Actual Kid Comments 2

First some background info...

We start our weekly reading lessons on Thursdays and test on Wednesdays, because they are our early release day. So, today we started our 3rd reading lesson, this occured while going over our new spelling list.

We come to the word flaw and of course the kids want to know what it means. I explain that a flaw is something that makes you imperfect. I proceed to explain that my spine is curved making my hips uneven. I state that it is a flaw and thus something that "makes me not perfect." A little girl calls out, "but you're perfect at being a teacher!" So sweet. Definitely made me smile.

Then we come to the word brown and I say "ya know, like my hair, but who knows maybe next week it will be red." The kids then ask what my natural color is and of course I say blonde, but I dyed it brown. A little one says, "so you tanned your hair?" I thought it was hilarious!

It's Official

One of my teammates will be leaving our school. We found out today that her last day will be Friday and she will be splitting her kids up between the 3 of us. I will have 9 new kids after the 3-day weekend. I'm so super bummed that she's leaving. She is an amazing teacher and teammate. She is going to a school in desperate need, they have 2 teachers with 37 kids apiece, and she will really help them raise their scores. I will GREATLY miss her. Fortunately, our schools are going to be working together a lot this year, so I will still get to see her often and work with her. I told her to remember that she has an extended team this year and we will still share resources and ideas. I'm so sad to see her go, but I know it's a great opportunity for her to really shine as a teacher, her new school needs leaders. I broke down in front of my entire staff when our principal announced it. I felt like all of my bones became jello and I dropped pens that I'd been holding. Then of course she started crying and then we found ourselves hugging in the middle of the library with the rest of the staff looking at us in pity. But who cares, I'm truly heartbroken that it had to happen this way. I know that she is attached to her kids and they love her. It will be a big transition for everyone involved. I just hope that the kids can adjust quickly to my room and my current students. It's definitely going to be a huge challenge.

News

Well I was hired as the Community Outreach Specialist. I spent the last 2 days at a training. It was overwhelming but great at the same time. I already have ideas of businesses to contact for donations, now just have to actually start making calls. It should be a good year. I know that I have a lot to learn for the position, but I will get there. I will be working with a lady who has worked on the 21st Century grant program for the last 7 years, so I'm in good hands.

I had 2 students drop so now I'm at 20. As amazing as that number sounds, it's actually bad for our 4th grade staff. We are in big danger of losing a section of 4th grade. Our principal is working very hard to advocate and fight to keep all 4 of us. Let's hope he is successful, as a team we have the potential to do amazing things for our kids and the school.

I have really enjoyed seeing my "tough" kids from last year. My one little man passed all of his state assessments and I made sure to talk to mom on meet the teacher day. She was very proud and so was he. It felt amazing. He has come to see my every day after school and even stopped by on open house night just for a hug. In out training today we had a speaker who talked about making sure that all kids have 5 adults that they know truly care about them. I can honestly say that I believe I am in his top 5, which makes my job SO worth doing every day.

My other super tough kid has come to see me quite a bit, too. I'm sure I'm in his group of 5, also. He has made his day every day so far and last year it was a stretch for him to make it 2 days in a row. It's amazing what a self-contained behavior class can accomplish with the right supports and staff. He is finally going to be successful in school and he feels proud of himself. He makes sure to give me a hug every day, too. I often feel that those 2 kids, who were the toughest I've encountered in my short 4 years, are also my biggest successes. They make all the long hours well worth it.

This year, I don't seem to have anyone as challenging (yet). Right now I would say that my biggest struggle is going to be balancing my classroom duties with my after school position. It will be interesting to see how it all plays out. I always felt when I was a student under time constraints that I was more productive. I'm hoping that it still holds true. We shall see!

A New Year Has Begun

Well, another year has started. I have an astonishingly low 22 kids! It's fabulous! Today was by far the best first day of school I've had as a teacher. Everything just seemed to flow. I almost had to kick parents out this morning. It seems like I will have a lot of parents want to help out, which I've never had. And...I already got a gift! A kiddo's step mom is a HUGE Gator fan and sent some things to school for me today. It was pretty awesome! <3 Gator Nation!!! I have a couple of kids whose siblings I have had in the past and they are super sweet. My biggest behavior kid was withdrawn from the school and my biggest behavior kids from last year stopped by just to ask how my day was.

I have a mostly new team this year and they are FABULOUS! I think it's going to be an amazing year. I'm excited to be in my 4th year and only be observed 1 time a year (officially). But more than that, I'm excited to not feel like such a newbie anymore! I feel like I can really step up and become a veteran teacher now. I have applied for (and most people anticipate my being hired) for a Community Outreach Specialist. Basically I will work closely with the after school activities coordinator and be in charge of really trying to get our school's community more involved. Plus, it has a pretty large stipend attached to it, but honestly it's not about the money, because the hours are pretty insane.

