks. And two of those were about thirteen hours long. But by week two of the trip, flying had become such a part of the routine that I didn't even think about it anymore. In fact, I began to look forward to flying. It was down time for me, which gave me time to read, write postcards, journal, watch movies, or nap.

Flying was just part of the experience... and it was truly an amazing experience for these boys (and for the chaperones!). In addition to performing, they got to hold a koala, eat crocodile and emu meat, feed a kangaroo, see the sun rise and set at Uluru, and perform for people all over the country. How many other boys their age can claim so many life-changing experiences?

When we hit the halfway mark of the tour, it was hard to believe it. In some ways, it felt like we had just gotten there. In other ways, it felt like months since I'd left my home. By week two, I couldn't decide if I was tired of it, or if I didn't want it to end. I think it was a little of both. If week one was all about adjustment, then week two's theme was definitely enjoyment. I think we did our most exciting sight-seeing during our second week.

Week Two in a Nutshell

Adelaide (July 9-13)

Visited Cleland Wildlife Park, where we got to see Australian animals like koalas, dingoes, kangaroos, emus, and Tasmanian devils
Watched the boys perform at Adelaide Town Hall

Uluru-Ayers Rock (July 13-14)

Stayed overnight at Ayers Rock Campground, where I shared a cabin with my four boys
Saw the sun rise and set at Uluru
Went to the Pioneer Barbecue for dinner, where we grilled our own meat... and got to taste kangaroo and emu!
Saw an amazing night sky at the campground, including the Milky Way, the Southern Cross, Jupiter and Venus
Went for camel rides
Learned about Aboriginal culture (including how to throw a spear)

Sydney (July 14-16)

Took a ferry ride across Sydney Harbour, where we saw the famous Sydney Opera House and the Sydney Harbour Bridge
Walked across the Sydney Harbour Bridge
Saw the boys sing at Sydney Town Hall
Went to an Aussie Rules footy game at Sydney Football Stadium (Sydney Swans vs. Carlton Blues)
Visited the ANZAC Memorial (Australia New Zealand Army Corps)

Week three coming soon!

Australia: Week One

2007-07-24T00:00:00.001-05:00

The Keystone State Boychoir (KSB) and their chaperones left for Australia on July 1st... and after a very long journey, we all arrived safely in Melbourne. (By the way, "very long" = a 3 hour bus ride from Philly to NY, a 4 hour delay in the airport, a 5 hour flight from NY to LA, and a 14 hour flight from LA to Melbourne.) Needless to say, jet lag was a bit of a problem. And since we crossed the International Date Line, we lost July 2nd altogether. My body didn't know what hit it.

If you've never traveled with 80 boys between the ages of 10 and 18 (and I suspect you haven't), you don't know what you're missing. The boys wear matching outfits (makes them look professional, and also helps to keep them together in a crowd) and can be fairly energetic (they are young boys, after all). But the choir directors have this down to a science. The boys each have a "tour buddy" that they go everywhere with, and each chaperone ("chap") is responsible for 4 boys (or two pairs of tour buddies.) Each group is assigned a color for their luggage tags so that everything is easy to locate and organize. Despite all our efforts to keep the boys organized, I could swear I saw people cringing when all 97 of us (80 boys plus 15 chaps plus 2 choir directors) trooped into an airport or a train station. Not that I blame them. I'd be worried, too. Imagine the noise and destruction that 80 young boys can create in a public place.

But the choir directors took care of that problem, too. Each boy is given a tour journal at the beginning of the trip, which is a booklet containing our itinerary, games and puzzles, information about each city we're visiting, and blank pages for personal journaling. During their "down time" at bus stops and train stations, the boys are expected to read a book (books are a required item on their packing list) or work in their journal. And they do. It's impressive to see 80 boys sitting in an airport quietly reading and writing. (By the way, chaperones also get a copy of the tour journal. I wrote in mine every day, in addition to writing in my personal journal. It's a great keepsake of our trip!)

When they're not traveling by bus, plane, train or foot, they're either rehearsing or performing. These young men are immensely talented and professional. Each performance is fresh, no matter how many times they've done it. (I'm still not tired of hearing them sing, and I spent three weeks living and breathing their concert repetoire!) I also love to watch the crowd's reaction to their singing. They certainly know how to charm an audience. Another thing that amazes me is that they will stop anywhere and sing. Airports, train stations, the middle of a busy outdoor market... anywhere. The unofficial theme song of this tour was "Waltzing Matilda," which I now know by heart, having heard them sing it at least once (sometimes twice) a day.

Not only do they sing as a group, but they're also known to burst into spontaneous song just for the sheer hell of it. One afternoon we were having lunch between rehearsals, and a boy started playing the piano. Withing seconds, he was surrounded by a crowd of boys singing an Alicia Keys song. I asked one boy, "Do they do this all the time?" He smiled at me. "Welcome to KSB," he replied.

"Tour is not a vacation," one of the choir directors had warned the chaperones before the trip. That is certainly true... but it's not all work, either. We managed to do a fair amount of sight-seeing in the first week. And we had the opportunity to meet plenty of the "natives." The boys stay with "billet" families in most cities, while the chaperones (and sometimes the older boys) stay in hostels. In Perth, however, the chaps were hosted by some music teachers from ASME, so I got to stay with a woman named Helen for a few nights. It was really neat to stay in someone's home instead of a hostel. That's an experience you don't get on a vacation.

So here's Week One in a Nutshell:

Melbourne (July 3-6)

Shopped at Queen Victoria Market
Watched the boys perform at the US Consulate's 4th of July event
Watched the boys perform at Dallas Brooks Hall with the Australian Youth Choir (they have branches all over Australia... our boys performed with them in 5 different cities, and they also stayed with the families of the AYC in those cities)
Visited St. Patrick's Cathedral, where we met Gustav Radda
Visited Federation Square
Toured the Melbourne Cricket Ground

Perth (July 6-9)

Saw the boys perform at the ASME Conference at Perth Convention Center
Saw the boys perform at the Winter Arts Festival
Attended a luncheon hosted by the Lord Mayor of Perth
Saw the boys perform at the Perth Concert Hall
Saw the Swan Bells
Took a train ride to Fremantle, where we saw the Indian Ocean

Week Two coming soon...

Back from the Land Down Under

2007-07-23T23:42:00.001-05:00

For those of you who haven't been reading (and I can't blame you, seeing as how I haven't been posting...), I just spent three amazing weeks in Australia. I was a chaperone for a boychoir on their summer concert tour. While I was there, I wrote in my journal in my "down time." I also made notes for blogs, in the hopes that I'd be able to post while I was there. However, my internet access was limited. Actually, it was dependent on the accomodations in each city and how much they charged for internet usage ($2 for 30 minutes at the hostels, but $14 for the same amount of time at a more upscale hotel). And as you can tell, I didn't get to blog at all from Australia. But I did turn some of my written notes into blog posts, which I'll start posting tomorrow... with pics!

June: a month in review

2007-06-25T19:35:00.002-05:00

This blog is getting harder and harder to keep up with. Every now and then I'll think, "Oh, I should blog about that..." and then I never do. So now it's June, and we've got a lot of catching up to do.

Basically, June consisted of the usual end-of-the-year craziness: grades, report cards, honors list, awards list, cleaning up classroom, packing up classroom. This year was particularly rough because we had to say goodbye to two teachers (one being transferred, one retiring) and our principal (who accepted a position at a new school).

Last week was basically a blur. Our last day of school was a 10 AM dismissal. As soon as school was finished, I picked up a friend and we headed for NY to visit another friend for the weekend. On Sunday morning, I got a text from my best friend's husband saying she was in labor two weeks early. Two hours later, I got another text that her son was born (healthy and strong!). A few hours later I got some baby pics sent to my phone, which were immediately followed by a phone call from the new mom. (Gotta love cell phones... instant news, pics and updates!) Then when I got home, I found out that my uncle (and godfather) had passed away rather suddenly on Saturday night. Talk about emotional roller coaster.

On Monday I went to visit my friend and her baby in the hospital. That night, I got a phone call from a school district that I had applied to back in February. They wanted me to come in for an interview. So Tuesday was spent doing laundry and fixing up my portfolio, Wednesday I entertained my cousin's kids for the day (my uncle had lived with them, and I wanted to get them out of the house for awhile while funeral preparations were being made), Thursday was the interview (extremely demanding... felt like an inquisition) and Thursday night was my uncle's viewing. Friday morning was the funeral... and after it was over, I wanted nothing more than to fall asleep on the sofa watching bad TV. Which is exactly what I did.

