I'd say one of the many deciding factors that led us to move to California was in answering this question. We realized that each time we thought of this question, our first answer was always, "We'd move to California."
I must admit that, like people say about making the decision to have children, we never felt financially ready to move to one of the most expensive states to live in, but what the hey, you only live once.
So we're here. How about that?
I'm still not used to it. Sometimes I feel like I'm just teaching summer school and when this temp job is over, I'll head back over to Lakeside. It's bizarre. Maybe I'm still holding on to the past a bit. It's so hard to admit/realize that my time teaching with TK is through, my nights of GNO are no more and my Sunday brunches with R&W have flittered away from me.
But here we are...the air has turned cooler and we've had two day of California rain (what we would call drizzling in Texas)...its December and folks are putting up lights on their houses. So I think the reality of my new space is coming through...slowly.
You should also know that while we've achieved our goal of moving to California, I still have other things on the list of dreams for when we win the lottery.
What's on your lottery wish list?
Saturday, December 1, 2012
Friday, November 30, 2012
Tuesday, November 27, 2012
Stone Soup
This week we're reading Stone Soup. During our discussion after the first reading, I asked about what happened with the stone in the soup. One of my girls said, "It melted."
Friday, November 23, 2012
Confession Time
So I've slacked a little bit on the whole 'blog every day' thing.
We drove out to see my sweet Grandma for her 95th birthday and then we had Thanksgiving, and then I ate too much, and then I slept in, and then I chose to spend my writing time reorganizing my boards on Pintrest...you know, just procrastinating in general.
But here I am, as promised, and I today I have to write about last Sunday. A few posts ago I told you that my church decided to adopt the families of my classroom a community service for Thanksgiving. Last Sunday was the day church members met at my school, gathered all the donated items, then delivered them to my students' homes.
It was wonderful; as you could imagine.
I also forgot to take pictures. Not one. I'm a little upset about that.
But, again, it was fabulous.
Before the church folks delivered all the goodies, the pastor said a prayer in my classroom (Lord knows that room needs all the blessing folks want to dish out) and then he opened it up for questions. (Since only two of us from the church spoke Spanish in the group and all 18 families are Spanish-speakers, we were all a little curious about how the whole thing was going to play out.) One of the church members asked, "When we're speaking to the family, how do we let them know the bag of groceries is for the child in your class?"
This was an interesting question for me to hear. I understood why the person was asking, because typically there are two or three families living under one roof (with many children) and our Thanksgiving bags included one child-size sleeping bag (for the child in my class).
However, I was immediately reminded of the large gap between middle-class thinking and poverty thinking.
I'm realizing that the world my students live in, holds very few boundaries of 'yours and mine'. Its family and community, all the time. What's mine is yours and what's yours is mine. I have a feeling if you or I were in their shoes, we'd do the same. Can you imagine: A loved one beside you has nothing and you have something, do you keep it all to yourself or do you share? I believe in middle-class America we answer that question with, "Well, it depends on what we're talking about. Are we talking about the last ice cream sandwich in the freezer or...."
I think its hard for those of us in the middle-class America to even wrap our brains around 'having nothing'. However, what if I posed this situation/question, "You are a single mom, you only have one toothbrush (and you won't get paid/can't buy one for another two weeks), what would you do? Tell your child he can't brush his teeth for the rest of the month? Stop brushing your own teeth until the end of the month? Or do you share?"
This idea of community and sharing flows into the classroom. When your teacher gives you a math worksheet and you don't know how to fill in the blanks, what do you do? (Most adults in middle-class America would say, "Think about it - try your best." "Ask the teacher for help" etc.) But my students turn to their peers (i.e. they copy their neighbor's paper). Technically, this IS a problem solving strategy, but it's one that most teachers do not advocate. In the life of a child who's living in poverty, they see the situation differently. They see the situation as, "My friend understands this assignment, he has knowledge. I do not have this knowledge, so he should share his knowledge with me. Then when a time comes that I have knowledge and he doesn't, then it will be my turn to share, to lead my peers." In fact, keeping something to yourself (not sharing your knowledge/answers to an assignment), could be viewed as being selfish and not lifting up your community members; maybe even keeping them down.
So, of course, my students and their families do things like share toothbrushes, take a little less at dinner so everyone can eat, and squeeze together in a sleeping bag - so less people are cold as they sleep on the floor. They try to copy one another's papers and they often say the same answers as their peers during class discussions.
All this to say that when one person gives a grocery sack full of items to one child in my class, that one person is really uplifting an entire family (or in our case, with 18 families) a good portion of the community. One act of giving goes a long, long way.
Furthermore, when someone in my class is given a hand-me-down pair of boots or a sack of rice, they are not simply having their physical needs met. Instead, they are given a brain pass. Its a pass to stop feeling the stress of wondering if you will be cold as you walk to school or if there will be food at home. That precious brain space that has been occupied by mere survival stress in the past, can now be used for learning.
What a beautiful thing.
We drove out to see my sweet Grandma for her 95th birthday and then we had Thanksgiving, and then I ate too much, and then I slept in, and then I chose to spend my writing time reorganizing my boards on Pintrest...you know, just procrastinating in general.
But here I am, as promised, and I today I have to write about last Sunday. A few posts ago I told you that my church decided to adopt the families of my classroom a community service for Thanksgiving. Last Sunday was the day church members met at my school, gathered all the donated items, then delivered them to my students' homes.
It was wonderful; as you could imagine.
I also forgot to take pictures. Not one. I'm a little upset about that.
