KindergartenLovin'

"GET OUT 'CHA HOUSE!"

2010-10-04T16:36:00.001-07:00

I know, it's been a long time since I've posted...sorry about that. To sum up the year thus far, my class is awesome. I love 'em. So great.

I am up to 22 kids. I have 20 full time and 2 who join us part time for calendar, math, science, social studies, sight word exploration, and play time. They are both in the deaf and hard of hearing class. It's so awesome to have them in my class. I am loving getting to use my sign language again - I had pretty much forgotten all of it - and my kids are picking up on lots of it as well. It's really awesome.

We went on a great trip to the fire station last week (check out the picture!). It was a fantastic trip. The fireman leading the tour sat my kids down and started talking to them about what to do if there's a fire in your house. "What's the first thing you should do if there's a fire in your house?" he asked.

One of my girls raised her hand, "Get out 'cha house!" she exclaimed.

"Yes!" he said, "So everyone, what's the first thing you should do?"

And the whole class yelled, "GET OUT 'CHA HOUSE!" Oh what good English we have...

He proceeded to be very impressed because, he said, most often, kids don't say this. They usually say, "Call 911" or "stop, drop, and roll." I felt very proud of my smart kiddos.

Later, we got a chance to ask questions, and the fire fighters got a chance to be impressed again. The captain noted, after we finished our questioning, that he'd never seen kids ask such good questions. Typically they just tell you about how their uncle's sister's friend's brother saw a fire once. They did a great job, though. One said, "I wonder what's in a fire extinguisher that puts out a fire, because it's not water." They all looked shocked. Then the captain stepped forward to answer that one. Later, when we were back in the classroom that afternoon, I asked the kids what they learned. He raised his hand and said, "I learned that inside a fire extinguisher is a chemical that takes the oxygen out of a fire."

I'm telling you, my class is SMART.

So at the end of the trip, I asked the fire fighter if he would put on the gear for us. He looked at me all sly and said, "Why don't YOU put on the gear for us?" My face turned a nice deep shade of red, and I started sweating, while trying to explain my germaphobia. He promised that it had just been washed, so they helped me into the gear, all the while sweating and continuing to turn all colors of the rainbow. "I don't have cooties!" he tried to convince me.

"Everyone has cooties when you're germaphobic." I explained. But man, I love 'em, so I put it on, [unwashed] helmet and all.

New Year, New Students, Up and Runnin'!

2010-08-17T18:25:00.000-07:00

Well, I had my first full day of school today, and it was fantastic. I love my kids so much. I had such an amazing summer, and it was perfectly-kid-free. I loved getting to travel with B all summer and see him play, and it was the perfect amount of time, because I came back refreshed and ready to go. And good thing, because this class is going to be a handful, and I am PUMPED.

After the first half day, I said to Brenton, I really hope I get a more challenging kid, because right now, uh, I'm, uh..."
"Going to be bored?" he finished.
"Yes."

I need my neglected, behaviorally challenged kids, who look at you like, "And you're telling me what to do why?" when you give them a direction. And today, I got two of them. One, who, as an example, walked down the hallway poking the butt of the child in front of him. "I didn't do nothing!" he said, as he continued to put his hands on the other child. I spent time reading "The Story of Mrs. Flynn" with the two of them during rest time, since I read it with the rest of the class on Monday, and they weren't there yet. They cuddled up, got so excited to see me as a baby, and asked questions and pointed. They were thrilled, and I was in heaven. This is what I live for.

I have a kid this year, that is beyond gifted. He's crazy gifted. And he hasn't been tested yet. But he's quirky, and a very kinesthetic learner. I am so excited about him. I explained that I make my skin with a peachy color crayon. When he started working on his, he picked up the crayon and said, "Mrs. Flynn, this one says apricot. Can I still use it?" This kid is reading the word "apricot." That's not normal.
"Well, aren't apricots sort of a peachy color?" I asked.
"Yes," he agreed, and used it.
On the next day, during one of his perfectionism spurts when he cannot get past something, we were working on drawing our faces. He ended up scribbling all over the face in a fit of frustration, and we worked through the next one together. "Okay," I said, "What does a face need?" And I pointed to his eyes.
"Eyes!" he said.
"And what shape are they?" I asked, all the while, silently begging for his answer to be 'round.'
"Well, they're sort of a deep oval," he said, thoughtfully, while feeling his eyes. After we finally got those drawn, I pointed him towards a nose.
"What shape do you want to make your nose?"
"Nose-shaped," he replied. Duh. I pointed him toward his mouth, to which he picked up the pink crayon and noticed that it didn't just say pink. "Can I make my mouth with carnation pink?" he asked, concerned.
"Well do you think it is your lip color?" I asked.
"I think my lips are carnation pink."

