dc [and surrounding areas]

After our fantastic time in the wilds of Maine, the DC area came as quite a shock to our small town selves. While the city is impressive, city living is not for everyone. We are not city people, and this became quite apparent during our brief stay in the greater Capitol region. Though, I will say that cities that have public transportation figured out do have that going for them. And DC seems to have it figured out (based on our limited interactions with the transit system).

We did manage to merge one of our joys - camping - with the big city. The city of Greenbelt is home to Greenbelt Park, a nice little NPS parking that boasts affordable camping and a couple of nice trails just a mile and a half walk away from the College Park metro station. We camped, did some trail running, and eventually made our way to the metro. We rode into the city and walked the day away, taking in the sights.

sculpture garden

Throughout the day we meandered through a variety of Smithsonian Museums and through the National Mall. We saw the popular monuments and memorials that are scattered around the mall and then hopped off of the Mall walkways and checked out MLK, FDR, and the Jefferson Memorial. For future visits, I think I would be happy just seeing MLK and FDR. Both really strike me as being memorials that our lives are modeled after - working to provide opportunities for all, regardless of their life circumstances. 

MLK memorial

The following day we made it to Teddy's Island and added a third site in the city that we would be happy to return to. Theodore Roosevelt helped to expand the National Park Service and for that we are forever grateful. We think of him every summer when we travel, and try to live a lifestyle that promotes conservation and ecological awareness. 

our friend teddy

Our time in the DC area ended with some time with friends. We had a great lunch with our former country director from Peace Corps and then made our way north to Baltimore (which took far longer than it should have - really, city people, if you have public transportation, use it!) to visit friends that we met during Peace Corps. It was a nice way to break away from the overstimulation of the city.

from our wanderings at ARTSCAPE in baltimore

bummer

Well, it is looking as if our summer off from grad school will be no more. Our beloved professors are both moving on in their lives - one is retiring, the other is moving north to be closer to family. As a satellite campus for WNMU, this means that we are unsure of what classes will be available to us in person in the coming year. As a result, it looks like the mister and I are going to jump on the opportunity to take one of our three remaining classes this summer while it is being offered online. It isn't ideal, but it will get things done. That means next school year we'll be looking at two remaining classes - how we'll earn those credits is to be determined. Hopefully they won't only be available online, but if they are, at least we tripled up this year so that we don't have so many classes to worry about in the future. The good news is that the University has stated that we will be able to finish our degrees. Thank goodness for that.

reality

Just before Valentine's Day I welcomed a new student to my classroom. While it may have caused a disruption to the class, we were working together to teach the rules and expectations that are the norm in my classroom. Then, he was gone for a week. I was told to wait. There was no notification from the family, so the standard is to wait for ten days before the district withdraws a student as a result of absences.

Then he came back. Once again, there was a disruption in my classroom. We started from scratch, working together to teach the rules and expectations for the classroom. Then, today he was withdrawn from our school because of the district requirement for official notes (such as a doctor's note or a printed obituary) to excuse absences. Our principal would not excuse absences without a note and the family was upset, so they took him out of our school altogether.

Unfortunately this is the reality for some children. They lack the consistency that is needed to learn the rules and expectations that come with being a part of a community. They jump from place to place, not on their own accord, and not necessarily because of family choices. We live in a world where children become the victims of policies that adults and politicians make. While there are rules in place to protect both children and adults, sometimes people fall through the cracks because of them.

Once again, I find myself in a position where I do not know what will come for this child and it breaks my heart. He is a very intelligent boy and has a lot of potential, I can only hope for the best and that the wind starts to blow in his favor so that he doesn't need to fight against so many obstacles at such a young age.

beyond crazy

Wow. Last week was C-R-A-Z-Y. 

Most three day weeks are a little crazy. They start out well for me because I have a long weekend. I enjoyed some nice runs and a short hike with my mister. I knocked out a lot of work that had been piling up, and I relaxed some. It was nice.

On Tuesday, I was able to get 14 out of 18 parents through the parent teacher conference process. In the meantime, Mrs. S and I managed to tear all of the pages out of student workbooks and get them organized by week for the remainder of the school year. I hate tearing and sorting the pages, so this was amazing. I usually do it all by myself, now I don't need to worry about it again until next year. Oh yeah. Awesome.

