Wednesday, 5/28/14

I don't have much to report on today, so I thought I'd show you something that we came up with yesterday. On the first day of each week, we do a spelling "preview" of the new words that are to be learned that week. The kids try the new words on their paper, and I have a copy of what they fill out on the Smartboard. When we're done with the list, we correct the words together. Well, yesterday the Smartboard was being less-than-cooperative, and I wasn't sure how I was going to do the correcting portion with the kids. I am forever talking to the kids about being a problem solver, so I looked around the room baffled as to how to solve this problem, and the following is what I came up with. I must admit, I was pretty proud of myself. And then, major bonus....I was INCREDIBLY proud of the kids because I started out with the blinds open and the lights in the room on. Then I tried closing the blinds, which helped a great deal and then the kids suggested we turn off the lights and it was PERFECT!! So-here's how we did spelling, on the windows, for lack of a better idea---but sometimes lacking turns into loving, as it did in this case:

Friday, 5/23/14

Today was a big, big day for me. Throughout the year I run "small" assemblies for our students to celebrate the Character Counts pillars that they are learning about and demonstrating. Typically we say The Pledge of Allegiance together, some kids come to the microphone and read writing they've done about the month's pillar and then we all shake our groove thangs to a song called "The Character Counts Shuffle." However, at the end of the year, I present a much larger assembly to the students body to celebrate all of their great work in developing their character and being such a great kids. Each year I find a theme for the assembly, find a book that I can share with them that will support it (I display it through a PowerPoint) and the grand finale of the slide show is pictures of all of the Benson students (taken in little groupings) that I've put to music and show on the gigantic screen we have in the gym. In between those two things I do some story telling and some "wisdom imparting"  as  best I can. It's a lot of planning, and I'm always nervous I'm going to forgot something, but by the end, I'm incredibly pleased. If nothing else, the kids get a kick out of seeing their pictures on the big screen, and I get a kick out of seeing how happy they are. If there's a little gleaning of a lesson in there somewhere; that's the best bonus I could ever dream of! Today's didn't go exactly as I had planned, but after I'd cleaned up and was making my way back to the classroom, two second graders told me 'Good job.' That made it all worth it!!!!!!!!!

Happy Memorial Day to all! Thanks to those who have served and/or are serving and their families for their sacrifice! Sometimes we take it for granted, but we truly do have the privilege of living in the greatest country on Earth!!

Wednesday, 5/21/14

Last week I was getting a bit concerned about how the remainder of our school year together was going to go down. The weather was still cold, the kids were still in for recess and the fact that school was less than a month from being over was starting to take hold. Classroom management became a challenge, and I had to put in place some of the tricks up my sleeve that I'd used at the start of a school year. At one point I remember telling the kids that we didn't have much time left, and I really hoped that our time together would be lovely and fun, rather than frustrated and "strict."

I don't know what miracle happened, but they must've picked up on what I was trying to tell them. My day, well my week really, has been full of moments that I have tried to take "mental snapshots" of (is anyone thinking back to Alec Baldwin's episode of "Friends"? I sure am!). My students have been demonstrating the love, understanding and compassion for each other that I have intended to foster all year long. They have been cute and clever. I have watched them put into practice the problem solving skills that I've worked to teach them, and I have heard them use the terminology and phrases that I tend to repeat. I can nearly feel my heart swell as I write all of this. This year has been a true journey and it has been my honor to be on it with this particular group of little humans. I'm not wrapping up my blog for the year, even though it may sound that way, I'm just having a bit of a moment. <3<3<3

Friday, 5/16/14

 Here are our newest members of the Benson Primary family. The pictures don't quite do justice to the cuteness. Our little chickies often huddle together and then fall asleep on top of each other---it is the definition of 'AWWWW!!'

And look at the napkin one of the kids gave me earlier this week. How funny is that? I had to hang it up in honor of our current unit-of-study. ;)


That's it from here. I'm going head home to shovel. Just kidding, but can you believe that it snowed today?? I was walking around the room singing, "I'm dreaming of a white Memorial Day." ;)

Have a great weekend!

Wednesday, 5/14/14

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Check out what I got this morning!!!!!!!!!! Lilacs!!!!!!!!!!! Thank you to my sweet little D.C. for bringing them in. They've brightened up this gloomy day and they've smelled amaizng all day!!

Add to that the fact that our first two little chicks hatched from their eggshells today, and I'd chalk this up to a good day for Mother Nature and her miracles!! I'll post pics later in the week when more of the chickie siblings arrive. =)

Happy Spring!

Monday, 5/12/14

Happy Monday----Happy Spring (finally!) and Happy day-after Mother's Day! I hope you all had a great day relaxing and being catered to! From what I hear, that's not typically how Mother's Day rolls, but I can still hold out hope for you all. The kids were excited to tell me about giving their moms the books that they made for them in school. I usually find time to read them because they are usually so cute and funny, but I time escaped me this year.  I hope they were wonderful and you all loved them. I'm all about the keepsake gifts that have more heart and humor than razzle and dazzle, so I sure hope you found the joy in them that the kids had while making them.

