The morning started off with a parent delivering a cup of hot water and her daughter handed me three tea bags so I could have my pick. All three were kinds I liked, so it was a tough choice! But now I can enjoy them over break too. Later the girl told me she wanted to make the tea herself for me, but her mom said, "You don't know which kind Miss H likes, so you better let her pick." How sweet!
Kids were bringing in presents and showing me the packages they brought for me. One kid handed me his box and said I should guess what was inside. The gift tag said something along the lines of "you're a teacher who teaches every day, so we know you'll have the guts to play!" When I shook the box, it sounded like a bunch of little pieces click-clacking against each other. This weekend, my friend Laura had told me about this new "game" you play with jellybeans. It's called "Bean Boozled" and it's basically a safer version of Russian roulette. The jelly beans have a good flavored one and a nasty flavored one that look the same, so you never know what you're going to taste! Stinky socks or tutti-fruitti? Lawn clippings or lime? Baby wipes or coconut? Moldy cheese or caramel corn? Yikes!
Other presents I got were gift cards, a willow creek carving (angel holding a book), candle holder, summer sausage, and three scarves. My scarf total is now up to 34. They all made predictions on how many scarves I'll have after we come back from Christmas break. And now they want me to wear all my scarves at once. I don't think they'd all fit around my neck at the same time! Maybe I'll try it and take a picture.
My teacher Secret Santa was Miss N. She gave me a Janette Oke book, one of her favorite authors. I thought it had been her handwriting! Mr. E really liked the 5-in-1 screwdriver I gave him. He said he had a feeling it was either me or Miss H (preschool) who had him since we'd be the only ones jokester enough to give him the spaghetti-os. He had asked his wife if she told either of us that he eats them all the time, but she said she never spilled the beans to either of us! So he was very confused (plus the handwriting was disguised). Yes! Success in surprising!
And now my classroom is all tidy, my presents are boxed up, Joe's second home is nearly ready to go. All that's left is to load my car and pack Joe up and we're off on Christmas break!
Tuesday, December 22, 2015
Monday, December 21, 2015
Program Round 1
Well, we made it through round one of the Christmas program.
Today in school one of my 6th grade boys said it went terrible. Last night at the program a church member came over and said it was even better than last year's. So. Mixed reviews. I think it went okay. Our bell songs during offering were not the greatest. I had reminded everyone to check their music and bells and gloves before the service, but one boy only checked that he had gloves. So the beginning of the song comes and he realizes he is missing a bell. So we had to wait for him to get it. Then, in the same song, the beginning players get lost and halfway through the bass players get lost! So it didn't sound the greatest. The second song was much better.
Afterwards, I had sat back in my spot in the front pew and I realized I had forgotten to tell the appropriate speakers to go put their robes on for their parts. Oops. And that I hadn't reminded them to make sure they knew where their robes were in the first place. Ugh. Thankfully, everyone got their robes on in a timely manner and we were none the worse for the wear.
Brady came up to see the program last night. He snuck in right before the service started, so there weren't a ton of open seats... except in the front. So he ended up in the pew right next to where I was directing the bells. Afterwards, we got some funny looks from students (and parents too!) wondering who was that young man standing by Miss H? He isn't one of her brothers! So he got to meet all but one of the teachers along with some parents and pastor and other church members.
Today the 3rd and 4th grade classroom was all abuzz with the news. And the 7th graders grilled me in class. My class is still oblivious. I am interested to see how long it takes them to realize... I did have to limit the 7th graders to one question each about the subject. There's only five of them, so it wasn't an obscene amount of questioning. One kid asked if we met on Eharmony. Another said, "Well it's about time Miss H!" Some of them hadn't heard what his name was, so they tried guessing. One guy said, "I bet it's Andrew. He looks like an Andrew. That's his name isn't it?" So. Now the secret's out. Ah well, it lasted a good long while.
Now I'm off to Pastor's house for round two of baking cookies!
Today in school one of my 6th grade boys said it went terrible. Last night at the program a church member came over and said it was even better than last year's. So. Mixed reviews. I think it went okay. Our bell songs during offering were not the greatest. I had reminded everyone to check their music and bells and gloves before the service, but one boy only checked that he had gloves. So the beginning of the song comes and he realizes he is missing a bell. So we had to wait for him to get it. Then, in the same song, the beginning players get lost and halfway through the bass players get lost! So it didn't sound the greatest. The second song was much better.
Afterwards, I had sat back in my spot in the front pew and I realized I had forgotten to tell the appropriate speakers to go put their robes on for their parts. Oops. And that I hadn't reminded them to make sure they knew where their robes were in the first place. Ugh. Thankfully, everyone got their robes on in a timely manner and we were none the worse for the wear.
Brady came up to see the program last night. He snuck in right before the service started, so there weren't a ton of open seats... except in the front. So he ended up in the pew right next to where I was directing the bells. Afterwards, we got some funny looks from students (and parents too!) wondering who was that young man standing by Miss H? He isn't one of her brothers! So he got to meet all but one of the teachers along with some parents and pastor and other church members.
Today the 3rd and 4th grade classroom was all abuzz with the news. And the 7th graders grilled me in class. My class is still oblivious. I am interested to see how long it takes them to realize... I did have to limit the 7th graders to one question each about the subject. There's only five of them, so it wasn't an obscene amount of questioning. One kid asked if we met on Eharmony. Another said, "Well it's about time Miss H!" Some of them hadn't heard what his name was, so they tried guessing. One guy said, "I bet it's Andrew. He looks like an Andrew. That's his name isn't it?" So. Now the secret's out. Ah well, it lasted a good long while.
