Well the weather outside has become frightful. I'm taking advantage of how quiet the building is right now. Everyone left ASAP, so I've now got my iPod fired up and am getting some catching-up done. My workout class was cancelled. All after-school activities were cancelled. Homework---cancelled!!! If everything else in the world was getting cancelled, I decided my kids should have something cancelled as well, and what's better than a homework cancellation?? Nothin', that's what!!!!
We again took advantage of our Smartboard and weather.com today and periodically checked the radar to see where the storm was. If one of these guys grows up to become a meteorologist, you'd better believe I'm going to expect a shout-out in his/her autobiography!!! ;) I showed them how I was able to back up the view of the map, and oh sheesh, did they get excited at seeing the other states. So science gelled into social studies and it took all I had to force myself to do the lesson that was on the books. Don't worry, I can multi-task, so I just snuck back and showed that radar again every hour or so.....those are the bonus lessons, right? The unexpected ah-ha's that pop up that we have to take full advantage of??? You're with me on this, right???? I know you are....no need to answer. LOL!!!
Okay, it's starting to come down harder out there, so I should wrap it up and go be the good Chicago girl that I am. Snow? Puuulllleeeezzzz--- I got this!!! Be safe!!
Tuesday, February 26, 2013
Monday, February 25, 2013
Monday, 2/25/13
Happy Monday--and after last night's Oscars, what a Monday this was!! Why do they have to run over every single year??? Don't they know we regular people have to WORK?? Oh well, they did numbers from 3 of my all-time favorite musicals, so I forgive them. CZJ doing All that Jazz, JHud doing And I'm Telling You and the cast of Les Miserables doing One Day More-------to put it simply, I died!!! My arms were up in the air; I was in all of my glory!! I have, at one time or another, been completely obsessed with each of those shows (I was at the theater seeing Les Miserables for the 3rd time yesterday--I've seen the stage show 5 times....obsessed....). Okay, enough of revealing more of my weird self to you. =)
Today was great. There was a tough math lesson first thing this morning, which my brain was not communicating very well. Luckily, I've shown the kids that I'm not above asking for help and/or having one of them take the reigns, and thankfully one of my little cuties was ready for the job this morning. He came up and shared the Smart Board with me, and between the two of us, we eventually got through the lesson. Luckily tomorrow's a new day and we always get do-overs in life!!
The kids are currently in the middle of evatluating their own (snow day) writing and making improvements. I've yet to read them, although I'm dying to. Perhaps tomorrow will be the day. With the weather that is being predicted, it may feel quite apropos.
I think that's all I have time for tonight. I have to get out of here and take my car to the emissions place. Could my life be any more exciting???? ;)
Have a good night!! XOXO
Today was great. There was a tough math lesson first thing this morning, which my brain was not communicating very well. Luckily, I've shown the kids that I'm not above asking for help and/or having one of them take the reigns, and thankfully one of my little cuties was ready for the job this morning. He came up and shared the Smart Board with me, and between the two of us, we eventually got through the lesson. Luckily tomorrow's a new day and we always get do-overs in life!!
The kids are currently in the middle of evatluating their own (snow day) writing and making improvements. I've yet to read them, although I'm dying to. Perhaps tomorrow will be the day. With the weather that is being predicted, it may feel quite apropos.
I think that's all I have time for tonight. I have to get out of here and take my car to the emissions place. Could my life be any more exciting???? ;)
Have a good night!! XOXO
Friday, February 22, 2013
Friday, 2/22/13
Oh Friday, how I love you so!! I just got into my classroom and it's a pigpen from the day, so I'm going to be brief. Today, since we finally had some snow, I was able to do one of my favorite science activities with the kids. It involved thermometers, tap water, snow and hot water. Even my quietest of students let about a bit of a "shriek" of excitement when watching the thermometer's molecules move from having snow in his cup to having hot water poured in. We had some great discussions about atmosphere, molecules and their movement based on temperature, snow and rain. It was AWESOME, and I hope that you hear all about it.
Speaking of awesome, check this out: Those are dominoes spelling out my name. I have such genius children in my class, and this was developed from the creative brain of one of those geniuses!!!! It's the coolest!!
Speaking of awesome, check this out: Those are dominoes spelling out my name. I have such genius children in my class, and this was developed from the creative brain of one of those geniuses!!!! It's the coolest!!
Have a great weekend!!!
