You could call it frustration...

This year has been a rough one. For some reason, things are just not going as smoothly I expected or, as they did last year. I've yet to figure out the reason for this. It may be that our schedule is a bit different and causes many rushed afternoons trying to fit in my entire science lesson. It may be that my class NEVER STOPS TALKING! I'm leaning more towards my second option.

My class is so talkative, I feel like I'm just begging them to stop talking every day. I had sit down talks with them about the effects of their talking. I've expressed my concerns and frustrations to them. I've moved their desks around every way possible. I've tried the overly nice thing. I've tried being Mrs. Viola Swamp. I've done what I know to do to beg them for their consideration and to stop talking. Nothing has worked. At the end of each day, I'm left with a sense of failure. I feel like I've failed in teaching that day's lessons. I feel like I didn't do anything but ask for them to stop talking.

This semester I have an intern and she was doing a science lesson on Thursday. During this time, I was able to sit back and watch my class differently than I usually did. I was able to see my intern "beg" for them to stop talking and repeat things many times over for all the students to hear. What I saw was embarrassing. When the lesson was over, I got up and explained to them that the way she felt was the same way I feel at the end of every day, which is unacceptable. And the worst part, her supervisor was observing the lesson. Not only did that reflect poorly on her, but I felt it reflecting poorly on me because that showed my classroom management skills, or lack thereof. I don't feel I have poor classroom management skills, especially with my past classes as proof.

I've somehow got to get over this. We are only 11 weeks into school. It's way too soon for me to start feeling like I don't want to go back and summer should begin soon. When I return on Monday, each student is going to receive a note from me. On the note will be all the things I like about them and all the things they do well. Because when it came down to it, I do like each student, as an individual. But when I think of them as a class, all I think about is their obnoxious talking. Hopefully this works...

This Is It!

Don't worry, I'm not ending my blog, but just making a reference to Michael Jackson with the title. I've had classes in the past who enjoyed certain celebrities and fads that were going through the 9 and 10 year old community, but nothing to this extent.

I have a student (or 4) that are obsessed with Michael Jackson. They sing his songs all day, they dance when they get the chance, they write about him during writing time, they check out the few library books we have about him, and much more!

Now let me elaborate: I hear, "Billie Jean is not my lover" throughout the day along with "Beat it, just beat it". Along with these lyrics, I also get to enjoy the classic Michael Jackson dance moves that aren't always appropriate for 4th graders. I understand the lyrics aren't either, but I'm not sure that 99% of the kids even understand them. I am pretty sure they just like singing the songs. Now here's the best part. One of these kids that has an obsession with the King of Pop is a pretty good imitator. He knows the dance moves, he knows the songs, and he has a silver glove. He's so much like a junior Michael Jackson, that the kids would spend their recess pretending he was the man himself. One of his friends was his manager who would schedule his place on the playground by minute. Another friend was his publicist who would try to find more kids who wanted him to dance for them. And the rest of his friends acted as body guards and felt they had to encircle him everywhere he went. At one point, they even had fake money they carried around and charged for people to talk to him. It was funny...until he was so wealthy that it was raining money on the playground. At that point, I was the rich one after I confiscated all the fake dinero!

One final question...Did these kids even know who Michael Jackson was before he died?

This is Legit!

I know I haven't written much this year. I mean, I know I haven't written at all this year, but I've been inspired to write again because of events last week.

It's that time of year when we learn the phases of the moon. For such an odd topic that is unnecessary to know, it is one of my favorite topics to teach. I guess it's one of my favorites because we do lots of fun stuff, including a lesson with Oreos. I've decided that this lesson is very unnecessary, but loads of fun and the kids love it. The Basics: Place 8 Oreos in a circle and scrape the cream in the center off to illustrate the 8 phases of the lunar cycle. It has to be a favorite lesson with my class each year. I was even receiving, "You are the best teacher EVER!" comments because of this lesson. I also got my personal favorite, "This is the most legit thing I've ever done in school!" I paused for a second thinking one of my good friends had taken over the body of a 4th grader. I am familiar with hearing the word "legit" come from her...not a 9 year old!

OCD anyone?

If you ask my friends or family, there are some things that I am a bit OCD about. I like pictures hanging straight. I like straight lines and things in rows. I like when groups of things match and there aren't any odd pieces out. I like that everything has a home and is organized. I don't work well when things aren't like this. I usually have to fix them before I think about anything else. Well...I have a student who is similar, but more extreme than myself.

This student, Dustin*, is a bit OCD. I don't say that in a diagnosed sort of way, but in the same way that I am, just worse. Dustin is the type of student who has to have things just right. He is unable to work at his desk (or anywhere) if there is something there that doesn't belong. For example, last week I put a paper on his desk that needed to be finished from the day before. I wrote on it, "Please Complete!" We began our morning math and I see Dustin walking around the classroom.

Me: "Dustin, where are you going?"

D: "I need to put this away."

Me: "Okay." (not thinking about the paper he is carrying)

Later in the day, I'm looking through the grading bin to see what I can work on and I find the paper that I had put on Dustin's desk earlier in the day. However, it still wasn't complete. I return it to Dustin's desk for the second time that day. As we began another lesson, Dustin is clearing his desk of all unnecessary items and he finds the paper. He seems not sure of what to do with it again and since everything needs a place, he turns it in to the grading bin AGAIN, still incomplete. Now I've figured out that he didn't like it on his desk because that's not what he was supposed to be working on. This time, I did not immediately return it to his desk. I saved it until I had time to talk to him about how to finish this paper. This time he put it in his folder which had it's own place inside his desk. In fact, his desk is the most perfectly organized 4th grade desk I've ever seen! Everything has its place and no work can be done until that is done.

Dustin is also a student I sit with very close at writing time. Here are a few comments from him:

- "That /g/ looks a little dark. I need to fix it."

- "That /s/ looks to big. I need to fix it."

- "I skipped too much space there. Let me go back."

- "Why did I write that /f/ so small?"

If we ever get through a writing composition, at least it will all be the same shade of lead, the same size, and with the same amount of space in between each word.

A little difficulty...

I have a student who has difficulty writing. He doesn't like doing it. It stresses him out and gives him lots of anxiety. This is hard, especially in 4th grade when we will have to take the Writing TAKS the first week in March. We don't have time to worry about how to actually write the words on the page, we only have time to worry about the thoughts that will be written on the page.

Well, I guess I'm making time this year, because this student is unable to write without lots of guidance and positive reinforcement. Luckily, I have lots of experience in positive reinforcement. I had a couple of kids last year who needed positive reinforcement more than they needed water to survive. The same goes for this year.

So last week we were working on our first composition of the year. For students who hate writing, this is a bit of a struggle. I sat next to one particular child each day during writing time so that we would have something to show from Writers' Workshop. Let's call this child Alexander. During Writers' Workshop, we were writing about our three most favorite possessions in our lives. He knew what his were and why. At least he knew what he should write. Now, actually putting the pencil to paper was another story. Needless to say, with lots of coaching and positive reinforcement, he wrote a few sentences each about each of his favorite things. This was lots of progress from where he had been the previous year or even the previous week. Skip forward to Back to School Night...

Alexander's mom approached me and asked how things had been going. I mentioned that things are difficult, but with positive reinforcement, we don't nearly have as many difficulties. I also told her that I just keep encouraging his writing and sure enough, he's getting it done. I explained that I had a child in the same position last year who shut down when I asked, "Why isn't your work finished yet?" But when I said, "Come on, you have a few more minutes to finish your work and I know you can do it," he came alive, finished the work, and even had a smile on his face when it was over. At this point, I could see tears forming in Alexander's mother's eyes. She was so happy that I was encouraging him and progress was being made.

Although it takes almost all of my energy to be next to him during every activity in which writing is involved, it is worth it. It's worth it to see Alexander happier at the end of the day and also for his mother to know that yes, this is something that he can will be able to overcome.

Have you filled a bucket lately?

During the first week of school, I read this book to my class. To summarize, you make other people happy (and "fill their bucket") when you are happy. If you smile at someone, you are filling your bucket and theirs at the same time. When you do a good deed for someone, both of your buckets are being filled. And if you are bullying someone, you are not only emptying their bucket, but also your own too.

My class really enjoyed this book. I know this because they still talk about filling people's buckets. Some kids have connected to it more than other though...take David for example. He is the student from my previous blog who had lots of behavior problems last year. Well, he is one who comes to me on a daily basis and says, "Ms. L, can I fill your bucket?" and gives me a hug. He is very thoughtful. In fact, he was absent one day, so he gave me two hugs to make up for an empty bucket from him the day before. He is turning out to be an amazing little boy who just needed someone to fill his bucket with compliments for all the good choices he is making.