But, again, it was fabulous.
Before the church folks delivered all the goodies, the pastor said a prayer in my classroom (Lord knows that room needs all the blessing folks want to dish out) and then he opened it up for questions. (Since only two of us from the church spoke Spanish in the group and all 18 families are Spanish-speakers, we were all a little curious about how the whole thing was going to play out.) One of the church members asked, "When we're speaking to the family, how do we let them know the bag of groceries is for the child in your class?"
This was an interesting question for me to hear. I understood why the person was asking, because typically there are two or three families living under one roof (with many children) and our Thanksgiving bags included one child-size sleeping bag (for the child in my class).
However, I was immediately reminded of the large gap between middle-class thinking and poverty thinking.
I'm realizing that the world my students live in, holds very few boundaries of 'yours and mine'. Its family and community, all the time. What's mine is yours and what's yours is mine. I have a feeling if you or I were in their shoes, we'd do the same. Can you imagine: A loved one beside you has nothing and you have something, do you keep it all to yourself or do you share? I believe in middle-class America we answer that question with, "Well, it depends on what we're talking about. Are we talking about the last ice cream sandwich in the freezer or...."
I think its hard for those of us in the middle-class America to even wrap our brains around 'having nothing'. However, what if I posed this situation/question, "You are a single mom, you only have one toothbrush (and you won't get paid/can't buy one for another two weeks), what would you do? Tell your child he can't brush his teeth for the rest of the month? Stop brushing your own teeth until the end of the month? Or do you share?"
This idea of community and sharing flows into the classroom. When your teacher gives you a math worksheet and you don't know how to fill in the blanks, what do you do? (Most adults in middle-class America would say, "Think about it - try your best." "Ask the teacher for help" etc.) But my students turn to their peers (i.e. they copy their neighbor's paper). Technically, this IS a problem solving strategy, but it's one that most teachers do not advocate. In the life of a child who's living in poverty, they see the situation differently. They see the situation as, "My friend understands this assignment, he has knowledge. I do not have this knowledge, so he should share his knowledge with me. Then when a time comes that I have knowledge and he doesn't, then it will be my turn to share, to lead my peers." In fact, keeping something to yourself (not sharing your knowledge/answers to an assignment), could be viewed as being selfish and not lifting up your community members; maybe even keeping them down.
So, of course, my students and their families do things like share toothbrushes, take a little less at dinner so everyone can eat, and squeeze together in a sleeping bag - so less people are cold as they sleep on the floor. They try to copy one another's papers and they often say the same answers as their peers during class discussions.
All this to say that when one person gives a grocery sack full of items to one child in my class, that one person is really uplifting an entire family (or in our case, with 18 families) a good portion of the community. One act of giving goes a long, long way.
Furthermore, when someone in my class is given a hand-me-down pair of boots or a sack of rice, they are not simply having their physical needs met. Instead, they are given a brain pass. Its a pass to stop feeling the stress of wondering if you will be cold as you walk to school or if there will be food at home. That precious brain space that has been occupied by mere survival stress in the past, can now be used for learning.
What a beautiful thing.
Tuesday, November 20, 2012
Heading Out
Heading out of town today - no time to write. We're going to Grandma's to celebrate her 95th birthday.
Monday, November 19, 2012
Earn a Desk
A friend sent me this email today:
"Back in September of 2005, on the first day of school, Martha Cothren, a social studies school teacher at Robinson High School in Little Rock , did something not to be forgotten. On the first day of school,
with the permission of the school superintendent, the principal and the building supervisor, she removed all of the desks out of her classroom.
When the first period kids entered the room they discovered that there were no desks.
'Ms. Cothren, where're our desks?'
She replied, 'You can't have a desk until you tell me how you earn the right to sit at a desk.'
They thought, 'Well, maybe it's our grades.'
'No,' she said.
'Maybe it's our behavior.'
She told them, 'No, it's not even your behavior.'
And so, they came and went, the first period, second
period, third period. Still no desks in the classroom.
By early afternoon television news crews had started
gathering in Ms. Cothren's classroom to report about this crazy teacher who had taken all the desks out of her room.
The final period of the day came and as the puzzled students found seats on the floor of the deskless classroom, Martha Cothren said, 'Throughout the day no one has been able to tell me just what he or
she has done to earn the right to sit at the desks that are ordinarily found in this classroom. Now I am going to tell you.'
At this point, Martha Cothren went over to the door of her classroom and opened it.
Twenty-seven (27) U.S. Veterans, all in uniforms, walked into that classroom, each one carrying a school desk. The Vets began placing the school desks in rows, and then they would walk over and stand alongside the wall. By the time the last soldier had set the final desk
in place those kids started to understand, perhaps for the first time in their lives, just how the right to sit at those desks had been earned..
Martha said, 'You didn't earn the right to sit at these desks. These heroes did it for you. They placed the desks here for you. Now, it's up to you to sit in them. It is your responsibility to learn, to be good students, to be good citizens. They paid the price so that you
could have the freedom to get an education. Don't ever forget it.'
By the way, this is a true story. And this teacher was awarded Teacher of the Year for the state of Arkansas in 2006.
Please consider passing this along so others won't forget either that the freedoms we have in this great country were earned by U. S. Veterans. Always remember them and the rights they have won for us.
Blessings abound in the USA!"
"Back in September of 2005, on the first day of school, Martha Cothren, a social studies school teacher at Robinson High School in Little Rock , did something not to be forgotten. On the first day of school,
with the permission of the school superintendent, the principal and the building supervisor, she removed all of the desks out of her classroom.
