17!

This week we started a new read-aloud book, Where the Red Fern Grows, a book I haven't read since 5th or 6th grade. I remember my teacher making us read the last few chapters of the book on our own because she was going to cry if we read it together. I remember thinking, "This book is not sad, I don't see what she was so worried about..." And then the end comes. Yep. I sobbed my little heart out as I read the pages. But I still liked the book!

So, now we're reading it. My class is not big on historical fiction, and this isn't technically historical fiction, but it's set in the past. I wasn't sure if they'd like it as much as other books we've read this year... Today, though, I discovered that they are indeed liking it.

My Microsoft Teams app has been crashing at least 2-4 times per class in the morning. Highly annoying. My class just waits for me to jump back on and we try to pick up where we left off. Today, I was in the middle of a paragraph about a fight Billy had with a town kid (who had picked on his new puppy) when I got kicked off. Once I rejoined the call, two boys told me exactly where I had left off, just in case I hadn't noticed. Huh, I guess they are paying attention. We also went a little over our hour long class time and no one made any mention of that... Good. I bet enough of them have connections to hunting/farming/dogs that they're into it.

One negative side effect of reading this book, particularly the part describing Billy's new puppies, is that I really want a puppy now!!!

18!

My behind kids are finally making progress on their Writing City assignments! Well, two of them are anyway. A third one said she was going to work on it. We'll see if she does...

The 5-6th graders learned about sound today. I had them do a mini experiment at home by tapping their fingers on their desk, then put their heads on the desk and tap again to compare the difference. Then they took cups and rested their ears on them while tapping to compare sounds again. I'm not sure if they all did it or not, but hey, this virtual learning is really "If you want to learn, no one can stop you. If you don't want to learn, no one can make you." I'm putting all this stuff out there for the taking; it's up to you if you take advantage of that. So we press onward.

I've spent a lot of time on the computer these past two days. Whew, my eyes and brain can tell! I've been looking over their check-in sheets, conferencing with them to go over late stuff, putting together a virtual trivia night for families to do via Facebook on Friday, and emailing lots of people about lots of stuff. I haven't spent any time scanning books in my library.

The weather has been kind of gross the past few days too. I haven't gone out for walks. Maybe I will today; it's windy but looks sunny. Last night in addition to the usual sister virtual chat, I watched a Zoom meeting reunion of the cast of Austenland, one of my favorite movies. It was really fun to hear the actors/actresses tell their favorite parts of filming and what was ad libbed/in the script. Tonight I have virtual bible study. It's crazy how even during quarantine my nights are filling up!

19!

A pretty good chunk of my kids remembered to send me their check-in sheet from the day's learning. A bunch of kids baked or helped their parents with meals. Some kids helped their parents fix farm machinery. One drew a picture to enter in a wildlife poster contest. One made a lego house. One choreographed a dance. One practiced a language on Duolingo.

They didn't all write in complete sentences and use perfect punctuation, but I expected that. Only half the class filled it out yesterday. I sent a reminder this morning and had a few more turn it in. Three kids needed an extra nudge. I think I'm still missing two. I hope they don't fall too far behind! This is what I'm basing some of their grades on.

In other news, I officially signed my will last night! Another thing I can check off the "important adult things to do" list.

20!

Guess what... only 20 days of school left!

For those of you just joining me on the countdown, here's some backstory: Back when I was in 5-6th grade, to countdown to the end of the school year my favorite teacher would draw a picture on the board every day for us to find how many days were left. Since my normal end of the year balloon activity countdown is kind of lame from a distance, I decided to do the picture countdown with my kids.

I emailed Mrs. W to find out where she got her ideas from, or even if she remembered doing the pictures. She remembers! But she doesn't remember the specifics; she said she made them up every night. So, I contacted my old Lutheran school classmates to see if they remembered any of the pictures (it wasn't as hard as it sounds... Facebook is a wonderful thing). They remembered how fun it was but they didn't remember pictures.

So. I made a post in the Lutheran Educator's page to see if any of them had bright ideas. One person recommended checking out Lunchtime Doodles with Mo Willems (author/illustrator of the Pigeon books) since he doodles the date as part of the video. Excellent. Some of those videos were helpful, others not. He only did 15 episodes, but I did get some good ideas from him.

I got excited about the project as I came up with ideas for each number, so I began to draw. And message my sister about which drawings she wanted to do. And draw. And message my sister some more. And draw. And eventually I drew 18/20 of the drawings! All that are left are #10 and #15. If my sister doesn't get working on the drawings, I just might end up drawing all of them. I'm impressed with myself; I didn't think they would turn out as good as they did!