This week, I have teacher workshops every morning from 9-12 at a local college (my attendance earns me $50 a day). The workshop I signed up for is geared for teachers in grades 1-3, and it gives ideas for getting kids exciting about learning science. So far I'm lovin' it. It's very hands on. Today we made a working thermometer out of a water bottle, a drinking straw and a solution of water and alcohol. Very, very cool.

And on Sunday, I leave for Australia. I don't even wanna talk about that. I'm nowhere near ready to leave the country for three weeks. I have to crack down and start packing soon. Very soon. Yikes.

Back to blogging

2007-05-26T13:14:00.001-05:00

Well... I promised you another blog soon, and here it is. Though I'm not so sure about the "soon" part. Sigh. Things have been a little crazy. Here's what's been going on in my world over the last few months.

February: Graduated and received master's degree. Principal announced that she is leaving our school after 11 years with us, and will work as the principal at a new school about 45 minutes away. A friend from grad school told me that her school (in New Jersey) has an opening for a first grade teacher for next year. I gave her my resume to pass on to her principal. I signed up to take the required test for my Reading Specialist certification.

March: Third grade teacher (a nun) announced that her order is sending her to work in New York, so she won't be returning to our school next year. Fifth grade teacher announced her retirement. I began paperwork to get certified in New Jersey. I found out that I will be chaperoning a three week trip to Australia in July.

April: Pastor announced that our kindergarten teacher has will be our new principal. Principal and kindergarten teacher begin interviewing for three new teachers (kindergarten, third grade, fifth grade). Faculty began planning retirement party for Mrs. L. and going away party for Principal. I was a bridesmaid in the Spanish-themed wedding of a friend and former co-worker (think red dress, gold shoes, rose in hair... very classy!). I began attending chaperone meetings for Australia trip. I stepped up the job hunt by sending out resumes and filling out online applications.

May: Faculty threw Western-themed retirement party for Mrs. L. I bought a new car. I haven't heard from any of the schools to which I sent resumes, so as it stands right now, I'll be returning to this school for at least one more year.

And that pretty much brings us up to speed.

In other news, after I posted my blog about going to Australia, I got two comments from first grade teachers in Australia (one in Melbourne, and one in Sydney). I was blown away. I guess I never really gave much thought to the people who read this blog. I figured it was all people in the US, but now I'm global! Anyway, thanks to Amber and Tessa for their comments, and for their offers of information about Australia!

Also, my student on meds FINALLY got a wraparound in February. He also had his medication adjusted by his doctor, and as a result of both, his outbursts have become far less frequent and also less volatile. Huge sigh of relief.

Okay, I think that's all for now. I'll try to be better at keeping this blog updated. We'll see how that goes. :)

I can practically smell the popcorn

2007-05-01T22:27:00.001-05:00

(Stole this from another blog. A real post is coming soon, I promise.)

THE MOVIE MEME

Name a movie you have seen more than 10 times.
Grease, Shrek, When Harry Met Sally, The Princess Bride, The Sound of Music, Cinderella

Name a movie you’ve seen multiple times in the theater.
American Beauty. Five times in about 3 weeks. Totally worth it.

Name an actor who would make you more inclined to see a movie.
Hmmm... Brad Pitt, solely for his looks.

Name an actor who would make you less inclined to see a movie.
Jackie Chan

Name a movie that you can and do quote from.
Office Space! "Somebody's got a case of the Mondays..." And Princess Bride - "Inconceivable!" And of course, Dirty Dancing: "Nobody puts Baby in a corner."

Name a movie musical in which you know all of the lyrics to all of the songs.
I know pretty much every movie musical... but the biggies would be Sound of Music and Grease

Name a movie you have been known to sing along with.
see above

Name a movie you would recommend everyone see.
I wanna say something profound, like Schindler's List... but I'd have to say Love Actually, American Beauty or Dead Poet's Society (carpe diem stuck with me for years...)

Name a movie you own.
Just one? Mean Girls.

Name an actor who launched his/her entertainment career in another medium but who has surprised you with his/her acting chops.
Mark Wahlberg, Jennifer Lopez (in some movies)

Have you ever seen a movie in a drive-in? If so, what?
Yes, but I don't remember what it was.

Ever made out in a movie?
Actually, no. I should try that sometime.

Name a movie you keep meaning to see but just haven’t gotten around to it yet.
Babel

Ever walked out of a movie?
Yes... Armageddon. It was just so God awful.

Name a movie that made you cry in the theater.
Titanic. I cried for the entire hour that it took the damn ship to sink.

What’s the last movie you saw in the theater?
It might have been The Devil Wears Prada. I don't get to the movies much. But tomorrow I'm going to see Dirty Dancing in the theater! 20th anniversary big screen celebration... woooooo!

What’s your favorite/preferred genre of movie?
Romantic comedies. I'm a total chick flick fan.

What’s the first movie you remember seeing in the theater?
Song of the South (the re-release, obviously)

What movie do you wish you’d never seen?
Exorcist. It gave me nightmares for years.

What is the weirdest movie you enjoyed?
Heathers. Or Moulin Rouge.

What is the scariest movie you’ve seen?
The Sixth Sense

What is the funniest movie you’ve seen?
Office Space or Shrek. Or Anchorman.

The "Idol" brain is the devil's playground...

2007-04-04T21:28:00.001-05:00

Ugh. American Idol. I know I shouldn’t be surprised by this week’s results, but that doesn’t stop me from being SO PISSED OFF.

I just don’t understand the voters’ obsession with Sanjaya. I’ve been watching since the beginning. He was impressive in auditions, but since then, he’s been consistently bad. What’s worse, he get increasingly cockier each week. It’s like he knows he’s bad, but he also knows he’s untouchable. Week after week, he saunters on stage armed with yet another ridiculous hairstyle and attempts to sing. And week after week, he stays on the show.

Tonight’s results show really got me fired up. Not only was Sanjaya not eliminated, he was also not in the bottom three. Whoever is voting (and it’s not me, because although I become emotionally involved in the show, I’d never actually vote…), put THREE PEOPLE under him. My personal bottom three would have been Sanjaya (obviously), Hailey (who I can’t stand) and Phil (who I really do like, but I don’t think he’s gonna last much longer). My top three would’ve been Blake, Jordin and… I dunno. Maybe Chris. I know Melinda’s talented, but I don’t think she belongs in this competition. She’s too good. When she showed up at auditions, they should have just given her a record deal on the spot and told her she was too good for the show. And because she’s so good, there’s no room for improvement. Every week it’s good. We know she’s talented, she knows she’s talented. It’s kinda boring. At least with Jordin, you can see her improve as the competition goes on.

But I digress.

I think the worst part is that people more talented than Sanjaya (and Hailey) are getting eliminated. Tonight it was Gina. I liked her rocker-girl edge. It was a refreshing change from the style of Melinda/Lakisha/Jordin. To see her go home this early is just discouraging and frustrating. It’s no longer a singing competition. It’s a popularity contest. If Sanjaya makes it to the final three, I just don’t think I can watch it anymore.

You better run, you better take cover.

2007-03-28T19:16:00.001-05:00

My 15-year-old godson is in a boychoir. They go on concert tours every summer, and as a result, he has already been to South Africa, Alaska, Canada and Southeast Asia. (Lucky kid.)

About two years ago, I heard that the choir was planning a 2007 tour to Australia. I asked my godson to get me information about chaperoning the trip, and he put me in touch with his choir director. After sending the director an email asking if they needed chaperones, I received a brief response saying they had enough people to chaperone. Okay. No biggie. I emailed him back asking him to keep me in mind if a position opened up. Then I went on to tell him that I sang with three choirs, worked at three summer camps (and was the music/drama specialist at one of them), taught for seven years, and have a lot of experience supervising children of all ages. (I figured it couldn't hurt to sell myself.) He wrote me back the same night saying I have "terrific experience" and that he wanted to meet me. Cuz I rock. (Okay, he didn't say I rock… but we all know it's true.)

So I went to a tour meeting, talked to the director and long story short (too late), I was invited to be a chaperone on the tour. In Australia. Oz. The Land Down Under. The other side of the world. Holy shit.

It's not exactly a vacation. I'll have chaperone duties during the day (I'll be responsible for about 5 or 6 boys and their belongings), but I will have most of my nights free. And this trip is expensive. But when I found out how much we're doing, I didn't mind the cost so much. We leave on July 1st and fly into Los Angeles (I've never been to the West Coast… wooooo!), and from there we fly to Melbourne for 4 days. Then we fly to Perth for 3 days (the other side of the continent!), and then to Adelaide for 2 days. From there, we go to Uluru (also called Ayers Rock, in the Aboriginal desert) for 1 day, and then onto Sydney for 3 days. Then Bathurst for 1 day, Brisbane for 2 days and Bundaberg for 4 days (where we'll visit the Great Barrier Reef). We arrive home on July 22nd.

