Friday, October 03, 2008
Saturday, September 20, 2008
School
This year is rough. Most of my students are really, low. To make it worse, half of them are still 6. The difference between a 6 year old and 7 year old student is HUGE! Additionally, my students, for the most part, don't have the ganas (desire) to learn. It isn't that they are opposed to it, they would just rather play all day long. I come exhausted every day.
I do have a few bright lights in the class that make it worth showing up each day. One if them is Natalia. I love this kid. She reminds me of the main character from Hairspray both with her physical appearance and her upbeat spirit. She just lights up my day.
I have been working on progress reports for the past hour. Many of them are depressing. However, I just came to Natalia's report and found myself smiling just thinking about her. I have to admit that even though I am appreciating my weekend, I am really looking forward to see this gem on Monday. Thank goodness for the Natalia's of the world!
I do have a few bright lights in the class that make it worth showing up each day. One if them is Natalia. I love this kid. She reminds me of the main character from Hairspray both with her physical appearance and her upbeat spirit. She just lights up my day.
I have been working on progress reports for the past hour. Many of them are depressing. However, I just came to Natalia's report and found myself smiling just thinking about her. I have to admit that even though I am appreciating my weekend, I am really looking forward to see this gem on Monday. Thank goodness for the Natalia's of the world!
Friday, September 19, 2008
Assembly Today
Today we are having a Constitution Day Assembly. The 3th and 5th grades are putting it on but my 2nd grade class and another 2nd grade class are singing two songs. WHY do I volunteer to do these things? I have a headache just thinking about it. We haven't had the time to practice and the kids are not going to be perfect. I know that they will look cute and that is what the parents want to see but still....
I can't wait for teh end of school day bell to ring today!
-Kelly
I can't wait for teh end of school day bell to ring today!
-Kelly
Thursday, September 18, 2008
Highway Politics
The other day Sabi and I were on the freeway listening to the radio and we heard a horn honking. It was a strange place to hear a horn and we both thought at first that it was part of the song we were listening to. We then realized it was the car passing us on the left, trying to get our attention. When we looked at the person in the car he was waving his "thumb down" at us crazily. We didn't know who it was. Then we figured out that it must be regarding our Obama '08 magnet on the car. Once we realized what was going on, Sabina started cracking up hysterically. She thought it was SO silly to see a grown up behave so silly to a complete stranger. Funny!
Sunday, September 14, 2008
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
DELL Hell
I bought a Dell last October. The laptop is cute and fast but that is about all it has going for it. I have had ongoing problems with the computer with their DVD media player. The computer ended up not working because of a problem with the media player. I was told that I would have to wipe the computer clean and start fresh. Dell re-did my computer from their remote site and it was supposed to work. Guess what? When they reinstalled everything they forgot to install that darnmedia player and this time they forgot to install the camera. It took me two months to figure this out since I didn't need to use those two items right away. I have saved so much on the computer in the last two months and now, according to Dell, if I want the computer to work 100%, I will have to dump everything again. I am so angry with them.
DON'T BUY A DELL FOLKS!!!
DON'T BUY A DELL FOLKS!!!
Untitled
Where Have I Been?
I have not been blogging very regularly. This is in part due to the fact that I have been a bit under the weather. It is also partly due to the fact that this year's group of kids are exhausting me. I have no energy to be inspired to blog.
****
Pick Me Ups For the Day:
1) One of my students wrote me a super long letter and gave it to me today telling me how much she likes school, me, etc. It was so sweet. It was accompanied by a very lovely picture.
2) On Tuesday one of my talkers drove me NUTS! I talked to her Jr. Hi brother about it after school. Today, she was perfect. Ii complimented her on her great behavior. This afternoon, her mom came in (for the first time) and asked how her day went. She heard about the bad behavior and apparently had a HUGE talk with her daughter. The mom told me that they have had a lot of chaos going on in their family but that it is no excuse for misbehaving. WOW! That was a great show of support. Yay mom!
I have not been blogging very regularly. This is in part due to the fact that I have been a bit under the weather. It is also partly due to the fact that this year's group of kids are exhausting me. I have no energy to be inspired to blog.
