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. :)

Tell me the kiddos are not rubbing off on me...

Happy Friday!  Whew, after last week's snow-a-rama, this week sure felt loooong!!!  Make that long and stressful.  I have been complaining for weeks about my February woes, but this week the two big ones were my "surprise" observation and the ever life-draining ISATs that grow closer and closer every day...seriously, I feel like the funeral march should be playing in the background in the school hallways these days...

But we made it through another week, mostly intact with minimal squirliness (although some squirliness is inevitable with the amount of test prep we are subjecting these poor innocent kiddos to, and the fact that they can't play outside thanks to the scary cold temperatures!).  Mrs. Lit Specialist did have to call the parent of one of my angels after he called another student a "mother f-er" (although he said the ACTUAL words...), but at least none of us has killed each other yet!

In any case, after this stressful week, Miss Second Year Teacher (my friendship with whom was cemented last year as we together fought through the HELL ON EARTH that was our first years) and I decided to reward ourselves with some margaritas and bottomless chips and salsa.  Bliss.  The reason I am mentioning this, though, is that as we wrapped up and paid the check, I experienced the ultimate 5th-grader moment.  You know what I mean...one of those moments when you do something soo much like your students that you have to step back, take a good look at your life, and evaluate how much time you spend with the darlings v. how much time you spend with adults your own age.  Here's a visual (I apologize for the super blurriness):

This is the bottom of my receipt from post-school snacks.  Any guesses why there is a big scribble on my receipt?  Anyone?  No?  Well...when I wrote down my tip...I SUBTRACTED it from the total.  Yup, you read that right.  Makes so much sense, I know!  The killer though is that just last night I was grading a math test and practically screaming about how some of the kids refused to look at the sign and added when they should have subtracted (or vice versa).  *takes big gulp and blushes furiously in shame*

Please don't tell my students...



In other news, my observation is finally over.  I will be the first to admit that I am a pretty high-strung person even on a good day (hence the inordinate number of nightmares I had about fire drills earlier this year...that's just not normal!), and I have been majorly stressing about this month's observation.  If you remember, Mr. Principal emailed us a few weeks ago to let us know that this would be a surprise observation.  That's pretty normal for our 3rd observation of the year, but the worst part was that he didn't tell us the subject area he'd be coming in to see.  What that boils down to is that we had to submit extra detailed lesson plans and be teaching super awesome lessons in all subjects every day.  Of course, as teachers, that is ALWAYS the goal, but add in the extra anxiety of constantly wondering when he will be popping in, and if you're me, you end up pretty worked up.

Obv Mr. Principal would end up coming into see me on Friday, after I have been nervously watching for him all week long.  But I am happy to report that the lesson was a big fat success.  He came to see a creative language arts lesson that I had developed myself and was actually pretty proud of (yes, I supplemented the literacy series with my own ideas...gasp!!), the kids were engaged, they grasped the concepts, everyone was on their best behavior, and I was actually calm enough that I could forget Mr. P was there and just enjoy my teaching.  I know I've been complaining a lot lately about Mr. Principal, but my favorite things about him are that he is truly a nice man and honestly cares about/supports me.  I've come a long way from last year, and Mr. P knows that.  And lets me know that.  Which is so, so nice.  The best part about my day was getting this note from him after he ducked out:

I know that most workers in other professions don't get regular validation from their bosses, and I don't mean to sound like I need constant praise, but in a profession in which we are so regularly berrated by the public, in which we are constantly being asked to give more more more--more time, more effort, more of our own money, hell the district even called me Tuesday asking me to give BLOOD :)--and in which we frequently are sent a message that no matter what we do, it will never be enough, a little praise goes a long way.

We are two weeks from ISATs...there is so much I am still worrying about...my to-do list is still 10 miles long...but tonight I will sleep well knowing I did my best, and actually enjoyed teaching in the process.

