busy busy blah

Saturday and Sunday flew by once again. Saturday morning the mister and I walked downtown to peruse the farmer's market and to grab a few goodies from the co-op. Then it was home with our noses tucked into grad school work. We did manage to go out with friends on Saturday evening through, which is always a pleasant escape from the world of work and more work.

Yesterday was a fantastic day. The mister and I both ran in a local half marathon. It was a little chilly, but we had a beautiful day out on the trails. We both ran faster than we did last year (an easy feat for me since I did not run last year). Of course, once our time on the trails were done we rushed home to more work - chores, planning for the week, and grad school work.

Today was my blah. I was in training all day, which I will say was fantastic, but the energy that I have while teaching was missing. I don't know if that was the result of running yesterday, but I suspect that it was the result of sitting all day and listening to someone talk. The presenter was really engaging, but I am used to getting up and moving around nearly every fifteen minutes - I have grown accustomed to the attention span of a five year old.

Now it's off to more grad school. Tonight is a reading class, and thankfully it should not entail more sitting. We have a gallery walk of how our school and/or classrooms promote reading. Here's a little look at what reading looks like in my classroom and school.

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!

push

Curriculum. It's kind of a bummer. Or at least when you are told to use certain materials to meet the curriculum and standards.

This afternoon I met with my fellow kinder teachers and we talked math. We started the year following the new materials that the district purchased, and now that we are almost a quarter of the way through the year things are starting to crumble. We were chasing the curriculum as opposed to nurturing our students.

In the first eight weeks of school we have pushed through numbers zero to ten. We have worked on group and number comparisons. We have worked on the concept of one more. We have worked on ordinal numbers. But what, we were wondering, do our students actually know? When we boil it down, not much. We keep on pushing and pushing, instead of building. After we wrap up chapter two next week, we're getting down and dirty. We will still use the resources that the district purchased, but we will shuffle through the chapters to find what fits the students needs. We will build on basic skills so that our kinders have a solid foundation when they move on to first grade.

The starting point: number sense. We are going to dig deep and make sure that our students understand the story of each number. We want them to know that three plus two equals five and that two plus three equals five. We want them to cut and paste and make art to demonstrate these skills. We want math to become more hands on, to be paced to fit their five and six year old minds, and we want them to feel successful.

Granted, I have a super bright bunch this year so things have been going pretty well. But when we saw that the next chapter is counting and recognizing numbers to one hundred, a red flag went up. Our students need a stronger base before we push to that level. We will compose and decompose numbers and then move on to adding and subtracting them. This may seem like a bigger push than counting to one hundred, but these are skills that are integrated and build upon one another. Our students will know (hopefully) why they are doing different things and build a conceptual understanding of numbers. We may be thinking big, but we have big dreams for our little learners.

sped on by

It all started with a speed workout this morning. Then I was engulfed in sped all day long. Special education that is. 

One of the graduate courses that I am taking this semester is an introduction to special education. I am learning about the legality of the system, the exceptionalities that students may be diagnosed with, and the implications for me, a general education teacher. As with all classes, I have assignments to complete, and today seemed to be the day when I was able to get them done - or at least started. 

This morning I was observed by my instructor during my morning meeting. I was able to share with her one of my most favorite times of the day - the time when we all say good morning, get to share a little bit about ourselves, do a group activity, and work on our literacy development. I am always excited by this time of day and it helps to get our class started on the right foot. This assignment will continue through a process of feedback from her and my reflection on that feedback.

My instructor left right as we were beginning language arts time, and from there the morning took off. We flew through different activities, focusing on high frequency words (have & is this week), the letter a and the /a/ sound. Reading and listening comprehension. Facts about flowers. Comparing and contrasting. And, before I knew it, the kinders were lining up for recess. This is how the majority of my mornings go. I become engaged with my students and before I know it, it is time for a break. I love it!

After recess the students worked with my assistant, as is usual and I worked on preparing some materials for a lesson that will be given next Monday when I am out for a training. The students worked on their letter sounds while I listened in the background and checked in on their small group projects. When lunch rolled around we were in a rush to line up and get to the cafeteria in time, because once more, we were engaged in our assignments and forgot to look at the clock.