****
Pick Me Ups For the Day:
1) One of my students wrote me a super long letter and gave it to me today telling me how much she likes school, me, etc. It was so sweet. It was accompanied by a very lovely picture.
2) On Tuesday one of my talkers drove me NUTS! I talked to her Jr. Hi brother about it after school. Today, she was perfect. Ii complimented her on her great behavior. This afternoon, her mom came in (for the first time) and asked how her day went. She heard about the bad behavior and apparently had a HUGE talk with her daughter. The mom told me that they have had a lot of chaos going on in their family but that it is no excuse for misbehaving. WOW! That was a great show of support. Yay mom!
Saturday, August 23, 2008
Fifth Grade
Sabi is in fifth grade. I think she is in for an awesome year. Sometime last week we received a 3 page letter from her teacher to be talking about his classroom policies and expectations. I smiled and thought that Sabina was going to have fun but would be in for a year of hard work. Sabina read it and looked depressed. She told me "this year is going to be hard!"
School started on Monday. Sabi came home and told me how great her teacher is and how much she liked school . Super! Back to School Night was on Thursday. At BTS night we were given the same lecture about rules and expectations. In addition to this though, the teacher told us all that he would do to make sure the students are successful. I was impressed. We were also informed of all of the great things the kids were in for this year. Then came the request... The teacher asked to be invited to each student's home through the course of the year for dinner. He wants to get to know the kids outside of school. He said that he would promise to bring dessert. At the end of the year he will then host a dinner for the entire class at his home. How totally cool is that?
I am so excited for Sabi this year. I know that she is really going to suffer at times and will have to learn to "feel the burn" when learning this year but that is all good. I am sure that it will be a year to remember.
Yay for 5th grade!
School started on Monday. Sabi came home and told me how great her teacher is and how much she liked school . Super! Back to School Night was on Thursday. At BTS night we were given the same lecture about rules and expectations. In addition to this though, the teacher told us all that he would do to make sure the students are successful. I was impressed. We were also informed of all of the great things the kids were in for this year. Then came the request... The teacher asked to be invited to each student's home through the course of the year for dinner. He wants to get to know the kids outside of school. He said that he would promise to bring dessert. At the end of the year he will then host a dinner for the entire class at his home. How totally cool is that?
I am so excited for Sabi this year. I know that she is really going to suffer at times and will have to learn to "feel the burn" when learning this year but that is all good. I am sure that it will be a year to remember.
Yay for 5th grade!
Friday, August 22, 2008
10 years ago today
10 years ago around this time of night I went in to labor. At 6:00 am the following morning, I was blessed with my Sabi. She is such a joy and delight. I am happy to be her mommy.
Happy Birthday Baby Girl!
Happy Birthday Baby Girl!
Saturday, August 16, 2008
Back to Work
Yesterday was my first official day back at school. We started with a long staff meeting from 8:30 - 11:30. We have a new principal and vice principal. Both made a good impression on me yesterday so that is good news.
After the meeting I was busy running around like crazy trying to do some last minutes touches on my room. I invited the families of my students to come by for a Meet and Greet session. I ended up with five out of my 20 families. I think that was good for the first time. The kids were great! At first they were a little shy but then they warmed up and had a blast. Their favorite thing to do was read! They found the books in the library and went over to the rub and sat down and read to each other. I wish I had brought my camera with me so that I could have captured that.
I did have some interesting encounters with 2 parents yesterday. One told me, in front of her son, that her son is very hyper and that he doesn't listen and follow directions. She also told me to move him up to the front of the room because he can't see well. As the boy was wearing no glasses I suggested that she take him to an optometrist for an exam. She then told me that he has glasses and needs to use them but he won't listen to her and therefore doesn't use them! Hmm... I watched him with her in the room. She told him to do a few things and he just pretended like she wasn't even there. I finally couldn't take it anymore and I walked over to him and I said "_____ your mom is talking to you." He then tried to pretend like he didn't hear me and he started walking away. I got in front of him to stop him from going anywhere and again told him to follow his mom's directions. The look he gave me was priceless. I think he was dumbfounded that I was going to try and make him do what he was told. He was so shocked that he turned around and asked his mom what he needed to do. Mom was so surprised that she was at first speechless and then she told him what she wanted him to do. As their little boy left I reminded him to wear his glasses on Monday. We will see what happens.