When the first period kids entered the room they discovered that there were no desks.
'Ms. Cothren, where're our desks?'
She replied, 'You can't have a desk until you tell me how you earn the right to sit at a desk.'
They thought, 'Well, maybe it's our grades.'
'No,' she said.
'Maybe it's our behavior.'
She told them, 'No, it's not even your behavior.'
And so, they came and went, the first period, second
period, third period. Still no desks in the classroom.
By early afternoon television news crews had started
gathering in Ms. Cothren's classroom to report about this crazy teacher who had taken all the desks out of her room.
The final period of the day came and as the puzzled students found seats on the floor of the deskless classroom, Martha Cothren said, 'Throughout the day no one has been able to tell me just what he or
she has done to earn the right to sit at the desks that are ordinarily found in this classroom. Now I am going to tell you.'
At this point, Martha Cothren went over to the door of her classroom and opened it.
Twenty-seven (27) U.S. Veterans, all in uniforms, walked into that classroom, each one carrying a school desk. The Vets began placing the school desks in rows, and then they would walk over and stand alongside the wall. By the time the last soldier had set the final desk
in place those kids started to understand, perhaps for the first time in their lives, just how the right to sit at those desks had been earned..
Martha said, 'You didn't earn the right to sit at these desks. These heroes did it for you. They placed the desks here for you. Now, it's up to you to sit in them. It is your responsibility to learn, to be good students, to be good citizens. They paid the price so that you
could have the freedom to get an education. Don't ever forget it.'
By the way, this is a true story. And this teacher was awarded Teacher of the Year for the state of Arkansas in 2006.
Please consider passing this along so others won't forget either that the freedoms we have in this great country were earned by U. S. Veterans. Always remember them and the rights they have won for us.
Blessings abound in the USA!"
Here's Something I've Learned
Dear Friends,
Here's something I've learned from being at my school:
When parents are consumed with worry about being deported, money for rent and food to eat, they do not have the brain space left to remember their child's teacher's name.
At the beginning of the year, I took a bit of offense that everyone simply yelled at me "Teacher! Teacher!" (Before this time, I had only been addressed like that by children, during the first 3 days of school.)
But I'm starting to understand the parents (just a tiny but) more each with each week and that helps.
With love,
Teacher
Here's something I've learned from being at my school:
When parents are consumed with worry about being deported, money for rent and food to eat, they do not have the brain space left to remember their child's teacher's name.
At the beginning of the year, I took a bit of offense that everyone simply yelled at me "Teacher! Teacher!" (Before this time, I had only been addressed like that by children, during the first 3 days of school.)
But I'm starting to understand the parents (just a tiny but) more each with each week and that helps.
With love,
Teacher
Friday, November 16, 2012
Freaky Friday
Today was just weird.
Anyone else?
Within 30 minutes of the day, one of my students punched another in the face and gave him a bloody nose.
We had an assembly where my principal kissed a frog. (This was her promise if the school reached their fundraising goal. It was the fattest frog I have EVER seen.)
Another child yelled "SHIT!" in the lunch line, was sent to the office, then lied about why he was sent there.
When I was in the office later (minding my own beeswax, waiting on the secretary, who was alone, answering phones, while caring for two kids in the clinic), a second grade boy came running in yelling, "B---- is chasing me and he won't quit!" Then, B---- ran in and the two started physically fighting right there in front of me! Of course, no one else was there because my principal and AP were out delivering frozen cookie dough (which arrived late because the truck driver was in a fatal accident). So I got in the middle of the fist fight and held onto B--- (who just kept on swing'n), and I told the other child to go to class and he ran out. I finally got the kid to calm down and sit and wait for the principal.
What's going on with the world today?!
Here's my poor principal. She's really quite fab.
Anyone else?
Within 30 minutes of the day, one of my students punched another in the face and gave him a bloody nose.
We had an assembly where my principal kissed a frog. (This was her promise if the school reached their fundraising goal. It was the fattest frog I have EVER seen.)
Another child yelled "SHIT!" in the lunch line, was sent to the office, then lied about why he was sent there.
When I was in the office later (minding my own beeswax, waiting on the secretary, who was alone, answering phones, while caring for two kids in the clinic), a second grade boy came running in yelling, "B---- is chasing me and he won't quit!" Then, B---- ran in and the two started physically fighting right there in front of me! Of course, no one else was there because my principal and AP were out delivering frozen cookie dough (which arrived late because the truck driver was in a fatal accident). So I got in the middle of the fist fight and held onto B--- (who just kept on swing'n), and I told the other child to go to class and he ran out. I finally got the kid to calm down and sit and wait for the principal.
What's going on with the world today?!
Here's my poor principal. She's really quite fab.
Thursday, November 15, 2012
Family Math Night
Tonight was Family Math Night at my school. Teachers volunteered for an hour to host a math game table and kids could rotate around the MPR (Multi-Purpose Room - a.k.a the cafeteria) and play different games with other children, teachers and family members. It was a great way to show how easy it is to incorporate math into play, how families can have fun doing math together and how important math in our students learning is to the teachers.
(I'm not sure if that last statement communicates exactly what I'm thinking..I'm a little tired from my 12 hour workday.)
Go math!!!
(I'm not sure if that last statement communicates exactly what I'm thinking..I'm a little tired from my 12 hour workday.)
Go math!!!
Wednesday, November 14, 2012
Adoption
Did I mention that my church has adopted my classroom families for Thanksgiving? How great is that?!
