Sweet Saturday

I have found myself with a very rare free Saturday, and I decided there was only one way to celebrate it...

 Lazy couch and balcony time with a book and stove top oatmeal.  Yum!

Now I'm finally getting my lazy self off the couch and out to enjoy a bike ride in the BEAUTIFUL weather.  It is seriously perfect here--sunny and 70s.  What a gift!

But the day is made even better by the email I just got from my principal in which he copied and pasted part of an email he just received from the parent of one of my fourth graders...

He had the two most amazing years in Miss ___'s classroom..he made a huge growth...Miss ___ is definitely one of the best teachers that we had pleasure having as our child teacher...She is amazing..She goes the extra mile, finds the way how to work with an individual child, recognizing the weakness and most importantly she knows how to overcome that same weakness and gets them there, happy about themselves...

Obviously, I was in tears reading that email.  After a long week and with my patience rapidly wearing thin with my little darlings, this was just the pick me up I needed. :)  

Happy long weekend!

love.

Sometimes, just when I'm about to go crazy at school, one of the kiddos will say something that makes me remember why I put up with it all.  Today was one of those days. :)

One of my students who needs a whole lotta extra help and love is reading about three grades below where he should be.  He struggles with learning disabilities and emotional disabilities, not to mention a challenging home life...to put it mildly.  Today we were reading Freckle Juice.  After working his hardest just to get through a couple of pages, trying trying trying, he looked at me, smiled, and said, "I like reading now!"

And my heart melted.  I teach for moments like this.

Classroom Odds & Ends

After the past few weeks of minimal blogging, I've accumulated a bunch of random pictures on my computer desktop just waiting to be blogged.  Does that happen to anyone else??  I decided to just combine a handful of miscellaneous school pictures to do an Odds & Ends classroom update.  :)

New Computers!!!
First...we got new teacher computers today!  Hooray!  You guys, I cannot tell you how excited I am about this.  Our old school laptops were so old and junky.  They desperately needed an update!  Not only did we get brand new laptops, but they are tablet computers!  How cool is that?  Basically what that means is the screen can swivel around.  We can hold the computer in tablet form and write on it with the attached stylus.  I can see absolutely no reason for ever using this feature in my daily life, but in the classroom I know it's going to be awesome.  For example, I can project worksheets I've created and fill in the answers using my stylus.  For math notes, instead of writing on the board or overhead, I can just write them in a blank word document and project on the screen.  I'm pretty pumped.  And who doesn't love a brand new (pretty) computer??

I love you, Clip Chart.
Also, I must update on my clip chart.  This summer I decided I was ready to try a new behavior plan after using sticker charts and play money the past two years.  Mrs. Sunny at The Caffeinated Teacher sold me on the clip chart system that so many bloggers have mentioned.  (I absolutely cannot take credit for this system.  Learn more about it here.)  I have to admit, when I was planning it out this summer I was still a bit hesitant.  Would my 5th graders really buy into the whole thing?  Especially if there weren't any prizes involved?  Would it be a management nightmare to have students constantly getting up and moving their clips?  Well, I am pleased to report that it is going wonderfully and I am SOLD.

What I Love About It:

• Every day is a fresh start for the kids
• Kids can choose to turn their day around ANY TIME.  No day is ever "ruined."
• I don't have to worry about moving clips down the way I did with giving strikes and checks--I used to hold back if I felt like the student maybe didn't MEAN to do something...but now it's no big deal, because they can earn their way back up.
• Emphasis on student choice
• Goal Setting: Where do you want your clip to be at the end of the day?
• Trinket-free motivation

Okay, I'll admit I still do a weekly prize raffle using our school PBIS tickets, but the clip chart is absolutely trinket free.  Every day, any kids who are on outstanding earn an MVP Award.  I must give total credit for this idea to Mrs. Sunny who gives Rockstar Awards.  I present these little awards at the end of the day, and all the kids clap for our MVPs.  I wasn't really sure how into them they really were until last week I caught one of my "tough" boys showing it off to his friends from another class during dismissal.  The other boy remarked how cool it was!  WIN.  I know they also love showing them to their parents.

After earning an "outstanding," I also stick a little sticker on their clip.  Continuing with our ever-present sports theme, of course the stickers are sports-related too!  Once a clip is "full" (5 stickers), the clip is replaced with a new COLORED clip.  First it's a red clip, the bottom color on the chart.  Then orange, etc.  When a kiddo gets a new colored clip, I make sure to recognize them in front of the class and make a big deal out of it.  Let me tell you, I never expected 5th graders to care so much about an orange clothes pin.  LOVE IT.

