Class Funny ~ Is That What They Really Hear?

The other day in class I was messing around with the kids and took one of the boys' chair and sat in his seat.  Of course this gives a huge debate in the students, do they "fight" with the teacher to regain their chair or do they go find a new place to sit?  Oh the dilemma!  It's actually pretty funny to see them struggle with it in their head!

During this thought process, someone shouts (as they always do), "You're the teacher now!"

This student then says, "Okay, I'll teach!"  He goes to the front of the room and says, "Blah, blah, blah." and shakes his head around.

That's when I can't contain my laughter and realize that is EXACTLY how they hear me most days!  Takes me back to the Charlie Brown teacher days.

Long Awaited Update

It's been a long time since my last update and many parents may be wondering if anything is happening in class!  That's the reason for the delay, we have TOO much happening in class!

The year is flying through so quickly and I can't believe it is already October.  The kids are doing amazing work and trying their absolute best; but, I feel like there's not enough time to do all that needs to be done.

We are currently taking a break from the normal busy routine to work on Calico cats for our annual Calico Arts Festival!  In case you haven't heard, we are celebrating our 40th Calico Festival this year.  If you are able to help volunteer your time, we need workers in all areas for set up, tear down and of course the actual event.  Please consider coming out and helping by working a couple hours.  It still leaves plenty of time to enjoy the event with your kids and provides so much for our school!

As well as needing volunteers, we are in desperate need of donations for our Calico basket!  Our theme this year is Movies.  The money raised from this fundraiser goes directly back in to the classroom to benefit your kids!  Without this money, there's so many additional things we aren't able to do.  It's these extras that Calico provides us that allows us to bring the fun back in to the classroom and sets us apart from other schools.

Your support in this major event is greatly appreciated by not only the kids; but, by us teachers as well!

So Proud

I'm so proud of a few of these kiddos today!  We've been working on learning our new phonics program and using dictation to practice their spelling with the phonics program.  Today as we were working through the lessons, I had a student point out how he knows the letter s can say the /z/ sound ~ the sound spelling card shows it!  Yeah, he's catching on!!

Even better was during dictation.  A couple days ago I had several students writing and really not thinking anything through.  Before correcting I pointed out that every word needs a vowel.  I must have said it 4 or 5 times and told them to check their word for vowels.  Most did not check it and went on to get it wrong.  I was highly disappointed (and a little frustrated!)  Today, we were working on the word made.  I noticed 2 students wrote mad.  I said, "Before we correct, everyone check your word and read it silently to yourself.  Ask, did I write made or mad?"  All students were reading their words and both the students saw their mistake and went to correct it!  Yeah!!!  One student was checking the sound/spelling cards and wrote maid which is a correct spelling for the word; just not the one we were using.  But, again, YEAH!  He successfully used the cards to help guide his spelling instead of just guessing and being WAY off!

I love seeing the kids take an active part in their learning and actually trying to use the tools I've given them instead of just sitting back and waiting to be told the correct answers.  This made my day today!

Rachel's Challenge

Today we had an assembly titled Rachel's Challenge.  This was brought to us from the family of Rachel Joy Scott, a girl who was killed in the Columbine High School shooting back in 1999.  I have heard they do an amazing talk for high schools; but, was a little concerned at how they would approach the topic today with our younger students.  There was no reason for concern as they did an amazing job!

From the moment we entered the cafeteria for the assembly, there was an upbeat mood about the place.  The speaker was playing some great songs and began interacting with the students and becoming personable with them.  Once we were all seated and ready to begin, the speaker started by introducing Rachel with a baby picture.  All you heard were ahhhs from the students at the cute baby picture.  Throughout the talk, we heard about Rachel's Challenge for Creating a Chain Reaction.  We saw video examples of how the challenges could be upheld.  We heard stories of different ways Rachel had impacted the lives of others when she was in school.  The assembly was a great starting point to bring up discussions in the classroom.

Once in the classroom, I wondered how much did my 2nd graders get out of this assembly.  I found they got more than I imaged!  They were able to see the impact they can have by just stepping in and stopping someone from bullying another person.  Or the simple act of helping someone clean up a mess.

During the assembly students were given these 5 challenges:

1. Use kind words
2. Include others
3. Surround yourself with positive influences
4. Set goals
5. Journal

We will be talking and practicing these things in our classroom as the year goes on.  I think they are great traits we can begin making habits that will turn in to just a way of life for our kids.  Our first goal is going to be using kind words.  If you begin seeing some of this happening at home, please be sure to encourage it and not be suspicious of what they may be up to.  They aren't trying to fool you, they are just trying to change the world one kind act at a time.