Now I'm off to Pastor's house for round two of baking cookies!
Friday, December 18, 2015
Secret Santa
I got a mysterious present in my mailbox at school today.
Well, maybe mysterious isn't the right word for it. It was a book called 30 Second Mysteries with a green card that said, "Merry Christmas Emily! I'm sure your kids will like these mysteries!" So I'm pretty sure it's from my secret santa. But, someone put a candy bar in my mailbox earlier this week with a little note on it, so I thought that was from my secret santa. I guess they both could be.
We teachers decided to exchange names and give a little gift this week and a bigger gift next week. But so far, I've gotten three things in my mailbox! And our big exchange is next Tuesday. Hmm, it's a mystery. I haven't figured out who's handwriting is on the cards either. It is definitely feminine handwriting, but I'm not familiar enough with the female teachers' writing to know which one has my name. Whoever it is, she is really good at giving me presents I like! My kids loved the mysteries (and so do I!). It's fun to try to figure them out; fun enough I think I'll bring it along to my family Christmases.
I had Mr. E for my santa partner. For the little gift this week, I gave him a can of spaghetti o's, since one time I had them in my sack lunch and he said he eats a can of them about every other day for breakfast. I stuck a bow on the top and wrapped some white paper around the jar. I had Brady write the words on it so Mr. E wouldn't recognize my handwriting. Next week's present is a multi-tool screwdriver with about six or seven heads that flip down so you can easily find the tool you need when you need it. I hope he likes it. I was drawing a blank on what to get him.
Christmas program update: Our last practice was today. The robe switcheroo went pretty good. Bell songs are sounding way better... I had one girl sick; hopefully she's better by Sunday! We got everything put away so communion on Sunday morning can run smoothly. All that's left will be to set everything back up after church!
Well, maybe mysterious isn't the right word for it. It was a book called 30 Second Mysteries with a green card that said, "Merry Christmas Emily! I'm sure your kids will like these mysteries!" So I'm pretty sure it's from my secret santa. But, someone put a candy bar in my mailbox earlier this week with a little note on it, so I thought that was from my secret santa. I guess they both could be.
We teachers decided to exchange names and give a little gift this week and a bigger gift next week. But so far, I've gotten three things in my mailbox! And our big exchange is next Tuesday. Hmm, it's a mystery. I haven't figured out who's handwriting is on the cards either. It is definitely feminine handwriting, but I'm not familiar enough with the female teachers' writing to know which one has my name. Whoever it is, she is really good at giving me presents I like! My kids loved the mysteries (and so do I!). It's fun to try to figure them out; fun enough I think I'll bring it along to my family Christmases.
I had Mr. E for my santa partner. For the little gift this week, I gave him a can of spaghetti o's, since one time I had them in my sack lunch and he said he eats a can of them about every other day for breakfast. I stuck a bow on the top and wrapped some white paper around the jar. I had Brady write the words on it so Mr. E wouldn't recognize my handwriting. Next week's present is a multi-tool screwdriver with about six or seven heads that flip down so you can easily find the tool you need when you need it. I hope he likes it. I was drawing a blank on what to get him.
Christmas program update: Our last practice was today. The robe switcheroo went pretty good. Bell songs are sounding way better... I had one girl sick; hopefully she's better by Sunday! We got everything put away so communion on Sunday morning can run smoothly. All that's left will be to set everything back up after church!
Thursday, December 17, 2015
Kindergarten Cuties
The kindergartners are so cute when they do their part of the Christmas program. There's a part in the last song they sing where they say something along the lines of "and Jesus died for YOU" and they point to the audience. One of darling little boys always looks right at me at that part and points to me. I just can't help but smile! He always gives me a high five when we practice walking into church and everyday when he sees me in the hallway, he says "Hi Miss H!" So adorable.
Our bell songs are a little better. We would've had more time to practice, but one of the 7th grade girls was dinking around and wouldn't come out to the car when we had to drive over to church. Sigh. I had to turn the car off and go inside the school to get her. We're going to have an extra bell practice tomorrow afternoon. Practice will be in the morning for once since Miss N has a wedding she has to go to in the afternoon.
We made some last minute changes to the program today. Most of my students have to wear white robes for their speaking parts, and Miss N wanted them to wear the robes for the entire program. The girls were complaining because they'd already picked out special Christmas dresses to wear those nights and now they'll be covered up by a robe. A parent even emailed me about it. I wasn't too thrilled about them wearing robes to begin with, what with all the ups and downs on the risers, so Miss N and I figured out a way they can change into the robes without taking too much time or being too distracting. I hope we can keep everything organized in the back room! Most of the changing will happen after we play bells during the offering. Tomorrow is our last practice before our performance on Sunday, so we'll be having a dress rehearsal tomorrow. I hope we get it all right!
Our bell songs are a little better. We would've had more time to practice, but one of the 7th grade girls was dinking around and wouldn't come out to the car when we had to drive over to church. Sigh. I had to turn the car off and go inside the school to get her. We're going to have an extra bell practice tomorrow afternoon. Practice will be in the morning for once since Miss N has a wedding she has to go to in the afternoon.
We made some last minute changes to the program today. Most of my students have to wear white robes for their speaking parts, and Miss N wanted them to wear the robes for the entire program. The girls were complaining because they'd already picked out special Christmas dresses to wear those nights and now they'll be covered up by a robe. A parent even emailed me about it. I wasn't too thrilled about them wearing robes to begin with, what with all the ups and downs on the risers, so Miss N and I figured out a way they can change into the robes without taking too much time or being too distracting. I hope we can keep everything organized in the back room! Most of the changing will happen after we play bells during the offering. Tomorrow is our last practice before our performance on Sunday, so we'll be having a dress rehearsal tomorrow. I hope we get it all right!
