PUMP-kins

Too funny today! I gave a group of students a book called "Halloween" during guided reading yesterday to read for homework. One of my students (a wicked Hispanic cutie) had trouble saying the word "pumpkin". She said what some kids do; "PUN-kin". I had the group look carefully at the word and repeat it after me. She was laughing while trying to do it because it felt funny to her. I explained that she wasn't reading the whole word or saying all of the sounds in it. She got it then. :) She came up to me this morning and said, "I practiced last night, maestra! I can say PUMP-kin now!" She was very proud of herself and I am proud of her determination to say it correctly, too!

Now on to REALLY important things...SHOES! I bought a new pair of shoes today at Woldruff's Footware.  They are sexy Dansko clogs.  I got the inspiration from one of my fellow teachers who just bought them the other day.  I left school to go get them and hers was the first room I visited when I got back to tell her that I copied her.  They are hott!  (Yes, I meant to write 2 "t's".)  Here is a photo for your viewing pleasure.

Dansko Grey Prism Patent Stapled Clog

NOTE:  I am thinking that I did my citing correctly.  If I did not, please leave me a KIND message and let me know what I should have done differently.  Thanks! 

Are We There Yet?

It's only Wednesday, isn't it?! Sorry about the slacking last week! This week has gone well at school. I had professional development last week on Thursday and had to leave early on Friday, which meant that I didn't get much done those days. I decided to come in on Sunday and ended up planning my entire week and staying 6 hours. That helped a TON! However, I can't do that every weekend. I need some time away from this place, you know?!

So, I arrived home last Thursday to find an envelope addressed to me on the counter. As I picked it up I thought to myself, "This is a nice envelope! It feels like the ones I sent my resume in." Then...I saw the name of the law firm in the corner. My stomach dropped and I did a quick inventory of any lawsuits filed against me...there were none. So, I decided to be brave and open it. THAT was a mistake. I started reading and got as far as, "You have been subpoenaed to appear at a deposition on October 4th at 10:00 am..." I started bawling. All I could think was that I had to miss ANOTHER DAY away from my students. I have already been out of my classroom during instructional time for 17 hours this year.

Let's just say that I ran pretty hard that night.

I feel a little more sane this week. I told my students that when they get too loud I didn't want to have to yell to get their attention back. I want my voice to be used for learning, not yelling. So.........I have started keeping my recess whistle on my all the time. :) I give it a little toot when they get out of control to bring them back so that I don't have to yell. It's worked pretty well so far! I told them that my goal was to not have to use it by Christmas. HA!

Let's hope Friday comes quickly! Plus, now that I have found out that I can write here at school (AFTER SCHOOL HOURS ONLY!!!!) I will update more often. Happy Wednesday!

Can You Pass The Tissues?

Oh what a week, what a week. I know that most teachers feel the same way I do, but I've got to get it out! My school is working on implementing learning goals in place of grades and a couple Wednesdays a month every team gets to meet for 3 uninterrupted hours. Some of those hours are filled with information for us and things that we are working on while the other hours are spent meeting as a team. This is done so that we don't have to meet after school. They are greatly informative but there is so much handed down to us to take in that I regularly get overwhelmed.

Our principal was walking around and visiting each table group that morning and when she got to my table was the point where my overwhelmed brain decided to let my eyes leak. When I am tense or overwhelmed it tends to come out in tears. I'm fine, but I need to let it out. The man on our team (Princess) looked at me and said, "You're doing on the outside what I am feeling on the inside." My team is super supportive and amazing. God has done some wonderful things this year and has placed some spectacular people in my life.

I told Spaceballs today that I think I need to have a sign strung around my neck (like they did in 28 Days with Sandra Bullock which was about rehab) that says "I need to remember to ask for help instead of trying to do it on my own." She laughed and said I was right. It's not that I don't need help. The thing is ASKING. I love help. I relish help. I just forget that I CAN ask for it. I'm allowed to need help. What a revelation, huh??

The Honeymoon's Over

What a week, what a week. My students have been nutso this week. Let's start at the beginning...MONDAY: I woke up on Monday with a wicked bad head cold. I could barely breathe and felt awful. (Puffs Plus with Vicks tissues are AMAZING!) I managed to make it through the day, but the kids could tell I didn't feel well no matter how hard I tried.

TUESDAY: Things started to loosen up on Tuesday, but I still wasn't 100 percent. This was the day that my students forgot how to listen. (They totally reverted back to first graders.) I had to take a time out and repeat "If you cry in front of them you will never live it down." I was thisclose to having a freak-out on my class. I managed to make it through, but it wasn't pretty. I told my boyfriend about my day and he said, "Well, your 13th day can't be any worse than MY 13th day. 9/11 was my 13th day during my first year." That helped.