Guided Reading

I'm not sure how guided reading works in your classroom, but in the past year or so our literacy specialists have told us to change our structure a little bit.  Instead of popcorn reading or checking in with the group after every page or so, we now set a purpose for reading, then have studetns read in their heads for about 12 minutes (the bulk of the guided reading time) while we listen to students read, cnference, and take running records.  We only come back together as a group for the last 5 minutes or so.  This works pretty well, but every day without fail some students will finish the "assignment" WAY quicker than others.  One of our coaches suggested I try typing up some suggestions of ways to interact with the text after reading the assigned selection and tape them to my guided reading tables.  I just set this up Friday after school, but I love it already!  It's great having the visual, and it's super easy for me to redirect forgetful students just by tapping it, even if I'm busy doing a running record on a different student.  

Closer View:

Little Smile

I loved this short note I got from a parent written on their kiddo's weekly progress report:

Thank you for all of your love to my son. :)

To the parent: It's my pleasure. :)

CHAMPIONS!!!

So I sponsor a club at school called Battle of the Books which is basically a big geek-fest of kids who love reading. :)  My dream come true!  All year long the kids read books and practice writing/answering questions from them in preparation for an end-of-the year "battle" between other schools in the district.  My school is a low-income school in what is otherwise a pretty well-off district (for the most part), and we kind of have a reputation...let's just say when a friend who works in district heard I got a job at this particular school she kind of grimaced and told me good luck!!!  yikes!  Anyways, it's not so bad; crazy as it is, I am happy at my school.  But other schools definitely view us a certain (non-complimentary) way.

Yesterday evening was the much-anticipated Battle.  Our kids have been working SO HARD to prepare, but I don't think ANYONE thought we had a shot.  To say we were the underdog is the understatement of the century.  Well...

Mrs. Lit Specialist, Good Luck Charm Baby J, & Me :)

WE WON!!!!!

This is super exciting for a few reasons.  First, after working SO HARD this year with the kids, to see their hard work pay off (and mine!) and see their excited smiling faces made all of those hours as a club worth it.  Second, how awesome is it to see kids get pumped about literacy and reading?  Come on.  Our society doesn't exactly celebrate achievements in reading very often... The kids are so proud of this badass trophy our school won.  Plus, what a great example to set for other kids in the school that reading is actually pretty cool.  The best part for me, though, was showing other schools in the district that we actually have some pretty amazing, smart kids and good teachers over here at my school.  We work hard too, and so do our kids.  Even Ms. Assistant Principal who accompanied us to the battle was like, "What now?!" :)

I was having some reservations about sponsoring this club again next year because it is so much work, but after seeing the kids get so excited about their win, I'm wondering if it might be worth it...

Three Things Thursday

ONE

So today is my birthday.  Which, on a school day, doesn't mean too much. :)  I did purposely write it on our class calendar so I got several "Happy Birthday!"s throughout the day from my kiddos, and I like to think they tried extra hard to be nice to me... :)  We actually had a good, productive day together, so maybe they did put on their best behavior!  In any case, I am officially 24 and probably way too old to be living with my parents and refusing to cook anything for myself short of oatmeal and omelets.  :)

I did enjoy starting my day with these two happy items...

These things are like crack I swear...

Mrs. Mentor Teacher replenished my stash of Trader Joe's Dark Chocolate Espresso beans.  :)  

Mrs. Literacy Specialist (who is also a peace-loving hippie teacher) brought me this adorable mug filled with dark chocolate...hmm I'm seeing a pattern...

TWO

I think my IT band is *FINALLY* on the mend!!!!!  (*silent cheer*) Tuesday I ran 3 miles with NO knee/thigh pain.  MIRACLE!  This is the first time since February's half-marathon that I've been able to reach 3 miles without discomfort.  Hooray!  Additionally, I got a massage this evening (my last for a looong time as I've decided I need to probably stop living like I make a six-figure salary if I ever hope to move out of my parents' house...*tear*), and the therapist said my legs felt WAY better!  She even had time to massage my back!  (Yes, my massages usually consist of 60 minutes of digging into my legs with me holding back tears.  Not so relaxing.)  It was pretty exciting to have a relaxing, relatively-painless massage for a change. :)

THREE

Can I just share for a moment how happy I am that this is a three-day weekend??  My gosh, I feel like this is the best birthday gift in the world.  Now that the kids have decided it is almost summer (which it kind of is...but come on we are still learning here!!), they are extra silly squirrels.  I believe that from here until June, every week should be a four-day week.  Who's with me?!?  :)

Friday Ramblings

This morning I attended a professional development on our new social studies series.  I am EXCITED to report that the series ROCKS!!!  I literally can't wait to begin using it, and actually plan to incorporate a lesson or two into my current social studies unit on the American Revolution.  We are using the TCI Social Studies Alive curriculum, and it is loaded to the gills with interactive components.  I know that I (and MOST teachers) spend hours upon hours trying to come up with interactive lessons and hands-on activities to bring social studies to life, and TCI has it all right there for you.  It even has a digital presentation to go along with EVERY lesson!  So. pumped.  I would love to hear more about it from a teacher currently using it!

Does anyone currently use TCI Social Studies Alive in their classrooms??

