Effective Teacher Day 1

Seriously am I being Punk'd?

My kids must be playing games with me. They see this gray in my beard and they think I'm old and crazy. These Little scalleywags are a trip. Let's enjoy, shall we?

"Mr. Whitaker, I can't do work today the pollen is to high."

"Mr. Whitaker I want to sharpen my pencil." 

    "Which pencil, that one?"

    "No, that one's already sharpened."  *crickets

"Mr. Whitaker, Johhnny put the wrong answer on his test."

    "And you know this how?"

    "I was checking his work to make sure he didn't put down the wrong ansewr."

    "I guess he didn't let you down, huh?" *crickets

"Mr. Whitaker, there's a wasp in the room."

    "Well, be quiet and let it learn. Maybe it brought a pencil" *crickets

"I have to go get my LUNCH from my bag, Mr. Whitaker."

    Ok, what did your bring?"

    "These... 
    "Wow, did you have to bring 5 bags for yourself?"

    "I can bring you one tomorrow." 

Mind you these little gems fall all day long. I really wouldn't mind if a camera crew would set up in my room and rig my class with all these different cameras. Maybe I could just get the room set up with mics all over. The sound effects would be priceless anyway. Besides, I don't want to be seen on a camera, I would be a trip. 

Here's one. My principal came in to do a 15 observation on me. I didn't have my horse and pony show set up. We just went for what we knew. THEKIDSACTEDLIKETHEYHADSENSE! When have they ever done this...*crickets! So when I warn them and prep them they can't remember how to add, but when I give them no advanced warning they answer questions like they're on Jeopardy. I just don't understand kids these days. 

Crossfit SCobb really was the business today. Add 80 + degree weather to 8,000 pollen count stir in some insane desire to get fit and sprinkle some a great pair of workout shoes in and you get me smashing my workout with a pretty nice time. Granted my shoulders don't work anymore, but hey. Burpee day 39 tomorrow. 

What Bruno Mars and Crossfit have to say about this week.

I think Bruno Mars said it best about this week. "Black, black, black and blue. Beat me til I'm numb."

For my Crossfit family you can appreciate that this week was Fight Gone Bad, really bad. 

All I can say is I'm very, very happy today is Friday. I'm going to totally unplug tonight and reward myself for some hard teaching. Sadly I didn't get *teacher of the week, but there were some bright lessons.  

But let me highlight some good points. I made it. The kids made it. Fewer of my kiddos are totally throwing 2nd grade out the window than I thought. A lot of the pressure things that were being rolled out on us have been moved back. Oh yeah, I'm still caught up on my burpees. 

Can't wait to get to the gym today. My body is tired, but I want to smash this workout and then spend the evening watching Dora the Explorer with my favorite Dynamic Duo. 

*My on going joke is that I can't reach for the goal of Teacher of the Year, but I can be Teacher of the Monday or Teacher of a great Math lesson. 

This week

All I can say is this week is "Job for Jehovah". There is a lot to do and I just don't see where/how I'm getting it done. Taking one assignment at a time. One day at a time. Making the most of each day.

My take away this week is not allow things to pile up. As much as it's easier to put it off I have to tackle things as soon as possible. Even when I know doing so might mean...that I have more to do. I have to jump in and get things that are important done sooner than later.

The only mental saving grace I have is that I'm learning that the more I look for the good in each situation the more good I find. The more I seek for a reason to say something good the more reasons I find. It's tough when some of the situations just scream and scream to get me to say something negative, but it's becoming easier. 

We're at the 9 week mark. We also have testing season coming upon us. So you can imagine the pressure. My school did well last year and this year the stakes have been raised so we have to get at it. 

It's been tough getting into the gym this week. Thankfully, I've overcome laziness so I can get in the basement and swing my kettle bell and work on more form. Not sure if this weekend will allot me time to get in there. It's more a time issue than a desire, but I'll get at it soon. There were some fun workouts this week that I'd love to get in sometime. Back to the grindstone. 

A day in the life

So I have this huge crate with papers to sort and arrange. The Teacher of the Week, Jason said "carry this stuff home and tackle this pile." The Dad of the Year, Jason said, "my foot. This work has been here and will be here whenever I decide to tackle it. I'm going to spend time with my family this weekend" Dad of the Year wins again. 

Went in and bought my students the audio book "Nate the Great". Don't think that qualifies for teacher of the week, but certainly Teach of the Friday. The kids loved the reader and his inflections. 

Saw this on Pinterest (aka Teacher crack dealer). My kids love that I tell them to tell The Tattle Toolbox, but now it's got personality. My unique kiddo now goes to the corner and has full out right conversations with the toolbox. Not sure if I should be happy he's found someone to listen to him or worried. 

