Good gracious, I had two nursing students put into my class for 3.5 hours today to do observations and my comment to them at the end of the day, "thanks for coming, sorry you got put in my class!" We LITERALLY waste so much time each day because I have pip-squeaks who think they cannot sit on the rug, or refuse to at that. It's not that my kids don't want to act right, they just don't know how. Some of them might not have structure at home, which really throws them for a loop when they get to school and are expected to act a certain way. Not going to lie, a couple of my lovely babies have taken trips to the Principal's office. I only wish I could take a video of the last 10 minutes of school and have you see the way that one literally runs around the room, laughing, picking up anything he can find, opening bookbags of anyone in front of him, and turning KB (our classroom) into a shitshow. Excuse the language, it's true.
Speaking of which...several of my kids (boys in particular) will raise their hands and say "scurse me." It drives me nuts, it's such a strange word. Other words like that...we sit on the rug and go through a little saying which includes, "my back is straight and tall." They say, "my back is skrate and tall." One of my lovelies had the hook-ups today...i.e. hiccups. Ah, I should make a better list because this is the tip of the iceberg!
Another tidbit, the boy who I have problems with everyday...well his mom is used to getting a phone call from me and coming up to school, generally 4 times a day. Now, his mom got a note from my principal saying he wasn't going to be coming back to school unless she sat through the entire day of school with him. Wow, she wasn't happy about this, but after they called her this morning, she rolled out of bed and hung out in Kindergarten. Don't get me wrong, she didn't last all day. In fact, she didn't last all morning. But right after lunch, she finally got so frustrated with the way he was acting, she took him home. Welcome to my world...at least nothing was just being noncompliant and not temper-tantrum-throwing-things.
Next week we give our first 9 weeks test. Dun, dun, dunnnnnn. I'm N.E.R.V.O.U.S. I feel as if the nine-weeks test is greatly reflective of my teaching, which, duh, it is. What am I going to do if they all fail? Oh good grief....We are trying to do some review leading up to it so we can refresh our memory on what we have learned thus far. Let me tell you, I just introduced syllables to the groups at my center this week...my kids have been rocking my face off on syllables. Today I challenged them with lemonade and cucumber, they rocked. The test is going to be challenging mostly because so much of it is done individually. My assistant is going to be reading a LOT of stories or review worksheets with the class while I do the testing.
I know this is going in a random direction, but let me just say I had an AMAZING weekend! On Friday night I hauled butt back to Ruleville in time to watch some of my kindergarten cheerleaders in the Ruleville homecoming parade. I went for dinner and margartias with some friends and then back in time for the Ruleville homecoming football game. It was so fan, even though they lost by 26. Saturday I got up early and realized the Ruleville homecoming/fall festival was going on at the park which is 1.5 blocks from my house. So I walked up there and checked out the sights for awhile. Then I sat outside waiting for Lois to finish washing her car and then we went on a 4.5 mile walk. We walked out of town and to a nearby river. It was so fun and my skin saw the sun for the first time since early JULY. Blah...I needed a tan like my kindergartners need naptime. Needless to say I didn't do ANY work for school until 6:10 then evening, this is HUGE for me. Sunday I spent doing a lot of work, but I managed to sit outside for an hour or two as well. Don't worry, I didn't touch two things that should have gotten done but don't have a pressing dead line, but oh well. I felt so relaxed and Sunday night didn't feel hectic and stressful...babysteps, I know! Hopefully soon the entire weekend feels relaxed and carefree!!
Well...tomorrow is the first of the month (and 31 days closer to the official start of christmas music!!!!!) which means I need to get busy on making a new pattern for our daily calendar. Although I complain about them a lot, my kids are great and quite hilarious! They are fascinated by the smallest things in life and lately we are working really hard at giving compliments which is GREAT to hear! No matter what happens each day, they never cease to amaze me.
Especially at lunch when they are fascinated each and everyday with my peanut butter and jelly sandwich. I think they are laughing at it, but really, I don't care.
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
Week 6...transcribe this. Touch your nose if those words rhyme.
So, I did a bad job at posting for awhile....I'm going to try and get better about that. However, instead of preparing for tomorrow, I decided to write...although I really have no idea what to put in this one...
We are in week 6 of school. Hard to freaking believe. Progress reports went out at the end of the last week, it was a mad rush to get things graded and put into my grade book. Well, actually the rust was figuring out what I could/should grade and what actually shows what we are learning. It turned out fine...everything went out, eventually!
