Summer! Or, "My Rebuttal to Those-Who-Believe-That-Teachers-Have-Summers-Off"

Well, look at this! It hasn't even been a full week, and here I go posting again. Woohoo!

I am so excited to only be teaching two grades this coming year: Kindergarten and Grade One. Yay for revamping the elementary end of the school! Suddenly, school life seems manageable again! Granted, I have absolutely no idea how many students I might end up with (due to tuition incentives and a public school in town closing)...but at least I know what I'll teach!

I'm also excited to have my Math, Language Arts, Science, and PE course overviews ready to go, my thematic units planned out by month, and all of the subjects planned for the year (I just don't have all of the learning outcomes/official stuff attached to each). I have to get my "theme boxes" filled with all of the resources and supplies for the different units, but that will be fun. Hours of work, but fun. I'm also hoping to get to my actual lesson plans for the first few weeks of school.

I have to buy the school supplies for all of my students, as they really aren't available up on the North Island. Unfortunately, without knowing how many students to buy for, this will be a challenge! I'm hoping to hold out until Teacher Appreciation Days in August at Staples!

Along with those, I've been down to Montana while Mom defended her Masters' Thesis, spent a small fortune at book stores, spent another small fortune at fabric stores, and made a baby quilt (well, it still needs to have the edges bound). I've made a running trip back to P.H., spent time cleaning out my classroom, re-did my apartment (thanks, in most part, to Mom's hard work!), and divided resources to send all of the Grade Two materials to the Grades Two and Three teacher.

I have my new classroom blog up and running, our new travelling buddy off on his first adventure, and lots of little projects lined up for the summer (doll quilts, new curtains for the classroom, etc).

Did I mention Camp Meeting? Yep, Mom and I are leading out for the 3&4 year old division again (yay!). We'll head down next week to clean out spiders and mice in preparation for all of our little people.

I have to take two courses this summer. Neither one holds a whole lot of interest for me, but they are required. *sigh* At least I am able to challenge the exams! I just have to do a lot of studying.

It's been busy so far, and the summer is only going to get busier.

Teachers' Meetings, August 24-26. during this time I will be labeling pencil boxes, markers, crayons, pencil crayons, erasers, notebooks, duotangs, waterbottles, and everything else which will go on the student desks. Each. And. Every. Crayon. Seems ridiculous, but saves a lot of hassle later on.

Race up to P.H. for an intense five days of reorganizing and setting up my classroom, prepping for all of the students who will (hopefully!) have registered, packing up the school supply kits, photocopying madly, laminating like a maniac, slapping name tags everywhere, labeling everything in the room so that students see real language at work, tripping over the horrible carpet in my classroom (unless, by some miracle, it's been really repaired or replaced. That, however, would mean hauling everything out of my room and then bringing it back in), and then racing back to Kelowna before Friday, September 3.

Labour Day weekend is my cousin Danielle's wedding (for which I am official coordinator). Then, race back to P.H. and get back just in time for school to start on Tuesday, September 7. There will only be a month of consistency before I'm racing back to Kelowna for my brother Shaun's wedding to Sarah (for which I'm helping to make the cakes, taste tests and such to be done in August)!

I'm tired just looking at the list! My saving grace is that so much of the studying, course outlining, label-making, supply sorting, and quilting can be done outside. In the sun. Or, in the shade. In the mountains. At the beach. Without getting up at 5:00am.

*bliss*

Meet Blackberry

I'm looking for classrooms for a small black bear (stuffed, of course) to visit over the next school year. Blackberry would like to visit students of all ages in their classrooms...all over the world, preferably! His adventures will be chronicled on my classroom blog and will also be tracked on a big map in my classroom. This year I will be teaching Kindergarten-Grade One. Let me know if you are interested!

Blackberry's picture will be posted...but I think that I may have left him in Port Hardy! It might be a few weeks before you get to see him!