Then the kinders came back on Wednesday. We started out exceptionally well. Then an announcement was made, "Attention teachers and staff. We might have an assembly at 9:00. We'll let you know." Then the health assistant came into the classroom, "The nurse is at our school today, she needs to do a hand washing presentation with the students." When 9:00 rolled around we were called to the auditorium. For a laser light show. It is science, sure, but on a short week? Apparently our old principal scheduled it before she left and didn't tell anyone. So, we lost an hour of instruction on an already short week. Then we were called to the nurse's office for the hand washing presentation. Needless to say, kindergarten cancelled our morning recess so that we could get a little bit of learning in. The rest of the day went pretty well, thankfully.

We squeezed a whole lot of learning into Thursday to make up for lost time, and in order to be ready for Friday assessments. The kiddos did a great job, they loved our story of the week, they picked up on the basics of base ten relatively well, and we had computer lab. My students love computer lab. It was a success. Unfortunately, I also had to come up with sub plans for Friday because this lucky teacher was called for jury duty. 

What an end to the week. Not only was I called, I was selected. So while my kinders were working away on their assessments, I was listening to a new attorney defend what was possibly his first case. It was somewhat interesting, but the lawyers unfortunately used what us jurors came to call turtle talk. They spoke more slowly than I do with my kinders. Now, that's saying something. All in all, we spent 12 hours in the courtroom. At 8:15 we decided that the defense had presented enough information to make us reasonably doubt the guilt of his client and wham-o, said lawyer won what was possibly his first trial. (I will say that a positive result of the experience was that I was able to crochet during every break we were given and finished half of a case to organize my crochet hooks!)

The court was nice enough to bring us dinner while we were in deliberations. At that point we were all okay with a burger and fries. However, a couple of hours later either the stomach flu that has been going around school caught up with me or the burger just didn't sit right. Either way, I spent the night on the bathroom floor. Super awesome end to a super awesome week.

Now we have arrived at Monday. Sweet, sweet Monday. A day of new beginnings and fresh starts. Some kiddos did end up in the office, but I'm positive that this week can't be any crazier than last. Here's hoping!

survival

It's what Valentine's Day is all about. Survival of the fittest. Otherwise, the kinders will eat you alive. They came in this morning flying high, ready to pass out their Thanksgiving cards (for some reason, they know it is Valentine's Day, but they think they are making Thanksgiving cards, I'm at a loss). They then ate sugar filled waffles for breakfast. And I had to calm them down enough to get our Friday assessments in before allowing them to slip into party mode. Lets me say, assessments on Valentine's Day are not the best idea on earth, the results were dismal. Oh well, sometimes we just need to roll with the punches. We'll keep going over the material during interventions until they get it down pat.

While Valentine's Day may not be my favorite, I am very thankful that my parents are listening to my request for healthy treats this year. Last year each student went home with a plate with a dozen of assorted cupcakes and cookies. This year, the treats that were provided were chips and crackers (better than cookies and cupcakes), homemade jello, bananas, and mandarin oranges. Success!

Or, so I thought. When the kiddos started handing out their valentines, packed away in their bags were cookies. Then a mother brought in cupcakes and bags of candy. And she didn't leave.

Since this mother didn't leave the classroom, she was able to see her child acting out and receiving warnings of being sent to the principal's office instead of being able to participate in party activities. She reminded her child several times to follow the rules. Then the kinder received a final notice and we walked to the office together.

The principal asked mom to come to the office, the student was sent home for the day, which meant no party. Mom came into the classroom and yelled at me, saying that I was unfair to her child. We walked into the hall, and after she started swearing at me and saying she wanted her child pulled from my class, we went to the principal's office so that there was a mediator (and a witness) for the ensuing conversation (thank goodness for assistants).

In the end, the principal and I got mom calmed down, let her vent about her relationship with the student's father, and have a promise to have her reconsider wanting to take her child out of my classroom. On Tuesday, at parent teacher conferences, we will see what she has to say.

Whoever decided that holiday parties were a good idea was not a teacher. Thank goodness this was the last major party of the year.

explosion

Not to worry, there haven't been any literal explosions. But, figuratively, my life has exploded. This semester is taking over my life with the addition of 20 hours of service work added to my graduate course load. Additionally, the school district has decided that all of the teachers should take an online course in assessment. I'll mention only briefly that I took a three hour graduate course in assessment this summer. So yes, it is easy (as my principal said it should be if I have just taken a class), but it takes up that little bit of free time that was nonexistent to begin with.