While I must say I was bummed to return to school after the training (I love my kids, but honestly a full day of grown up talk and a long lunch would have been nice...), there were several other "little happys" in my day. :)

Like this daffodil that was waiting for me when I got back to school!

And this note from a VERY VERY challenging student who hates me about 70% of the time.

And the cherry on top, the new Bondi Bands I ordered Tuesday arrived!!!

I couldn't resist using the 5 for $25 coupon I received when I ordered two of these headbands before my half-marathon.  I LOVE them and was thrilled to pick out 5 more of the super cute designs.  Seriously, they are so comfy and don't slide around at all.  Best of all, not only are they sweat-wicking, but they are super wide so they hold back all of my crazy fly-aways.  Now, if only I could RUN!!!

Which brings me to another topic...tomorrow I am registered to run in a 10K at a nearby arboretum.  I have been looking forward to it for months and was super excited about running with a friend and walking around the arboretum after.  Enter complications...

First of all, it is raining and nasty cold here.  It is supposed to be rainy and nasty cold tomorrow too.  Second, I have a sinus infection and next to no voice.  Third, I have yet to surpass 2 miles with my bum IT bands...

As much as I hate wasting money, all signs point to a NO GO for me for tomorrow.  :(  Oh well, there will be other races.  The bondi bands can wait.  ;)  Instead, I am looking forward to a quiet night in my jammies with a movie and tea to soothe my throat...and hopefully a productive work day tomorrow!  

What are your plans this weekend?  

Once there was a teacher...and she loved her students...

Once there was a tree...and she loved a little boy...

And every day the boy would come and he would gather her leaves 

and make them into crowns and play king of the forest. 

He would climb up her trunk and swing from her branches and eat apples. 

And they would play hide-and-go-seek. 

And when he was tired, he would sleep in her shade. 

And the boy loved the tree.......very much. 

And the tree was happy.

-The Giving Tree, Shel Silverstein

Here's the truth:
I have another cold-turned-something-awful (I'm thinking sinus infection...).
I am losing my voice AGAIN.
I am exhausted from having to repeat the same few directions over and over to the same few students.
I am overwhelmed that I now have SIX (yes 6) kids on behavior charts that must be filled out after EVERY subject.
I am frustrated that it's April and my neediest reader is still not receiving the services he needs, no matter how much I try to get them for him.
I'm tired.

But today, I read The Giving Tree aloud while 22 fifth graders sat at rapt attention in a circle at my feet.  And suddenly it was all worth it.  Sharing my favorite books with my kiddos is absolutely my favorite part of my job.  Watching them fall as much in love with them as I am is even better.

goodreads.com

Reading this story aloud and discussing the powerfully simple plot reminded me again how much potential my students have...to think...to wonder...to care...

Today 5th graders talked about how their parents are like the Giving Tree, because they are happy to give them what they need, and don't ask anything in return.
They talked about how they can be like the Giving Tree when they share with younger siblings.
They talked about how they should show more thanks to the people that you love, shocked that the boy in the story didn't say thank you to the tree.
They talked about how their grandparents are like the Giving Tree, because no matter how long they're away, they are so happy to see them.
They talked about how when you give happiness away, you sometimes get it in return.
They talked about being generous to those you love.
They talked about appreciating what you have.

shelsilverstein.com

When, on the page where the boy carries off the tree's branches (like a knife to my heart, that one gets me every time...) I said, "This picture makes me feel a lot of things in my heart.  What does it make you feel?", the kind of question you might think 5th graders would laugh or smirk or reply sarcastically to...my class responded from their hearts.  And I was touched by their thoughts.

And even though sometimes I feel like the Giving Tree, bark and branches stripped away after I have given them every ounce I have during a school day...they are learning.  They are growing.  And I am happy.

Spring! Spring! Spring!

Yesterday was a very sleepy crabby day.  For the kids and for me!  Hopefully at some point in my career I will come to terms with the fact that Sundays should be an early-to-bed day and that Mondays should be a prepare-the-coffee-the-night-before day...oh well!

A few fabulous Spring milestones took place in the past few days...

**First time the temperature got over 80!!!  LOVE me some crazy midwest temperature spikes!!!

source

**First passion iced tea of the year!!!

**And the best one...first outdoor run in SHORTS (not including Disney of course) of the season. :)

Obviously with my favorite pink compression socks :) These things ROCK!

Yes folks, you caught that right, I managed another run today!  After successfully getting over the 1 mile mark with no knee/IT band pain Friday afternoon, and after enduring a painful but gratifying massage Sunday, I gave it another shot today.  Guess what?  I made it to 2 miles without pain!  *silent cheer*  I didn't even have a lot of pain at 2mi, just some nagging twinges...but I promised myself I would stop there pain or no pain.  Let's not get carried away...I still have a ways to go, but I saw my primary care doctor today who promised me a referral if things don't improve on their own in another couple of weeks.  Compromise.  I'll take it.

