Wednesday, 1/29/14

Seriously, is 2014 the best year ever, or what? I've never ever in my entire career seen a year with more than 2 snow days (one is usually excessively rare), so FOUR!!?? And we're not even out of January yet? Insanity! And while it's fun and unusual, of course the price to pay is coming back to these 1/2 weeks and not knowing quite how to navigate and fit everything in. Not to worry, we've done some brainstorming and all will be fine. We're just shimmying some things and round-abouting some others, and viola! Perfect normalcy! HA!! If everything is ever perfectly normal, I'm outta here----that's way too boring for this girl!

Today I began to lay the ground work for some persuasive writing I'm going to have the kids do. They'll have the option of persuading me to take them outside for a bit (perhaps for a snowball fight) or for a beach party day. Mind you, this is all for the purposes of writing, so no need to worry about a major snowball fight breaking out (but I'd appreciate if you'd keep that info under wraps from the little you-know-whos). During our discussion today I tried to demonstrate to the kids how one makes his/her case when trying to persuade: how you want to make it beneficial for the person you're trying to persuade, not just talk about how it will benefit you. There were a lot of oooohhhhs and aaahhhhs as their precious brains began to make the connection to what I was demonstrating. It was pretty cute. My intention is to start the writing tomorrow or Friday. I can't (CANNOT) wait to see the direction this project takes.

Well, I need to get my act together and get my car started so I don't have a dead battery when I want to leave. I made soup in the crock pot on Monday (I don't usually cook a lot, so this was an exciting event for me) and I'm dying to get home and partake in some.

Have a great night--stay warm!

Friday, 1/24/14

As I wrote the date for today, I found myself shocked that this month is nearly over. It certainly has not been a kind January, but I guess it's been a little bit fast, for me at least. What has not been fast: this week! It never fails that days when we have a Monday off seem to stretch on forever. My alarm went off this morning and I had to work hard to convince myself that it wasn't Saturday yet (I was arguing with myself in my head LOL!). 

I've been feeling the need to spice things up around here, so earlier this week I pulled out my gigantic roll of tickets---you know, the kind that you get at a raffle, where you keep one side and the raffle people get the other. I just left them out to let the kids see them, think about them and speculate what I might be using them for. After some serious critical thinking and some creative guesses, I finally revealed my plan. The kids each got a set of tickets. One says "Keep this Ticket" and the other says "Drop this Ticket." I instructed them that their whole entire goal would be to keep the "Keep" ticket, but I warned them of how it could be taken: disrespect, dishonesty, no name on paper (still a challenge around here), failure to heed warnings given, the regular classroom management stuff. Then I had them put the "Drop" ticket into a container. At the end of each day, I'll pick one ticket from the container. If the person who I've picked hasn't had to lose his/her ticket for any reason throughout the day, then he/she will have earned a prize. Then I pulled out my classroom suggestion box. I gave the kids some ideas I had about what their prize could be, but I then asked for them to add any suggestions they may have to the box. I read them last night and they had some great ones. I added theirs to mine and they now have 'menu' to choose from when their ticket is picked. It's only been one day, but I think it's going pretty well so far. ;)

I started this writing this morning and then forgot all about it. Now I'm running late for dinner plans! So--please forgive the type-os, stay safe and warm this weekend and have some fun!!

Wednesday, 1/22/14

There comes a point in the winter, particularly this long, cold, nothing-but-indoors winter in which being in a little room with 23 cabin-fevered children can start to take its toll. It is at these times that a little spontaneous dance party to Kids Bop in just what the doctor ordered.  At the conclusion of a painting project this morning, the spontaneous dance party came to be.

As the kids slowly came to realize that the music was staying on (even after the project was coming to an end) and their teacher began to dance around, which everyone knows is the international signal for a dance party's commencement, they got into it. At one point I overhead a few kids discussing the Black Eyed Peas' song, "Tonight's Gonna Be a Good Night." The conversation started with someone saying that they liked the song and someone else responding: "Yeah, it's catchy." A second-grader saying IT'S CATCHY!! Seriously? Oh my gosh, I love my job!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

And then----the One Direction song "You Don't Know You're Beautiful" came on and they all started singing it. I can't tell you that I'm a big Directioner, but I think that that song has a lovely message and to hear my class's sweet little voices singing it was one of those times when I just needed to take a moment and let it sink into my heart.

Not too bad for a dreary Wednesday. Thank goodness we're now officially over the hump and the cold, snowy weekend is in sight. (I don't mind cold and snowy when I'm nestled in my house)

Stay warm!!!