I certainly have my hands full, and I am so excited to see what adventures lie ahead!!! Can't wait for tomorrow. :-)

Field Day Fun

2010-05-23T15:19:00.000-07:00

We had field day this week. What fun! Well, here's the thing. I'm sorta competitive when it comes to winning against the other kindergarten classes. I've been talking a big talk this whole year, about us winning, although deep down, I think I've always known that we had no chance this year. You see, last year we got really close, and lost in the end, and I had more testosterone in my class than in a room full of grown men, I'm pretty sure. My boys were psychotic and they were "boys" in every way. When they lost to the girls in one of the games, I had more than one kid, literally, in tears. It was ridiculous. Sportsmanship was not even an afterthought. Well this year, my boys are the gifted/ quirky type. All of them are super smart, love math, building with blocks and legos, and Star Wars. And they are all athletically challenged. I have one boy who is athletic, and he's tiny. So although I've been talking the big talk, well, I was all talk.

The week before, when I picked my kids up from PE after practicing some of the events, I asked them, "Are we going to win?!" Here's what I was told by one of my kids:

"It doesn't matter if we win or lose as long as we have fun."

Yea. Great. Gooood.

During Field Day, here were some of the comments:

Me: "Okay, so here's the game plan for tug of war..." (I was very into it; a parent got me on video and everything...)
A group of students, in response to my game plan: "Look Mrs. Flynn! We're being cats! MEOW!" (while crawling on all fours)

After a game where we were in two teams and everyone either got 1st or 2nd:
"Mrs. Flynn! We got second place!!!!!!!!" (Sincerely thrilled)
"Mrs. Flynn! Now EVERYONE has a ribbon!!!!!"

As I told the other teachers after we lost both of our chances at tug of war, "This year we have the brains, not the muscles."

A few autism stories

2010-05-23T14:48:00.000-07:00

I have loved seeing the growth in my child with autism. It speaks wildly of what a general education experience can do for a child, if given the chance. Now, that doesn't mean the chance to be "normal" because there will always need to be accommodations. But with those accommodations, my student will achieve great things. Just Friday, for the first time, after 1 1/2 years with me, he asked for the first time, "Mrs. Flynn, where's Gabe?" "Right there," I said, and pointed. "Oh, Gabe, come play with me." He had gotten out a toy that they had played together the day before, and for the first time ever, he asked a student to engage in play with him. What an amazing accomplishment. These are the boundaries that can be broken. Here are a few other funny stories about him from the last few weeks:

1. S was playing a sentence building game. He put words together to build the sentence,
"The furry donkey jumped over the kangaroo."

Then he dragged me over to see what he made. I read it aloud. Then he thought and sat for a second and said, "SWITCH!" He moved it around so that it said,
"The furry kangaroo jumped over the donkey."
"There." He said.

2. When I tested S on coins, I pointed to the quarter and said, “What’s this?” and he said, “penny.” And I said, “No.” So then he said, “quarter.” I said, “How much is it worth?” And he looked at me for a second, then said, “George.” So I changed my plan. I went and got the names and how much each is worth, and gave them to him to match to the coins, and he did it perfectly! He had all the info in there, including who was on each of the coins, just couldn't get it out! :-)

3. Guns... Recently, he has been obsessed with guns. Here is an example of a self portrait that he completed. (They are supposed to draw and write their favorite thing they did that month.)

Nice, huh?

So, after he continues to "shoot" people and draw people shooting others (and their heads blown off...), I finally sent a note home to his parents, hoping to get some information. We'll call him S for the remainder of this entry.

"S has been making pretend guns, "shooting" classmates, and drawing guns a lot recently. I'm wondering if he watched a movie or something with guns recently. I remind him very firmly "no guns" when he does it, but he seems very fixated on them right now. Thanks for your help in this! - Hilary Flynn"

Here is the note I got back. "Hi Mrs. Flynn: We also noticed this at home recently. We bought S a joybox 2 months ago and the first game on the list is a gun game. He played it from time to time. Some times he pretended to shoot his dad or me, we pretended to fall on the ground. He likes that. Maybe it is not a good game to play with him. He might expect to play this in school with his classmates. We are sorry about this. The good news is that the joybox was broken. We'll pay attention to anything he might access from the web. Thanks a lot!"