While life has taken a turn for crazier, I will say that I enjoyed my first afternoon/evening of volunteering at the Boys and Girls Club on Friday. I was immediately roped into painting nails and I was able to talk to a lot of fourth and fifth grade girls about what they like to do. Surprisingly (or not), it's not that different from what my kindergarteners like to do - with the exception of liking boys. As much as I'm dreading the loss of a little bit of me time, I am looking forward to getting to know this different group of students. Life will resume again in a couple of months - but until then, blogs may come at a very limited rate.

plans

Sometimes plans don't go as you would like. Some things take longer than you would expect. Sometimes there are delayed starts due to weather. Sometimes students just aren't getting the point. The whole day, as a teacher, is about adjusting your plans to meet the students' needs. And still, we make plans, over and over again, hoping that one day everything will click and we'll be able to teach everything that we actually need to.

Next week I am administering tests to determine the levels of English Language Learners in the kindergarten grade level. Thanks to the awesome budgeting of my district, a sub is not funded for the time that I am out testing, which leaves my assistant on her own for a couple of days. Granted, she has her teaching degree, but our regular schedule involves us both teaching at different points during the day through centers and small group activities. With this in mind, I have had to completely revamp several of my days next week to account for her being on her own.

In this planning, I get a little more freedom than usual. I have been able to create worksheets and have fun with my plans. The unfortunate thing about sub planning is that you don't actually get to do all of the fun things that you are leaving behind for someone else. So, as frustrating as creating sub plans can be, I relish the opportunity to be a little more creative, even if I am not the one to benefit from all of the work that goes into it.

On top of my being out for testing next week, I have other fun things to accommodate for in my planning. On Thursday the Albuquerque Zoo is coming in to do a presentation of "Zoo to You." Through this our students will be able to meet some of the cool animals at the zoo. We also have that beloved day, Valentine's Day, on Friday. Yay for hyped up kiddos. At least it falls on a Friday this year so I don't need to deal with the sugar coma following their sweet indulgences on the holiday.

Here's a peek at one of my fun creations for next week - sight word graphing!

breathe

Sometimes, we just need to breathe. I have been noticing lately that I have been getting frustrated with my kinders that just aren't getting it. I think that the reason I am getting so frustrated is because so many of my little learners do get it. Yet, there are three that just baffle me. I keep trying and trying, and still, nothing.

One of my grad classes this semester is on the psychology of learning. I really do try to employ best practices every day, during every lesson that I teach. I keep things moving, I try to keep the kiddos involved, there are hands on activities. I try to create lessons that appeal to different learning styles and abilities. And, for 14 out of my 17 students, they get it. And, they get it fast. And then there are those three that just do not get it. Not through regular instruction, not with modifications, not with additional small group instruction, not with guided practice, not with intervention work. And I get frustrated. I shake my head. And then I ask myself why.

Yesterday I was reflecting on the week. I thought about how my emerging students (those that are just above my struggling learners) and about how we laughed in small group when they were working on figuring out consonant blends. They made silly comments, I laughed at their reasoning and corrected them, and then, when they had their reading assessment on Friday, they were all proficient.

This got me thinking that maybe I just need to breathe. I need to relax. I need to have fun. While they may not be getting the instruction that I am providing, maybe if my kinders have a personal connection to the material through laughter something will click. And, laughter is a much better response in education than frustrated head shakes.

figured out

Well, yesterday afternoon I worked on getting all of the TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages) junk cleared up. It turns out that the district office had lost all of my paperwork for everything - my application for working toward my TESOL endorsement (meaning they also didn't have me in the system for a TESOL stipend) and my application for TESOL course reimbursement. As a teacher I don't make much money, and as a grad student, the money that I do make is spent on tuition. Hopefully having these issues straightened out will help out a little bit.

As for now, it's back to the grind. Another grad school class tonight. This week is feeling really long already. I'll be thankful for our day off on Monday, from both teaching and grad school (it will mean I can do work for teaching and/or grad school).

back to reality

Last night grad school started back up. It will be so nice when we finish up our program next year. The mister and I have once again tripled up on classes, which will mean a busy semester. However, it also means that we will not have to take classes this summer. It also means that we will have a comparably light year next year. Our capstone course will require a lot of work, for sure, but we only have nine credit hours to complete over the course of the year. We just may be able to breathe a little bit.