Thursday, February 21, 2013
Thursday, 2/21/13
Of course today all anyone can talk about is the impending winter storm, so it caused a great idea to sproing into my brain (pardon my Clementine reference---I just really get her!!) while the kids were at library. When they came back in the room, I pulled up weather.com for our area. There was a great short video clip of the storm: its intensity, its path and the area over which it will cover. I showed the kids how to read a weather map using the key, etc. With that they slowly came to the thought that a snow day could be a part of our future. Now, you and I both know that the chances of that are very slim, but it's fun to think about. I encouraged the kids to think about what their day would be like if there were to be a snow day---would they stay in their pajamas all day? Play video games all day? (NO!!!) Cuddle up by a fire and read a good book? (YES!!) Miss their teacher terribly? (OF COURSE!!) And then came the T.W.I.S.T.
What, I asked them, did they think that their teacher would be doing if there were to be a snow day??? And from there a writing assignment was born (my original thought was to have them write about what they'd be doing if there were a snow day, but midway though our conversation I thought of how much more fun it would be to change it to what they thought I would be doing). I'm absolutely dying to see what they've written.
I tossed in the idea that this was a writing contest in hopes of elevating their consciousness of word choice, content and language-skill usage. I am taking them home with me (in case there's a snow day ;) ). I'll report back on how they did!! Fun fun!!!
What, I asked them, did they think that their teacher would be doing if there were to be a snow day??? And from there a writing assignment was born (my original thought was to have them write about what they'd be doing if there were a snow day, but midway though our conversation I thought of how much more fun it would be to change it to what they thought I would be doing). I'm absolutely dying to see what they've written.
I tossed in the idea that this was a writing contest in hopes of elevating their consciousness of word choice, content and language-skill usage. I am taking them home with me (in case there's a snow day ;) ). I'll report back on how they did!! Fun fun!!!
Wednesday, February 20, 2013
Wednesday, 2/20/13
I just looked at the clock and panicked. I have a lot to do and not much time to do it in tonight. The little devil that sits on my shoulder is telling me not to panic, just skip my workout and get my work done. I'm going to ignore that devil, but I just had to tell you in case you can relate to that little evil voice. :/
We had our Character Counts assembly at the end of the day today. When it first began I had a near calamity as the microphone wasn't working. I had all of the students, staff, a few parents and my boss looking at me as I tried to not let the freaking out show across my face. I had 15-20 little children about to read to the school, I couldn't do it without a mic! I ran up to the control panel and tried to turn some knobs in hopes that it would help. Nope! Then I told the kids I had one more idea and asked if they would cross their fingers for me. I jiggled the connecting chords and viola--it worked! Phew!! I didn't have a plan B, so those kids and their crossed fingers sure helped me out! The kids who read did such a great job and the kids who Shuffled worked it up on stage. It was a lot of fun.
Well, in an effort to hear my shoulder angel's voice telling me to get to my workout, I'm going to sign off for tonight. Have a great night!!
We had our Character Counts assembly at the end of the day today. When it first began I had a near calamity as the microphone wasn't working. I had all of the students, staff, a few parents and my boss looking at me as I tried to not let the freaking out show across my face. I had 15-20 little children about to read to the school, I couldn't do it without a mic! I ran up to the control panel and tried to turn some knobs in hopes that it would help. Nope! Then I told the kids I had one more idea and asked if they would cross their fingers for me. I jiggled the connecting chords and viola--it worked! Phew!! I didn't have a plan B, so those kids and their crossed fingers sure helped me out! The kids who read did such a great job and the kids who Shuffled worked it up on stage. It was a lot of fun.
Well, in an effort to hear my shoulder angel's voice telling me to get to my workout, I'm going to sign off for tonight. Have a great night!!
Tuesday, February 19, 2013
Tuesday, 2/19/13
Happy Monday! Oh, I mean Tuesday. Geesh, did it ever feel like a Monday! The kids seemed to have a harder time than usual getting back into routine after the long weekend. It probably didn't help that we started the day with an incredibly difficult math lesson and we ended the morning with reading testing. Blech! Not the greatest day we've ever had. Luckily the afternoon had gym and music for some relief.
Today I sent home the career day choices for the kids. I'm so excited that it's our career day time of year. We are so fortunate to do such fun things for the kids in second grade. We had Starlab here for a week in October, our trip to the planetarium in January, career day will be in March and the end of the year is chock full of special "privileges" for the second graders before they leave us for Franzen. Ugh-that's a subject that I'm not ready to think about yet. We've gelled into such a fun, strong, thoughtful class, I hate to think of them leaving me at the end of May. Blaahhh---not thinking about that right now.
