I feel blessed!

PREFACE

Last year I was the teacher who got EVERY new kid. It seemed like I got a new kid every 2 weeks. I wouldn't have such disdain for parents who move their kids in the middle of the year if it weren't for each 'shining' example that stepped into my classroom. 100% of the kids that arrived late last year were either major behavior problems, very low in academics, or both. I learned how to adjust for the new kids and knew that some of them needed me as their stability because there was none at home. Last year taught me more lessons than I ever learned in college. Needless to say, I was traumatized at the thought of new students.
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Today I had a new student enroll. I was told about her yesterday and was prepared for her arrival, with folders, spirals, and parent information ready on her desk. I was hopeful for her arrival since I was told that she was all smiles when she registered the day before.

She came in very shy. She shook my hand but didn't make eye contact. (not unusual) Her mother did make eye contact and introduced herself. She was very friendly and polite. (unusual) I got her settled in and had another student tell her what we were doing and how we start our days. She was very polite and asked if she had any questions. As the day went on, I fell in love with her. You know, the kind when a teacher adores her students because they have great personalities, want to learn, and they smile when you talk to them. She was so polite and responsible. She was happy to be in our class and fit in perfectly. By lunch time, she didn't look or act like the new kid any longer. (I mean the way that new kids settle in and then start making bad choices.) She followed directions better than some of my students who have been listening to my expectations since day one. She was ready to learn at every moment, was contributing to the lessons and helping her classmates. I was impressed!

Near the end of the day, she remembered I had given her a homework folder with lots of information for her and her parents. She came to me to clarify what needed to be signed, returned, and when. This was very responsible of her. I don't know how many of my other students would have taken the initiative to ask me everything she thought she needed to know.

She impressed me so much today that I am very strongly considering making her the same Christmas present I made for everyone else for Christmas. She saw the other kids' personalized clipboards and was sad that she missed receiving one. I'll work on hers now and give it to her on her birthday in two weeks, because she definitely won me over.

She left the classroom smiling and I left thanking my lucky stars that I got such a great new student.

HOLA!

Wednesday I was informed that I would be getting a new student on Thursday. Surprisingly I was excited about this...you see, I didn't have the maximum amount of kids that I could in my class and it's better to be maxed out so that you aren't the revolving classroom door later in the year. I welcomed a new student this early in the year.

The next thing I found out is that she does not speak any English. She had been offered the chance to attend a school in our district for Spanish Bilingual, but parents denied those services. The thought of having a student with no English ability might have concerned me if I didn't have an aide in my classroom all day who is fluent in Spanish. I also have two students who speak Spanish at home. AND...I did spend a summer in Paraguay, pretending to speak Spanish. Well, this all came in handy when she came in my classroom. My aide greeted them and I think reassured the parents that she would be okay. Immediately, some of my Spanish came flowing back. Some words I have to search through my internal dictionary for while others were found in my two other students. :)

Friday rolled around and everything seemed well. My aide translated a math assessment in order to see what she knew. Unfortunately, she doesn't know division and that is a bit of a concern because we have already learned that. Specials came and I sent the kids off to run like crazies in PE. When I picked them up, Alexandra was hysterical. She was complaining that her stomach hurt. I told her to go to the bathroom and she started babbling and doing everything to avoid the bathroom. She did not want to go to the nurse like I was telling her to. (Yes, I was saying all of this in Spanish.) I eventually had her ushered to the nurse by one of my Spanish-speaking students. Apparently she hadn't eaten in a few days and hasn't slept well due to all of the changes in her life right now. She ended up going home sick and probably a bit scared. It's going to be an interesting year for her and myself. I know how I felt in Paraguay where nobody spoke English, so I understand her confusion and even pain. I've spoken more Spanish in the last two days than I have since I returned from Paraguay...hopefully it will ease her transition.

Just get on the frog bus!!!

The two students I'm writing about today have both been the focus of previous blogs.