A "NEW" Kid

First off...I feel bad for not blogging from the start of the year. It's not that there has been a shortage of blog topics, it's more like there has been a shortage of motivation to log on and type the stories up.

Okay...We all know that when we get our rosters before school starts, all the teachers from the grade level below yours come see where their kids from last year are. They also tend to share information about those kids. Hopefully, they know the rule that you should only share good information. Kids are unable to start fresh each year when the old teacher tells the new teacher all the problems they had. Well, I didn't actually get "bad" information about a kid on this day. The timing in which I received the bad information for two children was after school had already started and I had already gotten to know the kids.

I met one of my students at Meet the Teacher Night. The parents were insistent that I stay on his back and not let him get away with anything. I told them not to worry, that I would do what I needed to to make it a successful year. The parents still weren't sure I would stay on top of his behavior. When it was time to look through cumulative folders to get testing information from the previous year, I stumbled across a bit of information that helped me understand how much I really needed to monitor his behavior. Let's just say that he had spent some time in a special school for behavior problems. Now, I am still unsure of his exact actions that got him to the school, but it doesn't really matter because he is doing very well in my class. Yes, he likes to talk, but he doesn't talk back (to me), and we're working on how cooperatively he works with others. I will say that I've had much worse and do have much worse behavior problems than him.

-----------------------------------------------------

The second little boy won my heart the first week of school. He is so sweet, kind, and helpful. I didn't suspect anything out of the ordinary about this one, until we had a meeting about him. I was asked the question,

"So, how is David* doing in class?"

Me: "He is doing great! He's very helpful to his classmates; he participates all the time; he's turning in his work; and I just love having him in class."

- "WHAT?????"

Me: "Why that reaction?"

- "Because that's very different than his behavior last year. He missed lots of school, didn't make good choices, and was not doing very all around."

Me: "Really, I would never have guessed that based on what I've seen so far this year."

- "Wow! It's only been a week and you've already changed him. That's impressive! I've got goose bumps on my arms because that makes me so happy to hear."

Me: "Well, I didn't do anything different."

When you hear things like this about kids it just makes you so happy...and so much more appreciative of the way they are making good choices, being friends to their peers, and being so respectful of you. And because I found out how he was last year, I continue to remind him how proud of him I am that he has decided to make good choices and how much I enjoy having him in class.

Singing a different tune...

These past 6 days with kids have been a bit stressful. For the most part I like my class. For the most part! I have a few issues with how things are going so far...
- The kids don't seem to care if they please me, which is usually a characteristic of a 4th grader.
- The kids won't stop talking.
- The kids are unable to listen to directions and follow them. I spend most of my day walking around to check that they have followed my directions and if they haven't, I nag them!
- They are very low in math.
- They don't participate in class. I ask questions and all I hear is crickets (and no, they are not a part of a science project).
- I don't feel the same way at this point this year as I did at the same point last year. I wanted to be sure of this, so I read the blogs I wrote during this same point last year and they sound very different than how I feel right now.

I am worn out! These kids are wearing me out. I know that I should be worn out, considering I'm getting back into the routine of teaching all day and answering 1,000 plus questions each day. BUT...I shouldn't be this tired and feel this behind. We have been unable to get through all of our work each day. I feel this is because of their inability to follow directions and attentively listen to ANYTHING!

I sure hope these feelings change, because this year will seem 10 times as long if they don't!

My blog has been compromised!

The last blog entry was posted by a hacker. If you know me and also the person mentioned in that blog, you will know that I would never make such a comment. I am currently investigating this matter and will prosecute. My detective is one of the parents in my class this year. She seems tough. I wouldn't want to mess with her...I'm just saying this to the guilty party!

A little reminder...

Tonight I saw the movie "Julie & Julia". I thought it was a super cute movie. While it probably inspired many to either cook or blog or do both, it reminded me to start blogging AGAIN! I have really enjoyed blogging in the past and hope that I have written funny stories with enough voice for you to understand the hilarity I deal with, but also the heart-warming stories that remind me why I am a teacher.

School hasn't quite started yet, but we're getting there. Staff Development begins Monday, but I have already been visiting my classroom to get things set up. Even though this will only be my second beginning of the year, I am already full aware that this whole staff development thing is whack. Yes, I just used the word whack! Why not give us more time to work with our team and plan out what we will teach all year and how long and how we plan on teaching certain topics. But no...now, some of the staff developments are worth-while, but give so many ideas so close to the beginning of the year, it's impossible to implement when you're worrying about how you are going to structure the first (and most important) days of the year.

I'm very excited and worried about the year that will begin in less than 2 weeks. I'm excited because it will break the monotony of my current summer status: doing absolutely nothing! I do love working on my tan, but it's awfully hot outside, which makes it difficult to sit outside for very long. Yes, being in the pool is a good option, but even that gets boring. The worried part comes from my concern about what children I will get. I consider my class last year to be almost perfect in classroom dynamic terms. All of their behavior was very manageable and we were able to talk about any problems that were happening in the classroom. They were caring of each other and would do anything for me. I'm also a bit worried because in terms of academics, they were pretty level. Many of them made amazing growth throughout the year and I was very happy with our testing results! Even if I thought about hoping for another class exactly like last year's, I would be disappointed. With that said, I hope for a class that is understanding, patient, and willing to learn as much has 4th grade has to offer!

I don't want to go!

Last Friday was Victor's last day...the only problem was that he didn't know. I found out on Tuesday from his mom that Friday would be his last day due to a family situation and him needing to go out of town and spend time with his grandparents. Missing the last 7 days of school was not a concern. Victor passed all of his TAKS tests and had done very well this year!

I couldn't allow him to leave for the summer without some sort of mini-celebration for him. After all, we will have one on the last day of school for the entire class. I bought him his own cupcake, made his end of the year present early, and told the kids so that we everyone would be sure to send him off to summer positively.

The afternoon was ticking by. I knew that I would eventually have to tell Victor that today was his last day at school for the year. 2:15 finally arrived. Ms. H, another teacher and myself called Victor over to my desk. If I remember correctly, this is a little how the conversation went:

Me: "Victor...
Teacher 1: "Victor, well...
Me: "Victor...well...today...is...your last day at school for the summer."
Victor: "WHAT?!?!"
Me: "You are going on vacation with your grandparents tomorrow."
Victor: "I DON'T WANT TO GO! I'M NOT GOING! NO!!!!!"
Me: "It's not a choice."
Victor: "WHO TOLD YOU THIS?"
Me: "Your mom."
Victor: "WHY? I don't want to go. I need to stay at school and learn more. I have more to learn. I can't miss school. I can't go. I don't want to go." (begins pacing around the room)
Me: "Victor, can you tell me how you are feeling?"
Victor: "I...I...I am...I am feeling...upset!"
Me: "Why are you feeling upset?"
Victor: "Because I don't want to go. I have more to learn."
Me: "Victor...you have my permission to go. You passed all of your TAKS tests and you have learned everything you need to in 4th grade. You passed 4th grade with flying colors and you deserve to start your vacation early."
Victor: "But other kids don't miss the end of the year. Is _____ going to be here the rest of the year?"
Me: "_____ will be on vacation this summer. Lots of kids go on vacation this summer. (speaking to the class) "Raise your hand if you are going on vacation this summer."
Class: (every child raises their hand)
Me: "See, it will be okay...everyone goes on vacation."
Victor: (goes around asking kids how long they will be on vacation and if they will miss any school and still pacing the classroom and beginning to accept the reality that this is his last day...or last afternoon in the classroom)

IN THE MEANTIME...the entire class is being ridiculous. By ridiculous, I mean that they are in tears. 75% of the class has tears rolling down their faces. I don't understand this because it's not like this was Victor's last day at our school forever and most of them will see him again next year. In fact, there were kids crying that didn't even seem to be very good friends with Victor this year. Now, this class was amazingly supportive of Victor at all times, but there is a difference between being friends with him and helping him in the classroom when he needed. I was glad that they all cared enough for Victor that they would miss him over the summer, but I felt that only a few kids really had the right to be so dramatic. I had kids rolling on the floor crying, others crying audibly anytime we looked over, and others with Kleenexes wet with tears. FOR REAL??

---------------------------------------

The classroom has been quite a bit different since Victor's last day on Friday. Mainly that we are in the last 5 days of school and report cards have been verified. I can honestly say that having Victor in my class taught me so much. I loved that little boy and miss him. The growth he showed this year was impressive...so much so that everyone in the school has noticed. Knowing that a child can grow that much in one year gives me hope for every student in my class now and in the future.