...because cookies always make math more fun

I had observation #2 for the year this morning in math.  Honestly, I was REALLY dreading it.  Math has never been my strongest area, both as a a teacher and as a student.  In fact, in elementary school I pretty much sucked at math.  The orderly, organized part of me loves the logic of being able to follow a formula and plug in numbers once I "get it," but the creative, language part of me reeeeally struggles with that whole "getting it" piece.  As you can imagine, this means that I often have a tough time teaching it.  Now, I'm pretty solid in teaching math, but with a really low group of kids (like the one I have this year), I am often at a loss when it comes to trying to find ANOTHER way to explain a concept that I have already tried to teach without success.

Anyways, math this year hasn't exactly been the smoothest.  The kids are really lacking confidence and are very needy, and with just 1 of me it's hard to get through lessons some days.  But we are plugging along nonetheless...  When I scheduled my observation, I soon realized that it would be for the FIRST day of our new math unit, tackling, guess what....DIVISION!  (dum dum duummmm.....)  Division is practically a swear word to the average fifth grader.  It always was to me!!! In fact, when I student taught, I had to have my cooperating teacher give me a little "division refresher" one day after school before I felt confident enough to teach it to the class...embarrassing, I know...

I decided to kick off division with a VERY basic, hand-on lesson to hammer home the concept behind division.  I think that half of making struggling students understand math is teaching them in a very real-life, concrete form, THEN coming in with the strategies, tricks, and formulas.  We read the picture book The Doorbell Rang, a story about a family that is sharing 12 cookies, but the doorbell keeps ringing with more friends coming over.  Obviously, after each time the doorbell rings, the number of cookies that each child gets to eat becomes less and less as they are divided between more and more people.  We all enjoyed using Cookie Crisp cereal to work out the answers to the problems, and the kids practiced writing division problems using the bar symbol on dry erase boards.  One of the goofiest parts of a division problem is that not only is is set up complete backwards of the other math opeations that are solved from top to bottom, but the problems are read from right to left!!!  As if kids weren't already confused enough...

The lesson was a success, and the kids LOVED that Mister Principal sat at a desk and did all of the work right along with them.  As with any "exciting" lesson, there was plenty of shouting out, but it was all on task and I feel like I handled it well.  I'd prefer a little engaged ruckus to the alternative any day...While the kiddos are by no means division masters yet, I'm optimistic about the unit and just hope we make it through in 1 piece.  Oh division...Now, I wonder how many other lessons I can work cookies into...hmm...

My Sleepy Afternoon

I had great intentions for this afternoon.  Honestly, I did.  I had three separate to-do lists.  I was going to be SO productive because the house was quiet tonight.  It was going to be FANTASTIC.  Really, it was.

Miss Teacher's Great Plan for Being Productive this evening:

• great student reading response prompts
• since that's the last reading grade i'm taking for the trimester, enter it into my online grade book, obtain my trimester average reading grades, and plug them into the report card
• fill in report card indicators for reading
• grade math test
• ditto on math grades
• respond the the journal letters my new student wrote me about her old homes in Georgia, and (get this!!) Dubai!!  
• buy Cookie Crisp for tomorrow's division lesson
• short run

Miss Teacher's Actual Evening:

• Ran to store to get cookie crisp and walked home (BAM.  two tasks completed in one.  promising start!)
• Ate PBJ and a yogurt/cereal bowl (nothing says LAZY like this kind of dinner...but seriously not only was I lazy, but I was STARVING when I made it home!!!  There was no way I would have been able to make it long enough to actually cook something!)
• Fell asleep on the couch from 6:30-8 (this started out as, "I'm a little cold, I'll just get under the blanket...well, I might as well lay down to be cozier...well, why not rest my eyes...")
• Woke up, decided that NOW I was going to be productive
• Naturally, changed into comfy pants and relocated to my BED under ANOTHER BLANKET with my grading.  Because of course this is the perfect place for productive work...
• Fell asleep from 9-11.  (during which time I had a disturbing dream that I decided to be part of a "survey" at the mall that involved me drinking BLOOD.  just a tablespoon, but ew.  and hello, unsafe???  I was very worried in the dream but for some reason did it anyways.  I did not taste as I expected, in case you were wondering...)