BTW in an effort to increase my cross training, I rolled my lazy self out of bed for an early morning yoga class Saturday, and am STILL SORE from the crazy hard poses and sequences we were doing.  Note: take the basic classes a few more times before venturing back to that one...Oh well, A for effort, right?

Time for the obligatory post-run foam rolling session aka my brief visit to HELL.  Don't worry, I fully plan to follow it with ice cream and a Katherine Heigl movie.  

Wednesday Little Happys

Three random things so far this week that made me smile:

ONE

Monday morning (first day post spring break) one of my girls came in before the bell to say hi.  She likes to come in a little early every day to unpack and help me.  When I said good morning, she smiled and said, "I forgot what your voice sounded like!"

TWO

Yesterday I read this post in one of the kiddos' journals in response to the prompt, "What is something you think is unfair?":

Love when they "think deep" in their journals.  :)  Love kids. 

THREE

By far the most amusing....this afternoon I was picking up the 5th grader I tutor and had his 1st grade brother in tow.  Walking towards my car, 1st grader asked, "Did your car cost 13 dollars and 1 cent?" :-D  It seems he had noticed my 13.1 magnet for the first time!  Loved this.

And now, after quite possibly the most horrifically painful foam rolling session of my entire life (Damn you, IT bands...), with 50% of my legs coated in biofreeze (which btw is making me really freaking cold!!!), I am off to bed...Goodnight!

Sub-induced Mania

^No, I'm not referring to the whole lotta crazy that tends to occur when kids are left with a sub (at least my kids!).  I'm referring to the whole lotta crazy that overcomes this obsessive teacher when she's preparing for a day off!  I think I prepare the longest, most detailed sub plans in the world.  Plus I have a sub binder that has a few pages of information on all of our routines, procedures, and helpful tips for handling certain extra-needy students.   I get fairly obsessive over just an afternoon off, much less two consecutive days.

Because I am determined to worry about the darlings while I'm in Florida (which is impossible, but I can dream, right?), I made sure I was extra organized for my sub this week.  Enter the SUB TUB:

Combine this with 8 typed pages of plans (for the two days) and a to-do list left for my two most responsible girls, and my sub should be ready for any potential disaster that comes her way.  I wonder if in a few years I will chill out a bit and worry less about leaving the kiddos?

After finally shutting down my computer and cutting myself off from proofreading the sub plans for the five millionth time, I headed to the gym to attempt a LIGHT and EASY run...you may remember that I skipped my taper long run Sunday to let my aching calves rest.  Today's run actually wasn't so bad!  I wore my super sexy hot pink recovery socks in hopes that they would help my calves stay knot-free, kept my pace sloooow, and managed to make it through 3 miles with minimal pain.

Now, this is definitely a celebration since last Thursday's 3 mile run was filled with awful leg pain...buuut it is still VERY nervewracking that SUNDAY will be over 4 times this distance!  I know, I know, I'm ready, my adrenaline will kick in, and it will turn out great.  But still.  Let this worrier get it all out now so that by the time I'm in Florida I'm nothing but calm, cool, collected, and confident.  :)  

My new favorite recovery drink:

While I'm still experimenting with yummy protein smoothies after more intense workouts, I read an article about the benefits of chocolate milk for muscle recovery.  These little chocolate milk boxes are awesome!  I got a big pack at costco, and the really cool thing is they don't need to be refrigerated.  Now obviously they're better cold, but it was convenient to toss one in my gym bag to enjoy after my run today.  Yum!

In other news...today's little happy was when one of my girls brought me this little guy:

Aww.

Fashion Advice from 11 Year Olds, Test Prep, and other Thrilling Events in my Teacher Life :)

Hi Friday.  It's been too long. :)

This week has been, in a word, exhausting.  It definitely has not dragged...in fact, it's been so jam-packed that I feel like I've barely caught my breath!  Tuesday I didn't get home until 10pm...no, not because I was working in my classroom until then like that one horrible day from last year (my first year)--thank goodness!!  I had lots of work to do in my room, a parent meeting at 4, then a school event I was volunteering at from 5:30-7.  Then I packed up/finished my work, and headed to the gym for a run.  By the time I stretched, showered, and got in my car, it was already 10.  YIKES!  Nothing like days when you are only home an hour before you head to bed...Yesterday I didn't even walk out of the building until 7.  Thankfully, my to-do list has shortened SIGNIFICANTLY this week, which means this weekend will be low-stress. :)  Yay.  This includes a mountain of grading (I actually have NONE home this weekend!!!!!!!!!), report cards (!!!!!), test pencils sharpened, desks moved into rows, and name tags covered with construction paper.