Wednesday, December 16, 2015
Forget-me-not
Ugh. This has been a day of forgetfulness.
Last night after my doctor's appointment, I was supposed to stop and get a refill of my prescription... I remembered that fact once I was already home from the store. Ugh. I had enough medicine for this morning, but I have to run to the store after school now.
This morning I finished correcting all my papers, packed up my bags, got to school, unpacked my bags and looked for the papers to hand back to students... couldn't find them or my flash drive with all my lesson plans on it. Yep. Sitting on my kitchen table. So I had to run home quick and get them. I made it back to school before my students arrived, but that was not how I planned my morning to start.
One of the 5th graders wanted help folding down the nails of her frame to keep the glass in place. The nails had fallen out, so we had to hammer them back in. I should've taken the glass out before pounding, but I thought it would be fine. Nope. The glass cracked. Thankfully, Mrs. B had some Plexiglas at home so Pastor cut a piece that would fit and the student redid her art. And now it won't be so breakable!
Program practice went well again. I'm still a little worried about our bell songs. We drove over to church since it was raining/snowing. It took forever! I don't know why the kids were in no hurry to get to church. But we had enough time to practice everything with a few minutes to spare for recess. Mrs. E wants to have the kindergartners in the gym tomorrow (she doesn't like having them in the gym at the same time as the bigger kids), so I guess we have to find something else to do.
Tonight Mrs. B invited me to bake cookies with her and have supper. The other lady who was supposed to do it with us is not feeling well, so Mrs. B asked if I would check with the other teachers and see if there were any takers. So far, Mr. D declined... he has a new cat at home longing for company and a test to write. We'll see if Miss N is free.
Last night after my doctor's appointment, I was supposed to stop and get a refill of my prescription... I remembered that fact once I was already home from the store. Ugh. I had enough medicine for this morning, but I have to run to the store after school now.
This morning I finished correcting all my papers, packed up my bags, got to school, unpacked my bags and looked for the papers to hand back to students... couldn't find them or my flash drive with all my lesson plans on it. Yep. Sitting on my kitchen table. So I had to run home quick and get them. I made it back to school before my students arrived, but that was not how I planned my morning to start.
One of the 5th graders wanted help folding down the nails of her frame to keep the glass in place. The nails had fallen out, so we had to hammer them back in. I should've taken the glass out before pounding, but I thought it would be fine. Nope. The glass cracked. Thankfully, Mrs. B had some Plexiglas at home so Pastor cut a piece that would fit and the student redid her art. And now it won't be so breakable!
Program practice went well again. I'm still a little worried about our bell songs. We drove over to church since it was raining/snowing. It took forever! I don't know why the kids were in no hurry to get to church. But we had enough time to practice everything with a few minutes to spare for recess. Mrs. E wants to have the kindergartners in the gym tomorrow (she doesn't like having them in the gym at the same time as the bigger kids), so I guess we have to find something else to do.
Tonight Mrs. B invited me to bake cookies with her and have supper. The other lady who was supposed to do it with us is not feeling well, so Mrs. B asked if I would check with the other teachers and see if there were any takers. So far, Mr. D declined... he has a new cat at home longing for company and a test to write. We'll see if Miss N is free.
Tuesday, December 15, 2015
Frames
Our second Christmas present art project was a success! Though it almost took more time to explain than to actually do it.
Only two students wanted to make button collages to go in the frames. Theirs turned out pretty neat! Right now they're drying on the lab table since copious amounts of glue were used to attach the buttons to the paper. Tomorrow will be a little more challenging fitting the designs in the frames.
The majority of the class colored Christmas designs on the glass with permanent marker, flipped the glass over (so the marker was facing the inside of the frame), and put a back on. Mrs. B had picked out some potential patterns to trace/color, but some of the kids weren't too thrilled with them. They used the iPad to look up other options (or my computer) and found some even neater designs. Mr. D and Mr. E lent us their permanent markers and I had brought my mini-tip ones from home, so we had plenty to go around. Most of them finished today. A few have finishing touches to put on, and a bunch have to attach the back of the frame again. Surprisingly, the majority wanted to wrap their presents at home, so they went in the book bags! One less thing for me to worry about at school. Mrs. B will bring tissue paper tomorrow for those few that want to wrap it at school.
Program practice went okay again. Our bell songs need a bunch of work. We had our first day of having both bell choirs play, so there was a bit of scrambling as the 6-7th graders tried to find their bells from where the 5th graders moved them. It will get smoother in time. But overall practice went well. There was even a little time for recess when we got back to school!
Only two students wanted to make button collages to go in the frames. Theirs turned out pretty neat! Right now they're drying on the lab table since copious amounts of glue were used to attach the buttons to the paper. Tomorrow will be a little more challenging fitting the designs in the frames.
The majority of the class colored Christmas designs on the glass with permanent marker, flipped the glass over (so the marker was facing the inside of the frame), and put a back on. Mrs. B had picked out some potential patterns to trace/color, but some of the kids weren't too thrilled with them. They used the iPad to look up other options (or my computer) and found some even neater designs. Mr. D and Mr. E lent us their permanent markers and I had brought my mini-tip ones from home, so we had plenty to go around. Most of them finished today. A few have finishing touches to put on, and a bunch have to attach the back of the frame again. Surprisingly, the majority wanted to wrap their presents at home, so they went in the book bags! One less thing for me to worry about at school. Mrs. B will bring tissue paper tomorrow for those few that want to wrap it at school.
