"darn, that would have been so cool"

My OMG moment from my morning at the gifted program:

Me: So, you're staying for lunch and recess this week?
Second Grade Boy: Yeah, my sister has batman camp everyday at 12 and my mom has to take her there before she can pick me up.
Me: Batman Camp? What does one do at Batman Camp? (confused and intrigued)
SGB: You know, it's a game. With a net and you hit the plastic thing back and forth...
Me: BADMINTON?
SGB: Yeah!
Me: Is that what you said? Or did you say Batman?
SGB: (smiling) Batman...
Me: Darn, that would have been the BEST CAMP EVER!

oh batman camp...if only

difficult parents

Like I said in my last post, I've been working in a gifted enrichment program this summer. needless to say, some of the parents we encounter at this program can be a little...well, interesting. Because my program works with the little kids, we always see a bunch of really young kids who maybe aren't truly gifted or are still developing academically in certain areas and it's more that their parents WANT them to be gifted, so they get them in this program. They still need test scores to back them up, but as far as I have seen, difficult parents can sometimes get their way and get their children in even if they don't exactly meet the criteria.

While giftedness is a wonderful thing and gifted children deserve to be challenged just as much as on-level children, it's always rough to encounter those parents who are already pressuring their children way too much. When did being on-level become unacceptable? It always makes me sad to think about how some children already have so much pressure placed on them before first grade, and I wonder how that will affect them in the long run.

In any case, today I had an encounter with a VERY difficult parent who not only did not believe us when we shared that her child had been behaving innappropriately and disruptively all week, but who also refused to believe her child was struggling in our class. While I strongly believe that we should have high expectations for children and believe the best to be possible in each of them, talking to parents like this one makes me wonder: how many parents are seeing only the child they wish they had and refusing to see the child in front of them?

summer with second graders

This week (and the next two) I am working in a summer enrichment program for gifted students. It's always a fun experience and refreshing to work with kids who are excited about learning, but one of the things I really love is the opportunity to work with younger kids than I normally would. I would never want to teach first graders in the regular classroom setting, but working in this mornings-only program for a week at a time with the little ones fills my appetite for cute little kid interaction. I thought I should share a few of the fun things these second graders have said so far this week:

Second Grade Boy during snack time: I would really like a version pina colada right now. Have you ever had one? I love version pina coladas.
-
Second Grade Girl: Miss Teacher, how old are you?
Me: 22
SGG: Wow, you look 14!
-
Me, yawning and hiccuping: Oh man, yawning AND hiccups? I really am a mess today!
Second Grade Girl: (looks me up and down) well, you're not completely a mess. You look perfect.
-
(during a class discussion of the harmful effects of alcohol--don't ask me how we got on this subject)
Second Grade Girl: The moment it touches your lips, you can't tell right from wrong.
Me and Teacher look at each other and attempt to contain our hysterics

I love little kids. Most of the time :)

words to teach by

education is not the filling of a bucket, but the lighting of a fire.

-william butler yeats

i <3 thrift stores

This afternoon after work I stopped at my friendly neighborhood thrift store to check the children's book section for some new treasures. Of course I got a small stack of new books for my library. You really can't go wrong with 25 cent books! I can't believe that when I first started collecting books I bought them for $5 each! what was i thinking :) Anyways, clearly the thrift store is the way to go. Other exciting purchases of the day included a pretty class vase that I'm going to put a beta fish in (and hopefully some pretty stones and bamboo), a battleship game (yes!), and a pretty cool toy that's like a rubix cube but with sudoku numbers! I already tried it and failed miserably (gave up after about five minutes), but it might be something I can give to a student who finishes a math activity early or something--exercise those brain muscles!

Another exciting activity of the day was visiting my friend Miss R's brand new classroom! Attempting to help her figure out how to arrange all her furniture made me simultaneously so excited to get into my own room (still no word on when I'll be allowed in...) and dreading the thought of coming up with my own floorplan. With my lack of spatial skills, needless to say my mom will probably be instrumental in figuring out how to maximize my space...

