Short Day

Today was a great day. A little dreary and wet, but very good. Three kids were gone for various things, so the classroom was quite quiet. My remaining five were productive during their rounds, respectful and courteous during our last Junior Achievement session, and polite to each other during recess (for the most part...I had to give a couple stink-eyes). 

Right after lunch, we took a bus to the MLC play. They did a version of Stone Soup where the families in the town argued over who would get the gigantic carrot they all had a part in growing. They keep fighting until three "surveyors" come to town with a big pot and make soup from a stone. As they make the soup, the townspeople realize that it's better to get along and share with each other. The ending is a bit ambiguous and I don't think the younger audience members realized the moral of the story, but the adults did. As always, a high quality production. 

Problem Solvers

I did latchkey today and as they ate their snack around the table in my room, they talked about the fun things they'd play outside. Gaga ball was the main idea. They were coming up with ideas of how to play, teaching each other the rules, and talking about what problems they may face and how to handle them. I was impressed! They handle conflict better than my 5-6th graders!

A fairly decent day aside from noon recess. They came inside super mad at each other and I thought the rest of the day would be ruined. But, there was math, bells, and PE to forget about it (and a few extra innings in PE), so forget about it they did. Our last 20 minutes of the day was quite pleasant! 

They had two options, work on their piñatas or do the science lab making voltaic batteries. I've had limited success getting this lab to turn out in the past, so I gave them multiple options: do it just to try it or do it writing things down for extra credit. They could also decide to work by themselves, in a group, or with a partner. Four kids chose piñatas, two worked as partners just doing the lab, one worked by himself just doing it, and one did the lab writing things down for extra credit. They all had a great time, were focused, and were kind to each other. What happened to my class???

Earth Day Delayed

Last Friday the whole school was going to clean up the playground to celebrate Earth Day, but the weather didn't cooperate. Gross, snowy, rainy, wet. So we pushed it off until today. Today was much better! Still a little cold, only the low 50s, but it was a little sunny from time to time. 

There wasn't a ton to clean up. The K-2 kids brought plastic bags out to pick up broken plastic pieces and other trash. The 3-4th graders picked up many things in the woods, some trash from our school, some items that were probably junk left in the woods from the farmer who owns the land. I had to holler at my kids to come back; they were going too far in. But they did collect some good stuff. We were finished in about 10 minutes or so. 

Afterwards we had an all-school recess. They naturally separated into three groups: football, gaga ball, and swinging on the playground. It was great. Limited fighting, lots of energy and activity, fun times with big kids mixed in with littles. That recess ended up being the high of the day for a bunch of my students. They want to make it a weekly occurrence. Great idea! Hmm... I'll have to bring that up with the other teachers... 

Fresh Cut

It's piñata time in 5-6th. The girls haven't done too much with theirs, but the boys have really settled into the lab area workspace... white tissue paper scraps everywhere. 

They spend a round putting tissue paper on their piñatas, then take a scissors to the paper and trim everything equally. They call it, "giving him a fresh cut." 

Candling Eggs

Day 8 in the incubator for our chickens, ducks, and geese! I had stopped by over the weekend to rotate them and try candling them, but the flashlight I used wasn't powerful enough. I could see the air sac, but not the embryo. One of my students had the idea to use a phone flashlight. 

Sure enough, that worked! 

We could see the air sac and a dark spot where the baby develops. All three kinds of eggs look like there's life in them! Some look more robust than others, but we're keeping everything in there just in case there are late bloomers. I'm so glad they're still alive even with all the temperature fluctuations we've had. 

Today's new to-do added to the routine: take the duck/goose eggs out of the incubator for 10min, then mist with water to mimic a mama coming back from a swim!

BINGO

A good day to end the week.

We were scheduled to leave to play BINGO at the nursing home at 1pm. Everyone stood patiently in line and waited to get on the bus. But it wasn't here. So we waited. And waited. And waited some more. Finally Mr. E called the bus driver. Oops. They'd forgotten about us.

So my class went into the 7-8th grade room to play multiple-choice trivia while we waited. It was a fun way to pass the time! I answered the questions too and got 8/10 right. Two tricky questions I got right were: What year was the microwave invented? (1946... I have a challenge of the week question on that very topic) and What year was Facebook made available to the public? (2006... I remember being 16 when I signed up for Facebook. It was all the rage back then).