At lunch time I was engulfed in sped work again. Another assignment for my class is to interview someone from the special education team. Today was my lucky day as our educational diagnostician was on campus. She only stops by occasionally, but I wanted her perspective since it is the one that I know the least about. We sat and talked throughout my entire lunch, meaning I only ate a few bites of my delicious salad. My kinders were great coming back into class and my assistant did her amazing thing where she got math class started so that I could at least eat my salad.

Math was a breeze, reading 1 Hunter, by Pat Hutchins and practicing numbers that are one more than the previous. The kinders were really engaged and involved in the counting of animals and figuring out what the number would be if there was one more animal. They then completed their worksheets with flying colors. Once again, time flew and before I knew it we were being called to the cafeteria for a fund raising assembly.

And, just like that the day came to a close. We had a short intervention session where I worked with some students on one to one correspondence (counting in normal people terms) and then I brought out the smarties. I'll need to share about smarties another day because for me, my day will continue with more special education. Tonight I have class to learn even more about this field of education so that I can improve my practice!

Happy (crazy) Wednesday! I hope that yours sped on by as well.

go team

As a second year teacher, I am a protege to an experienced teacher, my mentor. We meet every Tuesday afternoon to discuss the happenings in kindergarten, how things are going on my end, school goals, and any questions, concerns, or difficulties that I am having. This is a time for me to absorb all of the knowledge that she has to share, since she is retiring at the end of the school year.

Today, we began our discussion talking about assessments. We spent yesterday and today doing language arts and math assessments that will produce the data that should drive our next quarter of instruction. As we were discussing this, I mentioned that last week I took the time to copy the weekly assessments that we will need to do in language arts, the benchmark assessments for language arts and math, and a couple of other little things that we will use on a regular basis. The next step was how to get copies for our whole grade level. And my question was answered with action.

My mentor took me down to the main office and she taught me how to fill out work orders for our district print shop. Our fellow kindergarten teacher also happened to be in the office, and so we sat down and filled out all of the work orders - about 14 in all. Yay for teamwork! If I had been trying to do that on my own it would have taken a good 30 to 45 minutes. With the three of us we were done in 15! Go team!

As an added bonus, this helps us to be better organized for the rest of the school year - and if you know me, I love organization!

mobile learning

Today I submitted a grant to promote mobile learning in my classroom. This is not a very costly grant, but one that will make a world of difference in my opinion. I simply asked a local foundation to fund clipboards for my students.

Why clipboards? Well, quite simply, I want my students to be able to produce work at or in locations other than their work table. I want them to be able to walk around the classroom and find words that they would like to use in their writing. I want them to be able to be a part of math drama and use what they learned, in the moment, to solve problems that are on their worksheets. I believe that I can revolutionize the work that my students produce, simply by promoting movement while learning. It may sound silly, but I'm pretty excited about the possibilities if I am funded.

Just think about your school experience. When were you most excited about learning? Was it when you were sitting at your desk, staring into a book? Or was it when you were actually applying what you were learning, in a meaningful way? I think we all like to be up and moving, and I think that statement applies to kindergarten students even more. No one likes to be tied to one place, especially when there are more exciting alternatives to achieving the same means. My method of helping my kinders do that is clipboards.

Fingers crossed!

all caught up

On sleep. And other things too. But seriously, on sleep.

Reaching six weeks into the school year must have been some sort of milestone, because I am beat. Friday evening I didn't feel like moving, and the same predicament came over me yesterday. I did manage to get a nice five mile run in with the mister before the unpredictable naps came into play. I tried my hardest to commit to my grad school work, but that didn't really work out. I would read for a little while, then wake up a little while later. Such is life.

Today however, things seem to be back to normal. I got (most of) the cleaning done. Laundry is washed, folded and put away. Groceries are purchased and put on the shelves. Meals a prepped for the week and tonight's dinner is well on its way. And, I finally made it through all of my grad school reading without falling asleep. 

It's nice to have some energy back and to feel caught up on life.

How'd your weekend go?

just when i thought

I was having a rough morning, or so I thought. Then I overheard a story of another teacher having a worse day.

I'll start with me though.

It's picture day! Yay! Everyone is dressed to the nines. We're excited to go and smile in front of the cameras. We have an abundance of energy, but we're doing all right. All of the students ate their breakfast and then transitioned into their intervention groups without a problem. We came together for morning circle and made it though our calendar routine before we were called down to have priceless five and six year old smiles captured in front of the green screen.