Well, school is a little over a month away already and I can't believe how fast the summer is going. Yikes!! So much to do!

getting ready for school = $$$

today i visited my friendly lakeshore learning store, and felt like a kid in a candy shop, except most of the candy cost more than i make in an hour (or several) doing autism therapy. yikes! i did find some pretty cool things, like these great magnetic pockets:

i plan to stick em to the board for the kids to turn in their work or for kids to grab the next assignment from when they finish something, and hopefully eliminate at least some of the messy shuffle of paper piles.
pockets

i also got some bulletin board borders, name plates, and a staple remover. oh and fell in love with about a hundred other things, especially a big bucket of fraction circles that was way out of my price range. currently searching the internet for a cheaper option...

getting all my things ready for school = expensive. but exciting!

getting ready for school part 1

i told myself that today would be the day i tackle that reading curriculum teacher edition and figure out how to teach this series. i taught language arts during student teaching, of course, but my teacher and i didn't stick whole-heartedly to the district's reading series. we taught some lessons from it, read and worked with the stories, but mostly just got ideas from the series and created our own activities.
well, my district this year wants me to be pretty by the book, so i have to figure out how to make this series work for me. i'm VERY intimidated by the million and a half lessons/activities the series expects me to cram in every week...and put it off even trying to wade through it. last night, i said today would be the day.

so naturally, i decided that this morning (instead of doing the reading stuff), i just HAD to start organizing that gigantic pile of teacher stuff that i've been collecting. i now have five boxes of books with my last name written neatly inside each cover, and boxes for each of the following things: organizational stuff for room, decorations for room, supplies, games, prizes, toys and fun things for room. somehow it looks just as disorganized as it did before i started... i cannot wait to get some of this stuff out of my house and into my classroom!

sigh...i guess i'm out of excuses now and should probably crack open the text book...wish me luck!

Book Reviews: 32 Third Graders and 1 Class Bunny

As I logged onto the online library catalog this morning and searched the "teaching" under keyword, i hoped that i would stumble upon a new teaching book to help get me psyched about starting school in a month and a half. Lucky for me, Phillip Done's 32 First Graders and One Class Bunny was the first book listed. Well, who can resist a title like that?? I stopped by the library later this morning and checked out this book along with a stack of others. (I am determined to read as much as possible this summer because i recognize that my free time will be rapidly decreasing in just a few short weeks)

When I started Done's book, I was so excited to see that it's a collection of hilariously funny anecdotal essays about things that have happened to him, funny tips for teachers, and lots of those "you know you're a teacher when..." stories. In teaching so many hilarious things happen every day (if you can manage to laugh about them...), and Done actually wrote them down and made a book! Candid and genuine (and HONEST!), Done's voice leaps from the pages of the book and takes the reader away to his funny classroom where the stapler always jammed, his tie gets stuck in the laminator, and the love the teacher has for his students is obvious.

I found it hard to put the book down to go to work this afternoon and dove back into it when I got home. Done's stories, horrifying as some of them are, remind me why i love teaching and why i love kids. If you're a teacher or have ever been a student, read this book :-)

what do teachers make?

Well, I guess I'm really going to be a teacher...

After blogging from time to time during my student teaching last year, I decided today that my teaching blog is worth reviving.  Miraculously, I managed to both graduate and land a pretty wonderful teaching position since I last blogged.  (I know, I can hardly believe it myself!)  Let me quickly recap the course of events leading up to this...

August 2008: Began student teaching in 4th grade.  Instantly loved every second of it and became convinced without a doubt that not only is teaching the perfect career for me, but intermediate elementary is the perfect age group.

December 2008: Shedding a few tears, said goodbye to my student teaching class, and began to think about my plans for post-grad.

January 2009: Began applying for teaching jobs throughout the state, as well as some other miscellaneous service/travel programs. 

February & March 2009: Many looong days of applications and job fairs; many looong nights of soul-searching and figuring out where I wanted my life to take me post-grad...a decision which turned out to be tougher than anticipated!

April 21st, 2009: Interviewed for a 5th grade position at an elementary school near my family's home.  Completely bombed the interview.  Strangely got a voicemail from the principal that night wanting me to return his call the following morning.

April 22nd, 2009: Was offered a job teaching 5th grade at said elementary school.  Was completely stunned/shocked/you name it.  Needed a day to digest news and think things over...

April 23rd 2009: Accepted job and officially began preparing for the next phase of my life--Miss Teacher, fifth grade teacher.  (weird...)

Anyways, as this summer passes by (too) quickly, I'm starting to anticipate and prepare for the year ahead. It's definitely going to be a tough year, and I'm both excited and terrified. I will be using this blog to chronicle my year, share lesson ideas, describe high and low points, and vent frustrations.
Here's to hopefully a relaxing and productive last month of summer and a beautiful start to the new year!