At the nursing home, the residents were all set up for us. We sang one of our church songs and played BINGO with them for about a half an hour or so. The 5-8th graders took turns calling games; they did a nice job speaking in a clear voice. Since we arrived late, Mr. E said we could stay a little later. But that made us late to school for the evening buses. I even had a parent call me to see if there was a problem... 

After school, I wrapped things up for the week and waited for G to text me our meeting location. He decided to surprise me on where we were having supper. We had a beverage at the Wine Cafe followed by a waffle fry platter at the Tav (it's kind of 'our thing') and supper at a sushi place in town (my original suggestion). The poor guy kept forgetting I didn't know any of our stops, so he kept spilling the beans! Still, it was a very nice way to celebrate my birthday. 😊

Classroom Discussions

Last night I texted all the parents in my class about their children's behavior, then came up with a plan for a class discussion about how to build back respect between us. The conversation went well and we had a much better day. 

I also had a discussion with the 7-8th graders before recess, also about respect and expectations. We came up with consequences for disrespectful behavior happening during recess and ended up having a very enjoyable noon recess. 

Good talks, but emotionally draining. Praise the Lord tomorrow is Friday!

Incubator update: the broken one has been fixed! It now holds temperature just fine. The other older incubator had a mishap though, or at least one of my students did. He didn't realize the plastic sheet with the black cord attached was the thermometer and he left it outside the incubator. So, the machine read that it was only 68 degrees. By the time we noticed, the temp inside was up around 110. I took the top off to let off some of the heat and we got it back down to the normal temp. Hopefully we caught it before damaging the eggs. 

Tomorrow we can candle them!

Mutiny

Not gonna sugarcoat it. Today was kind of an awful day. Last night, I stayed up too late tidying and cleaning the house (and reading... 😬), so I woke up in a bit of a funk, which didn't help. Still, I thought it was going to be an okay day; one of my kiddos was home sick, which always changes the class dynamic, usually for the better.

The morning went all right. They were more focused during Junior Achievement than they were Monday. Although, before our speaker came I had a lot of complaints about it being boring and why do we have to do it. Ugh. They were pretty quiet during rounds. 

Recess was a tension-fest. The 7-8th graders were all hyped up about their afternoon visit to New Ulm high school, so they were really rough during the basketball game at recess. That made my kids play rough too, and I gave some students consequences, which made them mad, and we didn't have math class to give them time to get over it, so they were kind of mad at me the rest of the afternoon.

Since the 7-8th graders were gone, we had extra time in my classroom. The 5th graders had music while the 6th graders had studyhall. Then we did social studies (which they complained about), then recess (they had a good time outside with the K-4th graders). Then we did a science lab. Utter mutiny. 

This is boring. Why do we have to do this? I don't want to work with these people. I'm not doing this. This is dumb. This is stupid. Ugh, I hate this. 

And Mr. E was gone so I couldn't even have him come in to shape them up. 

I tried to keep them on task and at least moving forward, but it was a battle. The 6th grade boys were putzing around with their marbles (we're testing how motion is passed from marble to marble, how size and material factors in, etc.) and when I redirected them... "Wow, we were just trying to have a little fun with this. I thought we're supposed to be able to have fun in school but I guess not."

One of the other teachers suggested next time this happens tell them, "I worked hard to plan this activity for you and when you act like that, I don't want to do this either. Put your head on your desk." I'm not sure if that would work, but it might be worth a try. 

Sigh. The weather is kind of gross too... cold and windy and wet. 

Only 22 more days to go. 😐

That Eggy Smell

My classroom has a faint odor of eggs and chickens. You get used to it once you've been in here for a few minutes. My kids haven't commented on it so far, except when they're in the back next to the incubators or lifting off the lid.

So far today, everything in both incubators is going fine! That was not the case last night... Things were fine when I went over to church at 3:30 (I'm co-leader of youth group and we had an event after school). But they were not when I stopped afterwards. One incubator was up to 110 degrees! Ugh. I thought we had fixed it. Time to call Dad. 

He said that temperature is too hot and didn't recommend sticking something in the edge to vent some of the heat off. So I turned off the incubator and went to New Ulm to buy a new one. Thankfully Runnings had some in stock. No humidity thermometers or incubator thermometers though. I wanted one to put in each incubator to be a second opinion on the temp inside. My regular temperature thermometer will have to do.

When I got back to school, the too hot incubator was at the perfect temp for hatching eggs, so I left them sit in there while the new one heated up. Once it was up to temperature, I carefully transferred the duck and goose eggs to their new home. Whew! Hopefully it wasn't too late!