Look...A SQUIRREL!

Everyday is interesting in my class and today's field trip was no different. We were off to see the Symphony of Austin. I'll skip through all the boring stuff and get to the "interesting" part of the trip that took place at Zilker Park when we went for lunch.

You should all be aware of Richard by now...
Richard: "Look, a squirrel!" (and he began chasing it)
Ms. H: "Richard, STOP CHASING THE SQUIRREL! Would you like if someone suddenly yelled, 'Look, a Richard!' and started chasing you?!?!"

Ms. H and I took some kids to the "outhouse" at Zilker because they were in desperate need of the bathroom, until they saw it...it was a circular structure that had a hut-type roof that didn't cover the entire opening. I did not go in myself because of the shrilling that the kids did when they went in...
"Ewwwww! My mom wouldn't let me go in there!"
"There are banana peels on the ground!"
"There's a potato on the ground too...it's just laying there!"
"Where's the hand sanitizer????????"
"I'd rather use a bush!"

It's a bright, sunshining day!

If you've been reading my blog since around this time last year, you would know that the title was quite different. In fact, the whole tone of the blog was quite different. Things weren't good. TAKS scores had come in and I was very disappointed with my class last year. I didn't know how to react. It was my first year teaching and I hadn't even taught the entire year. I had mixed emotions, that yes, they were my class and those were the result, but I also didn't feel responsibility for those results seeing as how I only became their teacher halfway through the year.

Anyway...this year was different. I needed to prove myself, and prove myself is what I did. This day has been one of the best teaching days ever. Receiving the good scores was a high moment, but telling the kids how well they did made me feel even better. One kid after another,

Me: "How do you think you did?"

Kid: "I think I did okay."

Me: "Do you think you passed all three tests?"

Kid: "I think so." (This is when I usually tell them the results, unless it's one of those kids with a sense of humor that I like to tease.)

Me: "Are you sure? You are 100% sure that you passed the writing, math, AND reading test?"

Kid: "Well, I hope so. I don't know now."

Me: "So which one do you think you failed?"

Kid: (says a test)

Me: "Well, I'm sorry to tell you...that you are wrong. You passed (or were commended)!"

Kid Responses: a smile forms...tears formed in one child's eyes...sometimes squeals accompany the smile...jumping up and down...heads back to the classroom to share their excitement and happiness and success

I felt like the TAKS Santa today. I only had to give bad news to two kids and that was very difficult, because those students have worked incredibly hard and improved tremendously this year. The good news that I gave to 20 students over shadowed those 2. This doesn't mean I don't care about those, because I almost wanted to cry when I had to tell one of them. It was disappointing and we are all trying to figure out how it happened.

I need to go and start planning the pizza party and baking a cake that I promised would happen if 90% of them passed...the price to pay when they do well...I think I will manage!

The tingle in her arms...

During School:
"Ms. L, we need Ms. H to come fix our maps. They are pulled out to far and she's the only one that can fix them."

After School:
Me: "Ms. H, can you please fix our maps. The kids requested that you do it because you are a professional."
Ms. H: "I don't know if I can, the maps are pulled out way too far!"
Me: "My kids are relying on you!"
Ms. H: "I'll try."
Me: "Come on, you can do better than that."
Ms. H: "I feel a tingle in my arms. I'm sure it will work this time....WAAAAAAALLLLLLAAAAA!"

And what do you know? Ms. H saved the day again with her skills specifically designed to release maps and overhead screens after they've been pulled out too far for any normal person to fix.

The "I Don't Understand" Kid

I have a student who I like to call the "I Don't Understand" kid. I know there are many more of these out there. Let me explain. These are examples of typical conversations with the "I Don't Understand" kid.

Me: "Please follow along as I explain the directions."
IDUK: "But I don't understand."
Me: "Please listen to the directions before you start saying that you don't understand."

Me: "When we are working on a multiplication problem, we first need to multiply up."
IDUK: "But I don't understand."
Me: "Please watch as I do it before you start saying that you don't understand."

Me: "I need everyone to have their paper out and follow along with us as _____ works through the problem on the board."
IDUK: "But I don't understand."
Me: "Please follow along with their work and tell me which part you don't understand."

Me: "I need everyone to pull out their writing spiral and continue working on the piece you started yesterday."
IDUK: "I don't know what to write."
Me: "We talked about this yesterday and started our pieces yesterday. What did you work on yesterday?"

I have plenty more examples, but I think you all understand which kid in your class or past classes this may be.

Richard, Richard, Richard!

Richard: "Ms. L, can I go spit phlegm out?"

-------------------------------------------------------

Me: "Richard, what planet do you live on?"
Brandy: "Planet Twice."
Me: "What?"
Brandy: "Planet Twice because he always asks everything twice."

-------------------------------------------------------

Me: "Connor, have you been visiting Richard?"
Karen: "That's mean!"
Me: "How do you think that's mean?"
Karen: "Cause you say Richard lives on Planet Twice."
Me: "I didn't say that, Brandy did!"
Karen: "But that's still mean to Connor."
Me: "Connor, I asked if you were visiting Richard because you haven't been 'in class' today."
Karen: "I knew it!"
Richard: "I heard my name!"
Me: "Yes, I asked Connor if he was visiting you on another planet earlier. Do you remember that Brandy said you live on Planet Twice?"
Richard: "Huh?"
Me: "Brandy said you live on Planet Twice because you ask everything twice. Isn't that true?"
Richard: "I don't know."
Me: "Don't you ask everything twice? Cause you forget a lot?"
Richard: "Oh yeah I do!"
Me: "See, that's what we were talking about."
Richard: "hahaha, okay!"

What did you say?

True story borrowed from my portable-mate and told from her perspective:

So I was working at my desk and I hear the word testicles. I look over and of course it's coming from the same student who's said "he went to take a dump" and the same one who chuckles anytime he hears the word "balls". Oh and the kid who laughs out loud every time he passes gas?! That's him too. So I hear the word testicles and I listen in for a few seconds just to see how this word was brought up.

Here's what was said "Testicles. Is that what you said? Dude, do you know what that means? Testicles are..." I immediately call this student over before he can do anymore damage. He knows right away why he's being called over and starts to apologize before I even have a chance to say anything. I told him that if he didn't understand the other student then he should ask what he said instead of assuming that he said a word that is inappropriate in school. He nods and I tell him to go back and ask what the other student said. He goes back, asks, and the other student has no idea what he's talking about. They continue to work without testicle conversation. Success? I think so.

Thanks for the great story, Ms. H!!!!

Eat!

Victor: "How many calories is someone supposed to eat in a day?"
Me: "You should eat at least 5,000." (Keep in mind that I once called this boy toothpicks because of his skinny little legs.)
Victor: "But will I be overweight if I eat that much?"
Me: "You? No way! Me? I'd be overweight by lunch."
Victor: "Will you be overweight if you eat that much for a long time?"
Me: "You, no. You would take a long time to catch up. You need to keep eating."
Victor: "What if I drink 5 Boosts a day? Will I be overweight then?"
Me: "Don't worry about it. You will not become overweight."

That's not how you do it!

The music teacher was speaking to me last week about an upcoming field trip. He felt the need to snap his fingers all over the place with attitude while explaining something to me. Karen was eaves dropping and said, "Mr. C, that's not how you do it. It's 1! 2! 3!" As she snapped her fingers like you see in the movies when girls are "snapping" at each other.

No he didn't!

Jasmine: Do you still like Chris Brown?
Karen: "Yeah! Have you seen him, he's cute!"
Jasmine: "Didn't you hear? He beat up Rhianna?"
Karen: "Nah-uh! Rhianna just put make-up on!"
Jasmine: "Yeah, he hit her with an umbrella!"
Karen: "Under my umbrella, ella, ella, a..."

She's a teacher!

Lauren: "Ms. L, you got a tan this weekend!"
Me: "Thanks for noticing."
Karen: "Did you wear your bikini to the pool?"
Lauren: "She doesn't wear a bikini...she's a teacher!"

Watch Dog Math

It was Thursday and the routine begins as usual, except for seeing two of my kiddos and their dad/uncle on the morning broadcast. This means that they will be visiting my classroom for the next hour. (I always hope they take the initiative to help the kids with their work and maintain classroom order...some think that hour is about them entertaining the class.) Luckily, this dad and uncle were on top of things. They made their way around the classroom helping students with their morning math problems. I told them I would be reviewing a lesson on transformations. They both looked at me puzzled..."I am good at math, but I don't know what you are talking about." I told them they could look at the chart we had created the day before to brush up.