For more information about Rachel's Challenge, you can visit:  http://www.rachelschallenge.org/

One Week Down

Today we come to the end of our first full week of school!  It's always a busy and tiring week.  I'm sure many of your kids have come home very tired, hungry, and crabby.  I know mine have!  Of course I'm sure my wife would be asking if it's our kids or me who is coming home tired, hungry, and crabby :)  Yes, I admit it, I'm as bad as the kids getting back in to the routine.  My feet hurt, my voice is cracking and I'm tired beyond the point of a good night's sleep doing any good ~ I think I need a good 3 days of uninterrupted sleep!  But, I don't see that happening anytime soon!

Even with all the sleepiness and crabbiness going on, I think this going to shape up to be another fantastic year for Room 14!  Some students have started testing boundaries and seeing how far they can go.  I love this time of year because you see who the timid students are and who the daring ones are.  The daring students begin pushing limits right away and give that look as if to say, "So, what are you going to do when I do this?"  You know, the expectation is, it's the beginning of school and the teacher is going to let us do just about anything ~ WRONG!  Reality is, it's the beginning of school and the teacher is going to set the stage for a great year by letting you know you can't get away with anything!  What's even better is when the look turns to, "But, you were serious and I really have to (read, draw, write, etc. . )"  All the while the timid students are quietly watching and thankful some other student tested that limit because they know where it is now.

Ah, the time of settling in is fun!

I love my job so much; but, as I was going through today's lessons and dictation, I think I found my other true calling!  I should quit teaching and become a tour guide on a great excursion or a ride like the Jungle Cruise and Disneyland!  My mood was off in a weird place, I had a microphone in hand, and the voice and jokes just kept rolling out.  Kids were looking at me with mixed emotions.  Some were laughing and some thought I'd just lost a few marbles and belonged far away from children.  Good times; but, now instead of being a WalMart greeter when I retire, I think I'll go work at Disneyland on a cruise ride where I can tell corny jokes and people have to put up with it because their stuck on a ride with me!

Thank you to everyone who came to Back-to-School Night!  Hope you had a great night and if you have any questions or concerns throughout the school year please be sure to let me know!

Tomorrow Is the Big Day!

It's hard to believe we are on the eve of school beginning!  The summer has been full of great events making great memories.  My greatest memory of this summer was taking my sons to see their very first Giants game in AT&T park!  It was a great memory for my family; especially considering my middle child is an avid Giants fan(atic).  Whether you did a huge trip, a small get away or just a staycation, I hope you all enjoyed your summers as well.

As we begin to enter a new year, I am excited to meet my new batch of students.  I am really wondering who will end up with the least amount of sleep tonight ~ them or me!  Even after 17 years, I still get nervous and anxious as the new year begins.  I'm sure I'll be at the school bright and early making sure all those final touches are finished.  I've moved things so many times, I'm not even sure where they are any more.  It will all be worth it once the kids begin entering and feeling the excitement of the first day of school!

Here's hoping we all sleep well tonight and we all make it to school on time ~ especially with the new early start time!

Class Awards & Gifts

This morning was the big day I've been both anticipating and dreading.  I've been working hard on some special items for these kids and today was the unveiling.  I've been excited to see their reaction; but, very nervous because I have to talk in front of parents!  I'm great with the kids, but you put adults in the room and I get tongue-tied and self-conscious!  These kids know my sense of humor and personality; but, you parents only see snapshots of me.  With it all, it went GREAT (at least I think it did!)

As I've been telling these kids, they are a very special batch.  I have the privilege of working with amazing kids every year; but, only every few years do I get the opportunity to work with an exceptional class that comes together as this batch has!

We started our morning with "candy" awards that represented personalities.  I know some of the candy wasn't always the favorite candy; but, it was more about the personality trait representing the students.  This was a hard task because so many awards could have been given to so a lot of different students.  I think my favorite ones were the awards I described and the students knew exactly who would get it ~ yep, we ALL know who our "baseball minded" kid is!

Next, I presented the students with a project I hope they will cherish for many years to come!  A month ago we took time to write one word we felt described each of our classmates.  I took those words and created a word web for each student (and myself).  Printed, framed and wrapped, these became a going away gift for the students.  My hope is when they are feeling down on themselves, they will return back to this item and remember what their classmates thought of them and have a little pick me up!  Here's what the class thought of their teacher:

Lastly, I gave the students a very special coloring book.  What's so special about a coloring book?  Well, it's all about them!  I spent A LOT of time trying to get this as close to perfect as I could; but, I took pictures from throughout the school year and made it into a coloring book for the kids.  They seemed to be impressed with this I think.  Here's a sample picture of our book:

Original Image from our field trip

Color book page from the picture to the left

It's a very bittersweet day today!  Looking forward to summer vacation; but, I really don't want these kids to grow up and move on to 3rd grade.