(By the way, I know some of you had this thought when you read the title, "OMG - is she going to start a family?!?!" For you folk, the answer is no, I've got my hands full just trying to get the swelling in my face to go down - I have no time for babies right now. Calm down.)
Anyway, back to the true topic at hand. Sunday the fab folks of my church will be joining me in delivering bags of Thanksgiving goodness.
When the church first approached me about this topic, they wanted to provide a Thanksgiving feast. (How lovely.) But I wanted to speak with the school's outreach coordinator to insure a Thanksgiving feast was something they truly needed and she said we could provide a feast, but what our families really need are things like toothbrushes, soap and sleeping bags. Since most of the families are housing a hefty amount of relatives, in small apartments and houses, many of the family members sleep on the floor or in the garage.
(Go ahead...let that information about my little 5 year old students sink into your pretty little head.)
Seriously, I am speechless when these facts are thrown at me.
The other day one of the kids' breath was so bad, I thought he ate a zombie for breakfast. When I asked him if he brushed his teeth, he said no. So I asked him if he owned a toothbrush and he replied, "My mom can't find it."
This whole 'teaching children in poverty' is rocking my world, but hopefully I'll help bring some holiday joy this Sunday!
I'll keep you posted.
(By the way, I know some of you had this thought when you read the title, "OMG - is she going to start a family?!?!" For you folk, the answer is no, I've got my hands full just trying to get the swelling in my face to go down - I have no time for babies right now. Calm down.)
Anyway, back to the true topic at hand. Sunday the fab folks of my church will be joining me in delivering bags of Thanksgiving goodness.
When the church first approached me about this topic, they wanted to provide a Thanksgiving feast. (How lovely.) But I wanted to speak with the school's outreach coordinator to insure a Thanksgiving feast was something they truly needed and she said we could provide a feast, but what our families really need are things like toothbrushes, soap and sleeping bags. Since most of the families are housing a hefty amount of relatives, in small apartments and houses, many of the family members sleep on the floor or in the garage.
(Go ahead...let that information about my little 5 year old students sink into your pretty little head.)
Seriously, I am speechless when these facts are thrown at me.
The other day one of the kids' breath was so bad, I thought he ate a zombie for breakfast. When I asked him if he brushed his teeth, he said no. So I asked him if he owned a toothbrush and he replied, "My mom can't find it."
This whole 'teaching children in poverty' is rocking my world, but hopefully I'll help bring some holiday joy this Sunday!
I'll keep you posted.
Tuesday, November 13, 2012
Message in a Bottle
You started singing in Sting's voice when you read that, huh?
(Photo source: http://goldrush021.tumblr.com/page/6)
(Photo source: http://goldrush021.tumblr.com/page/6)
Monday, November 12, 2012
I'm A Geek and That's OK
So my glasses got smashed during my little spill on Friday and I was lucky enough to snag an eye exam today. I typically find any visit to a specialist exciting (here comes the geek part).
As soon as the doctor begins looking in my eyes, I want to be able to see what he's seeing. When I put my mangled face on the machine that pops a puff of air in your eyeball , I want to ask, "What's that for?" When the questions of "Which is better, one or two?" arise, I want to ask, "What does that mean about my little baby blues?"
Of course, I don't bother the doctor, the last people you want to piss off are your doctors and waiters. But it reminds me of the strong sense of curiosity that runs through my veins. I used to think everyone had this - just like when I used to think everyone else in the world also loved to make stuff out of Popsicle sticks and paint them and give them as gifts (never thinking that someone might not WANT a gift made out of sticks - but not everyone has questions and wonderments about their surroundings. I believe this might make me a geek, but then I wonder, "What are all those other people doing all day?"
(See, it never stops,)
As soon as the doctor begins looking in my eyes, I want to be able to see what he's seeing. When I put my mangled face on the machine that pops a puff of air in your eyeball , I want to ask, "What's that for?" When the questions of "Which is better, one or two?" arise, I want to ask, "What does that mean about my little baby blues?"
Of course, I don't bother the doctor, the last people you want to piss off are your doctors and waiters. But it reminds me of the strong sense of curiosity that runs through my veins. I used to think everyone had this - just like when I used to think everyone else in the world also loved to make stuff out of Popsicle sticks and paint them and give them as gifts (never thinking that someone might not WANT a gift made out of sticks - but not everyone has questions and wonderments about their surroundings. I believe this might make me a geek, but then I wonder, "What are all those other people doing all day?"
(See, it never stops,)
Sunday, November 11, 2012
Things that make you go hmmmm....
A few things to think about...
Will I ever be as fabulous as Brandi?
Why do things like this happen in nature?
I wonder when I'll learn to cook.
Should I join a band?
Saturday, November 10, 2012
I didn't blog yesterday...here's why
My face used to look like this...
...and now it looks like this:
All my teacher-friends will understand when I say, "Yesterday, we had a runner."
I've been known to be a bit hard-headed, but apparently the asphalt the child (and then I) tripped on is much harder.
Technically, the only thing that was broken were my only pair of glasses (so I am thankful for that), but in the meantime I look a little like a victum on a domestic violence poster. My husband now gets dirty looks when we walk in public together.
...and now it looks like this:
All my teacher-friends will understand when I say, "Yesterday, we had a runner."
I've been known to be a bit hard-headed, but apparently the asphalt the child (and then I) tripped on is much harder.
Technically, the only thing that was broken were my only pair of glasses (so I am thankful for that), but in the meantime I look a little like a victum on a domestic violence poster. My husband now gets dirty looks when we walk in public together.