When the lesson began, I had the kids remind the dad and uncle what each transformation meant (translation, reflection, rotation). The kids were loving this. They were so excited they knew something that these grown men did not. I stretched out the lesson as long as possible, having the kids wait to give answers until the dad/uncle had theirs as well. It was funny. The best part was when they would get an answer wrong. The kids had a great time and learned even more through explaining it to these dads...but in a more fun way than explaining it back to me.

Sometimes I'm annoyed with the dads that come to be Watch Dogs because they don't know how to interact with the kids and think it's just a day of playing with the kids, even when they are in the classroom during learning time. I don't mind having the dads that know how to make their way around the room helping kids and maintaining order.

I need the spray!

Richard is a "character" in my class that keeps me on my toes and thinking, "What will he say next?" Here are a few examples of today's randomness...

---------------------------------------------------------------

Scenario #1:
We are at recess and I see Richard walking up with his arms out like Jesus and his wrists are clenched tightly.
Richard: "I NEED THE SPRAY!"
Me: "What are you talking about?"
Richard: "I AM BURNING!"
Me: "What are you talking about?"
Richard: (whispering in a pain-filled voice) "My back is sunburned."
Me: (looking at his shoulders)
Richard: (whisper again) "Other side!"
Me: "Okay, go to the nurse and get the spray."
Richard: (walks inside with his arm still stretched out and wrists clenched)

---------------------------------------------------------------

Scenario #2
We are talking about transformations (math-->translation, rotation, reflection) and Richard was having a problem seeing the figures in the book as congruent. The key to the lesson was that the shapes had to be congruent to even be considered as a transformation.
Richard: "Ms. L, number 10 is not congruent."
Me: "I disagree. It is on a chart to show you it is congruent."
Class: "Yeah Richard...those are congruent."
Richard: "No! Look closely! This one is on the line and this one is barely right under the line. That means they aren't the same size. They aren't congruent, so they aren't any type of transformation."
Me: "No. It is on the graph paper. I see them both exactly on the line. Remember that I said if they were NOT congruent, you would be able to tell with a glance. The pictures will show a large enough difference in the size that it won't even be a doubt in your mind."
Richard: "But these aren't the same size. This one is right under the line and that one is on the line."
Me: "Richard! I promise you those are congruent shapes. They will not make the shapes a half of a millimeter smaller. It will be something you will notice immediately. You are staring at the picture too much. Look away and then look back and tell me if they are the same size."
Richard: "They aren't!!!!! This one is just a tiny tiny bit bigger than that one."
Me: "Okay! Take my word for it that they are congruent. What type of transformation is that??? Even if you don't agree that they are congruent, what transformation is it?"
Richard: "But it's not..."
Me: "Yes it is! Let's move on!"

---------------------------------------------------------------

Scenario #3
I was doing a guided reading lesson during Explorer Time (aka intervention time), when Richard approached with something he HAD to tell me.
Richard: "Ms. L, this dice is a cheating dice." (No, he doesn't know it's called a die.)
Me: "What are you talking about?"
Richard: "This dice is a cheating dice. It only goes up to three."
Me: "I guess that's all the game needs...is three."
Richard: "But it's a cheating dice."
Me: "I still don't understand."
Richard: "If they get six, then I can only get three. It's a cheating dice."
Me: "I don't know how they will get six when the die only goes to three."
Richard: (begins walking away) "All I wanted to tell you is that this is a cheating dice. IT'S A CHEATING DICE!"
Me: "Okay."

Why would you do that?

A conversation I overhead during book clubs while I was working with another group:

Richard: "Why would you turn in your paper when you know that your answers are wrong?"
Elliot: "I don't know the answer."
Richard: "That doesn't mean you should turn in your paper with the wrong answers. Why don't you look through the book and find the right answers. I just don't see why you would turn it in knowing you have the wrong answers. That's not very smart."
Elliot: (looks at Richard annoyingly)
Richard: "Why don't you try to get the right answers. Turning it in doesn't make sense. You're not trying."
Elliot: (still sitting in silence and staring at Richard very annoyed at this point) "I'm just going to turn it in."
Richard: "WHY????"
Elliot: "Cause I can't do it. I don't know the answer."
Richard: "Well, get your paper and look in your book. You shouldn't just turn in your paper because you don't know. You're not trying."
Elliot: (goes to turn in his paper)
Richard: "That's not very smart. You shouldn't do that."

At this point, I step in and tell Elliot that Richard has a point and that I don't want any papers in the basket to be graded that you know are incorrect. The response of course is a grunt and a devilish stare...not at Richard, but at me. Come on...Richard was the one grilling you and giving you the third degree. It's because of him that I knew what was going on.

It's that time again...

...for the end of the 9 weeks awards ceremony. You all know that I have a class that is a bit sensitive. I don't even think "a bit sensitive" begins to describe how sensitive they really are. It's quite ridiculous. Ever since our first awards ceremony, I dread these days. It never fails that I have a student crying because they didn't get the awards they wanted or they didn't get any award at all.

Here goes the speech I give before or after each awards ceremony:
"I can tell that there are some people who are upset about the award they received or that they didn't receive any award at all. Remember that the last 9 weeks began on Monday. If you are unhappy, you have 9 weeks to prove that you deserve one of those awards. It's never too late. To show me that you deserve an award, you should be completing quality work, turning in ALL of your work and giving 100% effort. If you are doing all of those things, I can promise your efforts will be recognized in one way or another (honor roll or hustle award). Remember that the harder you work, the better your report card will be and the better chance you'll have at earning an award...and blah blah blah and so on, so on, so on!"

FYI: I had 3 criers.

Just change it!!!

It was Friday, which meant we were doing a reading passage to practice for TAKS. This can sometimes cause some drama when students don't get the 100 they are working for. This is especially true for Victor.

He brought his passage up for me to grade. (I grade these right away so the students can see where they made mistakes. Most of the time it was careless and they know the right answer.) I began grading and by the time I got to the second page, had already circled 3 for being wrong. I glanced at the rest of the paper and there were no more incorrect answers. He grabbed the paper from my hands and insanity ensued:

Victor: "No, these are right! Change them! They are right!"
Me: "I'm sorry, but they are not."
V: "Yes they are! Change them!!!"
Me: "Change them to what?"
V: "They are right, change them!"
Me: "What do you want me to do?" (He has now changed the answers to the correct choice.)
V: "Change these!!"
Me: "Okay, I will change them. You got them correct now."
V: "I want to start over!!!"
Me: "Do you want me to get you a new packet and you can do it again?"
V: "I just want to do it again."
Me: "Okay, I'll get another one. You can start over."
V: (gets my pen from my desk and scribbles out the marks I wrote on his paper)
Me: "Is that better?" ((Please keep in mind that the rest of the class is in the room and we are stacking and packing getting ready to head home for the weekend!))
V: "What's my grade? Give me a 100!"
Me: "I can't give you a 100." (Even though this would have probably made the whole situation go away, it would have set a president for the upcoming weeks of practice reading passages.)
V: "Give me a 100!"
Me: (I wrote 75 on the paper, crossed it out, and wrote 'corrected'.)
V: "NO!!!!!!!!! Give me a 100! I'm never going to pass TAKS!"
Me: "You will pass TAKS. You made a 75 on this. That is a passing grade. You would have passed TAKS with that grade."
V: "NOOOOO!!!! I'm never going to pass TAKS. This is not a good grade."
Me: "It's time to go. You have to go home now."
V: "I need a 100 first. I don't want to go. I want to get a 100."
Me: "I'm sorry. I have to go with the other kids. Ms. O will take you to your bus."

April Fool's!

As an April Fool's surprise for the kiddos at our school, our principal approved anyone who wanted to switch places. My portable mate and I jumped at the chance to change places with the PE coaches for a day. So we arrived at school in our athletic wear (one of the biggest perks of the day) and went to the gym, but instead of picking up our classes and heading to our rooms, we lingered. The kids weren't sure what was going on. We told them to just be patient (while the PE coaches finished up their morning duties). And so the spiel began...

"Ms. D, the principal, has decided that she is going to try a new program. She thinks it's important for teachers to be able to teach anything. Because of that, she made some changes. This is something that will stay this way for the rest of the year. Ms. H and Ms. L are now Coach H and Coach L and the coaches now teach 4th grade. You may also notice some other teachers that have been switched as well."