Tomorrow is Caring Day at Benson. We celebrate the pillars of Character Counts throughout the year and January and February's have been Caring. I run the assemblies, but I'm feeling incredibly rusty. I did something completely out-of-the-ordinary for the assembly back in October. Then we were supposed to have another one in December, but I'd lost my voice, so we had to cancel. I've been doing them for over 10 years now, so I'm certain that it won't be a big deal, but it's just so weird to think that I'm so out of the routine. On that note-I'd better go get things prepared. =)
Have a good night!
Today I sent home the career day choices for the kids. I'm so excited that it's our career day time of year. We are so fortunate to do such fun things for the kids in second grade. We had Starlab here for a week in October, our trip to the planetarium in January, career day will be in March and the end of the year is chock full of special "privileges" for the second graders before they leave us for Franzen. Ugh-that's a subject that I'm not ready to think about yet. We've gelled into such a fun, strong, thoughtful class, I hate to think of them leaving me at the end of May. Blaahhh---not thinking about that right now.
Tomorrow is Caring Day at Benson. We celebrate the pillars of Character Counts throughout the year and January and February's have been Caring. I run the assemblies, but I'm feeling incredibly rusty. I did something completely out-of-the-ordinary for the assembly back in October. Then we were supposed to have another one in December, but I'd lost my voice, so we had to cancel. I've been doing them for over 10 years now, so I'm certain that it won't be a big deal, but it's just so weird to think that I'm so out of the routine. On that note-I'd better go get things prepared. =)
Have a good night!
Saturday, February 16, 2013
Friday, 2/15/13
Today I wore flats to school. You can't imagine the number of comments I got after having worn such fanciness all day yesterday. I'm not usually in flats to begin with, although I've tried to wear them more to be preventative to problems in the future blah, blah, blah, so I get that people make their comments. Once the kids got here, it started all over again. Questions about if the shoes hurt yesterday, or if it hurt to be in flats today kept coming up. So funny!! I must admit, when I first began wearing flats, it always felt like I was falling backwards, but now I'm more used to it.
Last night I emailed my parents the pic of the shoes. My dad called and sounded very confused by them. He asked me if they are 'practical.' Oh Dad-----shoes aren't supposed to be practical, they're supposed to be cute!!! You'd think we weren't even related! Good thing I get my logical problem solving and work ethic from him, otherwise he'd probably never claim me!!
Today we went to an I.E.P.T.O. sponsored assembly that taught the kids about fables. It was so great for the kids to learn about this interesting genre of story-telling. I'm so thankful for any opportunity we have to bring culture and new experiences to our students. We are blessed to have the I.E.P.T.O. financially take care of bringing these experiences to the kids. Thank you so much to all who have contributed to their fund-raising efforts!!! It truly goes to a worthy and educational cause!
Enjoy the long weekend!!!!
Last night I emailed my parents the pic of the shoes. My dad called and sounded very confused by them. He asked me if they are 'practical.' Oh Dad-----shoes aren't supposed to be practical, they're supposed to be cute!!! You'd think we weren't even related! Good thing I get my logical problem solving and work ethic from him, otherwise he'd probably never claim me!!
Today we went to an I.E.P.T.O. sponsored assembly that taught the kids about fables. It was so great for the kids to learn about this interesting genre of story-telling. I'm so thankful for any opportunity we have to bring culture and new experiences to our students. We are blessed to have the I.E.P.T.O. financially take care of bringing these experiences to the kids. Thank you so much to all who have contributed to their fund-raising efforts!!! It truly goes to a worthy and educational cause!
Enjoy the long weekend!!!!
Thursday, February 14, 2013
Thursday, Valentine's Day!!!
The kids came in soooo excited today, it was a blast! In fact, they were scheming something up in the room and wouldn't even let me come in at first. I loved every single second of it. It turns out a couple of my little lovelies had worked incredibly hard on making a super-cool poster (classroom incentive chart) for me. It's amazing and started my day off just perfectly! We had to do a smidge of academics (can you even imagine such a thing??) to keep on schedule, but when we were back in the room I was showered with gifts. It made my heart swell, I swear! One little one had been teasing me all week that she was going to get me shoes (I LOVE shoes!!), and my gosh, she sure did!! Check it out:
Shoes and popcorn! My two favorite vices!!!
