My future children are probably doomed...

I really feel that my job as a teacher is more than just my profession...it is a calling in my life. I care so much for the students at my school...and when I see them succeed, it literally brings tears to my eyes!

Yesterday I had the opportunity to visit a fourth grade classroom while my kids were in P.E. The fourth graders were having Author's Chair, a time that students take to share their finished writing projects. I was so blessed to listen to two of my past students read their stories. It was amazing to see girls that came to me in first grade with little English, let alone literacy skills, read fully developed and exciting stories! When I offered a comment that I was so impressed and proud of these girls (and their classmates) I actually got choked up and had to cut my speech short. :)

Then this evening El Maestro and I attended our annual high school basketball game to watch a few of our students be junior cheerleaders at half time. (How nice that our two schools shared the same night!) I've been watching some of those girls for the last four years, ever since they were in my first grade class! I was so overcome with pride to watch both my "old" girls that were so bold to perform even as the preteen self-consciousness creeps up on them, as well as my little kindies that were so excited that they waved almost the whole time and hugged the nearest cheerleader as soon as they were done! Again, I found myself tearing up...

So my point to all of this is--if I cry when someone else's child waves pom-poms...I'm gonna be a complete basket case when my own child does absolutely anything! I don't think it will be pretty.

Sneak Peek

Kindergarten has been a bit hectic in the last week and a half because no one has a permanent class. We had to assess all students before we could assign them to their "real" classes, so students and teachers have been rotating around so that we can all get to know each other!

We're thrilled because today we shared the placements with parents which means I have a REAL CLASS! I can write name tags and label homework folders and cubbies...

If you'd like to see a few of the faces I'll be working with every day, click here.

Kindergarten

Today was my first day of kindergarten.

Well, technically school started on Wednesday. But that was a day of short orientation meetings and tours with the new kinders and their parents.

So today was the first day that very small children arrived with very large backpacks. And I learned a few things.

Among them...

*Kindergartners don't know their own name. Seriously. Or they can't pronounce it because of their lisp.

*Kindergartners don't know whether they ride the bus, walk home, or get picked up. They will tell you what they WANT to do, but that's likely the opposite of what they actually need to do.

*And in case you don't already know, Fish Crackers are magical. They can turn a room of 30 restless, noisy 5 year olds into the most studious class in the school. After all, the students that are quietly coloring get their snack first...

*Kindergartners are adorable. And I'm already so proud of them. It takes a lot just to get up in the morning and start your first year of school.

I can't wait to try again tomorrow.

Almost There

The last two weeks have been packed! I'm so happy to say that on Friday, I will be free! Yes, I will tearfully say goodbye to my dear third graders...and then flip handsprings on my way out the door!

I

Am

Ready

For

Summer!!!

The end of year is always a little difficult...trying to get all the artwork off the walls so that students can take it home...making sure there is enough time to finish the last writing project...squeezing in the last half of Little House in the Big Woods...

Not to mention packing all my teaching stuff again before I leave for the summer.

Just like all the other years, everything will get finished just in time and then I'll be able to

Relax

Read

Sleep

Sew

Clean

Cook

Blog?!?

Until then...have a great week!

Showing Off

Not my skills.

One of my kiddo's.

Work from January:

Translation: "First, we play Connect 4. Next, we play Dominoes. Last, we play I Spy book.

Work from March:

Translation: One day I woke up and sawd it was snowin'. First, I went outside to build a snowman with a carrot nose, two coal eyes, three buttons, a black hat, and a pipe to go in his mouth. His name is Frosty. Next, me and Ben made forts to play a snowball fight. Last, me and Ben made snowangels. We felt very happy.

Not too shabby of an improvement for about 7 weeks of writing instruction. I've been working with a GREAT writing teacher!

Tamales!

One of my students and her mother dropped by my house the other day. This is what they wanted to give me. A bag of fresh, HOT, delicious, spicy tamales.

I have always been a fan of this Mexican delicacy. And let me make it clear that these were the most delicious tamales I have ever tasted. They were so hot that the masa around the tender chicken was still smooth as butter. Underneath the corn husk wrappers, each one was drenched in a spicy green sauce that added just the right amount of kick.

I decided then and there that I could live on tamales alone for the rest of my life. So I'm waiting for the perfect opportunity to ask the mother if she could teach me how to make them...

Thoughts from 3rd Graders

I had a chat with my students to see what they knew about Martin Luther King Jr. I wanted to know if they would have any background knowledge when we went to the all school assembly later that day. This is what I heard:

"Well, there was a lady that had been working hard all day. And she just wanted to sit down on the bus."

