Man, I am horrible at this blogging thing! I thought this would be something to do once a week and apparently I am lucky if I post once a month. Oh well. December was short, quick, and hyper! We all know that is expected when you combine the excitement of the holidays with a lot of sugar. We spent the last half of the 6 weeks preparing for our next Math benchmark. In the past I have only had a few kids pass the test. Unfortunately, that didn't change but my kids did jump in their scores. Several students went up 20 percentage points from the previous benchmarks! I will take baby steps because let's be honest, progress is progress. :)
We had a fantastic holiday party. Our room mom planned an exciting day with delicious food. Instead of making the typical picture ornament for the parents I taught the kiddos how to cross stitch. It was very interesting to see which kids loved it (or did not love it!). Kids that usually have very little patience for ANYTHING, sat for hours working on this project. It was amazing! Every day I am amazed at how far my class has come and the gains they have made socially, emotionally, and academically.
January starts a new semester and a new schedule. We are starting to focus a large part of our day on math, which is an area of focus for our district. I am sad that we are taking time away from science and social studies since those are the subjects that really interest the kids but we have to do everything we can to meet their needs and get them ready for fifth grade. The idea of preparing for next year excites my fourth graders so I am sure they will adjust to the change better than me. Along with the schedule change, we will have a student teacher. Ms. Mini-me is going to be a great addition to the room, not only because she will give me an extra set of hands and mind to assist students but she also is working on a degree in secondary math!! (going right along with our focus)
I have thought of some things over the break to try in the new year. Here are some of my ideas and I will try my best to update you on the trial and error that I am constantly implementing.
* Karaoke to increase fluency
* Journal where students and I write back and forth to each other
* Playing more team building games
* Implement ways for students to help each other solve problems.
I wish you the best as the new year begins. I know I am looking forward to a better 2010!
Tuesday, December 29, 2009
Monday, November 23, 2009
Where has November gone?
I just realized that I haven't posted for almost a month! A lot has happened this month and it has been very busy. Our class spent most of the month with very few privileges from their grades and behavior. However, they made a complete 180!! Several students brought up their grades. Most students are working very hard and take pride in their work. More importantly, I am so amazed at the school family they have become. Here are a few examples:
* We had a student move to another school within the district. I was out at a conference the first day he was gone. After the conference, I went by the school to check the sub's note. I was impressed because I had the first positive note all year from a sub. Then, I had a piece of paper that said, "Mrs. Edugator, can you please give this to our friend?" Under the note was a bag made out of notebook paper, yes notebook paper. Inside the bag were notes for our friend that moved encouraging him and telling him how much they miss him. I have to admit, I cried.
* We have a friend in our class that gets frustrated with work and walks out of the room to "take a break" when he can't handle it. I don't have a problem with this because it is an appropriate way to handle his anger and after a few minutes he comes in and gets back to work. I usually give him 5 minutes and then talk to him and encourage him to go back inside. Lately, members of our school family have asked if they can go out and encourage him instead. I usually stand by the door and hear things that I wouldn't think of saying. Kids can be the best encourager and teachers for each other.
* My kiddos are not the best test takers. My class gets easily frustrated when they don't know something and even more frustrated when I can't help them. The benchmarks we have taken so far (state formatted tests) have resulted in very low grades. I know my students can do better than this but I need for them to believe that. I have been working hard to build their confidence. This past week I showed them a graph of all our benchmark scores to this point. I pointed out the growth they made between the first and second math benchmark. Well, my students decided that having a smaller class will give them the power to become better learners. They asked if they could write our principal a letter to convince her to keep our class small (we are at 15 right now). Yes, I will always take advantage of a teachable moment! :) The writing assignment for the week in writing went from what I had planned to writing a persuasive letter to our principal. It is amazing what is important to them.
Okay, now that I have written a novel I will let your brain rest! I am very proud of my students and how much they have grown. I am excited to watch their progress throughout the year and proud to have the opportunity to teach this group of kids. They are great kids with huge hearts.
