Teaching is a great job. I love love love working with kids, and my coworkers. I also love that I am able to take a summer break each year. But teaching is hard! Sometimes I feel like I am doing a lot more managing then teaching. This year I've had 31-32 kids all year. It can be crazy day in and day out. Sometimes I forget why I chose this career when it's been crazy and hard for a long time.
I've been working with a student all year with some issues and behaviors. I think we have both learned a lot this year, and it has been hard for both of us. Most of the progress I have seen, has been really small. A lot of the time I feel like this student hates me, because I am getting after him constantly. I never see any emotion from this child.
He has been working to earn a Star Wars sticker book that I bought for him at the book fair in January. When he had 15 positive days, he got the book. Today was the 15th day! He didn't know I had totaled the points and when I called for him to come see me at my desk, he came over and said, What? I told him he had done a good job and I was proud of him and that he would get to take his book home today. He looked at me and was shocked. Then he shocked me. I was sitting at my desk, and he came next to me and put his head on my shoulder. This might seem like nothing to you. But I honestly got tears in my eyes. Here was my little tough student who hasn't shown any emotion all year long. And I honestly felt like he hated me. Here he was giving me a little hug, letting me know how happy he was. I gave him a little pat on the shoulder and congratulated him.
It's moments like this, that make you remember why. I became a teacher, because I love working with kids, I love teaching them, and being a part of their lives. They may drive me crazy, and I go home everyday exhausted... but after today, I remembered how much I love my job.
Tuesday, March 27, 2012
baby showering
Last Saturday I was able to attend one of my good friends baby shower. As I was driving to the shower I thought that they might ask how everyone knew Brittany. I thought back to when we met at EFY and how we had been good friends since. And then I remembered that I went to EFY when I was 14 or 15, and now we are 25. It is so crazy that we have known each other for over 10 years. That made me feel really old!
We gathered and ate yummy treats and talked. The game of the shower was "higher or lower" for baby items. There were 10 items with a price attached. (Diapers, wipes, outfits, toys, etc.) Each person had to write if they thought the real price was higher or lower than the price stated. I think I was 1 of 3 who don't have kids and I got 100%. I was pretty proud of my mad skills and was happy to bring home a $10 Cold Stone gift card. Bob was even happier.
It was so good to see Brittany and her baby bump. She is one of those people who always looks good, even pregnant! I am sad that after the baby is born, they will be moving back to San Diego for Tristan to work. Brittany is soooo happy to go home, so I made her future baby a onesie so she would never forget Utah, and the good times here.
And because I know that their baby will be a future surfer, I made these two.
I can't wait to see and meet baby Perdue!!! Congrats Brittany and Tristan!
We gathered and ate yummy treats and talked. The game of the shower was "higher or lower" for baby items. There were 10 items with a price attached. (Diapers, wipes, outfits, toys, etc.) Each person had to write if they thought the real price was higher or lower than the price stated. I think I was 1 of 3 who don't have kids and I got 100%. I was pretty proud of my mad skills and was happy to bring home a $10 Cold Stone gift card. Bob was even happier.
It was so good to see Brittany and her baby bump. She is one of those people who always looks good, even pregnant! I am sad that after the baby is born, they will be moving back to San Diego for Tristan to work. Brittany is soooo happy to go home, so I made her future baby a onesie so she would never forget Utah, and the good times here.
And because I know that their baby will be a future surfer, I made these two.
Pencil Hoarder
One morning one of my students was having a hard time finding his spelling words. This is not common, and sometimes just an excuse to get out of working. We went to check out his desk when I found a disaster. (I may have known it was building up, but just didn't know how bad.) When he wasn't willing to search, I tipped his desk over so we could find things a little more quickly.
Most of the papers/notebooks/junk fell out, but there was still some stuff left in his desk. I peaked in and saw a ton of pencils.
"Why do you have 100 pencils in your desk?" -- me
"It's not a 100" -- boy
"I'll count while you clean up this mess." (I said to myself)
I found 93 pencils in his desk. It was insane. Then I saw his pencil box and when I went through that my count was to 114. I was happy to tell him he had over 100 pencils in his desk.
He now has a very clean desk, and I have a lot of pencils. I will be keeping my eye out for future hoarding going on in class.