Tonight we had a PTA type of thing. Parents could come in and meet their child's teacher (if they didn't do that on the first day of school). It started at 6, so we just stayed at school and worked rather than drive 1/2 hour home and 1/2 hour back to school. I didn't realize there was going to be a presentation before we met with parents. The principal talked, the counselor droned on about lord knows what, the life coach got up and talked but by then I was d.o.n.e. listening, and the head of the PTA spoke. That was the only part I listened to, thank goodness, they called all 4 of us new teachers up and gave us a gift basket and welcome to Rosser. It has the usual (we-want-you-to-feel-welcome-even-thought-we-don't-know-you) gift basket type of things...stationary, candle, lotion, hand soap, picture frame, and poppurri...that stuff that I love :/ Just kidding! It was super nice, although I can't imagine the look on my face when I was the first one announced and they said I had to come up front.
For the record, my class is mildly out of control. I think I say it each and everyday too. I am struggling right now with too many of them that don't listen. The majority of them want to learn and are excited about being there...but it drives me UP THE YELLOW CEMENT WALL that they hit/push/pinch and "mess with" everyone else in the room. If someone bumps into them, they think they are "messin with" them and so they'll turn around and hit back. I go beserk about it. Each and everyday we talk about nice things our hands can do and how we can use our hands for helping and not hurting. One of these days a lightbulb will go off...until then, I'll continue pulling out gray hair. Also, it drives me nuts-o that they do not listen to directions. The majority of them are good, but when a couple are talking and everyone starts...I feel like it sounds like a dull roar in our room and the only way to get their attention is to be louder than them and that is not how I want to operate.
Don't worry....my favorite student has been sent home in the morning the last two mornings. Today, all he needed was a talking to in the hallway and time to get calmed down. But, they are sick of dealing with him so they made the situation ecalate and sent him into a tantrum and fit of screams in the office. He only lasted 1/2 hour...that is ridiculous...I'm failing that kid each and everyday he is sent home...ugh.
Today I had an observer in my room for the PAVE program. Don't even ask me what it means. It is some program dealing with vocabulary. We were selected to be part of their study...therefore, they will be in our Kindergarten classrooms during the year and doing whatever they need to do. I don't know if we get anything out of this study or what...frankly, I don't really care! Today the woman observed me from 7:50 until 10:15 a.m. I feel bad for her! I had to wear a microphone around my neck as well....last night I told my friend Nigel that the microphone was going to mean I couldn't say things under my breath! I would hate to be the person to transcribe those 2+ hours. "Cordarius, where is the A" "Cordarius where is the A" "Samara, if you can't be nice to your friends you have to sit on the rug" "Cordarius, look at me. Can you see the A?" "Sarmara, move to the rug, I just told you..." "Cordarius, what does the A sound like?" "Samara, you will not go back to your center until you can sit on the rug." Oh gracious, I would annoy myself listening to that.
Um...what else...tomorrow my assistant is going to be gone. Therefore, I have the class by myself from 7:30 until 1 p.m. Oh lordddddd help us. I think I'll have someone to assist me during centers (8:30-9:30). We get out at 1 p.m. on some Wednesday's...so the day will go by fast at least.
I haven't been very good about thinking of things that I need for my classroom...although I have to admit, if anyone comes across extra books, we can't get enough of those!...I love having lots of books to choose from in my room. The books Mike and Gretchen got have been amazing. This morning we read "the day Jimmy's boa ate the wash" and I can't get it out of my head! We even learned about schema and several of my kids remembered what it was by the end of the day!...WAHOO!
PS...booked my flights this weekend for Thanksgiving break (Nov. 22-29) and April's wedding (Dec. 12-14). I didn't look for the Christmas break flight since I knew my credit card was done-zo for a little while.
The last and utterly random note...my kids think the celery I eat at lunch are carrots. I gave two of them pieces to try on Friday, they book spit them out on their tray. One now thinks it grows in the ground like grass....or is grass.
Peace and hair grease.
We are in week 6 of school. Hard to freaking believe. Progress reports went out at the end of the last week, it was a mad rush to get things graded and put into my grade book. Well, actually the rust was figuring out what I could/should grade and what actually shows what we are learning. It turned out fine...everything went out, eventually!
Tonight we had a PTA type of thing. Parents could come in and meet their child's teacher (if they didn't do that on the first day of school). It started at 6, so we just stayed at school and worked rather than drive 1/2 hour home and 1/2 hour back to school. I didn't realize there was going to be a presentation before we met with parents. The principal talked, the counselor droned on about lord knows what, the life coach got up and talked but by then I was d.o.n.e. listening, and the head of the PTA spoke. That was the only part I listened to, thank goodness, they called all 4 of us new teachers up and gave us a gift basket and welcome to Rosser. It has the usual (we-want-you-to-feel-welcome-even-thought-we-don't-know-you) gift basket type of things...stationary, candle, lotion, hand soap, picture frame, and poppurri...that stuff that I love :/ Just kidding! It was super nice, although I can't imagine the look on my face when I was the first one announced and they said I had to come up front.