I'm ridiculously excited about the whole thing. I still can't wrap my brain around it. It's like, I know I'm going, but I can't believe it yet. It's completely surreal.

Practically everything I know about Australia I learned from an episode of "The Simpsons." (Or a Men At Work song.) I've gotta start reading up on all the cities we're visiting.

So that's what's new in my world.

American, Idle

2007-03-16T22:01:00.001-05:00

It’s the train wreck that all of America can’t help but watch. I’ve been a follower since Season One. You know… when reality shows were new and different. Ah, Season One. The innocence of Justin and Kelly. The excitement of the competition. The witty banter of Ryan Seacrest and Brian Dunkleman. (Wait... Brian who???)

With each new season, I grew less interested in the contestants and more annoyed with the little quirks of the show. Didn’t stop me from watching, of course. Call it habit. Call it morbid curiosity. But this season, American Idol has reached rock bottom. To paraphrase Randy, “I dunno, dawg… it’s just not working for me.”

Maybe it’s the judges. It’s become entirely too easy to predict what they’re going to say after a performance. Randy thought it was “pitchy, dawg.” He didn’t like all the “runs.” It “didn’t work” for him. And lately, “that wasn’t my favorite song of yours.” Paula starts by telling you how beautiful you looked, or how your smile warmed her heart. She’ll probably cry, or at least get choked up as she tells you that you really made the audience believe what you were singing. And Simon? He thought it was “simply dreadful.” He’ll compare you to a cruise ship performer or a wedding singer. And collectively, they’re just as bad. They can’t seem to make up their minds about what they want out of the performers. If a contestant sings the song the way it was written, the judges tell her it was “karaoke” or that she “didn’t make it her own.” But heaven forbid she changes it up a little to make the song more unique… then they tell her that they didn’t like the arrangement, and that she should have kept it more simple.

Maybe it’s the contestants. This season’s singers are worse than usual… and not just their voices. Take Melinda. She’s clearly talented, but she acts surprised every time the audience cheers for her. “Who, me? You think I’m good??” Come on. Drop the act. It was sweet the first few weeks, but now it’s getting old. And what about Sanjaya? Who keeps voting for this kid? He’s way out of his league in this competition, but America doesn’t seem to think so.

So maybe my beef is with the voters. I have this image of love-struck 14-year-old girls speed-dialing so people like Sanjaya can stay on the show week after week. It’s a singing competition, not a beauty pageant. (Seriously, dude. Straightening your mullet doesn’t change the fact that you whisper all your songs.) If this keeps up, we’re going to have a Tamyra Gray/Chris Daughtry moment all over again.

Well, for what it’s worth, my money’s on Blake. He’s quirky and original, and I love his song choices. Except for the Diana Ross fiasco, but let’s face it… there wasn’t much to pick from there. I don't think he'll actually win. I just think he should. I have a gut feeling that he'll get voted off way before his time, and that's what pisses me off about this show.

Yeah, I know. No one is forcing me to sit and watch it. I just can’t help myself.

Snoopy goes home...

2007-02-28T20:22:00.002-05:00

Last year, I bought a stuffed Snoopy doll at Kohls, as part of their Kohls Cares for Kids program. (Only five dollars for awesome books and quality stuffed animals, and all the proceeds go to charity. Can't beat that!) I had no idea what to do with Snoopy... I just thought he was darn cute, and figured I'd find a place for him in my classroom.

At the same time, I was trying to plan some sort of take-home reading project for my students, in an ongoing attempt to to bridge the home-school gap. Thus, my "Sleepover With Snoopy" project was born! Each day I pick a different child at random to take Snoopy home for the night. The kids show him around the house, read him a story, and write in his travel journal (a binder with "story pages" inside). Then they dress him in his pawprint pajamas (also from Kohls) and go to bed.

This year, my mom was cleaning out a closet in the basement and she found my old Snoopy suitcase that I used for overnight visits at my grandmother's house. I had completely forgotten that it existed!!! It fits the toy and the journal perfectly!

When Snoopy comes to school the next day, the child who took him home gets to sit in the Author's Chair and read their journal entry. Here's a sample of one of the journal pages.

When I started this project, I had no idea how much the kids would enjoy it. They LOVE it. They spend all day wondering who will get Snoopy that night, and the next day they're filled with questions about Snoopy's adventures.

And I'll end with one of my favorite conversations this year, which happened to revolve around the Snoopy project. My little Drama Queen once spent an entire day speculating about who would get to take Snoopy home that night.

DQ: Miss M, am I taking Snoopy home tonight?

Me: Well, maybe.

DQ (excited): Maybe means yes!

Me: What? Where did you hear that?

DQ: My sister (6th grade) said that maybe means "yes" and I don't know means "no."

Later that day, I was getting ready to pick a name out of the box for Snoopy privileges. DQ was hopping around from foot to foot, waiting for her name to be called.

DQ: My heart's about to stop beeping! If I get him, I'm gonna cry into a million pieces!

Sadly, she did not get picked. But she took the news well.

DQ (hugging Snoopy tightly): I'll miss you, Snoopy! I'll never forget you in a million years!

Me: Okay time to let go of Snoopy. He'll come back tomorrow.

DQ (hopefully): I wish I could take him tomorrow.

Me: Maybe tomorrow.

DQ (perking up): Don't forget, maybe means "yes"!

People make me sick

2007-02-12T20:04:00.001-05:00

I heard a very disturbing story today.

The mother of one of my students sold her car to someone last week. On Thursday night sometime after 2:30 AM, the man who bought her car broke into her house with two other men. They all had guns. They woke her up and demanded the money back, plus whatever other money she had. Her seven-year-old daughter (my student) was asleep next to her (the kids' father is in the Dominican Republic for a few weeks). The men mistook the daughter for a husband or boyfriend, because it was dark and she was under the covers. One of the men held a gun to the girl's head while yelling at the mother to get the money (which she hadn't yet deposited at the bank). At this point her daughter woke up and saw the guns. She immediately became hysterical. The mother got the money for the men, but they kept asking for more. Around this time, her son (fifth grade) woke up and heard noise. He went into the master bedroom and, according to his mother, stayed extremely calm. One man kept the family in the bedroom while the other two tore the house apart looking for anything else valuable. They were held at gunpoint for THREE HOURS.

When it got close to 6 AM, the mother told the men that her mother was on her way over. She was afraid they'd shoot her mother if she walked into the house. She begged the men to take the money and let them go, and promised she wouldn't call the police. They finally left. And of course she did go to the police. Hopefully they'll be able to track down the men.

The daughter was extremely distraught (as well she should be), but she's been fine in school. I think she must feel safe there, because she hasn't even mentioned the incident. When I talked to the mother after school today, she told me that she's taking the kids to see their father for a few weeks because she's afraid to stay at her house. Not that I blame her.

Ugh. People make me SICK.

It's only a piece of paper, but...

2007-02-11T19:23:00.002-05:00

... it represents two years of classes, countless hours of reading and research, numerous papers and presentations, many trips to the library, two huge case reports, and more determination than I thought I had... but... I finally got my diploma!!!

reading is cool :)

2007-02-05T22:12:00.001-05:00

Inspired by this post on Pigs' blog, I've decided to keep track of all the books I read this year. I'm an avid reader (at the moment, I'm in the middle of two different books), but I've never really counted how many I've read in a certain period of time. So I set a tentative goal: I am going to try to read 50 books by December 31, 2007. I actually think I'm going to exceed that goal, but I'll start there and see how it goes. Call it a New Year's resolution of sorts. Not exactly to read more (because I think I read a lot already), but to share titles with others and hopefully get some good recommendations in the process. So feel free to check out what I'm reading (over on the sidebar) and comment or email with suggestions for future books. Read on, friends! :)

enough, already

2007-02-01T19:56:00.002-05:00

Over the past two days, SoM's tantrums have escalated into violent, physical outbursts that have frightened my other students and driven me to tears. There's no need to give you a minute-by-minute account of the episodes, but here are some highlights:

~ leaving my classroom
~ walking down the hallway punching walls and slamming doors
~ pushing his desk into the coat closet
~ knocking his desk over
~ standing on his desk
~ jumping off the top of his desk
~ dragging his chair into the hallway
~ saying, "No no no no no no no" or "blah blah blah blah blah" or "shut up shut up shut UP SHUT UP" while I was teaching
~ kicking his pencil case around the room
~ saying, "Go away," or "get outta my face," or "leave me ALONE!" or "talk to the hand" or "you're not in charge of me" when I tried to talk to him, yell at him or otherwise correct his inappropriate behavior
~ threatening to smack other students
~ throwing a hardback picture book across my classroom like it was a frisbee
~ kicking a (mostly empty) trashcan across the room
~ banging his chair against the floor loudly
~ taking the sentence strips and die cuts out of my pocket charts and throwing them on the floor or in the trashcan
~ crawling under tables
~ throwing a chair (more like holding it over his head and then dropping it to the floor)
~ taking everything off of my chalkboard ledge (chalk, dry erase markers, erasers, pointer, books, index cards) and throwing them on the floor

... and my personal favorite ...