I put them on immediately and all of the kids had a blast laughing at this fun and utterly perfect gift as I did my best model walking and posing around the room. I ran around all day long showing off this thoughful gift. I have to admit, Valentine's Day is so special because at this time in the year, the kids and I know each other inside and out. Another student also gave me popcorn because he knows it's my favorite food, and someone else said he wanted to give me candy, but he knew I wasn't eating sugar so he gave me an apple! I have some great chocolate to look forward to when Lent is through, the world's cutest no-sweat cup and you can't ever go wrong with a Starbucks card!!!!!!!!!!!!! How incredible is that?? I'm an extremely lucky lady!!!
So, other than telling you all how very much I love L.O.V.E. your children, I'm going to sign off and treat myself to an early night off of work for Valentine's Day. Have a wonderful night and know that you are loved, deeply respected and appreciated by your child's teacher.
XOXO
Wednesday, February 13, 2013
Wednesday, 2/13/13
Because I know that it is tops on everyone's mind, let me fill you in on the jello mold. It was a bit of a debacle. My big self-described "right-of-passage" and it was a wreck. At the big moment, I couldn't get it out of the pan! Ugh! Another right-of-passage I let slip through my fingers. Luckily I had some sage words of wisdom from some wise women to put the pan in water. Later one of my lovely teacher friends took it to the kitchen, ran the pan under hot water and finally got the stinker out. It didn't look nearly as beautiful as the one on Pinterest, but my friends ate it and said it was good. I think they were just being kind, but I'll take it! =)
All day long I teased the kids with an afternoon surprise if they were good and worked hard. Of course they did because they're the best class in the world, so I was finally able to reveal that we were having a visit from Healthworld. Our class went with another and again learned the importance of respecting self and others. Never a bad lesson to learn and never one that can be started too early (or taught too frequently).
When they got back from their surprise, I had just enough time to right yesterday's Abe Lincoln wrong. I read the kids one of my favorite books about him and had a Smartboard activity cued up and ready to go, but unfortunately, we never got to it. This class is so great at asking questions and having meaningful discussions during non-fiction stories, that I figured that was even better than the Smartboard part to the lesson. If I have time, I'll throw it up there tomorrow and use it as a follow-up. Somewhere in the discussion I told the kids that they should tell you guys to go to Springfield one of these days if you're looking for a little weekend get-away. It's sooo amazing there since they've built the new Lincoln museums and library. I went one weekend a few years ago and have been dying to go back every since. I needed much more time to take it all in. It is incredibly interesting, interactive and engaging. Have I sold it enough to you?? Also, there is a small town called New Salem, Illinois that I'd recommend you stop by as well. While in college I worked at a daycare center in Bloomington and in the summer I'd take the kids to New Salem as a field trip. It was AWESOME! You can see where Lincoln spent his early adulthood. There's a little "village" which is made to look as it did when he lived there. Very cool, very educational, very historic. When I was getting all riled up about how great New Salem and Springfield are, one of the girls asked how far away they are. I told her New Salem's probably about 2-2 1/2 hours and Springfield is probably about 3 hours in the car from here. She gasped at the 3-hours in the car and declared that she would just fly there. Kids!!! Never a dull moment! =)
If you need a pick-me-up at any time, you should really check out www.sandiegozoo.org/pandacam The kids and I watch it at the end of each day. There was a baby panda born at the end of July, so we've been watching him grow. Recently he's been let out into the general panda habitat and can often be seen napping while draped over a tree branch. It's so incredibly cute, your heart might burst. If you're really lucky, you'll get to see some interaction between the mama and her cub. You can almost hear the things she's saying to her baby by her actions. To be honest, it's not much different than how humans interact with their cubs, um... little children. Soooo cute!!!
All day long I teased the kids with an afternoon surprise if they were good and worked hard. Of course they did because they're the best class in the world, so I was finally able to reveal that we were having a visit from Healthworld. Our class went with another and again learned the importance of respecting self and others. Never a bad lesson to learn and never one that can be started too early (or taught too frequently).