For the record, my class is mildly out of control. I think I say it each and everyday too. I am struggling right now with too many of them that don't listen. The majority of them want to learn and are excited about being there...but it drives me UP THE YELLOW CEMENT WALL that they hit/push/pinch and "mess with" everyone else in the room. If someone bumps into them, they think they are "messin with" them and so they'll turn around and hit back. I go beserk about it. Each and everyday we talk about nice things our hands can do and how we can use our hands for helping and not hurting. One of these days a lightbulb will go off...until then, I'll continue pulling out gray hair. Also, it drives me nuts-o that they do not listen to directions. The majority of them are good, but when a couple are talking and everyone starts...I feel like it sounds like a dull roar in our room and the only way to get their attention is to be louder than them and that is not how I want to operate.
Don't worry....my favorite student has been sent home in the morning the last two mornings. Today, all he needed was a talking to in the hallway and time to get calmed down. But, they are sick of dealing with him so they made the situation ecalate and sent him into a tantrum and fit of screams in the office. He only lasted 1/2 hour...that is ridiculous...I'm failing that kid each and everyday he is sent home...ugh.
Today I had an observer in my room for the PAVE program. Don't even ask me what it means. It is some program dealing with vocabulary. We were selected to be part of their study...therefore, they will be in our Kindergarten classrooms during the year and doing whatever they need to do. I don't know if we get anything out of this study or what...frankly, I don't really care! Today the woman observed me from 7:50 until 10:15 a.m. I feel bad for her! I had to wear a microphone around my neck as well....last night I told my friend Nigel that the microphone was going to mean I couldn't say things under my breath! I would hate to be the person to transcribe those 2+ hours. "Cordarius, where is the A" "Cordarius where is the A" "Samara, if you can't be nice to your friends you have to sit on the rug" "Cordarius, look at me. Can you see the A?" "Sarmara, move to the rug, I just told you..." "Cordarius, what does the A sound like?" "Samara, you will not go back to your center until you can sit on the rug." Oh gracious, I would annoy myself listening to that.
Um...what else...tomorrow my assistant is going to be gone. Therefore, I have the class by myself from 7:30 until 1 p.m. Oh lordddddd help us. I think I'll have someone to assist me during centers (8:30-9:30). We get out at 1 p.m. on some Wednesday's...so the day will go by fast at least.
I haven't been very good about thinking of things that I need for my classroom...although I have to admit, if anyone comes across extra books, we can't get enough of those!...I love having lots of books to choose from in my room. The books Mike and Gretchen got have been amazing. This morning we read "the day Jimmy's boa ate the wash" and I can't get it out of my head! We even learned about schema and several of my kids remembered what it was by the end of the day!...WAHOO!
PS...booked my flights this weekend for Thanksgiving break (Nov. 22-29) and April's wedding (Dec. 12-14). I didn't look for the Christmas break flight since I knew my credit card was done-zo for a little while.
The last and utterly random note...my kids think the celery I eat at lunch are carrots. I gave two of them pieces to try on Friday, they book spit them out on their tray. One now thinks it grows in the ground like grass....or is grass.
Peace and hair grease.
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
Build a bridge and get ova it
Okay, okay, it's been sooo long since I have posted. Life is crazy, typical, however, I think I spend more time making things for my room that I now realize are crucial for my students to learn necessary skills like rhyming. That sounds like a lame excuse, but 26 pages of written and illustrated rhyming poems for each letter is going to take me forever to make...I suck at drawing. And, to top it off, my gradebook is an absolute disaster and I have piles and piles of papers at my house to grade and either file or send home. Therefore...I have plenty to keep me busy!...
So, today was the first day a kid wet their pants in my room...and on her chair...and on the floor. Heck, we made it 23 days, I guess that is successful. Mind you, we came back from lunch and went to the bathroom. 15 minutes later she wet her pants, do you think she used the bathroom when the rest of the class went? Um, no. Actually, she ran in, waited 2 seconds and came back out so she could be first in line for recess. The funny thing, she was behaving on a particular color in our behavior system which meant she didn't get to go outside anyway. I can be understanding if the student is really young, not used to having to ask to go to the bathroom, etc. However, this child is 6 years old and is definitely smart enough to know what is going on-however, the line for recess is pretty freaking important.