^Those last three things are all ISAT (our state tests) related...testing doesn't start until the week after next, but with me being at school only Tuesday and Wednesday next week because of Presidents Day and heading to F L O R I D A (!!), I knew that I'd kick myself in the face if I didn't get those little things ready beforehand.  I like getting the kids into "test formation" a week early so they have time to adjust.  I have tons of posters and anchor charts around my room that we use all year round, and we are allowed to keep things like that up for the Big Tests (as long as they have been up all year and been part of our teaching).  Throughout the year, I have trained the kids where to look when they need help with certain types of problems, and it's important that they get used to looking for these things from the place in the room where they'll be sitting for the actual test.  Also, kids suck with routine changes.  Fact of life.  Just like runners don't try anything new on race day, teachers don't try anything new on testing days!!

You'll notice the clotheslines of signs in the background.  Those have my math vocabulary and formulas.  We literally ran out of wall space... I also covered name tags with construction paper.  The Test Police don't allow us to have any visuals (multiplication tables, place value charts, etc.) on desks, and they are printed on all my kids name tags.  It's a shame we have to cover them, because the kids use them all year round, and now suddenly they can't.  Another reason to cover everything a week early and get used to it...

I am so sick of test prep BTW.  It is the bane of my existence.  I know any non-teachers out there are probably thinking, "Then do less!" and any teachers who teach in a school where the kids just naturally meet/exceed on your tests are probably thinking, "Test prep is not best practice!" let me assure you I understand your point of view.  But not doing mountains of test prep is simply not an option in my school.  There is so much at stake and so much pressure...our kids are so behind that we basically try to cram every math/reading term or concept they haven't learned yet into the weeks before the test, hoping something will stick.  It's sad, really.  I apologized to the kids today for subjecting them to this crap, assuring them it is literally as stressful and painful for me as it is for them...little do they know that it is most definitely MORE stressful and painful for me!!!

In other news...I had a FANTASTIC post-observation with Mr. Principal this week!!!  He came in last Friday to observe my reading lesson and left me a very kind note, so I knew he would have positive things to say, but I was literally floored by some of the positive feedback I got.  Mr. Principal is leaving next year, so I think that had something to do with his praises, especially after the hell he's been putting us through lately.  I was completely touched by his kind words (which included fantastic and dynamite)--and it is just so wonderful to know that someone sees how hard I work (especially when I was already yelled at by an unreasonable parent once this week!)...and more importantly, to know that I AM in the right profession and that all of that hard work has really paid off.

I'm a bit exhausted...it may be time to curl up with ice cream and a book. :)  But first, my student work gems of the week.

Prompt: Write about a time you gave someone advice.

Of course there is an OH SO GOOD illustration...

The classic jersey girl style reminds me of a bondi band...perhaps I will rock that look tomorrow, without the circles of blush... ;)

God, I love my job. :)

Definitely a full-moon kind of week...

Oh my, another long day.  You know it's going to be a rough one when you get into the car and are greeted with this:

Actually, it continued to drop to -6 by the time I got to school.  Yikes!!!  And yet, some of the kiddos still showed up with unzipped jackets and no hats and gloves...parenting at its finest... For a four day week, this week certainly was insane...but isn't that always the case?  Plus it was a full moon on top of it all.  I will never understand how full moons and kids' behavior are linked, but trust me--they are!!!  (For example, Mrs. Literacy Specialist was told by a student today that she was going to "punch her in the face."  f'real.)

This pretty much sums it up

Today, though, it wasn't so much that my kids weren't behaving.  It was just that they all seemed to develop partial hearing loss.  For example:

Miss Teacher: (passing out the math extended response) You'll see on here that it asks for the mean (average) number of letters in the names of the group of students.   Who remembers where the poster is in the room with the formula for mean?  (kids point)  Very good.  Plus, we just took a quiz on finding the mean so you should all be experts at it.  A good first step here would be to count the number of letters in each kid's name.

[60 seconds pass]

Student: Miss Teacher?  What does it mean by "find the mean"?
A very disgruntled Miss Teacher:  Are you kidding?  I'm not going to be answering that question, I'm sorry.
Another student: Miss Teacher?  What do I do?
An even more disgruntled Miss Teacher:  *sighs in disgust*

Thank goodness it's Friday.  All I have to say is that this day started with copying a million ISAT practice pages and ended with being screamed at on the phone by a lunatic parent.  I still don't actually understand what her problem was, but I did successfully convince her not to come into school to continue the discussion...or just flat out tell her, "No, you can't come to school now.  Absolutely not."  Can we say CRAZY??

I've had a couple of complain-y posts in a row now, so let me share some "little happys" of today and yesterday:

This one almost brought tears to my eyes today--that should be an indicator of how stressed I am!  I have a computer cart in my room with 12 laptops in it.  Students from another class have been in and out all week borrowing them, and they were just plugging them into any random power cord or shoving them in.  They were A MESS!!!!  The disarray was killing me, but I knew that fixing them would take longer time than I had to spare.  So as we were packing up at 2:50 I had the brilliant idea to ask which students walked home and wouldn't mind staying 10 minutes to help me.  I was shocked when at least a third of the class raised their hands!  An untapped resource!  Why hadn't I thought of this before?!?  I picked two girls to call their moms, and then put them to work plugging the power cords into the correct outlets, winding up the cords, and arranging the laptops.  They finished so quickly, and here is the final product:

They must have thought I was a lunatic with my reaction to this--I practically hugged them and wept. :)  Then I proceeded to show off my beautifully organized cart to two other teachers.  God, is it sad that that was one of the highlights of my week???

