A Little Rearrangement...

I moved the desks back into groups. We shall see what tomorrow holds in store for us. We may be back in a U-shape by the end of the day, but I'm willing to give it another go.

I added the green paper to the cabinets today. As the kids finish their current assignment they are hanging them on the green paper. I'm thinking it'll look pretty good and also incorporate their work into the room.

 I moved my computer to the back of the room so the kids can use it. I just couldn't figure out a way to have a computer work station and only have one computer. I am hoping that I'll be able to afford a laptop soon and then all of my computer issues will be solved.

 I've been posting work station assignments and descriptions on the chart paper on the right of the board. I've also been putting morning work on the board as well as other things for work station time.

My desk looks so cluttered without the computer... I need some organizational tools or something. I'll get there eventually.

I told my students today about our Donors Choose project being funded. They were thrilled!! They wanted to know when we would get it and they were shocked that it is being shipped. So funny... the world through the eyes of seven year olds. They were mostly concerned to know if it would be coming in a box and whether or not they could help open it. You've just got to love their pure innocent excitement over opening a box! :)

Just a Poem I Wrote

I am a teacher.

I am a teacher.

I have my kids’ best interest at heart.

I give hugs and high-fives.

I can tell handwriting apart.

I am a teacher.

My expectations for my kids are high.

I teach reading, writing, and even manners.

I never let a cross word get by.

I am a teacher.

I love what I do.

I work hard for other people’s children.

I make a difference. Do you?

Donors Choose

My Donors Choose project was fully funded yesterday! I am thrilled! I was so excited and touched by the generosity of others that I cried! It is so nice to see that people do truly care about education and want to help. It is so refreshing to know that others see that there are difficulties, but know that I am trying to do what is best for my kids, and are willing to lend a hand. I am so touched.

Let ME Tell Ya...

There was a mouse in my room today.

Enough said.

Tell Me How You Really Feel

So, I'm sitting at lunch on Friday and as we're about to leave this little girl looks at me and says (fill in student's name here) is mean. I said, "tell me how ya really feel, why don't ya?" She just smiled.
I would have questioned her about it, but to be honest I know said child is mean to other children so why push the issue. Haha! They're brutal honesty cracks me up.

I Spend Half My Time...

counting down. lol That's a huge part of my classroom management, so I spend lots of time going "by the time I get to one (fill in the blank). Five, four, three, two, one." Well, I'm sick of counting down. So now when I count down if I get to one they lose a minute off recess. They lost 8 minutes today. Perhaps they will do better tomorrow. We shall see.

So Much Extra Stuff

Have you ever noticed the insane amount of extra stuff to do? I never knew my life could be so consumed by paper work, grades, making things for my class, etc. I am constantly living in a state of "overwhelmed". It stinks. I hope that next year will be better! I have heard by the third year things tend to calm down. Let's hope so!!

You know, I am constantly reminding myself that I chose this job. I had other offers and I chose this one. I know it is where I should be. I am just feeling like I am working super hard and getting no where. I will say that the kids make it worth it. They always say just the right thing at just the right time. LOVE them! They are, after all, the reason I'm there!

You Don't Get To Say No to the Teacher...

