Third and last day of school this week went decently well again. A group of my kiddos wrote up official GaGa Ball rules since they didn't like the way the 7-8th graders played at noon recess. They got really into it and even looked up the official rules on the internet to compare. There was only one rule the 8th graders didn't like, which my kids finally agreed to get rid of for noon recess (not for afternoon recess though!). The game went much more smoothly today!
This afternoon we had water games for the whole school to play. There were two Mrother stations, but I teamed up with Mr. E for a water balloon game where you partner up and use towels to toss water balloons to another towel-holding pair. It was so windy they had a hard time keeping the towels down long enough to toss the balloon! They kept getting blown away! Still everyone had a great time.
Thursday, August 29, 2019
Wednesday, August 28, 2019
Weeds
Day two went much like day one, although it wasn't quite so hectic. Science with the 5-6th graders was awesome! I remembered to bring a plant from home along...
This summer I've experimented with container gardening a bunch. One of the things I tried growing was a bleeding heart bush planted from a root. I thought it was coming along nicely, but a few weeks ago I had the sneaking suspicion it wasn't a bleeding heart... The leaves didn't look like the picture on the box for one thing. I tugged on the stem by the roots a little to see what kind of roots it had. The bleeding heart I planted was more of a tuber or tap root. This plan has fibrous roots (which we learned about yesterday). So. I looked it up on a plant id app and found what I've been tenderly caring for is a mustard weed. Aw man! Still, it's the best looking mustard weed in Courtland, maybe even the state!
It's been a handy teachable moment for my kiddos: a refresher on the types of roots, talking about what makes a plant a weed, soon we'll talk about leaves and I can use it as an example of whorled leaf placement. So, I'm not pulling it out yet. Someday though. Not sure what else I'm going to plant in its place. I'm sure I'll come up with something!
This summer I've experimented with container gardening a bunch. One of the things I tried growing was a bleeding heart bush planted from a root. I thought it was coming along nicely, but a few weeks ago I had the sneaking suspicion it wasn't a bleeding heart... The leaves didn't look like the picture on the box for one thing. I tugged on the stem by the roots a little to see what kind of roots it had. The bleeding heart I planted was more of a tuber or tap root. This plan has fibrous roots (which we learned about yesterday). So. I looked it up on a plant id app and found what I've been tenderly caring for is a mustard weed. Aw man! Still, it's the best looking mustard weed in Courtland, maybe even the state!
It's been a handy teachable moment for my kiddos: a refresher on the types of roots, talking about what makes a plant a weed, soon we'll talk about leaves and I can use it as an example of whorled leaf placement. So, I'm not pulling it out yet. Someday though. Not sure what else I'm going to plant in its place. I'm sure I'll come up with something!
Tuesday, August 27, 2019
First Day of School
Boy oh boy, the first day was a whirlwind. There are so many routines to go over to get things to run smoothly. I sometimes worry that I'm overwhelming them... We took a lot of jump rope breaks to help combat brain fatigue. Two of my kids can't jump rope! I tried to teach them how to do it, but it's going to take practice.
Our school day was sunny and not too hot, though now storm clouds are rolling in. We were afraid it would pour all day, forcing us to have chapel in the gym and recess there too. The gym is still a bit of a mess from all the work done around school this summer. We got central air put in along with new furnaces. They painted the office, the hallway floor, and my coatroom/entryway. School looks pretty sharp! The gym floor got waxed as usual. The girls' bathroom got an update (wider stalls and doors that actually latch shut!). My classroom got a new inside door/door frame. Unfortunately, we don't have a door handle yet; it's just a hole. The difference in air pressure from my room to the gym makes the door suction shut so it can be a challenge to get out of the room. We've managed so far.
One last project is still in the works: the new shed behind the gym. This will be connected so we can always get to it, even if there's snow. The old shed is getting moved between the playground and the woods (great! now it will keep them out of the woods!). Some guys worked on it all day. My classroom walls are pretty thin, so we could hear their power tools all morning.
Overall my class is good. The 6th graders had the hardest time keeping quiet. Lunch got pretty loud. I forgot to have table setup set up for lunch because the stove quit working and our new cook said they'd let us know when food was ready. So we ate lunch twenty minutes later than normal. I tried to fill the time knowing we'd be shorted on recess. Finally we were able to go, but when I got back to the classroom I realized we hadn't picked lunch seats so everyone was crammed together. I need to make myself a note to do that tomorrow... They got a shorter recess and longer math time, which made science go a little short and recess too. But we survived. Oh well, it's the first day, life is kind of crazy.