Program practice went okay again. Our bell songs need a bunch of work. We had our first day of having both bell choirs play, so there was a bit of scrambling as the 6-7th graders tried to find their bells from where the 5th graders moved them. It will get smoother in time. But overall practice went well. There was even a little time for recess when we got back to school!
Monday, December 14, 2015
Shuttle
Kind of a yucky day outside. No, scratch that... it was very yucky out, not just kind of yucky. By afternoon the rain stopped, but it was still gross enough that we needed to shuttle kids over to church for practice. That is always an undertaking. Which kids go in which car? How many trips does each teacher need to take? Do we let the kids cram in the back?
We also added the 5th grade bells to the one song they accompany the choir on. They did pretty good! One or two of them rushed their notes and didn't hold as long as they should've, but we'll iron that out the rest of this week. The 6-7th grade bell choir didn't go as well. The 5th graders use some of the same bells as the older grades, so my kiddos were scrambling to find their books and bells while the rest of the kids waited around for us to play. Then I realized I had left my director book at school. So I had no music to look at. It went okay considering how little we've practiced the songs. We have practice on our own tomorrow afternoon (before the rest of the school comes over), so we can iron out some of the kinks tomorrow. I'm sure we'll sound fine when the concert rolls around. The first day practicing is always a little rough.
We also added the 5th grade bells to the one song they accompany the choir on. They did pretty good! One or two of them rushed their notes and didn't hold as long as they should've, but we'll iron that out the rest of this week. The 6-7th grade bell choir didn't go as well. The 5th graders use some of the same bells as the older grades, so my kiddos were scrambling to find their books and bells while the rest of the kids waited around for us to play. Then I realized I had left my director book at school. So I had no music to look at. It went okay considering how little we've practiced the songs. We have practice on our own tomorrow afternoon (before the rest of the school comes over), so we can iron out some of the kinks tomorrow. I'm sure we'll sound fine when the concert rolls around. The first day practicing is always a little rough.
Friday, December 11, 2015
Six Pack
I caught one of the 6th graders doing something funny at recess. I had called everyone to come in from noon recess, and like usual, most of the boys shot a couple baskets and went to the opposite end of the gym before finally heading to our classrooms. This particular boy shot a basket in the mini-basketball hoop, hung on the rim, then pulled up his shirt to check how much of a six-pack he had going on. He must've liked what he saw because he hopped down and came back to class.
Other news of the day: we finished our read-aloud book and picked one to start next week. It was almost a unanimous vote for Prisoner B-3087. The book is short enough we may even finish it before Christmas break! Speaking of Christmas break... can you believe we only have seven days of school until break! It's insane! One full week and two days.
Program practice at church went well today. We ran through the whole program in about 40 minutes. So it should be around 45-50 minutes or so after we streamline the process and add in the bells/congregation songs. I got the bulletin cover template finished; the kids need to color/design them yet. On my agenda for the weekend is to get the Christmas program bulletin/projector information good to go.
I was supposed to work on the exercise book this weekend, doing a full edit of the entire thing, but the guy doesn't have the final draft finished, so it's pushed off another week. That's fine. I'm sure I can find other things to do this weekend. Saturday noon Mr. D, Mrs. B (1st and 2nd teacher from last year), and I are meeting for lunch at Mexican Villa in Mankato to celebrate Mr. D's birthday. Ivy and I will probably hang out at some point that day... maybe do some Christmas shopping... my list of gifts to buy for people keeps getting longer and longer! Of course I'll read some books at some point. And I have a movie about the holocaust that's due Monday, so I'll need to watch that. Thankfully I'm starting to feel a bit more like myself again. Let's pray I keep getting better!
Other news of the day: we finished our read-aloud book and picked one to start next week. It was almost a unanimous vote for Prisoner B-3087. The book is short enough we may even finish it before Christmas break! Speaking of Christmas break... can you believe we only have seven days of school until break! It's insane! One full week and two days.
Program practice at church went well today. We ran through the whole program in about 40 minutes. So it should be around 45-50 minutes or so after we streamline the process and add in the bells/congregation songs. I got the bulletin cover template finished; the kids need to color/design them yet. On my agenda for the weekend is to get the Christmas program bulletin/projector information good to go.
I was supposed to work on the exercise book this weekend, doing a full edit of the entire thing, but the guy doesn't have the final draft finished, so it's pushed off another week. That's fine. I'm sure I can find other things to do this weekend. Saturday noon Mr. D, Mrs. B (1st and 2nd teacher from last year), and I are meeting for lunch at Mexican Villa in Mankato to celebrate Mr. D's birthday. Ivy and I will probably hang out at some point that day... maybe do some Christmas shopping... my list of gifts to buy for people keeps getting longer and longer! Of course I'll read some books at some point. And I have a movie about the holocaust that's due Monday, so I'll need to watch that. Thankfully I'm starting to feel a bit more like myself again. Let's pray I keep getting better!
Thursday, December 10, 2015
Crabby Crab
I was a bit of a crab today at school... I had a headache and my ears were pluggy again and I just wasn't ready to put up with anything from anyone... so I was crabby at some of the boys who like to push the line. I saw the ringleader giving looks to his friends like, "Oh man is Miss H in a bad mood today! What is her problem?" So I tried to be nicer.
As the day went on I felt a little better, and so did my mood.