When they got back from their surprise, I had just enough time to right yesterday's Abe Lincoln wrong. I read the kids one of my favorite books about him and had a Smartboard activity cued up and ready to go, but unfortunately, we never got to it. This class is so great at asking questions and having meaningful discussions during non-fiction stories, that I figured that was even better than the Smartboard part to the lesson. If I have time, I'll throw it up there tomorrow and use it as a follow-up. Somewhere in the discussion I told the kids that they should tell you guys to go to Springfield one of these days if you're looking for a little weekend get-away. It's sooo amazing there since they've built the new Lincoln museums and library. I went one weekend a few years ago and have been dying to go back every since. I needed much more time to take it all in. It is incredibly interesting, interactive and engaging. Have I sold it enough to you?? Also, there is a small town called New Salem, Illinois that I'd recommend you stop by as well. While in college I worked at a daycare center in Bloomington and in the summer I'd take the kids to New Salem as a field trip. It was AWESOME! You can see where Lincoln spent his early adulthood. There's a little "village" which is made to look as it did when he lived there. Very cool, very educational, very historic. When I was getting all riled up about how great New Salem and Springfield are, one of the girls asked how far away they are. I told her New Salem's probably about 2-2 1/2 hours and Springfield is probably about 3 hours in the car from here. She gasped at the 3-hours in the car and declared that she would just fly there. Kids!!! Never a dull moment! =)
If you need a pick-me-up at any time, you should really check out www.sandiegozoo.org/pandacam The kids and I watch it at the end of each day. There was a baby panda born at the end of July, so we've been watching him grow. Recently he's been let out into the general panda habitat and can often be seen napping while draped over a tree branch. It's so incredibly cute, your heart might burst. If you're really lucky, you'll get to see some interaction between the mama and her cub. You can almost hear the things she's saying to her baby by her actions. To be honest, it's not much different than how humans interact with their cubs, um... little children. Soooo cute!!!
Tuesday, February 12, 2013
Tuesday, 2/12/13
Happy Fat Tuesday!! Because I have the world's greatest boss, our day started off with paczkis. Normally I would never indulge in something like that, but for some reason, it feels okay on Fat Tuesday. Maybe because I'm a sucker for tradition, and it's become tradition to have them here on this day.
So last night I made a jello mold for the teacher luncheon that is tomorrow. I had asked Santa for a bundt cake pan and he listened, so I had to give it a shot. I looked at it (still in the mold) in the refrigerator this morning and it looked good, but I'm going to be soooo nervous tomorrow when I put it on the plate. I sure I hope it comes out!! It seems like a girl's first jello mold is some sort of a right-of-passage, don't you think? So, if I screwed it up..... well, let's not go there! Optimism is the key here!!
I'm feeling like the world's worst teacher. I just looked at the calendar and realized that Abraham Lincoln's birthday came and went and I didn't do anything to acknowledge it. Ugh! I have some great books and super activities and I didn't do any of them. I'm so ashamed! I guess, keeping my theme of optimism, that I will lump him into President's Day lessons. Poor Abe! He's a Springfield guy and everything~how could I?? February is hard--there's a lot going on and next to no time to teach it all.
Lately I've been noticing what great little writers are sprouting in my classroom. I started off the school day receiving several poems written by some of my young ladies, and some of my mini gentlemen have taken to creating comics. Dare I dream that my love of words is rubbing off? One way or the other, I just love seeing them discover that creative words are the best way to express themselves, and that expressing oneself is a vital skill in life.
On that note---I'm off to express myself to some Rose Queen Scholarship hopefuls. The Village of Roselle holds the Rose Queen Scholarship Pageant each year and this year Mrs. Reuter, her daughter and I have taken over the running of the event. Tonight we will meet the girls who are involved for the first time. Exciting times!!! =)
So last night I made a jello mold for the teacher luncheon that is tomorrow. I had asked Santa for a bundt cake pan and he listened, so I had to give it a shot. I looked at it (still in the mold) in the refrigerator this morning and it looked good, but I'm going to be soooo nervous tomorrow when I put it on the plate. I sure I hope it comes out!! It seems like a girl's first jello mold is some sort of a right-of-passage, don't you think? So, if I screwed it up..... well, let's not go there! Optimism is the key here!!
I'm feeling like the world's worst teacher. I just looked at the calendar and realized that Abraham Lincoln's birthday came and went and I didn't do anything to acknowledge it. Ugh! I have some great books and super activities and I didn't do any of them. I'm so ashamed! I guess, keeping my theme of optimism, that I will lump him into President's Day lessons. Poor Abe! He's a Springfield guy and everything~how could I?? February is hard--there's a lot going on and next to no time to teach it all.
Lately I've been noticing what great little writers are sprouting in my classroom. I started off the school day receiving several poems written by some of my young ladies, and some of my mini gentlemen have taken to creating comics. Dare I dream that my love of words is rubbing off? One way or the other, I just love seeing them discover that creative words are the best way to express themselves, and that expressing oneself is a vital skill in life.
