My little turkeys

We are in full turkey mode here at school. And I love it! Doing seasonal stuff with my kindergartners and first graders is such a welcome break from our regularly scheduled programming.

We've read My First Thanksgiving and I'm No Turkey.

We've written a list of things that we're thankful for.

We had our Thanksgiving Music Program on Tuesday. (The kids were both hilarious and adorable!)

And today we're making Turkey Tracks! Except we're making them with peanut butter and straight pretzel sticks (because I'm not sure about how my picky eaters will handle chow mein noodles!)

It should be messy but FUN! I am especially excited because once today is over, I have the WHOLE BLESSED WEEK off for Thanksgiving! Do I hear an Amen? :)

Where do boogers go?

When our communication specialist picked up my little group of kindergartners from their general ed. classroom last week, there was a bit of drama.

"Ms. H!! Ms. H!!", little 'Julie' cried. "Maria wiped her burger on my leg!!"

When Ms. H realized that Julie meant BOOGER, she had to take a moment to compose herself. She dealt with the incident, then on her way to her classroom with the kids, she popped in to mine to apprise me of the situation.

I giggled.

I giggled even louder later in the afternoon when I had these same kindergartners listening to the story "Warthogs in the Kitchen." There comes a moment in the middle of the book where they consider adding pickles to the cupcake better.

I paused in my reading. "Pickles?!?" I asked my students dramatically.

"Noooooooooo!" they all replied.

And then Julie added: "And no BURGERS either!!"

And then I raided my chocolate stash

We were starting our personal narratives project by writing a list of important people in our lives. I modeled for my first graders on chart paper, and then supervised as my four students got to work.

I sat very close to Leo, who struggles when it comes to writing (well, everything). He wrote:

Mom

Dad

Mr. B-

And then I stopped him because I realized he was just copying my list. "What about your brother?" I asked. "What's his name?"

Leo: "Ahhh I dunno."

Me (thinking he did know but was confused about the meaning of question): "Let's ask Adam. Adam, what's your brother's name?"

Adam: "He name Marcus."

Me: "See Leo? Adam's brother is Marcus! What's your brother's name?"

Leo: "Ahhhhh... Marcus???"

Me: "Siiiiiiiiiiiiiiiigh."

My Teaching superpower

If there's one thing that I like to brag about being good at, it's making fun activities into educational activities.

(But truthfully, my students' language levels are so low that I can pretty much justify ANYTHING as a "language activity")

This is why I was not worried about leaving my door wide open when I was painting pumpkins with my kindergartners this week!

At the end of our pumpkin painting party, we all chowed down on pumpkin soup and pumpkin seeds as an extension of the book we've been reading (Pumpkin Soup by Helen Cooper)

These are the kinds of days I live for!

read my lips, not my face

I have an over-sensitive first grader named "Adam."

He has a lot of issues going on at home, so it's easy for me to be compassionate rather than short tempered when he starts talking in his kermit-the-frog voice and when he laughs long and loud at completely inappropriate times.

The problem for me comes whenever I give him a direction. He equates my "teacher" face with an "I'm gonna hurt you" face. I don't yell my directions. I say please and thank you when I give directions. I am not a mean teacher (I promise!). But for whatever reason, he will misinterpret the look I have on my face, point accusingly at me, and say:

"You're MAD at me!"

I've stopped numerous times to explain that I am not mad at him, that this look on my face means that I'm serious - not mad. But he's still not getting it.

I have the guidance counselor working with him (and with me!) about it, so I think there's some hope.

In the meantime, I guess I'll just have to be super conscious of my eyebrows when I give a direction!!

a healthy injustice

My school got this grant for a fruits and vegetables program. It means that every day, at about 2 o'clock, the lunch ladies visit each classroom and drop off a baggie of cut fruits or veggies for every child as a snack. This happens in each room: pre-k to fifth grade. They are not allowed to bring the food home, they must eat it at school.

via

Oh. Were you concerned that this was maybe disruptive to our teaching? Yes. Yes it is.