The students did great. They waited patiently. They played along with the silly photographer's assistant and flashed big smiles to show their families when the proofs come back. Then we had to walk back to class. The line was a mess. Students were talking and touching the walls. When we got back into our classroom we couldn't remember what a circle looked like. But then, we settled in and finished our morning circle time. I saw my kindergarteners return. We successfully completed classify and categorize activities, finished our first official writing project of the quarter, and squeezed in group story time as well as silent reading.

Then I mentioned the R word - recess. I rang our class chimes. I asked the students to clean up their spaces and move to the brown rug. I turned my back to pick up some crayons and when I faced my class once again two of them were fighting. The two boys are good friends and had started out playing - then someone's hands were around someone else's throat and an a hand was pulling down the lower jaw and teeth of the throat grabbers mouth. Unacceptable. I had the boys sit down with their heads on the table. The other students lined up and went outside to play.

And then, I made my first trip to the office this year with students in tow. We discussed why fighting is unacceptable. We reviewed our classroom rules. We talked about what could have happened if the throat grabber had squeezed. Pretty much I pushed everything to the limit to get the point across that fighting is a big no-no and it would not be tolerated.

The students received in school suspension for the afternoon and I called their parents. Who laughed. Boys will be boys. If that is your attitude that is fine, but do not let it come into my classroom. I hung up after my final phone call and went back to the classroom to put together ISS work packets that could be done without much supervision from the office staff.

When I returned to the office, I overheard the story that made my little fight seem not so bad. Some older students had been fighting (according to one side of the story) and a pencil was shoved up another students nose. I had seen the result of this when walking back to my classroom, but I thought that it was just a bad bloody nose.

So, just when I thought I was having a rough morning, I had things put into perspective.

sometimes it is okay

Collaboration. I know that I have ranted about it in the past. But, sometimes it is okay.

On Wednesdays, during my planning period, I have a grade level meeting during which my two fellow kindergarten teachers and I plan for the coming week. We review what has worked well for us in the previous week and changes that we might like to make to have our classes run a little more smoothly and effectively. I have really grown to enjoy this time with my fellow teachers, who are, unfortunately, both planning on retiring at the end of the school year. They have taught me a lot in the past year, and these collaboration sessions have allowed me to grow as a teacher and become more effective in my practice.

Last year, I was soaking up all of the knowledge that they could throw my way. This year, the tables have turned a little. Our school has become more technologically advanced, providing each classroom with C.O.W.s (Computers On Wheels). We all have laptops, document cameras, and projectors. This allows us to access the digital resources that were developed to match our mathematics and language arts curricula. Therefore, this year I provide technical advice, and they continue to give me an abundance of ideas to help me teach a concept in a new way that may make more sense to struggling learners. This year, we collaborate, we all have different strengths to share to help one another out.

As I said, sometimes, it's okay! 

appreciation

I am fortunate in that the state of New Mexico mandates that kindergarten teachers have an assistant in their classrooms. This opens up a whole new world of opportunities for me. Last year neither my assistant nor I were really sure about what we were doing or how to really collaborate as it was the first year that either of us had been in the classroom. We meandered through the school year, figuring out what worked and what did not, and basically managed to stay afloat. This year, it is a completely different story.

We have flow. The students know what that flow is. They know that they will not get away with things like asking one of us for something and then turning to the other if the first says no. We are equally in charge of the classroom. During language arts the students work together on a whole group lesson and then break up into centers. As students rotate through the centers they work with me on one skill and with my assistant on another (and a third group works on sustained quiet reading). Six weeks into the school year we have the routine down. Students know when they are working with which teacher and what those expectations are. As I said, we have flow - not just my assistant and I, but our students as well.

That flow was put to the test this morning as my assistant had family obligations that took her out of the classroom for a couple of hours. First thing in the morning, the students asked, "Where is Mrs. S.?" I let them know that Mrs. S. had an appointment and that she would come to school later. We worked through the first part of our morning routine and then centers came. I walked the entire class through what they would be doing at Mrs. S.'s center without her. They handled it like champs. After I got my group situated, I checked in with hers and everyone was on task.

