Reading Teachers Rock

Hmmm. . .

2011-04-12T14:55:00.000-05:00

I'm beginning to think I have a brown noser. He tells me how pretty me or my shirt or my hair is everyday. Today? He said my drawing was so beautiful!

So, how did my hair look?!

Writing

2011-04-06T10:33:00.000-05:00

I had my kindergarteners do some writing for me the other day so we could see where they were. Here's one sample -

I could read "I like" something. Not sure what! Then the bottom word Odxe had me puzzled. Until I noticed he was sitting by this!

Lol! Poor kiddo just wanted to write something!

I had another student in 3rd grade write the cutest story about me!

One time I meet a women with yellow hair on ------ Elementary School. She has a little room. She teach me and -------- and she lets us get on the computer in rosetta stone. She give us things. She gave us a folder for our mystery word clues. She is a good teacher. She said that we have to write stories about math, my best friend, and our country. She pick us up at ten am when I am doing reading. That teacher was born in Nebraska and she put music on for us to entertain by we working.

So sweet!!

School is not. . .

2011-03-02T13:34:00.000-06:00

a strip club! Glad we cleared that up today. I told a 3rd grader to pull up his pants and that's what his friend chimed in with!

7 Facts

2011-02-28T13:51:00.000-06:00

I was tagged in a "7 Facts" award that's going around. I was tagged by The Caffeinated Teacher. Basically you provide 7 random facts about yourself and then tag 15 other bloggers to play along. It's always fun to learn weird, random things about people :)

1) I'm addicted to Zumba!! I get mad when I have to miss class! I became licensed to teach it in December. I want to take the Zumbatomic training so I can teach kids Zumba! :)

2) I love baseball. I go to as many games as I can a year. My goal is to visit every major league baseball stadium. My favorite team is the Dodgers!

3) I started doing 5Ks last year. My husband and I both enjoy finding fun 5Ks to try. We just did one a few Saturdays ago as a couple - Cupid's Couple Run!

4) I am an only child, but do have a foster sister. She is 6 years older. My middle name is her name.

5) We have 2 cats, 2 dogs, and 2 guinea pigs! Like to keep things even. :) One dog is blind and diabetic. She has to have insulin shots twice a day.

6) I love chocolate covered sunflower seeds! I think it has become my drug of choice, lol!

7) My husband's 24 year old sister moved in with us just before Christmas. It's been ummm, interesting. And expensive.

Sorry there's not pictures on everything - I got tired. And I've been holding this post hostage for a while now, so here it is!

Now to tag some people! I didn't come up with 15, but feel free to do this and let me know. I'd love to read yours!

Teaching Happily Ever After
You Never know What You're Gonna Get
Ms Teacher
Life in the Mimsy Borogoves
Vodka Mom
Ginger Snaps
Finding Normal
Dead Class Pets

Ms. Fashion

2011-02-09T10:57:00.000-06:00

I have a cute little kindergartener, Ms. Fashion. The other day I was walking her to the bus and she was excited to comment on my clothes.

Ms. Fashion: Mrs. Z! I know why you're wearing those shoes!
Me: Oh really? Why?
Ms. Fashion: Because they're brown! Like your sweater!
Me: That's right!
Ms. Fashion: You match! This part in your sweater matches your pants too.

Wow, glad I wasn't clashing! Who knows what she'd tell me! The next day I picked her up again and it was all about my hair.

Ms. Fashion: Can I touch your hair?
Me: Umm, ok. . .
Ms. Fashion: It feels so soft and fluffy!
Me: Thanks!
Ms. Fashion: It's soft like this. (She points to the fleece lining on her jacket)
Me: Really? Wow!

She has also noticed when I've worn a lot of black and said I matched again. I think we have a future fashion designer or hair stylist!

New School, Part 1 - My Box, I Mean Classroom

2011-02-01T12:57:00.002-06:00

I've been meaning write about our new school and just haven't had the energy! We moved over Christmas break. No, we weren't given time to do it, paid, or anything. It was crazy. My room was not ready the several times I came up to work, so it wasn't ready to go when school started. I had boxes everywhere. I moved from a large portable to a tiny office. Still have to pull my kids in here. I have one bookshelf that holds my curriculum and I stole a small shelf to put books on for my kiddos. No other storage! My husband had to clean out the garage to make room for everything I brought home! There are some bigger empty rooms that I would love to have, but they're being saved in case we need them. I also didn't get a document camera, projector, or notepad like the other teachers did. We couldn't bring overheads with us so I have no way to project anything. I had to trade tables with another teacher just to get enough table space for my classes. My principal though I could fit 9 kids around a table made for 3 or 4 students. I had to steal another table to hold my computers. When my students are in my room, it is almost impossible to move around the room. Good thing I'm small! I'll add some pictures, you'll understand!

My path to my teaching table! This is the only way back here.

Standing in the corner - I walk through here to get to my teaching table.

Standing at the door to come in my room.

All my curriculum is on that beige shelf. Not much room to get there! Sorry this is so blurry!

A kindergartener walking in my room. He just squeezes through! I did ask to get rid of the teacher desk, but am now using it for storage space.

When kids are on the computer you can't get through!

I can't open the filing cabinet all the way!

Uno, Dos

2011-01-13T12:50:00.003-06:00

The end of last year and beginning of this year have been a wild ride! I'll write more about our move to our new campus later and all the fun that brought over Christmas break. I have a sweet story to share though and don't want to forget it!

We had a new student start last week in first grade. She spoke no English and had just arrived from Mexico. Poor girl was scared - no one spoke her language and she didn't know what was going on! I found out she cried for 6 hours one day! The little girl who sat next to her (and is black) wanted to help. She was rubbing her back and talking to her. The teacher asked what she was saying and she responded, "If you talk to her in Spanish, she stops!" And she did. The teacher was surprised and told the little girl she didn't know she could speak Spanish! Sweet girl said "I can count and say colors!" That's all it took though! Made my heart melt!

PS - We have now moved the new girl to a different school for bilingual. :)

Wonderful Speaker

2010-12-15T10:42:00.002-06:00

This weekend I had the opportunity to go hear a phenomenal speaker with several schools. It was a Saturday morning - hard to get teachers motivated on a Saturday just before Christmas break. We were all blown away. If you ever get the chance to hear Dr. Adolph Brown - GO!!! You will love it. There are video clips on his website. I bought one of his books to read and can't wait. I know my description will never be close to seeing him in person, but I promise he is worth the time. One thing that stands out is that if you can't picture all your students graduating college, then find a new job.

Our Christmas Wishes

2010-12-07T15:07:00.011-06:00

Our school has a door decorating contest. I really don't care for them because it usually is what teacher spends the most time decorating, not showing off the what the students do. I came across this idea for a bulletin board at Caffeinated Teacher and decided to adapt it for our door. I had my K-2 students tell me what they wished they could give or do for someone else for Christmas. We had a discussion about people less fortunate than us, so most of them caught on. We made a small letter to Santa that folded into an envelope from here. Then my 3rd-5th graders wrote a longer wish explaining why they wished that. We put their stories inside a gift box to open and read. I thought it came out cute!

tag to encourage people to read our wishes

inside a letter

a box opened

Field Trip

2010-12-03T11:07:00.003-06:00

Yesterday I went with kindergarten on a field trip to see Babes in Toyland. It was a pretty good trip and somehow I ended up with the most talkative kid ever as my seatmate on the bus! I'm not kidding, he talked or sang the entire way there and back! I heard about his dad's truck, his uncle's car, how his sister is white, but his other sister and him are white and black, last year they took food on a field trip, I've been there, I live there, and he sang the green, red, and blue songs for me! He also got very excited about a building and thought that should be our field trip. I turned to see, expecting a fire station or something but it was . . . a uniform cleaning building! Got to love the mind of a 5 year old!

Thanksgiving

2010-11-19T09:34:00.002-06:00

Oh I love teaching about Thanksgiving - being thankful, pilgrims, Native Americans, and food! Some of my kids give interesting answers when we discuss what we learned. Did you know that the Pigwams came over on the Flower? Love it. Oh and the things we're thankful for! Here are a few from my older kids - helping anyone in help (need, maybe?), my frinds (exact spelling), my family for coming to my house, having the best parents, and my mom because she brought me to life (aww!). My younger ones had lots of ideas too - food, toys, no not my brother, trees, school, my dog, my bunny rabbit that we had to give away to someone that doesn't have any pets, not my baby sister, my hampster, grandma, my friends, my teacher, my fish, learning, my dog and my sister (in that order) and my favorite - Jesus. Happy Thanksgiving!