We only have two chapters left in our read-aloud book. They convinced me to read extra today, (partly because I wasn't feeling in tip-top shape, partly because it was such a cliff-hanger ending, but mostly because I had a project for them to work on). Since we don't have any snow around (and none in the forecast), Mrs. E thought we might not get to do our December service project of shoveling the white stuff for people, so she added another facet to the project: making Christmas cards for shut-ins and the military members of our church. Each student picked a person and started making a card. A lot of the kids recognized names on the list and picked those people. It was fun to hear them asking each other, "Hey, what do you think [insert name] would like on his card? An elf? A snowmobile?" I can't wait to see what they all come up with.
Another five students presented their powerpoints today. They all did really well! Everyone was SUPER impressed with the quietest girl in school. She's a 6th grader who rarely raises her hand and hardly ever speaks in class. Everyone is a bit on eggshells around her because she used to cry at the drop of a hat... mostly if she was ever embarrassed or didn't know the answer to a question she had to answer. And she HATES public speaking. She is such a good writer with great tongue in cheek humor, it's a shame more people don't realize that about her. But. A little of that came out today when she presented. Oh it makes me smile just thinking about it!
Picture this: it's 2:09 and the boys are antsy to get out to recess, but we have one speaker left for the day and we're going to squeeze it in no matter what. Once they see she only has seven slides, they calm down a bit. She starts her presentation completely facing the board with her back to the audience, but after she presents for a while (complete with changes in inflection and even some slight jokes), she gradually turns toward her classmates.
I was blown away. She did amazing! Afterwards, one boy turned to me and said, "Wow Miss H, [student] is really good at powerpoints!" Then at recess, this girl asked me, "When can we do another powerpoint? That was fun!" Whoda thunk?
As the day went on I felt a little better, and so did my mood.
We only have two chapters left in our read-aloud book. They convinced me to read extra today, (partly because I wasn't feeling in tip-top shape, partly because it was such a cliff-hanger ending, but mostly because I had a project for them to work on). Since we don't have any snow around (and none in the forecast), Mrs. E thought we might not get to do our December service project of shoveling the white stuff for people, so she added another facet to the project: making Christmas cards for shut-ins and the military members of our church. Each student picked a person and started making a card. A lot of the kids recognized names on the list and picked those people. It was fun to hear them asking each other, "Hey, what do you think [insert name] would like on his card? An elf? A snowmobile?" I can't wait to see what they all come up with.
Another five students presented their powerpoints today. They all did really well! Everyone was SUPER impressed with the quietest girl in school. She's a 6th grader who rarely raises her hand and hardly ever speaks in class. Everyone is a bit on eggshells around her because she used to cry at the drop of a hat... mostly if she was ever embarrassed or didn't know the answer to a question she had to answer. And she HATES public speaking. She is such a good writer with great tongue in cheek humor, it's a shame more people don't realize that about her. But. A little of that came out today when she presented. Oh it makes me smile just thinking about it!
Picture this: it's 2:09 and the boys are antsy to get out to recess, but we have one speaker left for the day and we're going to squeeze it in no matter what. Once they see she only has seven slides, they calm down a bit. She starts her presentation completely facing the board with her back to the audience, but after she presents for a while (complete with changes in inflection and even some slight jokes), she gradually turns toward her classmates.
I was blown away. She did amazing! Afterwards, one boy turned to me and said, "Wow Miss H, [student] is really good at powerpoints!" Then at recess, this girl asked me, "When can we do another powerpoint? That was fun!" Whoda thunk?
Wednesday, December 9, 2015
Sneaky
When I sit just right at my computer, anyone coming in the classroom door can't see me. One of the 5th grade boys burst into the room after basketball practice (and I was sitting just so). He was belting out a random song... no words, just singing a melody of a song at the top of his lungs (picture opera-style). I could tell he hadn't noticed me due to the volume of his singing and the fact that he didn't stop. He puttered around his desk, doing whatever he had come in here for. I probably would've let him go without saying anything, but I had a question about his homework, so I spoke up. Oh his face was priceless. Kind of like, "SHOOT, Miss H is still in here. And she caught me being weird... I should get out of here as fast as possible!" All he said was, "Wow, Miss H, I didn't even know you were in here! You're sneaky!" And he tried to book it away. But I made him stay and answer my question.
After school, most of my afternoon was spent getting a seating chart for the risers at the Christmas program. We're starting practice at church this Friday, so everything kind of needs to be in place for that. I think we finally have it figured out! There are all sorts of little things that need to be done that I'd completely forgotten about: bulletin covers, getting inside text ready for the bulletin, sending program information to the projector lady. It's on my to-do list now!
It's also midterms on Friday. With Thanksgiving break and all that, we haven't had many assignments to put in the grade book. Social studies has one assignment and science has none! I suppose I'll grade them on their class participation or something. I did make a note on their midterms that there aren't many assignments for some classes, so the grades will be skewed.
After school, most of my afternoon was spent getting a seating chart for the risers at the Christmas program. We're starting practice at church this Friday, so everything kind of needs to be in place for that. I think we finally have it figured out! There are all sorts of little things that need to be done that I'd completely forgotten about: bulletin covers, getting inside text ready for the bulletin, sending program information to the projector lady. It's on my to-do list now!
It's also midterms on Friday. With Thanksgiving break and all that, we haven't had many assignments to put in the grade book. Social studies has one assignment and science has none! I suppose I'll grade them on their class participation or something. I did make a note on their midterms that there aren't many assignments for some classes, so the grades will be skewed.
Tuesday, December 8, 2015
Picture Frames
Our angel projects are quickly progressing. Time to start thinking about another art project present.