Thursday, November 8, 2012
Politics in the Life of a 5 Year Old
Yesterday my students came to school talking about the election. Honestly, I hadn't spent much time on it before election day (things have just been kind of crazy). So when this political conversation was student driven, I was pretty excited.
The kids were saying, "Obama won! Obama won!" So I asked "What does that mean - Obama won?" (Hoping someone would say something like,'He got more votes' or 'He gets to be president again.'
Instead, the first little boy I called upon answered happily, "That means we don't have to go back to Mexico!"
I almost fell out of my chair.
The kids were saying, "Obama won! Obama won!" So I asked "What does that mean - Obama won?" (Hoping someone would say something like,'He got more votes' or 'He gets to be president again.'
Instead, the first little boy I called upon answered happily, "That means we don't have to go back to Mexico!"
I almost fell out of my chair.
Wednesday, November 7, 2012
Eric Jensen
Dear Mr. Jensen,
I cannot put your book down. Clearly you've been to my school, listened to folks on my campus and crawled into my head, then wrote exactly what I needed to hear. I just want to gobble up this text in giant spoonfuls. It is changing my perspective - and I love that.
Thank you for writing this book for me and my students!
Natalie
'Teaching with Poverty in Mind: What Being Poor Does to Kids' Brains and What Schools Can Do About It' by Eric Jensen
I cannot put your book down. Clearly you've been to my school, listened to folks on my campus and crawled into my head, then wrote exactly what I needed to hear. I just want to gobble up this text in giant spoonfuls. It is changing my perspective - and I love that.
Thank you for writing this book for me and my students!
Natalie
'Teaching with Poverty in Mind: What Being Poor Does to Kids' Brains and What Schools Can Do About It' by Eric Jensen
Tuesday, November 6, 2012
Serious need of help...
Two fings (my former teammates know, that means "two things"):
1. Who knows about Promethian Boards? I've been a SmartBoard gal for the last 3 years and now I'm in charge of trying out the Promethian software. Thoughts on that?
2. My better half is driving me to Barnes and Noble as I type, to pick up Eric Jensen's 'Teaching with Poverty in Mind'. I am hard up for some help with my little ones. I can see the way they approach issues, process ideas and voice their thoughts are different than other language learners, others I've worked with that were not in poverty. Lord let me read swiftly and understand deeply!
1. Who knows about Promethian Boards? I've been a SmartBoard gal for the last 3 years and now I'm in charge of trying out the Promethian software. Thoughts on that?
2. My better half is driving me to Barnes and Noble as I type, to pick up Eric Jensen's 'Teaching with Poverty in Mind'. I am hard up for some help with my little ones. I can see the way they approach issues, process ideas and voice their thoughts are different than other language learners, others I've worked with that were not in poverty. Lord let me read swiftly and understand deeply!
Monday, November 5, 2012
Guess who?
Guess who arrived in my mailbox today? Flat Stanley from a former student!
How great is that?! I am so excited! I can't wait to take Flat Stanley to my school, have him meet my students, take him to the beach, maybe snag a photo with the local flora and fauna. What a treat for me! It might even help me take my mind off the ridiculous amount of assessments I have to do this month.
Want to hear something crazy? My district does all their December assessments in November because we have to be able to mail the results off to the county office, where everything is printed and then mailed back to us. Sounds like the dark ages, right? Apparently, it's cheaper that way. (Behold the power of the almighty dollar!)
Also, I could really use the three weeks in November to TEACH everything my class should have mastered by December. Grrrrr.
How great is that?! I am so excited! I can't wait to take Flat Stanley to my school, have him meet my students, take him to the beach, maybe snag a photo with the local flora and fauna. What a treat for me! It might even help me take my mind off the ridiculous amount of assessments I have to do this month.
Want to hear something crazy? My district does all their December assessments in November because we have to be able to mail the results off to the county office, where everything is printed and then mailed back to us. Sounds like the dark ages, right? Apparently, it's cheaper that way. (Behold the power of the almighty dollar!)
Also, I could really use the three weeks in November to TEACH everything my class should have mastered by December. Grrrrr.
Sunday, November 4, 2012
A Lot on My Mind
Some days in life we just have a lot on our mind. On days like these (like today), it's sometimes best to share, rather than try to sort it all out and explain. So here are a few things I've enjoyed over the last three months.
Sentence building cards
Word families with paper towel rolls and paint sticks
An easy and effective way of sending messages home
Number concepts in a bag (a.k.a. addition)
and One thing that makes me laugh and gets me excited for the holidays
(photo source unknown)
Saturday, November 3, 2012
Library, duh.
Let's set aside the fact that I just finished my M.Ed. in literacy instruction, K?
A library is the bee's knees.
Just walking into a library garners relaxation and excitement all at the same time. (I'm pretty sure the only other place in the world that can do that to a human is Anthropologie.)
I love every section of the library. Turning colorful pages of children's picture books, spinning into a vortex of memories as you pick up books from your own childhood, simply watching young ones giggle with joy over silly stories brings warmth to your chest.
Take a stroll through the numbered non-fiction books and the world of learning is yours! Want to bake the perfect cake? Ask Martha, she'll tell you how to bake the perfectionist's/OCD version. Need to build a deck? Bob Villa at your service!
Then there's the right-brain wing (a.k.a. fiction), the section of the library that takes your from your ho-hum life (apparently we're locked in a library), to every corner of the world, experiencing it through the lens of man, woman, child and beast.