* We had a student move to another school within the district. I was out at a conference the first day he was gone. After the conference, I went by the school to check the sub's note. I was impressed because I had the first positive note all year from a sub. Then, I had a piece of paper that said, "Mrs. Edugator, can you please give this to our friend?" Under the note was a bag made out of notebook paper, yes notebook paper. Inside the bag were notes for our friend that moved encouraging him and telling him how much they miss him. I have to admit, I cried.
* We have a friend in our class that gets frustrated with work and walks out of the room to "take a break" when he can't handle it. I don't have a problem with this because it is an appropriate way to handle his anger and after a few minutes he comes in and gets back to work. I usually give him 5 minutes and then talk to him and encourage him to go back inside. Lately, members of our school family have asked if they can go out and encourage him instead. I usually stand by the door and hear things that I wouldn't think of saying. Kids can be the best encourager and teachers for each other.
* My kiddos are not the best test takers. My class gets easily frustrated when they don't know something and even more frustrated when I can't help them. The benchmarks we have taken so far (state formatted tests) have resulted in very low grades. I know my students can do better than this but I need for them to believe that. I have been working hard to build their confidence. This past week I showed them a graph of all our benchmark scores to this point. I pointed out the growth they made between the first and second math benchmark. Well, my students decided that having a smaller class will give them the power to become better learners. They asked if they could write our principal a letter to convince her to keep our class small (we are at 15 right now). Yes, I will always take advantage of a teachable moment! :) The writing assignment for the week in writing went from what I had planned to writing a persuasive letter to our principal. It is amazing what is important to them.
Okay, now that I have written a novel I will let your brain rest! I am very proud of my students and how much they have grown. I am excited to watch their progress throughout the year and proud to have the opportunity to teach this group of kids. They are great kids with huge hearts.
Saturday, October 31, 2009
Red Ribbon Week
This week was Red Ribbon Week at school. We had a great week with the master plan in place! Each day we had a different dress up day and I was excited to sport my Gator jersey to school, especially on the eve of the Fl vs Ga game. Our class put red cups in the fence to spell "Just Say No". Unfortunately, a few days after all of our hard work and problem solving (the cups kept falling out) we had a pretty bad storm and most of the cups were knocked out of the fence. The day we went outside to fix them, there were district men out there picking up the cups. So, we didn't get to fix them. :( The kids could not believe that someone threw away "our cups". I think I told you about the art tag in a previous post. We were tagged last by a kindergarten class. They made us a powerpoint and came to our room and read it to us. I forget how little kindergarten kiddos are but they were so cute and my kids were excited to have them come visit us.
We were having a class discussion on how important it is to find something that you like to do so you don't get involved in drugs and I was amazed when one of my students asked, "What do drugs look like?" I realized how innocent these kids are compared to the kindergarten students I had in Florida. My kids in Florida were bringing lunch money in weed bags and knew what most drugs looked like. I had a few kids this year who knew what weed looked like but that's about it. I am so thankful for parents that keep their children sheltered. However, it is also important to talk to our kids about drugs, how they can hurt our lives and bodies, and what to do if they are ever offered drugs.
Part of my master plan is to have students earn back rewards. In order to earn back an award everybody in the class has to complete the mystery assignment for the week. To help the kids manage this without creating more work for myself, I have made a check sheet and they have to mark off their name when they turn in their work. This has made a huge difference in keeping up with missing assignments. Well, yesterday the mystery assignment was a Fraction Walk and everybody had turned it in! The class decided as a school family to earn back tickets. I give tickets for making the right choices, as well as incentive to bring in supplies for contests around the school (fundraiser, recycling drive, etc.). They were very proud to see that their hard work has paid off and I am glad to have an engaged class of students that want to learn again. I think their progress reports were a huge wake up call when they saw their grades. Here's to a great remainder of the year!
We were having a class discussion on how important it is to find something that you like to do so you don't get involved in drugs and I was amazed when one of my students asked, "What do drugs look like?" I realized how innocent these kids are compared to the kindergarten students I had in Florida. My kids in Florida were bringing lunch money in weed bags and knew what most drugs looked like. I had a few kids this year who knew what weed looked like but that's about it. I am so thankful for parents that keep their children sheltered. However, it is also important to talk to our kids about drugs, how they can hurt our lives and bodies, and what to do if they are ever offered drugs.
