The sweetest thing, and right when I needed it too

Mrs. B, a long term substitute who was in our building from mid-fall to mid-April came by today to visit. She is a woman who I truly admire, who I think is an amazing teacher and fantastic person. During her time here, she helped me realize so many things about the art of teaching. Anyway today she visited with her students, brought me some books for my collection and told me that I should "teach forever" I am "just what the kids need". She went on to say that the profession as a whole needs more teachers like me. I know its such a simple sweet thing today, but it was truly perfect timing as today has been a little difficult.

A trip to the aquarium

Field trips are always so much work. But we go because of the learning experiences. OK so the driver did not know how to get there. I learned that I can give decent driving directions in a city where I normally take public transportation or walk. When we finally arrived, we were faced with a long wait because we were late. The first thing we did when we finally got in was see the jelly fish. Jellies are thing for one of my students with Autism, so he was quite excited. He was actually able to tell his friends that some jellies are poisonous to humans, and that there are many different sizes and types of jellyfishes. He was talking in sentences and making eye contact, which is huge for this particular child.

Some of the penguins appeared to be miked, so their calls to each other were quite loud. My students had theories about what the penguins were saying:
"He is saying he wants his dinner"
"Oh. Well the one who is on top of that rock says na na na you cant get me"
"The one with the feather in his mouth says he wants to play"

Some of the kids would touch the star fish in the touch tank, but no one wanted to touch the hermit crab

I felt bad for the kids because I was pretty hypersensitive about safety, and sticking together. There were so many people there and some of my students are runners and just plain good at hiding. I felt like I was constantly counting heads and reminding them to stay with their partners and assigned teachers for the day. When I think back about it, I feel maybe like I reminded them too much. But everyone was safe, no one got lost, and everyone made it back to the bus. So maybe it was OK to be hyper vigilant about safety, head counts, and partners.

The bus was incredibly late picking us up from the aquarium. I tried to keep the kids busy with movement games but then it got to be very difficult. Many of them were tired and wanted to sit down. All of them were hungry, and half of them needed to use the bathroom, despite the fact that we had all used it less than hour before. When the driver did finally arrive, he did not remember how to go back to school. I was embarassed by the way that some of my coleagues handled the situation. Many of them were yelling being down right rude to the driver. I knew that if we wanted to get back to school safely, I needed to handle the situation in a different way. I asked everyone to sit down and quietly take a breath. Then I spoke calmly and quietly to the driver. When I returned to my seat as the bus was turning around, some of my kids started clapping. When I asked them why they were clapping they said " you solved the problem", " you used your quiet voice" and "good job". Yes it is true that we have been working on solving problems and using a quiet voice all year. Yes it is also true that I still do not see too much progress in that area with some of them. But I was also surprised by their comemnts, which shows me that some of my efforts have not been wasted.

Going the wrong the way

The countdown to the end of the school y ear is posted and it has been posted in the teachers room since we got back from April vacation. Do you remember when you were a kid and you counted down to summer vacation or something exciting like your birthday? Did the adults ever tell you that it would make it go by faster? Do you think having a countdown actually makes time feel like its going by faster or do you think it just answers the question that everyone is asking in their heads: "How much longer?" I think it answers the question but seems to make time drag on.

I don t remember being this tired at this time last year. I remember thinking that we still had plenty of time. Now I feel rushed, I feel really annoyed with some of my students, especially those few with the quirks. And I feel bad for feeling that way. I am here, trying my best. Greg says that is all that any one person can do. But sometimes I feel that my best is not enough and then i bring that home and worry about it and thens tart the new day feeling tired and stuck. Greg reminds me that I have kids who can read and are learning how to add. He reminds also of how much progress has been made in addressing disruptive and inappropriate behaviors. Yes. He is right, I suppose. I guess sometimes its hard to see the forest from the trees

The city sent us worms last week. Unfortunately they did not surive the weekend. It was disgusting. they turned blue and fuzzy. Must research creating a better worm habitat. Because I feel bad for the sudden death of the worms, I am considering catepillars. We did them last year and they were relatively clean, easy to care for, and ultimately a valuable learning experience for the kids.

Look for posts later this week about our field trip and family night

the week after the week we get back from vacation

I thought the week after vacation was supposed to be really challenging and sometimes it is. But this time, it is this week, the second week back. This is week is so much harder than last week was and I don't know why. Last week the kids were too tired to cause stress? This week they are too tired from coming back last week? Is it a full moon? Have I sprouted a second head? Do they know something I don't? Is the curriculum not engaging enough?

I guess if I knew then I would be able to fix it.

One of the kids who typically wheres a platinum halo told me today that I can kiss her ass. Yes she is four years old. No she did not learn it at school. Yes I sent a note home to her parents. But still, this honestly the first time she has acted like she has today.

The kids are really tired now that I think of it. Kids who never sleep have been sleeping straight through nap time. they are difficult to wake up and then unwilling to participate in small groups. some of the kids have been coming to the work table, putting their heads down during the introduction and dozing right off. Yeah the weather is nicer so maybe they have been outside more but that can't explain all of the tiredness ...

Anyway still no word about the nomination mentioned in the last post, stay tuned

Nomination for what?

After school today my princiapl asked me how many years I had been teaching in my district. So I answered his question and then realized I had a question for him : "Uh Why are you asking me this NOW?" So I asked him if everything is okay and he mumbled something about "some nomination from the DOE or the state" He then got sweeped up in the end of the day activities. So now my mind is wondering.... and hoping that it is not a nomination for a pink slip