The other interesting encounter was with a parent who wanted to tell me how devoutly religious his family is. That was ok but I started getting nervous when he told me that the problem with school today is that prayer isn't in school anymore. He also told me that when his son comes home from school feeling sad he just tells him to remember that he has G-d in his life and the rest of the kids dont' and that maybe he is there to put G-d in their hearts. Hmm... this went on for a while and I was thinking about how this might play out throughout the year. They then thanked me for having the room open and said that they had to go because they were going to see a movie. I asked which one and they said "The Dark Knight." Somehow this didn't seem to fit with the values he was telling me about and it really doesn't seem like a movie for 7 year olds but who am I to judge!
After the meeting I was busy running around like crazy trying to do some last minutes touches on my room. I invited the families of my students to come by for a Meet and Greet session. I ended up with five out of my 20 families. I think that was good for the first time. The kids were great! At first they were a little shy but then they warmed up and had a blast. Their favorite thing to do was read! They found the books in the library and went over to the rub and sat down and read to each other. I wish I had brought my camera with me so that I could have captured that.
I did have some interesting encounters with 2 parents yesterday. One told me, in front of her son, that her son is very hyper and that he doesn't listen and follow directions. She also told me to move him up to the front of the room because he can't see well. As the boy was wearing no glasses I suggested that she take him to an optometrist for an exam. She then told me that he has glasses and needs to use them but he won't listen to her and therefore doesn't use them! Hmm... I watched him with her in the room. She told him to do a few things and he just pretended like she wasn't even there. I finally couldn't take it anymore and I walked over to him and I said "_____ your mom is talking to you." He then tried to pretend like he didn't hear me and he started walking away. I got in front of him to stop him from going anywhere and again told him to follow his mom's directions. The look he gave me was priceless. I think he was dumbfounded that I was going to try and make him do what he was told. He was so shocked that he turned around and asked his mom what he needed to do. Mom was so surprised that she was at first speechless and then she told him what she wanted him to do. As their little boy left I reminded him to wear his glasses on Monday. We will see what happens.
The other interesting encounter was with a parent who wanted to tell me how devoutly religious his family is. That was ok but I started getting nervous when he told me that the problem with school today is that prayer isn't in school anymore. He also told me that when his son comes home from school feeling sad he just tells him to remember that he has G-d in his life and the rest of the kids dont' and that maybe he is there to put G-d in their hearts. Hmm... this went on for a while and I was thinking about how this might play out throughout the year. They then thanked me for having the room open and said that they had to go because they were going to see a movie. I asked which one and they said "The Dark Knight." Somehow this didn't seem to fit with the values he was telling me about and it really doesn't seem like a movie for 7 year olds but who am I to judge!
Monday, August 04, 2008
Back to School Time
It's that time of the year again...back to school time. School starts in two weeks but I have to start getting the room ready and get my lesson plans in order. This year is a bit different because we changed from year round to traditional schedule. I am not happy about it but what can I do. The silver lining in this schedule is that I have two extra weeks of vacation. I am going to try to enjoy them. Usually, when I am on vacation, I spend a lot of time in my classroom getting things ready or cleaning or prepping etc. This time, I was away from my room for 24 days straight! That is an all time record for me....WOW! I went in for a few hours last week to asses the damage and work a bit. Today I went back with Sabi and she helped me to get the desks ready and work in my library. I will have to go back again but I will wait a few more days. I am enjoying being away from school.
I am planning to do something new this year before school starts. I want to have a "Meet and Greet" hour on the day before school starts in my room. I will send out postcards to the families of kids who will be in my room. This will allow me the chance to get to know the families and will allow the students a chance to get to meet me and check out their new room. I asked the secretary for a sheet of address labels with the addresses of my new students so I could send out the postcards. My heart almost sank to my knees when I saw one of the names on the list. I have D.E.! D.E. is one of those kids that everyone in the whole entire school knows by the end of the first trimester of kindergarten, a kid who has quite a reputation at an early age. I am quite familiar with him as each time it was my week to do yard duty, I ended up escorting him to the principal's office. His first grade teacher sent a note to me saying that "he is ok as long as his parents remember to give him meds...if not...watch out." YIKES!!! I am going to have my work cut out for me this year.