On that note---I'm off to express myself to some Rose Queen Scholarship hopefuls. The Village of Roselle holds the Rose Queen Scholarship Pageant each year and this year Mrs. Reuter, her daughter and I have taken over the running of the event. Tonight we will meet the girls who are involved for the first time. Exciting times!!! =)
Monday, February 11, 2013
Monday, 2/11/13
Well, it took a lot of time, work and patience, but the kids' letters to their pen pals are finally completed and ready to send off. I thought that doing them on the computer, rather than handwritten, might be a smidge of a time-saver. In the end I think that it was but it still was quite the process. I'll be happy to seal them with a kiss when I put them in the mail. I am very proud of the writing that the kids did. I know that it's not an easy job, especially when we are the first to write so there aren't questions to answer, but they did great! Mission accomplished!!!
We are getting pretty excited about the holiday-o-love that's coming up! On the adult side, we (the social committee) are planning a luncheon for the staff for Wednesday. I don't think I did the planning very well since it's Ash Wednesday and I'm supposed to fast, but I'm allowed to have one meal, so voila! It will be lunch. =) On the kid side, I'm gathering some fun activities to do on Thursday to make the day special. Since I'm still waiting on Mr. Right to show his face, I love having 23 special little Valentines all of my own to shower with love and fun!!
Today during their library time, Mrs. Reuter told the class about Kids Teach Too, which is right around the corner. The kids took home information which further explains the event. Anyone who is interested can sign up using the Registration page in the packet. I'm running that too, so if you have any questions, please let me know.
I think that's it for this lovely Monday. I'm anxious to grade the math test the that kids took today. They were definitely prepared, so I'm hoping that they all did wonderfully on it. I'm sure they will------nothing but the best in Room 16!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
We are getting pretty excited about the holiday-o-love that's coming up! On the adult side, we (the social committee) are planning a luncheon for the staff for Wednesday. I don't think I did the planning very well since it's Ash Wednesday and I'm supposed to fast, but I'm allowed to have one meal, so voila! It will be lunch. =) On the kid side, I'm gathering some fun activities to do on Thursday to make the day special. Since I'm still waiting on Mr. Right to show his face, I love having 23 special little Valentines all of my own to shower with love and fun!!
Today during their library time, Mrs. Reuter told the class about Kids Teach Too, which is right around the corner. The kids took home information which further explains the event. Anyone who is interested can sign up using the Registration page in the packet. I'm running that too, so if you have any questions, please let me know.
I think that's it for this lovely Monday. I'm anxious to grade the math test the that kids took today. They were definitely prepared, so I'm hoping that they all did wonderfully on it. I'm sure they will------nothing but the best in Room 16!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Friday, February 8, 2013
Friday, 2/8/13
Last night I found out that one of my former students is going to come and present at this year's career day. I'm soooooo excited about this I could burst! When my former students make milestones like this people often ask me if it makes me feel old----heck no!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It's what I've been waiting for all of these years--to see how my kids turn out. When I took up residence in Room 16 nearly seventeen years ago, I never would have dreamed that email and Facebook would be available for me to keep in touch with and "see" my kids through the years. I am always heartbroken at the end of each year because after that last day of school, I don't even get to see my kids around our building again. I get pretty tightly bonded to these little monkeys of mine, so to have the ability to keep tabs on them and see the adults they are becoming is like nothing I could begin to explain. My heart literally feels bigger when I think about it.
In the blink of an eye these little beings that I spend my days with are going to be all grown up and taking on the world. I know that we all want time to stand still, but at the same time, I just cannot wait to see the direction their wide-open paths take them. You've heard me marvel about the changes I've seen in them since August, which is why I know that their futures are so bright and ripe with potential that I only wish I had a crystal ball to get a sneak peek of what lies ahead! Regardless of where the road takes them, I hope they will always know that without fail, I will always be in their corners and have their backs!!
I hope you have a great weekend!!
In the blink of an eye these little beings that I spend my days with are going to be all grown up and taking on the world. I know that we all want time to stand still, but at the same time, I just cannot wait to see the direction their wide-open paths take them. You've heard me marvel about the changes I've seen in them since August, which is why I know that their futures are so bright and ripe with potential that I only wish I had a crystal ball to get a sneak peek of what lies ahead! Regardless of where the road takes them, I hope they will always know that without fail, I will always be in their corners and have their backs!!
I hope you have a great weekend!!