Reality this semester also includes the implementation of the school district's turn around plan. While my principal is retiring at the end of the week, our interim principal will only be here through April. The superintendent announced yesterday at a staff meeting that the changing of principals throughout the district will take place in April, following the culmination of state testing. This way, principals will be a part of the decision making when new hires are made for next year, when goals are submitted to the district and state for next school year, and when budgets are made. It all makes sense to me, but it will also mean a lot of change for a lot of schools at the end of the school year. I guess it also means teachers will be able to decide if they want to stay at their current school with a new principal or if they want to move elsewhere prior to next school year.

With the coming of the new semester, I was also reminded of how disjointed things in our district are. One of the programs in the district provides tuition assistance for teachers seeking TESOL endorsement. I applied for this assistance in November. Yesterday, the mister received notice of a purchase order being placed for his tuition assistance, my name was not on the list. I emailed the director of this program today and she said that she must have misplaced it. I will take copies of my application over to the office today, but she cannot make any guarantees that I will receive those funds because she lost my original paperwork. Needless to say, I went to bed a little angry last night.

My anger was calmed a little though based on the fact that I received a nice little check from Target yesterday as a result of their Field Trip Grants program. In the fall I applied and our trip to the Albuquerque Zoo is now 70% funded. Yay!

new new new new

It's a new year, with new instructional strategies, tomorrow, a new student, and at the end of the month, a new principal. Life is never boring, that is for sure.

Today we had a lot of fun with the new year during calendar time. My kinders, bright as can be began telling me what each of the following years will be. They said, "next it will be 2015!" I replied, yes, when you are in first grade, it will change to 2015 in January." I then cursed the moment that those words came out of my mouth as we spent the next several minutes with them saying, "and in second grade it will be 2016, and in third 2017, etc. etc." I've got some good ones, no questions.

We shifted our language arts centers around a little bit today, and things seemed to go well. I have moved from three centers to four. This way, groups are smaller and I have added accountability to my reading groups. Now, advanced students partner read with lower level students, assisting them with sounding out words or using context clues to determine what is happening in their stories. Their next center is reading reflection where they write in their journals about one story that they read. Right now, this consists of "I read...". As the semester progresses, I think that my more advanced students will be able to add on a little more detail.

Our anchor chart for partner reading

"I read Can Melvin Scoot. Rita Ran to Rosie" One reading reflection with a picture of happy partners reading together!

At the end of our new center rotation, we debriefed how everything went. Overall, the kinders loved it. They liked reading with partners and they really liked writing about their books and drawing pictures. As of right now, I think we have a winner. We'll see how things go when they aren't so new anymore.

Another new for today was finding out that I will have a new student starting tomorrow. From Nepal. Now, between Mrs. S and I we can take care of English, Spanish, and Navajo languages. Neither of us speak Nepali though (surprising, I know). It will be a new adventure for the new year. One that I am both excited and frightened by. I'll be challenged by the fact that this little girl does not speak English and that the traditional alphabet for Nepali is Devanagari (say what?). But, I like challenges.

Does anyone out there understand the Devanagari alphabet?

My final new for the day was my principal announcing that she will be retiring in two weeks. Between state/district shake ups and family commitments, she decided that it would be best to leave now before the district requires principals to commit to five to seven more years with the district in conjunction with a turn around plan that has been set up. For now, our head teacher will be completing an internship as our interim principal, which is great. As for next year, there is no telling who might be walking through those doors with the title of principal. But honestly, as long as I am allowed to teach my kinders, I'll be able to go with the flow pretty well - but I am hooked on my kinders and don't want to leave the grade level any time in the near (read years) future.

And so, I'm heading out from school early-ish today and soaking in the new. Tomorrow I'll tackle the endless pile of paperwork/planning/organizing that comes with teaching.

end of year adventures

We try our hardest to live life to the fullest in the Hall house. That typically means that we do not allow ourselves much down time, because there is so much out there to see, do, and explore. This year we have crammed as much as possible into our two-week winter vacation.