I REALLY need to enjoy these last two weeks. This year may turn out to be a long one.
I am planning to do something new this year before school starts. I want to have a "Meet and Greet" hour on the day before school starts in my room. I will send out postcards to the families of kids who will be in my room. This will allow me the chance to get to know the families and will allow the students a chance to get to meet me and check out their new room. I asked the secretary for a sheet of address labels with the addresses of my new students so I could send out the postcards. My heart almost sank to my knees when I saw one of the names on the list. I have D.E.! D.E. is one of those kids that everyone in the whole entire school knows by the end of the first trimester of kindergarten, a kid who has quite a reputation at an early age. I am quite familiar with him as each time it was my week to do yard duty, I ended up escorting him to the principal's office. His first grade teacher sent a note to me saying that "he is ok as long as his parents remember to give him meds...if not...watch out." YIKES!!! I am going to have my work cut out for me this year.
I REALLY need to enjoy these last two weeks. This year may turn out to be a long one.
Back
We came back from our trip last week. I haven't felt much like blogging because I haven't been feeling well. I have been checking out everyone else's blogs but haven't been inspired to blog until today.
More on the trip later...
-K
More on the trip later...
-K
Sunday, July 06, 2008
Bye
I will be leaving for Panama in 2 days. Depending on the internet service available, I may or may not blog...we'll see. Have a good July y'all. I will be back soon.
I will be back older too... the last 30's birthday this year...
Ciao!
I will be back older too... the last 30's birthday this year...
Ciao!
Friday, July 04, 2008
You've Heard This Story Before...
Me and the gym...
I like the gym. I enjoy the benefits the come from working out at the gym. I am always happy after I am done working out at the gym.
I just hate the process of GOING to the gym. I think about it and just want to roll my eyes and complain. The strange thing is that now that I am on vacation it should be easier than ever to get to the gym. I have a lot of free time. I have been to the gym every day this week but not before 6pm. Why? Because it has taken me the whole day to make myself go! I was surprised to hear the gym would be open today. I was even more surprised to hear that it would be open for regular hours today. I then found out that it is open regular hours because there is a BIG party at the gym for the 4th which will end in watching the firework display put on almost next door at the Modesto Nuts baseball game. As soon as I heard that little piece of information I told myself that I wanted to make sure to get to the gym EARLY in order to avoid the mayhem at the gym and driving there due to the baseball game traffic. However, I am still piddling around the house doing little things trying to put off my trip to the gym.
When will the thought of going to the gym be enough to push me out of the door in a hurry? I need that change to happen soon!!!
I like the gym. I enjoy the benefits the come from working out at the gym. I am always happy after I am done working out at the gym.
I just hate the process of GOING to the gym. I think about it and just want to roll my eyes and complain. The strange thing is that now that I am on vacation it should be easier than ever to get to the gym. I have a lot of free time. I have been to the gym every day this week but not before 6pm. Why? Because it has taken me the whole day to make myself go! I was surprised to hear the gym would be open today. I was even more surprised to hear that it would be open for regular hours today. I then found out that it is open regular hours because there is a BIG party at the gym for the 4th which will end in watching the firework display put on almost next door at the Modesto Nuts baseball game. As soon as I heard that little piece of information I told myself that I wanted to make sure to get to the gym EARLY in order to avoid the mayhem at the gym and driving there due to the baseball game traffic. However, I am still piddling around the house doing little things trying to put off my trip to the gym.
When will the thought of going to the gym be enough to push me out of the door in a hurry? I need that change to happen soon!!!
Tuesday, July 01, 2008
On Vacation
Finally! I am on vacation...YIPEE!
The last week of school was brutal. Aside from the fact the the kids and I were just plain tired, we had to deal with awful smoke in the air. Last week at this time there were over 8oo fires in the state. The smoke was blown into our central valley and just stayed put. It was awful to look at and even worse to breathe. We were on the air quality red alert all week until Friday when it turned into a purple alert which is even worse. YUCK! We had a nice bit of wind come through and push the smoke out but the forecast for this weekend calls for less wind, higher heat and more of that smoke pushing our way since we still have fires going around the state.