Great Book

2010-11-17T11:49:00.004-06:00

I ordered a bunch of books from Scholastic the other day and noticed a new one by Audrey Penn (author of The Kissing Hand). I had to buy it. I noticed the title - Chester Raccoon and the Acorn Full of Memories. I figured it was some sort of fall book and didn't read the description. I was quite surprised when I started it and realized it was about Chester having a friend pass away. It was so sad; I was almost in tears walking down the hall (bad idea to read new books while walking around)! It was very well written though, and would be great for a class that lost a student. I would've loved to have it the year our school lost 3 kids from one family. I highly recommend this book - just read it alone the first time!

Hibernation

2010-11-15T09:08:00.002-06:00

One of my 2nd graders needed to finish a quiz for his classroom teacher. I set him at a table and let him work. Here's one of his questions and his answer! It was all I could do not to laugh!

Love Is in the Air!

2010-11-10T10:48:00.003-06:00

I started my day covering a 2nd grade class whose teacher had a doctor's appointment. While in there, I intercepted a note that a little boy was trying to pass!

I thought it was too cute to get upset over!

I worked with my kindergarten group who did much better than yesterday. When they were lining up, one little boy (with the same name as my hubby) looked up and said, "I love you!" Aww, he's a cutie! Look out JZ - you've got some competition, lol!

Pets

2010-11-05T08:53:00.003-05:00

Yesterday we were discussing pets in my first grade group. We made a graph of the pets our class has at home. Here's the graph:

Can you see the last pet? Turkey?! Sure hope someone's pet isn't missing after Thanksgiving!

Did that really just happen?

2010-11-03T13:22:00.003-05:00

Friday (before Halloween), I went to get my 4th graders. There I was, just strolling along the boardwalk - since my room is in the trailer park behind the school. I'm almost to the main building. I walk close to a trash can. It starts to move! Yikes! Then a possum JUMPS out at me!!!!!!!!!! I probably jumped 10 feet and am amazed I didn't scream or pee on myself! It ran under the boardwalk and I ran inside. All these years I thought possums were nocturnal.

Changes

2010-10-06T11:07:00.002-05:00

Wow, it's been a while since I wrote! This year has been crazy so far. The grant I was working under ending last year, leaving about 20 people in our district needing jobs. My campus (let's call it L) also combined with another campus (M), leaving some teachers needed to be placed somewhere else. I ended up at a different school (F) teaching pre-k. I packed up everything and spent several weeks (and hundreds of dollars) getting my room ready at F. I loved it! I had a great class, wonderful colleagues, and a friendly principal (what a change!) Then the principal got hired in another district. Ok, interim principal was great! Still happy! I bought 2 guinea pigs for our classroom pets. The kids loved them! Then one day (the 4th week of school) I was called back to campus from a training. I found out they needed another 1st grade teacher and had to lose a pre-k teacher. The teacher hired after me volunteered to go because she liked older kids. I lost my planning partner, but she was still next door so we were happy no one had to move. Last Monday, the 5th week of school, I was called to the office after lunch. Found out they needed a bilingual pre-k teacher and I was going to have to move. I ended up back at my old school :( teaching ESL as a pull-out. I had 1 day to pack up. I was devastated. I got to my campus (now called M) and the principal really doesn't want me because I'm not bilingual. That was a mess. So now I'm trying to learn another job and get settled. Until we move to our new school over Christmas break. I can't bring the classroom pets because I'm in a portable that has terrible insulation and I can't keep the temperature even. None of my friends from M have even bothered to come see my classroom, much less see if I need any help. Guess I better get back to getting settled. Still waiting on all my stuff to be moved and the teacher that was here just got her stuff out yesterday. There's a mess in here! I have no energy left to make this room look good! Hopefully I get trained on all the paperwork that is required soon. Sorry for the long rambling post! I really hope everyone else is having a better school year!

How Sweet

2010-05-21T09:44:00.002-05:00

We're closing in on the end of the school year! Hooray! Of course that means we're super busy. I don't know what I'll be teaching or even what school I'll be at because the grant funding my position is ending. Hopefully I'll hear soon where I'll be next year!

I had a picture laying on my table of a 1st grade teacher, a 2nd grade teacher, a retired teacher who subs, and myself. One of my students saw it and said, "My favorite teacher!" I had to ask, "Which one?" Sweet boy answered, "2nd grade teacher and you." Aw, smart boy.

Eyes

2010-04-23T14:43:00.002-05:00

I work with a few students who are next door with a 2nd grade teacher (we'll call Mrs. Blue Eyes). The other day one of these students told her she had "scary eyes." Mrs. Blue Eyes asked why they were scary and he just shrugged. So she asked what color they were. He responds, "blue." As she was trying to convince him that blue eyes aren't scary, another darling yelled out "Mrs. Z has red eyes!" I do? Really? I know they change colors, but I always thought they were green or bluish-gray. Hmmm. Do I turn into demon teacher when they're in here?

I Love Free Stuff!

2010-04-05T10:21:00.004-05:00

Oh, how I heart free stuff!! Over at Confessions of an Untenured Teacher, she's giving away this awesome pocket chart from CSN stores!

Here's more info, copied from her blog!

Up for grabs is this pocket chart, perfect for your classroom, your home office, or as a gift to your child's teacher (did you know National Teacher Appreciation week is May 2-8?):

This pocket chart has 27 pockets that hold standard sized file folders. It also includes 27 dry erase cards so you can reuse it year after year!

All of us out there could use a bit more organization in life! But because I practically live in my classroom, I thought of some potential uses:

Student mailboxes
Student portfolios
File folder center storage
Storing extra work for independent activities
Storing teacher memos and random paperwork you can never seem to find a proper place for!

So hurry over and enter!

Maybe we need some work on /i/ and /e/. . .

2010-03-11T11:26:00.002-06:00

Yesterday I had a group of 1st graders. We have a part in their lesson to practice spelling with sounds we've learned, so sometimes we make a game of it on the white board. They love this! I had two students at the board racing to see who can spell the word correctly first and the loser picks who goes next. Here's a small part of our game -
Me: OK guys, your word is "tent"
Spacey Boy swiftly wrote "tit" and was so proud for finishing first!
Challenger got it right (thank goodness) and I quickly made sure no one was peering in the window to see what I was teaching!

Usually I have them sound out incorrectly spelled words so they can hear the difference, but I hurriedly moved along!

Art Museum

2010-03-05T12:49:00.004-06:00

I went along with 2nd grade on a trip to a local art museum. We were divided into groups, so I was with 11 kids and a docent. She stopped in front of a picture of a covered wagon on a trail with snow tipped mountains in the distance. She asked the children what season they thought it was. In our part of Texas it hardly ever snows. So they saw snow and answered winter! The docent frowned and asked if there was snow on the grass - no. Well there's no snow on our green grass either. Last I checked it is still winter though! She told them the mountains her higher up and could have snow year round. So she asked again what season it looked like. Now the kids are confused! Finally someone guesses spring. She asks what else. Fall? OK, what else? Summer?? Puzzled looks were on every one's faces. She said, "The only season this could NOT be is winter!" Poor kids!
We continued walking and one girl excitedly pointed at another painting, saying, "Look! A pot bellied pig!!" The docent looked and replied, "No. That is a wild hog."
The docent brought us to another painting with four men in it. She asked what they noticed about the faces. One child said, "PIMPLES!!" I couldn't help it, I snorted! She asked for it!! Of course, the ever positive docent replied, "No. Those could be moles."
Thank you docent, for encouraging these young minds!

When I Grow Up

2010-02-26T11:18:00.003-06:00

This week my kindergarten class I teach at church thought about what they wanted to be when they grow up. This is always entertaining!
Me: What do you want to be when you grow up?
A: A police!
Me: Oh good, and how about you E?
E: Um, a dentist?
Me: Oh, wow, that's great! How about you C?
C: I don't know!
Me: Ok, think for a minute and I'll get back to you. How about you N?
N: A police man.
Me: That's good. L, how about you?
L: A football player
Me: Alright! C, have you thought of something?
C: Yes! I want to be one of those people at Toys R Us that puts the toys out.
Me: That would be a fun place to work with all the toys.
C: Yeah, I just love that place.

Lol, I bet he does!

Bread

2010-02-18T10:37:00.002-06:00

I was walking around the cafeteria on my lunch duty the other day and noticed one of the kindergarten students wasn't eating. I told her she better eat before lunch was over. Her reply? My momma says bread makes your butt big. I told her I thought she'd be fine eating her roll and walked off before I cracked up!

Valentine's Day Reading

2010-02-12T13:05:00.002-06:00

In honor on Valentine's Day this weekend, I had my kids reading a book about it today. This one was a little step by step instruction book on how to make a Valentine. Little L was reading along, "Now write a romance." Nope L, that's not romance, that's rhyme! Hey, he got the right beginning sound AND it made sense!

Yesterday one of my little girls was working hard and getting answers right. She looked up and said, "Mrs. Z - I'm getting smart!" Too cute.