Most of the papers/notebooks/junk fell out, but there was still some stuff left in his desk. I peaked in and saw a ton of pencils.
"Why do you have 100 pencils in your desk?" -- me
"It's not a 100" -- boy
"I'll count while you clean up this mess." (I said to myself)
I found 93 pencils in his desk. It was insane. Then I saw his pencil box and when I went through that my count was to 114. I was happy to tell him he had over 100 pencils in his desk.
He now has a very clean desk, and I have a lot of pencils. I will be keeping my eye out for future hoarding going on in class.
Luck of the Irish
On St. Patrick's day we attended The Luck Of the Irish 5k held at Vineyard. I recruited Bob, Andrea & Brent, and my Mom and Ayrika. Unlike last year, we were not able to convince my Dad to run. We met at 9 and went down to my school to check in. The best part of races in March, is that they start later, since it isn't too warm yet. It was windy, and no one wanted to wait outside for the race to start. My family hung out in the car, while I talked with my students and coworkers.
The weather ended up being perfect for the race. It was cool, but just cool enough that it was comfortable while running. I started out the race with Bob for the first mile. We ran together with a few of my students. Their strategy was to run as fast as they could to pass us, and then once they were 10 feet ahead, they would stop and walk. I tried to tell them to pace themselves, but they were bound and determined to beat me.
In my class I have Viking dollars for classroom management. I give them $10 a week to do their class jobs. Then they pay to get drinks or use the bathroom and I reward them for good behavior. At the end of the month we have a store. So to get my kids to run the race, I bribed them. I told them they could have $50 if they signed up and ran. Then if they beat Bob $100 and me, $200. I had 7 kids from my class attend the race.
After the first mile Bob and I said goodbye and I kept up with one of my students T. Now T was wearing a zip sweatshirt and jeans. His race bib was pinned in all 4 corners over the zipper. About 2 miles in, he told me he was getting hot, but he couldn't get his sweatshirt off. So I told him to just roll his sleeves up. He was running with a girl in our class a few feet ahead of me and told her, "Man I sure do have a wedgie!" She couldn't wait to tell me, and I told her that's what happens when you run in jeans!
For the last mile I ran with one of the 2nd grade teachers Steffanie Williams. The race went by so quickly having someone to talk to. Also seeing my kids and cheering them on during the race made it that much more fun! In the end, I cheered T on to beat me. I was so proud of him for finishing!
In the end, K a girl in my class came in 1st for all 3rd graders, then T, and then me. Just between them I gave out $700 Viking dollars. I had to go buy some more prizes for my class store this month!
After the race we had Menchies frozen yogurt, which I loved. And then we left.
On Monday when I went to class I was surprised to find out that I won the 19-25 age division. Luckily I barely made it into that division. My time was the worst time I've ever had in a 5k race, so I was VERY surprised that I won. Brent won the 1st for the men.
I wore the medal in class and my kids kept applauding me, they were soooo cute!
The weather ended up being perfect for the race. It was cool, but just cool enough that it was comfortable while running. I started out the race with Bob for the first mile. We ran together with a few of my students. Their strategy was to run as fast as they could to pass us, and then once they were 10 feet ahead, they would stop and walk. I tried to tell them to pace themselves, but they were bound and determined to beat me.
In my class I have Viking dollars for classroom management. I give them $10 a week to do their class jobs. Then they pay to get drinks or use the bathroom and I reward them for good behavior. At the end of the month we have a store. So to get my kids to run the race, I bribed them. I told them they could have $50 if they signed up and ran. Then if they beat Bob $100 and me, $200. I had 7 kids from my class attend the race.
After the first mile Bob and I said goodbye and I kept up with one of my students T. Now T was wearing a zip sweatshirt and jeans. His race bib was pinned in all 4 corners over the zipper. About 2 miles in, he told me he was getting hot, but he couldn't get his sweatshirt off. So I told him to just roll his sleeves up. He was running with a girl in our class a few feet ahead of me and told her, "Man I sure do have a wedgie!" She couldn't wait to tell me, and I told her that's what happens when you run in jeans!
For the last mile I ran with one of the 2nd grade teachers Steffanie Williams. The race went by so quickly having someone to talk to. Also seeing my kids and cheering them on during the race made it that much more fun! In the end, I cheered T on to beat me. I was so proud of him for finishing!
