Spring break fun: scrambled over rocky paths, listened to the wind
blow through the trees, enjoyed all the green and quiet.
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
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.
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
aftermath
The day after I send home report cards is always interesting.
In Shorty's report card, I wrote that while she is improving in explaining her thinking, she cannot put info from the text into her own words.
Shorty glumly came up to me today and announced that last night she had to sit and read, then she was required to write down all the words she didn't know. Then, mom required more quality time with a dictionary than most fifth-graders enjoy. She also reported that mom wanted to talk to me on the phone, either today or tomorrow. (I <3 parents like this. They read the report card and take action on their end to make sure extra practice/work gets done).
Seattle pouted at his desk yesterday about his report card, saying he "didn't feel good." I told him that he could turn it around and make quarter 4 a great quarter. He came back today to say mom was really mad, but that she had promised not to show the report card to stepdad. I wonder whether the report card is the reason Seattle popped up outside the classroom at 6:55 a.m. today? I did remind students to show up early for the first day of testing, but 6:55 is a personal record for Seattle.
Speaking of testing, really proud of my kids today ... I saw everyone trying so hard. I know even my kids who struggle were trying their very best. Gotta make sure to cheer them on as we go through the testing.
In Shorty's report card, I wrote that while she is improving in explaining her thinking, she cannot put info from the text into her own words.
Shorty glumly came up to me today and announced that last night she had to sit and read, then she was required to write down all the words she didn't know. Then, mom required more quality time with a dictionary than most fifth-graders enjoy. She also reported that mom wanted to talk to me on the phone, either today or tomorrow. (I <3 parents like this. They read the report card and take action on their end to make sure extra practice/work gets done).
Seattle pouted at his desk yesterday about his report card, saying he "didn't feel good." I told him that he could turn it around and make quarter 4 a great quarter. He came back today to say mom was really mad, but that she had promised not to show the report card to stepdad. I wonder whether the report card is the reason Seattle popped up outside the classroom at 6:55 a.m. today? I did remind students to show up early for the first day of testing, but 6:55 is a personal record for Seattle.
Speaking of testing, really proud of my kids today ... I saw everyone trying so hard. I know even my kids who struggle were trying their very best. Gotta make sure to cheer them on as we go through the testing.
things I don't like to figure out at 10 p.m.
include the realization that tomorrow's art lesson called for 6-inch squares of paper, not 4-inch squares. Wrestled with the library's gargantuan and squeaky paper cutter late this afternoon, busily chopping out 3.5-inch squares. Did 3.5 inches because I was trying to economize on the watercolor paper, which was a bit dear at Fisher.
Gah.
Options? Wake up earlier than usual : O and wrestle with the paper cutter again. (Not what I want to do the first morning we kick off testing.)
Or, we can wing it and use the 3.5 inch squares. ...
Oh, and did I mention that I think I'm starting to lose my voice?
The excitement does not stop around here.
Gah.
Options? Wake up earlier than usual : O and wrestle with the paper cutter again. (Not what I want to do the first morning we kick off testing.)
Or, we can wing it and use the 3.5 inch squares. ...
Oh, and did I mention that I think I'm starting to lose my voice?
The excitement does not stop around here.
Monday, March 22, 2010
time is not my friend
The clock was a poky but unoffensive 8 minutes slow when I left for break.
It is now 35 minutes slow. It does not add to the joy of my day to have kids constantly asking me, "what time is it?" and "when's lunch?" (Answer to question 1: time to do your work. Answer to question 2: noon. Not sure why they always ask when we have always eaten at 12!)
I have had the custodians come in several times to reset the clock. I even went so far last time as to suggest the battery be checked. No luck - the custodian came, fiddled with the hands, and left. And it always takes a while for the custodian to attend to our poky clock. (No complaints here -- we couldn't run the school without our custodians tending to all those much more urgent tasks).
However, with testing starting next week, we NEED a clock that tells time accurately. The plan? Either jump up on the table, take the clock off the wall, and try to replace the battery myself, or get a cheap clock at Longs or Wal-Mart that I can prop up in the front of the room.
It is now 35 minutes slow. It does not add to the joy of my day to have kids constantly asking me, "what time is it?" and "when's lunch?" (Answer to question 1: time to do your work. Answer to question 2: noon. Not sure why they always ask when we have always eaten at 12!)
I have had the custodians come in several times to reset the clock. I even went so far last time as to suggest the battery be checked. No luck - the custodian came, fiddled with the hands, and left. And it always takes a while for the custodian to attend to our poky clock. (No complaints here -- we couldn't run the school without our custodians tending to all those much more urgent tasks).
However, with testing starting next week, we NEED a clock that tells time accurately. The plan? Either jump up on the table, take the clock off the wall, and try to replace the battery myself, or get a cheap clock at Longs or Wal-Mart that I can prop up in the front of the room.
welcome back ... aaagh! (bloodcurdling scream)
- Started quarter 4 mildly panicked that I had lost the kids' spring picture-taking samples. I remembered picking them up from my box, but that was before spring break. That day seemed eons ago. I rifled through all the papers in my desk drawers. I knew I had put them somewhere safe, but where? Would I have thrown in into the gigantic pile of papers-to-grade (as yet ungraded) that were tumbling around my car trunk? Whew -- checked the car during lunch and found the pictures. Crisis averted.
- How can we have just started quarter 4, but I feel miles behind already? Grades due soon, and I got a paper to write for my required evaluation next week. The topic: routines. Let's just say we could use a few more in my class ... is that enough? Aah, at least it's a reflection, not a scholarly paper bristling with citations and pompous wording.
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