I was so worn out yesterday, I didn't get a chance to write about my conversation with Victor. This week he's been obsessing over glasses and why people wear them. A few days ago, we walked by a teacher who he knew from last year. She no longer wears glasses and he noticed. He questioned her about her glasses and why she no longer wears them. He found out that she had lasik on July 25th (a date she made up because he needed to know a date). Well...I wear glasses also. I don't need to wear them all day, but it makes my life easier and I don't have to strain to see children across the classroom. He informed me yesterday that I need eye surgery so that I won't have to wear glasses anymore. I said that I don't need surgery...
V: "Yes you do!"
Me: "No, I don't have to wear my glasses. I could go all day without them."
V: "You need to get eye surgery. It's just your eyes. You go to the doctor and get surgery."
Me: "I don't like surgery."
V: "It's okay. It's just your eyes, no where else."
Me: "I don't want to."
V: "You should!!!"
Me: "Okay, Victor...I'll ask my doctor about getting lasik."
V: "Good!" And he immediately returned to work. By the way, I'm not looking into getting lasik.
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My next encounter was with the student I was referring to in yesterday's blog. He is a child that seems to have difficulty with processing information. I know he is capable of completely his work successfully, but I don't know if he's capable of doing it without asking me, "Is this good?"
I digress and move onto today's bus situation. Today was the first day that Richard rode the bus to school and was riding it home. I asked him what bus he needed to get on and he told me the frog bus (each of our buses is labeled with an animal). This is the conversation that ensued (and yes he does start every sentences with 'so'):
R: "How do I know which bus is the frog bus?"
Me: "The one with the frog picture in the window."
R: "Is the picture in the front window?"
Me: "No, it's in the window next to the doors."
R: "So, like the front window?"
Me: "No, the window to the left of the doors that open up."
R: "So, when the doors open up in the front?"
Me: "No. When the doors open up, the picture will be to the left of the doors in the first window."
R: "How do I know it's the frog bus?"
Me: "It has the picture in the window! Who else rides the frog bus that can be sure Richard makes it on the bus today?" (I find him a partner at this point knowing that there is a chance he could get lost.)
R: "Do I get on the bus?"
Me: "Yes, if you stand outside the bus, you will be standing there when it leaves."
R: "But where do I wait for my little brother?"
Me: "On the bus!"
R: "But how will he find the frog bus?"
Me: "The same way you are going to find it...with a friend and looking at the picture."
R: "So, where do I go for the bus?"
Me: "You follow the bus line and your buddy."
R: "Okay, so I find the bus with the frog?"
Me: "Yes. Caitlyn, can you please make sure Richard makes it on the bus? Ms. L (another teacher), can you please make sure this student who might look lost and ask a zillion questions finds the FROG BUS! Just make sure he gets on the FROG BUS! Don't let him wait around. Just make sure whatever you do, he's on the FROG bus when they leave."

I, in no way, exaggerated this conversation. Unfortunately, almost every conversation with Richard is similar to this. I might run out of blog space if I continue to write our entire conversations. Hopefully this is just part of his being new to our school, but I have an uneasy feeling that it's not going to wear off any time soon!

I think a rock would understand better...

I have some kids in my class who pick up on things very quickly. This is typical. I also have students who need things explained 3 times. This is also typical. And then I have a student who needs things explained 5 times in a very detailed manner. I mean...this child needs me to explain things like, "You will not have to do all of these for homework because they are all the same. This is the stack of tonight's homework for the entire class."
And things like, "You may not make changes on someone else's paper, but you can tell them why they should. YOU should be making changes on your paper, especially words that your partner knows are spelling incorrectly." He adamantly said that he was not allowed to write on his own paper after this. Even when told he could 5 more times by 2 adults.
And more..."Count down 10 lines and draw a line across your paper....you do NOT need to draw 10 lines across the paper, just one."
"Please leave the post it notes in your books. You can just move it to read tonight." I then had to answer, "But how am I going to read with it here?" "You can just turn it to read the page and it shouldn't bother you." "No, how do I read with it here?"
I've still got more..."Where do I tear this post it note?" Me, "Down the middle just like this..."(I showed everyone). "I can't do that, is this how? Do I do it this way or this way? I don't know how!"

SERIOUSLY! Some of these may have been difficult for you to visualize or understand, but the point I want to get across is that even when I show this student step-by-step, it doesn't usually work. He doesn't understand simple directions and just doesn't know how to do things that 4th graders should. It's just weird what he doesn't know by now that the letter /i/ when written alone should always be capitalized. And that 4 sentences is not the same as 4 lines on notebook paper. Or that you always begin a sentence with a capital letter. Hmmm....makes me wonder about the standards at his old school. I guess I'll find out as the year goes on.

Teacher Must Have: Flexibility

I walked into my room today and got a glimpse of what hell might feel like. My portable mate had arrived a few minutes earlier and informed me that my although the AC had been on, it was making a very loud and dreadful noise and it was also blowing hot air. She turned off the AC and it continued to blow hot air for quite some time. This was a fantastic start to the beginning of the week.