I'm so incredibly excited that the trees are finally blooming, and I might even have lilacs on my bushes at home one of these days! They've usually blossomed and gone away by this point in May, but to be honest, I don't mind waiting for them. As long as they eventually appear, I'll be happy! On the downside of this sudden burst of spring----the dandelions in my yard are out of control! I've never had this many before, and I swear the stems are more like hoses with how thick they are. I spent a lot of my weekend outside spraying them. It's me against the weeds, and to be perfectly honest, I'm not totally confident that I'll come out of this war victorious! The joys of home ownership I guess----it's just that I'm a bit of a girly girl, so when I'm out pushing the fertilizer thingee or spraying weeds, I'm so far beyond my comfort zone, it's not even funny. I'm counting on one of you to find my knight in shining armor (I'd settle for a knight with a shining lawnmower) for me! ;)

Well, that paragraph sure took an interesting turn, huh? Lol! Perhaps I should take it as a sign to hit the Publish button and get my work done for the afternoon. Have a good night----hopefully there will be a sign of lilacs when we all get home! =)

Friday, 5/9/14

I know that I wrote on Wednesday about our amazing IPTO and the luncheon they'd provided on that day, but I feel I need to write another humble and sincere thank you to the members of our Parent/Teacher organization. As Benson's  "T"  in the IPTO, I know first hand, and behind-the-scenes how blessed we are to have such dedicated parents supporting our efforts for our kids, but this week, they hooked us up! We felt love everywhere we turned, from the luncheon, to a magnificent breakfast, to chocolates in our mailboxes and capping the week off with an array of desserts and sweets in our lounge today that would put the finest bakeries to shame! Our jeans' waistlines may be a big tighter this week, but our hearts are FULLER than we could have ever imagined. Next week we can get back to our salads and workouts, but this week we felt love and appreciation and nothing but gratitude to the families in our community. We are abundantly blessed, which is something we are acutely aware of every single day, but this week the IPTO outdid themselves and, as you can tell from my rambling sentences, there are no words to properly say thank you-----but THANK YOU!

Add to that the love that I've been showered with by my precious students and their fabulous parents, and I am a spoiled, but insanely happy chick this week!!!!

And then there was love demonstrated in a different way in my world today: my class released our butterflies into their forever home, Earth. The kids who wanted to were able to hold a butterfly and feel it flutter in their hands as they carried them from our classroom to our school garden, at which point they were released. It was one of those bittersweet life moments when something we've seen grow from when they first arrived as teeny tiny caterpillars had to be released to go and life their lives. I know the kids didn't like to let them go, but they did a good job of letting their little friends go. As I'm writing this I'm finding it all too similar to the emotions I've been feeling as the month of May flies by me and the days I have left with my little ones are rapidly disappearing. They came to me as teeny tiny little caterpillars and they are now the most amazingly beautiful butterflies I could ever imagine. I hate the thought of having to let them go and fly on their own, but I know it is what is best for them. I guess this is what they'd call "Life imitating art" in the school world. <3

I  was able to capture some precious moments as they did:

Tuesday, 5/6/14

Before I write anything at all about our excitement of the day, I must send a gigantic THANK YOU to anyone and everyone who is involved in the IPTO. Today their Teacher Appreciation committee provided the most amazing lunch for our staff. I've been very diligently watching what I've been consuming lately, but that all went out the window today. Tree Guys catered and it was AMAZING! I wish I could go back for more and more and more it was all so yummy! Thank you thank you thank you---any and all who contribute funds, time and/or talent to this wonderful organization. They do such incredible things for our kids and today made each of us feel extremely special!!

Now--on to the Room 16 excitement: BUTTERFLIES! Right here in our room! We've been waiting so incredibly patiently ever since the teeny tiny caterpillars arrived. We watched those caterpillars eat and grow, eat and grow, eat and grow. Eventually we saw their final molt as their metamorphosis transformed them each into a chrysalis. And now, the moment we'd all been waiting for, their final emergence into the beautiful Painted Ladies. The kids noticed first-thing this morning (I hadn't even noticed yet!). At first they were concerned because the butterflies were not moving, so I had to remind them that they were brand-spankin new to the world. By lunchtime I was getting excited reports that some had opened their wings. It's so fun to watch the kids run to the net every time we return to the classroom. I love hearing them talk to each other and use the vocabulary that I've been exposing them to throughout this science unit. They make me so proud!

Monday, 5/5/14

Feliz Cinco de Mayo!!  Just writing that is making me crave tacos!!!

Today was our spring trip to the nature center. I must admit that I was a bit concerned about the weather, but the sun came out and we all had a blast (which made up for the fall when we were rained out!). The activities that Ms. Chris led the kids through were so incredibly cute and I was grateful to the moms who joined in for the fun. I've attached some pics of the "mother birds" and "father birds" as they built their nests for their future babies. Throughout the afternoon, the "birds" then protected the eggs that wound up in their nests from the predators (the chaperones), later found food to feed to their babies (the chaperones) and ultimately we all wound up inside where we washed up and Ms. Chris gave all of my little birdies a gummy worm for their hard work.

Friday, 5/2/14

Ugh--another week that has flown by. I need more time in my days to be able to blog!! Isn't that what we all wish for... more hours??? =)

Today was a big day in our second-grade world. We made a trip over to Franzen for the kids to see their new school! The second graders have been pen-pals with third graders this year and today they got to meet them in person! They met in the third-grade classrooms and were able to talk and hang out for a bit. Then the kids had lunch and recess together. After that, the third graders went back to class and the second graders gathered in the library. Half of our kids then went on a tour of Franzen with Mr. Taylor while Ms. Wit read to the other half. When the tour was over, the kids returned to the library and the groups switched. Our time at Franzen ended with the second graders all coming back into the library and doing a brief Q and A session with Mr. Taylor. The trip was a great success, and hopefully has put the kids' minds at ease about transitioning to a new school in the fall.

They look ready, don't they? (I'm not ready for them to go, but they sure are!)