Hard to believe it is Sept 10. Actually, it is still hard to believe we are even in school right now. Labor Day seemed so far away all summer. Anyway, it's here and gone. I spent a night at Uncle Mike's and Aunt Gretchen's. It was nice to get away for a bit...and they had gathered an amazing collection of books, school supplies and other things for our house. Needless to say, I left with my jeep FULL! In case you haven't heard...they pretty much rock!
What else has been happening? I have one boy in my class that rarely made it through the day last week because he would get so bad and throw fits and get sent home. The principal decided he needed to go home if he didn't know how to act, she dealt with him a LOT last year. That made me mad because he is repeating Kindergarten, he knows what to do to get sent home. He doesn't stay with his momma each night, so of course he wanted to go there during the day. The last couple of days have been okay with him. It is to the point that a certain person checks in on my room during the day and if he isn't doing what he is supposed to be doing (which is really typical), she comes in, pops him a couple of times in the leg and forces him to get his act together and get where he is supposed to. Although this isn't my philosophy, I realize this is what is needed. He has NO consistency in his life (home or school) therefore, the first aspect of consistency is going to be in my classroom with his behavior. If he is going to roll on the floor or throw chairs, he needs to know what is going to happen. Andddd, as bad as I make this sound, this is the child that I care the most about. He is smart, he CAN act right, and he will learn what is expected of him...sooner or later...
So, that was plenty descriptive. On other news, I think our roach problem is under control (thanks to the $20 I spent on products from Wal-Mart). Our lawn could be bailed right about now. My car hasn't seen a car wash since June 1 and the 46 layers of bugs are making it appear a new color. It is very typical to see multiple large fricking dragon flies hanging out of my grill!
And this is pretty boring...I wrote this at professional development training this afternoon...while some lady was droning on about statistics and "how are you building bridges to help our students learn?" Well lady, I don't know, but at this point I wouldn't walk over any bridge that I built...
So, today was the first day a kid wet their pants in my room...and on her chair...and on the floor. Heck, we made it 23 days, I guess that is successful. Mind you, we came back from lunch and went to the bathroom. 15 minutes later she wet her pants, do you think she used the bathroom when the rest of the class went? Um, no. Actually, she ran in, waited 2 seconds and came back out so she could be first in line for recess. The funny thing, she was behaving on a particular color in our behavior system which meant she didn't get to go outside anyway. I can be understanding if the student is really young, not used to having to ask to go to the bathroom, etc. However, this child is 6 years old and is definitely smart enough to know what is going on-however, the line for recess is pretty freaking important.
Hard to believe it is Sept 10. Actually, it is still hard to believe we are even in school right now. Labor Day seemed so far away all summer. Anyway, it's here and gone. I spent a night at Uncle Mike's and Aunt Gretchen's. It was nice to get away for a bit...and they had gathered an amazing collection of books, school supplies and other things for our house. Needless to say, I left with my jeep FULL! In case you haven't heard...they pretty much rock!
What else has been happening? I have one boy in my class that rarely made it through the day last week because he would get so bad and throw fits and get sent home. The principal decided he needed to go home if he didn't know how to act, she dealt with him a LOT last year. That made me mad because he is repeating Kindergarten, he knows what to do to get sent home. He doesn't stay with his momma each night, so of course he wanted to go there during the day. The last couple of days have been okay with him. It is to the point that a certain person checks in on my room during the day and if he isn't doing what he is supposed to be doing (which is really typical), she comes in, pops him a couple of times in the leg and forces him to get his act together and get where he is supposed to. Although this isn't my philosophy, I realize this is what is needed. He has NO consistency in his life (home or school) therefore, the first aspect of consistency is going to be in my classroom with his behavior. If he is going to roll on the floor or throw chairs, he needs to know what is going to happen. Andddd, as bad as I make this sound, this is the child that I care the most about. He is smart, he CAN act right, and he will learn what is expected of him...sooner or later...
So, that was plenty descriptive. On other news, I think our roach problem is under control (thanks to the $20 I spent on products from Wal-Mart). Our lawn could be bailed right about now. My car hasn't seen a car wash since June 1 and the 46 layers of bugs are making it appear a new color. It is very typical to see multiple large fricking dragon flies hanging out of my grill!
And this is pretty boring...I wrote this at professional development training this afternoon...while some lady was droning on about statistics and "how are you building bridges to help our students learn?" Well lady, I don't know, but at this point I wouldn't walk over any bridge that I built...
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)