WEDNESDAY: I felt better this day, but my students were even MORE rowdy. Ugh! I had to make them back up and said "You're popping my bubble." They LOVE to be at my elbow all day and I know that I have to get used to it at this point in the year. We are beginning a chess program this year for our second and third graders and all the classroom teachers had to attend a webinar for 2 hours. Yeeeeeaaaaahhhhh...I'm keeping it mum. I made a really good to-do list, though!

THURSDAY: I sent my first student to the office today. He has been hitting other students at least once a day. I sat down with him to discuss it and gave him two options. Either he could fill out a social contract with me or he could go to the office and discuss what was happening because this was happening every day. Well, he rolled his eyes at me and said "Whatever", which was when I told him that he just made his decision and he was going to the office. I kept my cool with him, but was ready to flip my lid. I feel like the most awful and incapable teacher in the world because I couldn't deal with it in my own room. Tomorrow is a brand-new day and I make it positive or negative.

You've Got To Be Kidding Me!

This has been a long week. I had to write my first classroom teacher sub plans for Wednesday morning. They were about 5 pages long for 3 hours of class coverage! However, the problem was that I spent so much time worrying about my sub plans that I neglected my OWN planning. THAT made for a fun afternoon. I felt like the worst teacher in the world until Chicklets took me by the shoulders and said, "Your first year is not for you to succeed. It's for you to learn. You will make a lot of mistakes and that's ok as long as you learn from them." (Or something close to that...it's not an exact quote.) I felt better after that.

Today was a lot better because I spent a long time making sure that I knew what we were going to talk about and do and when. My students were amazing. We had a fire drill today and they were one of the only classes walking quickly, silently and using self-control! They were awesome! They have gotten MANY compliments from teachers and administrators in the hallway. Yay!

After a great day, I had to rush home for an appointment. It felt weird to know that I didn't have to go to bed an hour after I got home. I was excited! And then.........I walked into my bedroom to find that my cat had HAIR-BALLED on my white comforter, my sheets, through to my mattress pad and my DS! Mom got a fun phone-call at that point (i.e. tears). It's a good thing that I love her because she very possibly could have mysteriously disappeared. Just kidding. Let's hope that my third Friday will be as awesome as today.

I'm Watching You

One of my students is so funny! Yesterday he gave both Spaceballs and me the "I'm watching you" fingers (point at his eyes, point at us), with a GLARE! She told him to stop goofing off in my line and I asked him (yet again) to be quiet. I could barely keep a straight face!

This has been an interesting week. I will have my first guest teacher tomorrow morning, which meant that I had to write my first classroom sub lesson plans. I've been freaking over them because I didn't want to leave anything out, but I feel like I am still missing something! Ugh. My guest teacher will be there from 8:00 until 11:00 and my sub plans are 5 pages long. I don't have a guest teacher by choice. One of the things that my school is doing this year is 2 Wednesdays a month every classroom teacher in the building gets a sub so that teams can meet uninterrupted for 3 hours. (7:30-11:00 and 11:00-3:30 I think.) I like this idea because I have so many questions for my team and we are able to meet for an extended period of time without having to stay after school. (Although I am usually there until 6:00 or later.) Should be fun!

I found out today that I have a volunteer in my room every day! Psyched!! :) She is 87 years old and a real fire-cracker. It's awesome that I have her in my room because she is fluent in Spanish and is able to give better translations than I can. She is ON TOP of things! It was amazing how much smoother things went today simply by having an extra body in the room.

A struggle that I will be thinking of in the coming days: What do I do with my behavior problems short of pulling my hair out? Kidding about the hair, but I have some great kids who need some assistance. A topic to bring up tomorrow?? We shall see.

Deodorant

It has been an interesting, tiring and trying two days. I have a student who CONSTANTLY has to have the last word. I will ask the students to quietly put their things away and he will loudly and emphatically respond "OK, Miss D-M!" or "You GOT it, Miss D-M!" or "Of COURSE, Miss D-M!" Oh my gosh!

He is an extremely quirky and well spoken boy (and constantly speaking!) He tells me a different story every day. Today, the story happened to go like this: "Miss D-M, do you remember me telling you that I have a very strong sense of smell and that it is very sensitive?" I said, "Of course I do. Why do you ask?" "Well," he responded, "I can smell your deodorant. Don't get me wrong! It smells nice. I just wanted you to know that I could smell it." I had to stifle a laugh while I replied "Well, thanks for the compliment!" If only I could convince him to write the way he speaks!

I got the nicest compliment yesterday! Our second grade interventionist, The Donald, was in my room in the afternoon while we were doing our math and for a bit of free time. She said, "I just want to let you know that your classroom management seems to be working really well. Your students are under control and understand the directions and options that you give them" I was so surprised! I gasped, "Really?! I thought they were a little nuts this afternoon!" "Oh no," she said. "Your class looks great, especially being only the first week of school." I hugged her in the middle of my classroom! I had a great example set for me in student teaching, with my partner teacher at the beginning of last year, and in some of my friends' rooms at my former school.

I think this year is off to a great and interesting start!