Mrs. B has been on a cleaning out spree in her house and came across a bunch of frames she doesn't need... 14 to be exact. So, she's letting us use them in an art project. I think we are going to have two options. Option one: make a Christmas button collage... a tree or a present or a star or snowflake or something... and put it behind the glass in the frame. Option two: make a stained glass Christmas scene... use permanent markers to color a picture on the glass and have it in the frame. We'll see who picks which project.
This morning I had all the frames on the table and the 6th grade girls noticed the glass was dirty. So they volunteered to clean them. They even got the boys involved; some of the frames were tricky to open (so they could clean both sides of the glass). The boys kept asking me for tools to get the frames open: screwdriver, pliers, smaller screwdriver. I had everything they asked for! Eventually they lost interest and Mrs. B finished up when she came in later.
I'm going to keep this short today. My sore throat is still lingering from last week, and my stomach was bugging me again today... don't worry, I made a doctor's appointment. The soonest they could get me in is next week. So until then, I'll keep plugging away!
Mrs. B has been on a cleaning out spree in her house and came across a bunch of frames she doesn't need... 14 to be exact. So, she's letting us use them in an art project. I think we are going to have two options. Option one: make a Christmas button collage... a tree or a present or a star or snowflake or something... and put it behind the glass in the frame. Option two: make a stained glass Christmas scene... use permanent markers to color a picture on the glass and have it in the frame. We'll see who picks which project.
This morning I had all the frames on the table and the 6th grade girls noticed the glass was dirty. So they volunteered to clean them. They even got the boys involved; some of the frames were tricky to open (so they could clean both sides of the glass). The boys kept asking me for tools to get the frames open: screwdriver, pliers, smaller screwdriver. I had everything they asked for! Eventually they lost interest and Mrs. B finished up when she came in later.
I'm going to keep this short today. My sore throat is still lingering from last week, and my stomach was bugging me again today... don't worry, I made a doctor's appointment. The soonest they could get me in is next week. So until then, I'll keep plugging away!
Monday, December 7, 2015
Do you have everything you need?
Oh I've got the 7th graders paranoid!
It was so ridiculous; they'd all come to class and pretty soon one would say, "Oh wait, I forgot [insert anything you can imagine here]. Can I go back and get it?" Every single one of them. They'd enter the classroom, realize they forgot something, go back and get it, and sometimes even think of something else they forgot to grab! The worst part is, every morning I write a list of what they need for my class on the board, including assignments due! Their excuse was "we don't look at the board." Well start!!!
I got sick of it last week and made a new rule; once you are in the classroom, you are in, no going back for stuff. I even made a sign and taped it to the door. Today was the first day following the rule. I saw them in the hallway mentally checking off all the stuff they had in their hands. One boy paused on the threshold of my classroom and even stepped aside so I could go through first because he was so worried he'd forgotten something for today. I hope their thoughtfulness keeps up!
Other things of note for today... the hymnal angel project is going super fast. Almost everyone is finished folding the pages. Tomorrow people will be ready to glue on a head/ribbon. I found a bunch of red ornament ball thingys in the office no one claimed, and I think they'll work as heads for the angels. We have coffee filters to use as a lace mantel for the angel. Mrs. B said she has some angel hair at home that could work... otherwise we could just go hairless or use yarn. We'll see what the kids want to do tomorrow.
It was so ridiculous; they'd all come to class and pretty soon one would say, "Oh wait, I forgot [insert anything you can imagine here]. Can I go back and get it?" Every single one of them. They'd enter the classroom, realize they forgot something, go back and get it, and sometimes even think of something else they forgot to grab! The worst part is, every morning I write a list of what they need for my class on the board, including assignments due! Their excuse was "we don't look at the board." Well start!!!
I got sick of it last week and made a new rule; once you are in the classroom, you are in, no going back for stuff. I even made a sign and taped it to the door. Today was the first day following the rule. I saw them in the hallway mentally checking off all the stuff they had in their hands. One boy paused on the threshold of my classroom and even stepped aside so I could go through first because he was so worried he'd forgotten something for today. I hope their thoughtfulness keeps up!
Other things of note for today... the hymnal angel project is going super fast. Almost everyone is finished folding the pages. Tomorrow people will be ready to glue on a head/ribbon. I found a bunch of red ornament ball thingys in the office no one claimed, and I think they'll work as heads for the angels. We have coffee filters to use as a lace mantel for the angel. Mrs. B said she has some angel hair at home that could work... otherwise we could just go hairless or use yarn. We'll see what the kids want to do tomorrow.
Friday, December 4, 2015
Psycho
That title pretty much sums up class today.
My kids were SUPER chatty, way more so than usual. Before school they were yelling across the room, distracting each other from saying memory. Some of the girls spent time decorating the classroom: putting up the nativity set, throwing tinsel on the tree, finding homes for our random other decorations. I like it much better for them to do it all! There's something so homey about a lit up Christmas tree.
In religion, we did popcorn Bible reading. So anytime we had to look up a verse, one would read it and then popcorn the next verse to someone else. One kid really wanted to read, but he was being obnoxious about it, so the boys kept popcorning to everyone but him... even the girls! He did get a chance to read... at the way end much later than he'd wanted to. My kids had so much fun doing this, they asked if we could have religion all morning and just keep popcorn reading Bible passages. And they were actually serious. Huh.
We did not spend all morning on religion, though we did take a little longer than normal. We had so many little catch-up things to do. I have about five assignments on the board that one or two people for each haven't finished yet. And they still didn't get them done! Instead, they worked on a project a little, then switched to something else, and then worked on a different thing, or pretended to work on it. I don't know. The people in question were clearly not using their time well. Ergh! It's hard to keep so much straight! Midterms are next week...