Part of my master plan is to have students earn back rewards. In order to earn back an award everybody in the class has to complete the mystery assignment for the week. To help the kids manage this without creating more work for myself, I have made a check sheet and they have to mark off their name when they turn in their work. This has made a huge difference in keeping up with missing assignments. Well, yesterday the mystery assignment was a Fraction Walk and everybody had turned it in! The class decided as a school family to earn back tickets. I give tickets for making the right choices, as well as incentive to bring in supplies for contests around the school (fundraiser, recycling drive, etc.). They were very proud to see that their hard work has paid off and I am glad to have an engaged class of students that want to learn again. I think their progress reports were a huge wake up call when they saw their grades. Here's to a great remainder of the year!
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Side Note
We are reading "Tales of a 4th Grade Nothing" this week. I gave my kids some questions to answer after reading the first two teachers. One of my fantastic fourth graders said, "Mrs. Edugator is like a regular teacher now." Some of my colleagues thought that was great. However, I don't want to be a regular teacher. I want more! I did have a good chuckle though. :)
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Baby steps are still steps in the right direction.
The past few weeks have been pretty emotional. The funeral for the family that died in the car accident was last night. I didn't go but there was standing room only at the funeral. There is a fund set up to help pay for funeral expenses. I feel for the pain that their loved ones are feeling. I watched a teacher pack up one of the girl's belongings and I almost started crying I couldn't imagine packing up a student's things because they died and knowing that I would never see them in my class again would be so surreal.
This week is Red Ribbon week at school. To start things off my class started "Art Tag" by creating a piece of art for another class. The class we got was one of the classes that lost one of the little girls in the car accident. My kids made them "wish you well" cards and read them a book. The class we read to was a bilingual class that speaks 80% Spanish and 20% English. Some of the kids took my students over to their celebration wall where there was a picture of their classmate that passed. My kids were very touched and sad to be included in their pain.When we got back to the class the kids could not stop talking about how well the Pre-K kids listened. It was so nice to see my kids being leaders and helpful to younger students and so caring about their loss.
So, after looking at my grades and the amount of missing assignments I decided to bring the Master Plan into action. Last Thursday we made a list of all the rewards that we have in the classroom and they thought of things that I hadn't. Progress Reports and Missing Assignment Reports went home on Friday and I have seen a huge change in my student's work habits. Okay, here is my master plan. Students must have all assignments turned in, no referrals, an average of 90 in their planners (for behavior) and grades of an A, B, or C. If they have all of these things then they are invited to an afterschool Guitar Hero Party!! They have been begging for this. In addition, I have a check sheet where the students cross off their name when they turn in an assignment. Each week I will draw one check off sheet and if everyone turned in that particular assignment, then they will get to choose one reward to have back.
Usually when I get on to a particular group of students in my class I get a lot of lip and arguing. Since bringing in my master plan, the arguments have cut in half. Also, I kept in half my class from recess due to incomplete work and I had NO ARGUMENTS!! I keep seeing these little changes. They are baby steps but I will take them. Even with all of the frustration, stress eating, late nights grading and grey hairs I am still very proud of the baby steps I have seen this year and I am looking forward to their continuous growth throughout the year. I'm sorry that this post is a little long. Every group is different and has different needs. This group is bringing my teaching to a whole new level. The nice thing about teaching is that you never stop learning or growing and I think God gives us challenging groups to keep us on our toes. Seeing my students makes me realize how fortunate I am because they deal with struggles that I can't even imagine. More power to them! Here's to more steps in the right direction! Here! Here!