All was well for a while this morning. My portable mate and I were in the gym doing our thing, having so much fun, while I was hearing murmurs of what was happening in my classroom. I was hearing that my class already knew what the joke was. The PE coach in my room was set on them not knowing because it ruined the fun. So when he took them to specials, he told the art teacher that they had caught on. She made it perfectly clear that this was not a joke. What happened next? They all cried of course! "We love Ms. L! Bring her back!" "NO!!!!!! This isn't true!"

The news spread..."Who's class was crying because of the switch?" THAT WOULD BE MINE. In a way, I feel so loved that they cried at the thought of me not being their teacher anymore, but my immediate response was, "What a bunch of sissies!" Seriously...as 'Sparkles' put it, "Can't they take a joke?" Was I embarrassed that my class was the only class that couldn't take the joke that many other people in the school were doing as well...a little bit. But what really touched my heart was when I saw Victor in the hall and he said with a pitiful voice, "Ms. L, I miss you!"

The day ended and I was worn out, but felt good because I had been so active all day. I'm seriously considering taking the PE certification test just to have on paper so that when I get tired of worrying about test scores, I can not worry about anything and teach PE. That job was a piece of cake...and if I taught PE and ran around all day, I could eat all the cake I ever wanted. Hmmmmm....(that's the sound of serious consideration)...

You're already thinking this way?

During math this morning, there was a bit of "downtime". This means the students were folding and gluing geometric figures and were allowed to be having their own conversations. While I was standing at one table helping a group, I overhead a conversation between my aide and a student. I invited myself into the conversation and it went something like this:

Ms. A: "My son is home sick today. He was throwing up all night."
Karen: "Why aren't you home?"
Ms. A: "My husband is home with him."
Karen: "You trust your husband to be home with him?"
Ms. A: "Of course!"
Karen: "I wouldn't leave him home with my husband. I would send him to daycare or stay home by myself. Or I would leave him with my Momma."
Ms. A: "Why would you marry him if you didn't trust him?"
Lauren: "That's right...you shouldn't marry a man you don't trust! You should marry someone you love AND trust!"
Me: "Right! I hope you marry someone that you trust and you love. If that's not true, then you shouldn't get married."
Karen: "Well, my aunt got married to a guy I didn't trust. I told her I didn't trust him, but she married him anyway. And you know what? He left her with the kids."
Me: "That is just one instance. That does not mean that you shouldn't say all men are untrustworthy."
Karen: "I don't trust men!"

You're kidding me right?!?!!? She is nine years old and already swearing all men are untrustworthy. And second...was I really having this conversation with a few nine year olds??? Maybe it wasn't the most conventional teacher-student conversation, but if she feels this way about men, is she going to get these feelings out at home where there are men?

The Cotton Boll

It was the day that my intern had to do a social studies lesson. We are currently talking about plantations and the invention of the cotton gin, so this was also the topic of her lesson. My portable mate and I team teach social studies, which meant that our interns taught their lessons to both classes...even a bigger challenge than teaching this type of lesson to just 22 kids...she had 40.

Here's the outline for the lesson:
- The class discussed how much cotton slaves were required to pick/seed every day -- 1 pound. 50 bolls = 1 pound
- The kids got to gin their own boll of cotton. (I had no idea there were so many seeds in one boll.)
- They had to write a journal entry as a slave who had been picking cotton all day.

The kids LOVED this lesson. I will definitely be repeating this lesson next year. The hands-on experience was great...they truly began to understand how hard it was to pick/seed the cotton every day. And while they were seeding the cotton, they were complaining that it was too hard. So, all of the teachers were walking around telling them that they if they didn't pick better and faster, they would be whipped (not literally of course) or they would have to pick even more cotton. They threatened to quit or run away...which meant they were asking for another whipping (not literally of course). The kids had a great time pretending during this lesson and really understood the objective.

Sparkles

There is one student I don't think I've ever written before...she doesn't necessarily fly under the radar, but she's close. Her academics are not the highest, but her attitude and personality more than make up for it. She also has a lot going against her at home. I'm not sure who she lives with and not sure who I would even contact if there were a problem, but she seems to forget all that when she's at school.

This students, who I'll name Brandi, is a very selfless person...the most selfless I've ever seen.
- She is the only kid who brought me a present on my birthday. I know that her home situation is not conducive to buying the teacher a present, but she still felt the need.
- She is also the child who helps ANYONE! She sees a friend in need of any kind of help and, without being asked, heads over to help.
- She is very observant and does things and notices things that others don't. "Ms. L, you had 3 of those candies already. Are you sure you want another?" "I already had 3, are you sure?"
- She picks up trash or volunteers to help with ANYTHING!
- She hears me talk to myself and does whatever I was telling myself to do.
- She knows how to take a joke and has a great sense of humor with her friends and teachers. She has a better sense of humor than most of the kids in my class.
- She brings me 5 goldfish each day for snack.
- She is always smiling! You could have told her that she just failed a test, but she will smile because she knows she did her best and that she'll work harder for next time.
- She smiles because she knows you're crazy.
- She smiles when I forget something and she is able to remind me.
- She is always willing to learn from a friend or me. And she loves teaching her friends when she knows something they don't.
- She never complains or cries!

Did I mention how much I love this kid?!?! She has the positive attitude that I wish every kid had.

Is that a caterpillar?

Yesterday we began a unit on life cycles. This unit kicked off with a classroom "pet" so we could see everything first hand. I am not really the kind of teacher who likes class pets of any sort, so this was a step for me. I actually didn't have that big of a problem with it because I knew the kids were going to LOVE it!!! And I was right...

Our class pet actually turned out to be class pets...meal worms. I know they aren't really a pet, but they're worse! I don't like creepy, crawly things. These things were just gross. Luckily, I had an intern for my portable-mate sort them for the other fourth grade teachers so that I didn't touch them. THANK GOODNESS!

The kids got sooooooo excited about the meal worms. They were unable to contain their excitement or disgust for the meal worms. And the thought of them growing into beetles only increased their excitement. I had a few kids who wanted to stare into the plastic box the entire class period. I had others who cringed when I brought the meal worms near. As the ones cringed in their seats, I reminded myself that I was being brave holding the meal worm box because of the kids who were so engaged. They could probably get me to do just about anything because I love them so much! I guess meal worms are just the beginning...luckily there are only 9 weeks of school left...

The Big Return

Today was the first day back from Spring Break...

I had a wonderful Spring Break, but in a weird way, I was definitely looking forward to today. I love my class and was really starting to miss them. And for good reason...

- First thing this morning, Victor sees me in the hallway and starts questioning me immediately about knowing about his mouth surgery. I realized how much I missed him!
- Lauren gives me a present she bought me on Spring Break in San Antonio...a key chain with my name on it.
- They said I looked pretty in my clothes and looked like I had a great Spring Break!
- They loved the Jack Hanna book I bought on break with them in mind.
- They were ready to learn again immediately...and showed me through poems they wrote about enjoying school during writing time.
- They were just very happy to be at school all day...no complaints of being tired or not wanting to do anything.

Hopefully these wonderful kiddos will generate some great blogs in the coming days/weeks/remaining months of the school year...only 49 more days!

You can do it!

This past week has been trying on everyone in portable 4B. I've had so many kids need me to be there for them emotionally. Forget the academics, they needed a self-esteem boost. I've never been around so many kids who were so unsure of themselves in all aspects of their lives.

I had one kid write a whole page worth of, "I'm a failure and worthless to everyone." Another continue to say, "I suck! I hate myself." And then there was one who continued to bang and throw things because he would get upset with himself.

So, what to do with these kids...??? I found myself keep repeating the phrase, "I see how hard you are working. Keep it up and know that I believe in you. I need you to believe in you too." I've never given so much verbal praise in such a short amount of time. I know that verbal praise is a necessity in life, however, I was drained of it this week. I couldn't bring myself to give one more, "you can do it!" I need these kids to come back from Spring Break with a renewed confidence and energy to tackle the remainder of the year. I need them to do that so that I can fulfill my end of the deal and teach them something, rather than be sole emotional supporter...although that is what I will do if needed.

Slew of pictures that I've been meaning to share...

These pictures go along with blogs I've already written...I'm just now getting around to posting.

Writing Camp shirts -- sweat shop!

Daily camp fire -- sing along and schedule overview.

The great spider hunt...notice that it took 8 kids to look for a brown house spider that I'm not sure even existed. I will post this picture once I can blot out faces when my iPhoto is working.

Received this note from a parent. I was confused as to how to interpret the signature..."Pops"

Ran out of space and the kids wanted it hung up...the ceiling works as well as anywhere else.

