Thanksgiving

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

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

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!

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

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?

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

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!