In the end, K a girl in my class came in 1st for all 3rd graders, then T, and then me. Just between them I gave out $700 Viking dollars. I had to go buy some more prizes for my class store this month!
After the race we had Menchies frozen yogurt, which I loved. And then we left.
On Monday when I went to class I was surprised to find out that I won the 19-25 age division. Luckily I barely made it into that division. My time was the worst time I've ever had in a 5k race, so I was VERY surprised that I won. Brent won the 1st for the men.
I wore the medal in class and my kids kept applauding me, they were soooo cute!
Wednesday, February 22, 2012
I laugh every day
Here we go again, my 8 year old friend is full of surprises. Same friend who left during school, wants to shut Vineyard down, and same friend who tried to shorten pasta to past.
Our school is in it's own little area and sometimes some random things appear on our playground. My friend brought this box in from recess, held it up for the class and told everyone he was taking it home to keep. Needless to say, I took the box away, he was mad, and I won. (Teacher's usually do.) He knew exactly what it was and he was so excited to have it in his possession. Until I crushed his dreams. I would love to know what his parents would've said if it had made it's way home.
I had to throw it away in another garbage in the workroom so he wouldn't steal it from our class garbage. He really wanted the box.
Our school is in it's own little area and sometimes some random things appear on our playground. My friend brought this box in from recess, held it up for the class and told everyone he was taking it home to keep. Needless to say, I took the box away, he was mad, and I won. (Teacher's usually do.) He knew exactly what it was and he was so excited to have it in his possession. Until I crushed his dreams. I would love to know what his parents would've said if it had made it's way home.
I had to throw it away in another garbage in the workroom so he wouldn't steal it from our class garbage. He really wanted the box.
Saturday, February 18, 2012
30 pounds of Apples
I know I have posted before about Bountiful Baskets, but again I have to remind everyone. I love waking up on Saturday mornings and picking my basket up. I pick up at my school because it is at 9:00. There are sites closer to my house, but they are earlier. Sometimes I go to the gym before I pick it up and sometimes after. Today was an after day. I just couldn't get out of the house fast enough.
A couple weeks ago we had these awesome apples in our baskets. Junami apples! Never heard of the them before but they were amazing and I ate the quickly. So this week when I ordered my basket I saw that you could order a case of them. So I did. I read that it was 30 pounds, but didn't think much of it. I was in for a special treat today when I got my basket and apples. I counted, there are 80 of them. Good thing my Mom said she wanted to split the box!
And just incase you wanted to see what we will be eating this next week, here are my fruit and veggies. (Oh don't worry, I got even more apples... haha)
Apples, oranges, bananas, pineapple, mangos, and lemons
Spinach, tomatoes, jerusalem artichokes, squash, cucumbers, and lettuce.
One quick trick that I love is to clean and cut up my leafy greens. Then I store them in the plastic container that I got when I bought some spinach at Costco. I've been eating a lot of salads for lunch and this makes life a lot easier.
A couple weeks ago we had these awesome apples in our baskets. Junami apples! Never heard of the them before but they were amazing and I ate the quickly. So this week when I ordered my basket I saw that you could order a case of them. So I did. I read that it was 30 pounds, but didn't think much of it. I was in for a special treat today when I got my basket and apples. I counted, there are 80 of them. Good thing my Mom said she wanted to split the box!
And just incase you wanted to see what we will be eating this next week, here are my fruit and veggies. (Oh don't worry, I got even more apples... haha)
Apples, oranges, bananas, pineapple, mangos, and lemons
Spinach, tomatoes, jerusalem artichokes, squash, cucumbers, and lettuce.
One quick trick that I love is to clean and cut up my leafy greens. Then I store them in the plastic container that I got when I bought some spinach at Costco. I've been eating a lot of salads for lunch and this makes life a lot easier.
Friday, February 17, 2012
He did what?
Okay yes this is another school post, but I promise that this one is a good one. Before I begin let me tell you a little background info. Half of my class comes at 8, and I teach reading until 9:15. The other half comes at that time. At 2:15 my early group goes home and then the late group stays until 3:30. At the end of the day we have flex (Tuesday through Friday) for the last half hour before the early kids go home, the kids go to different activities around the school. As a teacher I get to choose who stays and who goes. I can work with low kids who need extra help, or high kids who need higher level activities. Because this happens at the end of the day, my early students take their backpacks and leave from that activity.
