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.