In an interesting side note to the fires, Gov. Schwarzennegger, has asked that we Californians not buy or use fireworks due to our current situation with the fires and smoke. I was quite pleased and surprised to hear this come from him. Many are bashing his idea though saying that it would hurt non-profit organizations who need the money brought in from the sale of fireworks. I guess that no one ever heard of making a donation!
In other news, Sabi and my mo are off to explore Baltimore, Washington D.C. and Pennsylvania. How fun! I will be joining them soon to go to Panama. Until then...I rest and enjoy being on vacation!
Ciao!
The last week of school was brutal. Aside from the fact the the kids and I were just plain tired, we had to deal with awful smoke in the air. Last week at this time there were over 8oo fires in the state. The smoke was blown into our central valley and just stayed put. It was awful to look at and even worse to breathe. We were on the air quality red alert all week until Friday when it turned into a purple alert which is even worse. YUCK! We had a nice bit of wind come through and push the smoke out but the forecast for this weekend calls for less wind, higher heat and more of that smoke pushing our way since we still have fires going around the state.
In an interesting side note to the fires, Gov. Schwarzennegger, has asked that we Californians not buy or use fireworks due to our current situation with the fires and smoke. I was quite pleased and surprised to hear this come from him. Many are bashing his idea though saying that it would hurt non-profit organizations who need the money brought in from the sale of fireworks. I guess that no one ever heard of making a donation!
In other news, Sabi and my mo are off to explore Baltimore, Washington D.C. and Pennsylvania. How fun! I will be joining them soon to go to Panama. Until then...I rest and enjoy being on vacation!
Ciao!
Sunday, June 22, 2008
Missed It By THAT Much...
Thursday, June 19, 2008
Let It Be Over With Already!
Waking up this week has been awful. I can't believe that I am still in school. The kids and I are tired of being at school every day. I still have 7 more days to go. I don't know if I can hang in there....
HELP!
HELP!
Sunday, June 15, 2008
Little House
For the past 3 weeks I have had my students listen to two books on tape, Little House in the Big Woods and Little House on the Prairie. They are so into the books! We do a chapter or two a day and discuss the events. Sometimes the discussions range from a comparison to the life of the Wilder family to our lives today to discussions of the usage of a racist term in song lyrics sung by Pa. That discussion was deep but good. This week I have started to show the Little House on the Prairie movie. We watch about 20 minutes of it a day. The kids can't get enough of it and are sad when it is time to turn it off. We had a special surprise this week when the 5th graders had their Pioneer Day. My students thought it was so cool to see the 5th graders dressed like the characters in their books. During recess, they followed the Oregon Trail that was set up around campus. It was great fun!
I am always amazed at how interested my second graders are in this series. I guess that good literature always reels you in regardless of how old it is!
Saturday, June 07, 2008
Mixed Emotions
I am getting ready to wrap up the school year. We have three weeks left and I have started counting down the days because I am just so exhausted and ready for a break. Although I am ready for vacation, a part of me is a little sad to see this year end.
One of the reasons that I am sad to see the year end is because I have the world's most fantastic student teacher. She is just amazing. She is a natural at teaching and was such a quick study. I so honored to have had the opportunity to have worked with her. I am also extremely proud of her accomplishments. Not only did she successfully complete the year long student teaching program but she also went above and beyond the credential requirements and challenged herself by working towards and receiving special certification in direct instruction. The job market in our part of California is quite slim right now. Despite this fact, my student teacher went to several teaching fairs. Why they had them, I don't know because no one was hiring. She did however talk to one representative from a small, newer school district close by. This conversation was followed up by a call for an interview and then a job offer for fourth grade for the coming year. She got a job when no one else has! Yay! I am so sad to see her go but so happy for her.
The other reason that I am sad to see this year end is because I have one of, if not the best group of students that I have ever had. Academically, they are not necessarily the cream of the crop but in the areas of respectfulness, kindness, good naturedness, risk taking, hard working and just plain good heartedness, they are the best ever. They started out great and got even better. My student teacher and I were commenting on Friday at how well they behave and how independent they have become. In fact, on Friday, I marveled at their working habits. I had some group work planned for them and was ready to pop around to all of the groups and help out but they had it all under control without me. In fact, they handled the entire day that way. It was amazing. If one student didn't know how to spell a word, another one sitting close by helped him out. When another student needed help with a math problem, a peer would offer to help that student out in solving the problem. The most incredible thing about this though was in the way they helped each other. They were so kind, positive and approached it in an educational manner by helping their friends learn how to solve the problem by themselves. I heard a lot of "mini-me's" on Friday. "What part of the word so you know?" "Did you check to see what the operation is? Do you need to add or subtract?" "What do you always need at the beginning of a sentence" "Remember, synonyms are the same or almost the same thing." etc.