Pictionary

Today for science, we played Pictionary using our science vocabulary words about ecosystems. The kids were having a blast!!!! They were doing a great job guessing the words based on the pictures and most of the pictures were good enough to guess. Things were going smoothly, the teams were within a point of each other the entire game. Well, things WERE going smoothly.

JT was up to draw. He was supposed to draw "behavior". I told him he could draw a monkey in a tree because one of a monkeys behaviors is hanging in a tree. His picture was very good. The guessers however were not. They were unable to guess his word. He immediately began to cry because he was unable to draw well enough for his team to guess correctly.

Elliot was net. His word was "valley". This was probably one of the easiest words in the bunch to draw. BUT...Elliot drew some trees with giraffes, not a valley in sight. I even asked him to explain his drawing and he couldn't. He went to the back of his group to shed some tears.

Tara was close to next. (This all happened within a few turns.) I can't remember what word she had, but it was one that her team should have guessed. After her picture was left with incorrect guesses, she returned to her team in tears just like the others.

The count is now up to 3. And I didn't mention that during math (before Pictionary), William was crying. We were practicing finding the volume of rectangular prisms and he guessed incorrectly. My response to him was no different than the one to the correct answers, "How did you figure that out?" However, the kids did make a sound of disappointment, indicating that he had given the wrong answers. That was just enough to set him off.

I was for sure that my classroom would be tear-free today with the lessons I had planned. What I did learn is that I can't assume anything.

Does he know something I don't?

Victor: "When are you going to get a ring on your finger????"

I made it through!

OMG! (These are letters straight from the mouth of my students.) Today was the longest day of my life, also known as the Writing TAKS! It all began around 8:15 this morning and didn't end (in my classroom) until 2:15. I spent the day "actively monitoring" 18 students sit in their desks reading and writing. While following all 1,000 of the very strict guidelines of a test administrator, I became bored out of my mind. They don't teach you how to stare at a classroom full of kids for an entire day without talking or saying encouraging things while you're in teacher school.

I know how bored I was and I also understand how bored kids were that finished before the others. I had one student using goldfish (the snack crackers) to write out names of every student in the class. He asked if he could take a picture of them even, too bad we were testing, cause I totally would have. The best part of it was that the letters in each person's name he made with the crackers looked like his handwriting.

One high point of today was that I sat with them at lunch. This is something that doesn't happen very often and I enjoy it when I get the chance. Although I'm not eager enough to sit with them every day...once a while in nice. Instead of being the teacher, we get to talk about non-school stuff. I find out what things they like (the vegetable sticks from the cafeteria) and what they don't like (the boys when they act weird). I found out that: one kid only likes fish sticks, but not any other kind of fish (very similar to when I was a kid); they all love strawberries and cantaloupe; one kid is tired of selling Girl Scout cookies; they love being in my class; one kid has an adorable little brother that is going to have a birthday soon; and the boys have a group called "The Boys' Club".

All in all, I'm so glad tomorrow is back to regular teaching. I get to teach volume, ecosystems, the Underground Railroad, book clubs, and no more of this writing to the prompt. I don't know if I've ever been so excited about poetry. :)

I taught them to think!

It's almost here...TAKS that is. I've never been so nervous. Today we had a relaxing kind of day so the kids wouldn't get too stressed out about tomorrow. I know for a fact that I am definitely more stressed out than most of them. Not to forget about the test completely, we read a book this afternoon and talked about strategies for tomorrow.

We started off reading Hooray for Diffendoofer Day by Dr. Seuss (it also happens to be his birthday). It's a story about a school that does everything fun and interesting. In fact, all they know is interesting, colorful, different, and fun. The principal comes in saying that they will have a test, and so will every school in the town. If they don't pass, the school will be closed and everyone will have to go another school in town that is black and white. And by black and white, I mean boring, no talking, nothing interesting or different. The kids begin to worry. The teachers don't. The teachers explain that they may have not taught them all the information on the test, but they have taught them how to think. It turns out that the kids do more amazing than the principal expected.

My kids loved this story. The immediately related it to me teaching them to think, even if I haven't taught them the exact prompt they will receive tomorrow. I have taught them how to brainstorm ideas, how to plan their writing, and how to revise to make improvements. I am fully confident in how they have been prepared and what they have shown me. However, this doesn't calm my nerve at all. I am still a nervous wreck. I am frightened that they will forget what I taught them. They will forget how to think. This scares the living daylights out of me. I know they are capable, but will they show they are capable?!?!

S'mores are Dangerous!

Our writing camp campfire was in full swing. S'mores were being made and compositions were being shared. Things were going well and everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves, parents included. And then...

I hear screaming and see crying. It's Victor. "It popped out. Just put it back in the hole. Fix it!" I then realize he's talking about the wire that goes in the back bracket of his braces. Apparently, the wire is now poking in his gum. I take him outside to see if there is anything I can do for him. NOTHING! He begins to scream, "Call 911! Call the police! Call somebody and tell them I need help! You need to fix this! Just put it back in the hole. HELP ME! Do something! Call 911, they will help me. Call my dentist." (Please remember that I have an aide and parents in my room at this time...the kids were not left unattended.)

The PE coach hears the yelling and comes over to help. We take him to the nurse's office against his will and find out that she can't do anything either (which I knew), but he was not happy with that response. He continued to scream, "Call 911! Call the doctor! Call my mom and tell her that I need help! I need the nurse to just fix it!" He continues to scream, cry, act like a baby laying on my lap, and making impossible demands for another 20 minutes or so. I finally decide that I need to go back to my room and trade duties with the aide. This is because I can't take any more of the screaming.

I return to my room to calm the kids back down, fill them in on Victor's status and have them group share a piece of their compositions. Even with the drama, the campfire was nice and I think the parents enjoyed hearing their children read the compositions that they have been working on. (I will share a few compositions and pictures from writing camp tomorrow.)

Teamwork!

Last week was emotionally eventful for one of my students. Sarah was the student who "broken" by receiving the 1 on her first writing camp composition. Helping her work through this was probably one of the hardest things I've done as a teacher, but the good news is that she did finish a 2+ or 3 composition by Friday.

The second hardest part of her week was the spider she did not invite to hang out in her desk. Here's how it went down...

I looked across the room when everyone was supposed to be writing and I see Sarah crying. I also see Juan huddled around her desk with a few other students. A kid comes up to tell me, "Sarah's crying." Within seconds, at least 6 kids join the crowd around the desk. I go over to get the status on the situation. I lean over the desk to look inside to see what the crowd is staring at. To my surprise, they were staring at nothing. The desk was empty. All of Sarah's belongings were on the floor below her desk. As some kids are still staring in the desk, a few others have an animal encyclopedia and they are trying to figure out what type of spider it is. They talk about how big it was, the color, its leg length, and what its body looked like. As they flip through the pages, I suggest, "Maybe it was a tarantula?!" The other kids thought it was funny, but Sarah did not. I think they determined it was a brown house spider or a daddy long leg. I tell them they need to pick up the mess on the floor and return it to Sarah's desk. Before doing that, the 8 students that are now gathered around the desk, give the desk another few stares before moving. (I will post a picture of the gathered students staring in an empty desk tomorrow...it was funny to watch.)

I could have handled this situation a bit differently, but allowed this disruption on the basis that these kids were showing caring towards Sarah, working together to get the spider taken care of, showed cooperation in each of their "jobs" in spider hunting, and it was fun to watch them take care of this. I also took this lesson from Philip Done who wrote 32 Third Graders and One Class Bunny. He would have done the same thing. In fact, in a story very similar to one he wrote about, I also stopped teaching when a bee flew into the room. There are certain things that teaching must be put on hold for.

I broke her!

I'll start with the good news. This is part of an e-mail that I received from a parent today. To be specific, it was from Elliot's father. If you've been reading my blog for a while, you know that I've had lots of trouble with Elliot's behavior. He's had emotional and angry outbursts, and often gets mad because I'm reminding him to work. Things have changed in the last few weeks and the message from his father confirms it. This message is referring to writing camp.

"Loved the Hobo stick. Interesting camping ideas.
Seems to have captivated his imagination and attention.
Keep up the good work. I heard him tell me that he LIKES the writing homework where he corrects sentences. Wow!!!"

This makes me feel good and know that all the hokey camp things we are doing this week are really changing attitudes about writing.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
On the other hand, today I passed back the compositions that were written yesterday. On the back of each composition, I wrote a compliment for their writing and something they need to work on, along with a score based on the TAKS rubric. Like I said yesterday, all but one kid passed. The one who didn't pass was an unusual case. I was very surprised to read her writing and knew that it wasn't reflective of her as a writer.