Link to my Classroom Blog

Sooooo...this whole blog more often thing isn't working so well for me. I've now set my cell phone alarm to remind me to post! *sigh*

That said, I've set up a classroom blog. It will involve pictures and details about what's happening in my classroom. It's going to be a daily blog...enforced!...as I will be using it to keep parents informed. As it is going to include pictures of my students, it will be set to "private" once the school year has started. Feel free to check it out before then, and to request access if you want it! :)

http://shannong.edublogs.org/

Many of the postings will be duplicated, minus the specific student details and pictures, on this site.

Almost...Summer...Can't...Wait...!

How do I encourage myself to blog more frequently? What would it take to get more stuff up on this silly page? Perhaps I should set a "blog now!" alert on my cell phone, every week or so. That might help.

That said, it's almost summertime! Woohoo! One more day!

A Rant...

Dear _________________,

When you come in for an unplanned and unscheduled "observation" on the first day back after a four day weekend (which was immediately preceded by 100th Day and then Valentine's Day celebrations, please remember that what you see is neither normal nor typically considered to be "acceptable" in my eyes.

Please do not comment on the disorder (or disaster) in my classroom. Don't "suggest" that I have my students help to clean up periodically throughout the day. Trust me. I pick my battles. This was NOT the day for that battle. Most days we have clean-ups before recess, lunch, PE, and after centers. Most days we have a routine.

Please do not pick up workbooks from the (admittedly messy) piles. Honestly, they are none of your business. Telling me that it appears that I am behind in leaving "teacher tracks", and that prompt corrections/responses are vital in primary grades is a given. What you do not know, because you didn't ask, is that I check the work carefully as they do it, making corrections as we go. The fact that I am behind in leaving stickers on pages is regrettable, but more regrettable is the fact that you didn't check to see if the answers were correct. Also, when there are incorrect answers on the page, it's probably because I was dealing with one of my "strong-willed" students. Again, it's called picking my battles. One page with wrong answers will not kill anyone.

Please do not tell me that you can see that I have "strong-willed" students in my classroom. I know that what you are really saying is that the kids are out of control. I know! Did you not see my face!?! It is also bothersome that you commented on the fact that you know that students play up when you are in the room (unannounced). I know it, you know it, they know it...don't rub it in.

Finally, please understand that 80% of my class is male. Not only that, they range in age from a young 5 to barely 8 years old. This means that every day is full of strong-willed children doing things that make normal human beings shudder with either disgust, fear, or dismay. Dealing with hitting is a normal part of my day. Rude jokes/words/pictures are part of my day. Tantrums are part of my day. Sometimes pretending not to see things is the best plan. If I occasionally ignore the much-deserved retaliatory punch, it's ok...everyone deserves pay-back sometimes.

Please know that I do appreciate that you noticed that I consistently follow through with consequences/discipline/expectations.

My bottom line is this: Unless you have taught my group of kids, in my classroom, on the first day back from holidays, then take a lesson from me...pick your battles.

Sincerely,

Shannon

Just call me Mary Poppins...

I don't mean to imply that I am "practically perfect in every way", or that I can magically make children want to clean up their toys. For that matter, I don't have the ability to jump into a chalk picture. However, I have the bag. (Most days I actually have two bags, which get carried pretty much everywhere. Sometimes the items are condensed into only a purse.)

It seems that I have gotten a bit of a reputation in my small community. I am the one who has everything. Occupy 10 or so small children during a funeral? Go to Miss Gerber. Need a band aid while at a hockey game? Go to Miss Gerber. Need a pen/pencil/sharpie/eraser/notebook? Go to...well, you get the point.

For the sake of my own amusement, I am now going to present you with a current inventory of my purse/school bag. This list is in no particular order, except that it's the order of items as they were pulled out of the bag!