I don't do heat well (surprising since I live in Texas), and it was showing this morning. I was unable to collect my thoughts and my materials for that day because he heat was affecting the blood flow to my brain. This continued all morning. I knew what I had to do that day because I had planned it yesterday, but it was hard to concentrate on particular tasks and what was next. As the kids were working, many of them were fanning themselves with their folders while I was walking around wiping sweat off of my face, neck, and anywhere else that is appropriate to mention. The concentration of my kiddos was now beginning to fade. I decided we needed a morning break from the heat wave. While on our break, I noticed an empty computer lab with a very large carpet, one that would be perfect for our next lesson. We went back to class to collect our materials only to turn back around and head for the air conditioned room.

I have yet to mention how wonderful and patient my class was during this time. Even though they were miserable and sweating, they stayed cooperative with our situation. (If this had happened with last year's group of kids, we would not have been able to work through their complaining.) After we did a lesson in the computer lab, we had to return to our room with the hopes that the AC was fixed...which it was not. So again, we headed outside with our next materials in hand. We enjoyed a nice read aloud in the shade outside on a beautiful day before specials. Fortunately, the AC was repaired before they returned from specials, but it was disappointing that the room was still warm because it didn't have time to cool off. So...

My portable mate and I planned a last minute lesson that we could do a group activity and avoid my still sauna-like portable. I can say that this was the last time we had to avoid my classroom today, but am thankful for my students' flexibility (even children who rely on routines). It was a rough start to the day and am hopeful that I arrive to a frozen room tomorrow.

A bit tired, but content...

Today was the second day of school and I got to know my kiddos even more. I talked about procedures I missed yesterday and those I need to reinforce daily. I managed a difficult day with my child with autism. He told me that he went to sleep late and woke up late this morning. If I've learned anything about children and especially children with disabilities, it is that they need structure and routine! When he went to sleep late and woke up late, his routine and structure were shot for the day. This meant that everything was difficult for him, including the daily things that shouldn't affect him very much (making a lunch choice or putting his backpack away). This is definitely a learning experience for me and we just work day to day.

If you've read my blog at the end of last year, you will know what I mean when I say, "My mama said..." Well, she's back! Yesterday I mentioned that I have her sister in my class this year. I was hoping that the sister I currently have would be different and not deliver messages from her mom by way of "My mama said...", but my hoping didn't come true. So here's the first of the year. "My mama said...she is going to send medicine for my hand. She said she would send it with my sister so that it would be in the nurse when I need it. Well, I don't know if she's going to send it today, tomorrow, or the next day. But she said she's going to send it."

What I look forward to most is the year continuing on in the manner in which it started, which is very polite, hard-working kiddos with great attitudes about school!

GREAT BOOK FIND:
This book is for a bit older kids (3rd-5th) because of the humor and play on words, but they love it! It's a fun way to talk about manners and at my school, Life Skills. We joined neighboring classes for this activity because in the book, the neighbors are otters. We read the book aloud and then divided the kids up to brainstorm ideas of how the manners that the neighbors would like to see in "otters" could be displayed in our classroom and school.
The kids worked COOPERATIVELY in order to draw or write how you should treat "otters". They did a great job letting everyone contribute with their ideas and drawing/writing abilities. They presented them at the end of the day and did a fantastic job. The kids also liked getting to work with our neighbor class so early in the year. Developing the community in our portable is almost as important as just in our classroom. It was definitely at least a 4 out of 5 star lesson!

Teacher! Teacher!

So today was the first day of school. I seem to have a really good set of kids (knock on wood) and everything went fairly smoothly. I made it through the day and never felt really overwhelmed, except when I was waiting for the kids to get through the lunch line and I just wanted lunch. It's starting out to be a great blogging year because I already have a few personalities that are going to give me some great stories...and so it begins...

"The Sleeper" - For some background, she is the sister of last year's "My Mama" blog. (I have 2 siblings from last year and she is one.) Today while I was reading aloud, apparently The Sleeper found the story boring enough to take a nap through. I can tell you that I do not read stories in monotone. I am a very expressive reader and most kids sit very attentively throughout the story. Anyway, I asked her to wake up so she could return to her desk to finish work from earlier in the day. I think she was pretending to be asleep, but in any case, she was sitting with her head down, eyes closed, and not working. I had to then play Mean Teacher (for the first time this year) and explain that sleeping in class in NOT AN OPTION. If she didn't want to wake up and work, I could easily find another room for her to go to because I do not allow sleepers. I will admit that I did this a bit louder than I usually would, just because I was setting a standard. Don't think you're going to get away with sleeping in my classroom. It can't possibly be that boring.