This week is Red Ribbon week at school. To start things off my class started "Art Tag" by creating a piece of art for another class. The class we got was one of the classes that lost one of the little girls in the car accident. My kids made them "wish you well" cards and read them a book. The class we read to was a bilingual class that speaks 80% Spanish and 20% English. Some of the kids took my students over to their celebration wall where there was a picture of their classmate that passed. My kids were very touched and sad to be included in their pain.When we got back to the class the kids could not stop talking about how well the Pre-K kids listened. It was so nice to see my kids being leaders and helpful to younger students and so caring about their loss.
So, after looking at my grades and the amount of missing assignments I decided to bring the Master Plan into action. Last Thursday we made a list of all the rewards that we have in the classroom and they thought of things that I hadn't. Progress Reports and Missing Assignment Reports went home on Friday and I have seen a huge change in my student's work habits. Okay, here is my master plan. Students must have all assignments turned in, no referrals, an average of 90 in their planners (for behavior) and grades of an A, B, or C. If they have all of these things then they are invited to an afterschool Guitar Hero Party!! They have been begging for this. In addition, I have a check sheet where the students cross off their name when they turn in an assignment. Each week I will draw one check off sheet and if everyone turned in that particular assignment, then they will get to choose one reward to have back.
Usually when I get on to a particular group of students in my class I get a lot of lip and arguing. Since bringing in my master plan, the arguments have cut in half. Also, I kept in half my class from recess due to incomplete work and I had NO ARGUMENTS!! I keep seeing these little changes. They are baby steps but I will take them. Even with all of the frustration, stress eating, late nights grading and grey hairs I am still very proud of the baby steps I have seen this year and I am looking forward to their continuous growth throughout the year. I'm sorry that this post is a little long. Every group is different and has different needs. This group is bringing my teaching to a whole new level. The nice thing about teaching is that you never stop learning or growing and I think God gives us challenging groups to keep us on our toes. Seeing my students makes me realize how fortunate I am because they deal with struggles that I can't even imagine. More power to them! Here's to more steps in the right direction! Here! Here!
Friday, October 23, 2009
A very sad day.
We got news this morning that 3 students in our school family died in a tragic car accident last night along with their parents. The girls were in headstart, kindergarten, and second grade. We told the students in our class at the end of the day and we had a crisis team on campus all day notifying parents. I hope that I never have to deal with a tragedy within my own class. Having three students at our school alone was rough enough. My prayers are with the teachers, staff, and students at our school. More importantly, my thoughts are with the family members and hope they have many happy memories to remember this precious family by.
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
2 days off and a mountain of grading
I took of Thursday and Friday for a friend's wedding, the first time in a few years that I have taken time off for something fun. This was the first time this year that my class had a Guest teacher. After a few days of talks about proper behavior and my expectations, I was interested to see what I came back to. Well, I came back to a lot of grading, since I did not get any done over the weekend. However, my fantastic fourth graders were well behaved for the most part. We are having some drama between the boys, which usually occurs with girls and resulted in some loss of recess and talking through an action plan.
After grading their work, I learned that what appeared to be complete work turned out to be half-done work and definitely not my students best work! I was not a happy camper and Mrs. Viola Swamp took over today! Let me take a minute to explain the kind of teacher I am. I like to make learning fun and enjoyable for all of those involved. Usually this includes playing music, letting the kids sit around the room, and of course letting them converse when they work. We know that teachers are the worst culprits when it comes to working quietly. After noticing that the work is not getting done, I decided it was time for Mrs. Swamp to visit and they would not be happy! It started out rough but it was the quietest day I have EVER had! The little gators came in and cleaned out their desks and got right to work on their bellwork without being told! Then, I explained my expectations and how this will transfer to their life as an adult. (If you don't do your job, you get fired) I demonstrated how one zero can greatly impact a grade and I hope they finally got the picture. Time will tell but my expectations are high and will remain high because I know they can do it.