Indivisible

2010-01-22T10:39:00.003-06:00

Another teacher sent a student down to me with a box (1st grade). We'll call him Droopy Pants. His friend, one of my students - Sneaky Boy, decided to come along. Apparently this box was closed when it left the other teacher. When Droopy and Sneaky found me, they excitedly told me about what was in the box. Later in the day I talked to the teacher who sent the box. Apparently Sneaky wasn't even supposed to be with Droopy and the box. And the box was closed. I asked the boys how it got open then. Sneaky's response? "Our indivisible friend opened it!" Oh really? And what's your friend's name? "Oh, he said we can't tell. It's a secret!"

Why Teachers Work

2010-01-13T11:25:00.002-06:00

I was working with my first graders the other day and we were reading about teachers and police. One of the "thought provoking" questions before we read was, "Why do people work as teachers and police?" J raised his hand excitedly to answer, "People need to do those jobs to get money and pay the bills so the lights don't get cut off." Well, that's true - not what I was going for - but very true. Later in our discussion I asked them why we had police. J's answer? "To pull you over if you go over the limit." Hmm, limit? Drinking limit? Speed limit? Hoping he meant speed limit since he had obviously seen this happen, I asked (not smart, when I think back on it!) what he meant. He said, "you know, that limit sign!" Phew! Speed limit!

Cars

2010-01-08T09:47:00.003-06:00

I had more excitement on the way to school Tuesday than I planned. I turned into the parking lot and heard a loud crash and it felt like my car hit a brick wall. No, I didn't hit anyone or anything! My wheel fell off my car. Yes, you read that right. Just fell off.
Apparently, when my transmission was repaired they failed to tighten a nut so it worked off. Lovely. At least it happened here and not on the highway. Of course plenty of kids saw me sitting there in my car as I tried to figure out what had happened! Here's my conversation with one of my 3rd grade darlings
Darling: Mrs. Z! I saw your wheel fell off your car this morning!
Me: Yes it did Darling.
Darling: I know cause we saw you when we got to school.
Me: Well, why didn't you stop to help me?!
Darling: I don't know how to fix THAT!
Lol, she was too cute! Her mom did check on me after school. She had gone home to get her dad to come up to look at it for me, but he'd left for work. Glad someone was worried!

And the debate has started. . .

2009-12-09T13:12:00.005-06:00

Yesterday my 2nd graders were finishing their Christmas bags (so I could get them filled - I hate that part!) and I heard them start the classic is Santa real or not debate. The debate was between Sweet Girl and Tough Boy. I was so surprised to hear Tough Boy yelling, "He is too real!" Apparently Sweet Girl said something else so he replied, "If there's no Santa, how do you explain the North Pole?" Well? How do you? Lol! Too funny!

Snowmen

2009-12-07T11:32:00.005-06:00

Last week I found a new way to make snowmen ornaments and decided to give it a try. The directions sounded pretty simple and fun. I think they turned out pretty cute! Each child needs wax paper to make their snowman on. They make they body out of glue - yep, just plain old glue! Drop in either paper or googly eyes, a nose, buttons (real, paper, beads, or pom-poms), arms (paper or pipe cleaner), and a piece of paper clip for a hook to hang them. Let them dry - takes a day or two, and presto - snowman ornament! I did have to go back on some after they dried and add a little more glue to the back to secure the pipe cleaners and beads. The paper ones were fine.

Cowboys

2009-11-11T10:38:00.002-06:00

My 1st graders were working on the letter l. We discovered the sound l makes and what it looks like. We sang a song about l with a lazy lizard. We all knew the sound and the letter - it was going great! Or so I thought. To close our lesson, we had a new sound card (with the letter and a picture to represent the sound). I read a clue about the picture and the kids guess what it is. I reminded them of the sound l makes and that our picture will start with that sound. Then I read this clue -
I am a scaly animal who might live in a desert or a rain forest. I am often green or brown, but I come in lots of colors. I look a little like a snake with legs. What am I?
One boy is so excited to answer, waving his hand around. I call on him. Yes? What do you think it is - remember, it starts with /l/. His answer? A cowboy. Really? A cowboy??? Does it look like a snake with legs to you??? I can't even say, "Good guess!" because - he's not even close!!! I just walked him through the clue asking if each part could be a cowboy and if cowboy started with /l/. Oh dear. Back to the drawing board!

Insects and Incest

2009-11-02T13:08:00.002-06:00

My first graders were working on the /i/ sound today. We have a story called Injured Insects that we look at and find all the words with the /i/ sound. One of my darlings raised her hand to tell me an /i/ word. I'm happy she's excited to share and call on her. "Incest!" Oh dear. What have I taught today?! The other kids were smiling and nodding. I decided she was really trying to say "insect" and we practiced saying that word. Hopefully she won't go home saying Mrs. Z taught her about incest today!

The Great Pumpkin

2009-10-27T09:09:00.003-05:00

I love the Charlie Brown special, It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown. Since it will be on TV tonight, I decided to read the book to some of my classes and told them they can watch it on TV. I'm reading the book to my 1st graders, who are really into the story. I stop to ask what the dog's name is again. One of my little darlings answers, "Snoop Dog!" Umm, close! But so far away!

Letters from Home

2009-09-24T15:52:00.003-05:00

I've been having problems with A from last year. She's now in 3rd grade and still disrespectful and rude. Yesterday she was rolling her eyes when I asked her to do things and groaning. A refuses to try to read. She just gives up. I give them lots of individual support, but she still refuses to try. On the rare occasion that she makes an effort, she figures out what we're doing. So she is capable. I sent home a note to mom about her eye rolling, groaning, and lack of effort. I told mom that I know she can do the work but just refuses to try. I received a note back from mom today. I thought I'd share (I didn't edit her note) -

I suspect their are conflicts with your personalities. I've met you. You can be a little tart. I will remind A of her responsibilities as a student and a child and I will continue to stress to her that she attends school to Learn however I would Like to stress to you that you could be a little more patient with her and change your tone. She is a very astuele individual, and She can since your dislike for her.

I think I am one of the most patient teachers here. A has been disrespectful to every adult she's come in contact with at our school. Everyone knows who she is because of this. A also had another teacher calling mom yesterday about her behavior with 2 other teachers! She was nice to them on the phone. Last year mom did hang up on a teacher for calling about A though. I showed the principal, assistant principal, and counselor. I wanted to be sure they knew what was going on with this parent. They all read it and laughed. They all know A and know the huge attitude A has. None of them had anything to tell me to fix - I'm glad they know this parent and how I am!

Sonic & DonorsChoose

2009-09-16T11:09:00.002-05:00

Sonic has a new program called Limeades for Learning that will provide grants to U.S. public school teachers to fund classroom projects by partnering with a wonderful organization called DonorsChoose.org. This September, SONIC will donate more than a half million dollars to fund classroom materials and inspire learning. All you have to do to help is buy any Sonic drink and then log on to the Limeades for Learning website. You pick you favorite project (maybe one called Wildcat Book Attack) and enter in the code on your drink.

I do have another grant I'm trying to fund through DonorsChoose and would love any support - either by voting for my project or donating! I'm trying to restart our 2nd & 3rd grade book club and need books for my students. Many of them can't afford a new book and I really want them to be able to keep their book. My proposal is called Wildcat Book Attack.

Thanks!

Wild Week!

2009-09-10T15:00:00.002-05:00

This week has definitely been exciting - not in a good way though! Monday we were out for Labor Day, but since then - phew! Glad I'm not an administrator!

One of our kindergarten teachers fell Tuesday and broke her knee cap. The ambulance had to come take her. She had surgery and will be out for a while.

Yesterday the 5th graders found ants and roaches in their gumbo! So gross! Lunch was tossed and they had to find something else to feed everyone so it was way behind. The health inspector came out for a visit. They couldn't figure out where the extra protein came from because the kitchen was clean and no other bugs were found. They think that maybe it was in the rue. All of our testing results for 2nd grade were lost when we synced the palms. Ugh!

Then today the police were called on one of my students from last year. Apparently he wanted to run away from school and kept attempting it!

Sure hope tomorrow is a dull Friday!

A Moment of Silence

2009-09-09T15:02:00.003-05:00

I was doing bus duty after school yesterday. My group of pre-k through 1st graders were sitting and talking. Along came a 4th grader shushing them and asking for a moment of silence. Another teacher and I couldn't figure out why he wanted them to be quiet. Then we saw him point. A funeral procession was going by. Ahh, how sweet of him! Of course, now I'm turned toward the funeral procession laughing because I couldn't laugh at him!!

Today I was testing 1st grade. I asked the child who came out what his last name was. "Weirdo." I'm very confused and look at my list. Oh, he must have said "Rideaux!" It rhymes by the way.

Welcome Back!