~ taking every single basket of books off of the bookshelves in the reading corner

I had to take a picture of that, because I've never seen anything like it. I'm not sure why he did it, but it was downright scary to watch.

Because of my earlier conversation with Principal, I didn't call his mother about any of this. When I brought him to the office today (after he threw the chair and jumped off the desk), she put him in the back room and then asked me what he did. After I told her, she said that I need to be more stern with him. She doesn't think he's afraid of me.

"Of course he's not afraid of me," I replied. "There are no consequences I can use with him! I can't call his mother, I can't use the color-coded behavior chart that I use with the rest of my class... so I'm no threat to him at all!" I don't think she gets that. She gets mean with him and he doesn't give her any trouble. I could do that too, if I had him one-on-one. Next time he's having an episode, I want her to step in and take over my class instead of just taking him out of it. I want her to know what it's like to deal with him and try to teach at the same time.

Like I said before, I have tried everything. And these past few days, I've done all I could do to try to control him. When the behavior wasn't interfering with anyone, I ignored it. When it was disrupting a lesson or threatening to injure a student, I got in his face and said things like, "Stop it NOW. You will NOT do (fill-in-the-blank) in this classroom." Which of course was met with, "Get outta my face!" or "Leave me alone!" I'm trying to pick my battles with him, and I don't have the energy to keep up with it anymore.

After school today, I met with the Parent-Teacher Liaison to discuss the situation. I told her that I'm at my breaking point. I just can't handle another day of this. She told me that Principal wanted her to call SoM's mom and have her come in for a meeting either today or tomorrow morning, before SoM is allowed to set foot in my classroom again. Mom agreed to come today, and I stayed for the meeting. I was surprised by how firm Principal was with him and his mother, telling them that his behavior is unacceptable and will not be tolerated in this school. She also got on mom's case about not keeping appointments with his therapist.

I don't know how much is going to change. He wasn't suspended or anything. He'll be back again tomorrow. I just hope it's a better day.

Power Struggle

2007-01-30T19:58:00.001-05:00

I’ve been working at this school for 5 ½ years, and this is the first year that my principal and I haven’t seen eye to eye on something. Last Thursday, SoM became so disruptive in art class that the art teacher had to send two of my students to get me. He kicked a file cabinet, ripped posters and artwork off the wall, and kicked a trashcan over. Finally, he left the classroom and refused to come back in. The art teacher didn’t know how to handle him, so I had to take him downstairs with me. I took him to the office, but Principal was in a meeting with the school psychologist, and Secretary was out with the flu. I called his mother at home (number disconnected), on her cell (got voicemail, left message) and at work (line busy). I was just about to take him back to class when his grandmother, who had heard the message on the home machine, called the office. I let her speak to him, which didn’t really help, and then took him with me to get my kids from art class.

The next day, SoM was absent. Later that day, I had a meeting with Principal about my recent observation. She used that opportunity to tell me that she doesn’t want me to call SoM’s mom when he gets out of hand. She said it “isn’t effective,” and that it “isn’t the best alternative.” I explained to her that I felt it was my only option at that point, seeing as how Principal wasn’t available to speak to him that day. I also emphasized that I lost the majority of my break because the art teacher couldn’t handle him. “Well, that’s okay,” replied Principal. (Um... no, it's not.) She went on to explain that his mother tends to keep him home from school after she finds out that he had a bad day. "He's a bright student," Principal said, "but his brother is really struggling. He can't afford to miss all these days of school."

At this point, I was ready to cry from frustration (and I’m not a crier). I told Principal that I wouldn’t call his house anymore, but I’d like to know what she wants me to do in those situations. His episodes sometimes happen when I’m in the middle of a step by step activity. Do I leave 17 kids with scissors, glue and paper to go after him? Or do I continue teaching and let him kick desks and leave my classroom? She didn’t have an answer for me.

He had an IEP meeting (outside of school), but I haven’t gotten any information about it yet. He’s approved for 35 hours of Therapeutic Support Staff service, but a wraparound hasn’t been provided for him yet. I asked Principal if she knew why it was taking so long to get him a wraparound. She said, “It’s probably because his situation isn’t that severe.” I was unable to hide my look of sheer disbelief. She continued, “Well, it might seem severe to you, but there are children who are worse than him.” Needless to say, I left the meeting feeling more confused and frustrated than before.

I really feel like I’m out of options. I’ve tried everything that I can think of, and I’ve tried everything that’s been suggested by Principal, SoM's therapist, and our Parent-Teacher liaison (i.e. time-out areas, using a timer, saying things like “Tell me what’s bothering you so I can help you fix it,” and “I know you’re feeling angry, and that’s okay…”). I keep extremely detailed notes and make sure that everyone involved gets a copy so that we’re all on the same page. I praise him when he’s on-task and behaving appropriately. But the bottom line is: I can not handle him when he has these episodes. Not when I have a class full of kids that also need my attention. He needs to be in classroom that is equipped for children with his needs. I wish I knew how to make that happen.

notes from the notebook

2007-01-24T20:00:00.001-05:00

I keep a little notebook handy to jot down anecdotal notes during the school day... but I also use it to record funny things my kids say. Here are some gems from the past month.

Accessorizing

The girl who came to me in September speaking only Spanish has developed quite an English vocabulary over the past few months (as everyone had assured me she would). Yesterday I was getting ready for dismissal and debating whether or not I needed my scarf. My darling saw me holding the scarf and said, "Oh, Miss M... If you put that on, you're gonna be so pretty!"

I laughed. "And what if I don't wear it? Will I be ugly?"

"Nah," she replied. "Just a little bit."

Honest to a fault, these kids.

Music

During literacy centers, some of my kids were exploring Starfall, and found a biography of Scott Joplin which featured some of his music. The following conversation ensued:

Student Three: "Is he really old?"

Student Two: "No, he's dead! He lived a long time ago. He was born in like the 1960s."

Student Three: "I was born in the 60s."

Student Two: "No you weren't! No one was!"

Student Three: "Miss M was!"

My head turned when I heard that. "What? I was born in the 60s??"

Student One: "No! She was born in 1977!"

The weird thing? She's right. I must have mentioned it once, but I don't remember when. You gotta love the selective memories these kids have. They don't remember to do their homework, but they know what year I was born.

History

One of our recent sight words was city. When I introduced it, I took the opportunity to review the names of our city and state. One of my little guys said, "Miss M, I know how our state got its name."

"Really?" I said. "How?"

"William Penn," he replied.

"Yup, you're right," I said. "The Penn in Pennsylvania came from his name."

He nodded. "And his wife was named Vania."

Wow. I never knew that. :)

a connection is made

2007-01-16T20:32:00.001-05:00

In an effort to improve my students' reading and comprehension, I've been trying to teach them some strategies that I used in my grad school clinic.

One technique I use to help with their decoding is to help them find smaller words "hiding" in bigger words. For example, in the word "caterpillar," they can find the smaller words "cat" or "pill." I have several students who use the strategy independently. They run to my desk proudly during DEAR (Drop Everything And Read) time to show me the hidden words that helped them read a big word. Last week, I taught the -ar sound, and we read a book called Barnyard Dance! (by Sandra Boynton, who is a favorite author/illustrator in our class). One of my students raised her hand and said, "Miss M, I see a small word in barnyard!" I encouraged her to share it with the class. She came to the front of the room. "If you cover the end of the word," she demonstrates with her hand, "it just spells b-a-r, bar. You know, like Sometimes your dad goes to the bar." It made me smile... but I imagine her dad wouldn't be so thrilled to hear that she shared his extracurricular activities with the class! (Note to parents: Your children will repeat EVERYTHING they hear you say at home. Trust me.)

I also teach them the Making Connections strategy to aid their comprehension. When they read a story, I ask them if it reminds them of another story (a text-to-text connection), something that happened to them (text-to-self connection), or something that happened in the world (text-to-world connection). They've gotten really good at finding these connections, and will often interupt me during a read-aloud to say, "Oooh! Junie B. Jones is putting on a play just like Tacky the Penguin did in that other book we read! That's a text-to-text!" While we were reading The Gingerbread Man, one of my dearies said to me, "Miss M! This book remembers me of when I made Christmas cookies with my mom!" Gotta love first graders. :)

It's these little everyday things that help me get through the big, bad things.

the rest of the story

2007-01-14T13:29:00.001-05:00

My Student on Meds has been in our school since Pre-K. Although it was a small class, he managed to drive the Pre-K teacher to tears of frustration on several occasions. He bit, kicked, screamed, and ran out of the room. After a few months (and many meetings), it was decided that he needed to leave the school. He would not be readmitted until his mother took him to a doctor or therapist and got him under control.