In summary, this day was one big epic fail of productivity.  I blame the time change.  I now want to do NOTHING after 5 ever.   Let's home this day isn't indicitive of either my entire winter or even the rest of the week.  With report cards due Monday and an observation tomorrow morning, let's hope I get my act together!!!

What I learned today:

No matter when I take them out for recess, or for how long, it is never enough to satisfy the kiddos.
Case in point, this afternoon:

At 1:35, we line up for a short recess.  Students are warned that it will be a SHORT recess.
We traipse out to the playground with kickball, basketball, and hw that should have been done last night in tow.  We are the only class outside, but there are two toddlers running around with their grandma.  About 2 minutes of my hooligans' "lively activity" sends them heading for the hills...We are joined by the other 5th grade classes about 5 minutes later.  Kiddos proceed to play, climb, jump, race, tumble, and generally participate in various shenanigans.

I holler at this one to get down from the top of the monkey bars, motion to that one to leave the lawn maintenance worker alone, nervously supervise back bends and hand stands, coax this one to join the group instead of laying on the bench alone, hurry over when that one frantically yells, "Miss Teacher!  He fell!," breathe a sigh of relief when I hear, "Never mind!  He's okay!," ponder why the wood chips feel suspiciously like quicksand as I walk across the playground, monitor 3 homework delinquents as they sit against the wall with clipboards, shield my eyes from blinding sun, and check my watch every 30 seconds.

15 minutes later, I raise my hand and begin to walk towards the door.  The monkeys notice 1 by 1 and race over to line up.  (Except for the handful that are always oblivious and need another student to be sent to round them up...)  I am met by a chorus of, "That was too short!" and "The other classes are still outside!" and "We never get to stay out the longest!" and "Why do WE have to go in first??"  I attempt feebly to reason with them (although by now I'm not sure why) while simultaneously doing a head count.  Darn, 2 still missing.  I say on repeat: "_____, go see if you can track down the last two" and "We are going in first because we came outside first!" and "No, we did NOT have the shortest recess, we just came outside first" and "If we come outside LAST and come inside LAST we will have the same amount of recess time as we did today!" and finally, "[sigh] Voices off 5th graders.  Feel free to walk quietly in the hall if you'd like to have recess again someday!"

Today I learned (for the 50th time, maybe someday it will stick?) that 10 year olds cannot be reasoned with and no recess is ever long enough, both for the kids and myself.  It turns out even this teacher needs 15 minutes of sunshine. :)

PS: had my post-observation meeting this afternoon and got some great feedback.  :) yay!

a happy little post-it

After all of that commotion yesterday, I finally did have my observation today.  Only after realizing on my drive home last night that I had rescheduled the lesson for the exact same time we had our class pictures appointment. Obviously. :)  Thankfully, it was no problem to bump up our pictures time, although it did mean rearranging some other things in the schedule, but I am learning that being a good teacher = being flexible.  And I'm working on it. ;)

Anyways, today, Mister Principal showed up right on time, and the lesson went great.  As one of our last "Ideas" lessons before we dive into some revising/editing practices, I read a selection from Desert Voices by Byrd Baylor, an author I immediately became attached to when my fabulous methods of science teacher read us Everybody Needs a Rock.  The book is written from different desert animals' points of view, and describes their daily activities in the desert.  Then, the kids came up with their own ideas for writing from animal perspectives, and wrote 5-minute "quick writes" from an animal's point of view, describing their actions.  Then of course we had the usual writing time.  The kids did a great job and the lesson went well.  I have the post-observation meeting (our first using our newly adopted Danielson Framework), but I feel good about it, partly because my principal left the following post-its on my computer:

As teachers, we do so much.  We work so hard, give so much, and are underpaid and far too often under appreciated.  What's more, it's so easy to feel like we can never do enough, especially with the unending criticism from parents, media, and honestly anyone who's ever been in a school and thus thinks this makes them an expert.  Anyways, I digress...but it is so nice to have even just a small affirmation that that I am doing a good job.  No, I don't need constant validation, but it's nice to have your hard work noticed once in awhile. :)

Back on the subject of teaching writing...
Let me just say that my skepticism about Writing Workshop is RAPIDLY draining away.  While I'm still not sure how things are going to go when I start teaching the expository, narrative, and persuasive genres in the next few months, this I know for sure: My students LOVE writing this year.  Even the one who can barely read.  They can write and write and write, and ADORE sharing their writing with the class.  And I believe in my heart of hearts, as I have said time and time again, that the first step to getting a child to make growth in ANY area is to get him or her to FALL IN LOVE with that subject.  Because too often kids just don't care, and if they don't care, they won't grow.  And that is why my goal this year is to capture my students' hearts in reading, writing, math, science, and social studies.
Do I expect them to love everything we do?  Of course not.  But I hope to share with them the same passion for learning that I feel.

One of my favorite teacher quotes: "Education is not the filling of a bucket but the lighting of a fire." (Yeates)

I hope to help them love a part of each subject; hope to plant a spark in them that maybe someday will grow into a fire.

How have I not already learned that teaching = NOTHING going according to plan?

So Wednesday night I was having a bit of anxiety over Thursday's observation with my principal.  My nervousness was a little irrational since all of my observations last year went really great, and my principal and I get along really well.  But the observation was scheduled DIRECTLY following a fire drill, and honestly any miniscule change in routine tends to throw this group off...so what with the scenarios playing in my head of what reentering the classroom post fired drill COULD have been like, I was a little uneasy...

Miss Teacher's Imaginary Classroom of Chaos 

(aka various situations I predicted happening)

Terrible Possibility A: We go outside for the drill and I lose a child (I have one who can become a "runner" when emotional, which is pretty much most of the time).  I get back in, start teaching, only for Principal to inquire, "Um, where's ______??"

Terrible Possibility B: We go outside and my kids will not stand quietly (not too much of a stretch, as last year's fire drills frequently resulted in my temporary transformation into Miss Viola Swamp).  I end up having to yell so much that by the time we get back in we are back in the classroom, NO ONE is in any mood for writing.

Terrible Possibility C: The fire drill goes decently, but a 5 minute glimpse of the "outer world" sends my students into such a "How many minutes til school is OVER?!?" frenzy that the writing lesson is a train wreck.

No, none of these happened.  Although none require ANY stretch of the imagination with my group of kiddos (don't get me wrong, I love them.  But honestly, sometimes...).  What did happen?

Unexpected Possibility D:  Principal didn't show up.  That's right, didn't show up...

Here's the scene in Miss Teacher's Fifth Grade Thursday afternoon...
I have miraculously managed to get the kiddos to behave during the fire drill (okay, bribery was involved.  I admit it...), not lost anyone, and settled them quietly on the carpet with their writing journals.  *Glances at the clock* 15 minutes after 1 and no principal yet.  Hmmmm  *stalls for time* "Well boys & girls, take a minute to flip through your writing journal and reread some of your work..."  (kids flip through, this occupies them all of 20 seconds)

"Ummm, now let's have some studetns share a favorite piece of writing they've written this year."  This is actually very effective.  It kills about 20 minutes.  *Glances at clock* 1:40.  Principal is very late.  I think about starting my lesson for the sake of not wasting my entire writing block, but realize that he may not be showing up, and if that's the case, like hell am I teaching this lesson and then planning ANOTHER lesson for him to see, including writing up a 2 page lesson plan plus a 2 page "pre-observation plan" detailing the lesson and learning standards...