Anyway, I'm super excited about the new year beginning, and I'm pretty sure I've completely rambled...so I'll call it quits for now! :-)

Check Out My Little Guy

I had a conversation with the Superintendent today at my BEGIN class. She said he was so cute, but she couldn't get him to say a word! I assured her that he was very excited and proud of himself. She then proceeded to talk about me when she was addressing the whole group (of more than 90) people. She talked about how we are the future of teaching and it's stories like this one that keep her going. It just made me more proud of my little man and myself and team!

He's the one in the tie that looks completely miserable! He really was happy, I promise :-)

http://wesdschools.org/News.aspx?type=viewArticle&article=1266

Actual Kid Comments

This week we are doing a fun writing project. Well I guess the writing isn't fun, but the end result is. The kids have to write step by step instructions for how to make a PB&J sandwich. On Thursday they will follow a classmate's directions to actually make the sandwich and of course they get to eat it. The kids are very excited about the making and eating portion of the assignment ( I will be sure to post some of the instructions and some pictures to go with them). But a few had some interesting comments about the preparation.

One student said, "My parents said I'm not allowed to touch or eat jelly, can you do that part?" Of course I will kindly oblige and eat a sandwich.

Another said, "please don't get wheat bread, it's pretty much nasty".

My favorite comment of the day, "do I have to eat the sandwich? I don't trust the people who make the peanut butter and jelly." My response..."honey it's from the store." His reply to that..."I just don't trust the people in the factory who put it in the jars." Seriously, how do you respond to that?! Truly bizarre.

On another note, we are starting to study Ancient peoples of the Southwest this week. The kids are going to be making a bunch of dioramas in their table groups. They don't know it yet, but I'm sure they will be very excited and I can't wait to see how all the dioramas turn out. Luckily, last summer when I taught summer school a woman gave me a TON of shoe boxes (though I only needed 13). I have more than 100 boxes which is awesome, since over the next few weeks I will need 56 for the dioramas! Of course I'm sharing with my teammates, also, but they are doing things a bit differently, so they don't need as many shoe boxes as my class does. I'm super excited to see how they all turn out! I will post pictures as we get started!

AIMS Week Has Arrived

Well, it's that time of year again. Time for me to be bored out of my skull while my kids test for 4 days. I'm hoping they are as ready as they seem to be. They are excited to get candy and gum during the test, let's just hope they don't get it everywhere and ruin their test books. Friday we had another student of the month assembly.

My little man who FINALLY started meds was the kiddo for my class. His mom came with her boyfriend and when his name was called mom was a total wreck. She sobbed for a good 5 minutes and thanked everyone for caring about her son enough to try to help him. We all just reminded her that he couldn't have done it without her. She took a bunch of pictures of him with myself and the other people that were on the team to get him help. He is doing SO well now. He has stopped saying that he's dumb and no one loves him. He cares about his learning and tries hard to get things done to the best of his abilities. He is still low in reading simply because he has to play catch up, but he has learned more in the last month than he had all year. He jumped from a 32% on a district test to a 72%. I think that speaks volumes. He is so proud of himself. I made sure to write him a letter telling him how proud I am of him and he just kept thanking me. He got TONS of hugs on Friday. When I asked him if he was surprised, his response was "I knew I could do it Mrs. Barnes". I wanted to cry, he never would have said that before. It's so amazing to know that this little guy actually has a future now, where before I would have said the opposite.

ADDED APRIL 18 Well, my little guy has been selected for another reward. This Friday, he will be taken to lunch with the Superintendent of my district. Every month she takes 2 kids from a few schools out for pizza and calls them SUPER kids. SUPER stands for "students' unique performance earns reward". My principal asked for nominees who have worked hard and changed behaviors drastically. I, along with multiple other people, nominated him last week. This morning at the beginning of the day I announced the news to the class. Before I said his name, I explained that it was for kids who worked hard to change their behavior and out of the corner of my eye I could see him smiling and pointing to himself. It was so cute. He was very excited and everyone in my class congratulated him by giving him a cheer (we do cheers constantly to tell each other good job). My ltitle guy's favorite cheer is what we call the gold cheer, "if good work were gold, you'd be a millionaire!" Needless to say, this little guy has certainly learned how well he can perform and how much people care about him (remember he used to say that no one liked him and he was stupid). It's truly the reason I got in to teaching and it's certainly a success story for so many people at the school (even those people who thought it could never happen)!