We finally had our Russia speaker visit school, and he was the best speaker we've had yet! He was funny and had a great way of speaking that drew my students in. He taught English to high school students in Russia for two years and in China for one (and did bible studies on the side). Now he is a seminary student at MLC and works as a preschool teacher in the early learning center. It was funny because he got so excited about the laser pointer and the fact that he could advance his presentation by touching the board... he explained, "I teach preschool, so that's why I get excited about such little things!"
He gave out Russian coins to anyone who had a question or answered one of his questions. The coins are called kopeck and are worth less than 1/3rd of an American cent. He said the Russians would just throw the coins away because they weren't worth much of anything, so he collected them and had a huge bag full when he left Russia. Actually, he had to leave a bag behind because they wouldn't all fit in his suitcase.
Our speaker was able to stay for both the 7/8th graders and the 5/6th graders, although the 7/8th graders cut into the 5/6th time because they had so many questions. Thankfully, Mrs. E was flexible on her art time and let them stay late. The 5/6th graders didn't want to stop asking questions either, and they had a bus to catch! We went as long as we could before we quickly packed our bags and wrapped up our day.
Every time we have one of these speakers, I am so thankful that MLC was willing to partner with us. Each speaker has had great things to share with my students, and every time it opens them up to the idea of mission work or traveling to other countries. They're so excited to share what they just learned (Mr. E says that's all they talked about when they came back to the room). Now that we're halfway through the third quarter, we only have 2-3 speakers left to go. Hopefully they'll be just as good as this one!
Tuesday, February 28, 2017
Monday, February 27, 2017
State Capitol
Well, I'd say today was a success!
This morning started a little crazy for me... I got to school and realized I forgot my sack lunch! So I raced back home (after writing a note on the board so my students wouldn't worry), and retrieved it. Yes, I got a lot of ribbing about that. Before I originally left for school, I kept telling myself, "don't forget your lunch, don't forget your lunch!" And what do I do? Forget my lunch.
Right before I walked out the door, I decided on a last minute wardrobe change (maybe that's why I forgot my lunch). I had been wearing flats with my dress, but thought it didn't look as 'grownup' as boots would. So I quickly changed into my boots, but they have a heel and I wasn't sure how much they'd hurt my feet after a whole day of tromping around the capitol. Answer: tolerable. My feet are a bit sore, but not too bad.
We got to the capitol a bit early, which was fine since we parked a block away and walked to the building. There was enough time for us to eat a snack, since most everyone was starving (a usual occurrence on field trips). I am so thankful for the parents on the trip! Two of them thought it would be good to bring bars/oranges/water along, so we had plenty of snacks to give our hungry troop.
In total, there were 21 students (one kid stayed home sick) and 14 adults, including Mr. E, myself, and the parent who'd done all the planning. The Ways and Means Committee hearing was... boring and interesting at the same time. It took me about 20 minutes to figure out what they were even discussing (something to do with health care). They use so much jargon! And if I was lost, imagine how lost the kiddos were! We left the meeting early and used the time to go over what we observed (but put in 'kid' terms). Then we ate lunch, met with our representatives, heard about the High School Page program, and met with another representative. Finally it was time to tour the capitol.
Unfortunately, our tour guide was not the greatest. He didn't tell very many facts and he walked fast and started talking before the whole group had amassed. There was a group lobbying in the rotunda area; they were quite loud. So maybe they had something to do with the not-so-great tour? It was hard to hear when we were in that area. Or maybe he was simply out of practice since they stopped giving tours due to the renovations. They were mostly finished, though some paintings were still being retouched. Governor Dayton hasn't moved back into his capitol office yet. We weren't allowed to go up to the gold horse area either (I think that was because it was closed for the winter with the snow/ice).
Sitting in on Session was very interesting. We saw one bill being voted approved. Lots of announcements were made, and Rep. Johnson introduced our school to the whole Session. That was pretty cool. In total, Session only lasted about a half an hour. I kind of wish it would've been longer; they go at such a fast pace, it took a bit to figure out (although not as much as the Ways/Means). It's definitely sparked my interest in government, and hopefully did the same for some of my students!
This morning started a little crazy for me... I got to school and realized I forgot my sack lunch! So I raced back home (after writing a note on the board so my students wouldn't worry), and retrieved it. Yes, I got a lot of ribbing about that. Before I originally left for school, I kept telling myself, "don't forget your lunch, don't forget your lunch!" And what do I do? Forget my lunch.
Right before I walked out the door, I decided on a last minute wardrobe change (maybe that's why I forgot my lunch). I had been wearing flats with my dress, but thought it didn't look as 'grownup' as boots would. So I quickly changed into my boots, but they have a heel and I wasn't sure how much they'd hurt my feet after a whole day of tromping around the capitol. Answer: tolerable. My feet are a bit sore, but not too bad.
We got to the capitol a bit early, which was fine since we parked a block away and walked to the building. There was enough time for us to eat a snack, since most everyone was starving (a usual occurrence on field trips). I am so thankful for the parents on the trip! Two of them thought it would be good to bring bars/oranges/water along, so we had plenty of snacks to give our hungry troop.
In total, there were 21 students (one kid stayed home sick) and 14 adults, including Mr. E, myself, and the parent who'd done all the planning. The Ways and Means Committee hearing was... boring and interesting at the same time. It took me about 20 minutes to figure out what they were even discussing (something to do with health care). They use so much jargon! And if I was lost, imagine how lost the kiddos were! We left the meeting early and used the time to go over what we observed (but put in 'kid' terms). Then we ate lunch, met with our representatives, heard about the High School Page program, and met with another representative. Finally it was time to tour the capitol.
Unfortunately, our tour guide was not the greatest. He didn't tell very many facts and he walked fast and started talking before the whole group had amassed. There was a group lobbying in the rotunda area; they were quite loud. So maybe they had something to do with the not-so-great tour? It was hard to hear when we were in that area. Or maybe he was simply out of practice since they stopped giving tours due to the renovations. They were mostly finished, though some paintings were still being retouched. Governor Dayton hasn't moved back into his capitol office yet. We weren't allowed to go up to the gold horse area either (I think that was because it was closed for the winter with the snow/ice).
Sitting in on Session was very interesting. We saw one bill being voted approved. Lots of announcements were made, and Rep. Johnson introduced our school to the whole Session. That was pretty cool. In total, Session only lasted about a half an hour. I kind of wish it would've been longer; they go at such a fast pace, it took a bit to figure out (although not as much as the Ways/Means). It's definitely sparked my interest in government, and hopefully did the same for some of my students!
Thursday, February 23, 2017
Narwhals
Today was probably the calmest day in the classroom this week (and even so, it wasn't very calm). Everyone was freaking out about the big storm coming. I have no clue what to believe anymore. Some say it was supposed to start at 1:00 (nope, no snow/rain yet). Some say at 6, or 8, or 9. Or the worst is going to be from 8-10 tonight... or after 2:00am.
And the boys basketball team is in a tizzy. They've been calling Mr. E nonstop. Some parents want to take their families up to the Cities tonight. Others are going to wait until tomorrow. It sounds like the storm will be lower in MN than originally thought, so the Cities are not going to get much snow. If people can get 40mi north of Courtland, they should have decent driving weather. So. We shall see what happens.