Friday, 1/17/14

Monday we honor Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. with a day off of school. Today I took a good chunk of the day to teach my little ones about him, what set him apart from others and how/why his legacy lives on today. This piece (piece feels like WAY too small a word) of our country's history always feels like a blessing for me to teach. It's a little bit of a challenge to navigate the correct wording of such a delicate legacy of the how's, what's and why's of the history of our country that lead to Dr. King and his time mark on that history, but with careful thought and choice of phrasing, I hope to have hit the mark. The best part for me is always how bothered the kids are by what I'm telling them. They can't understand why people would treat others so differently and so meanly. I am not naive enough to not comprehend that this is due, primarily, to their young ages, but I am optimistic enough to keep the hope alive that they will carry that feeling with them throughout their lives leading them to be one voice in finally ending the scar of racism (and all -isms) that our country has yet to eradicate. Teaching about Dr. King and his powerful and beautiful lessons for all humans gives me pride in how abundantly far our country has come. That being said, there is continued work to be done. I pray that this generation continues the battle in seeing others with love rather than with labels and scepticism. To give others a hand up, and to see that putting others down is not what makes one strong; believing in and building others up is true strength.

Peace out!

Tuesday, 1/14/14

Happy Tuesday! I was out at a meeting all day yesterday, and so that made coming back to my little faces turn this into a lovely Tuesday. It makes me feel good that the kids seem to be as happy to see me, as I am to see them. In addition, seeing that the room was not destroyed and that all of my plans were completed from yesterday was an added bonus. If you've ever heard a teacher say it's more work to miss school than it is to be there---it's 100% true! And it's not just the making of the sub plans (however, I was a sub for my first year out of school, so I make the world's most detailed plans)--it's more the coming back. Not only do you have to be ready for a new day, but then trying to decipher what went down when you were gone is also very interesting. 99 times out of 100 I have to put the room back together in some way, shape or form. Not because the sub didn't do a great job, but just weird randomness happens, that more than likely, the sub would never have even noticed--but I know this room like the back of my hand, and boy oh boy, do I notice!! But, this morning was the 1 time out of 100 that it wasn't more difficult to come back. I got to work a bit early, but was able to quickly go through and put things away from yesterday, get things set for today and even get a bit ahead with some paperwork that needed to be done. All that by the time the kids had arrived----and then the real fun began! 

Can you even believe that it was only last week that we had those snow days for the cold. I seriously feel like it was eons ago. I don't even know what just made me think of that. Well, truthfully, I do, but I've already droned on with one lame-o story for you today, I don't need to bore you with the twists and turns my brain just made. 

I think I'm going to wrap up for tonight, before I get going on who-knows-what else. Have a great night!!

Friday, 1/10/14

Oh my gosh, what a difference a week makes! Last Friday we were preparing for scary cold and this weekend we're preparing for a thaw! (Which is apparently also something I need to be worried about--I am on the reserve list for something called Roof Melt that I saw on WGN this morning. I guess it's the stuff that we put on our driveways condensed into a hockey-puck looking disk that you throw on your roof to thaw the snow before it can begin the dreaded thaw/freeze schedule. I don't know why it's dreaded, but it is, so I'm trying to be preventative! I made it through the frozen pipe anxiety and now have entered into the roof/gutter/sump pump agony of '14.)

The good thing about this weather is that I like to use snow for a lesson on matter that I do each year, but for the past several years there hasn't been snow to use. I hurried and did the lesson yesterday so that I didn't miss the chance. It is such a fun lesson: thermometers in tap water, then snow, then add hot water and watch the "red juice" shoot up. The kids are so cute to watch and listen to, and many of them left school yesterday saying that they want to buy a thermometer. One of them said, "Unless it's over $20." Aren't they hysterical!!

I hope you have a great weekend now that we don't have to hibernate any more. I'm going downtown to see Phantom of the Opera. I've never seen it so I'm super excited!!! Then on Sunday----nothing planned! Don't you love days like that? I know that sounds insane after we just had 2 weeks off, but after coming back to work, it's nice to have a day to let the old brain rest. Don't get me wrong, I'll have plenty of housework and schoolwork to fill my day, but it will be nice to do it at my own pace. =)

Adios mis amigos!!!

Wednesday, 1/8/14

Happy New Year!!!!!!!  2014 has already started off amazingly with the bonus days off. The second half of break I was a complete hermit crab and didn't leave the house, not once, until this morning. I kept thinking that I'd have a day to sit around and veg out with the tv, but I just don't think it's in my DNA. I kept finding things to add to my to-do list. LOL! Always something more for the to-do list, huh?

I have to admit, I was so incredibly excited to see all of my favorite little people's faces this morning. I've grown quite attached to them so my heart was missing them. It felt good to have the crew back together. (Well, we're still missing one--so it won't be completely complete until next week. At that point my heart will be full!!)

It's been odd operating on a Wednesday schedule, despite it feeling like a Monday and having to cram 2 or 3 days' of work into one. Luckily, my kids don't miss a beat. I'm thinking of what we do on Mondays and the kids are asking if we're doing a mad minute today (we do those on Wednesdays). How much more could I love that they are on point with our schedule, let alone ASKING for a mad minute??? I am one blessed teacher, that's for darn sure!

Well, I should call this day a wrap. I, like nearly everyone else, have resolved to get on the treadmill with more consistency in 2014. If I'm going to stay true, then I need to work on getting my tookus out of work at a reasonable time each day. I found a cheap tv on Black Friday and set it up with an old dvd player in the basement. I'm hoping that a daily dose of my favorite show "Psych" will be motivation enough to get on that dreaded walking-quickly-but-going-nowhere machine.