So last Thursday I sent my kids to flex, and then taught my late kids reading. When I got home from school I felt like I needed to check my school email. When I saw an email from this boys mom, I wasn't surprised. We communicate a lot about his daily behavior. But when I read the email I was shocked. My student didnt go to flex, he just started walking. Luckily the crossing guard went to work early that day and she stopped him. He told her he was walking home and he wasnt going to go back, until she threatened to call the principal. So the office called his mom, she came and got him, and then she emailed me. The office forgot to tell me, so I had no idea until hours later when his mom told me. Needless to say he can no longer go to flex.
The next day he came to school wearing a CTR ring. He told me his older sister gave it to him to help him during the day. It made me SOOO happy, and I am happy to report it worked for two days. I havent seen it since and his behavior has gone downhill since then.
Today he had a great morning, and he went to his reading class. Halfway through the class he was escorted back because of bad behavior. I had him sit down and work on the class writing project that the rest of the class was working on. He doesn't like writing so when I saw him working, I was surprised. And surprised I should be, because this is what he wrote:
On a happier note, here are some Valentines day stories.
For writing, I listed the following on the board. School, Cupid, someone slipping, a dozen chocolates and a large pink cake. I told the kids they needed to write a story and it needed to include those five things. When we were sharing, these were the two that stuck out the most.
1- A girl tells about how Cupid came in the class. The girl was sneaking chocolates under her desk, so she didnt get hit by the arrow, but I did. And I fell in love with Mr. Harward a 6th grade teacher at our school. (Who is around the age of my father.) When I saw him later in the day, I laughed a little to myself. He then wondered what was up, and I died of embarrassment as I told him the story.
2- Using the same 5 things, a boy wrote a story about how the cake he got for Valentines day made you fall in love with whatever you saw. The kid fell in love with a bunch of different objects including a chair, a desk, the TV and some other objects. When he told the class that he fell in love with scissors and his tongue got cut up, I about died laughing. Where are they coming up with this stuff?
Thank goodness it is a 3 day weekend!!!!!
So last Thursday I sent my kids to flex, and then taught my late kids reading. When I got home from school I felt like I needed to check my school email. When I saw an email from this boys mom, I wasn't surprised. We communicate a lot about his daily behavior. But when I read the email I was shocked. My student didnt go to flex, he just started walking. Luckily the crossing guard went to work early that day and she stopped him. He told her he was walking home and he wasnt going to go back, until she threatened to call the principal. So the office called his mom, she came and got him, and then she emailed me. The office forgot to tell me, so I had no idea until hours later when his mom told me. Needless to say he can no longer go to flex.
The next day he came to school wearing a CTR ring. He told me his older sister gave it to him to help him during the day. It made me SOOO happy, and I am happy to report it worked for two days. I havent seen it since and his behavior has gone downhill since then.
Today he had a great morning, and he went to his reading class. Halfway through the class he was escorted back because of bad behavior. I had him sit down and work on the class writing project that the rest of the class was working on. He doesn't like writing so when I saw him working, I was surprised. And surprised I should be, because this is what he wrote:
On a happier note, here are some Valentines day stories.
For writing, I listed the following on the board. School, Cupid, someone slipping, a dozen chocolates and a large pink cake. I told the kids they needed to write a story and it needed to include those five things. When we were sharing, these were the two that stuck out the most.
1- A girl tells about how Cupid came in the class. The girl was sneaking chocolates under her desk, so she didnt get hit by the arrow, but I did. And I fell in love with Mr. Harward a 6th grade teacher at our school. (Who is around the age of my father.) When I saw him later in the day, I laughed a little to myself. He then wondered what was up, and I died of embarrassment as I told him the story.
2- Using the same 5 things, a boy wrote a story about how the cake he got for Valentines day made you fall in love with whatever you saw. The kid fell in love with a bunch of different objects including a chair, a desk, the TV and some other objects. When he told the class that he fell in love with scissors and his tongue got cut up, I about died laughing. Where are they coming up with this stuff?
Thank goodness it is a 3 day weekend!!!!!
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