Pure magic. I couldn't help but imagine what my classroom would have looked like had this happened last year (it was not pretty by any means). Everyone had told me that the second year of teaching is so much better than the first (and each year after that even better), but today was the true test for the rules and routines that I have set up. I love feeling prepared and like I can actually do this on my own. But, even if I can do it on my own, I am so appreciative of the help and support that I receive from my assistant.

the things they say

Today my students began brainstorming for a week long writing project that will end in an illustrated piece that answers the question, "If you could be anything little, what would you be?"

As I sat down with my most advanced students, I happened to yawn. One of the students commented on the fact that I must be tired and I replied, "Yes, I am a little bit tired." Almost immediately after I sat down I described the prompt for the morning's center. One of my bright little kinders looked and me and said, "I am a little tired." It took me just a moment, these little guys are too fast sometimes. I had been thinking they would reply like the lower students in class, "I am a little butterfly," or "I am a little fire truck." No, this one spit my words back at me and had me laughing. I love their sense of humor and how quickly they catch onto things.

Happy Monday!

get it done

As usual, the weekend has been full of getting things done. School things, home things, life things. It's nice to have the weekends to help make the rest of the week run more smoothly.

Yesterday I had a fantastic day of food, fitness, and a little bit of fun. I took a break from my usual long run and did some walking to accommodate for a slightly sore ankle. I walked downtown to the farmer's market and co-op and came home with a couple of bags full of goodies. Our countertop filled up with fruit, veggies, homemade jam and bread. 

After dropping off those goodies I drove out to the state park and hiked my favorite local trail, Pyramid Rock. With all of the rain that we have been getting the desert is green, green, green. It's fabulous! I followed up my hike with a trip to the grocery and wrapped up shopping for the week. 

In an unusual mood for making food, I started prepping food for the week. I got fruits soaked (in water and white vinegar to help them last longer and clean off any junk that they acquired in transit) and put away. I prepped a veggie lasagna with squash, eggplant, and mushrooms. I made hummus from scratch. I made beans (also from scratch, a habit that we acquired in Peace Corps). Things are looking pretty spiffy around here considering we have two nights of grad school this week that we'll need quick food for.

We topped off the evening by going out to Gallup's monthly Arts Crawl. We saw a friend perform with the local belly dancing group and watched some other friends workout with a local fitness group called Iron Warriors. We also got rained on. After checking out our favorite art stores/galleries we decided to call it an early evening and got to the car right before a blinding downpour began.

Today has been equally productive with cleaning and laundry done before noon. Grad school has been thrown into the mix, with the mister wrapping up one of our group assignments for our technology in education course. We've had some more good food and are building up energy for a busy week to come.

Happy Sunday! Remember to rest and rejuvenate!

salsa anyone

When Grad School and Elementary School Collide

It was magic. Today when my kinders finished their language arts assessment I told them that I had a surprise for them. They had to clean up their table spaces and then come sit with me at my round table. When they sat down we talked about how they had homework every night to help them get smarter. Then I told them that I had homework to do to for my school. When I told them that they were going to help me with my homework I received some anxious looks. Then I told them that my homework was to have them taste different kinds of salsa. Those worried looks went away pretty quickly.

I pulled out our salsas one by one. They evaluated the appearance, the texture, the taste and the spiciness. Some students started out saying that they didn't like salsa, but when their friends kept on saying how good they were, almost everyone jumped on the salsa train. Some salsas they liked, some they did not, but whatever their response to the salsas, they loved the tortilla chips.

After they evaluated four different kinds of salsa, I set the bowls of salsa and chips on another table and let them go at it. Today marked progress reports day, so I thought it was a bit of a celebration. We're half way through the first quarter of school and they have worked extra hard. Today, we played ate hard.

Some of the best comments from my kiddos during the thirty minutes of salsa party madness:

"Ewwww! That looks like poop!" ~5 year old boy responding to the appearance of salsa verde

"Mrs. Hall! I can tell my dad that I like salsa now!" ~5 year old girl after eating chips heaping with salsas of all flavors

"Mrs. Hall, you're the best teacher ever!" ~Numerous kiddos slurring through their salsa high

Needless to say, the day was pretty rad. 100% of students scored 80% or better on their language arts assessment. More than 50% scored 80% or better on their reading assessment. Roughly 90% scored 80% or better on their math assessment. We ate chips and salsa. One student had asked his mom if he could bring a snack for all of his friends in class, so we also ate Goldfish at the end of the day. And the kiddos earned playtime at the end of the day (after eating Goldfish). Yeah, that's how every Friday should be! 