Following our brief stay with the Nebraska Halls, we embarked on yet another adventure, to make sure that 2013 ended with a bang. We began by stopping off at Fort Union National Monument in northern New Mexico on our drive home. We were both unaware that the Civil War took place this far west and enjoyed the little history lesson that we got there. We spent a lot of time talking about how differently historic structures were made, comparing the longevity of Puebloan sites and these Anglo sites. The Puebloan structures have withstood the tests of time and the elements much better than their Anglo counterparts. It's worth checking out and comparing them yourself if you are ever out west. New Mexico has a good supply of both kinds of historic sites.

Fort Union National Monument

Fort Union National Monument

Our next adventure took place in the outskirts of Flagstaff a couple of days later. We visited Sunset Crate Volcano National Monument and Wupatki National Monument, enjoying a variety of landscapes and nearly every type of ecosystem on the 35 mile loop road between the two sites. At Sunset Crater we were amazed at the towering mounds of cinders. At Wupatki we were once again taken away by the structural integrity of Puebloan buildings. The two locations were breathtaking in different ways and left us wishing that we had had more time to explore, but alas, we had one more adventure to squeeze in before the end of 2013.

Twisty Trees at Sunset Crater Volcano National Monument

Wupatki National Monument

It's a good thing we're not very big people!

Wupatki National Monument

Upon leaving the Flagstaff area we drove south to Glendale, home of Camelback Ranch, the spring training site for the White Sox and the Dodgers, and of course to Across the Years! Our final adventure of the year was to test ourselves in the 24-hour endurance run at this fantastic event. We got into town Monday evening and camped out (another bonus! one more night of camping in 2013!) before the 9AM start on Tuesday morning.

As the name suggests, Across the Years is a run from one year into the next. The event consists of 24-, 48-, 72-hour runs and a 6 day run. We clearly took the easy way out by only doing the 24-hour event! Everything was incredibly well run (no pun intended, but it is there none-the-less) and I was impressed by the thought that the Coury family and Aravaipa Running put into every component of the week-long event. The food was fantastic, warming tents were available, and the first aid support was by far the best I have experienced at a running event.

The start of the 12/31 24-hour event

Motivation from the families/friends of runners 

Inspiring race participants

For me, the beginning of the 24-hours was fantastic. Going from our home elevation of 6500 feet to the nice thick air at 1100 feet was a blessing and a curse. I knocked out some quick for me miles, walked some, and ran some, and walked some more. Until I simply could not run any more. Never having run in an ultra event, I hadn't really come in with a great strategy for doing anything in particular. Mostly I had just wanted to cover 50 miles. I did achieve that goal. I had also decided that I wanted to move for the whole 24-hours. I made it close to that one. My lack of planning early on left me with super tight hip flexors which rendered me nearly motionless as I embarked on my final lap of the event. I had decided to push on, but my inability to move very well meant that I was not staying warm and the shivering that commenced made my hip flexors even more painful. An hour and a half and one mile later I crawled into the warming tent and called it quits at 21.5 hours and just under 57 miles. I learned my lesson and have a better idea of what I can do next year to make things go more smoothly (hopefully). The mister ended up with just over 71 miles and lessons learned as well. 

Ready to toast to the New Year! Sparkling cider and champagne for all!

Happy New Year!

Yes, the New Year did happen to fall on hump day - thanks to the support crew at this table for evoking smiles

We're now home and recovered and preparing ourselves for the second half of the school year as well as a whole new year of adventuring. Time flies when you're having fun!

This is what my recovery looked like shortly after arriving home

Happy New Year to All!

oh hail

Literally. This afternoon my kinders kept on telling me that it was going to rain. In the desert, you can smell it coming. Today we had a bitter chill though, so when the rain did come, at student pick-up time, it was not liquid, but solid. At first everyone was excited because it appeared to be snow. Then it came down harder. So hard, in fact, that it hurt. We rushed all of the kiddos inside to look for their rides and signed them out from the warmth of the building.

I hope that this weather doesn't continue through the evening. While I would appreciate a late start, I really don't want it to be tomorrow. With two thirty minute practice sessions a day for our trip to the nursing home tomorrow, I really want to make sure that it happens. The kiddos are so excited about performing and riding the bus. Right now the fact that they get to trick or treat while we are there hasn't even crossed their minds. They just want to meet the special grandparents. 

Fingers crossed for a whole day of Halloween havoc tomorrow.

number sense

Numbers can be quite confusing to kindergarteners. With some numbers such as seven and eleven sounding so similar I frequently hear my little learners counting 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 11, 12, 13... As you can probably imagine, this gets quite frustrating for all parties involved. It is hard to make things click. 