After grading their work, I learned that what appeared to be complete work turned out to be half-done work and definitely not my students best work! I was not a happy camper and Mrs. Viola Swamp took over today! Let me take a minute to explain the kind of teacher I am. I like to make learning fun and enjoyable for all of those involved. Usually this includes playing music, letting the kids sit around the room, and of course letting them converse when they work. We know that teachers are the worst culprits when it comes to working quietly. After noticing that the work is not getting done, I decided it was time for Mrs. Swamp to visit and they would not be happy! It started out rough but it was the quietest day I have EVER had! The little gators came in and cleaned out their desks and got right to work on their bellwork without being told! Then, I explained my expectations and how this will transfer to their life as an adult. (If you don't do your job, you get fired) I demonstrated how one zero can greatly impact a grade and I hope they finally got the picture. Time will tell but my expectations are high and will remain high because I know they can do it.
Sunday, October 11, 2009
Pizza Ranch
Thursday, October 1, 2009
A huge thanks to Wal-Mart
My name was drawn today for a $100 gift card to Wal-mart for classroom supplies. I told my kids I would give them some input and within 5 minutes I had several emails asking for Guitar Hero 5. I have created monsters! So, after I left school I went to Wal-mart and picked up Guitar Hero 5, a football, Sorry, Trouble, Scrabble, High School Musical game, and a Bakagon game. I am excited to give the kids an opportunity to play with these things. They have worked very hard and have earned Playstation time this week!
We have Homework Hounds tomorrow for all of the kids that have completed all of their homework for the first 6 weeks. My kids are so excited about Playstation that they do not want to go to the park for Homework Hounds. :) I can't believe that the first 6 weeks are already over. We had our first math benchmark this week. Our scores were not so great so I gave my students another chance to fix their answers today and their scores greatly improved! I wish they would take their time the first time. They will...eventually. My kids made a lot of growth in the first 6 weeks. I can't wait to see how much they grow throughout the rest of the year.
We have Homework Hounds tomorrow for all of the kids that have completed all of their homework for the first 6 weeks. My kids are so excited about Playstation that they do not want to go to the park for Homework Hounds. :) I can't believe that the first 6 weeks are already over. We had our first math benchmark this week. Our scores were not so great so I gave my students another chance to fix their answers today and their scores greatly improved! I wish they would take their time the first time. They will...eventually. My kids made a lot of growth in the first 6 weeks. I can't wait to see how much they grow throughout the rest of the year.
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
We are Family!
My kids made me laugh, rub my head (due to a little stress), and amazed me today. First, they are becoming so independent on the laptops. They are coming in every morning, getting out their laptops and emailing their commitments to me. :) It's amazing! I had a huge grin on my face today as I overheard a group of boys talking about college and "how important it is to get your degree". SUCCESS!! Our week has been much better than before and my students are working very hard. I have a very unusual group of students. Not in a bad way, but interesting. Usually the drama is with girls but with my group this year it is my boys!
Boyfriend and Girlfriends have started! Why don't members of the opposite sex have cooties anymore? I thought boys were gross until at least middle school! I had a student tell me that one of our school family members is a heart breaker (but in a whole lot more words) and he was very concerned about the girls of 4th grade. It was so funny and I had a hard time keeping from laughing.
One of our school family members has been out for a few days and the rest of our family has missed him very much. When he walked in today they all cheered that our friend was back! I have these trophies that I got from the Dollar Tree that students hand out to each other when they see an act of kindness or someone making good choices. Well, when our missed family member walked in the door a student gave him a trophy because he was so happy he was back. I am seeing a lot more encouragement, well wishes and support in our classroom and it is nice to see this hard work pay off. Well, 2 more days of the week... here's to a great end of the week!
Boyfriend and Girlfriends have started! Why don't members of the opposite sex have cooties anymore? I thought boys were gross until at least middle school! I had a student tell me that one of our school family members is a heart breaker (but in a whole lot more words) and he was very concerned about the girls of 4th grade. It was so funny and I had a hard time keeping from laughing.
One of our school family members has been out for a few days and the rest of our family has missed him very much. When he walked in today they all cheered that our friend was back! I have these trophies that I got from the Dollar Tree that students hand out to each other when they see an act of kindness or someone making good choices. Well, when our missed family member walked in the door a student gave him a trophy because he was so happy he was back. I am seeing a lot more encouragement, well wishes and support in our classroom and it is nice to see this hard work pay off. Well, 2 more days of the week... here's to a great end of the week!