 

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.

like a pirate

Arrrrrr. This morning I was working with my RtI (Response to Intervention) group for language arts development. We were working on letter identification for t, n, and r. When we got to the r, one of my kinders said, "Arrrrrr. Like a pirate." This made my day, and it was just after 8AM. I love how inventive some of my students are and that he was able to make this connection. It worked for him, and by sharing his thoughts with the group, they all picked up on Arrrrrr as well. 

Now, if only he didn't want to call every letter Arrrr now... But, I suppose we all have to start somewhere. It doesn't hurt that the students in this group were trying to make "pirate" faces as well when they were saying Arrrr. Love it!

money money money

As a general rule, teachers do not make a lot of money. I think it is also a general rule that teachers end up spending a lot on their classrooms and their students to make learning more engaging and enjoyable. The equation doesn't really balance out, but that's the way it goes. At least in my home.

Today, that equation was turned around a little tiny bit. I received an email from my principal saying, "Surprise, classroom teachers have XXX amount of money to spend on their classrooms!" These surprise emails make me giddy. It's kind of like being a kid in a candy store. As a result, I spent my planning period and a fair amount of time after school playing around online, trying to figure out what I wanted to bring into my classroom. Then I spent more time substituting one item for another until I came up with what I felt was the best way I could use this surprise gift.

You may be wondering, "why on earth did she spend so much time figuring this out today?" It's a good question. The reasoning behind the time that I spent sorting out which items I would like to bring into my classroom today is that these "gifts" often expire pretty quickly. Administration is told that their schools have so much money to spend within a certain period of time, otherwise those funds disappear. I do not want to be one of the teachers that misses out on the opportunity, and I also don't want to just fill my room with junk. I spent time thinking about what would help to make my instruction more meaningful, and then I played around with those ideas. What I came up with is as follows:

• Dry erase markers (I use these daily, they are expensive, and they help me save trees)
• Math manipulatives and corresponding centers that are Common Core aligned
• Language arts manipulatives and corresponding centers that are Common Core aligned
• Wikki Stix to help visualize letter and number formations (and to just have fun every once in a while)
• Letter beads for practicing putting words together and to practice blending sounds

First thing tomorrow morning I can put my order in. Then it's a waiting game. If you recall, I received the bounty from one of these money gifts early this year - the order had been filed last spring. I guess beggars cannot be choosers. Whenever it arrives, I have faith that it will arrive. And then I will celebrate - again!

half time

Today we had our first early release Monday of the school year. In my school district we have one day a month that is set aside for early release so that teachers can participate in professional development. This morning when one of my students walked in she excitedly declared, "Today we have half time! We get to go home after lunch!" This little kinder of mine started playing recreational soccer a couple of weeks ago and has clearly caught on to the lingo. As a former soccer player myself, I love that she referred to today as having half time and that she was able to connect the concept of half to something in her life outside of school.

When discussing that we had an early release/half day, later in the morning, I asked my kinders if they knew what the word half meant. The jumped on the question like the pepperoni pizza that I drew on the board to help them visualize half. One student helped to draw a line down the middle of the pizza. Other students declared that the two parts were halves. And even more impressive, they used our math vocabulary from the first couple of weeks of school and said that the halves were equal. 

Have I mentioned before how bright these little learners are? Knowing that I get to work with them every day just makes me smile. I cannot wait to see where we go as a community this year and how we are able to push one another to grow as students and teachers so that we get the most out of our kindergarten experience.

Happy Monday!

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.

yo hablo español

One of the joys of having a couple of Spanish speakers in my classroom is that I am able to use the language that I grew to love in Costa Rica. Earlier this week, the grandmother of one of these students came into school to visit during lunch. She came up to me and immediately began a conversation in Spanish. It was fantastic. At first I had to make the connection between what she was saying and what language she was speaking, but after a brief half-second we were on our way to catching up. 