Not many people around here anticipate school tomorrow. My plan is to hunker down and catch up on my InCoWriMo correspondence (and read books too!). And correct papers. If I have to. I guess. Mrs. B arranged to check out an internet hotspot from the library today and dropped it off at school so I'd be able to enter grades/have internet. Hopefully I can figure out how to make it work!
Today I cracked down on the mean comments/retaliation that's been going on for far too long in my classroom. I asked them what we could do to get the negativity to stop... their answer was 'to write sentences.' So the new rule is if someone says something mean or makes a mean comment back to someone, they get five sentences (a bible verse about being kind, etc.). If they say another thing, then it's ten sentences, then 15, then 20, and so on and so forth. Only two kids had to write (so far). It definitely made some kids think twice before speaking, which was my goal.
In Daily 5 this morning I did a bunch of book commercials for the books I checked out from the library. The two graphic novels I'd grabbed got snatched up right away. I previewed them last night and liked both well enough, although they won't become my new favorites. My kiddos LOVED the Narwhal book. It's about a narwhal and a jellyfish that become friends. They sing a song, they eat waffles, it's a bit ridiculous and I thought it was a bit lacking in the plot area. Two 6th grade boys read it first. They were using crazy voices (a southern accent at one point), and the goofball of the class actually sang the narwhal's waffle song. And he didn't sing quietly either. Soon the whole class was listening whether they wanted to or not! Most of them couldn't help giggling. And then there was a mad clamor over who got to read it next... and even a request that the 6th grader read the book aloud to our class! He wasn't so keen on that idea. Now they want me to buy the book for our class library.
Speaking of books to add to the library... one of the reluctant 5th grade readers popped onto the Bookmobile today to get a movie and ended up coming back with a book! The newest Bird and Squirrel graphic novel had come in and he's the first to get to read it. He was so excited. He said he might even bring it home so he can read it on the way to the state basketball tournament. Woo! Score one for books! I'm a little sad because I ordered that book from the book order and had looked forward to surprising him with it, but oh well, he'll still be excited that he can read it whenever he wants to now. And his classmates will want to read it too; an extra copy will be good to have around.
And the boys basketball team is in a tizzy. They've been calling Mr. E nonstop. Some parents want to take their families up to the Cities tonight. Others are going to wait until tomorrow. It sounds like the storm will be lower in MN than originally thought, so the Cities are not going to get much snow. If people can get 40mi north of Courtland, they should have decent driving weather. So. We shall see what happens.
Not many people around here anticipate school tomorrow. My plan is to hunker down and catch up on my InCoWriMo correspondence (and read books too!). And correct papers. If I have to. I guess. Mrs. B arranged to check out an internet hotspot from the library today and dropped it off at school so I'd be able to enter grades/have internet. Hopefully I can figure out how to make it work!
Today I cracked down on the mean comments/retaliation that's been going on for far too long in my classroom. I asked them what we could do to get the negativity to stop... their answer was 'to write sentences.' So the new rule is if someone says something mean or makes a mean comment back to someone, they get five sentences (a bible verse about being kind, etc.). If they say another thing, then it's ten sentences, then 15, then 20, and so on and so forth. Only two kids had to write (so far). It definitely made some kids think twice before speaking, which was my goal.
In Daily 5 this morning I did a bunch of book commercials for the books I checked out from the library. The two graphic novels I'd grabbed got snatched up right away. I previewed them last night and liked both well enough, although they won't become my new favorites. My kiddos LOVED the Narwhal book. It's about a narwhal and a jellyfish that become friends. They sing a song, they eat waffles, it's a bit ridiculous and I thought it was a bit lacking in the plot area. Two 6th grade boys read it first. They were using crazy voices (a southern accent at one point), and the goofball of the class actually sang the narwhal's waffle song. And he didn't sing quietly either. Soon the whole class was listening whether they wanted to or not! Most of them couldn't help giggling. And then there was a mad clamor over who got to read it next... and even a request that the 6th grader read the book aloud to our class! He wasn't so keen on that idea. Now they want me to buy the book for our class library.
Speaking of books to add to the library... one of the reluctant 5th grade readers popped onto the Bookmobile today to get a movie and ended up coming back with a book! The newest Bird and Squirrel graphic novel had come in and he's the first to get to read it. He was so excited. He said he might even bring it home so he can read it on the way to the state basketball tournament. Woo! Score one for books! I'm a little sad because I ordered that book from the book order and had looked forward to surprising him with it, but oh well, he'll still be excited that he can read it whenever he wants to now. And his classmates will want to read it too; an extra copy will be good to have around.
Wednesday, February 22, 2017
Weather Buzz
The whole school has been abuzz about the storm expected this Thursday night into Friday... anywhere between 10-20 inches of snow is predicted for us. Gross. Well, the snow lovers are excited! The boys' basketball team, not so much; the state tournament is this weekend. So far, the guys in charge up there said, 'come early so you don't get stuck in the weather.' Huh. Do they want us to all skip school or something???
I stocked up on books at the library and got groceries last night, so I should be all set if we do get the forecast blizzard. Parents and students have been asking me what will happen if school is cancelled on Friday, spelling/handwriting/memory-wise. I told all my kiddos to try to say their memory work tomorrow and just get it done so they don't have to worry about it. Handwriting I think most of them could finish by tomorrow (though that's not a big deal if it doesn't get handed in until next week). Their spelling packets are due tomorrow anyway, so the test is the biggest thing to get pushed off. I had thought, "Oh, we'll just do it Monday, no big deal." But we're going to the state capitol on Monday! So we'd have to do it Tuesday. And then take another spelling test a few days later on Friday. Hmm, not the best timeline. But I guess we'll have to live with it!
So many things are coming up... and they're just far enough away for me to think, "Oh, I've got plenty of time!" But they're coming sooner than I think: midterm grades, Young Writers and Artists Conference, National Lutheran Schools Week, Lenten suppers/bells/singing, Fine Arts Fair, science fair projects due, art projects due... yikes!!! Maybe a snow day would be a good thing?
I found out that the library has two internet 'hotspots' patrons can check out so they can have internet anywhere. I thought about getting one for a week, but ended up deciding not to. Now I kind of wish I had, especially if we don't have school Friday. I could enter all my grades online from the comfort of my home! Shucks! Hindsight is always 20/20.
Tuesday, February 21, 2017
State Capitol
Our 5-8th grade trip to the capitol is coming up next Monday. The parent volunteer who has been organizing the trip came to school today to teach the kiddos about the stuff that happens at the state capitol. It was really good! She had a powerpoint and everything.
She showed them pictures of our representatives for both Nicollet and Brown County, how a bill becomes a law, what it means to be senator/representative, what the Ways and Means Committee Hearing is (we'll be sitting in on part of one), and expectations for them the day of the trip (NO JEANS, firm handshake, sack lunch, etc.).
To wrap it all up, Mr. E found a website that had pictures of the renovations at the capitol (you can see them here). We want the students to have things to say to the representatives about us/our school, so the parent is going to write a 'script' and we'll have student volunteers read/say specific things to the people we meet with. Things like, our school is pre-8th grades, over 150 years old, teaches such and such, etc. I told them if we didn't get enough volunteers, I'd start drawing sticks to get enough. And the volunteers would get to have first pick on what they say. So far there are seven volunteers to speak.