"Hmm...how about we read a chapter of Wayside School is Falling Down?"  *starts reading*  After 1 chapter I look at the clock.  Nope, still no principal, and still time to kill before our intervention block at 2.  "Let's read another chapter..."  Phone rings.  My student "receptionist" for the week answers it, and sure enough, looks up to say, "Miss Teacher, it's Mister Principal."  Sure enough, he isn't coming.

He was very nice about it, and I understood, things come up.  But with how far behind my students are to begin with, it's heartbreaking to waste that much instructional time!  Don't misunderstand me--I am a FIRM believer in packing every moment of the school day with meaningful activities, and normally I would NEVER waste that kind of time.  However, as long as there was a chance he was still going to show up, I didn't want to switch gears too much into a different lesson when the kids were shockingly settled, then have to reel them back in.  Oh well. :) Just another day of last minutes changes of plan!!  And no big deal when it gets down to it...

Mid-week busy-ness

This was one non-stop day.  One of those door duty before school, common planning meeting during your 1 and only 1/2 hour special, making up math tests with students at lunch, parent meeting right after school, principal meeting right after THAT, no time to pee until 4, forget to eat lunch, making 240 copies of club applications at 5, crazy kind of days.  Phew.  I just got exhausted again reliving it.

Busy as it was, there's no time to be exhausted on a day like this!  Not until I was in the car driving home, kicking off my heels next to the pedals, and cranking up the music that I realized how tired I was.  The only way to recover was by watching a little Grey's, enjoying a diet coke, and icing my sore ankle.  (Oh, I slipped on the stairs at my friend's apartment building Saturday night and rolled my ankle.  Yes, my right tibia is still recovering from a now 8-week stress injury.  Obviously, I rolled the LEFT ankle.  Now I have pain in both legs.  But it gives me an excuse to teach on a stool. :)  But I digress...

We did another great science activity today that showed how salt water is denser than fresh water.  It turns out it you add food coloring to water to help you see it better, and drop a droplets of fresh water into a cup of salt water, you can actually see each drop float back up to the top!!  If you put enough in slowly, it will actually form a layer on top.  How awesome is that?!  The kids were really into it.  I love when they get as excited as I do about an activity.  Hey, I love that I have a job that I get excited about!  Yes, the lab was a lot of extra work and was part of the reason I missed my lunch, but it was worth it.  I also love that the kids fight over each other to help me clean up.  Seriously, you really want to wipe down the table with paper towel and dry out all of the plastic cups?  oookay then... :)

Tomorrow is a 1/2 day in-service which, while potentially boring, is always a nice change of pace mid-week.  It's always nice to go out to lunch and be guaranteed an entire lunch period free of students.  I always end up keeping a few in with me because of missing homework or behavior, and while I know that it's my choice to do that, it's nice to have a day of lunch with grown ups. :)

And as if this week weren't busy enough already, I have my first observation of the year Thursday afternoon.  Yikes!!  While I have gotten nothing but positive, supportive feedback from my principal since I started this job, I'm a little unsure of how this lesson is going to go.  He will be observing Writing Workshop, and while I know my lesson plan is DYNAMITE (seriously, it's a good one), there is a LOT of potential for things to go wrong in WW, especially since we haven't done it in over a WEEK.  So I'm a bit nerve.  Also, we are doing the observation lesson IMMEDIATELY after a fire drill (our first of the year).  I'm talking principal is bringing his notes, etc. outside for the drill with him and accompanying my class back to our room right after.  Hmmm...honestly, I picked the day for this observation.  What was I thinking?  Keep your fingers crossed that we have no melt downs during the drill and everyone reenters quiet, calm, and ready to WRITE!!!

Relax & Reteach

3 Day Weekends:  a tricky thing.
The pros:  putting my school work off until the last possible second, an extra night's sleep, actually getting to do something fun on the weekends (it's amazing what that extra day can do for you!)
The cons: CRAZY kids when we come back.  Man oh man, you'd think they had a 100 day weekend with they way they always seem to have forgotten how to function as a student.