I don't think I'm really a bossy person. In fact, I really tend to allow others to make the decisions and just go with it. However, when it comes to my students if I say "jump" I want them to jump. I don't want them to ask when or why or how high. I just want them to give it their best shot and jump. Ya know?
So, today I am sitting at a table with a small group and (of course, not naming the child) girl child has a silly band in her mouth. (For those of you who don't know, a silly band is the most annoying thing ever invented. It's a bracelet made out of a rubber band in the shape of some sort of animal, etc.) Well, girl child's silly band was broken and so she had it in her mouth. I get so grossed out by that sort of behavior and the kids know that. I cannot stand for them to put things in their mouths that don't belong there. So, I say to girl child, "get that out of your mouth and throw it away please." Girl child says, "no. I want to keep it. I like to play with it." I say, "no, hunny, it is broken. It is trash. Throw it away." Girl child says, "no." I (in a not nice tone) say, "GET THAT OUT OF YOUR MOUTH. PUT IT IN THE TRASH CAN. NOW!" Girl child says nothing and stomps over to the trash can. On the way to the trash can, girl child bucks up at another child who looked at her funny. I tell her to stop acting like that and she tells me that the child looked at her funny. I say, "too bad. That is still no reason to behave that way." So, she stomps back to the chair at the table and sits down. Now, she refuses to do her work. I was so mad by this point I sent her to her desk. I mean, really???
I have truly had one crazy week... take into account that we had no school Monday and today is only Wednesday and you'll see why things like saying "no" to me have sent me over the edge. I am tired of defiant children. I moved their desks around Tuesday morning and hoped that would cut down on the talking. I will soon be moving them again. I so wish they could sit in groups but they simply cannot stop talking.
Another thing is that I work very hard with them to get them to be on task and working hard and behaving. As soon as another adult walks in the room and needs my attention the kids act like they don't have a clue... they're up out of their seat running around, they're being mean to each other, they're interrupting me... I just don't get it. I think I need a sign on my door that says, "Please. Please, just don't come to the door if I am in the middle of teaching." Would that be horrible? lol
Alright, enough complaining. On the bright side, while they have been wild after lunch every day, they have been perfect in the mornings. I am so proud of what they have accomplished in the mornings. They behave well. They do well with using their manners. They work well together. They walk down the hall quietly. They really are perfect. I have just got to work even harder to get the afternoons under control. Wish me luck!

Oh, and one more thing!! Yesterday we started learning about greater than and less than. One of my sweet children (I call her and one other girl in my class my "little ladies" because they are so tiny) said, "I get it!! I didn't get that other stuff we were doing, but I get this!!" She was so excited and had the biggest smile on her face. Oh, I love that child!

Please Help Me Out

I mentioned before that I posted on Donor's Choose and I could really use your help. I'm not asking you to donate, but simply to spread the word. If you have a facebook it's easy to help. You just click the link to share it on your facebook. I'd really be so grateful for any help I can get with spreading the word about this need for a listening station!

DonorsChoose.org

Ok, I have friends who use donorschoose.org all the time. So, I decided to have a go at it. I filled out the online forms and shopped for a listening center which is what my classroom is really lacking. My request can be seen here. I am so excited to have my request posted... now I just need to work on getting it funded. I posted it on my facebook and I hope my friends on there will spread the word. I'm very excited! I'll keep everyone posted about this.
Anyhow, it's a great site and I know it has great impacts on schools. My best friend has gotten many things from there and so have people at her school. I hope it works for me!

What a Busy Life

You know, I never imagined my life could be so busy. School work consumes my entire life! I hope that one day I will get to the point where I have a weekend. I am going shopping today, so at least that's a break from school.

Anyhow, this weekend I am starting to write my long range plans. I am a bit unclear about them, but have a document to look through that I haven't gotten out yet so hopefully that will clear some things up.

I also plan to figure out how to run my small group/workstation time in my literacy block. We devote 2 hours each day to literacy and work with the students in small groups doing a curriculum called Project Read. This brings me to another point... I need to figure out how to teach Project Read. I brought the books home and plan to look on the internet for help, too. I can do most of it because it's basically scripted, but I don't know the hand movements that go with it. So, I need to work on that. I'm pretty excited to learn about it and hope that it will really help my students!

As for the work stations, I need to revamp them. I had too many going on last week and the kids were just crazy. I was thinking more would mean small groups at each one, but it really just means the kids get confused and talk to the other groups. They didn't seem to understand that they needed to read the directions left at the stations and since I had grouped them by ability, it was nearly impossible for some of them to read those written directions. Sometimes I just think I am clueless. I mean, obviously that wouldn't work, but I didn't think it out as well as I should have before hand. I'm learning though. So, this week will be different. We are starting Project Read this week, too. I think we'll only have it for 3 days this week though because it's a four day week and we have tests and stuff Friday, so it really only leaves Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday.

I also want to try to get some math groups started, but I think that might be taking on too much at one time, so I might just try to have those going by second semester. We'll see.

Well, I'm off to shop! Hope everyone has a great Saturday!