Hopefully the weather will be good for our trip! We'll be gone all day, 8:30-6:00ish.
She showed them pictures of our representatives for both Nicollet and Brown County, how a bill becomes a law, what it means to be senator/representative, what the Ways and Means Committee Hearing is (we'll be sitting in on part of one), and expectations for them the day of the trip (NO JEANS, firm handshake, sack lunch, etc.).
To wrap it all up, Mr. E found a website that had pictures of the renovations at the capitol (you can see them here). We want the students to have things to say to the representatives about us/our school, so the parent is going to write a 'script' and we'll have student volunteers read/say specific things to the people we meet with. Things like, our school is pre-8th grades, over 150 years old, teaches such and such, etc. I told them if we didn't get enough volunteers, I'd start drawing sticks to get enough. And the volunteers would get to have first pick on what they say. So far there are seven volunteers to speak.
Hopefully the weather will be good for our trip! We'll be gone all day, 8:30-6:00ish.
Thursday, February 16, 2017
World Read-Aloud Day
Guess what day it is today? World Read-Aloud Day! I hadn't been planning on it, but we spent pretty much our whole morning doing read-aloud. Of course we had religion and took our spelling tests. But other than those things, we read the whole morning. It gave everyone time to catch up on all the assignments that were due today. We read 68 pages total!
This afternoon we went to a play at Nicollet put on by MSU students. It was called, "The Stolen Wind" and was about a guy (who looked like a pirate) who stole the wind so all pirates couldn't do any bad, piratey things. But there were three pirate friends who were good and needed the wind so their boat could take them places where they could help people. So they went on a quest to get the wind back. It was really good! The message (being kind and supportive to each other) didn't overpower the plot. The singers were AMAZING. The costumes were neat.
The best part about these plays is that students do everything... the writing, composing, lyrics, set design, costume design, acting... All the actors/actresses were either 18 or 19, so they must be freshmen. They started working on it in early September. From the question/answer session it seemed like the seven actors we saw today just did the acting part of it and other MSU students created the other parts of the play. Still, I give all the people involved major props! It was very well done.
Meh, I have a mountain of papers to correct. Since it was a short week (we don't have school tomorrow), everyone had one less day to do their usual weekly assignments, meaning everything got turned in today instead of trickling in periodically earlier in the week. Since there's no school until Tuesday next week, I really don't feel like doing any 'teacher' work, but I know I should do it now since I have so many plans this weekend! My good college friend's birthday is Saturday and she has a half day of school tomorrow so I'm heading over to Faribault to see her. Then Saturday I'll be in Truman. Sunday I'll head to Fulda and be there until Monday. So tonight and tomorrow morning are my chances to get things done! Let's hope I can drum up some motivation!
This afternoon we went to a play at Nicollet put on by MSU students. It was called, "The Stolen Wind" and was about a guy (who looked like a pirate) who stole the wind so all pirates couldn't do any bad, piratey things. But there were three pirate friends who were good and needed the wind so their boat could take them places where they could help people. So they went on a quest to get the wind back. It was really good! The message (being kind and supportive to each other) didn't overpower the plot. The singers were AMAZING. The costumes were neat.
The best part about these plays is that students do everything... the writing, composing, lyrics, set design, costume design, acting... All the actors/actresses were either 18 or 19, so they must be freshmen. They started working on it in early September. From the question/answer session it seemed like the seven actors we saw today just did the acting part of it and other MSU students created the other parts of the play. Still, I give all the people involved major props! It was very well done.
Meh, I have a mountain of papers to correct. Since it was a short week (we don't have school tomorrow), everyone had one less day to do their usual weekly assignments, meaning everything got turned in today instead of trickling in periodically earlier in the week. Since there's no school until Tuesday next week, I really don't feel like doing any 'teacher' work, but I know I should do it now since I have so many plans this weekend! My good college friend's birthday is Saturday and she has a half day of school tomorrow so I'm heading over to Faribault to see her. Then Saturday I'll be in Truman. Sunday I'll head to Fulda and be there until Monday. So tonight and tomorrow morning are my chances to get things done! Let's hope I can drum up some motivation!
Wednesday, February 15, 2017
Missing Glove Found!
The lost has been found!
During read-aloud this morning, one of the 6th grade boys opened his desk and pulled out my glove, starting at it in shock like, "What in the world is this thing doing in my desk?" I recognized it right away. One of the other boys said, "Hey Miss H, is that your glove that you were missing?" I had written a note on the office whiteboard asking if anyone had seen my glove. Just minutes before my glove got pulled out of the desk, the boys in my class had had a meeting in the office with Mr. E about going to the state basketball tournament. They'd seen my note there.
The boy who found my glove in his desk had no clue how it had gotten there. But another 6th grader saw one of the 5th graders put it in there. He revealed that another 5th grader had thrown it at him, so he threw it back, and that guy threw it back... anyway, long story short, one of them found the glove on the floor of the gym by the coat room. I must've stuffed it under my arm after grabbing the banana papers Monday morning and it must've slipped out on my way through the maze of the coatroom. Regardless of how it got there, I'm glad to have it back!
Lunchtime. The fruit and vegetable challenge is still going strong though some of the 5th graders, while determined to win, are not so enthused about actually eating all their produce. One girl was feeling creative and sang as she shoveled applesauce into her mouth, "I can eat all things through Christ who strengthens me, Christ who strengthens me, Christ who strengthens me!" That's one of the songs we'll be singing in church in a few weeks... but the words are "I can do all things." I have such creative students, don't I?
My Valentine's Day date was a hit. My farmer came over for supper and I cooked him a recipe he'd found a while ago on facebook (one of those video recipes). I had been a little nervous to make it since it involves shrimp; I'm not a fan of seafood and I've never cooked shrimp before. But the shrimp alfredo pasta wasn't too shrimpy and the rest of it tasted really good! I'll definitely make it again, although next time maybe I'll substitute a different meat for the shrimp. After that we watched The Emperor's New Groove. We hadn't talked about doing gifts at all, but I figured I'd be on the safe side and get him some Reeses Peanut Butter Cups (his favorite candy). Good thing I did! A while ago I'd seen an infomercial for a bright LED camping lantern thingy that I thought was super cool (and would be good for camping trips). I said something about wanting to get one and then kind of forgot about it. That's what my farmer got me! Not the exact infomercial one, but this one is better because it has a dimmer switch and a compass.
During read-aloud this morning, one of the 6th grade boys opened his desk and pulled out my glove, starting at it in shock like, "What in the world is this thing doing in my desk?" I recognized it right away. One of the other boys said, "Hey Miss H, is that your glove that you were missing?" I had written a note on the office whiteboard asking if anyone had seen my glove. Just minutes before my glove got pulled out of the desk, the boys in my class had had a meeting in the office with Mr. E about going to the state basketball tournament. They'd seen my note there.
The boy who found my glove in his desk had no clue how it had gotten there. But another 6th grader saw one of the 5th graders put it in there. He revealed that another 5th grader had thrown it at him, so he threw it back, and that guy threw it back... anyway, long story short, one of them found the glove on the floor of the gym by the coat room. I must've stuffed it under my arm after grabbing the banana papers Monday morning and it must've slipped out on my way through the maze of the coatroom. Regardless of how it got there, I'm glad to have it back!