*Bigger Bag (contents on school days would also include lunch, and would likely not include my Bible)

-water bottle
-3 granola bars
-half package of M&Ms
-small notebook with lined paper
-copy of "The Very Hungry Caterpillar"
-box of Crayola Twistable Mini crayons
-Bible (The bag went to church today!)
-10 colouring pages (current theme: Noah's Ark)
-3 packages of stickers (trucks, misc. animals, and stars)
-small stuffed dog
-2 Hot Wheels cars (this number widely varies, with up to 5 or 6 cars, depending on the event)
-6 colourful plastic bugs
-1 stretchy lizard
-1 container of Silly Putty (started out as 3, but two were given away)
-Hockey Jersey shaped sticky notes
-2 small pads of sticky notes
-hand sanitizer
-hand lotion
-6 small barrettes
-1 package of Benylin
-1 pair of black socks
-1 pair of black gloves
-pencil sharpener
-cell phone charger
-flashlight
-roll of masking tape
-gum
-black Sharpie

*Purse contents

-wallet
-cell phone
-Bluetooth device
-car keys
-school keys with flash drive
-additional school keys (dumpster, filing cabinet, etc)
-additional USB flash drive
-MP3 player with headphones
-First Aid Kit (Band aids in assorted sizes, polysporin, gauze pads)
-Kleenex Spash 'n Go wipes
-regular Kleenex tissues
-cough drops
-big bottle of Advil Liqui-Gels
-Vicks inhaler thing
-comb
-mascara
-eye shadow
-pressed powder makeup
-2 chapsticks
-nail clippers
-gum
-mini Coffee Crisp
-half of a Kit Kat bar
-small felt raccoon (should have left that at church today!)
-long plaid ribbon
-wrist support brace
-2 granola bars
-1 Lindt chocolate
-2 candy canes ( 1 big, 1 little)
-small sticky notes
-empty ziploc bag (handy for when students, or brothers, have garbage to get rid of!)
-glue stick
-bag of change (for children's offerings at church and/or impromptu math lessons)
-spoon
-4 mini Sharpies (assorted colours)
-1 silver Sharpie
-1 red Sharpie pen
-1 Stainless Steel Refillable Sharpie (love it!)
-mechanical pencil
-blue pen
-7 hair bands
-7 hair pins
-4 hair clips
-list of Bible texts
-1 eraser
-3 safety pins
-1 paper clip
-school phone list



Suffice to say that it is rare that I need something which I don't have or can't replace with something else!


Upon reflection, I'm almost scared of those content lists! At the same time, I realize that I have a slight scissor deficiency, and might need to remedy that situation.

So, what's in YOUR bag?

Highlights and Lowlights...

This week has been a very up and down sort of week! If you read my post from yesterday, you saw most of the lows. Having to start school again after the holiday was also a low! Sending two of my students to the principal in the first 5 minutes of the day today? Low.

There have been highs too. Today the entire class sat still and quietly for almost 10 minutes while we read a story at the end of the day. Trust me, this is a miracle! (Mom, it was the new book that you sent them. They were THRILLED to get a present from you!) The fact that no one has been late, no one has gotten sick, and no one has gotten hurt is also a high! The kindergartener's lucky day was also a definite high.

There are also the high/low moments. They manage to be both a downer and an upper at the same time. Being told by a sixth grade girl that my hair was "ummm...slightly frizzier than normal" was hilarious! It also sent me to a mirror. Having one of my darling kindergarten students drop her jaw upon finding out how old I am turning this month, and then exclaim in shock "TEACHER! You are YOUNGER than my GRANDPA!" was almost devastating, but also incredibly funny! Dear child, I will be turning 25. That's an "ouch".

Very few things, or people, make me laugh like my kindergarten students. While I love the first and second graders dearly, there is just something about a kindergartener! Today we had this conversation while working on our seat work.

Student 1: Teacher, just WHY aren't you married yet?

Teacher: Umm..I guess I'm just not ready. (What? It seemed like a safe answer at the time. No need to share my point of view on the eligibility of the options here in PH!)

Student 2: What, your mom won't allow it? (Direct quote, by the way.)

Teacher: ... (Really, I had no words)

Student 3: Oh come on, stop being mean to teacher!


Then, just minutes later, we had this gem of a conversation.

Student 3: Teacher! This is a "you" angel!

Teacher: Well, thank you A, that's very sweet of you!

Student 2: There are no teacher angels. That's just very unusual. (Again, a direct quote.)


*sigh*

Even on a rainy, whiny, hectic Thursday, they make me smile!