However, I have the unique opportunity to capitalize upon this interruption as an excuse for a vocabulary lesson (my general education colleagues aren't this lucky). My students with hearing loss typically have language delays. So we talk about "peeling" and "slices" and "fruit" and "seed" and "sticky".

So for now, it's not too much of a problem - unless you think it's more important to develop good writing skills.

Sigh.

teachers color too

Last week, we read "Mice Squeak, We Speak" in Kindergarten. We talked a lot about action words. One or the suggested activities in the curriculum guide was to make paper plate animal masks.

It was the perfect Friday project! The kids had a blast with it, and I forgot how much I love coloring... Most of the kids wanted to be lions, but I chose a mouse!

One little lion boy chased me around the room to eat me! Have I mentioned how much I love teaching Kindergarten?!

Target teaching tool

I picked up these animal action cards in the Target dollar bins over the summer. They're proving to be quite handy for teaching verbs to my kindergartners!! I pulled out a few for our "Action Words" chart:

They really love acting them out!

Understandably, this one is definitely my favorite:

spending that kindergarten paycheck

If you're one of the five kindergarteners that sees me for Language Arts, you are always aiming for more happy faces than sad faces.

Each child has a laminated 3x5 card on their desk with two columns: one for happy faces, and one for sad faces. You get a tally mark in the happy face column if you follow directions and follow our rules. I hardly ever give out sad faces except in the case of open defiance.

At the end of our time together, you get one penny for your "bank" if you have more happy faces than sad faces on your tally card. When you have FIVE whole cents, you can pick a prize from our treasure box.

BUT!!

You can save your pennies until you get TEN whole cents. TEN cents will buy you something from the slightly more expensive BIG prize box.

All week, "Karen" has been telling me she's saving her pennies for the BIG prize box. But today she and two other students got their fifth penny.


When I pulled out the small prize box and the other two children picked a prize, Karen was torn. She broke down and picked something from the small prize box (even though she could see the big box right next to it.)

After she handed me all of her five pennies, she solemnly declared:

"Tomorrow, I will wait for a BIG prize!"

In related news, today is my payday. What should I buy?

A classroom tour

Welcome to my classroom! Come on in and take a peek:

Student names will be written on the frogs before the first day of school!

Language Arts area: where all the magic happens

Calendar: with a high focus on vocabulary (PS: don't you love that rug?)

Command central: where I conquer the paperwork

And my back counter and shelf space underneath is used for storage. For two years, the clutter had been bothering me. Plus, it's too tempting for wandering little eyes:

So I decided to install some curtains. I sewed the fabric myself! (Aren't you proud of me?) I think it turned out much better:

And now, I can enjoy my last month of summer vacation completely STRESS FREE!!

(PS: have you entered my giveaway yet? Today is your last chance!)

No tomorrow

Yesterday (Thursday) was the last day of school for the kids. (The teachers will be back today to clean out our rooms and such).

It was Picnic Day, which is really like Field Day but with less supervision. The kids were running around outside, eating their hot dogs, dripping their popsicles, and riding ponies. YES! I'm not even kidding: I looked up at one point and the older sibling of one of our children had brought in two ponies for the kids to ride. A happy chaos ensued.

It was getting to be in the high nineties after lunch so we brought them in for a movie. It ended just as it was time to line up for the bus (for the final time - yay!).

I stood at the head of the line, and one of my first graders asked me, looking pensive, who was going to be the leader tomorrow. No doubt he was hoping that it was his turn to be at the head of the line next.

I smiled. "Nobody! School is over for the year -- there is no tomorrow!"

I can't tell if he looked disappointed or happy!

at least i can squirt some kids

Is it just me, or does time move more slowly nearing the last day of school? We've been "busy" with extra long recesses, awards ceremonies, career day, and cleaning out classrooms.

Technically the last day of school is next Thursday, but full-on babysitting mode has already begun! Tomorrow is our campus wide Field Day. Field Day is basically a few hundred kids running around in the sweltering heat while the teachers "supervise" their stations. The upside? We get to carry around squirt guns and spray the kids!!

Here's a picture of me during last year's Field Day. It was 98 degrees out there:

Tomorrow it's *only* supposed to be 95 and sunny. If you don't hear from me this weekend, it's because I've MELTED!