Lunchtime. The fruit and vegetable challenge is still going strong though some of the 5th graders, while determined to win, are not so enthused about actually eating all their produce. One girl was feeling creative and sang as she shoveled applesauce into her mouth, "I can eat all things through Christ who strengthens me, Christ who strengthens me, Christ who strengthens me!" That's one of the songs we'll be singing in church in a few weeks... but the words are "I can do all things." I have such creative students, don't I?
My Valentine's Day date was a hit. My farmer came over for supper and I cooked him a recipe he'd found a while ago on facebook (one of those video recipes). I had been a little nervous to make it since it involves shrimp; I'm not a fan of seafood and I've never cooked shrimp before. But the shrimp alfredo pasta wasn't too shrimpy and the rest of it tasted really good! I'll definitely make it again, although next time maybe I'll substitute a different meat for the shrimp. After that we watched The Emperor's New Groove. We hadn't talked about doing gifts at all, but I figured I'd be on the safe side and get him some Reeses Peanut Butter Cups (his favorite candy). Good thing I did! A while ago I'd seen an infomercial for a bright LED camping lantern thingy that I thought was super cool (and would be good for camping trips). I said something about wanting to get one and then kind of forgot about it. That's what my farmer got me! Not the exact infomercial one, but this one is better because it has a dimmer switch and a compass.
Tuesday, February 14, 2017
Valentine's Day
My kiddos were much calmer today, even with Valentine's Day.
Sharing treats was optional today, so only a few students brought things to share with the class. They loved the gum I gave them! Many said thank-you two or three times throughout the day!
We watched two Wishbone episodes, one of the "to be continued" episodes. We were only going to watch one today, but it was a cliff hanger ending, so we ended up watching both. And we still had time to do most of our Daily 5 rounds. That was kind of our Valentine party, watching Wishbone. They earned the two episodes as a marble prize, so really it wasn't much of a party, but they didn't complain at all. Not many of them are super thrilled with the whole Valentine thing, aside from getting lots of candy.
We played a few rounds of Valentine would-you-rather before lunch. Here are some of my favorites:
Would you rather:
Sharing treats was optional today, so only a few students brought things to share with the class. They loved the gum I gave them! Many said thank-you two or three times throughout the day!
We watched two Wishbone episodes, one of the "to be continued" episodes. We were only going to watch one today, but it was a cliff hanger ending, so we ended up watching both. And we still had time to do most of our Daily 5 rounds. That was kind of our Valentine party, watching Wishbone. They earned the two episodes as a marble prize, so really it wasn't much of a party, but they didn't complain at all. Not many of them are super thrilled with the whole Valentine thing, aside from getting lots of candy.
We played a few rounds of Valentine would-you-rather before lunch. Here are some of my favorites:
Would you rather:
- Get a kiss from a big, slobbery dog? or from a camel?
- Eat heart shaped dog treats? or rose petals?
- Go to a Valentine's party with really good food but not much to do? or go to a party with no food but really fun games/activities?
- Spend Valentine's day with your family? or friends?
- Get candy from your teacher? or a homework pass?
Some of their choices were surprising! It was 50/50 family or friends. Most wanted a homework pass instead of candy (hint for next year!). Most picked a kiss from a dog.
Well, I'm the last one at school and this was the last thing on my to-do list, so I'm going to pack up and head home!
Monday, February 13, 2017
Frustrating
Today was a frustrating day. My day started great! But unfortunately it went downhill from there...
As I walked into school, I paused to pick up some extra banana reading logs since my class had been running low. I took off my right glove so I could grab the papers and accidentally left it on top of the shelf by the preschool room. When I remembered, I was already situated behind my desk and thought, 'Oh I'll get it later.' After school when I remembered again, it was gone! And it wasn't in the lost and found either. Grr... what happened to it??? Who would take just one glove?
Back to this morning. After running my errands on the other end of school, I headed back to my room (still in a fairly good mood at this point... I hadn't known about my missing glove yet). But once I got to the coatroom, I could hear bickering emanating from my classroom. Lovely. I made them start the day over by going out into the coatroom and walking back into the room, pretending it was the first time they came in today. It worked for a little while.
Pastor did our religion today on stewardship. He had some neat activities for them to do about budgeting; the kids really 'got' it. A lot of them said they had fun! And after that our day went downhill... too much talking in Daily 5, retaliation, distracting others, not focusing, not caring about school...
One cool thing we did was start writing letters to an English class in Malaysia. I found this teacher's address on the InCoWriMo address exchange. She said she's an English teacher. And while she didn't say she was looking for people for her class to write to, I'm guessing she's not going to be disappointed when an envelope full of letters shows up at her door. Maybe she'll even write us back! Things have not worked out pen-pal-wise for us this year. I still haven't heard from the Slovakians. I'm forcing my 5th and 6th graders to write a letter. The 7th and 8th graders, I'm letting them do it for extra credit. We'll see how many of them write something.
It became a teachable moment for the 5th and 6th graders. I showed them a map of Malaysia and how far it is from the US. They wanted to know what language was spoken there (and if they'd have to write their letters in Malay. Really? How many of you actually know Malay?) Then they wanted to know what it sounded like to speak that language. Cue the Youtube videos. We found a dinosaur themed language video where they taught us how to say cat, dog, and bird. Then I looked up "What is your name?" via Google Translate. Some of my kiddos even wrote that in their letters! Man, I really hope they write us back! I don't know what age they are, so who knows if they'd even match up. I tried looking back on that post to find her address again and maybe ask her about exchanging classroom letters, but too many other people had commented since then and I didn't find it.
This afternoon we did a speed lab outside for 5/6th grade physics since it was about 40 degrees. They were all over the place. It was nice out, it was sunny, the lab involved throwing tennis balls. And we only had a half an hour before PE class. Yeah, we didn't finish the lab. But we got through the most critical outside part, so we'll be okay if the weather suddenly gets colder. One group broke their paper clip before the lab even started. We were outside so we couldn't just grab another one. Earlier in the morning one boy had taken a paperclip and threw it at his classmate across the lab table. That boy unwrapped it, making it unusable for the lab. A paperclip isn't the end of the world, but it was still annoying. And when I went into the closet to grab supplies, I found one of the metal slinkys mangled and bent. Grr... another lab supply to replace. I tried bending it back into place; it's jammed between a bunch of books right now. But I have a feeling that one has bit the dust. Sigh.
At least this week is a short one. No school Friday or next Monday! And we have a play to go to Thursday afternoon. Tomorrow is Valentine's Day. I need to make valentines for my kiddos still. I found gum on sale a while ago and bought enough for my class. Then I found a picture of a person blowing a bubble and put the words, "You BLOW me away, Valentine!" Of course they're going to want to chew a piece during school...
As I walked into school, I paused to pick up some extra banana reading logs since my class had been running low. I took off my right glove so I could grab the papers and accidentally left it on top of the shelf by the preschool room. When I remembered, I was already situated behind my desk and thought, 'Oh I'll get it later.' After school when I remembered again, it was gone! And it wasn't in the lost and found either. Grr... what happened to it??? Who would take just one glove?
Back to this morning. After running my errands on the other end of school, I headed back to my room (still in a fairly good mood at this point... I hadn't known about my missing glove yet). But once I got to the coatroom, I could hear bickering emanating from my classroom. Lovely. I made them start the day over by going out into the coatroom and walking back into the room, pretending it was the first time they came in today. It worked for a little while.