Our hymnal angel project got started today. Since we had program practice in the afternoon, I had been planning to give them recess time instead of art and we'd start the project Monday. But they were so crazy this morning that I gave them the choice: shape up and get recess this afternoon, or stay acting the way you are and we do art/science/social studies. Well... they shaped up a little, but not nearly enough. So after math, they sat quietly in their desks while I passed out their social studies tests, then we went over how to make the hymnal angels. I told them I'd give them one more chance (oh I'm such a softie!) to earn their recess back; no complaining or whining or rowdiness and we could go out after dividing the pages of the hymnal so we could start our project Monday. Okay. Deal. So they earned their recess.
Another interesting thing: the 3rd and 4th graders came in to hear me talk about El Salvador. The 7th graders were also in my room at the time, but they'd already heard about it last year (though I had new pictures). I only had a half an hour to talk... I went over by five minutes. But the kids had so many questions! And they were good questions too! I wish we would've had more time. The 7th graders were interested too, though they weren't nearly so curious.
My kids were SUPER chatty, way more so than usual. Before school they were yelling across the room, distracting each other from saying memory. Some of the girls spent time decorating the classroom: putting up the nativity set, throwing tinsel on the tree, finding homes for our random other decorations. I like it much better for them to do it all! There's something so homey about a lit up Christmas tree.
In religion, we did popcorn Bible reading. So anytime we had to look up a verse, one would read it and then popcorn the next verse to someone else. One kid really wanted to read, but he was being obnoxious about it, so the boys kept popcorning to everyone but him... even the girls! He did get a chance to read... at the way end much later than he'd wanted to. My kids had so much fun doing this, they asked if we could have religion all morning and just keep popcorn reading Bible passages. And they were actually serious. Huh.
We did not spend all morning on religion, though we did take a little longer than normal. We had so many little catch-up things to do. I have about five assignments on the board that one or two people for each haven't finished yet. And they still didn't get them done! Instead, they worked on a project a little, then switched to something else, and then worked on a different thing, or pretended to work on it. I don't know. The people in question were clearly not using their time well. Ergh! It's hard to keep so much straight! Midterms are next week...
Our hymnal angel project got started today. Since we had program practice in the afternoon, I had been planning to give them recess time instead of art and we'd start the project Monday. But they were so crazy this morning that I gave them the choice: shape up and get recess this afternoon, or stay acting the way you are and we do art/science/social studies. Well... they shaped up a little, but not nearly enough. So after math, they sat quietly in their desks while I passed out their social studies tests, then we went over how to make the hymnal angels. I told them I'd give them one more chance (oh I'm such a softie!) to earn their recess back; no complaining or whining or rowdiness and we could go out after dividing the pages of the hymnal so we could start our project Monday. Okay. Deal. So they earned their recess.
Another interesting thing: the 3rd and 4th graders came in to hear me talk about El Salvador. The 7th graders were also in my room at the time, but they'd already heard about it last year (though I had new pictures). I only had a half an hour to talk... I went over by five minutes. But the kids had so many questions! And they were good questions too! I wish we would've had more time. The 7th graders were interested too, though they weren't nearly so curious.
Thursday, December 3, 2015
Singing
It is so cute when my big, tough, 5th and 6th graders randomly sing. Today in bells, we had our first practice of the songs we'll play for the Christmas program. One was "Away in a Manger", and I noticed one of the 6th grade boys singing it to himself as he got his music ready. Aww!
Another surprising burst of song happened in social studies of all places. I had played them the song "Follow the Drinking Gourd" a while ago in class when we talked about the Underground Railroad so we could search for the hidden meanings in the song, and a surprising number of students sang the chorus after hearing it a few times that day. Today we were briefly reviewing for the test, and when they came to the question about the "Drinking Gourd", another 6th grade boy started singing the song! And a few others joined in! So adorable.
This other kid (one who gets easily annoyed by his classmates) has a pair of headphones he can listen to classical music with so he doesn't hear the distractions as much. Yesterday I heard someone whistling... it was him! Subconsciously whistling along to the music. He eventually looked up and caught my stare; I gave him the "shh" signal and he looked a little chagrined. Normally, this kid doesn't show excitement about anything, but when it comes to his classical music songs... that's a whole other ball of wax. He'll start singing the melody and wave his arms around like he's directing! His classmates look at him like, "What is he doing?" But they find it amusing too (in a good way).
Another surprising burst of song happened in social studies of all places. I had played them the song "Follow the Drinking Gourd" a while ago in class when we talked about the Underground Railroad so we could search for the hidden meanings in the song, and a surprising number of students sang the chorus after hearing it a few times that day. Today we were briefly reviewing for the test, and when they came to the question about the "Drinking Gourd", another 6th grade boy started singing the song! And a few others joined in! So adorable.
This other kid (one who gets easily annoyed by his classmates) has a pair of headphones he can listen to classical music with so he doesn't hear the distractions as much. Yesterday I heard someone whistling... it was him! Subconsciously whistling along to the music. He eventually looked up and caught my stare; I gave him the "shh" signal and he looked a little chagrined. Normally, this kid doesn't show excitement about anything, but when it comes to his classical music songs... that's a whole other ball of wax. He'll start singing the melody and wave his arms around like he's directing! His classmates look at him like, "What is he doing?" But they find it amusing too (in a good way).