Another little happy was this spelling error on a quiz.  The question asked which type of figurative language was used in the text, and the answer was simile.  Or, smiley as the case may be. :)

And okay, yesterday wasn't a COMPLETE train wreck.  Actually, it had a very happy part.  One of the wonderful things about my district is a literacy initiative they have to help teachers build their classroom libraries.  Every month they have a "book room" day that the newer teachers can go to and take up to 100 books.  You can do this until you have gathered 1,000 books!  Technically the books belong to the district and if you leave you are expected to donate them to another teacher or the school library.  But I don't think there are exactly book police....Well, the books are usually a collection of gently used cast-offs plus some new titles.  But this month I'd been tipped off by Mr. Principal that TONS of new books had been purchased and would be available!  My loot:

100 brand spanking new books, including new copies of Diary of a Wimpy Kid, the entire Percy Jackson series, several Maximum Ride books, and too many others to count.  Part of why I was at school so late last night was that I was putting my name in all of them and hand-picking a new book for each students' book box.  Yeah, it's tedious, but they LOVE when I tell them, "I picked this book JUST FOR YOU!"  And I love it too :)

So the week wasn't a total wash.  But let's just say it's a good thing it's the weekend, because if I had to endure 1 more day I might have strangled someone...

(Weekend dilemma: Do I attempt my long run this weekend if my tibia is still acting up?  I'm thinking give it a good rest tonight and see how it feels tomorrow...:-/)

Small Joys

In my 2010 Recap post, I said that I fell in love with teaching again this year.  I meant it--I really did.  Last year (my first year) kind of sucked the life out of me.  I talked recently with a teacher friend about what a rude awakening it was.  See, during student teaching, things went really great...like really really great...for me.  My cooperating teacher and I got along great, my class was well-behaved, the low-readers went to the special ed teacher for reading (releasing me of any responsibility for their progress), and I didn't have the pressure of ISATs  and AYP.  It was bliss.  I received a steady stream of positive feedback from my cooperating teacher, supervisor, and principal throughout the semester.  Truly, they would tell me that I was "born to be a teacher," that I was "in the right profession," etc.  I felt confident and prepared when I got hired for my job last fall.

Anyone who's been reading my blog since 2009 knows that the first year was gruesome to say the least.  And I have to say that one of the worst things was the nagging sense that I was just lost.  See, I'd been told I was born to teach--and I believed it!  And here I was, TANKING.  Literally going down in flames.

This year was, among other things, a fresh start, and a much needed one at that.  And this afternoon as I cleaned up my room, I had this overwhelming realization--I feel like myself again.  I expected coming back from winter break to be rough, but it's actually been wonderful.  The kind email from my principal Wednesday definitely contributed to this feeling of purpose.  And today I got another kind little affirmation:

Mrs. Literacy Specialist aka soul sister teacher called me after school to tell me a happy story from her meeting with the other grade level literacy support teachers.  She said that a few that are new in the building this year asked her how many years I have been teaching, and they, "almost fell out of their chairs" when she said I am in my second year.  Turns out they are very impressed by my literacy teaching, well-organized classroom, and the fact that my students "always know exactly what to do."  I almost fell out of MY chair when I heard that!!!!!  All the things that were a train wreck last year and that I have been working SO HARD to improve this year...turns out they are not only paying off, but that others have noticed.  Again, it's so rare to get validation in teaching...it literally brought tears to my eyes to hear this.

After that phone call, I left school in a completely blissful mood.  I got my papers organized for next week, copies & transparencies made, this week's papers filed, board cleaned, even schedule for Monday on the board.

I wasn't even upset that it had started snowing!  (Even though I hate winter and hate driving in snow)  In fact, I basically giggled when I opened the door and saw the white parking lot and my flurry-covered car.

And don't judge me, but the ONLY thing I wanted to do tonight (besides laying under a blanket, but that goes without saying) was go to Trader Joe's.  My big Friday night, and I couldn't have been happier. :)  Yum!

Happy Friday!