When we first found out that our placement for Peace Corps was going to be Costa Rica, I was a little hesitant. Costa Rica, the land of beautiful beaches, volcanoes, and a tourist hot spot? Did they really need Peace Corps volunteers? While I left the country still unsure of my response to that second question, I left knowing quite a few other things for sure. I knew that I wanted to begin my career as an educator (preferably in the younger grades) after endless hours spent working with the pre-K through first grade students in our community. I knew that I had met and befriended people that will always be a part of me, and that helped to change my outlook on life. I knew Spanish. 

There are a lot of people that serve in really unique places during their Peace Corps commitment. They learn unique and obscure languages. They become a part of communities where foreigners may not otherwise be accepted. And while they generally leave their communities at the end of their service with a better idea about what they want to do with their lives and having had their lives changed by the people that they came to know and love, the language skills that they acquired may never be used again. I am fortunate to say that Spanish is not a language that falls into that category.

I am so thankful to have this language skill. While I may be speaking with a Costa Rican lilt, using some of the local idioms that roll off of my tongue, and using a word that is more Tico than Mexico, I am able to communicate with these families that have come from across the border. Through language I am able to form the connections that will help the families have a positive experience within the school community, and I am able to help these students when they do not understand the common phrasing in English. 

I speak Spanish. Yo hablo español. 

breathe

And, breathe

It is before 7AM on Friday morning, and look at that. My lesson plans are done for next week. My materials are prepped and sorted. It is shaping up to be a good end to the week and I think that I will be able to sit back and breathe this weekend.

Of course, lesson planning isn't all that there is to teaching. In between the breaths that I take and the sitting back and relaxing (which, if you know me, I don't really do all that well) I will continue to work. I have programs to look into for my RtI (Response to Intervention - the time that is set aside for intensive work with struggling learners) time and there are always little odds and ends to take care of to help make the classroom run more smoothly. But, the big picture is that my planning is done. If the other things are not taken care of right away, my classroom will not fall apart. As I said, I can breathe. And that is a fantastic feeling as I wrap up this first month of school.

Happy Friday!

sort it out

My little learners working on classifying and categorizing

The list of things that kindergarteners (rather, all students) need to learn is incredibly long. As a teacher, this means that I need to find innovative ways for the students to make connections to the material that can sometimes be a bit dry. I follow the curriculum laid out by the school district and use the basic materials that they tell me to, but I also try to build upon those basics so that the students aren't spending all of their time listening to lecture and doing worksheets.

This week, our focus in language arts is classifying and categorizing. In layman's terms, we're sorting. However, I need to stress this academic language, which confuses the heck out of their five (and now six) year old brains. I'll get to add to the confusion later this year when we change the academic language to compare and contrast. What it all comes down to though is we are sorting the heck out of things.

Today I broke out my sorting plates (which I purchased for very little at the Jumble Shop while visiting the mister's family in Nebraska last year) and seashells (given to my by my friend Emily). The more advanced students were able to decide how they would sort the shells into groups. My on level group sorted their shells by size. My students that still struggle a bit did some guided sorting by color (I would choose a color and demonstrate how to make a group, then they would follow suit). It was a fantastic hands on activity followed up by a worksheet that is somewhat similar to that which we will do for our weekly test tomorrow. It seemed to go well. Tomorrow we'll see just how well the connection stuck.

turn it off

It is currently more than an hour past my typical bed time. The main reason for this is that I had grad school tonight. As a result, my brain will not shut off. Class ended at 9:00, and then the mister and I stopped by to visit with a friend that we have not talked to in a while. 

I love grad school because it gives me contact with adults who are functioning at a higher level than the kinders that I surround myself with all day long. However, when I leave my kinders I am in a happy and relaxed place (most of the time). Life is easy when you're learning your numbers and letters. You're not spending your time dissecting disabilities in a special education class or thinking about strategies for teaching reading. I can settle into bed nice and early, read a good book, and turn out the light without a care in the world. When I leave grad school though, my brain is experiencing a level of rapid fire thinking that is hard to put out. I cannot just turn it off as much as I would like to. Sure, I'll still turn in and read a good book before falling asleep for the night, but it is always a question of how long it will take me to succumb to the sleeping part.

With that, I am off to read that good book (currently Eat and Run) and hopefully catch some Zs before my 4:30 wake up call. 