2009-08-31T09:10:00.003-05:00

I hope everyone had a wonderful summer! I'm in week 2 of school. Last week went pretty smoothly - I'm ready to start pulling my kids again! I've already had a few come ask when they get to come to me again. We start testing everyone this week which is no fun!

Here's a little info on my job if you need it. I am a reading interventionist and pull struggling readers K-3rd for extra help. Yes, one of the dreaded "special" teachers - not sure why they call us special; we seem to not be valued much. I tend to get irritated when my classes are cancelled to cover for someone else. I am one that actually does my job and stays late to finish everything! It takes time to plan for 45 different students, keep up with all their documentation, and test them every other week, not to mention actually getting materials all ready for them! Plus lunch duty, before and after school duty. I really do enjoy my job.

I don't have any cute stories yet, so I'll leave you with one from one of my friends. Her son started kindergarten this year. When he came home from school, my friend asked him how his day was. His response? "Good, but my teacher talks too much!" Love it!

Up on the Roof!

2009-06-04T10:15:00.004-05:00

Today our principal is spending the day on the roof! Our kids - especially 3rd & 5th - did so well on the TAKS test, she said she'd spend the day on the roof. Our campus will be recognized again next year! The kids are loving it! One said in an interview to the news that they're excited she's on the roof because they can do whatever they want today!

For the record - I managed to climb up to deliver her book and back down with her computer bag without falling!

Well this is a first!

2009-05-27T10:21:00.003-05:00

Friday I went with 1st grade on their field trip. I had a great time. Those kids sure made me feel good about myself! They all cheered while I bowled and talked about how good I was (I'm really not at all). Then came the highlight of my day. We went to the park and I was playing basketball with some of the kids. Anyone who knows me is already amused. I'm 4' 11.5" just to give you a picture here. As I stole the ball away and held it over my head to keep it from the kids, one yelled out "Mrs. Z, you're TALL!!!" I have never heard that in my entire life!!

I Like Your. . .

2009-05-19T13:01:00.000-05:00

I hear this frequently from my kiddos, "Mrs. Z, I like your _______!" Could be shoes, hair, skirt, necklace. But today? I walked by a kindergarten class carrying some paper and money another teacher had given me. I hear, "Mrs Z, I like how much money you have!" Her teacher and I cracked up!

Gross

2009-05-14T10:07:00.002-05:00

I've kept Ping-Pong Boy in from PE the past 2 days. He's been extremely disrespectful and argues with every little thing I tell him. So he's been writing sentences about respecting adults. He's come up with every excuse to not write - I'm sure you've heard them - the famous "I have to use it" or "my pencil doesn't have an eraser" or "I think PE is over" to the original, gross excuse of "I have boogers in my nose." What?? I didn't ask this! And how does that keep you from writing? Eww!!

The Lunch Duty from _____

2009-05-07T10:22:00.003-05:00

We all know how much I love standardized testing. So when I had lunch duty with 5th grade (blah!) during the big deal science test last week, I was just so excited. I'm sure you can just picture me skipping off to do mt lunch duty! Ha! So the kids were ready to relax and I was more than happy to let them. But they had to come in acting crazy.

First one girl bought another girl's pizza for $1. So what did the other girl have left for lunch? Pudding. Yes, pudding for lunch and taking the big deal science test!! Then the same girl who now had 2 pizzas tried to buy half of another girl's pizza for 50 cents. This is where I caught them. Gave them a lecture about sharing food and germs. And threw in how they needed their food to help their brain work for the big deal science test. Turned around and there they are, trying to sell the pizza again! I'm trying to remain calm - they are testing - so I tell them no selling food at lunch. Turn around again and there goes a pudding cup sliding down the table - to 2 pizza girl! Like she needs more food! Another lady on lunch duty grabbed it and threw it away.

So I'm thinking the rest of my lunch duty would be calm, right? WRONG! A group of boys raise their hand. I walk over and tell them I didn't want to hear any tattles. They insist, so I ask what the problem is. Oh, just another boy has a razor. WHAT?? I pull him aside and he denies it. I ask why 4 other kids are saying it then. Told him to empty his pockets. And what do I find? Not a razor. A pocketknife! About 4 inches long. Ugh. He says he just brought it to peel his orange. What in the world was he thinking?? Not to mention another boy in 5th grade was recently suspended for having a pocketknife, so they KNEW better. Of course I take him to the office. And here I was trying to not upset them during the big test! I went back and told the other boys they did the right thing by telling me.

While I was dealing with the pocketknife boy, two other boys decided to be totally disrespectful and make fun of the other lady on duty. They mocked her and wouldn't line up or close their mouths.

So on this lunch duty, where we wanted to have a calm, relaxing lunch for the kids testing, we end up with 3 referrals. What a lunch. I was so happy to have my 2nd graders back! We've only had one referral all year with them!

Another Reason to Hate Standarized Testing

2009-04-30T09:35:00.003-05:00

I hate this time of year! The teachers are stressed, administrators are stressed, but worst of all, the kids are stressed. We have kids cry, not come to school, and throw up. Every time we administer the very important test, there is a child who throws up. Never fails. Should a 3rd grader really be that worried about a test?? I feel so bad for them, but so much rides on them passing THE TEST. Some kids just can't take all that pressure.

And now for the answer to the clues in my last post! They were describing a dog! The fag should have been fat - I had the child read it to me!

What am I?

2009-04-24T16:04:00.001-05:00

I kept an eye on my neighbor's 2nd grade class while she ran to the little girls' room today. They were writing about something. Who can figure out what they were describing?

My _________ is 500 pounds.
My _________ is 60 feet tall.
My _________ is fag (yes she wrote that - I'll tell the real meaning later!).

I'll post the answer later!

Did this really just happen?

2009-04-07T12:05:00.002-05:00

I had a parent flag me down in the hallway. It was Tardy Boy's mom. She asked me if Tardy Boy was at school. Umm, yes, he is. How do you not know that?? Yes, she was home. I know she works nights, but she was looking for Tardy Boy - 2nd grade, and his siblings in 5th, kindergarten, and pre-k! You would think getting 4 kids off to school would be important and she'd know where they were! Then she asked me what he was wearing and if he looked ok. Oh my.

April Fools!

2009-04-01T14:34:00.005-05:00

I love April Fools Day! The kids (and my husband) are so gullible, I just have a great time! Here's what I pulled this year.

This morning when the hubby got up, I told him the dogs had pooped in the garage and it smelled bad. He was not pleased thinking about cleaning that up!

Before I left for work I rotated the image on the computer so it is now upside down! I love it! Just as I finished this post, I got a text - JERK! Ha, guess he went to check his email!! He said he's getting a cramp in his neck!

On lunch duty, I told 2nd grade they had come in too noisy and would have no talking the rest of the week! They all fell for it! Of course I told them the truth and they spent the rest of lunch trying to trick me.

One 1st grader did get me. With the oldest April Fool in the book - there's something on your back! Of course, I had no trouble believing them - I was in the lunchroom with 1st graders! She was thrilled to trick me!!

Anyone have any good tricks for me next year??

Quick Tip

2009-03-19T09:58:00.002-05:00

We had Parent-Teacher conferences this week. Usually, I'm lucky to get 5 parents and I teach about 45 kids. Since I'm not their child's classroom teacher, many don't think to come see me. I've asked the teachers to tell them to come see me, told the students to send their parents by, and stuck notes in their report cards. Nothing worked like my new idea. And it was so simple - why didn't I think of this sooner? I made a post-it note telling the parents to come see me and gave them my room number. The teachers stuck them on the front of the report cards. I've seen 24 of my kids' parents!!! I'm doing this every time!

I Just Can't Spell!

2009-03-13T11:22:00.003-05:00

Ping-pong boy (a 2nd grader) was working on the computer directly in front of me this week. I glanced up from my small group to see how he was doing. He should have been typing out a word the computer said. Instead, he had typed a s s. He saw me looking and frantically erased it. I called him off the computer to sit by me until my group was finished. Then I asked him why he typed that. His response? "I was just trying to spell as!" Sure you were. That's why you were looking over your shoulder to see if I was looking. And he could spell both words just fine when asked.

I See a Pattern

2009-03-04T14:24:00.002-06:00

Today I was standing in the hall as we were getting kids back from a break from The Test. One student in 3rd grade started talking to me.

T: Mrs. Z - is it always like this?
Me (totally confused): What?
T: You know, mean, nice.
Me (still confused): What are you talking about?
T: Well last year I had a mean teacher, this year I have a nice one, so next year. . .
Me (trying not to laugh): Who's room were you in last year?
T: Mrs. D and this year I have Ms. L.
Me: Oh, well you know Mrs. D's sister-in-law teaches 4th grade. Maybe you should have her!
T: Nooooooooo!

I loved how he was so worried about this pattern!