He came back to our school the following year for kindergarten. He had been through several tests which identified him as both ADHD and ODD, and was put on medication for the ADHD. He was much more controlled in kindergarten than he had been in Pre-K, but he still had the occasional tantrum, which usually consisted of hitting another student, going into the coat closet and throwing everything on the floor, and being extremely defiant towards his teacher.

When I got him in September, I was nervous about how I would handle him. I'd seen what he was capable of, but as a special education major, I was trained to handle difficult children. In my first year of teaching, I worked in a charter school as a special education teacher and was given a "transition class" of 8 kindergarten and first grade students who were either severe behavior problems or severely below grade level academically (or some combination of the two). So I felt pretty confident that I could deal with SoM if he had a tantrum. What I didn't realize was how hard it would be to handle his outbursts and keep my remaining 17 students under control.

During the first few months of this school year, SoM was a model student: sweet, funny, bright, friendly, hard-working. About once a week, he would have a minor episode, which was set off by something seemingly insignificant. These episodes were easy to handle and usually lasted less than an hour. Then between November and December, his tantrums began to happen more frequently. They also became more severe. He threatened other students, kicked the walls or desks, dragged chairs around the room, defied me (or the art teacher, or the library teacher, etc), left the classroom, refused to work, hid in the coat closet.

The week before Christmas break was especially bad. We had a full week of school, and he was in for four of those days. He had an episode all four days. When we came back from Christmas break, he was only in school for two of the three days that week. He had a tantrum both days. The following Monday was the day I blogged about. His tantrum lasted for four hours, and then he was fine in my class for the rest of the afternoon. During the afterschool program, however, he became angry again and began banging chairs and yelling. He was brought to the principal, who called his mother to come pick him up early. When she came to get him, she said she would keep him home on Tuesday to give me a "break." He returned to school on Wednesday and had two wonderful days. Friday morning he had another episode, but it only lasted about an hour.

I agree with the readers who commented on my previous post. SoM doesn't belong in my classroom. My other students aren't learning when he has a tantrum. I should not have to ask another teacher to watch my class so I can chase him when he leaves my room.

A behavioral therapist comes to my room once a week to observe him. She's pushing to get him a TSS (Therapeutic Support Staff, also referred to as a "wraparound") who can be in the classroom to handle these episodes so I can focus on teaching. I've been keeping extremely detailed notes of his tantrums and submitting them to his mother, the principal, the therapist, and our parent-teacher liaison. Apparently those notes were used at a recent meeting to determine what services SoM should receive. The meeting was held outside of school, and my principal and I were not invited. I'm still waiting to hear the results. I'll keep you posted.

My morning

2007-01-08T21:42:00.001-05:00

8:00 AM - My Student on Meds stands in line, looking despondent. He doesn't smile, doesn't make eye contact, doesn't respond when I greet him at the door.

8:30 AM - While students are working in literacy centers, SoM is sitting in his center. Staring into space. Not working, not socializing.

8:45 AM - SoM leaves the reading corner (where he wasn't reading anyway) and starts walking around the room. I ask him what's wrong, but he ignores me.

9:00 AM - He tells me that he's mad at another boy in our room (his arch-nemesis since Pre-K). I explain to SoM that even though he's upset, he still has to do his work. SoM becomes angry and walks around the room, slowly.

9:10 AM -SoM walks into coat closet. He refuses to come out, so I threaten to change the color on his behavior card. He then leaves the closet and walks into the hallway. He refuses to come back in. I set a timer for ten minutes (as recommended by his behavioral therapist) and tell him that he needs to be back in his seat when the time runs out.

9:15 AM - SoM is still in the hallway, refusing to come back in because the boy he's angry with is in the room. During this time, I stand in the doorway (one foot in the classroom, one foot in the hallway) so I can watch him and do morning calendar at the same time. Since I can't physically go to the calendar, I have some of my students put the date and weather up for me.

9:20 AM - Timer dings. SoM comes back into room and goes to his desk. Instead of sitting, he drags his chair around the room. I ignore him and begin to teach spelling. He drags his chair back to his seat and begins to bang it loudly on the floor, making it impossible for me to teach.

9:30 AM - SoM walks into coat closet again. I ask him to come out and sit down and he yells, "No, leave me alone!" He comes out, but instead of sitting, he resumes chair banging. I change the color on his behavior chart again, and he leaves the room. Again. I manage to get him back in the room and close the door. He opens it and leaves again. I continue to teach the rest of my students from the doorway.

10:00 AM - SoM sits in his seat, doing his work. I begin to feel hopeful.

10:15 AM - During snack time/indoor recess, SoM yells at anyone who walks past his desk. "Get away from me!" or "They better not come near me or I'll smack them!" I inform him that he is not to threaten my other students. He leaves the room again, this time walking down the hallway towards the office. I grab a teacher to watch my kids while I go after him. Principal isn't in her office. She's out of the office all morning doing observations. I guide SoM back down the hallway to the classroom.

10:30 AM - SoM takes his chair and drags it across the floor to the doorway. He sits in the doorway. I resume teaching.

10:35 AM - SoM carries his chair into the hallway. He drags it back and forth past the classroom door, occasionally banging it against the floor.

10:40 AM - SoM comes back into the classroom and gets his book. He puts his book on his desk, but flips the pages instead of working. I set the timer again, giving him ten more minutes to calm down. He stays by his desk listening to me while I teach.

11:00 AM - I turn my back to get a book off of my desk. When I turn around, SoM is gone again. The kids tell me he's in the hallway. I find him halfway down the hallway. I get him back to the classroom doorway just in time for his older brother to take him to the office for his meds.

11:05 AM - SoM comes back from the office and walks into closet. I ignore him and teach religion. He makes loud, rude comments about things I am saying.

11:15 AM - SoM sits in his seat to do work, still visibly angry. He continues to threaten other students for looking at him. He says, "Stop looking at me! I'm gonna smack you!" I tell him that he is not going to touch anyone in my room, and he responds, "Oh yes I is. I'm gonna smack everyone in this room!" I repeat that he will NOT hurt anyone. He responds, "Get out of my face!"

11:30 AM - SoM continues to sit in his seat and work, and continues to glare at other students who dare to breathe in his general direction.

11:45 AM - SoM finishes his work, gets out of his seat and drags his chair to the back of the classroom. He turns the chair upside down and bangs it several times before stepping on it.

11:50 AM - Students line up for lunch. I tell SoM that he needs to sit at the small table by himself (reserved for students in trouble). He refuses. I explain the situation to Principal (who is now finished observations and has heard about my morning). She assures me that she will handle him.

12:00 PM - I sit down to eat lunch in the faculty room. The other teachers give me sympathetic looks, having seen or heard me in the hallway. And that's when I cry.

What have you done?

2007-01-02T21:24:00.002-05:00

Happy New Year! I stole this from someone's blog. I thought it would be a fun way to start the new year. It's an inventory of what I've done, and at the same time, it gives me some new items for my to-do list. Feel free to copy and paste for your blog!