With this in mind, today we brainstormed different ways that we can show the numbers 11 and 12. I was quite impressed with some of the things that my students came up with. We did the number 11 together, then they did number 12 all by themselves. I have faith that they'll get it one of these days (hopefully sooner, rather than later).

crawling

I made it through all of last year without having any students get the lovely, crawling creatures that we call lice. Today, that streak ended.

I was testing one of my student on her reading level and sight word recognition and I saw a bug crawling around at her hairline. I would point to a word and then look up, it was still there. I would read another word and look up, it was still there. We had just come in from recess and I was hoping with all my might that it was just a little fly that got caught in her hair. Unfortunately it seemed right at home. I took her to the office and sure enough, that little creepy crawly was lice. And it had a big family. Her family was called and she was picked up and I let out a sigh of relief.

Then the school nurse screened the rest of my class. Six students were sent home with notes saying that their checks had shown signs of lice. One of the student's parents are not native English speakers, so I was able to use my Spanish skills to break the news. Thankfully all of the parents that I talked to said that it was just a part of being a child and going to school. 

It's true that that is the reality, but that doesn't mean that my head didn't suddenly start itching upon hearing the news (my hair is typically braided or in a bun, so hopefully I don't have anything to worry about). While I love my kinders I do not necessarily the ease with which they seem to share everything. And now I will go home and break the news to the mister that he needs to check my hair so that I don't go crazy.

to be seen

Today I get to fully embrace this fall break thing. By putting in my time yesterday, I can sit back and soak up the freedom of not having lesson planning to worry about. I am also fortunate in that I do not have any major grad school assignments looming over me this weekend. I can breathe. What a wonderful feeling!

This afternoon the mister and I are headed to Chinle and Canyon de Chelley. If you just tried clicking on that link, you'll understand why I titled this post "to be seen." Thanks to the government shut down it is to be seen what I will be able to experience in and around the canyon. One component of this trip that does look to be in my favor is that the canyon is technically Navajo land, the government shutdown cannot take away tribal lands, even if it can shut down the visitor's center.

The mister has a 55k race through the canyon tomorrow. He will have the opportunity to run where many gringos do not have the chance to go. He will be able to pass through native lands and run to the base of Spider Rock. I am so excited for him to have this opportunity and cannot wait to hear about his experiences.

In the meantime, I will soak up whatever components of the Navajo culture that I can. I will drive around the rim and see what there is to be seen, assuming that the government cannot shut down the roads that go to people's homes in the canyon. I will also enjoy the cultural celebrations and presentations that will take place this evening after race packet pick up. We've also decided to turn the next 36 hours into a Navajo cultural celebration by also stopping in Window Rock, the capital of Navajo country, to visit the historical museum and zoo on our way to the canyon.

I'll let you know what the government shutdown is doing on Navajo land tomorrow! Until then, here is a photo of the canyon that the mister took last May when we visited.

really

As a new teacher, I am a part of a mentoring program. I believe that I have talked about my mentor before and how she is a fountain of information regarding kindergarten and teaching best practices. One component of the mentoring program is actually observing your mentor in program.

I scheduled my observation to take place yesterday afternoon (note, this is a make up blog because my internet was down yesterday and I couldn't post this then). I filled out my leave request. I had it approved. I had my sub plans set and ready. The start time for my observation rolled around, my students came back from recess, and I still did not have a sub. Mrs. S got the students situated while I ran to the office to figure out what was happening. 

"You don't get a sub." That was the response that I got. I replied that I had my approved leave. The response this time was, "I know, you don't get a sub." Frustrated, I ran back to class and conferred with Mrs. S. She told me, "Just go." It's nice to know that I have a competent assistant, but I know that there are district funds that are set aside for mentoring observations. I rushed to get mine done because it was a first quarter requirement and I wanted to make sure that the funds were available. But, no dice. No sub for me.

Mrs. S did a pretty good job of keeping the kinders under control and they made it through a bulk of the work that I had left (I always over-plan for subs). I had a great observation and picked up a couple of new tricks to throw into my bag. I used some of those today in our lesson review and they worked well. We tested what Mrs. S presented to them yesterday and 94% of my students received an 80% or higher on their assessment. I'd say we tag teamed that one pretty well.