Today, we came up with a schedule for rotating the eggs. I have a whiteboard and marker back there for them to write down when they turn the eggs. I read that you can turn them 3-6 times per day, so we're making a tally mark when we do them and try to do it every two hours or so. In about a week, we can candle the eggs and see if anything is growing. 

My boys wanted to take apart the not-working incubator to see if they can fix it. They are in the process of testing if their fiddling with the dial solved the problem. We're all hopeful it did! If not, they wanted to turn the incubator into an extra heater for the classroom. Or make their own incubator from scratch. 

The two sixth grade boys did research on how to do it. It's actually not too complicated. You need a cardboard box, thermometer, and heat lamps. And for humidity, a wet sponge or covered bowl of water so the chicks don't fall in. I told them if they wanted to build their own they could. We'll see what happens!

Incubators

A very educational day for me... we started two batches of eggs incubating! My dad provided me with two incubators and three goose eggs. A preschool grandparent gave me 24 duck eggs and a 7th grade parent gave me 30 chicken eggs of varying color. 

G and I plugged in the incubators Sunday morning to make sure they worked and were up to temp. When I checked this morning, both were over 110 degrees. They need to be around 99-100 degrees. So I spent the morning adjusting the dial trying to get the temp lower and bump up the humidity. I think we have it figured out now. 

We put the eggs in around noon: chicken eggs in one with an egg rotator, duck and goose eggs in the other with no egg rotator. We'll have to do those manually. I've read it needs to be done three times a day. My class decided we'll do one rotation before school, one at lunch time, and I'll do one before I go home at the end of the day. 

I made a chart on my calendar what day of development we're at, when to candle, when to quit rotating them, and when they'll hatch. An article I found suggested for waterfowl you should mist the eggs and leave them out to cool for 10min daily to mimic the mom going for a swim and settling back on the nest. The time builds up to 20min over the course of incubation. So I have those things noted too. 

My kids are very excited. They all want to bring one home. I said their parents need to talk to me directly before I agree to anything like that. 

We were supposed to do MN history this afternoon, but chickens were on the brain, so instead we came up with a plan for after they hatch and watched chicken development videos. One 6th grade girl has a heat lamp and a container of some sort to put them in. Other ideas were a dog kennel or a cat carrier. I think that problem is one we can solve as the hatch date gets closer. 

I was about to move on to MN history, but a student wanted to know how chicken eggs got fertilized, so we found some youtube videos that showed how the egg develops inside the chicken and how a chick develops during incubation. Very cool. I learned a lot too! A worthwhile rabbit hole I'd say!

Sweet Mud

My favorite part of the day happened in afternoon recess. Pretty much the entire school (minus the 3-4th graders) were outside at recess together. The snow had all melted inside the gaga ball pit, so kindergarteners up through sixth grade played a gigantic game. 

Even though the snow had melted, the pit is in the shade of the trees, so it takes forever to dry out. A grimy patch of ice lingered in one section, but that didn't stop our kiddos from playing. 

Mud everywhere. 

Dirty hands, dirty shoes, dirty ball, dirty legs. 

One kindergartener said (about a 5th grade boy with dirt streaked all over), "Mrs. H, do you even recognize those legs?!" 

They didn't care. They were having a blast! The last game of the day came down to one kindergarten girl and two 5th grade boys. They whispered to each other, nodded, and said, "Let's do our secret plan." They then proceeded to get themselves out so she could win. So sweet! 

On the walk inside I suggested they trudge through the little bits of remaining snow to attempt to clean off their shoes. A 5th grader swished his hands in the snow turning the mud into 'chocolate' (as he described it). Two of them packed up for the end of the day in their sock feet because their shoes were too dirty to wear inside, even after wiping them in snow! In the classroom examining their filthy attire one boy said, "It's so fun playing in mud in the moment. You never regret it until after you're done." Wise words.

No More Dead Dogs

Another fairly typical day in 5-6th grade. The only out of the ordinary thing was, we took a mini field trip out to the kickball field to see two horses a preschooler brought for show and tell. 

We had time for pinatas, religion, read-aloud... We started a new book today, one I find hilarious but sometimes doesn't jive with all my audience. It's called No More Dead Dogs by Gordon Korman. 

So far we are two chapters in and they're loving it. Or at least liking it. There have been quite a few laughs anyway. The book only gets funnier, so hopefully their interest continues!