Sweet dreams!

heartbreak

I am writing today shortly after the cries and screams of one of my students have subsided. Unfortunately, not all of the students that teachers work with come from happy families. Today, one of my students was taken to live with her father after a custody hearing came to a close. I support whatever the court deems to be in the best interest of the child, but my heart breaks knowing that her home life has just been turned upside down. My heart breaks from losing a student that has become a part of my kindergarten classroom community. 

take it easy

I know that for many, Labor Day marks the beginning of a new school year. Here in New Mexico we are approaching our fourth week of school, and this three day weekend was a breath of fresh air. A chance to slow down for a little while and take it easy. Having three days to accomplish what is usually done in two means that you can squeeze some fun and exciting things into the mix (such as Saturday's trip to Albuquerque).

This morning I got up and did my usual workout before jumping into some grad school work. After a while though, I decided that I needed a break. So, the mister and I decided to head out to our local park and do some hiking (or rather, I hiked and he ran). It was a beautiful respite from work, a beautiful morning in the sun, and some welcome time with nature.

My favorite local hike: Pyramid Rock

Me, at the summit

A Navajo symbol of good luck or fortune: The horned toad

Last year I made a point of trying to hike Pyramid at least once a week in the spring. The last time that I climbed it was last May. It was nice to have a day to take things a little slower, to take it easy, and to enjoy my community. Of course, once we got home work began again, but that's okay. I had my break. Now I can jump back into my classroom full of energy tomorrow morning and cram five days of learning into four!

life

Sometimes, it happens. Life takes over no matter what your plans are. When I started this blog at the beginning of August, my plan had been to write a little something every day as a means of reflecting upon my teaching experiences and life in general. The highs, the lows, and whatever happens in between. Friday evening I decided that while this was a fantastic idea, sometimes I also just need me time. Or we time.

On Friday, after work, I ran around town trying to complete some errands - some I completed successfully, some not so much. I got home and was able to stock the fridge with hazelnut milk (my newest food addiction) and put quarters away for laundry. I had failed at getting the mister and I registered for a race at the end of September, due to the chamber closing early and then only having registration forms for the bike portion of the weekend of events, no signs of the ones for the half marathon. Life, it happens, and not always as planned.

That evening the mister and I did something unusual for the school year. We sat back, ate some delicious homemade lentil lasagna, and watched a movie. Yes, we relaxed. Knowing that we had a long weekend in front of us we didn't feel pressure to knock out just a little bit of work before hitting the sack. We looked through our Netflix queue and finally watched The King's Speech. It was well worth the time out from our busy lives. During the movie I also finally finished making a blanket for a friend of ours from Costa Rica who is due to have a little girl any day now!

Yesterday morning I went about my normal Saturday morning routine and checked off a beautiful 10 mile run through the high desert. During the last couple of weeks we have had a lot of rain for the desert and I was surprised by the abundance of green. I was also fortunate in that it was an overcast morning so I did not need to battle the heat of the sun, though I did have to deal with some stomach problems. Oh well, life happens, and you keep on keeping on. I finished up my 10 miles in just over 2 hours, which I was quite pleased with (the last mile was accompanied by the howls of coyotes in the distance). This is my longest run on record in well over a year, after battling injury after injury. 

After I left the trails the mister called and we decided to go to Albuquerque for the day. This is once again something unusual for us. I think that I went to Albuquerque "just because" once last Thanksgiving with friends, but the two of us have never done it. Sure, we've been to the city since moving here a little over a year ago, but for things like going to the airport, to run races, or for medical appointments. Yesterday, we shopped. I the past year I have lost a little over ten pounds, and therefore was in desperate need of clothes that fit me well. We also took care of some things on our list that we've been putting off, such as buying new towels and other basic household goods. We topped off the day with a delicious Japanese/Sushi dinner. It was a true treat for us.

And now, life goes back to normal. This morning I worked out and cut tags off of new items and prepared things for laundry. The mister threw together some home fries and a crustless veggie quiche. We are moving past our 36 hours of "freedom" (granted by this long weekend) and settling into work: grading papers, updating student data folders, creating newsletters for the month of September, reading for grad school, doing household chores. 

We may take a break from life on occasion, but it always finds us in the end. Enjoy your long weekend (if you are fortunate enough to have Monday off)!