I was so floored and proud of their behavior. It was just the greatest gift a teacher can receive to see their students using what they know effectively and independently. At one point during the day on Friday I just sat back and watched my busy little bees and started feeling sad because I am going to miss all of those great little personalities next year. I stopped the class for a few minutes in the afternoon to tell them just how proud of them I was and one little boy sweetly said "Well, thank you!" Then they all got back to work. Wow!
I guess that my babies are ready to go on and fly. I know that they will just soar.
One of the reasons that I am sad to see the year end is because I have the world's most fantastic student teacher. She is just amazing. She is a natural at teaching and was such a quick study. I so honored to have had the opportunity to have worked with her. I am also extremely proud of her accomplishments. Not only did she successfully complete the year long student teaching program but she also went above and beyond the credential requirements and challenged herself by working towards and receiving special certification in direct instruction. The job market in our part of California is quite slim right now. Despite this fact, my student teacher went to several teaching fairs. Why they had them, I don't know because no one was hiring. She did however talk to one representative from a small, newer school district close by. This conversation was followed up by a call for an interview and then a job offer for fourth grade for the coming year. She got a job when no one else has! Yay! I am so sad to see her go but so happy for her.
The other reason that I am sad to see this year end is because I have one of, if not the best group of students that I have ever had. Academically, they are not necessarily the cream of the crop but in the areas of respectfulness, kindness, good naturedness, risk taking, hard working and just plain good heartedness, they are the best ever. They started out great and got even better. My student teacher and I were commenting on Friday at how well they behave and how independent they have become. In fact, on Friday, I marveled at their working habits. I had some group work planned for them and was ready to pop around to all of the groups and help out but they had it all under control without me. In fact, they handled the entire day that way. It was amazing. If one student didn't know how to spell a word, another one sitting close by helped him out. When another student needed help with a math problem, a peer would offer to help that student out in solving the problem. The most incredible thing about this though was in the way they helped each other. They were so kind, positive and approached it in an educational manner by helping their friends learn how to solve the problem by themselves. I heard a lot of "mini-me's" on Friday. "What part of the word so you know?" "Did you check to see what the operation is? Do you need to add or subtract?" "What do you always need at the beginning of a sentence" "Remember, synonyms are the same or almost the same thing." etc.
I was so floored and proud of their behavior. It was just the greatest gift a teacher can receive to see their students using what they know effectively and independently. At one point during the day on Friday I just sat back and watched my busy little bees and started feeling sad because I am going to miss all of those great little personalities next year. I stopped the class for a few minutes in the afternoon to tell them just how proud of them I was and one little boy sweetly said "Well, thank you!" Then they all got back to work. Wow!
I guess that my babies are ready to go on and fly. I know that they will just soar.
Another side of Hillary (for me, at least)
I have never really been a Hillary Clinton fan. I just watched her today endorsing Obama and I have to say, she gave quite an outstanding speech. Within the first few minutes I had goosebumps and was brought to a tear or two listening to her stories of supporters. I still don't know how I feel about an Obama/Hillary ticket but I do have a new view of Hillary.
*****
On a side note, I made Sabina watch the speech today with my mom. She was not happy at first because the cartoon channel sounded more interesting than a speech. She did listen to the speech and make comments along the way such as running for president is like playing chess. (someone loses, someone wins, you have to think about your moves and you could get knocked down along the way!) It was cool to have our three generations of women watching this historic moment inhistory.
*****
On a side note, I made Sabina watch the speech today with my mom. She was not happy at first because the cartoon channel sounded more interesting than a speech. She did listen to the speech and make comments along the way such as running for president is like playing chess. (someone loses, someone wins, you have to think about your moves and you could get knocked down along the way!) It was cool to have our three generations of women watching this historic moment inhistory.
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