So I passed back the compositions and almost immediately, tears began flowing. I knew that she was very upset with her score. I tried talking to her about it and she said, "But I did stay on topic." I had to tell her that I was sorry and unfortunately the organization and intended meaning wasn't conveyed in her writing.

Off we went to lunch and recess and I was hoping she would begin to understand and get over the disappointment. I was wrong. She cried all afternoon. She didn't write a single word on a paper all afternoon. She used a whole box of Kleenex to dry her tears. Great...just what I need 4 days before TAKS...a kid shutting down who is capable and usually proves her excellence. What in the world was I going to do to help her get through this roadblock and begin writing again?!?!?

The wonderful teacher that I am took her outside for a heart-to-heart. We sat next to each other and talked about her fantastic writing in the past and what I knew she could do in the future. In fact, she's going to write at home tonight about whatever she wants and we're going to meet tomorrow to talk about the great things she did in that writing. She seemed okay with this idea. It is a non-stressful environment in which she can write anything and we'll boost her confidence again tomorrow by talking about the highlights of the writing. I've got Plan B and Plan C in store if this doesn't work out. I'll keep you updated on how this goes and if anyone has any suggestions, please let me know...I need to fix her!

Lesson Learned: Never give a score point 1 back to a child. Lie about it and claim it's a barely 2 or just pretend you forgot to score it and talk to them about it later.

I'm so proud!

On day two of writing camp, all but one kid in my class finished their first composition. I was hopeful. This is the second to last practice composition before the real thing next week. We've learned so much about writing and come so far in our writing abilities. I've been worried in the past because they have learned so much and when we took a writing benchmark, they forgot everything!

When I read the compositions today, I smiled. I had no other response, but pure happiness. I read some great papers. I had kids write like they've never written before in a wonderfully fabulous way. According to my grading scale, I had all but one kid pass. And the one kid was unusual. She misinterpreted the prompt and just went in the wrong direction. Her normal writing is well above passing. In all other cases, I was glowing with excitement and telling everyone I could what a wonderful job my class was doing on their writing.

The biggest highlight of today was reading one of my student's composition. When I read the composition, I couldn't stop smiling. My response when I was finished was, "WOW!" I've not felt that very often. I have often described a 4 on the TAKS Writing as reading a paper that gets a "WOW!" when you're finished. It's also a paper that you are unable to find a place for revisions. This was how I felt. I did not have any kids in my class score a 4 last year, so that is my goal this year. When the thought of a kid writing a 4 came into my mind, it reminded me why I do this. I reminded me that I have taught them these writing skills. Most of them came to me with little to no personal narrative writing experience, and to see how much they've grown amazes me.

Today made me excited for next Tuesday. I'll still be terrified come Tuesday at 8am because I don't want them to throw all of their writing strategies out the window. I'll keep my fingers crossed and give as many reminders about what I expect as possible in the next three days.

Please stop singing!

To start off writing camp each day, we meet around the "pond" and "fire" in the middle of the classroom to sing our two writing camp songs. Today we started with "Write and Shine" sung to the tune of "Rise and Shine" (the church song). We attempted to sing the song and it was terrible. When the song was over, all I heard was...

"Ms. L, you ruined that. You shouldn't sing with us."
"Can we sing it without you next time?"
"You aren't singing the right tune."
"You just need to listen to us sing."

If you know me well, or at all, one thing you do know is that my class couldn't have been more right. I was ruining the song. When I allowed them to sing without me, the song was beautiful. They did tell me that I was allowed to do the rap song to the tune of "Ice, Ice Baby". The exact words: "Ms. L, you're allowed to rap because you're not bad, but you just can't sing with us."

If I were a teacher who didn't already know what a terrible singer I am or another person listening to my class tell a teacher this, I would be very upset. However, I am not that person. I like the fact that my kids know they can tell me that I shouldn't sing and know I won't get upset because I know it's true. The know that a comment like this is not crossing the line, but others not related to my singing might be. :)

Meet Your Match

William has met his match. In the past couple weeks, another cry baby has been developing her skills. Jessica is my newest student who joined us in early January. At first, I was so excited to have her. She fit right in was seemed to be up in her academics. I was thankful that I received this student instead of one like the many I received near the end of last year. Well...the honeymoon was soon over.

Jessica is a very emotional student. She often gets upset and cries because I ask her to try and solve problems on her own and also because I ask her to wait in line and take turns with everyone else. She gets upset easily, puts her head down on her desk, and gets teary-eyed. She gives me puppy dog eyes so that I'll see her and feel sorry for her and I don't. She is in fourth grade and needs to learn a little independence, responsibility, and patience.

For example, last week we were in the science lab doing a hands-on measurement assessment. There were stations set up that were only meant for one child at a time. I had the students who were not at stations sit at a table and work on other questions on their assessment that the equipment was not needed. I told Jessica to go to a station to start off with. In this particular stations, students were expected to measure a box and find it's area and perimeter. Keep in mind that this is an assessment and also that Jessica was not in our school when we first did measurement.
Jessica: "Ms. L, I don't know what to do."
Me: "What is it that you don't know what to do?"
J: "That."
Me: "What specifically is 'that'?"
J: "Find the area and perimeter."
Me: "Well, I know you learned that at your last school. You had to have. And I also know that you should have learned it in 3rd grade. I need you to really think about it and try to figure it out." (Jessica is starting to get very frustrated that I won't tell her how to solve the problem.)

Me: "Jessica, can you go sit at the table while you try to solve that problem. I need to let other friends use that station." (She moved aside without a problem, but still looking very upset because I wouldn't give her the answer.)

A few minutes later..."I need you, you, you, and you to go to those stations. I know you all haven't been to any station yet."
Jessica: "I haven't either."
Me: "You have been to one station, they haven't been to any."
J: "I haven't been to them either."
Me: "I need you to show patience and I will let you go to the next open station."
J: (starts tearing up because she's not getting to go to a station, even though she's already been to one and other kids haven't been to any)
Me: "Jessica, you may sit over here until you are ready to come back and work without being upset."
J: (full blown crying is taking place and I'm confused as to why there are so many tears)
Me: "Jessica, when you are ready, you may join us again. But you may not join us with your tears."

Come on now! I know I was a bit of a drama queen as a child, but do I really deserve having to put up with all these drama queens and kings?

SHOCKED!

I wavered on whether or not to write this blog...it's based a topic that can be private to most people, but because of the way it was brought up to me, it lost all privacy.

While we were standing in line getting lunches, Kristy walked up to me...
K: (fairly loud voice that all students can here) "Ms. L, when was the first time you got your period?"
Me: "Hmmmm, what? Uhhhhhhh. Well.... Hmmmmmmm...Uhhhhhhhhh. Well, why do you ask?"
K: "Because my stomach has been hurting a lot."
Me: "Where does it hurt?"
K: "Up here."
Me: "You're fine. Go eat lunch!"
K: "Okay, I was just wondering cause my sister got her's."
Me: "Go eat your lunch!!!!!"

Writing Camp Day 1

It was Day 1 of Writing Camp and what a fabulous day it was. The room was decked out with vines, a mosquito net tent, and cut out animals and bugs.. The kids were stoked. I made t-shirts and provided snacks and my aide bought some camp goodies...personalized water bottles, hobo sticks, pencils, and bugs to go in their snacks.

The kids were so excited about what this week is going to bring. The writing was the least of their concerns. But as the day went on, the writing progressed well. The editing practice in the morning was fabulous and the beginning of their compositions are promising. I am hopeful for what the rest of the week brings. Maybe I'll post some compositions as the week progresses.

Deciduous, Deciduous, Deciduous

Last week I was teaching a guided reading lesson. I was doing some vocabulary building in a book about ecosystems. Usually Victor isn't in my room during guided reading, but he was on that day because of schedule changes. Because of that, he was included in my group.

As I was introducing the vocabulary words, the group was doing great. Then we came to the word deciduous. None of the kids knew how to say it. We broke the word apart and talked about what combinations we knew. We finally got it! Then Victor began chanting it, "Deciduous! Deciduous! Deciduous! Deciduous! Deciduous!" It was quite funny. He wouldn't stop chanting it. I asked him to stop many times before he actually did. In the mean time...

William began reading. He normally struggles with fluency even with more simple words/content. He came to a sentence that talked about a tree being deciduous. He didn't hesitate or stumble. I paused to congratulate him on how he read over the word without any struggle. He smiled and was proud of himself as well. I asked, "William, how did you know how to say that word without pausing to break it apart?" He replied, "Well, Victor said it enough times that I just remembered it."