And we haven't even got to the most interesting part of the library...the people. Yes, one could people-watch all day in the library. Children with mothers reading, Dad's working the self-check machine, college students studying, teachers tutoring, teens slumped in beanbag chairs, free-spirited, as well as uptight librarians working, and (if you live in a somewhat metropolis area) a few homeless folks napping behind books, enjoying the air conditioning.
Clearly, the library is the place to be!
Besides, zoos have poop. Like, elephant-size poop.
Friday, November 2, 2012
Happy Friday!
We made it to the weekend and with these allergies this beautiful picture makes me want to take a sip of something that will help me sleep, sleep, sleep!
But this weekend will be a bit of a working weekend. My principal asked me to make a presentation to a couple of private donors on SmartBoards for our school. Yay! Wish me luck!
But this weekend will be a bit of a working weekend. My principal asked me to make a presentation to a couple of private donors on SmartBoards for our school. Yay! Wish me luck!
Thursday, November 1, 2012
NaBloPoMo
So my dear collage roommate has a great blog (onebrickshyish.blogspot.com) and she is fabulous. Like, super fabulous.
She's participating in National Blog Posting Month and I'm going to take a crack at it, too. Yay!
Happy November to you! I love this month. My Grandma's birthday is this month (she turns 95) and I love Thanksgiving. I love feeling thankful and remembering the many, many blessings in my life. I know one of my most favorite things about November/Thanksgiving has been flying to California to see our families and kicking off the Christmas holiday season. I just realized that is different now. It makes my internal compass feel a bit off, yet at the same time that its found its true North.
So yippee for me! Yippee for you! Count your blessings and share!
She's participating in National Blog Posting Month and I'm going to take a crack at it, too. Yay!
Happy November to you! I love this month. My Grandma's birthday is this month (she turns 95) and I love Thanksgiving. I love feeling thankful and remembering the many, many blessings in my life. I know one of my most favorite things about November/Thanksgiving has been flying to California to see our families and kicking off the Christmas holiday season. I just realized that is different now. It makes my internal compass feel a bit off, yet at the same time that its found its true North.
So yippee for me! Yippee for you! Count your blessings and share!
Sunday, October 28, 2012
Whoa, Nelly!
It's been a long time since I've written! For good reason. My husband and I packed up all our lives, sold our lovely home and moved to Jupiter.
OK. We didn't really move to Jupiter.
It just feels like it.
Actually, we landed in the lovely Southern California - where the weather is amazing, the people are weird (as in, weirder than "Austin Weird"), and the public education system is TERRIBLE.
Oh yeah, and the gas is $4.75 a gallon and it cost me $45 to get 2 dresses and 3 men's shirts dry cleaned the other day. (I believe they are cleaning our things in gold, from the original gold rush of 1849).
I'm sure I will fill this blog with all the ridiculous stories of our transition, but the two things I want to leave you with today are:
1. We are over the moon thrilled to be close to our families. God is good!
2. This transition has been one of the most difficult things I have ever done...but our families are worth it.
More stories on all that to come! In the meantime, here's a picture of our very first morning in California.
OK. We didn't really move to Jupiter.
It just feels like it.
Actually, we landed in the lovely Southern California - where the weather is amazing, the people are weird (as in, weirder than "Austin Weird"), and the public education system is TERRIBLE.
Oh yeah, and the gas is $4.75 a gallon and it cost me $45 to get 2 dresses and 3 men's shirts dry cleaned the other day. (I believe they are cleaning our things in gold, from the original gold rush of 1849).
I'm sure I will fill this blog with all the ridiculous stories of our transition, but the two things I want to leave you with today are:
1. We are over the moon thrilled to be close to our families. God is good!
2. This transition has been one of the most difficult things I have ever done...but our families are worth it.
More stories on all that to come! In the meantime, here's a picture of our very first morning in California.
Tuesday, October 2, 2012
National Book Reading Month
Did you know March is National Book Reading month? (Like we need an excuse to read?!)
Sometimes hooking kids into reading can be quite challenging, especially if the child did not have books in the home during the early years or if Engish is his/her second language. (Or, for my student, BOTH!)
But there are so many, many was to engage children in the excitement of literature that all school age children should feel comfortable and want to interact with literature daily!
If you have little ones that are still a bit wary of reading, try a few of these things:
- Take a student interest survey and find out what topics would be great books to snag from the library
- Watch movies about books!
Sometimes hooking kids into reading can be quite challenging, especially if the child did not have books in the home during the early years or if Engish is his/her second language. (Or, for my student, BOTH!)
But there are so many, many was to engage children in the excitement of literature that all school age children should feel comfortable and want to interact with literature daily!
If you have little ones that are still a bit wary of reading, try a few of these things:
- Take a student interest survey and find out what topics would be great books to snag from the library
- Watch movies about books!
Sunday, July 1, 2012
Moving
Did I mention I'm moving?
Heading to California to be with our families. (We miss them SO much!)
I can't wait to set up my new classroom (teaching a combo kindergarten and first grade class) and becoming part of a new learning community!
Besides selling our house and packing up our lives, I'm spending time memorizing some new roads!
Heading to California to be with our families. (We miss them SO much!)
I can't wait to set up my new classroom (teaching a combo kindergarten and first grade class) and becoming part of a new learning community!
Besides selling our house and packing up our lives, I'm spending time memorizing some new roads!
Monday, June 18, 2012
Reading Camp - Week 2
Today I begin my second reading camp for the summer and I can't wait! I have two children that are going into 1st grade and five heading into second (one of which has special needs and is reading on a K level). What a wonderful mixture of students and abilities!