Today's little Sad and today's little Happy

Sad: Monday, I wrote about my student who moved, much to my disappointment, regardless of the fact that in doing so he left my room quieter, more controlled, and me with more time to actually teach. Well, this morning, an hour before school started, another teacher found him outside wandering around with a light jacket, no hat, and no gloves. Obviously she brought him in. After a few minutes we deduced he'd been put in a cab by his mom and had been driven from the new house (2 towns away) to school! What??? Mom was informed that he was no longer a student at the school because they do not live in the district anymore. Our itinerant police officer was going to drive him home, but mom said no one was there so he had to stay. I was so glad to have a chance to see him and say goodbye, but nothing is as unmotivating for a kid as having to sit in a classroom with no supplies, having missed the past few days, knowing your work no longer counts! I'll be honest--at one point I handed him a Time for Kids and told him to go sit in the bean bag...
I hope we don't find him wandering tomorrow or getting out of a cab... :( poor kid. I had a few tears after giving him a hug goodbye and making him promise to try his best at school and to be nice to his new teacher...

Happy: Other than THAT craziness, I started my morning with a big smile when I read this email from Mister Principal:

"Hey Miss Teacher, I was just thinking today how much I appreciate what you do!  You have done such a terrific job over the past two years and have gained A LOT of experience.  Thanks for doing more than hanging in, and really doing some great stuff.  I’m really proud of all your hard work.  You are turning into a world-class teacher and we are lucky to have you at School!"

In a job when you are constantly giving everything and frequently feel undervalued and under appreciated, notes like this really mean so much. Definitely made my morning, and was such a wonderful surprise.

Today's Little Happys :)

Today was happy because of...

 ...These cookies that a student brought me.  She wants to bring them in for our class holiday party the day before winter break (in 2 1/2 weeks...), and she and her mom wanted to give me a "taste test."  Adorable.

...And because of this gingerbread latte.  First of the year!!  I have to say, it was not quite as yummy as a pumpkin spice latte...but really, what is?

...And also because of this little guy!  This worn out, ugly frog is a new addition to our classroom.  Actually, he is a cast-off from my mom's classroom (she's also a teacher).  Teacher Mom decided he was looking a little ratty, but I thought he still had some life in him!  My kids seem to be way too old too fast, and I am forever looking for ways to keep them kids.  They like to sit and read with the frog, and I was happy to seem him perched up here with the books at the end of the day!


..And because when we took the Reading MAP test (a 3x a year progress monitoring test), almost all of my kids' scores went up since fall!  YAY!!  2 of my lowest kids actually went up close to 15 points, which is HUGE!  I almost cried.  :)  Now, just gotta keep this up until the end of the year!

..And also because I had a successful visit to the orthopedist during which it told me it is OKAY for me to be running, as long as I am taking it easy and a LITTLE pain is not becoming a LOT of pain...after which I had a successful run/walk on the treadmill!  PS- treadmill < running outside.  I miss summer...

The One who Gets It.

I've written before about how I adore reading aloud to my class.  Last year's group was a little screwy on the carpet, so I didn't make time for read aloud as much as I should have because it frequently gave me a headache.  This year I was determined to a) make time on a regular basis to read aloud to the class, and b) choose novels to start with that would instantly hook them and make them fall as much in love with read aloud as I am.

source

Enter Wayside School.  I started reading Sideways Stories from Wayside School aloud to the group the first week of school, and was overjoyed when I realized that I could sit down in my chair, start reading quietly, and the kids would magically settle down, and even shush each other if conversations were continuing.  They'd be silent almost instantly!  Also, if I paused partway through because they were disruptive (and let me clarify, the disruption while I read these books usually consists of them getting over-excited about something I just read), they will immediately quiet down and wait expectantly for more.  They will beg me to read another chapter.  It is music to my ears.  We just finished Wayside School is Falling Down, and I am excited to start book 3, Wayside School Gets a Little Stranger on Monday.

Sometimes, when things are hectic, Read Aloud gets pushed to the side.  It's tough to make time for things that don't have an automatic correlation to ISAT testing when there is always so, so much to be done...I mean well, really, but when it comes down to it, it's often that thing that gets skipped when the schedule is tight.  I know how beneficial it is to kids, though; listening to a novel teaches fluency, expression, helps with comprehension, and, #1, the most important reason...it gets kids HOOKED ON READING.  (when done correctly with the right books!)  Like I said, though, it's tough to see any immediate payback from an unstructured activity like this.  Most of the time, it's crossing your fingers and hoping that these benefits do happen!

This week, though, I was lucky:
When I was absent Tuesday, my fabulous literacy specialist and fabulous friend Mrs. J was helping my class out with reading.  She asked one of kiddos to read aloud to her a little bit, and she was pleasantly surprised that when he began, he was reading with expression and emotion, even doing voices for different characters!  This is NOT typical of the average 5th grader, much less 5th grade boy!  After a pause, she exclaimed, "Wow!  Do you always read like that?"  He responded, "I didn't used to, but Miss Teacher reads aloud to us, and she reads like that, and she does all these voices!  It's so much more fun!  So I started reading like that too, and it makes reading so much fun!  Sometimes, at home I even close the door to my room and read out loud so I can do voices too."  Big smile.

And that is why I will continue to make time in my crowded schedule for something that has nothing to do with test scores, but everything to do with what I believe in as a teacher.  Maybe not every student is suddenly reading with fluency and emotion, but this ONE student is, and sometimes one is more than enough.