01. Bought everyone in the bar a drink
02. Swam with wild dolphins
03. Climbed a mountain
04. Taken a Ferrari for a test drive
05. Been inside the Great Pyramid
06. Held a tarantula
07. Taken a candlelit bath with someone
08. Said “I love you” and meant it
09. Hugged a tree
10. Bungee jumped
11. Visited Paris
12. Watched a lightning storm at sea
13. Stayed up all night long and saw the sun rise
14. Seen the Northern Lights
15. Gone to a huge sports game (and survived the crush afterwards)
16. Walked the stairs to the top of the leaning Tower of Pisa
17. Grown and eaten your own vegetables
18. Touched an iceberg
19. Slept under the stars
20. Changed a baby’s diaper
21. Taken a trip in a hot air balloon
22. Watched a meteor shower
23. Gotten drunk on champagne
24. Given more than you can afford to charity
25. Looked up at the night sky through a telescope
26. Had an uncontrollable giggling fit at the worst possible moment
27. Had a food fight
28. Bet on a winning horse
29. Asked out a stranger
30. Had a snowball fight
31. Screamed as loudly as you possibly can
32. Held a lamb
33. Seen a total eclipse
34. Ridden a roller coaster
35. Hit a home run
36. Danced like a fool and not cared who was looking
37. Adopted an accent for an entire day (Not for an entire day... but a friend and I pretended to be French at a bar one night. And then we met real French people. Yikes!)
38. Actually felt happy about your life, even for just a moment
39. Had two hard drives for your computer
40. Visited all 50 states
41. Taken care of someone who was drunk.
42. Had amazing friends
43. Danced with a stranger in a foreign country
44. Watched wild whales
45. Stolen a sign
46. Backpacked in Europe.
47. Taken a road-trip
48. Gone rock climbing
49. Midnight walk on the beach
50. Gone sky diving
51. Visited Ireland
52. Been heartbroken longer than you were actually in love
53. In a restaurant, sat at a stranger’s table and had a meal with them
54. Visited Japan
55. Milked a cow
56. Alphabetized your CDs
57. Pretended to be a superhero
58. Sung karaoke
59. Lounged around in bed all day
60. Played touch football
61. Gone scuba diving
62. Kissed in the rain
63. Played in the mud
64. Played in the rain
65. Gone to a drive-in theater
66. Visited the Great Wall of China
67. Started a business
68. Fallen in love and not had your heart broken
69. Toured ancient sites
70. Taken a martial arts class
71. Played D&D for more than 6 hours straight
72. Gotten married
73. Been in a movie
74. Crashed a party
75. Gotten divorced
76. Gone without food for 5 days
77. Made cookies from scratch
78. Won first prize in a costume contest
79. Ridden a gondola in Venice
80. Gotten a tattoo
81. Rafted the Snake River
82. Been on television news programs as an “expert”
83. Got flowers for no reason
84. Performed on stage
85. Been to Las Vegas
86. Recorded music
87. Eaten shark
88. Kissed on the first date
89. Gone to Thailand
90. Bought a house
91. Been in a combat zone
92. Buried one/both of your parents
93. Been on a cruise ship
94. Spoken more than one language fluently
95. Performed in Rocky Horror
96. Raised children
97. Followed your favorite band/singer on tour
99. Taken an exotic bicycle tour in a foreign country
100. Picked up and moved to another city to just start over
101. Walked the Golden Gate Bridge
102. Sang loudly in the car, and didn’t stop when you knew someone was looking
103. Had plastic surgery
104. Survived an accident that you shouldn’t have survived
105. Wrote articles for a large publication
106. Lost over 100 pounds
107. Held someone while they were having a flashback
108. Piloted an airplane
109. Touched a stingray
110. Broken someone’s heart
111. Helped an animal give birth
112. Won money on a T.V. game show
113. Broken a bone
114. Gone on an African photo safari
115. Had a facial part pierced other than your ears
116. Fired a rifle, shotgun, or pistol
117. Eaten mushrooms that were gathered in the wild
118. Ridden a horse
119. Had major surgery
120. Had a snake as a pet
121. Hiked to the bottom of the Grand Canyon
122. Slept for more than 30 hours over the course of 48 hours
123. Visited more foreign countries than U.S. states
124. Visited all 7 continents
125. Taken a canoe trip that lasted more than 2 days
126. Eaten kangaroo meat
127. Eaten sushi
128. Had your picture in the newspaper
129. Changed someone’s mind about something you care deeply about
130. Gone back to school
131. Parasailed
132. Touched a cockroach
133. Eaten fried green tomatoes
134. Read The Iliad - and the Odyssey
135. Selected one “important” author who you missed in school, and read
136. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
137. Skipped all your school reunions (so far)
138. Communicated with someone without sharing a common spoken language
139. Been elected to public office
140. Written your own computer language
141. Thought to yourself that you’re living your dream
142. Had to put someone you love into hospice care
143. Built your own PC from parts
144. Sold your own artwork to someone who didn’t know you
145. Had a booth at a street fair
146. Dyed your hair
147. Been a DJ
148. Shaved your head
149. Caused a car accident
150. Saved someone’s life

Merry Christmas!

2006-12-26T22:33:00.001-05:00

Okay... it's one day late, but still. Hope everyone had a great holiday! Here are some pics of how I spent my Christmas.

This is a tray of homemade Christmas cookies. From top left, going clockwise... chocolate chip, hard-boiled egg cookies (bad name, great cookie!), oatmeal raisin, springerle, snickerdoodles, sugar cookies with sprinkles, peanut jam gems. In center, rugalach.

Here's the tree... complete with stockings and presents!

My dog Tasha, enjoying her new candy cane shaped chew stick. You can see her stocking on the floor, with her new toys sitting next to it. Yes, she's spoiled. I'm not going to deny it.

My completely unexpected Christmas present... the Magic Bullet! I'm totally obsessed with the informercial, so my mother decided to buy me one. I spent all day reading customer reviews on Amazon, and they're pretty much split down the middle. I'm going to try it out tomorrow and see for myself.

So, that's the highlight reel. Right now I'm looking forward to the rest of my week off. It's one of the teacher perks that I truly enjoy the most.

Who needs presents?

2006-12-13T22:20:00.001-05:00

All of the parents showed up for report card conferences on Monday!!! One had to come Tuesday morning because she couldn't get out of work, but they all came!!!

Awesome.

transition

2006-12-10T12:06:00.001-05:00

Now that grad school is finished, I can finally give my full attention to my classroom. The timing couldn't be better. It's now the beginning of the second trimester, so I can kind of start with a clean slate. However, I'm still tying up some loose ends with report cards. Conferences are tomorrow, and I'm not sure I'm ready. The grades are in. There just aren't as many as I've had in the past. There are enough grades to assess each student's progress accurately, but as I'm looking things over, I keep thinking, "Oh, I never got around to that project," or "I wish we'd had more time to finish that writing piece, so I could have counted it for this trimester."

Oh, and my classroom is a disaster. The school's heater has been broken, and I wasn't in my classroom for more than half an hour last week. We had to close school Monday and Tuesday, we taught in the convent on Wednesday and Thursday (I shared the basement with second and third grade), and then when the heat still wasn't working, we decided to close school on Friday. So I haven't had any time to clean, take down Thanksgiving decorations, file the stack of papers sitting on my desk, or put up the rest of my Christmas decorations. My room isn't really dirty, just extremely cluttered and disorganized.

So, my game plan for tomorrow is as follows: Teach. File papers while the kids are doing independent work or having snack. Take down turkeys and put up Christmas-y things when kids are at gym. Shove all miscellaneous things in coat closet five seconds before parents arrive for conferences. Light mini-Christmas tree and play instrumental Christmas music in the hopes that parents will not notice any remaining clutter. Wish me luck.

imagine

2006-12-08T15:05:00.001-05:00

Imagine all the people,

Sharing all the world...

You may say I'm a dreamer,

But I'm not the only one.

I hope someday you'll join us,

And the world will live as one.

yay me!!!

2006-12-04T11:23:00.001-05:00

Well, it's December already. A million things have been going on. Obviously, blogging hasn't been one of those things. :) But as of last week, I am FINISHED GRAD SCHOOL!!!!! So now I'm breathing a bit easier. No more reports, no more presentations, no more late nights trying to juggle grad school projects and lesson plans for work. It's amazing. Part of me can't believe I'm done. It kinda feels like I just started. My first class was in the spring semester of 2005... so it took me only 2 years. Would've taken longer if I hadn't pushed myself so hard. I took 3 classes each summer (one in summer I semester and two in summer II) to help get my electives out of the way. And this past spring, I doubled up and took 2 classes - total stress, but it allowed me to take my reading clinic this past fall instead of waiting until next summer, which would have pushed graduation back. And now I'M DONE!!!! YAY!!!

Anyway... I actually have two days off this week, due to a broken heater at school. It's getting fixed on Tuesday, but it was too cold to have the kids in school with no heat, so we wound up getting a long weekend. Now I have some extra time to catch up on all the things I haven't had time to do in the past 3 months. On Friday night I wrote Christmas cards, on Saturday I did some baking and loaded a ton of Christmas songs onto my mp3 player. So far today I did some laundry and checked my email... and I'm (finally!) blogging. Today and tomorrow I'm going to clean and start my Christmas shopping. Not too shabby. :)

Gobble, gobble!

2006-11-24T18:18:00.001-05:00

So, turkey day is officially over... and I still feel stuffed! My family enjoyed the usual Thanksgiving fare: turkey, my mom's homemade stuffing, mashed potatoes, veggies, bread, cranberry sauce. Yum! For dessert, I made a Harvest Cake. Our kindergarten teacher made it for a faculty meeting about a month ago and everyone raved about it. I got the recipe and tried it myself. It was a hit!

It has a spice cake base, but there are lots of added goodies like pumpkin, sweet potatoes, apples, carrots, walnuts and raisins.

I used a spicy cream cheese frosting, and sprinkled crushed ginger snaps on top. Then I decided to get all fancy and tint the frosting to make it look all autumn-y. I topped the whole thing off with a silk fall leaf.

The cake is dense, moist and delicious. I highly recommend it!