Disrespect

2009-02-19T16:18:00.003-06:00

I can't believe how disrespectful kids are! Every day at least one child argues with me. Usually about something I saw them do. I don't get it. I would have never even thought about arguing with an adult, especially when I was totally wrong!

Today was my limit with one girl in 2nd grade - I'll call her A (for Arguing Girl!) Here's how our morning went when she walked in about 15 minutes late.

Me: Oh A, you're here. I just marked you absent.

A: I WASN'T ABSENT!

Me: Yes, you were. I'll change it to tardy.

A: I WAS HERE!

Me: Um, no. You just walked in the door.

A: I was in Mrs. B's room.

Me: Right. So you weren't in MY room which makes you absent from MY class.

A: I'M NOT ABSENT!

Me: I see that you are here now. Get your folder and get to work.

I gave her the clue for the mystery word of the week. They know it is a verb and has 3 letters. The clue was "I am faster than walking." The answer is run. She guesses runing (running). I won't take that since the clue says 3 letters. I just put them up if they don't get it right and move on.

A: MINE WAS RIGHT!

Me: No, it wasn't. Come to the table to get started.

A: YES IT IS RUNNING. I GOT IT RIGHT.

Me: No, A. It is not. Why are you arguing with me?

A: I'M NOT ARGUING!

Me: Yes, you are.

A: No, I'm NOT!

Me: A. Stop yelling. You can stay with me during PE to write sentences.

She started bawling. This wasn't the end of the mess. She carries on and on. I finally told her give me her mom's phone number that she couldn't remember until I was on my way to the office to get it. Then I tell mom about how A argues with adults constantly. I go through our morning with her. Mom says, "I really don't think she was arguing with you." I gave up.

Anyone figure out how to get these kids to stop arguing with adults? Mine students never win an argument. They end up in trouble, but don't care. They must get their way at home by doing this!

20 Questions Answered

2009-02-13T20:33:00.003-06:00

I have a teenage helper with my CCD kiddos. She usually comes in after drill team practice. Wednesday she came in dressed to perform at the basketball game. The kids were so impressed.

Miss Ashley, you have makeup on!

Miss Ashley, your hair looks so pretty!

And my favorite -

Miss Ashley, you look like the American flag!

I cracked up! Her school colors are red, white, and blue.

This was also the week Father John came. They were pretty well behaved. We found out he likes chocolate chip cookies, the color blue, he love Jesus, God is his best friend, he prays, he doesn't have a wife, he like dogs, is allergic to cats, he doesn't have a Play Station (Father Michael has a wii though) and he likes songs, but the alphabet song is not his favorite. There was even a question about flowers dying in the Ice Age. He looked at me like where did that come from!

Who is Father John?

2009-02-05T11:50:00.005-06:00

That was my question for my kindergarten CCD class last night. I got the best answer ever - from a 6 year old!

He's a guy who loved Jesus very, very, very much so he became a priest and works for God.

I loved it. We were getting ready for next week when Father John comes to visit our class. I had them come up with questions to ask him. Here's a few -

Do you love Jesus?

Is your favorite color yellow?

Do you love God more than anything?

What do you do if you forget what you're saying during mass?

Where do you like to eat?

What's you favorite part of being a priest?

Did you always want to be a priest?

It should be interesting next week when he comes!

Tardy Boy

2009-01-28T10:30:00.004-06:00

I have a student, Tardy Boy, who is - I bet you'll never guess - always tardy! He has my class from 8:30 - 9:10. Tardy Boy isn't just a little late, he strolls in around 9 or 10. Every day! Of course Tardy Boy is struggling in reading (or he wouldn't be in my class), but he is one of my lowest students. He's in 2nd grade and doesn't know all his letters, much less what sound they make. I don't know how to get him to school. His mom has been to court, I've talked to her about the importance of my class, principal and assistant principal have talked to him, I reward him for showing up on time, I've kept him in from PE for being so late, and I'm out of ideas. She promises to get him here, but doesn't. Just for an idea of how much he misses my class, in the last 15 days of school he has missed 7 times and been late another 5. So 3 days he was on time. He has been less tardy this week, but still about 45 minutes late for school. Tardy Boy is so frustrated in his class because he is so far behind. I'm so frustrated with this parent. Last year she withdrew him for about 3 weeks. He didn't go to another school. He was helping clean the house. WHAT?? But yet mom says she's concerned about his progress. Argh. Any ideas are welcomed!

Ahh, a work day!

2009-01-26T13:52:00.006-06:00

Let me start by saying I don't like the name of my day. Work Day. Like I don't work everyday?? (For those of you who aren't in education, a work day is a day the kiddos don't come and teachers finally have a little time to catch up on everything that piles up for months!)

Anyway, here's all I wanted to accomplish today -

Get ready for Tuesday's classes

Get all objectives for the week typed and filed for easy access

Complete 3 RTI packets

Clean off my junk table

Gather materials to give a mini training for 6 different grade levels of reading teachers

Clean off computer table

Type up inventory sheets for 2 take home literacy bags
Catch up on my MRT paperwork

So what did I accomplish? The ones in green are ones I did off my list and red are things I did, but weren't off my list.

Drink coffee and check email.
Check evites from party I'm planning.
Email people about party.
Start RTI paperwork!
Get distracted and take things to be copied for the week to workroom.
Stop by friend's room on the way back.
Post some books she gave me on paperback swap.
Back to RTI paperwork.
Hmm, I have new email!
Oh, someone requested one of these books! Wrap it up to mail after school!
Oh yes. RTI paperwork!!
LUNCH!!!!
Finish one packet! Whoo-hoo!
Reward myself with checking a few blogs.
Must get stuff done! Get objectives typed!
Good job - look at a few more blogs.
Pull material for tomorrow.
Start cleaning off junk table.
Interrupted by assistant principal and principal - they want to see me. This can't be good.
Get informed that one day a week I have to cancel one of my classes and part of another to tutor 5th graders in reading. Never mind that pesky grant that pays my salary and states I'm only to work with k-3rd.
Found out it starts TOMORROW!
Spend the next hour trying to find materials to use with 5th grade.
Figure out a way for my class to still be taught (I'm borrowing a student teacher - won't she be thrilled?) and inform teachers of this change.
Finish cleaning junk table since I'll have 5th graders at this table now while my 2nd graders use old table.
Change clothes to go to gym.
Try to prepare for for 5th graders.

Oh - I thought I'd add that I was given 1.5 hours for lunch, but only took 20 minutes to make up for my ADD moments! So, not the best "work day" for me!! I did get things done. Just not all I wanted!

Vegetarian?

2009-01-16T21:07:00.004-06:00

On lunch duty with 2nd grade today, N had an interesting insight. "I'm not sure if I'm a vegetarian or not. Sometimes I can't finish all my meat." They crack me up sometimes!

I've noticed I work with several families lately. I guess they've noticed too. I redid my schedule recently and added a few new students. My few first grader told her teacher, "Well it's about time, she works with everyone else in my family!" Cute, but it also makes me sad to see so many brothers, sisters, and cousins struggling to learn to read.

Pink Throat

2009-01-11T18:00:00.003-06:00

The other day one of my 2nd graders came into school and I noticed her older sister wasn't with her. I asked where she was and was told she had "the pink throat." Apparently my girl had "the pink throat" over Christmas. I saw their mom after school - the sister has strep throat! Love their descriptions!

What do your cats do when you leave?

2009-01-05T20:40:00.008-06:00

What happens when you leave 2 cats at home without letting them open their Christmas presents?

Sorry for the bad pic - it's off my cell phone at night. In case you can't see - there are overturned gift bags, tissue paper, many toy mice, and cat treats scattered all over my living room floor! They had a great time! This morning, I moved our hassock to do the wii fit and found another bag of treats! They managed to open this one though! When I put it up, Max (the black cat) came and stole more treats! So, which one do you think is the ring leader?

Back to Reality

2009-01-04T21:42:00.003-06:00

Well, I guess I have to go back to school tomorrow! I've loved sleeping in and staying up late. I enjoyed visiting family and friends. Too bad I was sick from the day after Christmas until - oh yeah, I'm still sick! Great way to spend the holiday! Well, I did get lots of rest and reading done. My mom took great care of me. I'm feeling better, just not 100% yet. Tomorrow will be a long day of redoing my schedule based on testing we did before break. It's always fun working around 13 teachers' schedules!

Hope everyone had a wonderful holiday!

Bah Humbug to you too!

2008-12-18T14:57:00.004-06:00

Here's a little background for my rant. My campus and another campus are going to become one school. They are building a new school for us. Currently school B is in our backyard in portables. We operate as 2 campuses for now, but do some things together trying to get us all to mingle and get to know each other.

So school B was having its Christmas program yesterday morning. They asked my friend and I to play with some of their staff in a small concert. (We play clarinet.) So we agreed and practiced a few times after school. Their program started at 9:30 - my prep time. We played at our time and went back to class. School B's teachers were nice and appreciated us playing with them.