I have a bunch of goals for myself this year. One is to start getting ready for bed at 9:30 every night, wake up right away at 6am without hitting snooze (so far so good on both accounts!), leave school between 5-5:30 (not looking so good today), and go for a walk when I get home from work. We'll see how that one goes tonight. It's pretty windy out right now and it's supposed to storm tonight. So far, no rain yet.
I need to rest my voice. So far I still have one, but it's a little scratchy and I know I need to use it more this week.
Our school day was sunny and not too hot, though now storm clouds are rolling in. We were afraid it would pour all day, forcing us to have chapel in the gym and recess there too. The gym is still a bit of a mess from all the work done around school this summer. We got central air put in along with new furnaces. They painted the office, the hallway floor, and my coatroom/entryway. School looks pretty sharp! The gym floor got waxed as usual. The girls' bathroom got an update (wider stalls and doors that actually latch shut!). My classroom got a new inside door/door frame. Unfortunately, we don't have a door handle yet; it's just a hole. The difference in air pressure from my room to the gym makes the door suction shut so it can be a challenge to get out of the room. We've managed so far.
One last project is still in the works: the new shed behind the gym. This will be connected so we can always get to it, even if there's snow. The old shed is getting moved between the playground and the woods (great! now it will keep them out of the woods!). Some guys worked on it all day. My classroom walls are pretty thin, so we could hear their power tools all morning.
Overall my class is good. The 6th graders had the hardest time keeping quiet. Lunch got pretty loud. I forgot to have table setup set up for lunch because the stove quit working and our new cook said they'd let us know when food was ready. So we ate lunch twenty minutes later than normal. I tried to fill the time knowing we'd be shorted on recess. Finally we were able to go, but when I got back to the classroom I realized we hadn't picked lunch seats so everyone was crammed together. I need to make myself a note to do that tomorrow... They got a shorter recess and longer math time, which made science go a little short and recess too. But we survived. Oh well, it's the first day, life is kind of crazy.
I have a bunch of goals for myself this year. One is to start getting ready for bed at 9:30 every night, wake up right away at 6am without hitting snooze (so far so good on both accounts!), leave school between 5-5:30 (not looking so good today), and go for a walk when I get home from work. We'll see how that one goes tonight. It's pretty windy out right now and it's supposed to storm tonight. So far, no rain yet.
I need to rest my voice. So far I still have one, but it's a little scratchy and I know I need to use it more this week.
#1- Last Day of School!
As you've maybe noticed, I never posted on the last day of school... The last day ended up in a bit of a time crunch after school, so I thought I'd posted, but never actually did. I ended up going in to see a doctor because my lungs kept feeling tight. I didn't want to wait over the weekend in case it was something that needed medicine, so I got the next appointment available after school. I dashed off to New Ulm, saw the doctor, was told it is probably viral but if it's not getting better by Monday call for a prescription.
As soon as I got back to school I quickly graded all the last papers, put them in the gradebook, filled out my students' report cards, made copies, and stuck them in the envelopes to hand out during our end of the year awards night following the potluck. Whew! I got them done just in time. Last year some kids never came in to get their report cards and I had to mail them. So this year I decided to hand them out in person so I knew they had them. It worked great!
After the awards night, the parents had a carnival with games and candy, etc. I didn't stick around for it since a friend had a surprise college graduation party that night. I missed the surprise part, but was able to still see everyone and wish her congratulations.
Those kids who hadn't turned in their late stuff? Yeah, one of them never did. I'm still missing all those assignments. The official records got sent to the high school, so I'm not sure what Mr. E did as far as grades go. This kid never got the final report card. The other kid handed his test in on my porch the next week and eventually got his report card. Let's hope this doesn't happen again.
As soon as I got back to school I quickly graded all the last papers, put them in the gradebook, filled out my students' report cards, made copies, and stuck them in the envelopes to hand out during our end of the year awards night following the potluck. Whew! I got them done just in time. Last year some kids never came in to get their report cards and I had to mail them. So this year I decided to hand them out in person so I knew they had them. It worked great!
After the awards night, the parents had a carnival with games and candy, etc. I didn't stick around for it since a friend had a surprise college graduation party that night. I missed the surprise part, but was able to still see everyone and wish her congratulations.
Those kids who hadn't turned in their late stuff? Yeah, one of them never did. I'm still missing all those assignments. The official records got sent to the high school, so I'm not sure what Mr. E did as far as grades go. This kid never got the final report card. The other kid handed his test in on my porch the next week and eventually got his report card. Let's hope this doesn't happen again.
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