Mrs. B.'s Harvest Cake

1 c. butter
1 c. sugar
3/4 c. brown sugar
4 eggs
1 can pumpkin (15 oz.)
2 1/4 c. flour
2 tsp. baking powder
2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. allspice
1 tsp. ground ginger
1 tsp. ground cloves
1 c. grated sweet potato (1 med. sweet potato)
1/2 c. grated carrot (about 2 whole carrots)
2 med. size apples (cored, peeled, grated)
1/2 c. raisins
1/2 c. chopped walnuts

Preheat oven to 350. In large mixing bowl, cream together butter and sugars. Add eggs and pumpkin, mix well. In separate bowl, mix all dry ingredients together. Gradually add dry ingredients to butter mixture, mixing well to incorporate all ingredients. Add sweet potato, carrots, apples, raisins and walnuts. Mix until well blended.

Grease and flour three 9 inch cake pans. Line bottoms with wax paper or baker's parchment, cut to fit the bottom of the pans. Bake at 350 for 35-40 minutes. Let cool about 10 minutes before removing from pans. Loosen sides of cake with knife, invert on wire racks to cool. Peel off wax paper. Allow cakes to cool completely before frosting.

Spicy Cream Cheese Frosting

8 oz. cream cheese (softened)
1/2 c. butter (softened)
2 tsp. vanilla extract
4 c. powdered sugar
1 tsp. allspice
10-12 spice wafers, crushed

Cream together cream cheese, butter and vanilla until light and fluffy. Add allspice and gradually add sugar, mixing well after each addition. If frosting seems too stiff, add 1 or 2 tbsp. milk. Sprinkle crushed spiced wafers over frosting between cake layers and on top of cake.

time to dust off the ol' blog

2006-11-18T10:15:00.001-05:00

Ohhh... I've wanted to blog for SO long. I keep jotting down notes of things I want to write about, and then I just don't have the time. Working full-time and going to grad school is quite time-consuming. Seems like every week I've had portfolios or case reports or lesson plans or journals due for my class... and in about 2 hours, I'll be at the library to meet a group of fellow students to prepare for a staff development that we're presenting in Tuesday's class.

In between classwork, I've been busy with work-work: writing lesson plans and grading tests and meeting with parents and trying to keep things organized. And most importantly, trying to keep things interesting. Some days I've felt like I was just coasting through the work-day, giving the kids busy work, because I'm so exhausted from staying up late to finish school-work. Sometimes I feel guilty... but I have to keep things in perspective. I'm teaching, they're learning. I might not be doing all the fabulous extra things that I've done in years past, but I'm hitting all the essentials, and that's good enough for now. Once class is over, I'll be able to spend some time planning more creative activities for them.

The good news: I'm done class on December 7th.
The not-so-good news: I still have several projects due before that day.

And I have a million stories about my first graders. I'll get to them... eventually.

Some random notes from this week.

2006-10-12T19:37:00.001-05:00

What a difference a dose makes...
One of my darlings is on meds (has been since late Pre-K), and I never realized how much he needs those pills until this week. On Wednesday, mom called school and said they spent the night at grandmom's house, and they accidentally left his meds at home. We adjusted the schedule for his afternoon dose, and I sent him to the office after lunch to take it. On his way back, he fell and skinned his knee. Then someone pushed him (not sure if it was an accident or not). This combination of events was apparently too much for him, because he had an "episode" that lasted 45 minutes... kicking the walls and bookshelves, trying to walk out of the classroom, carrying chairs into the coat closet, pushing his desk around the room. It amazed me how the other kids just ignored him. This all happened during our DEAR time (Drop Everything And Read), and God bless 'em, they all kept right on reading as if nothing out of the ordinary was happening at all. Must be something they learned from their kindergarten teacher. Anyway, it was great, because if they had made a fuss, it would have kept him going.

After about half an hour, I gathered my kids on the rug for story time. He was still walking around the room, occasionally kicking a desk or banging into a bookshelf. I gave him a choice: "You can either sit in your seat, or sit on the rug with us." (He has minor "episodes" about once a week, set off by random things. Only two things work - ignore him until he gets it out of his system, and then give him choices.) He dragged his chair over to the rug and sat in it. By the end of story time, he was on the rug with everyone else. And back to his usual cheerful self.

Learning the Language
My non-English speaker is swiftly turning into quite a master of the language! I've spoken to mom a few times, and she assures me that she's trying to use only English at home to help her daughter remember the language. In school, my friend regularly comes to my desk to tell me stories, in an endearing mix of Spanish and English.

The other day she said to me, "My mom's happy birthday tomorrow."

"It is? Wow, that's nice," I replied.

"Si," she nodded. "And she have big cake" (she spread her arms wide to show me) "muy, muy big, biggest cake."

Or, today... she came to my desk and picked up my ceramic pumpkin decoration.

"Ohhhh.... this... this..." (here she mumbled some Spanish).

"Pumpkin," I supplied.

"Si. Pumpkin. So beautiful!"

And my personal favorite. Today, we were on the rug for story time, and just as I paused for dramatic effect, she wrinkled her nose and said, clear as a bell, "Who farted?"

I think it's safe to say she's coming along just fine. :)

Little Old Man - Second Grader
My good friend Little Old Man is now a big, bad second grader. He keeps Miss W in stitches with his outbursts and comments. One day, second grade was walking past my room on the way to computer class. Miss W stopped at my door briefly to ask me a question, and I noticed LOM peering at my students disdainfully, arms crossed.

"What's wrong?" I asked him.

"So... these are your new students?" He sniffed and turned his head, nose in the air.

"Sure are," I replied. "Do you want to come in and say hi?"

Another contemptuous snort. "No, thank you."

Lord, I miss him!

sadness

2006-10-03T21:16:00.001-05:00

When I tell people where I work, they often say, "Isn't that a dangerous neighborhood?" or "Aren't you afraid to be in that area when it gets dark?" or "Don't you worry about the gangs/drugs/gunfights?" Well... yeah... sometimes. Honestly, I don't often think about how "dangerous" the neighborhood is until other people mention it. They do have a point. It's not the most ideal area for a child to call home. Certainly not like the neighborhood where I grew up.

But then you turn on the news and hear a story about a man who walked into a tiny one-room schoolhouse in Lancaster one morning, who tied up little Amish girls and shot them execution style. Because he was upset about something that happened twenty years ago. And you have to think, is there really such a thing as a "safe" neighborhood or a "safe" school?

News reports say the man molested family members when he was 12, and he dreamed about doing it again. I can't imagine why he thought killing little girls he didn't know could make that twenty-year-old demon go away.

And above all, the part of the story that hits me the hardest is that there were no family members on TV, crying and vowing revenge, like you usually see in this situation. Instead, members of the Amish community went to the family of the murderer and offered their forgiveness. Wow.

It's just incredible. And incredibly sad.

some updates

2006-09-29T21:32:00.001-05:00

I've been more busy than usual this semester - I'm doing my reading clinic for grad school, which is akin to student teaching, and it's just a lot more work than I expected. I'm trying my best to stay on top of my class assignments without falling behind on my work responsibilities. It's definitely a challenge, but it's not impossible.

September is officially over (well, tomorrow it will be), and I made it through the first month of my 7th year of teaching without incident. My kids are sweet. I have a few who are pretty low academically, and one or two who keep me on my toes as far as behavior goes... but overall, it's a nice class.

One complaint, though - three of my kids have had extended absences already. One girl started school almost two full weeks after the school year started, because she was in the Dominican Republic. One boy came to school for a week and then had to go to Nicaragua for 10-15 days because his grandmother is dying. Another girl went to Puerto Rico for 8 days the second week of school. I hope that's not gonna be a pattern this year. I've been trying to get one girl introduced to the school and classroom routine, get the other girl caught up on missed work, and keep a folder of work for the boy until he comes back.

One the bright side, my new girl is adjusting nicely. I found out some interesting things, too. First of all, her mother speaks English. I met her at Back to School Night and we had a nice chat. She told me that her daughter grew up in the US and spoke English and Spanish fluently. Then she went to the Dominican Republic for a year (I got the impression that mom wasn't with her, for whatever reason) where she attended kindergarten and spoke only Spanish. So she knows English, but she either doesn't remember much of it, or is more comfortable with Spanish. Either way, she's getting lots of support. Her mother, aunt and three cousins all help her with English at home. She started working with the ESL teacher this week, and he's reviewing classroom vocabulary with her. She made friends quickly, and is now starting to ask for things in English (or a mix of Spanish and English). She's also getting more comfortable with me, which is great. One day during silent reading, I took a story out of my basket of Spanish books and read it to her - La Gallinita Roja (The Little Red Hen). I'm not sure how well I read, but she was responding to the story and the pictures, so I think it worked. Plus, it was probably a nice change for her to hear me speak some Spanish. She hasn't cried since her first day, she raises her hand to participate, and before she leaves at the end of the day, she gives me a hug and says, "Bye, teacher!" It's really nice to see the progress.