Wednesday, December 2, 2015
The Bus Got Stuck
It was quite quiet this morning when I got to school. The snow and slightly foggy air muffled usual sounds, and no one stopped in to chat before school started. It seemed the quiet lasted longer than normal, and when I looked at the clock, it was already 8:00! Typically, the Nicollet bus drops kids off by 7:55... hmm... that's odd. 8:05...STILL no kids. Finally around 8:10 the Nicollet bus arrived with the New Ulm bus following a few minutes later. What had happened to make them so late? Their bus got stuck in the ditch. Oops. The kids were so excited about it, the bloodthirsty savages.
We had our first day back to Writer's Workshop. I floundered a little, trying to remember how that all worked, since the last time we'd done it was October. The kids were all like, "We know Miss H, we know how to do it!" [just let us work already!] Some of them started some neat new stories. One girl is writing a picture book "when dinosaurs try to paint" and another is writing about a zebra and a lion fighting over a rock (it's a magic rock). Most of the others are working on their pen pal letters. Some are having difficulties deciding what to put in the letter. The computers were slow to let the kids log on (slow as in 15-20 minutes slow), so there was a lot of dinking around waiting.
Basketball update: the girls got creamed... those Janesville girls are just so tall! The boys won their game. Man, the Janesville boys play rough! I still recognize some of my old students from student teaching. They're in 7th grade I think. A few recognize me, though none of them talked to me this time. My current kiddos had practice again tonight. The latest buzz was that the mom who's watching them at practice brought supper (usually it's just a small snack). This mom brought: sloppy joes, chips, pickles, cracker bars... the whole shebang! She even brought one of the extra cracker bars down to me as a treat. Aww! So thoughtful.
Tonight's plans: visit the library and restock my book supply, and Bible Study. Still haven't put up my Christmas tree... maybe that's a job for tomorrow...
We had our first day back to Writer's Workshop. I floundered a little, trying to remember how that all worked, since the last time we'd done it was October. The kids were all like, "We know Miss H, we know how to do it!" [just let us work already!] Some of them started some neat new stories. One girl is writing a picture book "when dinosaurs try to paint" and another is writing about a zebra and a lion fighting over a rock (it's a magic rock). Most of the others are working on their pen pal letters. Some are having difficulties deciding what to put in the letter. The computers were slow to let the kids log on (slow as in 15-20 minutes slow), so there was a lot of dinking around waiting.
Basketball update: the girls got creamed... those Janesville girls are just so tall! The boys won their game. Man, the Janesville boys play rough! I still recognize some of my old students from student teaching. They're in 7th grade I think. A few recognize me, though none of them talked to me this time. My current kiddos had practice again tonight. The latest buzz was that the mom who's watching them at practice brought supper (usually it's just a small snack). This mom brought: sloppy joes, chips, pickles, cracker bars... the whole shebang! She even brought one of the extra cracker bars down to me as a treat. Aww! So thoughtful.
Tonight's plans: visit the library and restock my book supply, and Bible Study. Still haven't put up my Christmas tree... maybe that's a job for tomorrow...
Tuesday, December 1, 2015
Game Day
No two hours late this morning! The roads were not that bad when I went to school, and now it's warm enough that everything is melted off. I think we're in for a stretch of good weather!
My kids were a little crazy today, but not too bad. They got to pick their NaNo prizes for writing their words. Quite a few didn't make their goals... I was surprised. And they were really close too! Some less than 100 words off! But they had finished their stories and didn't need/want to write more. And then I have other students who are not finished with their stories, but did reach their goals. The other complicated thing is that we changed our goals partway through the month. So most of the students who didn't get their goals this time around did reach their first goals... so which goal do I go with??? Would it be cheating to go back to their first goals (if they didn't make the second)???
We had an impromptu PE session today. Normally PE is Monday/Wednesday, but with school called off yesterday, they didn't have it. And no basketball practice either. Needless to say, my kiddos were freaking out a bit by the lack of practice since their first game of the season is today. So Mr. E did PE today. I was supposed to watch the Kindergartners for him since that's what he normally does at that time, but Mrs. E said she could watch her class and I could go get stuff done. Woohoo! I took advantage of the extended Cyber Monday deals and ordered more books for my classroom (I even had a gift certificate to use!). Sigh. There is just never enough money for all the books I want to buy! Still, a few more will be crossed off the "to-buy" list.
My room is being used as a locker room for the Janesville girls. Their game started about ten minutes ago, so now that I have everything on my "to-do-today" list, I think I'll go watch!
My kids were a little crazy today, but not too bad. They got to pick their NaNo prizes for writing their words. Quite a few didn't make their goals... I was surprised. And they were really close too! Some less than 100 words off! But they had finished their stories and didn't need/want to write more. And then I have other students who are not finished with their stories, but did reach their goals. The other complicated thing is that we changed our goals partway through the month. So most of the students who didn't get their goals this time around did reach their first goals... so which goal do I go with??? Would it be cheating to go back to their first goals (if they didn't make the second)???
We had an impromptu PE session today. Normally PE is Monday/Wednesday, but with school called off yesterday, they didn't have it. And no basketball practice either. Needless to say, my kiddos were freaking out a bit by the lack of practice since their first game of the season is today. So Mr. E did PE today. I was supposed to watch the Kindergartners for him since that's what he normally does at that time, but Mrs. E said she could watch her class and I could go get stuff done. Woohoo! I took advantage of the extended Cyber Monday deals and ordered more books for my classroom (I even had a gift certificate to use!). Sigh. There is just never enough money for all the books I want to buy! Still, a few more will be crossed off the "to-buy" list.
My room is being used as a locker room for the Janesville girls. Their game started about ten minutes ago, so now that I have everything on my "to-do-today" list, I think I'll go watch!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)