Another September Birthday Blues

Well, it was Em's birthday today which makes five this month. We made her the traditional birthday book in which everyone encloses an illustrated letter. I thought we had gotten off easy without cake this time because it was the end of the day, and none had shown up. We sang the usual song and rolled the birthday dice which selected the poem to be read. Then at least a half dozen students got on the bandwagon to roll the dice. They all claimed to have lost teeth which entitled them to a roll of the teeth dice.

In the end, the cake showed up. "Oh, rats," I muttered under my breath. "More cake, more sugared up kids."
The school board passed a resolution to disallow sweets at school, but what is one to do about the cakes that arrive willy nilly as each birthday occurs. Then, I bit my tongue because after all, it was a child's birthday which is really the most important day in their sweet but short lives.

A good teacher must always have a positive attitude even when the frosting is dripping off the top of the cupcakes, and the kid-lets are bouncing in the seats on a mellow chocolate high.

I corrected their math tests, fact tests, spelling tests and edited their fall paragraphs after school. I also planned out my next week and set the schedule correct for Monday.

I thought about my kiddoos as I played catch up in the work department, I need to reach past the surface, dive deeper into the consciousness of the world through the eyes of a child.

The Peace Path

We solve our problems in room 33 by using the peace path. We got to it today because many students wanted it, but we had to have it early during math time so not to conflict with the activity time at the end of the day. Juggling the schedule is a daily mind boggling event. Here's how the peace path works: anyone who has a problem can take it to the class council. We pick names from a tin box to take turns with conflicts. If you have no conflict, you say pass.

We begin with a recital of the rules including hand signs: no put downs, no gossip, right to pass, active listening. Everyone does this in chorus. Emily was the mediator, and I assisted since Joshua was out. Anytime we named someone who had a problem, they'd step up to the path. The wronged child stands on red, the defendant stands on blue. "I feel bad when you're mean" said the newbie to the peace path. "That won't do," said I, "You haven't told us what mean is! You need exact words."
"I don't get it." "Well, what was so mean, tell me what he did." Then the story comes out. O has been a bit of a show off to his friend. "That's a put down! When you say, 'I can do it better than you,' you'll hurt someone's feelings." I steer them through their agreement.

"You've agreed to be kinder to your friend, can you keep that as a promise?" so asks the mediator as we step through the conflict.
"Does that solve the problem?"
"Shake hands, and exit in peace."
When Bella and Sofia step up to the peace path, there's a murmur - "but their best friends!"
"And they want to stay best friends," I remind them. "The peace path is a good place to work out anything with your best friend. It's not a bad thing, it's a good thing!"
"Oh, now I get it!" exclaimed O, "It's for talking about things."

And so we go, step by step, facing the small concerns one item at a time.

Thousands Club

A veteran teacher understands the need for good 'sponge' activities. The sponge is any somewhat important activity that a child can do on their own after they have finished with their assigned seatwork. These days we call these the May Dos, and the Must Dos. On the must do list, are all the most essential tasks - stories or letters to write, the daily language, spelling and math worksheets. On the may do list, there's a few easy, valuable but not immediate tasks that a child who finishes early can do so that they don't have to come up with their own ideas. My May Do list is simple: read a book, practice with flash cards, or work on your Thousand Club Book.

The thousand club book is a simple book with 10 pages of 100 grid graph paper on which one can write the counting numbers to 1,000. Here's where it gets a little twisted, if I made my students write to 1,000 it would be like pulling teeth. They'd hide their books, lose them and break pencils just to avoid this horrific chore. I've been this route.

But to put it on the May Do list, a prize activity choice and voila! It's got a new image, Now it's the most popular pastime happening in room 33. If I turn my back on my munchkins, there they go - sneaking out their counting books to clandestinely work on them.

I already have seven students who have finished their books, one more will finish tomorrow. I gently scold them for working too much on the numbers when they need to finish their language arts, but not without an inner chuckle. I'm quietly proud of their contrary industry.

What's in the Box?

Everyone in second grade got a chance to view the BOX - a big enough TP box of corregated cardboard decked out with labels: Handle with Care/ Caution, Fragile/ Breakable, and This side up. We all guessed and Mrs. G even pretended to lift it as if it were very heavy. It was empty, but the little guys didn't know that because they were told not to touch it.

On Monday, we all trooped out to the garden area in front of our rooms for the grand box opening. While we were inside taking care of morning business, our aide V slipped out and fetched Jose, a former second grader to be the imaginary pig. "Do I have to do this again? I did it last year!" Jose exclaimed. "Well, we could ask someone else," we said. "No! I'll do it." So we had a deal.

Jose crouched in wearing a pig mask, and we made haste to gather up the kids in a giant circle so they could all see. Then after a brief introduction, Jose popped out! Our second graders were amused, all laughing at the sight of a child dressed up like a pig hopping out of the crate. It was a sight to behold the teachable moment.

Even more touching was the vision of our former second graders, now in third, clustered at the window looking on at our impromptu assembly. All of them were lined up with their faces alight watching the new second graders. I looked back at them, and took in the image of education at its best.

It's not about test scores, skill drilling, or data. It's those small enthusiastic beings who just got to share a well crafted prank - the kind of street theatre that will always help them remember what it means to be curious, and to make a prediction
After we finished chuckling over the box, we all returned to class to read about Julius, the pig from Alaska who arrived in a box to become Angela's pet.

No one got stuck on the word "imitate" even though it's a mouthful. We read with a picture in our minds of what the story was about.

The Box from Alaska

I've been very erratic about this blog business. Just wanted to clarify that last entry, we never did get that new teacher and I am still teaching my 24 kids. Janeth moved over, her classroom was all set up, then another teacher quit which set off a chain reaction resulting in Janeth returning to her own class at S. So it was all for naught.

I had my Back to School Night and it was attended well. Now I am getting the class all settled in. I have some ideas for my whiz kids-I'm going to get them to practice writing their sight words (spelling) because they have mastered reading them. If I give them a special pen, & worksheet in a plastic sleeve then it just might seem exciting enough for them. I will also get them going writing numbers by twos. I set up some museums of Homophones, synonyms and homonyms. It's a good display.

Friday, I had a visit from a cluster of third graders - former students. They wanted to know if this year's class had seen the BOX. I had forgotten all about the BOX but they hadn't. Last year, we brought in a big empty cardboard box and attached a few intriguing labels - From Grand daddy in Alaska. We had all the kids guess what was in the box, and write about it but no touching or peeking. Then we hid a couple of kid's in the box with pig noses and had them jump out to surprise the class. I think you have to read Julius to understand why we needed to dress them up like pigs. Julius was a pig that arrived in a big crate from Alaska. Well, these kids hadn't forgotten the box and wanted us to do it again! So I went out and found a big enough box in the staff room and it's all decked out ready for the surprise opening tomorrow.

We just need to sneak a child into it and have him or her pop out with the pig mask. And this little pig will say "Whee Whee Whee all the way home!