Saturday, September 26, 2009
It happened :(
I want from being the favorite teacher to being the not so favorite teacher. My students did not earn the privilege to play Playstation this week. I had a lot of threats to skip school on Friday. One student even said, "I'm going to tell my mom I have a fever of 106!" Of course, ALL of them came to school on Friday. Then, another student thinks that black isn't their color since that is the color I wrote the word Playstation in this week. We will go back to orange next week since they are a little superstitious. So, we will try again next week. They were pretty upset but hopefully they learned that it is a privilege that you have to work for.
Sometimes I wonder how much my students are really learning by the time I stop putting out all of the little fires throughout the day. As I am sitting here thinking about the week I realize that they learned a lot, especially on the laptops so hopefully they will remember that next week and I can actually pull some small groups. :) Here are some things they learned on the computers this week:
* Saving files to the H drive
* Saving files to a flash drive
* Setting up a table in word
* How to use email and had the opportunity to email friends and teachers
* How to create a powerpoint
* Completed the first webquest about Texas
* Inserting word art and clip art
So, that is what we learned on the computers this week. Next week we will try for more academics. :) Even though I get frustrated when we don't get all of our academics covered I see them coming together as a school family and a lot of active learning going on in the room. I am preparing my kids for more than a test, I am preparing them for life and it is essential that they know how to get along with other people and handle their problems.
I find it amazing that you never stop learning as a teacher. I keep thinking I know everything that works until I get a new group of kids and have to start all over. There isn't a one size fits all formula in teaching and every student is different, making every year different. I love this job and I love how every day is different, keeping my life interesting. So, the quest to be the best teacher I can continues as it always will until I retire.
Sometimes I wonder how much my students are really learning by the time I stop putting out all of the little fires throughout the day. As I am sitting here thinking about the week I realize that they learned a lot, especially on the laptops so hopefully they will remember that next week and I can actually pull some small groups. :) Here are some things they learned on the computers this week:
* Saving files to the H drive
* Saving files to a flash drive
* Setting up a table in word
* How to use email and had the opportunity to email friends and teachers
* How to create a powerpoint
* Completed the first webquest about Texas
* Inserting word art and clip art
So, that is what we learned on the computers this week. Next week we will try for more academics. :) Even though I get frustrated when we don't get all of our academics covered I see them coming together as a school family and a lot of active learning going on in the room. I am preparing my kids for more than a test, I am preparing them for life and it is essential that they know how to get along with other people and handle their problems.
I find it amazing that you never stop learning as a teacher. I keep thinking I know everything that works until I get a new group of kids and have to start all over. There isn't a one size fits all formula in teaching and every student is different, making every year different. I love this job and I love how every day is different, keeping my life interesting. So, the quest to be the best teacher I can continues as it always will until I retire.
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
The quest continues...
Today I introduced e-mail to my students. Right now, I am using this as a way to increase communication within our class. However, eventually I want to use it as a way for them to turn in assignments by emailing them to me. I found this great website www.zilladog.com, which is kid friendly email and requires a parent to set up the account and buddy list. Most of the day my kids wanted to email each other. In fact, they even passed up recess to stay in and email!! I couldn't believe my eyes!
I am discovering that it is taking longer for my students to complete their assignment because typing takes longer than writing. I don't mind because they are very engaged in their learning and are not complaining at all! It's amazing! My book club that was supposed to last a week will extend another week so I don't have to worry about rushing them and I want to make sure they complete their assignments to the best of their ability. This has given me motivation to find grants in technology so I can permanently have a laptop cart in my classroom. Thanks for reading about our adventures! It's nice to have a place to get out my "teacher" stories. :)
I am discovering that it is taking longer for my students to complete their assignment because typing takes longer than writing. I don't mind because they are very engaged in their learning and are not complaining at all! It's amazing! My book club that was supposed to last a week will extend another week so I don't have to worry about rushing them and I want to make sure they complete their assignments to the best of their ability. This has given me motivation to find grants in technology so I can permanently have a laptop cart in my classroom. Thanks for reading about our adventures! It's nice to have a place to get out my "teacher" stories. :)
Monday, September 21, 2009
We are currently experiencing technological difficulties...