It may not have worked as planned, but it worked. And now I can relax. My first semester of mentoring activities are done and over with and my report is written (I guess that was a perk of not having internet last night, I actually did work that needed to be done). Now I can (kind of) relax until Monday when quarter two starts up, along with a new list of mentoring activities.

go away

Rain, rain, go away. I never thought that I would say that in the desert, but seriously, I have seen more rain in the past month than I did in all of last year. Today, it really hit the kinders. No outdoor recess means crazy kiddos crammed into a small space. That also means crazy teachers! 

My assistant and I did all that we could to keep our little learners engaged. Some of our strategies worked. Some did not. Mostly, our kinders just needed to go outside and run it out - which they could not. 

One strategy that worked wonderfully for about twenty minutes was the reveal of a newly delivered book order box. This was a first for my class this year and I had them try to guess what was in the box. When they guessed books, I opened it up for them to see. I explained that when they ordered books on the monthly book order forms they got books and our classroom got books. Our student who ordered books in September received her order and we clapped and cheered because our classroom earned fourteen books thanks to her! 

After our cheering subsided, we looked at the titles and covers of each of the books that our classroom received. The students oohed and aahed and then they were able to tell me which one they wanted to listen to. After their choices had been voiced, I pulled the named books out and they were able to vote. When the votes were tallied up, the winner was...

They LOVED it! They laughed, they predicted, they elaborated, and they retold the story. It was glorious. Then things fell apart again until the next strategy that worked for about five or ten minutes, and so the day progressed. But, for twenty minutes, they were mine. They were in love with a book. They were my little kinders. Hopefully the weather will improve and they'll be my little kinders all day long when I see them again on Tuesday!

green means go red means stop

The dreaded, yet helpful behavior binder

So it happened. My kinders started acting like their five and six year old selves. Thankfully, I was prepared for it. Last fall I took a classroom management class at the university as a part of my graduate program, and through that, I developed the foundations for my behavior management system. Therefore, when my kiddos started acting out - bam, they were handed the binder. 

Well, their parents were actually handed the components of the binder. I reviewed the rules of class with them all (they had helped to create the rules during the first week of school) and then went over the consequences of not following the rules. Sadly, I have had to send six yellow cards home this week. There was only one repeat offender though. If all goes well, they will be reminded that they are expected to follow the rules and the problems will become less frequent.

The basics are that: 

• Green means go - all is well in the world of Room 1 Kindergarten. 
• Yellow means slow down - make better choices, you get a note home and potentially lose 5 minutes of recess
• Red means stop - you've reached the limit, you visit the principal, and get a note and/or phone call home (depending on the offense)

Here's hoping for a turnaround in Room 1 classroom behavior.

collaboration

Aaaahhhhhhhh. It drives me crazy sometimes. One of my graduate classes this semester is all online. I have taken online classes before where there are conversation components. This kind of collaboration is fine. I am required to respond to some people's ideas, however, my grade is not dependent upon their work. They do their work, I do mine, we get our grades based on our individual participation and ability to hold an educated conversation on the topic that we have been presented. This class is different.

With my Technology in Education course, there is real collaboration required. We read books. We work together to put together a report. And, each individual must respond to specific questions about the book. Our first group collaboration is due Monday (tomorrow). Last Monday I read the book, put together a basic summary, answered my individual questions, and posted it to the online server that allows others to make corrections, add their contributions, etc. I have heard from one other person in the group. Okay, two, since I can talk to the mister and he is in my group also. 

If you know me, this is stressing me out incredibly. There is school tomorrow. Followed by more school. Sure, we have until midnight, but I don't stay up that late. And I want to make sure this thing is done. I hate that my grade is dependent upon whether or not someone else does their work. I know that not everyone does their work way in advance, but come on people. Get it together. This is an easy assignment. Just type up a couple of sentences and get it done with. Then I can breathe easier. 

I know that I am a bit of a perfectionist and an overachiever. I admit it. That is why collaborations freak me out when I can't just call a meeting (one of our group members is in Florida). I want to do my part and get graded on that effort. I don't want to be graded on someone else's effort. So again, aaaahhhhh. 

Now that that is out of my system, it is on to things that I can control, such as cleaning the house, doing laundry, and getting work done for both the classroom and other grad school classes.

And once more, just because I can, AAAAAHHHHHHH. And, done.