Pinatas

There's at least one first layer on all the piñatas! My kids had a blast getting messy with the glue and newspaper. Well, most of them did. A few didn't like getting their hands dirty. We used up all the water in our classroom sink in our attempt to get clean. 

Again, gorgeous weather, so we did our papier-mâché outside. It was just a little hot. My kids complained about the heat and the wind, but the problem-solved and set up their tables in the shade of the playground in the morning and the shade of the classroom in the afternoon. The wind was a bit trickier to outmaneuver. Some used sandbox trucks or their glue containers to hold down their newspaper strips. One group set up shop in the tucked away back area between my classroom and the gym. Man, I love it when they problem-solve! 

29

It's a little early to start the end of school countdown, but over breakfast G asked me how many days were left so I had to count. Not many! And about four of them are field trip days. Holy buckets, that came fast!

My kids were so-so today. Some were acting super silly, many made unnecessary comments. Overall not a terrible day. 

We started pinatas this afternoon. Everyone was really excited to get started. We didn't have enough time to actually put layers on, but planning has commenced! I have plans for us to do the glue/newspaper layers outside. 

It is so nice out, I can hardly believe it. I was comfortable in a sleeveless shirt! Tomorrow it's supposed to be in the 80s... One of the 8th graders asked me if I thought school would be called off for potential tornadoes (because the temperature is shooting up so much). Hmm, I've never thought about that before. Can't see it happening though. It sounds like the good weather continues through Thursday or Friday, then temps dip down a bit. 

This warmth makes me want to kayak, but all the lakes are still ice covered! 

Fake Friday

Woohoo! Made it through the week! We have the rest of the week off for Easter break and I'm very excited. Of course I have a bunch of grand plans... bake sourdough crackers (for me) and hardtack (for my class), sort through the craft stuff in the basement and box up thrift store stuff at our Nicollet house, then go to the Mankato house to box up thrift store stuff there, organize and clean out closets and the laundry room... G and I are bringing his mom to the airport on Wednesday and we're popping in for a visit with his godson's family. Then Thursday night after church I'm heading to Fulda! G has to work, so he'll be joining me Saturday afternoon.

It was a good end to the week; today was a much better day than yesterday. My kids were calmer, the boy I had trouble with Monday apologized, and everyone was pretty productive. Our morning was messed up because of puberty education. The nurse was supposed to come at 8am to take kids over to church for their session (girls separated from boys), but she had technical difficulties and didn't arrive until 9am. We started our day normally and then adjusted when she finally arrived.

The rest of the class did Daily 5 rounds while their classmates were gone. We ended up having seven or eight rounds! Granted, each puberty ed session was about two rounds, so they did maybe 4-5 rounds total. The poor 5th grade girl did hers last, but it was time for lunch, so she had to eat her lunch over at church with the 4th grade girl while they did their movie. We're all glad that's over!

Quiet, Recording

My kids have been all about their podcasts lately. Everyone in the class is involved in one of the groups; they've split into three. Most of their topics are on food taste tests. They have to submit their plan before recording and they divvy up between themselves who's talking about what and who's bringing which supplies. It's quite the operation. 

They've been recording in the coatroom, sometimes while recess happens in the gym. They end up holding the mics on their headphones right next to their mouths so the computer picks up the sound. So, it makes sense that they want to find a place in school to have a recording studio. Not many options. 

I brought it up at our staff meeting and the other teachers had a few ideas. No teachers liked the shed idea: possible bad internet connection, no supervision. This class needs that. Someone suggested the end of the hallway where the bus picks kids up. A decent option. A few teachers offered their classrooms when their kids are out of the room (at PE). If I did some changing to the schedule, that could work. I'll bring up the ideas with my kids tomorrow and we'll see what they think!

In other news, my house's sump pump sprayed water everywhere throughout the night so the basement has water in it again. I heard a weird sound from the basement before I went to bed last night, but thought it was the dryer or something outside or the neighbors. I heard it again this morning and found the water. A few minutes later, the sump turned on and water sprayed out... it looks like something didn't get sealed up during construction. Sigh. 

Miracle of miracles, nothing is damaged. The extra miracle is that the water went to two rooms that haven't been flooded yet, so I had moved a lot of the boxes there to get them out of previously wet areas. So, G and I had a lot of boxes to move, but again, no lasting damage. The sheetrock looks like it will dry fine as well. Thank you Lord!