At least that was the motto today in our classroom. I am always finding ways to encourage and motivate my students. Well, let's be real... our students probably know more about computers than we do! So, I have brought in our laptop cart and am fortunate enough for every child to have one to work on. We spent the first morning setting up some charts for reading and going over rules and such. Then, we shut down the computers and lost all of our work. Bummer! Little did I realize, the school district has it set up so that whenever the computer is shut down it deletes any files that were saved. I have bought some flash drives to use so hopefully this will work out better tomorrow. :) My favorite part of the day happened as I was passing out the laptops. One of my students said, "Mrs. Edugator this class keeps getting more awesome everyday!"
Saturday, September 19, 2009
New Idea... we'll see how it goes
In the past, this has been a blog to educate my parents about events in our classroom. However, I always wanted to create a blog about my adventures in the classroom. (Names have been changed to protect the innocent) *smile* Kids are funny people and say funny things and do amazing things. This blog is where I will share the challenges, adventures, funny stories and touching stories about my students. In the past I have taught kindergarten for 5 years and third for 1 year. This year, my principal asked me to move up to fourth grade. I'm a little nervous because we add another state test, writing. However, I know the kids from last year and have a few of my students from my class.
We have had an interesting first month of school. We had a lot of ups and downs and have been working hard on becoming a school family. We have stopped lessons to do the time machine (a problem solving strategy) many times and encouraged each other a lot! Here are some notes from the first month about exciting events.
* In science we were studying the three states of matter. What better way to show the three states, than with dry ice? My kids thought is was very cool and enjoyed playing in the "fog" and watching the bubbles go over the container from the gas building them up. I got my first "Mrs. Edugator you are awesome!" when I had to throw the dry ice on the floor to break it.
* We have been having a hard time working together as a school family and following directions so I emailed my principal with a plan that I had. This past week we worked as a class to earn 15 minutes on Friday playing Guitar Hero on the Playstation. My class thought this was amazing and we had the best week ever! Yes, I am that teacher... We played Guitar Hero and I saw amazing team work and students helping each other with the ones that had never played before. It was so great!
* We are learning the steps to Thriller. My kids are huge MJ fans!
* We had speeches this week about something we are an expert on. I modeled my speech on Florida Football. I am in no way an "expert" but to my class I am. :) One student said, "I've never had a teacher that knew so much about football". Ha ha! Now you do!
I have had a lot of challenges in the first week with behaviors but it is amazing how I can see changes in the students already in improving their behavior. I am looking forward to a fun year and getting to know these amazing kids in my class.
We have had an interesting first month of school. We had a lot of ups and downs and have been working hard on becoming a school family. We have stopped lessons to do the time machine (a problem solving strategy) many times and encouraged each other a lot! Here are some notes from the first month about exciting events.
* In science we were studying the three states of matter. What better way to show the three states, than with dry ice? My kids thought is was very cool and enjoyed playing in the "fog" and watching the bubbles go over the container from the gas building them up. I got my first "Mrs. Edugator you are awesome!" when I had to throw the dry ice on the floor to break it.
* We have been having a hard time working together as a school family and following directions so I emailed my principal with a plan that I had. This past week we worked as a class to earn 15 minutes on Friday playing Guitar Hero on the Playstation. My class thought this was amazing and we had the best week ever! Yes, I am that teacher... We played Guitar Hero and I saw amazing team work and students helping each other with the ones that had never played before. It was so great!
* We are learning the steps to Thriller. My kids are huge MJ fans!
* We had speeches this week about something we are an expert on. I modeled my speech on Florida Football. I am in no way an "expert" but to my class I am. :) One student said, "I've never had a teacher that knew so much about football". Ha ha! Now you do!
I have had a lot of challenges in the first week with behaviors but it is amazing how I can see changes in the students already in improving their behavior. I am looking forward to a fun year and getting to know these amazing kids in my class.
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