Getting there faster

If you've ever walked a line of young children down the hall towards the doors that lead to a playground, then this post is going to make perfect sense to you.

It starts off well. You've barked at reminded the children to use their hallway manners and your line is looking pretty decent. Hands behind the back. Mouths closed (for the most part). Low speed.

Halfway down the hall and suddenly 24 pairs of arms are at their sides and the pace has quickened. Children are also talking to each other.

As you get nearer and nearer to the doors that lead outside, suddenly the children start hurrying, actually sprinting, towards freedom. The boys take the three steps that lead down to the doors all in one leap. They start whooping and hollering at the top of their lungs just as they come upon the threshold.

They know that the quicker they hurry, the faster they're going to be outside.

Friends. If only Time worked like that too. I would be teaching in speedy-mode, rushing to get to the end of the school year. I would be running to and fro. I would be typing my lesson plans at 100 wpm. I would be talking a mile a minute. 

But there's nothing I can do except to make the most of the 13 days of school we have left!

the classroom discussions i live for

I was with my deaf ed bunch one afternoon, and we were reading a Big Book called "I Swam with a Seal". In the book, a little girl goes to play with various animals and the animals wonder why she doesn't look like them.

Let me try to recreate a particularly interesting page that started an incident that had me laughing all the way home. (Note: blah blah blah = I don't remember the words)

"I bothered a beaver,

who was building a dam,

blah blah blah,

and away he swam.

Where is your strong tail,

you funny beaver?"

I know what you're all thinking: "Uh oh, some kid noticed the "dam" in the sentence and misunderstood!" Nope! Here's what happened:

I finished reading the page, and my second grader stops the class and says "Wait, wait, wait". He is looking pretty confused. Then he asked: "Beaver have tail?"

At least, that's what I thought he said, so I said: "Yes, beavers have tails!" I even pointed at the picture for emphasis.

He looked alarmed, and then said: "What? Justin Bieber have a TAIL?!?"

And then I giggled. A lot. Because "Beiber" and "beaver" sound very similar. So I wrote some things down on the board and drew some stick figures just to make sure that he didn't go home thinking his favorite superstar had a tail!

a mother's day story I wish was fictional

When I announced to my small group of first and second graders that we were going to make chocolate covered pretzels for a Mother's Day gift on Friday, "Thomas" had a strange reaction. His usually smiling face fell into a dark scowl.

"I. Don't. Want to." he declared.

I was almost surprised until I remembered his family situation. Thomas was adopted from a land far away into a very rich couple's home. Yes, they knew he was deaf. But the rumor is, the couple wanted to save their marriage and an adopted kid seemed like just the thing.

A few years went by and the marriage dissolved anyway. Now little Thomas is raised by an aging grandfather and an elderly nanny that mom hired so she can live at her workplace.

From what I've observed, the mother treats him like he should be behaving like a forty year old man: grown up and mature already instead of the seven year old child that he is. It's hard to watch.

His nanny (who's been with him for most of his life) is the one who brings him to school, who drives over his lunch or his homework when he forgets it, and who communicates to his teachers.

So back to Friday. Not even after several encouraging prompts could I get Thomas to make a gift for his mother. It was only once I promised him that he could make two gifts - one for his mother, one for his nanny - that he changed his mind and decided to participate.

It broke my heart right down the middle.

Mom? Thank you SO much for not only doing the job yourself, but for having done such a terrific job to boot! I love you: you're the best!!

Calendar place value

I meant to share this about a hundred school days ago but better late than never! This is what we do in first grade to count days we've been in school.

I like this method in particular because you can show the separation of the ones, and then create a group of ten with a chain. Very visual!

Of course, I have a different kind of school day tracker on my desk (21 more days to go!!!!!!!!!!)

Cure for summer fever

Let's face it: with just a smidge over six weeks until summer vacation, the kids (and staff) have Summer Fever.

It hit early this year. That could be because of the super nice weather, or the early onslaught of testing, or simply because we're all tired. But whatever the reason, it's here in full force.