Thursday, February 7, 2013
Thursday, 2/7/13
Holy moly, it is a genuine winter wonderland outside my window as I write this! I only wish that my computer were facing the windows, but if it were, I'd never get this completed!!
So, get this! This morning we got an email stating that the building will not be closing early anymore! I was soooo happy. To be quite honest, that completely stressed me out. Now I can write to you to my heart's content and still get most of my work done (note the 'most' LOL!!). Not only that, but my workout just got cancelled for tonight, so I'm going to stay extra long and attempt to get "caught up." I'm such a nerd that this makes me incredibly happy!
I got distracted and started to get some work done--so now it's getting late and I'd better wrap things up and go clear off my car for the adventure that lies ahead. I hope that everyone else left work early so I have the roads all to myself!!
Have a good night--be safe!
So, get this! This morning we got an email stating that the building will not be closing early anymore! I was soooo happy. To be quite honest, that completely stressed me out. Now I can write to you to my heart's content and still get most of my work done (note the 'most' LOL!!). Not only that, but my workout just got cancelled for tonight, so I'm going to stay extra long and attempt to get "caught up." I'm such a nerd that this makes me incredibly happy!
I got distracted and started to get some work done--so now it's getting late and I'd better wrap things up and go clear off my car for the adventure that lies ahead. I hope that everyone else left work early so I have the roads all to myself!!
Have a good night--be safe!
Wednesday, February 6, 2013
Wednesday, 2/6/13
We just found out that our building will be closing earlier than we're all used to starting today, so I'll have to start reducing my blog entries or lengths. I'm heartbroken about this because I use every second I have to get work done after school, and now I'm not sure how I'm going to squeeze it all in. I hate to take even more home than I already do, but I guess I'm left with no other choice.
Today was a great day! I know I prattle on about this a lot, but I just marvel at how far the kids have come since the beginning of the year. I love seeing how independently they're thinking, how creative their minds are becoming and the level to which their problem-solving is developing. They don't come to me nearly as often with problems that they themselves can solve, and if they do, more often than not, by the time they're done telling me the problem, they've worked out a solution for themselves. It's just so cool! I hope you're seeing it at home as well.
Today in health we were discussing the human heart. In their health magazine, there is a section regarding the harmful affects of smoking, so that became quite the discussion. I'm always so proud of how disgusted second-graders are by smoking, and I always pray that something that is said in those discussions will stick and help them to avoid the temptation of starting that habit as they get older. I have a Facebook account to keep in touch with my former students, so I know that not all of them are able to avoid starting, but I will never stop trying to gross them out/convince them enough to never start. This year I went with a new and additional angle I'd never tried before----the financial one. I kept bringing up the money that people who smoke are spending and wouldn't they rather have it for a new game or someday a car... I'll try anything to keep them healthy!!! =)
Sorry to end abruptly, but here is where I'll cut it off so I can go and get my work done before I get kicked out. Have a good night!
Today was a great day! I know I prattle on about this a lot, but I just marvel at how far the kids have come since the beginning of the year. I love seeing how independently they're thinking, how creative their minds are becoming and the level to which their problem-solving is developing. They don't come to me nearly as often with problems that they themselves can solve, and if they do, more often than not, by the time they're done telling me the problem, they've worked out a solution for themselves. It's just so cool! I hope you're seeing it at home as well.
Today in health we were discussing the human heart. In their health magazine, there is a section regarding the harmful affects of smoking, so that became quite the discussion. I'm always so proud of how disgusted second-graders are by smoking, and I always pray that something that is said in those discussions will stick and help them to avoid the temptation of starting that habit as they get older. I have a Facebook account to keep in touch with my former students, so I know that not all of them are able to avoid starting, but I will never stop trying to gross them out/convince them enough to never start. This year I went with a new and additional angle I'd never tried before----the financial one. I kept bringing up the money that people who smoke are spending and wouldn't they rather have it for a new game or someday a car... I'll try anything to keep them healthy!!! =)
Sorry to end abruptly, but here is where I'll cut it off so I can go and get my work done before I get kicked out. Have a good night!