I guess that's about it for now. It's been a long, exhausting week... TGIF, people. :)

no comprendo

2006-09-18T20:34:00.000-05:00

This is the story of the girl who didn't start school until the third week. It is important to note that she didn't come to this school last year. And she just got back from the Dominican Republic last night. Oh... and one more thing: she doesn't speak a lick of English. Nothing. Nada.

She has three cousins in our school (one of whom was in my class last year). Before her arrival, the cousins had assured me that she's "very smart" and "well behaved" and "a quick learner." They failed to mention that she only speaks Spanish. She showed up at my door this morning with the oldest cousin (8th grade). Cousin tried to leave the room, but Dominicana would have none of it. She started to follow her out the door, but I stopped her and showed her to her desk. I talked to her the whole time, showed her the name tag, helped her unpack. I assumed she was quiet because she was nervous, and figured she'd adjust after she got to know the class.

I asked her (in English), "What's your name?"
She told me her name.
"Did I spell it right on your name tag?"
Blank stare. So maybe she can't spell it yet. No big deal.
"Why don't you come to the rug with us for calendar?"
No response.
I waved her over with my hand and she shook her head no. Okay, I'll let her sit this one out.

When calendar was over, I split my class into groups for literacy centers. I tried to put Dominicana into a group, and she began talking to me in Spanish. I shook my head.
"No Spanish," I replied. "I speak English."
Quizzical look. Followed by another stream of rapid Spanish. I know VERY LITTLE Spanish, but I hung on her every word, trying to find something I could understand.

"Ooookay...." I said, very slowly when she finished.
"Okay," she echoed cheerfully, and then began to walk out the classroom door.

Um... what?? I bolted after her and caught her just as she got to the hallway. I directed her back to the classroom and grabbed the first one of my bilingual students I could see (commonly referred to by the kindergarten teacher and I as the "class actress"... she's an extremely dramatic child).

"Can you talk to her for me? See what she needs," I begged. Actress began chattering to her in Spanish. Dominicana answered her and then started for the hallway again.

I followed her into the hallway and managed to snag Miss W (2nd grade) to come translate for me. She sat with Dominicana for several minutes, questioning her in English and in Spanish. Then I asked Miss W to tell her a few things. "Tell her I don't speak or understand Spanish. I'll give her a buddy to help her ask questions. When she needs something, she can ask Actress to ask me. Tell her she can NOT leave the room without asking me first."

Miss W's assessment? She doesn't speak any English. Which I knew already, but at least now I had a teacher who could lay some rules down in a language she could understand. I told Actress to stick by her like glue and help her as much as possible.

I tried to resume teaching. No dice. Dominicana kept calling out in Spanish, "Maestra!" followed by more Spanish. She got out of her seat and wandered to the reading corner. She picked up a few books, put them back, walked to my desk, played with my Koosh ball.

I decided it was time to pull out what little Spanish I know.
"Sientate."
She looked at me and smiled.
I tried again. "Sientate aqui," I instructed, this time tapping her chair.
She sat.

The rest of the morning was no different. I tried to teach, she tried to understand. It just wasn't happening. She copied from the board and from the other students, but it was clear that she didn't understand what she was writing. I threw my lesson plans out the window and just tried to get through the morning with some review work so I could keep an eye on things.

At snack time, she came to me with a piece of paper. Her name was carefully written on it. She handed it to me.

"For me?" I asked.
"Si," she replied. I think she wanted to show me that she knew something. I hung her paper on my cabinet, a place of honor in first grade.

At lunch, she got to play with her cousin, which made her happy. I hoped that was enough to get her through the afternoon. It was not.

She did well during "silent reading" (it's not quite silent in first grade, but at least they're looking at books...), flipping through the Clifford books I had put on her table. When it was story time, however, she decided she'd had enough. She started out on the rug with everyone else. Then she scooted backwards. Then she slid behind a bookcase so I could no longer see her. I tried to coax her back onto the rug, but she wouldn't have it. I moved my chair to keep her in my sight and kept reading. She put her head in her hands and started to cry. Several of my girls tried to comfort her (in Spanish and English), but she wasn't interested. Soon she had scooted herself into the doorway. She sat there, cross-legged, looking out. Eventually, our reading specialist happened down the hallway and saw her sitting there. She sat with her and tried to get her back into the room. When that didn't work, she just tried to get her to listen to me teach.

And I kept teaching (because, honestly, what choice did I have?), while she sat in my doorway watching me. She seemed interested in the worksheet we were doing, so I gave her a clipboard and let her do it from her spot on the floor. Eventually, she went back to her desk for crayons, and I convinced her to stay there.

Needless to say, her and I were both frazzled by the end of the day. As we were leaving the building, Miss W asked her how her day went. Her reponse? (In Spanish, of course.) "Everyone talks in English a lot. It made my head hurt." Geez. I can only imagine. If I had to sit in a room full of people speaking only Italian or Polish all day long, I'd probably cry, too.

So now I don't know what to do with her. I'm hoping she'll pick up enough English to function on a basic level, and obviously I'm going to send her with the ESL teacher... but other than that? How is she going to get by in first grade? How is she going to learn?

first day(s)

2006-09-07T20:05:00.000-05:00

The first day(s) of school are now behind me. Our school splits the first day into two days, so half of the school came yesterday and the other half came today. Tomorrow I have my full class for the first time. Well... hopefully. Three of my students haven't shown up yet. One of the three is a girl who is new to our school. She's in the Dominican Republic right now. Her cousins (who also attend our school) assured me that she'd be in school on the 18th. So she'll miss the first week of school, which is a crucial week. We cover the rules, the classroom procedures, the getting-to-know-you activities. It's so hard to get them caught up on all that stuff. Especially when they're new to the school, because everything is new to them.

At any rate, it's been a good two days. The kids enjoyed hearing some stories and doing their first real first grade project. It's been my first day of school activity for the past 4 years, and it's always a big hit. I read them The Kissing Hand, by Audrey Penn, which is a wonderful story about Chester the raccoon, who is nervous about his first day of school. To make him feel better, his mother gives him a kiss in the middle of his hand so that he can always feel her love.

We follow that up with this project, where the kids trace their hands (this is my sample project, which is why the hand is so big) and draw a heart to show where the kiss goes. Then, we attach the poem (which I found online somewhere, years ago). The parents always love it.

Anyway... so far, so good. I think it'll be a fun year.

tell me something I don't know

2006-09-04T10:41:00.000-05:00

I just caught the tail-end of a segment on MSNBC discussing the demands made on first grade students regarding testing and workload. You can read the whole article here. Very interesting stuff.

will wonders never cease?

2006-09-01T15:48:00.000-05:00

I got another student today! That brings my total to 18. And apparently I was quite brain-dead yesterday... I mistakenly said I have 11 boys and 6 girls. Strike that. Reverse it. It's 11 girls and, as of today, 7 boys.

And my classroom is DONE. Bring on the kids.

the light at the end of the tunnel

2006-08-31T22:09:00.000-05:00

Tonight was the first class of fall semester for grad school. This is officially my LAST CLASS. Which means graduation is finally looming on the horizon... it's so close, I can almost taste it! But first... I have to get through this class. This one is the reading clinic, which is a lot like student teaching. It's two nights a week. One night is a seminar with the other grad students. The other night, I'll be working with two students to assess and improve their reading. It sounds like a neat program. We work with kids from a local charter school. Four grad students and eight kids are assigned to a classroom. Each grad student is responsible for assessing their two students and then using those results to plan lessons for them. But, we can also combine all eight kids and do "whole class" lessons... or group kids by needs for certain lessons. It's very flexible. But it's a LOT of work. Some of the projects we have to do:

~ assess both students using two different tests
~ keep a journal of our personal experiences
~ keep a log of our experiences with the kids
~ keep a portfolio of the students' work samples
~ write a detailed case report for both students we're tutoring
~ read a professional resource book and discuss it in literature circles with other grad students
~ plan an hour-long professional staff development with our teaching group and present it to the other grad students
~ have a conference with the parents of the students we tutor

It's a bit over-whelming. Add all the responsibilities of a full-time teacher to the mix, and it gets a bit hairy. To quote the little blue engine, "I think I can, I think I can, I think I can..."

However... on the brighter side of things... my classroom is pretty much done. My student count is up to 17 (11 boys and 6 girls). I'm going in again tomorrow to make some copies for the first day of school (which is in six days - yikes!!!). And then I can enjoy my long weekend.