"Yeah. She was tired and just wanted to sit down. But then a man came and tried to take her seat! But she didn't move, so they put her in jail!"

"Mrs. H.--that's not even FAIR!"

Our discussion on civil rights abrubtly turned to biology...

"You know, it doesn't matter what color your skin is. Or your hair or your eyes..."

"Yeah, because we all have the same stuff on the inside!"

"Like a heart, and blood."

I piped up, "That's true. We all have lungs, kidneys..."

Immediately about ten hands went up in the air.

"Um, what are kidneys?"

So, these eight year old's might not know exactly what went on long before they were born. But I think they've got the idea. People are people are people. Period.

I think I'm kinda messed up.

I came to this realization this morning as I was singing a song under my breath.

Last night was the 3rd grade music concert at school, and it went exceptionally well! However I now have a 3rd grade song stuck in my head that may never, ever leave.

The problem is not that I have a song stuck in my head...but the disturbing way that I changed the lyrics. What the kids sing is:

From all you learn here, remember this the best

Don't hurt each other and clean up your mess...

But when I was singing it this morning, I realized that I was singing:

From all you learn here remember this the best

Don't shoot each other and clean up your mess...

Notice the difference?

Where am I? Los Angeles? Chicago? New Jersey?

Maybe I just need some more coffee.

Another Try...

Remember Crazy Hair Day last year? Well I tried again this year.

This year I ditched the crimper and went for a custom trimmed dollar store headband/wig...and my students told me it didn't look real.

Of course my husband had to up the ante with crazy facial hair as well. At least, he thought it was crazy. I thought it was sick. I mean, is sick. It's still there...

I don't know if I'll even try to have crazy hair next year. There's no point.

What am I suppose to do?

Conferences

I have to say that I don't even remember any parent-teacher conferences when I was a kid. Is that weird? I'm sure they happened, I'm sure my parents went...but I have no recollection.

This week el maestro and I are teaching half-days at school and then working until 7:00 at night conferencing with parents. I'm visiting half of my families in their homes doing a "home visit" style conference. It is soooo interesting to see the kids on their own turf and to get an idea of what home means to them.

A funny story for you...our school has so many students that are learning English that the population tends to invent words that become widely used. My favorite as of yet--hanitizer.

What is hanitizer, you ask? Well it's simple. Hand Sanitizer. Of course!

Of course, regular hand washing is one of the best ways to avoid the flu this season, but if you aren't around any running water, just opt for an alcohol based hanitizer!

Curious?

Want to see the cute third graders that I work with each day? Click on this link.

Happy Wednesday!

Cutest Classroom Ever!

If I may say so myself.

Our friendly little door

The Learning Center

Sink, drinking water, recycle bin, student computers, artwork, cute plants

Gosh, looking at these pictures is reminding me of everything I must do before the kids get there today! Gotta run...

Help?

Does hanging around with emotionally troubled kids make one emotionally troubled?

Because I'm feeling particularly overwhelmed and whiny this evening.

But everything will be okay. Right? Even if the house is a wreck and I have 590.2 hours of prepping to do for next week?

I guess I'll have to take my own advice:

"In this class we don't whine or cry about our problems. We look for a solution and ask for support."

Go!

I've successfully made it through two days of teaching third grade!

Yesterday was quite a shock...not only was I returning to a classroom teaching position, but it was only my second time teaching on the first day of school! Additionally, I've never taught third grade! We had to move the furniture in order to fit the whole class in a circle! Third graders are big kids!

Today went even better than yesterday! My students are bright and eager to please. I was amazed when my students started gluing their projects together today--without my direct instruction! They looked at the sample and did it themselves! Wow!

I'm so excited to continue working with this group of fantastic kids!

Preparation!

It is that time of year again. The time of year to start setting the alarm clock and waking up when it's shrill voice ushers you right out of dreamland.

The time of year to think about curriculum and procedures. To walk into a room that has been empty for two and a half months and imagine how it will be when it is full of 25 loud and lively learners.

Instead of slowly easing into this time of year, I jumped in with both feet. I've been taking a class all week that starts at 8:00 and goes until 3:30. Not quite a full work day, but close! I've gone to bed exhausted, but with too many thoughts swirling around my brain to be able to fall asleep!

Teaching third grade this year with be a challenge. And I've got only one thing to say...

BRING

IT

ON!

El Zoologico

I went to the zoo this past Wednesday. Three of my classes were going on a field trip! I was a chaperone assigned to three hilarious kiddos who have been learning English with me all year. Well, the girls have been learning it all year, and Mario* has been learning it since November when he moved here from Mexico.