What a delight! I hope your summer teaching and adventures are as exciting as mine!!
What a delight! I hope your summer teaching and adventures are as exciting as mine!!
Thursday, June 14, 2012
Getting to Know You
What a wonderful idea for a 'getting to know you' project at the beginning of the school year. Young students could take this project home to discuss their hobbies/interests and spend as much time as they wish adding details. What a perfect project for drawing out your students' artistic skills (along with supporting students that want/need to express themselves pictorially instead of through writing). Can't you just imagine how lovely these would look lining the hallways at school?! Beautiful!
Tuesday, June 12, 2012
Today...
He grew up in a time when the public (and his teachers) did not understand Autism.
He is part of the reason I became an educator. I hope I can be the teacher he had always wished for and deserved.
Saturday, June 9, 2012
UPDATE: An app for your books
Sooo... the app I used to use for my classroom books started giving me grief, so I made a clean break and found a new curator of my collection. Now I am in LOVE with Book Crawler.
It's fabulous because you can scan books in with your camera/barcode, you can set categories of how you organize your collection, you can search by collection/author/title, and if you are a real go-getter, you can share your thoughts with a community of other book fanatics.
Check it out!
GONE.
Ug.
Gone.
Never to be seen again.
Some lucky duck now has my entire make up bag, prescription glasses, only jeans that fit, two best dresses and (WORST OF ALL) two of my journals.
So I'd like to take a moment to apologize to the world that my two journals, chalked full of ideas that were going to change the world, are now floating somewhere around LAX.
I can only hope some size 6, (very) far-sighted chick out there can truly appreciate a good eyelash curler and 3 inch cork-heels, is being entertained by reading my last three years of academic and personal writing.
Sigh.
Excuse me while I go buy a new journal.
Monday, May 14, 2012
Saturday, May 12, 2012
The Sisters' Top 10 List
Like many other districts, mine has become a card-carrying, life-long member of The Sisters' fan club. While many teachers are trying out their classroom set-up (some with enthusiasm, some with apprehension - i.e. where do guided reading groups fit into this model?), The Sisters' philosophies are grounded in ideals we all hold dear. I found their recent "Top 10 List" interesting and strongly agree with number one!
1. The number one thing we need to do to achieve proficiency? Have an excellent, highly trained teacher! (Opitz and Ford)
2. Guess what happens when you put 2500 books in your classroom, kids read them! A swimmer needs water. (Gallagher)
3. Effort and persistence have to be taught, we are not born with them. (Routman)
4. Comprehension is thinking about the relevance of the text to you and the world. (Fountas and Pinell)
5. If students are not making strong progress they need no less than 50 minutes of reading each day at school and more at home. We must also check for engagement during reading time. (Serravello)
6. The class students are placed in influences their success more than the skills with which students arrive. (Ford)
7. The most powerful key to acceleration is coaching children while they are working with text. (Opitz and Ford)
8. What Works Clearinghouse is currently working on the document: Teaching Elementary School Students to be Effective Writers. The practice guide will be out in the fall (http://ies.ed.gov/ncee/wwc/). Check out Dr. Steve Graham's Writing to Read Report from What Works Clearninghouse:http://www.all4ed.org/files/WritingToRead.pdf
9. Kids need to have 60 minutes of writing each day. It doesn't have to be all at one time but integrated into all content areas throughout the day. (What Works Clearinghouse)
10. Simply assigning hard books will not ensure that students learn at higher levels. (Fisher and Frey)
IRA, Chicago: April 29-May 2, 2012
Tuesday, May 8, 2012
Wednesday, May 2, 2012
This is soooo me!
This is so me right now! I've been juggling quite a bit and, as you can see, I can become a little obsessed and forget about my little blog.
Who else can relate?
Who else can relate?
Saturday, April 21, 2012
Ever have this feeling?
Here are a few of our adventures:
Hatching chicken eggs (life cycles)
Looking more into research
Fairy tales
Poetry
I can't wait!
Friday, April 20, 2012
Technology Show and Tell - again!
O.K., how many of you have so many books that you can't remember if you still own a specific title or you know you own a certain book, but you can't find it because you have no idea which teacher you so generously loaned it out to last spring?
Put your frustration aside because I have the perfect book organizer app for you!
Create a free on-line account, then download their free app on your smart phone. Use your phone to scan the bar codes of your books. You can view your entire collection on your phone, sort different ways AND use your phone to scan/check out books to students and colleagues. It is great!(Warning: If you have old books that do not have bar codes, you will need to enter the titles yourself.)
It's still fabulous! Check it out!!
Wednesday, April 18, 2012
Technology Show and Tell
It's been a busy week - hopefully I can share more about it with you in the future!
Until then, I thought we could wrap up the last part of the week with a little bit of Techno Show and Tell. Here's an app that I've been loving lately: Confer
I've been rock'n this great app in my class over the last few weeks and it has been a great way to keep my small group instruction on track. Check out the tutorial video!
Tuesday, April 17, 2012
Friday, April 6, 2012
Listening to Reading
Sometimes parents think that the best form of homework is to have their child do all the reading. We know that listening to reading (especially for young children) is critical for children's literacy skills. I love recommending Reading Rockets to classroom parents each year. The site is FULL of valuable resources, including videos and podcasts that are very helpful to parents. Check it out!