Didn't have any Starbucks today so that's either a good thing or a very bad thing. Hahahaha

Just realized that Dr. Seuss's birthday is next week. Can't wait! I really like Seuss books! 

 

How does the week get away from you so quickly?

I don't think I'm the only one to ask this question late on a Monday. It only takes few ingredients to really throw your week into a potential tailspin.

• No internet at work (what did we do before the 'net?)
• Can't print (Guess we'll just have to go old school on ya)
• Not able to save work on the student's thin clients nor save to a thumb drive (This was tough, but we're going to find a way to get over this hump, too)

Can't let these small things get in my way. Gonna do some printing at home, get some good sleep and just give the kids the best that I got. 

Crossfit South Cobb beat me up today. I can't say it any other way. Guess I'll get back in there tomorrow and offer my laziness for a stronger, fitter me. I REALLy want to meet other crossfit elementary school teachers. How do you balance your life, school and crossfit? Seems like it can get away from you very, very quickly. Also how do you keep your nutrition strong? 

Class vs. Shaving cream (Round 1)

I get tired of watching my students go through ream upon ream of paper just wasting it. So I got this idea from another blog to use shaving cream as an assignment. It's not cheaper per say, but it's sure a lot more fun. 

*Mind you I did notice that this student has the "+" symbol in the wrong place and an "=" sign where it's not needed. My hands were covered in shave cream and I was good to get one picture. 

We were working on inverse operations to see/prove that subtraction can help us better understand addition. The kids loved it. Since I did a lot to prep the lesson this really hit home. They did this for about 20 minutes, cleaned up and and journaled what they found. Only one had cream all the way up to his elbows. None got any on the floor. Most surprisingly none got any on their classmates. 

It cost me $1.16 for a can of cream. Not bad. Tomorrow we may pull out the shave cream again and work with forms of energy. Might save this for the next time I'm being observed to either a) hit a home room or b) crash and burn in a blaze of glory. 

*Points to remember if you use this method

• Tell the class they're icing cakes. That will keep them from rubbing the shaving cream so much that it evaporates.
• I'd think that whipped cream would work, but it's sticky, the kids will try to eat it, and it might attarach bugs. 
• They don't need a big space. The size and shape of a legal sheet of paper is fine. 
• One can of shave cream goes a LONG way. Thought I was going to need like two, but ended up using 3/4 of one. That's with me re-upping many kids work areas. 
• Take your time wrapping up. As you're talking and going back over the steps, the shaving cream dries. This makes it very easy to clean up. 
• Have baby wipes on hand unless you want to send them to the rest room to wash their hands. 
• Don't sweat cleaning the table/desks until after school. Shave cream is soap and doesn't hurt anything. It just leaves a film on the desk, but it washes off quickly. 

The bet that my class could get 150 class Dojo points has been less than spectacular. As of today they've earned 80, but also have lost 79. That's not good. Going to do something special for those who are on track with 5 or more points tomorrow. Maybe they'll get extra center time or get to go as a small group to the media center. Can't focus to much and to long on those who won't do right. I have some Prince and Princess students who want to learn and are making the most of each day. Can't let a few ogre's ruin it. 

Off to Crossfit South Cobb. 

I'm ready! Are you ready?

Yesterday the kiddos were ready to learn. Sure hope they're ready for another great day. Got some good stuff planned for them. I'm ready. I sure hope they come in ready as well. 

I moved the small bookcase from along side the big one. This opened my room like "Wow". Not sure why I didn't see this before, but it helped a lot. Today I'm introducing 4 new centers. I'm also to the point that every kid could have their own center. I'm thinking of doing a video of the centers so the kids can see HOW to utilize them. That would be fun and they'll get to post something cool on schooltube. My plans for next week are 75% done. 

Now my room isn't as dark. The curtains worked to well. Hot glue and some binder clips make for great curtain pulls. I feel like my room is done now. All that needs to happen now is keep the learning, flowing. 

Administration stopped by yesterday to compliment on the class and my work with these children. It's not me, trust. These kids just want to learn. Though their desire to learn is buried under a lot of distractions, they do want to learn. 

 

Didn't get into Crossfit SCobb this week, but I did workout at Basement Crossfit. Though the trainer at Basement is a slacker I got a good WOD in. 

A lot going on today

Here...we..go! Another day is off and running. I'm supposed to have a visitor today to watch me teach my reading lesson. I have 2 meetings during my planning time and I have to finish the language arts assessment. Supposed to tutorial this afternoon and hit my favorite Crossfit gym as well. Let's just say this afternoon my students are going to get a healthy dose of centers. 