"The Predictor" - This is the kid who thinks he knows everything. In fact, he and his mom told me that when they stopped by to drop off his supplies yesterday during my work day. "He didn't learn anything in 3rd grade. Hopefully he'll learn something in 4th." He was the student all day who was 5 steps ahead of everyone else. He was already ready for the next thing and trying to predict what my next set of directions would be. In fact, he was so ahead of me, when I gave him directions to do specific things, he had already done them, but incorrectly. When I started counting, he started counting with me. When I was passing out folders, he was standing 2 feet away waiting for his because he thought it would be next. The only thing this type of child does it make me want to do things in opposite of what he thinks. This may be mean, but if he's so far ahead of me, why do I even need to be there for him. He will learn eventually that he doesn't know everything and that he will need to listen first, then act. Oh and on top of that, he broke one of my rulers. It's the first day of school and we didn't even use rulers, so how did one end of broken????

"Miss Goodie Two Shoes aka Teacher's Pet" - You gotta love them, because they are there to please you and themselves, but they are TOO perfect. That's all I've got for now. Maybe when I have to talk to her about bad choices, she'll be blogged about again.

"Why?" - This child has special needs and is a very large part of learning as I go. I won't give specifics, but what I will say is that part of his 'charm' is asking a gazillion questions. The main question I received OVER AND OVER again today was, "When is the last day of school?" When I passed out their student handbooks and school calendars, he immediately turned to the calendar and wrote all over May 29th that it was his last day of school. I'm not sure what he's going to be doing until June 3rd (which is our actual last day). I think we have somewhere around 170 days to figure that out.

"Teacher" - I have a student who calls me teacher. If there is one thing that bothers me more than pencil tapping and pencil sharpening, and it would be when a child calls me Teacher. I think of it this way...I learned all 20 of your names and usually call you the right one. You have one very important name to learn and you can't do it. This is the only significant development with this child, but I will update if anything comes up.

Of course, each child has their own personality, but these were the most dominate today. I will be sure to share stories as they develop and fill you in on all of my adventures. Although I did teach last year, this is my first first of the year. It's still a learning experience for me. It doesn't matter how many years you've been teaching, each year is a learning experience.

I would also like to wish any new teachers the best of luck. The best thing I recommend it talking about your stresses and 'funnies' to someone who understands.

Some of the 501 Tips for Teachers

Before school gets back to occupying all of my life and I have some time to breath, I have a few more tips from the book 501 Tips For Teachers. I will share a few tips each day as we're preparing for our first school year with our own teacher desk and a class to call our own.



Classroom Teaching Tips:
117. Be open to visiting teachers from other species. Sometimes a fly on the wall or a colony of ants on the playground can teach lessons more important than the ones you had planned for the day.

120. Send a welcome-back postcard to each student the week before school starts. It's an easy way to get kids "hyped-up" about the new school year.

122. Minimize transition time. Teach students to settle down quickly, to start work promptly, and to wrap up without dawdling. It's a way to lengthen the school day without changing the starting or ending time.


Student Relations:
140. Remember, your classroom may be the only happy place some kids ever have.

156. Think like a child. Act like an adult.

199. You don't have to love every student, but they don't know that. Let it be your secret.

212. As a teacher, you have countless decisions to make every day, but only one standard to apply: what is best for kids.

213. Don't just notice the kids who are in your face all the time. Pay attention to those children huddled on the sidelines as well.

214. If you don't expect students to be perfect, they will never disappoint you.

Oh Snap!!

It happened again. While I was in my room preparing for the day, the registrar comes over my speaker and tells me that I will be getting a new student today. Are you kidding me?!? We have 13 days of school left and nevermind that, grades are due in 6 days. And yes, I will be responsible for inputting grades for his 6 days in my class...and they are meant to reflect the past 9 weeks and whether or not he will be promoted to 5th grade. What are parents thinking moving their kids around at this time? I understand the occasional new kid at the end of the year, but a fellow 4th grade teacher also received a new kid yesterday. I'd venture to say that for the past 3 weeks, some 4th grade class has received a new kid.

Anyway, I was a bit disappointed that this new child was a boy because I already have about twice as many boys as girls. I don't really need any more boys in my class. If I stereotype them correctly, the boys tend to be more outwardly expressive, which ultimately means that they are loud and disruptive to our learning. And girls are more dramatic in the gossip area. They talk about each other non-stop but can't stand when someone talks about them. Bunch 'o hypocrites is what they are! Of course I know that not every child is like my two stereotypes, but 75% of my class is. FORTUNATELY, in the few hours that I had to get to know this kid today, I was thankful that he doesn't seem to fit my stereotypes of boys, so far. I've seen it many times before where they are too shy to act out the first few days, but considering that we only have 13 days of school left (12 as of tonight), he might begin to act out after we're done with all serious work (when grades are due). My fingers are crossed.