Thursday, April 5, 2012
A Little Helper
I am so in love with Michelle Oakes' grade level helpers that I can barely stand it. How cute are they?! If you have a student that needs a bit of help at home, create a file folder with this inside and provide strategies for how to manage their tasks independently. Check it out!
Wednesday, April 4, 2012
Rock and Roll'n with Spelling
Here's a super fun way to practice spelling words (or high frequency words) at home. Most families have a pair of dice at home so there is no need to worry about sending home extra materials.
Check out this nifty idea from Mrs. Reynold's blog - simply roll the die, read the type of writing your should use and write your spelling word. This is a great activity to introduce at school in a station, then email the info sheet to parents for practice at home.
Happy Writing!
Tuesday, April 3, 2012
Stamp Cards
The lovely folks over at VistaPrint.com make many teachers happy by offering free business cards (you pay shipping only). You can make your own cards to look super fabulous, but have you ever thought about using them to make cards as a homework tool?
Some teachers use these stamp-card style cards for classroom management (like Tiffany at The Nest Effect), but you could also use them to have students keep track of their reading at home. Kids are really motivated to fill up their reading card each night at home!
Monday, April 2, 2012
Literacy Fun at Home
This week I want to share fun ideas your students can try at home. Teachers are sharing some amazing ideas these days - I hope you find these helpful!
Today's tip is on sending home high frequency words and fluency phrases. The literacy coach at my school sends these home with students on a binder ring and note cards. She runs loads of address labels with the texts she needs, then puts the high frequency words on one side and the fluency phrases on the other side. What a great idea!! Thanks Ms. B!
Friday, March 30, 2012
Drinking It Up
My sweet teammate Mrs. N did this project with her students and it was a wonderful way to give an example of how roots and the stem work together to soak up water. Super cute, too!
Thursday, March 29, 2012
Keep Dance in Schools
Isn't this amazing and beautiful?! These two dancers from Staatsballett Berlin are shown in slow motion (1000 frames per second).
Wednesday, March 21, 2012
Field Trip!!
Today we went to the science and history museum to go along with our unit on dinosaurs. We had a WONDERFUL time - complete with an outdoor dino dig!
I can't wait to go to school tomorrow and reflect and write with the children about our adventure together.
On another positive note, the child in my class that has motion sickness did NOT puke on the bus! Yay!
Tuesday, March 20, 2012
Monday, March 19, 2012
A brand new season - ALMOST!
We already had a tornado watch today to kick off the season! (Hopefully yours will be a little more calm.)
Check out Amber Polk's FREE spring activity packet to get your little ones into the seasonal spirit.
While you're on the TeachersPayTeacher's site, check out my store site for some great resources on hatching chicks this spring.
Wednesday, March 14, 2012
St. Patty's Day Fun
I'm on Spring Break now, but I've been thinking about all the teachers out there that have the chance to do a few fun things for St. Patty's Day (and get a little jazzed up, too)! Here are some fun picks for your day of green!
Geen nail polish - Fresh Frog of Bel Air
Leprechaun paper-bag puppets (my students loved putting on a show with these)
Friday, March 9, 2012
Thursday, March 8, 2012
Open House - Paradise
When it all comes together,
When the parents appreciate their child's growth,
And we all come together to celebrate the students,
Our evening of Open House together becomes paradise.
Tuesday, March 6, 2012
Monday, March 5, 2012
Dinosaurs and Bad Words
I just looked at him and said, "What did you say?"
He stared blankly at me and said, "That's a big-ass dinosaur", then started nodding his head (apparently in agreement with his statement).
Clearly, this child had no idea his vocabulary was totally inapproprate for school.
I looked at him and said, "You would just say, That's a big dinosaur!"
He kept nodding and as I walked away, I could tell he still didn't see the importance of leaving off that little word.
I was just glad he only said it to me and not the entire class.
Friday, March 2, 2012
Happy Birthday Dr. Seuss!
Post to my classroom parents:
"Today is Dr. Seuss' birthday! His books are wonderful for listening to and for reading! We had a great time strolling through his tales together today. Unfortunately, I was so busy with the kids, I didn't have a chance to snap any photos of them. We also had a great time rotating through the different kindergarten classrooms and stories. Ask your child about his/her favorite:K1: Horton Hears a Who
K2: Cat in the Hat
K3: Dr. Seuss biography
K4: Hop on Pop
K5: Wocket in my Pocket
We're also going to study Dr. Seuss as our author of the month. If you need a reminder, in January we learned about Jan Brett and in February, Kevin Hinkes. All three of these authors have wonderful web sites. Have fun exploring each and reading their books!"
Thursday, March 1, 2012
Our Favorite Musical Grandpa
(From my class blog)
We had another wonderful visit from our favorite musician Grandpa. He let the children play the guitar, we sang songs, we reviewed the parts of the guitar and types of music (jazz and rock).After his last visit (Jan.), K4 began writing a few lyrics of their own. Today, Mr. W put those words to music! The children also loved playing along with some of our own instruments!
Wednesday, February 29, 2012
So Many Learning Levels, So Little Time
(Post from my class blog)
One way we differentiate instruction to meet students' needs is through small group instruction. Both of these groups are studying the 'in' word family, but the instructional focus is different for each (one group is reading with Mrs. Cummings, the other is spelling with me).
Tuesday, February 28, 2012
Collaboration!
Our wonderful PE teacher arranged for the 4th graders to help the kids practice their jump roping skills. The kids had so much fun, the learning went smoothly and the children built relationships that span grade levels. I can't say enough about how valuable this type of learning among students can be - give it a try!!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)