Pastor did our religion today on stewardship. He had some neat activities for them to do about budgeting; the kids really 'got' it. A lot of them said they had fun! And after that our day went downhill... too much talking in Daily 5, retaliation, distracting others, not focusing, not caring about school...
One cool thing we did was start writing letters to an English class in Malaysia. I found this teacher's address on the InCoWriMo address exchange. She said she's an English teacher. And while she didn't say she was looking for people for her class to write to, I'm guessing she's not going to be disappointed when an envelope full of letters shows up at her door. Maybe she'll even write us back! Things have not worked out pen-pal-wise for us this year. I still haven't heard from the Slovakians. I'm forcing my 5th and 6th graders to write a letter. The 7th and 8th graders, I'm letting them do it for extra credit. We'll see how many of them write something.
It became a teachable moment for the 5th and 6th graders. I showed them a map of Malaysia and how far it is from the US. They wanted to know what language was spoken there (and if they'd have to write their letters in Malay. Really? How many of you actually know Malay?) Then they wanted to know what it sounded like to speak that language. Cue the Youtube videos. We found a dinosaur themed language video where they taught us how to say cat, dog, and bird. Then I looked up "What is your name?" via Google Translate. Some of my kiddos even wrote that in their letters! Man, I really hope they write us back! I don't know what age they are, so who knows if they'd even match up. I tried looking back on that post to find her address again and maybe ask her about exchanging classroom letters, but too many other people had commented since then and I didn't find it.
This afternoon we did a speed lab outside for 5/6th grade physics since it was about 40 degrees. They were all over the place. It was nice out, it was sunny, the lab involved throwing tennis balls. And we only had a half an hour before PE class. Yeah, we didn't finish the lab. But we got through the most critical outside part, so we'll be okay if the weather suddenly gets colder. One group broke their paper clip before the lab even started. We were outside so we couldn't just grab another one. Earlier in the morning one boy had taken a paperclip and threw it at his classmate across the lab table. That boy unwrapped it, making it unusable for the lab. A paperclip isn't the end of the world, but it was still annoying. And when I went into the closet to grab supplies, I found one of the metal slinkys mangled and bent. Grr... another lab supply to replace. I tried bending it back into place; it's jammed between a bunch of books right now. But I have a feeling that one has bit the dust. Sigh.
At least this week is a short one. No school Friday or next Monday! And we have a play to go to Thursday afternoon. Tomorrow is Valentine's Day. I need to make valentines for my kiddos still. I found gum on sale a while ago and bought enough for my class. Then I found a picture of a person blowing a bubble and put the words, "You BLOW me away, Valentine!" Of course they're going to want to chew a piece during school...
Friday, February 10, 2017
Braves Day
I wore my normal Friday attire to school today, nothing fancy, just jeans and a Braves shirt. We let out of school at 11:30 to get ready for the tournament. But first, a pep fest!
I was kind of annoyed by the pep fest. First, no one told me about it until Wednesday after school. But I found out a parent was planning it, so I felt a little better. Then I was told each class had to come up with a cheer. Great, one more thing to do before Friday. We kind of cobbled something together yesterday... a pyramid sort of thing, but couldn't think of a cheer to go with it. Thankfully, they told us each class didn't have to have a cheer. So we scratched that plan. But then at the pep fest, the parent announcer started going class by class, asking them to do their cheer! So I guess we did need one! My 5th graders wanted to do the pyramid thing, but I told them no since we hadn't practiced enough. I told the parent we didn't have one, so she skipped right over 5th and 6th grade, no harm done.
There was another surprise too... the teachers had to be in a relay race against some of the basketball teams. It was a balloon/spoon relay and you weren't supposed to touch the balloon with your hands; it had to rest on the spoon. I used physics to get to half-court and back: air resistance pushed the balloon back against the spoon so I didn't have to balance it as much. The teachers won!
In all honesty, the pep fest was good. Parents had made a huge sign attached to wood poles; the basketball players ran through the paper to the song 'Final Countdown.' Mr. E gave a speech, we did the relay, classes did cheers, we sang the school song... lots of school pride.
And afterwards, we packed up the rooms! Each classroom is used as a locker room, so we need to get everything portable put away for safekeeping. My kids did most of the work shoving desks into corners, using tables to block off restricted areas. I'm taking Joe home for the weekend. Or maybe I'll just leave his 'traveling tub' under my desk where no one can see it... I haven't decided yet.
My plan had been to wrap things up at school, go home and eat lunch, then come back at 3:00 for the first games. But it's already past 1:30, so I'm not sure it'd be worth it to go home. Maybe I should just stay here and do my lesson planning for the weekend. I have snacks in my desk and once the concession stand is up and running, I can eat something more substantial.
I was kind of annoyed by the pep fest. First, no one told me about it until Wednesday after school. But I found out a parent was planning it, so I felt a little better. Then I was told each class had to come up with a cheer. Great, one more thing to do before Friday. We kind of cobbled something together yesterday... a pyramid sort of thing, but couldn't think of a cheer to go with it. Thankfully, they told us each class didn't have to have a cheer. So we scratched that plan. But then at the pep fest, the parent announcer started going class by class, asking them to do their cheer! So I guess we did need one! My 5th graders wanted to do the pyramid thing, but I told them no since we hadn't practiced enough. I told the parent we didn't have one, so she skipped right over 5th and 6th grade, no harm done.
There was another surprise too... the teachers had to be in a relay race against some of the basketball teams. It was a balloon/spoon relay and you weren't supposed to touch the balloon with your hands; it had to rest on the spoon. I used physics to get to half-court and back: air resistance pushed the balloon back against the spoon so I didn't have to balance it as much. The teachers won!
In all honesty, the pep fest was good. Parents had made a huge sign attached to wood poles; the basketball players ran through the paper to the song 'Final Countdown.' Mr. E gave a speech, we did the relay, classes did cheers, we sang the school song... lots of school pride.
And afterwards, we packed up the rooms! Each classroom is used as a locker room, so we need to get everything portable put away for safekeeping. My kids did most of the work shoving desks into corners, using tables to block off restricted areas. I'm taking Joe home for the weekend. Or maybe I'll just leave his 'traveling tub' under my desk where no one can see it... I haven't decided yet.
My plan had been to wrap things up at school, go home and eat lunch, then come back at 3:00 for the first games. But it's already past 1:30, so I'm not sure it'd be worth it to go home. Maybe I should just stay here and do my lesson planning for the weekend. I have snacks in my desk and once the concession stand is up and running, I can eat something more substantial.
Thursday, February 9, 2017
Class Color Day
Our colors for today were gray and pink. The vast majority of the class wore gray. We kind of got gypped on colors; we were the last class that got to pick. I told them since we really didn't get to choose, they could wear either pink or gray, it didn't have to be 5th grade wears one color and 6th grade wears another color. The other grades did it that way.
Mr. D always takes pictures of each class's dressed up students for the yearbook. It seems like everyone in my class HATES having their pictures taken. One boy is particularly adept at escaping right when Mr. D gets to our room. So his classmates came up with a plan to trap him in the room at lunchtime so he had to be in the picture. Unfortunately, Mr. D came later during lunch right after this student had gone down to Mr. E's for help on math. Grr... they were frustrated. But they came up with a new plan! Mr. D would come back around 2:00ish and take the picture then! He'd have no reason to leave the room! Wahaha!