Today my principal comes up to me and said she heard about us playing with school B yesterday. I'm thinking she's going to compliment us for doing that. Boy, I was wrong.

Principal: Who approved that?

What? Who approved it?! Really?

Me: Well, no one I guess. It was my conference time and I didn't miss any classes yesterday.

Principal: That was a really long program. Longer than a conference period.

Me: Yes, but we left right after we played. We only were in there for part of the program.

Principal: Well, I guess if it was your conference time.

No, how nice of you to work together with school B. You gave up your time after school to practice. Good job playing. Nothing. Just rude, sarcastic remarks. For the record, my friend also got in trouble. She was asked why we didn't play for our program - no one asked us to. Principal also told her not to let this happen again. It never occurred to us we'd actually be reprimanded for playing music in school B's program.

Didn't that just make you feel all warm and fuzzy inside? Put you in the Christmas spirit? No? Me either.

Lookin' Good

2008-12-18T09:26:00.003-06:00

One of my kindergarten students cracked me up yesterday! I picked them up and he's also a big chatterbox. So as he's bouncing around me he blurts out, "Mrs. Z you look good, you look reeeeeeeeeaaal good!" Ah, what a boost for my self-esteem! I just knew I was styling in my Christmas tree shirt!

Are you serious?!

2008-12-15T12:00:00.006-06:00

Since my job is funded by a grant, I have extra people coming in and out to see what I'm up to. No big deal, I'm doing my job. Except the person coming from outside my school is getting on my last nerve. She makes a big production coming in, "You door is sooo loud! I need to bring some WD-40!" Then she sits down. For about 30 seconds. Then she wants on my computer. So that means I have to shut down anything I was working on and hadn't saved. Then she may want to print. So I have to stop to do that. Have I mentioned each group is only at my table for 15-30 minutes? Then they switch with the kids on the computers, so she's wasting a good bit of their time. If she'd come in quietly, it'd be nice! And my last peeve about her coming? So far she's visited me on Halloween, Election Day, the day we got out for Thanksgiving, and today (the day before the Christmas program and last week before Thanksgiving.) The only legal observation day of any of those - Election Day. I guess I'll see her on Valentine's Day next! Hope she's enjoyed how I've tied the holiday into our lesson!

I'll just put my head in my backpack

2008-12-10T21:41:00.003-06:00

I told her she couldn't play the quiet game - she showed me!

I feel like doing this some days!

Interesting Signs

2008-12-09T10:51:00.008-06:00

This first sign my hubby and I saw hanging on a gas station door on our way to my mom's one day. I loved it! I was too embarrassed to take the picture with everyone going in and out, so hubby took it for me. We need this on the school door!

This one isn't actually a sign, but a product I saw while Early Bird shopping in Nebraska. I've never seen this in Texas!

I saw this sign in a Whataburger the other day and had to take a picture! I think someone needs to go back to school!

7 Random Facts

2008-12-07T20:22:00.015-06:00

I got tagged by Angela to share seven random facts about myself, then tag 7 other bloggers to do the same. I got a little picture happy, sorry!

1. I have to keep score when I go to a baseball game. I go crazy just sitting! And my favorite team is the Dodgers - my dad's was the Giants.

2. I love crazy road trips! I have to stop to see strange things along the way - makes life interesting! (This pic is from my girls trip this summer - we stayed in a teepee motel!)

3. I'm an only child. I also have a foster sister who is 16 years older than me. (Here we are - my hubby, my mom, foster sis' hubby, foster sis, and me.)

4. I'm not a neat person. Unfortunately, neither is my husband. So we have a mad cleaning marathon when people are coming! (We're not dirty people though - I do clean, we're just cluttery! Oh and this isn't my house - it isn't clean - just a random pic I found.)

5. I enjoy taking pictures. I know I'm not great, but I like doing it!

6. I've lived in 5 states - Nebraska, Montana, Minnesota, California, and Texas.

7. I am way too slow at blogging about myself! I've been working on this post for about 2 hours!

Okay, now to spread the misery.

Beyond Blessed

Buffalo Nickel

But Wait! There's More. . .

Chocolate for Teachers

Confessions of an Untenured Teacher

I'm in the Christmas Spirit

Tense Teacher

Sad Thanksgiving

2008-12-05T17:14:00.002-06:00

I've been gone for awhile. My grandma passed away 2 days before Thanksgiving. It was a sad holiday. I miss her so much. Grandma loved coming up to school and visiting my kids.

Most of my kids at school didn't know why I had been gone, but one made my day. She came up and hugged me and said, "We missed you Mrs. Z. I'm sorry about your grandma." So sweet and grown-up of her and she's in 2nd grade.

I saw I was tagged and I promise I'll do it very soon.

Bracelets

2008-11-21T09:11:00.002-06:00

I love it.

Sleepy Boy comes in this morning all excited, "Mrs. Z - I'm getting bracelets on my teeth!"
"You mean braces."
"No, bracelets."
The other kids can't wait to see the bracelets on Sleepy's teeth!

Testing Robots

2008-11-18T08:09:00.003-06:00

Last week I was testing all the kiddos I see. This gets pretty boring at times, but one of my kindergartners (we'll call him Robot - you'll see why) entertained me this time! The first part of the test is the student pointing to pictures that make the sound I ask for and then telling me the sound a picture starts with. So his testing went something like this:

Me: Robot, what picture starts with /s/?
Robot: Points to a snake. (I'm thinking, oh good! He's getting it!)
Me: What picture begins with /n/?
Robot: Gives me his million dollar smile and shrugs. Same thing for the next one.
Me: Ok, what sound does fruits begin with?
Robot: Acts out eating fruit.
I'm trying not to laugh and go through the pointing part again, with more smiling and shrugging from Robot.
Me: What sound does card begin with (he has a picture of the card in front of him)?
Robot: Vroom-vroom!
Ok, this is getting harder not to laugh! And he continues the car sounds through the next pointing part.
Me: What sound does robot begin with?
Robot: (Picture this - he makes stiff robot arms) Robot, robot (while moving like a robot and talking in this strange robot voice) Robot, robot!
Oh my, I'm dying!! I can't laugh out loud at this poor baby!
Me: One second Robot.
I walk outside my room where I can giggle for a sec!
Ok, back to the test. Well, the interesting part that is. I say a word and they have to tell me the sounds in the word, or stretch it apart. So man would be m - a - n.
Me: Tell me the sounds in sold.
Robot: Sold
We obviously need some work here.
Me: Tell me the sounds in done.
Robot: (In the robot voice again) I - AM - DONE.
I love it! Best test ever!

God has many rules!

2008-10-22T21:38:00.002-05:00

Tonight I was teaching kindergarten at my church. We learned about the 2 most important rules or commandments. I called them all up at the end of class and one girl told me, "God has many rules!"

Back at school my kindergarteners were learning the sound for m. We sang songs and talked about the sound. Then we were naming things in the m book that started with /m/. They saw a picture and said "cup!" I reminded them that it started with /m/ so one boy said "mmmmmmmmmmmcup!" Good try kid!

I had another story, but have no idea what is was. Oh well, maybe I'll remember sometime!

I know you are, but what am I?

2008-10-20T19:37:00.003-05:00

Lunch duty - we all know how much I love it! Today I stopped a food fight between a few 2nd graders before it got out of hand. Apparently, I really ticked off one of the kids. He got in line to go back to class and told everyone I was a "big fat ugly!" Man, I thought I was looking pretty good today!

Our school also held a mock election today. One of my kindergartners came out and told me, "I changed my vote from Obama to McCain." He looked so serious, I just had to ask more.
"What made you change your mind?"
"I didn't. I just voted McCain. But my mom is voting Obama, so so I guess next time I have to vote Obama."
"Well, you only vote one time in an election."
"Oh. Then I just voted McCain."
All righty then!

What Could I Have Done with 3 Hours?

2008-10-13T16:29:00.004-05:00

I have 3 hours to sit at school and wait for parents to drop by. This went so well earlier in the year, with my 1 parent visiting. Anyone want to guess how many I'll be seeing? In THREE HOURS!!! AFTER SCHOOL. I really just want to go home, take a nap, go to the gym, and watch the Dodger game! Yes, I'm whiny! I'll have been here for almost 11 hours today! That is way too long.

Ok, enough whining. How about a cute story? While on bus duty after school we had a child come up to tattle. "M said a cuss word, the h-a-t word!" We just looked at him and told him that's hat! Any idea what that was supposed to be?!

Alright, laugh at me now.

I'm going to share where I'm going this weekend. To see them in concert and I'm SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO excited!!!!!

Lunch Duty

2008-10-02T13:18:00.005-05:00

This year I have 55 looooooong minutes of lunch duty. Because I have nothing better to do with my time - you know, like teach children to read. Anyway, I'm in the cafeteria during kindergarten, 1st, and 2nd grade lunches.