I teach for moments like this.

Baby, just look at us now!

I caught up with my 2nd year teacher soul sister from my building this evening on the phone--for teaching in the same building, we haven't seen much of each other at all lately.  It's been a couple busy weeks in a row, so it was nice to compare notes and chat without glancing at the clock every 30 seconds to see how much more time was left in the lunch period.  We started talking about how rough October and November of last year were.  I believe her exact words were that last October she used to "lay in bed and cry" most nights.   I decided to go back and look at my posts from this past week in 2009, and reread this one:

November 9, 2009

I want to quit.  I can't remember any of the reasons I got into teaching anymore, 

and I just don't know if it's worth it.  I just need one thing to go right tomorrow.

I can't handle this.

^And I meant it, too.  This time last year, I remember thinking about how many months were left until summer, and feeling like there was no way in hell I would make it through.  It seemed impossible.  That day was a real low point.  My whole life I have known I would be a teacher; I think sometimes that this profession chooses you, not the other way around.  So it honestly felt like my world was crumbling...this job I'd dreamed about for years, not only was I finding that maybe I was BAD at it, but I hated it.  HATED it.  And could not imagine coming back another DAY, much less a week, the school year, or year after year to come.


Let me be clear: This year is no picnic.  I have tough kids, I lose my patience, I still yell.  I do my best, but there are many days I know I could have and should have done better.  I get frustrated still.  But at no time this year, for a single moment or even a split second have I thought, "I will not make it through this," or, "I want to quit."  And this is something to be very happy about.  

This year I feel like myself again.  I am not a perfect teacher, but right now, I am excited to keep learning, growing, and most of all, to keep teaching.  

This picture is actually from student teaching:

Playing a science game, to be precise!

There be dragons

I get a lot of inventive spelling on student work...with all of our time spent trying to boost test scores, certain things like spelling have kind of fallen to the wayside... Combine that with messy handwriting, and it can be a bit of a challenge deciphering WHAT the heck they are writing.  But once in awhile, I get a true gem...

Question: "What are two reasons why Jose Manuel's grandmother would not let him out to play?"

Student Answer: "Jose Manuel's grandmother would not let him out to play, because the steer [street] where [was] to dragons.  and to many fast cars."

I seriously read it, and read it, and reread it...and thought, "How could DRAGONS possibly have entered into this story??"  It's a realistic fiction, set in San Juan.  Today I brought over the worksheet and asked him to read me the answer.  Turns out Dragons was actually Dangerous.  Makes MUCH more sense now.  I had him chunk the word he actually wrote and he realized it really said "dragons," and needless to say we both had a pretty good laugh.  I just couldn't let him erase it though so I could snag a picture of this gem.

Please know that in no way to I mean this to make fun of this child--I love him like crazy!  And part of what I love about this job are the smiles I get to share with students.

Dear Miss Teacher,

This post-it was waiting for me on my desk yesterday morning when I came back from being sick:

Best part of my week. :)

Happy (but sleepy) Teacher

This has been a week of good days.  :)

This time last year, I was choking back tears every night and staying past 7.

While I still have 2 long days per week usually, and while many things still are frustrating and need work, I am not choking back tears.  Not even close.  In fact, I feel pretty good.

This week I have realized that I have great relationships with my kids.  I care about them, and, more importantly, they KNOW I care about them.  I am at a place with them where I can say, "Will you please do it, just for me?" and they WILL.  It's amazing.  Even my tough kids hold some pretty special places in my hearts.  My toughest kid of all, who can barely read and is prone to temper tantrums and melt downs?  I freaking love him.  BTW this has been a melt-down free week.  So proud. :)

Oh, and my kiddo who was skipping out on school last week actually TRIED this week!  In fact, he did a fantastic job all week and I could not be prouder.  Have we made progress??

ANYWAYS...
Today was an extra good day for another reason--I had a special guest!!!  One of my good friends from my college elementary ed program, Miss S, came to help in my room today!  Miss S is currently subbing in another district, but had the day free and offered to come help out.  YES PLEASE!!!!  It was unbelievable how much more we were able to get done with an extra teacher in the room.  Miss S met with two of my reading groups which meant EVERYONE got met with today for a change (yay!), and in math she and I were basically like a swat team running from struggling kid to struggling kid (first day practicing measuring angles with a protractor--always a disaster!  she could NOT have come on a better day!).  Also, it's pretty great just having another grown up in the room to share a laugh with sometimes.  Miss S, can I just pay you to co-teach with me???

Tomorrow is Friday.  Hallelujah.  Good week or not, I am E X H A U S T E D.  Like, falling asleep in your grading exhausted.  But in a good, I-gave-it-all-I-had-and-it-shows kind of way.

This evening's laugh-out-loud moment while grading vocabulary sentences:
"Slurp: When I got in trouble, I slurped my icy noisily and casually."  Amazing. :)