My little schemers kept looking at the clock as the minute hand got closer and closer to the appointed time... they kept calling me over to whisper, "Is it going to be soon? Can I lock the door after Mr. D gets in here so [the student] can't escape?!" Oh boy. Well, Mr. D forgot to come down. It was recess time so I just took the picture. They all gathered in the reading corner, posing reluctantly. The anti-picture boy said he'd be in the picture, but he wasn't going to smile. Then he decided to smile in three second intervals, so I'd have guess when he'd be smiling. Finally, I told them they should smile for real because I was going to put the picture on my fridge. That got them! The picture actually turned out great! And yes, I did print it and it's going on my fridge tonight. :)
Mr. D always takes pictures of each class's dressed up students for the yearbook. It seems like everyone in my class HATES having their pictures taken. One boy is particularly adept at escaping right when Mr. D gets to our room. So his classmates came up with a plan to trap him in the room at lunchtime so he had to be in the picture. Unfortunately, Mr. D came later during lunch right after this student had gone down to Mr. E's for help on math. Grr... they were frustrated. But they came up with a new plan! Mr. D would come back around 2:00ish and take the picture then! He'd have no reason to leave the room! Wahaha!
My little schemers kept looking at the clock as the minute hand got closer and closer to the appointed time... they kept calling me over to whisper, "Is it going to be soon? Can I lock the door after Mr. D gets in here so [the student] can't escape?!" Oh boy. Well, Mr. D forgot to come down. It was recess time so I just took the picture. They all gathered in the reading corner, posing reluctantly. The anti-picture boy said he'd be in the picture, but he wasn't going to smile. Then he decided to smile in three second intervals, so I'd have guess when he'd be smiling. Finally, I told them they should smile for real because I was going to put the picture on my fridge. That got them! The picture actually turned out great! And yes, I did print it and it's going on my fridge tonight. :)
Wednesday, February 8, 2017
America Day
Two precious kiddos dropped off a plate of treats for me: carrots, rice crispy bar, pretzels, and cheese/sausage...extras from basketball practice. I had been in the 7/8th grade room earlier (where the non-practicing students hang out) and the parent supervisor offered me some snacks. He said, "I'd give you a rice crispy bar too, but I don't know how many girls will be staying." (They have first practice). Shortly after first practice ended, a kindergartner and a 1st grader cautiously tiptoed into my room with adorable smiles on their faces and a plate in their hands.
Today was red, white, and blue day, and pretty much everyone in the school dressed up. I got to wear my American flag scarf! Today was also 'book commercial' day. When I add new books to our library, I always do 'commercials' so my students know what the story is about (and hopefully peak some interest!). I had a lot of takers this time! I had two sets of boys pick books to read-to-someone with. One pair is made of two boys who struggle with comprehension/reading, but usually because they don't concentrate. Hopefully with both reading together, they'll help each other out. So far, so good!
I had also picked up more books from the library. One is a book called The Hello Atlas and contains phrases in over 100 languages, arranged by country/continent on the map. It's pretty neat! There's an app you can download to hear the phrases spoken. Many students had a blast trying out the different languages. We also got the book Robo-Sauce by Adam Rubin. The book is about a boy who creates a sauce that turns things into robots. Eventually the book turns into a robot too. And there are pages that flip around so the whole book becomes metallic and written in robot language. It's pretty neat. Although, the first time we read it, it took a while to figure out the logistics of transforming the book to robot mode.
Well, I'd best be off. There's bible study tonight at 6:30 and it's already 6:00! Better get home and get supper!
Today was red, white, and blue day, and pretty much everyone in the school dressed up. I got to wear my American flag scarf! Today was also 'book commercial' day. When I add new books to our library, I always do 'commercials' so my students know what the story is about (and hopefully peak some interest!). I had a lot of takers this time! I had two sets of boys pick books to read-to-someone with. One pair is made of two boys who struggle with comprehension/reading, but usually because they don't concentrate. Hopefully with both reading together, they'll help each other out. So far, so good!
I had also picked up more books from the library. One is a book called The Hello Atlas and contains phrases in over 100 languages, arranged by country/continent on the map. It's pretty neat! There's an app you can download to hear the phrases spoken. Many students had a blast trying out the different languages. We also got the book Robo-Sauce by Adam Rubin. The book is about a boy who creates a sauce that turns things into robots. Eventually the book turns into a robot too. And there are pages that flip around so the whole book becomes metallic and written in robot language. It's pretty neat. Although, the first time we read it, it took a while to figure out the logistics of transforming the book to robot mode.
Well, I'd best be off. There's bible study tonight at 6:30 and it's already 6:00! Better get home and get supper!
Tuesday, February 7, 2017
Fashion Disaster Day
I'm writing this post from a computer at the library... my computer's internet was not working, so I left school 'early' to run errands/do my internet stuff. Highly annoying not having the computer work.
Today's 'Fashion Disaster Day' was a rousing success. So many students laughed when they saw me! I even got some parents (picking up their kids at the end of the day) to smile. I was a bit confused when they did that, and then I remembered what I was wearing. Here's a picture for those of you who weren't at school:
Woo! I definitely made some people do a double-take when they saw me. Don't worry, I brought clothes to change into for running errands.
My kiddos were rambunctious today. The 5th graders especially got into a downward spiral of saying mean things to each other and then retaliating and retaliating and retaliating. Grr... nothing I said made them stop. Eventually, I gave a kid some sentences (a Bible verse about respect). Actually, yesterday I gave a kid sentences too. They both had to finish them during afternoon recess. One of them was sneaky and did this:
Today's 'Fashion Disaster Day' was a rousing success. So many students laughed when they saw me! I even got some parents (picking up their kids at the end of the day) to smile. I was a bit confused when they did that, and then I remembered what I was wearing. Here's a picture for those of you who weren't at school:
My kiddos were rambunctious today. The 5th graders especially got into a downward spiral of saying mean things to each other and then retaliating and retaliating and retaliating. Grr... nothing I said made them stop. Eventually, I gave a kid some sentences (a Bible verse about respect). Actually, yesterday I gave a kid sentences too. They both had to finish them during afternoon recess. One of them was sneaky and did this:
Yep, she drew lines down the page so she could make fewer marks to write her sentences. I let it go this time (points for creativity!) but told her next time (if there was a next time), she would have to redo them if she did it like that again.
I didn't get any more InCoWriMo letters at school today, but last night I got four more when I got home! I literally bounced from my mailbox to my apartment and then bounced some more while I made supper. Hooray for mail! I had a book due at the library today that I had to finish reading, so I only responded to one of those people so far, but I plan to write a bunch tonight. The people writing to me were from New Hampshire, England (UK), South Carolina, and one more I can't remember... Maybe I'll have more mail waiting for me when I get home tonight too!
Monday, February 6, 2017
Pajama Day
It's Braves Spirit Week since our home basketball tournament is this weekend. Today was not my favorite dress up day of all, but I decided to be festive anyway. I wore my Case IH Muscle Machine shirt, heart-patterned pj pants, and my warmest slippers. It was comfy anyway!