Anyways, as wonderful as the weekend was (especially a night out with my best friend, catching up on family time with my brother, making it to the gym for the first time in a long time, and getting my snazzy new phone), the kids were NOT GOOD yesterday.  Yikes.

Today, though, I gave them a stern reminder of the rules (like Mrs. Mentor Teacher tells me: "there's a new sheriff in town, kids!") and we spent a good chunk of recess practicing routines like lining up in the hallway, raising hands, and what we do after lunch.  Believe it or not, they needed a little more practice later and we missed 5 minutes of PE practicing the same thing.  By know, though, I know with 100% certainty that a little reteaching now beats a lot of headache later.  Practice makes perfect after all ;)  (Mrs. J: I know we are both laughing right now about our dear little friend W...)

On another note, I had my LAST observation for the year last Thursday.  My principal came in to observe one of my guided reading groups, and it went great!  After he came in last time, I took some of his suggestions and worked them into my guided reading routine, and I felt really confident about the way everything went.  We met for a post-observation meeting yesterday and he had nothing but positive feedback, which was amazing to hear.  He also said that I have nothing to worry about for next year; that I'm definitely safe (aka I have a job), and if anything changes in the staffing plan or with budget cuts, he said he will "fight for me."  Wow, what a relief!!!!!  I can't believe that after being so ambivalent about accepting this job 10 months ago this place has come to feel like home.  I'm sure that many of my coworkers who have seen my frantic at the copier or crying in my classroom (or various other places in the school...) probably think I would leave here at the first opportunity, but really, that's not true at all. I love teaching, and I love teaching here, both in spite of and because of all the extra challenges and trials that come with the territory.  And while I don't yet know if I will be in the same grade or with the same team (what a miracle that would be), I am, tonight, grateful that I can breathe a small sigh of relief knowing that I may not have to live with my parents forever. :)

(though for now, I really am enjoying my parents' cooking for me, buying groceries, and various other wonderful things.  hmm...how much longer can I milk this before they realize how good I have it??)

my 1st observation, or, "shooting for the stars in literacy" ;)

Today was my first time being observed by my principal--oh the excitement. I am one of the most anxious people on the planet (ok, exaggerating a little, but only a little) and really tend to freak out before things like this. However, this morning I was able to calm down, remembering that my WORST teaching happens when I am nervous (flashbacks to the lesson I taught when I interviewed here! yikes...). Thankfully, the lesson went really great. The kids were on task (maybe the principal should observe every day?), they participated, and we had a great time. And, MOST exciting for me was that the kids FINALLY got interested in the subject matter!
Our reading theme for the week is space (my favorite!!!!), and Monday when I introduced it, I asked the kids who thought they might want to be an astronaut when they grew up. Guess how many hands shot into the air?

ZERO.

That's right, zero. I had to practically hold back my tears! I would have spent a MONTH on space, reading and writing about it, but thanks to my friendly literacy series, I must test and move on every week. :-/ Anyways, so my big goal was for them to get at least a little interested in space by the end of the week. Today I think I got my proof--some of them seemed to think the whole idea was pretty cool! Not sure if I have any budding Aldrins or Armstrongs, but I still have another 8 months to pound it into their heads. :)

Anyways, back to the observation. I managed to stay calm and was pleased with how it went. Even my challenging little buddy stayed on task and participated (our MORNING was great today, the end of the day unraveled...). When he left after the observation, he even left a note on my desk telling me I did a great job and that I have definitely built a relationship with my kids. Maybe he's not regretting hiring me after all...well, not yet. Maybe after ISATs...

Well, I made it through another week. Now I have to frantically get some more grades in the gradebook and get ready for conferences next week! I am literally petrified of parent conferences. I know that for the most part I don't have scary parents, but still...I hate that, "You're so young!" stare and "But, do you have children yourself? So, you don't understand, do you" comment... oh well.