For all of you non-teachers out there, here's what I mean by Summer Fever:

*The kids have gotten exponentially wigglier, so the whole classroom almost seems to vibrate with energy, buzz, and movement.

*The kids who used to be best of friends are at each other's throats. Think siblings who have been stuck in the back of a car for too long.

*The giant vat of patience that the teachers started with at the beginning of the year is now empty.

*More people stare out the windows.

*Countdowns are on every white board in the school, with staff giving each other regular updates for encouragement.

*Homework packets are getting thinner.

*The kids have completely forgotten all the rules and procedures we've been following since the beginning of the year.

There is no known cure for Summer Fever. We are still waiting for someone to develop a remote control for life. Until that time, here's what we've done to try to counteract the symptoms:

*Add an extra 20 minute recess every day.

*Bribe the kids for good behavior.

*Threaten to take away Field Day for bad behavior.

*Drink exponentially more caffeine.

*Leave the school building as soon as is humanly possible at the end of each day.

*Cling to our routines like the mast of a sinking ship.

WISH US LUCK!

no laughing matter

It was the end of a particularly bad day for Tammy. She had been defiant, she had been out of her seat more than not, and she stuck out her tongue at her classroom teacher.

At the end of the day, she asked me if she was going to get a sticker ("ticker?"). I sat down with her at my teacher table while my other students were reading quietly. I pulled out her behavior chart just as one of my colleagues showed up at the door. He stood in the doorway and watched us for a minute.

I counted the smiley faces for "I will follow directions". Two.
I counted the sad faces for following directions. Eight.

"Oh no, Tammy!" And as I started to debrief with her, I noticed my colleague at the door is laughing quietly. "You have more sad faces today! You did not follow directions. You did not stay in your chair. You stuck your tongue out at the teacher! No sticker for you today. Let's try again tomorrow."

Out of the corner of my eye, one of my other students was mouthing to my colleague at the door: "Stop laughing! It's not funny!" Her serious scolding made him laugh even harder, so he left our doorway.

I'm so glad the rest of my kids think bad behavior is no laughing matter!!

Father knows best

There's a first grader I work with in the general education setting. Let's call him "Doug". He is highly distractable and often impulsive. On Thursday, though, he decided to add shouting and outright defiance to the mix.

It wasn't long before his behavior chart went from green, to yellow, to orange, to blue, to the dreaded RED.

My mild-mannered co-teacher got out her red pen and wrote his father a note with exclamation points! Serious trouble indeed.

On Friday, we got a note back from dad that simply said: "He's just being a kid." [Hold on a minute while I catch my breath in the face of such overwhelming parent support....]


In addition, he sent a strip of paper to school with Doug. It had two words written in green marker:

LISTEN

BEHAVE

He told Doug to put the paper inside his desk, that way it would help remind him to have good behavior.

OOOOOOOOOHHHH!!!! YOU MEAN THAT'S ALL WE HAD TO DO? A SLIP OF PAPER IS ALL HE NEEDS TO CURE HIS BEHAVIOR?!?! WHY DIDN'T WE THINK OF THAT?

My co-teacher and I looked at each other and wondered whether we should laugh or cry.....

hello, my name is

I've been called a few different things in my six years of teaching.

Mom.

Teacher.

Mommy.

Mrs. other-teacher's-name.

Grandma.

But this week, "Paula" gave me a new label. Paula is a cute little first grader who tries her darndest but has the attention of a gnat. She likes to go on long rambling tangents in a very loud, rather high pitched voice and her speech is often difficult to understand. She cracks me up (often not on purpose....)

Anyways, she asked for some scissors for some activity we were doing. So I passed her the scissors.

She turned to me and said (in speech as clear as a bell, and with a little attitude too): 

"Thank you, baby"

I froze. She was still smiling at me with her head cocked to the side, the picture of innocence. I'm sure her parents and her grandparents call her "Baby" all the time, but....

I had to have a little talk with her about appropriate and inappropriate things to call a teacher.

Then my colleagues and I had a good laugh!

see more Lolcats and funny pictures, and check out our Socially Awkward Penguin lolz!