Secret Admirer

On Day 1 of Kiss-o-Grams, a message was sent to a student in my class from "Anonymous". It's been tearing this girl apart trying to figure out who it is. She has been asking on a daily basis for hints, but I refuse to tell. If the boy wants her to know, he can tell her. I refuse to spill the secret. I also refuse to give any clues as to the person's identity.

On his side of things, he came to me today and asked for my "love" advice.
Richard: "Ms. L, I don't know what to do about this whole Claire thing."
Me: "Well, you can either tell her that you sent it because you're a good friend or you can just leave it as a secret."
Richard: "I don't know what to do."
Me: "You're going to have to make this decision by yourself."

Happy Valentine's Day!

It was the day I've been dreading for a week or so now. It was one of the day's allowed by the state for us to celebrate with all the sweets we could ever dream of. My class celebrated with ice cream sundaes and cupcakes that I made. Before the party could ever begin, we also had to take care of the last day of our 4th grade fundraiser.

It was Day 5 of Kiss-o-Gram sales. We ran out of kisses yesterday after we finished selling for the day and again today about 1 hour into sales. A parent had to run to the store and get more, and it turned out to be the perfect amount. Last year it amazed me, and again this year I was amazed. The funds raised were ridiculous! How we made so much money on Hershey kisses being sold for 10 cents each is amazing. We had kids buying $20 worth of kisses. I wanted to inform those kids that they could go to the store and buy multiple bags for $20, on the other hand, we wanted them to spend however much they wanted on kisses. Every grade level is jealous of how much money we make with this fundraiser, which is why we will never pass this one to another grade level, regardless of how crazy it can get throughout the week.

The ice cream party went well and I didn't realize how much kids like sprinkles. When I eat a sundae, I'm concerned about having whip cream and a cherry. These kids wanted ice cream, whip cream and tons of sprinkles. They all enjoyed the sundaes and got their sugar fills. This was also a fairly easy party seeing as that there weren't that many choices and it was easy to clean up. I'll definitely continue this party idea next Valentine's.

Please do not spread that rumor!

I was trying to get a few kids on track today, and as usual, Victor was one of them. When I went over to help him, he asked, "Ms. L, are you getting married?" This is a question I have answered many times before...and so the conversation continued...
Victor: "Who are you marrying?"
Lauren: (walks up) "You never know, she may marry a superstar!"
Victor: "You are getting married?"
Me: "No. But when I do, it may be to a superstar."
Other members of the class: "Ms. L, you are getting married?!?!?!?!"
Me: "I am not getting married. And I am not marrying a superstar...at this point in time."
Other kids that are just now catching on (basically the entire class): "You're getting married?"
Me: "No, please don't spread that rumor. I am NOT getting married."
Everyone: "Ms. Leining is going to marry a superstar!"
Me: "Not quite yet. Get back to work...all of you!"

Tests Can Kiss My Butt!

I was having a pretty good day. I spent the afternoon with the other fourth grade teachers and some instructional coaches rating some writing compositions. This was a great opportunity to let us share writing and have an outsider rate our kiddos. (It gets hard to rate your own class honestly after they've been writing and progressing all year in front of you.)

The scores weren't a surprise. I knew who still needed work and who was doing very well. A highlight of today was that each person who wrote a score, also gave a teaching point and a positive point about the composition. This is something that I will start on immediately. Well, all was satisfactory until...

I returned to my classroom to check my e-mail only to find our results from the TAKS practice test we took 2 weeks ago. Whenever we get these scores back, my whole day is ruined. The scores are rarely good. Our fourth graders don't do very well on these tests. I don't know what it is. I boggles my mind every time the results come in. I try to reflect on what I've done/not done and wonder what I am doing wrong. I feel like I'm doing a good job. I see my kiddos growing, emotionally and intellectually. I see them relating what they've learned to real-world concepts weeks after they were first taught.

How can a stupid test make me feel like such a crappy teacher? I know I do a good job. I of course know there are things I could do better, but this is still a learning process for me. However, I'm not the only one with the low scores, it's all of fourth grade.

The constant tests reminds me why I resented standardized testing when I was in school. Now I also realize how my kids feel. I, in no way, teach "to the test", but try to teach the concepts that they will need to know for the test in a hands-on, multiple learning experiences, "Best Practices" manner, but apparently that isn't working.

I'm stumped and frustrated to no end! I can't wait for the repercussions of the low scores on this test. Hmmm...where to go from here?!?!?!

And how did that happen?

In science, we are working on research projects. Each ecosystem we are studying, each child has a specific thing they have to research and create a presentation for. Last week, almost every kid made a PowerPoint presentation and I saved them on our school's shared folder. This is where my kids would save any future presentations as well.

(Please remember that all anecdotes were not recorded and I can't always remember wording exactly.)
As kids were working on their presentations today, a few of the kids were working on the laptops. William came over, "Ms. L., there is no ecosystems folder."
Me: "Hmmm. It was there yesterday. Let me log off and see if it shows up when we log back on."
William: "I tried that."
Me: "Let me check on my log in name."
William: (waiting patiently, not saying a word)
Me: (walking across the room and saying semi-loudly) "I still can't find the folder. I don't know what happened to it."
Randall: (walks up to me) "I think William and I accidentally deleted it."
Me: "Accidentally deleted it? How does that happen?"
Randall: "I was trying to help him and we were clicking around and then it was gone."
Me: "Well, the only way it would disappear is if you clicked on it and then pressed the delete button and then clicked okay that it would be deleted forever."
Randall: "We didn't mean to."
Me: "I understand that, I just don't understand how it could have even happened."
William: "I didn't do it!!!!!!!"
Me: "Well, that's not what I heard and I'm very upset now. All the work that your friends did last week on their presentations is now GONE! Everything they had done is gone. They all worked so hard on their presentations."
William: "I didn't mean to!!!!!!" (began crying hysterically and covering his head with his hoodie)
Juan: "It's okay William. We know you didn't mean to. We won't be mad at you." (and he continued on with some other kind words that I could not have even pulled out of my mouth)
Me: (walked away for a while and then called William over on our walk to specials) "Please come here, I would like to talk to you." (this was after I had to order him into line with us, he thought he could just sit angrily at his desk instead of going to specials)
William: "WHAT?!" (said as a yell and with a grunt)
Me: "Excuse me? Is that a respectful way to answer?"
William: (while giving me mean looks) "I am mad that Randall helped me and I didn't even want his help and he's the one who deleted it."
Me: "Okay. I understand that. I will talk to Randall as well. For right now, we can't do anything about what happened. I am upset, but there is nothing I can do about it. So we will have to just get over and go to specials."
William: (grunts)
Me: "I also need you to speak respectfully. It doesn't matter how mad you are at your friend or me, but it is never appropriate to be disrespectful to a teacher. Do you understand that?"
William: "NO!"
Me: "I need to know what you do not understand. What I just said is that speaking to me the way you JUST did is not okay and will not be tolerated." (I realized how far in front of us the class is...) "Let's walk just a little faster, the class is really far ahead."
William: (sprints forward to catch up to the class while I am asking him in a calm voice to please stop so we can continue talking)
Me: "Please stop. I need to talk to you and it's not okay to not follow directions."
William: (ignoring me)
Me: "William! Not following directions will get you consequences." (still ignoring me, I slowly catch up to him) "Not following directions and being disrespectful has earned you lunch detention. Do you understand?"
William: "YES!!" (said with a yell and a grunt)
Me: "And being disrespectful again will 'earn' you recess. Disrespect is not tolerated in this class." (earn as in lose; and I walked away)

WOW!!!! I can't believe all of this was because he and his friend somehow deleted our file. I was very upset and there might have been smoke coming from my head, but what I was more upset about was how William was dealing with it. I was also feeling upset for the other kids and remember the time they had spent working on those projects. I was able to forget about it and try to figure it out later, but he was not. He was holding a grudge and resented me for asking him how it happened and placing some of the blame on him.

On the other hand, at the beginning of social studies, I noticed a note on my desk. It was from Randall. He apologized for doing whatever he did to cause the file to be deleted and said that he would spend every drop of his recess trying to figure out how to recover the file. It felt very sincere and I appreciated the thought he took to write the note on his own.

Again, I reminded both Randall and William that I was not as upset about the file being deleted but about the way William handled the aftermath. This was not how a fourth grader should respond, but if you've read previous blogs, you've found out that this is how William responds to most of his problems.