Ingredients:
60 students
1 classroom
1 large tub of ice cream
60 plastic cups
60 plastic spoons
60 straws
20 zip bags of crushed oreos
20 zip bags of crushed chocolate chip cookies and graham crackers
12 cans of 7-Up
12 cans of orange soda
Mix all ingredients well. Warning: excitement may bubble over; monitor carefully. Be prepared for some noise. Have a broom and plenty of wet paper towels on hand to clean up crumbs and spilled soda.
Makes 60 smiles.
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
not that anyone's counting
17 days of instruction left.
It's been an interesting few days. Most of fifth grade jumped on a bus Monday to go camping. Because many of my kids didn't go, I am housing the camp stay-backs. 17 of my own kids + 13 students from two other classrooms = a trepidation-causing roster of 30.
I don't condone people keeping their kids home on a school day, but it appears that a few of my kids are staying home for the duration of camp. This makes the numbers a little easier to handle.
I figured that the camp stay-backs should have a little fun, too. So on Monday we made kites and flew them (then read a short article about why kites work). Today for art we made Matisse-inspired name panels. Tomorrow, I've invited the other teacher who didn't go to camp to bring over her 30 kids for a science lesson. We'll squish into my room and make parfaits that let students see how aquifers work. (Gotta love any science lesson that involves ice cream and crushed cookies).
I wish I had some grand reflections as my first year in the classroom speeds to a close, but all I can think of right now is how tired I am and how much I'm looking forward to summer.
It's been an interesting few days. Most of fifth grade jumped on a bus Monday to go camping. Because many of my kids didn't go, I am housing the camp stay-backs. 17 of my own kids + 13 students from two other classrooms = a trepidation-causing roster of 30.
I don't condone people keeping their kids home on a school day, but it appears that a few of my kids are staying home for the duration of camp. This makes the numbers a little easier to handle.
I figured that the camp stay-backs should have a little fun, too. So on Monday we made kites and flew them (then read a short article about why kites work). Today for art we made Matisse-inspired name panels. Tomorrow, I've invited the other teacher who didn't go to camp to bring over her 30 kids for a science lesson. We'll squish into my room and make parfaits that let students see how aquifers work. (Gotta love any science lesson that involves ice cream and crushed cookies).
I wish I had some grand reflections as my first year in the classroom speeds to a close, but all I can think of right now is how tired I am and how much I'm looking forward to summer.
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
stumbling down the homestretch
There are just about 20 days of instruction left in the school year.
Summer is a mirage right now ... shimmering and beckoning, it looks so close. But at other moments it lies at the far end of a desert.
Overwhelmed is a good word for how I feel right now.
Next week, 7 of my kids are heading to camp. But I'll be taking in a bunch of students who will not be attending, which will push my in-house numbers to 28.
May Day is fast approaching, and right now the outfits are nothing more than yards of washed and ironed muslin. I also need to make a stamp to decorate the outfits.
I'm scrambling to put together the portfolio required to get credit for a math class.
I need to complete the evaluation required of all probationary teachers.
Oh yes, I'm also still trying to figure out how to rein my kids in. Someone lent me an excellent book about behavioral interventions. It comes with brief descriptions of various interventions, then provides reproducibles. When I first started perusing it, I thought I could throw something together quickly. But then I begin to ponder: this intervention vs that intervention? Individual vs teams vs whole class? Then my mind started to boggle (or get bogged down) and I closed the book.
Just to state for the record: I'm not giving up on this year. But I am tired (emotionally and physically). I'd like a lot more sleep, some quiet time, some time to run around the park while listening to the wind blow through the trees and watching the ocean sparkle. I'd like someone to sew those May Day outfits, and hand-carve that blasted stamp. (Right now I am really thinking of checking out Ben Franklin's or Wal-Mart's stamp offerings).
I'd like someone to help me uncover how to help Seattle, who craves my attention so much that he will literally follow me around the room to talk to me, who cried last week when I scolded him (and not just sniffle-tears, but full-on bawling). Who got so angry last week that he knocked a chair down. Seattle's been on my mind a lot lately. Creeping through rush-hour traffic today, I wondered for the first time if he's depressed. The way he reacts to little inconveniences makes me think he's not feeling good to start with. He doesn't seem to have the emotional cushion that allows other people to let a small annoyance go or deal with it appropriately.
Depression is a big thing.
What can be done about something like this in 20 days of instruction, I don't know.
But I'll think of something.
Summer is a mirage right now ... shimmering and beckoning, it looks so close. But at other moments it lies at the far end of a desert.
Overwhelmed is a good word for how I feel right now.
Next week, 7 of my kids are heading to camp. But I'll be taking in a bunch of students who will not be attending, which will push my in-house numbers to 28.
May Day is fast approaching, and right now the outfits are nothing more than yards of washed and ironed muslin. I also need to make a stamp to decorate the outfits.
I'm scrambling to put together the portfolio required to get credit for a math class.
I need to complete the evaluation required of all probationary teachers.
Oh yes, I'm also still trying to figure out how to rein my kids in. Someone lent me an excellent book about behavioral interventions. It comes with brief descriptions of various interventions, then provides reproducibles. When I first started perusing it, I thought I could throw something together quickly. But then I begin to ponder: this intervention vs that intervention? Individual vs teams vs whole class? Then my mind started to boggle (or get bogged down) and I closed the book.