Yesterday they had pears for lunch. Sounds like a safe fruit, right? WRONG! Very few even knew what a pear was, much less how to eat it! One of my kiddos from last year, who happens to be in kindergarten again this year, was going at the pear with his spork like it had hurt him. There were pieces of pear flying all around - across the table, over kids heads, and on the floor. I went to talk to him about how to eat a pear. He looks up at me. There is pear in his eyelashes! I about cracked up!! I told him how to eat a pear - just like an apple, and he smiled. And then I realized he didn't have any front teeth. I had to stick around to see what he did. He did try to bite it using the side of his mouth. Poor guy got frustrated and told his teacher he couldn't eat this thing. She suggests he eat his other food. He was too determined! Back to gnawing on it he went! He also apparently didn't like the skin and would spit that part out on his tray. I'm not sure how much he ate that day. . .

Today was a crazy day in the cafeteria. After repeatedly telling one stubborn child to sit down, stop yelling, and turn around he decided to yell at me. He told me he wasn't turned around and yelling. Yeah, must have been my imagination, I'm sure. I moved him to the end of the table for arguing with me. So then he throws his tray on the floor and storms out of the cafeteria yelling something about hating me. I'm not real sure where he thought he was going, but lucky for him he ran into the principal.

When I got done with that child, I came back to the cafeteria. One of my 2nd graders was looking for me. I'd been teasing her yesterday about stealing star crunch snack, so she brought me one today. I told her I couldn't take her food and she said that she brought 2 - one for me and one for her! Aww, I needed that! How sweet! She made my day!

I'm back!

2008-09-25T10:51:00.007-05:00

So I'm finally back at school. Teachers and staff came today and Monday students will come. We'll see how many make it back and how many new ones we get that are displaced. I found out that 3 teachers lost windows in their classrooms. Guess who was one of the lucky ones? Came in to find papers blown around, some warped books, and water damaged notebooks. Oh - and sand in pocket charts and other random places! It could have been much worse, so I'm very thankful! I should be cleaning though! I took a couple of pictures - my desk cracked me up! I had been so proud of how neat it was!

One of my favorite books are curled up now! I have several books that look like this!

Now let's just hope we have a normal rest of the year. The kids have missed 14 days already! We should be getting ready for 6 week report cards, but have only had 10 days of school!

Hurricanes - Ugh!

2008-09-17T10:36:00.003-05:00

Hey everyone! I've been gone for about a week now. I went with my mom to visit my grandma in Nebraska since she isn't doing well. The day after I left, my city was evacuated for hurricane Ike. We're still not allowed to go home. So I'm staying at my mom's with my husband, my 2 cats, my 2 dogs, my friend, her cat, and my mom's 2 dogs! I don't have much time to myself!! I've heard our house is fine, just lots of debris to clean up. My husband is actually driving there now to empty out the fridge and come back. They said we should have power by October 6th I think it was. We have sewer back. Our water has to be boiled and it also has a large salt content in it because of the storm surge. School is cancelled indefinitely. I haven't heard how my campus is yet, but there are disaster recovery teams checking them out now. We've already missed 2 days for Gustav. As of Friday, we'll have missed 9 days of school and only gone 10 days! What a crazy start to the year!

I'm 7!

2008-09-07T16:05:00.000-05:00

The other morning I was in the cafeteria as the kids came in for breakfast. One little girl came in all excited and said, "Mrs. Z! I'm 7 today!!"
"Oh, is it your birthday?!" I asked.
"No." I got a look like what are you thinking?! And she was gone.

Back to School Meme

2008-08-24T14:45:00.004-05:00

Saw this on But Wait! There's More's blog and decided to steal it!

Back to School Numbers Meme
Back To School MemeCompleted in Reference to (Self or Child): Self
1. Number of years teaching or your eldest child has been in school (k through college) ? 8.5
2. Amount approximately spent on Back to School Items so far including clothes? $100.00 on school stuff and I plead the 5th on clothes!
3. Number of Days until school starts in your area (+ or - if it’s started)? 1 - actually more like 17 hours!

4. Approximate distance school is from your house? 7.45 miles
5. Amount of time it will take you or your child to get to school from your house by car or bus? 15-20 minutes depending on traffic and trains - trains could put me over!
6. The actual or approximate number of students in the class you teach or your oldest child’s class? about 45 throughout the day
7. The number of classes in your grade or your oldest child’s grade level? I work with 4 grades, so I'm not sure - maybe 240 or so?

8. The price to buy a full student lunch at school? $1.50 last year, but they haven't updated it on the website for this year!
9. Number of schools in your district? 35

10. Early dismissal days already built into the calendar? 2, but the last day is one too and it isn't listed

11. Price paid for the most expensive back to school item so far? $7 for Sharpie pens
12. Time school day ends? 3:25 for students
According to the rules, I now need to tag as many sites as my lowest number. So I'd like to tag this teacher: John Deer Mom!

back to school

2008-08-22T20:42:00.007-05:00

So it's that time of year again. We've had a week of getting ready for school to start. We had one great training on writing. Two days of pointless inservice. And two days to get our rooms ready. This is going to be an interesting year on my campus. Our district is building new schools and combining some schools. My campus is combining with "M" school on their old property. So this year M school is on our backyard in portable city. Over 500 students, grades PK-5. I'm glad I'm not out there. We're operating as separate campuses until we actually move into the new building. We do have to share our gym and let pk and k eat in our cafeteria. We have lots of lost parents and many more workers wandering our halls looking for M. Not sure how you didn't notice all the portables!

I plugged in my fridge Wednesday and went to a meeting. Came back and smelled some sort of electrical burn scent. Discovered my fridge wasn't working. I was smart enough to test the plug and discover I had a whole wall of outlets not working. The teacher next door doesn't have power in one outlet on our shared wall. I looked outside and saw all sorts of wires sticking out of the roof. That doesn't look safe at all! I'm guessing they tapped into our power to run some portables outside my room and overloaded it. That's my expert electrical analysis! So for now I have plugged a few extension cords into each other and ran them all around my room just so I can have my fridge! Doesn't that look nice? It's a cell phone pic - sorry about the quality!

I do have one major complaint this year. I have lunch duty. For 55 minutes. That means I lose all that instruction time! And there were already 8 people on duty at the same time with me for about 100 kids. That hour will cost me 4 groups - 16 kids. I pack my schedule and don't have any time for this! Wouldn't my time be better spent trying to get kids to read?! Those 16 kids I'm cutting are losing out on their small group time that is focused on their weaknesses. It just frustrates me. I guess that I'll save time writing lesson plans and prepping for them - whoop-ti-do.

Teachers and Guns?

2008-08-16T20:37:00.004-05:00

I found this article below today on yahoo. I was pretty shocked.

HOUSTON (Reuters) - A Texas school district will let teachers bring guns to class this fall, the district's superintendent said on Friday, in what experts said appeared to be a first in the United States. The board of the small rural Harrold Independent School District unanimously approved the plan and parents have not objected, said the district's superintendent, David Thweatt.School experts backed Thweatt's claim that Harrold, a system of about 110 students 150 miles northwest of Fort Worth, may be the first to let teachers bring guns to the classroom.Thweatt said it is a matter of safety."We have a lock-down situation, we have cameras, but the question we had to answer is, 'What if somebody gets in? What are we going to do?" he said. "It's just common sense."Teachers who wish to bring guns will have to be certified to carry a concealed handgun in Texas and get crisis training and permission from school officials, he said.Recent school shootings in the United States have prompted some calls for school officials to allow students and teachers to carry legally concealed weapons into classrooms.The U.S. Congress once barred guns at schools nationwide, but the U.S. Supreme Court struck the law down, although state and local communities could adopt their own laws. Texas bars guns at schools without the school's permission.(Reporting by Jim Forsyth in San Antonio; writing by Bruce Nichols in Houston, editing by Vicki Allen)

Personally, I would never do this. There are way too many things that could go wrong here. What if a student gets ahold of your gun and hurts or kills someone? Even if they were just curious about it and took it to look at, something could easily go wrong. Not to mention if a student was mad at someone and took it. I don't want that responsibility. I have a hard enough time keeping up with my keys - no way I want to hold onto a gun all day. There is no way I trust some of the other teachers with guns either! That is a very scary thought! I'm also very sad that this is even an issue in our schools. I realize things happen in schools, but I like to think my kiddos and I are safe when we're at school.

Help!