We had a really fun time! It was so exciting to see the animals, and the kids got to practice their English. Mario spent almost the whole day saying, "Elephants? Ok, let's go! Elephants!" He'd get distracted by whatever animal we were actually looking at, but then 30 seconds later he would say, "Ok, let's go! Elephants!" At one point he took the map from my hands, pointed at the elephant, and repeated his line...

In the end we finally did see the elephants!

Of course, 30 seconds later, Mario shouted, "Ok, Let's go! Giraffes!"

*Name has been changed

A long day...

Yesterday was a long day. It was the start of parent-teacher conferences, and although the students were dismissed after lunch...we teachers still had much to do.

For me, conference week is spent running madly from one conference to the other...trying to get to as many as I can so that I can say something like, "Your student's English is progressing just as we would hope. S/he is doing really well with speaking and listening, and now we'll really start to work on reading and writing." Or something like that. Except in Spanish most times.

But I'm serious about the running. Most teachers have 25 conferences to do. We specialists have as many as 7o students on our caseload! So while its virtually impossible to make every conference, we really try to get to a lot of them.

This experience is compounded for me because our school used to be two schools. Our two campuses are separated by a large playground. And each day we have to make the trek from one side to the other--rain, snow, or shine.

Normally this is fine. We've got umbrellas coming out of our ears and its good to get a little exercise! However on days like yesterday, the four minute (if you're speed walking) journey just seemed too long. May I please explain?

Here was my schedule for yesterday:

8:15 WEST SIDE Get to work, prep for the day, first two classes on same side.
10:35 EAST SIDE Two classes on this side...then travel back for lunch!
11:50 WEST SIDE Lunch. Take care of paperwork until first conference.
1:30 EAST SIDE Conferences number one and two. Except the second conference was suddenly postponed until 3.
2:30 WEST SIDE Meeting for WASL planning.
3:00 EAST SIDE Second try for the second conference. I end up interpreting.
3:35 WEST SIDE Another three conferences.
5:00 EAST SIDE Last two conferences of the night. Call me the interpreter again.
6:05 WEST SIDE Meet el maestro at the car. Drive to the pizza place. Get dinner, go home, and collapse!

Thanks for listening.
The End.

It will go down in History...

Yesterday at school el Maestro guaranteed his place as the coolest teacher ever. No one can touch him now.

Crazy hair day was pretty CAH-RAY-ZY!

For some reason, nobody really noticed my crazy hair. Seriously, people. It's CRIMPED! No one has done that since I was 6! Or something. A lady at work asked if I got a perm!

I was just trying to be crazy, too.

Sigh. It's hard living in the shadow of my husband....

Motivation

Some Mondays it is hard to get out of bed. Particularly today when I'm still getting over a cold, I couldn't sleep from 3AM to 4AM, and the cat threw up loudly in my room 30 minutes before my alarm was suppose to go off.

I wish I was still sleeping.

So, I am going to post a little reminder of why I go to work every day. There are children. Precious children who have been put in my life so that I can teach them something. For some of them, I'm suppose to teach them English. Things like, "Ms. Sarah, I please can...one more paper?" and, "This is a monkey." (If you haven't heard the monkey story, ask me about it. It's my favorite. El Maestro has heard it 71.2 times.) Other kids just need to learn how a healthy adult reacts to a frustrating situation. "Excuse me, Sam. Why did you just hit Sally? What is the consequence for hitting?" No yelling involved.

And some kids just need to know that I love them. I think they know it. That's probably why I'm mobbed every time I walk into the kindergarten classroom...

Success!

I had a wonderful moment of success yesterday with a sweet little kindergarten student! I was working with a small group of kinders...all the kiddos that came to school without any English. About once a week, I take them out of their class so we can work on the letter of the week in a smaller group. We were in my office, and I realized that we needed one more worksheet! I said, "Who can go ask Ms. Sarah for another paper?"

Now....this was a little risky. I wasn't sure if any of the kids would be able to get the message across to their teacher, or even understand where they were suppose to go! But still, little Isa raised her hand and said, "Me, teacher. Me go."

"Ok." I said. Then, to make sure I was setting her up for success I asked, "What will you say to her?"

And without any prompting, Isa rolled her shoulders back, lifted her chin and said, "Ms. Sarah, please I can...one more paper?"

Whoa!!! This is coming from a little girl that couldn't speak a lick of English in September!

When I took the students back to their teacher, I asked her how Isa did. Turns out she asked her teacher just the way she said she would! Woohooo!! It's not an easy task to pass messages between teachers. But she did great! In fact, she even told me, "No more," when she came back empty handed!

I was so happy to realize that some of these children are picking up language skills! It's so good to know that they are learning...