Thinking of doing an AR scramble. See how many AR tests we can take in an hour. My kids do read a lot of books and getting time to do the AR tests seem to be the real issue. Maybe we can do that this afternoon. 

Not sure what I'll teach for Black History Month. I enjoy looking back at the past. I'd like to tie in some form of looking forward as well. My students are gems and one day they'll be discovered. It's just a matter of time. Some how I want to get them looking at themselves in that way and acting that way. They are Americans and this is their history and future. 

There's a big push in my school to make sure kids are wearing their school uniforms. I used to not be a fan of them, but I've been won over. besides if there is one area to focus on getting kids to comply with a simple rule like that is the easiest. I wonder if other schools have dress codes/uniforms? Anyone? 

Ok, off to set up for the day. Make your day awesome!

The heart of a teacher

When I get really beat down and don't feel like anyone understands what in the world I'm going through, I recite this to myself. "I have the heart of a teacher and I'm making a difference for many generations to come".  

Today I recited that little bit more than a few times. It was tough, but I had to keep reminding myself that I'm getting through to these kiddos. I chose to suspend Fun Friday this week. It wouldn't have been beneficial to only have a celebration for just a few kids. This week the goal was 11 ClassDojo points. Some of my kids not only weren't on track to hit 11, but they weren't on track to get 3 points this week. I let Monday spoil me since everyone was on their game. I reminded them yesterday during our end of the day reflection time that they needed to make sure they pushed to get as many points as possible Wednesday. To many misunderstood me and came in to get as few points as possible today. I don't think enough of them believed that I would cancel it. So they had to see that getting the core content was far more important to me than anything else.

I also threw my hard cases a curve. I called everyone of their parents this afternoon. Many was on the phone with me when the offender walked in the door from the school bus. I wouldn't have minded seeing their faces. 

This week has been good, even with today being a tough one. I'm ready to start tomorrow anew. Back to the grind. 

Great Crossfit workout today. I feel like I was run over from the heavy front squats Monday, but that's why we do it. 

So how do you like 2nd grade?

I get this question a lot. When people see my new class it's just nature, I guess if they know what my old class was like for them to ask. Let's see here are some observations.

The new class is a lot of fun. They have some issues, because they're human. But by in far I think we have more fun. Not sure the "workshop" theme would've went over so well in 4th. Might have tried a castle or race car theme. Oddly enough both genders like the workshop. 

My old class knew a lot more than these ones did, just by default because they were almost 2-3 years older. I can't be quick to assume that a second grader does know something. They may honestly not have heard it before. 

Every group of kids cry. Some because they are angry. Some because they are sad or feel like they are being picked on. 

The pressure to do well on the "TEST" is gone, but it's just been replaced with a ton of other little gnats. I have got to get a grip on my lesson plans. I had a good, ok, fair developing system in 4th grade. Now I have to really pull my weight and I just don't feel as if I've got enough space in my life to figure it all out.

Second graders like to be seen by their teacher. It never ceases to amaze me how the one that really makes you have to go pray for a better attitude will be the first one to run up and hug you in the lunch room. (I always check to make sure my wallet is still safe) Fourth graders do that as well, but not to the degree as the little ones. 

Little kids conversations are TOTALLY different from their upper grade counterparts. I don't remotely miss overhearing some of the things my old class talked about. My new class literally talk about horses and football. Can't beat a good ole horse and football chit chat. 

Everything seemed to be funny to my 4th grade class. They were always trying to make a joke out of something. I've been warmly surprised that my new class is able to move past somethings and not make it a LOLROTFMIT (Laughing out loud rolling on the floor missing instruction time) issue. Even today I gave them permission to laugh and be silly because they were so laid back I wanted make sure it was my class and not some alien impostors. Aliens have great senses of humor. 

That crazy bucket idea coupled with a 3 day goal to focus on a particular rule and follow it to the letter have been working like a champ. I'm really surprised how well these kiddos adapt to my ideas and make them their own. The edges are still rough, but not as bad as I thought. 

This week was supposed to be my week. I have a lot of planning time and I figured I could get ahead. That doesn't look like it's going to happen so I will need to figure out another way to get ahead on my plans. Not discouraged or set back by it. I will get a grip on this and next year will be all the better because I've developed better habits. It's all about habits. 

My secret angel is working on Whitaker's Workshop 2.0. I can't believe all that she didn't set up the first time. Maybe I can come into the school over the weekend. 

Speaking of habits. I've been MIA from Crossfit SouthCobb this week. But I did get a good workout at home today and have another one planned tomorrow. Eating great on day 10. Did have some fries, but I'll burn them off trying to heard cats, I mean get 2nd graders to line up.