Not too many kids gave me a hard time about the Case shirt, which was a surprise. One of the 6th grade spelling words this week is "muscle" and one of the boys noticed that word was on my shirt. I hadn't even realized it until he said (in the middle of the pretest), "Miss H, you're giving it away!"
Last night after I got home from my weekend travels, I wrote a letter to one of the people who'd posted their addresses on InCoWriMo. It got mailed this morning! At school today, I got TWO letters in the mail from other InCoWriMos! Woo!!! One of them was from South Africa even! The other letter was actually from the lady I just wrote to last night! How crazy is that? I will probably write back to her again today, replying to some of the things she said in her letter. Wow, I am loving this challenge!
I wonder how many more letters I'll get at school... Originally, I posted the address of the school on the site, but I got to thinking that I'd much rather have something fun in my mailbox at home so I changed my address on the site. My students were jealous of me since their pen pals have not written them in a long time. One boy still has not gotten anything from his pen pal! He said today he thinks his pen pal has probably died and that's why he isn't responding. It's a mystery! Hopefully we'll get some more letters in the mail.
Not too many kids gave me a hard time about the Case shirt, which was a surprise. One of the 6th grade spelling words this week is "muscle" and one of the boys noticed that word was on my shirt. I hadn't even realized it until he said (in the middle of the pretest), "Miss H, you're giving it away!"
Last night after I got home from my weekend travels, I wrote a letter to one of the people who'd posted their addresses on InCoWriMo. It got mailed this morning! At school today, I got TWO letters in the mail from other InCoWriMos! Woo!!! One of them was from South Africa even! The other letter was actually from the lady I just wrote to last night! How crazy is that? I will probably write back to her again today, replying to some of the things she said in her letter. Wow, I am loving this challenge!
I wonder how many more letters I'll get at school... Originally, I posted the address of the school on the site, but I got to thinking that I'd much rather have something fun in my mailbox at home so I changed my address on the site. My students were jealous of me since their pen pals have not written them in a long time. One boy still has not gotten anything from his pen pal! He said today he thinks his pen pal has probably died and that's why he isn't responding. It's a mystery! Hopefully we'll get some more letters in the mail.
Friday, February 3, 2017
Korea
Miss S went home sick this morning. She thought she had strep throat, but Mrs. E said later that she doesn't. My prediction is that she has that sore throat/cold thing that's been going around. Yuck.
Our one substitute teacher was subbing in a different school today so there was a hodgepodge of teachers who taught 1st and 2nd grade today. Mr. E took them right away in the morning while Pastor taught 7/8th grade. Mrs. E watched them for a little bit, then I watched them for a bit (while my class did reading buddies with them). Then Mr. D watched them at recess. At 11:00 when recess was over and the preschoolers went home, Miss F taught them for the rest of the day. Whew! What a schedule!
We also had to rearrange our schedule. The MLC Korean students were supposed to speak to the 7th and 8th graders this afternoon from 12:30-1:30. However, when I got to school this morning I found three emails from one of the students saying she had misread the time and she couldn't come at 12:30. She wanted to speak from 11:30-12:30, but that's when we eat lunch and have noon recess. And then I remembered there was a second Korean student who was planning to speak. But she hadn't emailed me, so was she still coming at 12:30??? We did a lot of back and forth, and the end result was that Mr. E would watch my class in the gym at noon (unless they wanted to hear the speakers) and he would take my class for math at the normal time. The 7/8th graders would listen to the speakers from 12-12:30 afterwards I would let them have a little recess. At one o'clock we would correct spelling books/take tests. Blah, it about fried my brain. Once we got all that straightened out, I checked my email again and saw a note from the International Coordinator at MLC asking what time the speakers were supposed to come (they'd asked her for help finding a ride) because the time they told her was not the usual time speakers speak for me.
Eventually she got to the bottom of it. The speakers came, the 7th and 8th graders listened (and finished their lunch), we still had recess, and everyone learned something. It was kind of good that we did it this way so that the 5/6th graders could listen in if they wanted to.
We ended the day with DEAR time in the gym. The whole school brought beanbags and blankets and books and scattered around the walls and bleachers. Even the teachers got to read! I didn't read as much as I would've liked because there were some 6-8th grade boys not doing what they were supposed to and I kept giving them the stink-eye from across the gym. It kind of worked. Mr. E said, "Hey at least they were reading at least a little!" They don't read for fun ever in his class. The kids who do love reading had a great time and would've kept reading for another hour! I had recommended some books to a few of the 7th and 8th graders before they left my class earlier in the day, and some of them got hooked on new books! Yay!
My weekend plans involve a bunch of traveling again... my farmer is going on a snowmobile trip, leaving tomorrow morning, so I'm going to swing by Truman tonight. My mom's birthday is tomorrow and we're going on a shopping day in Sioux Falls. Sunday will probably be a day of lesson plans after church. I've heard it's Super Bowl Sunday... probably not going to watch it, but who knows!
Our one substitute teacher was subbing in a different school today so there was a hodgepodge of teachers who taught 1st and 2nd grade today. Mr. E took them right away in the morning while Pastor taught 7/8th grade. Mrs. E watched them for a little bit, then I watched them for a bit (while my class did reading buddies with them). Then Mr. D watched them at recess. At 11:00 when recess was over and the preschoolers went home, Miss F taught them for the rest of the day. Whew! What a schedule!
We also had to rearrange our schedule. The MLC Korean students were supposed to speak to the 7th and 8th graders this afternoon from 12:30-1:30. However, when I got to school this morning I found three emails from one of the students saying she had misread the time and she couldn't come at 12:30. She wanted to speak from 11:30-12:30, but that's when we eat lunch and have noon recess. And then I remembered there was a second Korean student who was planning to speak. But she hadn't emailed me, so was she still coming at 12:30??? We did a lot of back and forth, and the end result was that Mr. E would watch my class in the gym at noon (unless they wanted to hear the speakers) and he would take my class for math at the normal time. The 7/8th graders would listen to the speakers from 12-12:30 afterwards I would let them have a little recess. At one o'clock we would correct spelling books/take tests. Blah, it about fried my brain. Once we got all that straightened out, I checked my email again and saw a note from the International Coordinator at MLC asking what time the speakers were supposed to come (they'd asked her for help finding a ride) because the time they told her was not the usual time speakers speak for me.
Eventually she got to the bottom of it. The speakers came, the 7th and 8th graders listened (and finished their lunch), we still had recess, and everyone learned something. It was kind of good that we did it this way so that the 5/6th graders could listen in if they wanted to.
We ended the day with DEAR time in the gym. The whole school brought beanbags and blankets and books and scattered around the walls and bleachers. Even the teachers got to read! I didn't read as much as I would've liked because there were some 6-8th grade boys not doing what they were supposed to and I kept giving them the stink-eye from across the gym. It kind of worked. Mr. E said, "Hey at least they were reading at least a little!" They don't read for fun ever in his class. The kids who do love reading had a great time and would've kept reading for another hour! I had recommended some books to a few of the 7th and 8th graders before they left my class earlier in the day, and some of them got hooked on new books! Yay!
My weekend plans involve a bunch of traveling again... my farmer is going on a snowmobile trip, leaving tomorrow morning, so I'm going to swing by Truman tonight. My mom's birthday is tomorrow and we're going on a shopping day in Sioux Falls. Sunday will probably be a day of lesson plans after church. I've heard it's Super Bowl Sunday... probably not going to watch it, but who knows!