Just to state for the record: I'm not giving up on this year. But I am tired (emotionally and physically). I'd like a lot more sleep, some quiet time, some time to run around the park while listening to the wind blow through the trees and watching the ocean sparkle. I'd like someone to sew those May Day outfits, and hand-carve that blasted stamp. (Right now I am really thinking of checking out Ben Franklin's or Wal-Mart's stamp offerings).
I'd like someone to help me uncover how to help Seattle, who craves my attention so much that he will literally follow me around the room to talk to me, who cried last week when I scolded him (and not just sniffle-tears, but full-on bawling). Who got so angry last week that he knocked a chair down. Seattle's been on my mind a lot lately. Creeping through rush-hour traffic today, I wondered for the first time if he's depressed. The way he reacts to little inconveniences makes me think he's not feeling good to start with. He doesn't seem to have the emotional cushion that allows other people to let a small annoyance go or deal with it appropriately.
Depression is a big thing.
What can be done about something like this in 20 days of instruction, I don't know.
But I'll think of something.
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
1,000 WORDS: patterns
Spring break fun: scrambled over rocky paths, listened to the wind
blow through the trees, enjoyed all the green and quiet.
Monday, April 12, 2010
boring is underrated
Today Berry and Seattle got into a conflict. I separated them, sending Seattle to the back of the room and Berry to the front. At the time, I was getting the class ready for lunch.
Some of the other boys were buzzing around the room, talking first to Berry, then Seattle. I tried to shoo them back to their desks, as I could tell they were just adding to the problem.
As this went on, Berry grew increasingly agitated. He first began banging his desk against the wall, sending papers and pencils rolling off. I had to tell him several times to turn around and face the front, because he kept turning around and glaring at Seattle. His face was contorted in a scowl.
I don't even know what set him off, but suddenly Berry got up and charged across the middle of the room. Some students tried to grab him, but he was yelling and pulling against them with all of his might. I have seen Berry angry before, and even had to put my arms around him and pull him back from getting into a physical fight, but he has never reached this point. He was in a rage -- I couldn't even understand what he was yelling. I rushed over and grabbed him. He kept pulling to try to get away. I ordered the rest of the class out of the room.
Luckily, the teacher next door noticed I had my hands full (literally) and offered to walk my class to lunch. They were so unsettled themselves that they couldn't have taken themselves in an orderly fashion.
I had one of my responsible students call the counselors to ask for someone to come down. I was still holding Berry, but when I asked him if he was calm enough to sit down in the back he nodded. The school psychologist came by with a counselor. The school psychologist asked to come in to observe in the afternoon, and I agreed. I let her know a little about Berry.
I had a very abbreviated lunch break. I had been hungry before, but the excitement had stopped that. I just walked to a different part of campus to get a soda, then sat at my desk and tried to calm down.
Berry and Seattle had lunch at the counselor's, then came back toward the end of the day. Berry had hurt his abdomen when he rushed into a desk. Seattle had hurt his hand by punching the bathroom wall. But they came back calm and let me know that they were still friends.
We are rolling very quickly toward the end of the year. The last time I talked to my mentor, she asked what concerns I had for quarter 4. I said my most fervent wish is for my students to get along and be safe. I would be so thrilled to have a bunch of quiet, boring days in my classroom.
Some of the other boys were buzzing around the room, talking first to Berry, then Seattle. I tried to shoo them back to their desks, as I could tell they were just adding to the problem.
As this went on, Berry grew increasingly agitated. He first began banging his desk against the wall, sending papers and pencils rolling off. I had to tell him several times to turn around and face the front, because he kept turning around and glaring at Seattle. His face was contorted in a scowl.
I don't even know what set him off, but suddenly Berry got up and charged across the middle of the room. Some students tried to grab him, but he was yelling and pulling against them with all of his might. I have seen Berry angry before, and even had to put my arms around him and pull him back from getting into a physical fight, but he has never reached this point. He was in a rage -- I couldn't even understand what he was yelling. I rushed over and grabbed him. He kept pulling to try to get away. I ordered the rest of the class out of the room.
Luckily, the teacher next door noticed I had my hands full (literally) and offered to walk my class to lunch. They were so unsettled themselves that they couldn't have taken themselves in an orderly fashion.
I had one of my responsible students call the counselors to ask for someone to come down. I was still holding Berry, but when I asked him if he was calm enough to sit down in the back he nodded. The school psychologist came by with a counselor. The school psychologist asked to come in to observe in the afternoon, and I agreed. I let her know a little about Berry.
I had a very abbreviated lunch break. I had been hungry before, but the excitement had stopped that. I just walked to a different part of campus to get a soda, then sat at my desk and tried to calm down.
Berry and Seattle had lunch at the counselor's, then came back toward the end of the day. Berry had hurt his abdomen when he rushed into a desk. Seattle had hurt his hand by punching the bathroom wall. But they came back calm and let me know that they were still friends.
We are rolling very quickly toward the end of the year. The last time I talked to my mentor, she asked what concerns I had for quarter 4. I said my most fervent wish is for my students to get along and be safe. I would be so thrilled to have a bunch of quiet, boring days in my classroom.
Tuesday, April 6, 2010
fruits of their labor
An example of my students' artwork. They did contour drawings of clementines, apples and strawberries first, then outlined with fine-line Sharpies. The last step was to apply color using watercolor pencils. Never tried them out before, but the kids got really good results with them. There was a loud "oooh!" when I rubbed a wet Q-tip over a blue pencil scribble to demonstrate how the pencils worked.
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