Tuesday, February 5, 2013
Tuesday, 2/5/13
Sometimes funny things just seem to happen and when I'm very lucky, they turn out for the best. This morning while the class was getting settled and I was waiting for the paper passer to finish up passing out the math papers, I randomly sat down in a student's desk. Thinking she was being funny, she went up to the SmartBoard and acted like she was going to start teaching. I simply sat at her desk silently, and before I knew it, she was teaching the lesson. It was AWESOME! I knew that the concept would not be a difficult one for my little geniuses to pick up, so I let the whole scenario play out. When she started using terms and phrases that I use when teaching math, I nearly burst into tears. It was so meaningful for me, and hopefully for her (and actually, all of the kids--seeing what they're capable of doing) too. Monday, February 4, 2013
Monday, 2/4/13
We, or should I say, I did it! I didn't think I would, but I survived a day of work the day after the Super Bowl. Don't we all agree that this should be a national holiday? Who on earth is productive today?? Well, I must say, a particular group of second graders, that's who. Again, I didn't think it would happen, but the kids were totally chill and I was the most mellow in the group (that's usually not the case) so I think that's why, but I learned long ago to never question a productive day.
I'm thinking back over the day and trying to think of some amazing lesson to impress you, but nothing special comes to mind. It was an ordinary day in grade 2-----but let's never underestimate the power of ordinary. Math lessons, (learning from) spelling errors, writing discoveries and reading strengths result from the ordinary days. It's where the lightbulbs turn on and the confidence builds. Yes, I adore an extraordinary day, but I'll take ordinary happenings whevever I can get them!!
I'm thinking back over the day and trying to think of some amazing lesson to impress you, but nothing special comes to mind. It was an ordinary day in grade 2-----but let's never underestimate the power of ordinary. Math lessons, (learning from) spelling errors, writing discoveries and reading strengths result from the ordinary days. It's where the lightbulbs turn on and the confidence builds. Yes, I adore an extraordinary day, but I'll take ordinary happenings whevever I can get them!!
Friday, February 1, 2013
Friday, 2/1/13
We read a great book today about Groundhog Day. It was a new one that I'd recently gotten and not read yet. It was fun and had tons of facts tucked in. Aren't those the best books? I don't know why they don't make more like that for adults (picture books with info stragically placed within the fun). I learn more stuff by reading to the kids!! =) Anyhow, we then made a graph to predict if Punxatuany Phil will see his shadow tomorrow. So fun!!
Here's a story to illustrate why 2nd grade rules: So, I gave the kids the little groundhog this morning to color and cut out, but I didn't tell them that was a groundhog or what it was for. I tried to copy the picture to show you so you'd fully understand what happened next. I couldn't, so I'll do my best to describe it. It's a little creature from the belly up. He's coming out of a little hole in the ground, and his arms are raised above his head. (that part's important) The kids are forever trying to predict my next move, so one of the girls said: "I know what we're going to do with these..." so I asked what, figuring that it was pretty obvious and she'd be right. Nope-------she says, "We're going to make a roller coaster and put these on so that they're riding it." Well, if you know me at all, you know that my next thought was, "We are now!!!" So when they were at music I made more copies of the roller-coaster riding groundhog and got a long piece of butcher paper. During indoor recess they created a long roller coaster and some of the groundhogs have already been glued onto it. When it's completed I'll post a picture. Do you see why I love my job so much!!??!! Nothing better than roller coaster riding groundhogs!
On that note, I'm going to sign off, clean up and start the weekend!!! (after I go start my car--brrrr!!)
Stay warm and GO 49ers!!! (they bumped out the Packers, so I'm behind them 100%)
Here's a story to illustrate why 2nd grade rules: So, I gave the kids the little groundhog this morning to color and cut out, but I didn't tell them that was a groundhog or what it was for. I tried to copy the picture to show you so you'd fully understand what happened next. I couldn't, so I'll do my best to describe it. It's a little creature from the belly up. He's coming out of a little hole in the ground, and his arms are raised above his head. (that part's important) The kids are forever trying to predict my next move, so one of the girls said: "I know what we're going to do with these..." so I asked what, figuring that it was pretty obvious and she'd be right. Nope-------she says, "We're going to make a roller coaster and put these on so that they're riding it." Well, if you know me at all, you know that my next thought was, "We are now!!!" So when they were at music I made more copies of the roller-coaster riding groundhog and got a long piece of butcher paper. During indoor recess they created a long roller coaster and some of the groundhogs have already been glued onto it. When it's completed I'll post a picture. Do you see why I love my job so much!!??!! Nothing better than roller coaster riding groundhogs!
On that note, I'm going to sign off, clean up and start the weekend!!! (after I go start my car--brrrr!!)
Stay warm and GO 49ers!!! (they bumped out the Packers, so I'm behind them 100%)
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