See if you can spot the number...

And stay tuned for further pictures! 

Growing Up

As many of you know, this year's class has been a big challenge behaviorally. Our time of distance learning has been the most relaxing part of my school year! So when other teachers have said how much they miss their students, I couldn't empathize. Except today. Today was the first day I really missed my kids.

It's a Friday, so I meet with each student individually to hear their memory work. They have to have their cameras on so I can tell if they're actually reciting it. Some of them don't like to have their cameras on during live class during the week, plus Teams only lets me see four of them at a time anyway, so for some students, it's been a while since I've seen their faces.

They look different! Their faces are maturing, their haircuts are changed, they're tanner... I'd venture a guess they are taller too. Normally when I'm with my students, those slow changes fly under the radar because I'm with them every day. They really are like my own children. It makes me sad to see their appearances 'jump'.

On a happier note, I've also noticed I've been more relaxed in class and letting my goofier side peek through. This normally happens towards the end of the school year. Other teachers have mentioned that they are missing being together in school for the 'sweet spot' of the school year. March-May is the time of year when students knows the procedures, they know their classmates and how to get along; the end of the year is in sight, but it's not close enough to get ants in pants. It's the time of year when everyone is ready to learn and you can buckle down and get stuff done! It's the best time of year to do projects and mix things up. But all that is a lot harder to do remotely.

At the end of the year, I do a balloon count down to the last day with a special activity for each day. One of the 6th grade girls asked me if I would find a way to still do that with our class remotely. If I pick and choose carefully, I can come up with "special" things for them to do at home each day (optional of course, I can imagine some of my students not caring a whit about this). They won't have the same 'wow' factor that they would at school, but it will be something. Sit anywhere for the day is a lot different at home than it is at school!

Another thing I'm working on requires a bit more planning. When I was in 5-6th grade, at the end of the year my teacher Mrs. W would draw a picture on the board every day for the last 20 days of school. Hidden in each picture was the number of how many days we had left. I remember being excited to see what the picture would be and if I could find the number. That's something I could do remotely with my kids! So I emailed her to see if she remembers doing that with us. If not, I'll have to go with plan B. One of my sisters is an artist and she agreed to help me make pictures (*ahem* she'll probably do all of it) to countdown with my kids. Time will tell!

Drop Day

The school board did approve to end school one week early, so we are officially finished May 15th.

Tomorrow is our next Drop Day so I'm getting papers ready to send home with families. The good thing about older grades is that I don't have to give them a lot of papers. I can send home all the papers they need for the rest of the year in one fell swoop. We only have three weeks left! Can you believe it? Neither can I.

I'm starting to feel the itch though, and my kids all feel it too. Both today and yesterday were beautiful. Kayaking on Swan Lake yesterday was wonderful. Today was too cold to kayak, plus I had a webinar to watch (talking about virtual summer reading programming at the library), so I went for a walk instead. Praise the Lord he's given us nice weather!

Wrapping Up

I feel pretty good about life today: I got a bunch of things wrapped up that have been on my to-do list for a while.

A few of my kids finished (or will finish) their Read to Self book before the next drop day, so during our weekly meeting we picked out a few books for me to send home with them. The piles are stacked on the white table, ready for me to send out on Friday.

Our read aloud book is wrapping up too. Only a few more chapters left! I'm hoping to finish tomorrow or Friday so we can start a new book next week. I want to read Where the Red Fern Grows for the last book of the year and I think we can read the whole thing in the time we have left if we read at least 17 pages per day. Hopefully doable!

The Lutheran Church Extension Fund had grants available for teachers who's income has been affected by the coronavirus, even if it's non-church related income. Mr. E learned about it at his last Principals' meeting where the District encouraged the principals to encourage their teachers to apply. I wasn't able to work at the library over Easter break, so I was eligible to apply for the grant which would replace some of that income. I got approved! I just sent off my signature to complete the paperwork.

Finally, this morning I wrote the christian preamble to my will. I've been working on estate planning with my lawyer for a few months (always good to be prepared!) and I finally had a chance to look through the ideas she sent me. It feels good to get that written and sent off!

Now, I'm wrapping up things at school, will quick run errands in New Ulm, and then take my kayak out for a spin on Swan Lake! The weather is gorgeous today; too nice to be inside!