Thursday, February 2, 2017
Drained a Three
Apparently I was the talk of the 7th and 8th grade class today... For geography today we took a map test on Asia. That only took about 15 minutes, so we went in the gym for some extra recess (no one else was in it for once!) The boys started up a game of lightning and asked if I'd play too. Sure! Why not?
Instead of starting at the free-throw line, they played from the 3pt line. And right away on my turn I drained a three. They were quite impressed (especially since I got one of the good kids out by doing that). Mr. E said it was all they could talk about coming back from my room. Haha, it's nice to know my basketball skills have improved now that I don't need them!
The 5th and 6th graders finished their chemistry book today. Next week we'll start physics. The last lab (the one I wasn't sure about doing because it's kind of gross) I ended up doing as a demonstration kind of thing so the kids who wanted to participate could and the ones who thought it'd make them sick could just do something else (aka- their science worksheet). I had three boys who volunteered to chew up the bread and two girls who volunteered to spit in the cups (to soak the bread). The idea was that the enzymes in the saliva would work to break apart the starch so when iodine was sprayed there would be more black on some and less black on others. It kind of worked. A few of them said the lab wasn't as gross as the upperclassmen made it sound. A few of them got totally grossed out and felt like they were going to be sick. Thankfully no one actually did get sick!
Instead of starting at the free-throw line, they played from the 3pt line. And right away on my turn I drained a three. They were quite impressed (especially since I got one of the good kids out by doing that). Mr. E said it was all they could talk about coming back from my room. Haha, it's nice to know my basketball skills have improved now that I don't need them!
The 5th and 6th graders finished their chemistry book today. Next week we'll start physics. The last lab (the one I wasn't sure about doing because it's kind of gross) I ended up doing as a demonstration kind of thing so the kids who wanted to participate could and the ones who thought it'd make them sick could just do something else (aka- their science worksheet). I had three boys who volunteered to chew up the bread and two girls who volunteered to spit in the cups (to soak the bread). The idea was that the enzymes in the saliva would work to break apart the starch so when iodine was sprayed there would be more black on some and less black on others. It kind of worked. A few of them said the lab wasn't as gross as the upperclassmen made it sound. A few of them got totally grossed out and felt like they were going to be sick. Thankfully no one actually did get sick!
Wednesday, February 1, 2017
Good Learning Day
Today was a good learning day.
This week's reading theme has been inferring. We did a little extra read-aloud today, and while we were reading I stopped a few times to ask them questions. One of those times, a 6th graders said, "Hey Miss H, this is just like what we were doing yesterday... making inferences!" Yes! Score one for the teacher! Since we've been talking about inferences, my students have been much more conscious of them, even in other subject areas.
The 7th and 8th graders learned about Protists in science today, specifically slime molds. We watched a 10 minute video about slime molds (how they grow, eat, move, etc.); the last half of the video wasn't as interesting as the first half, so my plan had been to stop halfway through and keep going, but my students wouldn't let me. "Can't we keep watching? This is really interesting!" Hey, if they're interested, why not? At the end of science time they didn't want to stop! Of course, all their questions and inquiry (and the second half of the video) meant we didn't get as far through the powerpoint as I'd hoped, but I'd much rather take longer to teach a topic and keep my students interested as opposed to sticking with the timeline but have my students bored out of their minds/not interested at all.
The 5th and 6th graders had a good social studies day too. We're learning about logging camps in MN and today's lesson was about how they got the logs from the logging camps to the lumber mills (via river). The MN historical society has a website that goes in depth on each of MN's main industries, so we took the last few minutes of class to look/listen to the comic and see more historic photos of the time. Here's the link if you want to see for yourself. On his way out the door to PE, one 5th grader said, "We should do history like that more often. It was cool to listen to it on the website like that!"
Today being the first of February was the start of two challenges for my class. There has been a renewed vigor in the amount of reading my students are doing now that they have a goal in mind... Mr. E in a gorilla suit! We did extra read-aloud today to kick off the 20,000 page school-wide challenge.
Mr. D's class (well, Mr. D anyway) has been trash talking our class saying that they're going to beat us in the Fruit and Vegetable Challenge. I have my doubts; my students can be very determined, especially when people trash talk them. At lunch my class had the best of intentions, each student taking more produce than usual, but many found that there wasn't enough room in their stomachs for everything! When they went through the lunch line, I had written down how many servings each student took. Then, before they dumped their tray, I recorded any changes in the number (like if they hadn't finished a serving). Two kids didn't eat all their servings. A few of them forced themselves to eat more so they could still count the servings. As of today, the 5th graders are beating the 3rd graders, and the 4th graders are beating the 6th graders. But it's only the first day! Plenty of time to catch up.
I need to remember my February challenge too... InCoWriMo! Who should I write to first...?
This week's reading theme has been inferring. We did a little extra read-aloud today, and while we were reading I stopped a few times to ask them questions. One of those times, a 6th graders said, "Hey Miss H, this is just like what we were doing yesterday... making inferences!" Yes! Score one for the teacher! Since we've been talking about inferences, my students have been much more conscious of them, even in other subject areas.
The 7th and 8th graders learned about Protists in science today, specifically slime molds. We watched a 10 minute video about slime molds (how they grow, eat, move, etc.); the last half of the video wasn't as interesting as the first half, so my plan had been to stop halfway through and keep going, but my students wouldn't let me. "Can't we keep watching? This is really interesting!" Hey, if they're interested, why not? At the end of science time they didn't want to stop! Of course, all their questions and inquiry (and the second half of the video) meant we didn't get as far through the powerpoint as I'd hoped, but I'd much rather take longer to teach a topic and keep my students interested as opposed to sticking with the timeline but have my students bored out of their minds/not interested at all.
The 5th and 6th graders had a good social studies day too. We're learning about logging camps in MN and today's lesson was about how they got the logs from the logging camps to the lumber mills (via river). The MN historical society has a website that goes in depth on each of MN's main industries, so we took the last few minutes of class to look/listen to the comic and see more historic photos of the time. Here's the link if you want to see for yourself. On his way out the door to PE, one 5th grader said, "We should do history like that more often. It was cool to listen to it on the website like that!"
Today being the first of February was the start of two challenges for my class. There has been a renewed vigor in the amount of reading my students are doing now that they have a goal in mind... Mr. E in a gorilla suit! We did extra read-aloud today to kick off the 20,000 page school-wide challenge.
Mr. D's class (well, Mr. D anyway) has been trash talking our class saying that they're going to beat us in the Fruit and Vegetable Challenge. I have my doubts; my students can be very determined, especially when people trash talk them. At lunch my class had the best of intentions, each student taking more produce than usual, but many found that there wasn't enough room in their stomachs for everything! When they went through the lunch line, I had written down how many servings each student took. Then, before they dumped their tray, I recorded any changes in the number (like if they hadn't finished a serving). Two kids didn't eat all their servings. A few of them forced themselves to eat more so they could still count the servings. As of today, the 5th graders are beating the 3rd graders, and the 4th graders are beating the 6th graders. But it's only the first day! Plenty of time to catch up.
I need to remember my February challenge too... InCoWriMo! Who should I write to first...?
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