2008-06-25T10:06:00.004-05:00

Since it is my summer break and I don't have any funny stories to share, I thought I'd share this link.

http://www.donorschoose.org/donors/proposal.html?id=176514

It is my grant I wrote to get some neat take-home backpacks filled with books and fun activities for my students. If you have a few extra dollars laying around, here's a great place to put them! Or if you know anyone who'd like to contribute you can pass the link along!

paper backpacks

2008-06-05T07:35:00.005-05:00

I'm making paper bag backpacks with my kiddos. It's been . . umm. . . interesting. I love seeing who can follow directions and catch on and who can't! So here we are with 3rd grade making our bags. This step is where the cut slits on the line I drew. On the outside of the bag. And, yes, I showed them how to pinch the bag to do this. Below is Wild One's attempt at cutting slits!

He did get it eventually! This is the back of his bag.
Just in case you couldn't read Wild One's words - here it is. And if you wondered why I called him Wild One. I must say it is a great description of him!!

Glasses & Singing

2008-06-04T09:39:00.003-05:00

Part of my job is to stand in the hallway in the mornings monitoring students on the way to class. I hear some interesting conversations down there sometimes! This morning, Blinky (you'll understand in a minute) came out from eating breakfast. Blinky is a 2nd year 1st grader. He hugged me and the counselor and then asked her if he could have her glasses! She wears reading glasses - kinda old lady looking ones. She asked why he wants them and this is his response (I love it!) - "Because when I blink 11 times like this (oh yes, he showed us) my eyes get kinda blurry and I can't see right." Oh my! I had to turn away! I'm thinking he shouldn't blink so much at one time and he'd be ok!!

And my sweet story of the day. 5th grade is having their graduation program so I popped in for a minute. I love listening to them sing. They sang "Keep the Dream Alive" and had 3 soloists. One girl was doing an awesome job. Really into it with soul and everything when the song got to her and she started crying. She kept right on singing though. She did great and got a standing ovation.

Awards Day

2008-05-29T10:14:00.004-05:00

Oh the excitement! Yesterday was kindergarten's day (where I had to be one of the k teachers - ack!) and today was 1st and 2nd grade's day. Chatterbox was all over the place - couldn't stay in his seat at all! His teacher and I both were constantly telling him to sit down, quit jumping, stop talking. It was almost time for the big song. All eyes are on the music teacher. Well, not Chatterbox's eyes. Just as they're about to stand he turns to his teacher and says, "Mrs. B, I have rabies." Then he turned around and started singing and dancing. His teacher turns to me and says, "that's what wrong!" I'm so glad everyone was singing because I was laughing so hard!!

Back to yesterday - I was in kindergarten all day (why hire a sub when you have a reading interventionist - I must have nothing to do). Anyway, two girls got in an argument and the kids told me one called the other a fat b!tch. So I called her out in the hall to talk. She is crying and saying she didn't say that b word. So I asked her what she did say. "I called her a fat chick!" And you know, with her little accent, I can hear how the kids thought she said that b word! Now, my other little girl did call someone a f*cking hoe bag. Nice.

Awww, shucks

2008-05-19T20:23:00.011-05:00

Look at this cute award John Deer Mom gave me!! I'm excited - my first award!! Ok, ok, she actually gave it to me last week. But since I'm new to this, I needed more time to learn how to make links and all that good stuff. So let's see if I figure it out!

So, here are 10 blogs I love, in no particular order (or how about alphabetical - I am a teacher).

Bluebird's Classroom

But Wait! There's More. . .
Chocolate for Teachers
Have a Gneiss Day
Its Not All Flowers and Sausages
Momma of a Whole Lotta Drama
Ms. M's Apples
Tense Teacher
This Teaching Life
An Uncertain Path to Pregnancy

Jello Shots

2008-05-19T20:16:00.002-05:00

Here's a great lesson I recently learned from a 7 year old. What exactly is a jello shot? It's jello mixed with medicine that makes you sleepy. And yes, this first grader had jello shots.

My classroom & the bitch

2008-05-15T10:01:00.003-05:00

So yesterday I was testing 3rd graders that I don't normally see (that means they aren't struggling in reading). I enjoy listening to them and seeing how they're doing. One boy, let's just call him Brainy, came in yesterday. He's interesting - very smart, usually quiet, and has a monotone speaking voice. Brainy walks in, looks around, and says, "Nice room you've got here." I did really good and didn't crack up. He sounded so adult!

During my 2nd grade group (back to my strugglers), we came across one of those words that is just bad if you happen to pick the wrong vowel sound. Chatterbox was reading along (doing a great job) and then came this sentence. He read, "He pushed the float back near the bitch." Instantly his hand went over his mouth and everyone looked at me. Chatterbox's eyes were huge. I just told him to look at the vowels and try it again. Thankfully he read, "He pushed the float back near the beach." Whew! Poor person on the float being pushed toward a bitch instead of the beach! He-he.

Socks

2008-05-13T09:19:00.003-05:00

Today my laughs came from 2nd grade. One of my boys, we'll call him Chatterbox, was very excited when I picked him up for class. He was almost skipping down the hall. Then he suddenly stopped and turned to me while holding up the legs of his pants. "Mrs. Z, you like my socks?!"

I'm expecting some design of Superman or some other character. Or maybe just a cool design. Or something. Nope, they look like plain ole black socks to me. Now I'm confused. Am I missing something special on these socks? Finally I ask. "Chatterbox, are they black socks?"

"YES!"

"Ok, yes, they're nice." I'm thinking why in the world are you so enthused about black socks. I didn't have to wait long.

"They're my mom's socks! She has lots of black socks. So does everyone at my house. Not me. So I'm wearing her socks!"

Alrighty then. He may regret telling everyone he's wearing his mom's socks, but as long as he's happy!

Spring Pictures

2008-05-06T09:21:00.012-05:00

This post isn't about school, but I wanted to share. I took these last weekend playing around with my new camera. I thought they came out nice!

Smart

2008-05-05T09:12:00.005-05:00

First, I want to say Happy Teacher Appreciation Week to all the teachers out there!!!

My one kindergartener is still checking on my sunburn! He asked me again Friday if I was white yet and checked my arm. Nope, still kinda pink. Mrs. Z, are you ever going to be white again? Too funny. I want to see how long this lasts.

My other cute story is about one of my 1st graders. I test them every two weeks to see how they're progressing. He sat down, looked at the test, and said, "Mrs. Z, I'm smart now. I don't know how it happened, but I am." So cute. And yes, he had improved!

Happy birthday to you again and again

2008-04-24T20:59:00.005-05:00

Today was an entertaining one!

My 1st graders have some issues with bathroom hygiene. I sent one boy, we'll call him - I was put back into 1st grade and I still missed a month of school to help my mom clean house. Wait - that's too long of a name. Hmm, how about Spacey instead. He's in his own world some, no most, days. So he goes to the bathroom and comes out. I send him to flush. He comes out. I send him to wash his hands and it took about 5 seconds. No soap. Try again Spacey - with soap this time. 10 seconds later, he's done. Ok, Spacey, sing happy birthday to yourself while you scrub your hands. Then rinse. So I hear Spacey, "Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you" over and over and over. Apparently without an actual name, the song is stuck there forever. I had to stop him. I told the next boy to sing Twinkle, Twinkle. Sadly, he didn't know that one.

Another one of my 1st grader girls was telling me about some 4th grade girls who got in trouble. She said, "they wrote g-a on the bathroom wall. Our school is g-a. Oh and a y." Then she told me how the principal came down. "I can't remember her name - the one with the gray hair."

My boy who was so interested in my sunburn is still checking out it. He grabbed my arm today and pulled at my shirt sleeve asking if I was still red. I told him no, just a little pink. He flipped my arm over and said, "Oh, here's a little white!"

Ok, I have to pack for VEGAS!!! Have a great weekend!

New Sound Cards

2008-04-20T21:23:00.002-05:00

I have sound cards with my kindergarteners (picture a flash card with a letter, a picture starting with that letter, and the letter again). Anyway, we learned t last week. They should say, "t, teddy, /t/." And here's what one of my little darlings learned, "t, titty, /t/!" Can you imagine the conversation at home.
Parent: So, what'd you learn at school today?
Child: Mrs. Z taught me the sound for t.
Parent: Really? What is it?
Child: t, titty, /t/

Can't you see me explaing that one to the principal?!

Sunburn

2008-04-18T12:00:00.000-05:00

Monday I went in with a lovely sunburn - nice and red. Its one of those nice farmer tans (I know, I'm looking sooo hot with it)! Anyway, I picked up my 2nd graders and one them was looking at me and asked, "Mrs. Z, what is wrong with your arm?" I had to explain what a sunburn was. I was laughing and thought that would be it. No. In every group I picked up today someone asked about it. I liked my kindergartener's question, "What's that red stuff on you?" Like I painted it on me or something! One kid poked it and then asked, "Does it hurt?" Yes, yes it does. Would've been nice if you'd have asked that before you poked me. Thanks. Another asked me if I would turn white again. Apparently he's very concerned about this because he's asked me everyday if I'm white yet and then tells me he's ready for me to be white!