Best Part of Kindergarten

2010-05-19T16:06:00.000-07:00

I know it's been a really long time since I've posted. I've had so many stories, but I've been SO EXHAUSTED and some were too hard to write. But here's a heartbreaker for you...

Today, my kids wrote their class book about the best part of kindergarten. Each day, I give "my baby" food to bring home, because she used to steal it. So we solved that when I told her that all she has to do is ask. Now, every day, I send her home with food. Below find her favorite part of kindergarten.

"My favorite part of kindergarten was when Mrs. Flynn sends food."

Watching him grow!

2010-04-02T12:47:00.000-07:00

My little autistic boy has come so far. Now that he's been full time in my classroom since January, he is growing and growing. His language skills are improving to the point where he walked in to the class yesterday morning, and when he got to the sign in table, he said hi to two students, addressing them both by name. Now keep in mind, he was almost non-verbal except when giving verbal choices last year, when he started, part time in my class.

The other day, we were playing a word building game, where students were at a table with a group of letter cards. So if I said the word "mud," a student at the tables with the 'm,' 'u,' and 'd' would come up. He had a vowel for a consonent-vowel-consonent word. (He is great speller.) So when he got up there, he saw that the student who was supposed to be on the end was standing next to the student with the first letter, so he yelled, (calling the student by name), "Move it!" so that he could get into the middle spot. The whole class burst out laughing, including me. He just stood there.

Yesterday, he and I were working together on a book report activity after he listened to a book on CD in the listening center. The book was Diary of a Worm. He had to write the title, circle one of the following "I liked this book a lot. I liked this book a little. I did not like this book," and he had to write his reason. So he was able to tell me "I did not like this book." We needed a reason. Not his strong suit. "Reason?" I said. "Reason." he repeated. So I tried a different route. I opened the book and asked him, "Did you like the worm?" "Yes," he said. "Did you like the spider?" I asked. "No, I did not like the spider," he told me. So he wrote that. That was awesome, that he was able to point out the exact thing that he didn't like!

Well yesterday, he forgot about these new communication techniques, apparently. During book buddies (where a class of 4th graders comes to our class and we read together and do activities together, in groups of two and three students), his book buddy and another student in my class came running up to me, "Mrs. Flynn, Mrs. Flynn, he has a bloody nose!" Sure enough, there was dried blood covering his nose, cheeks, arms, and hands. I almost threw up. "Ehhhh," he said, as I grabbed his nose with a tissue and held it tight. I spend the next 15 minutes more or less giving him a wet wipe bath to get off all the dried blood. It was by far the most disgusting thing I have experienced in quite some time. Well, we stopped the nose bleed, just in time for dismissal.

Luckily, the good stuff is far outweighing the bad with him. He has come so far, and he is simply adorable. At his parent-teacher conference several weeks ago, his dad held back tears, when he heard about how wonderfully he's doing and told me that he is experiencing the same, in his broken English. We are all so proud of him! He will make such a great first grader next year. What a great example of least restrictive environment working perfectly for a precious little boy with autism.

Only good reason to cry...

2010-04-02T12:33:00.001-07:00

A couple of days ago, my little student I so lovingly refer to as "pipsqueek" in previous postings came in to my classroom in the morning telling me that his momma was picking him up to go to the dentist. (He usually rides the bus home.) Well, during centers, at about 10:45, I received a call from the office, letting me know that his mom was there to pick him up, and would I please send him down to the office for dismissal. I asked if he was coming back, and they said no. So, I told him to go gather his things because momma was here to get him for the dentist.

Well, when he got back over to me, he was hysterically sobbing. I mean, drooling, nose running, tears streaming, sobbing. I said, "What's wrong?" And he just kept heaving, and couldn't answer. Now, you should know that he does have a language impairment, so often it's hard for him to get out what he's thinking, so he just resorts to crying. "Stop crying and use your words. I can't help you if you just cry. What's wrong?" I said to him, "Are you scared to go to the dentist?" He shook his head no. "Then what's wrong?"

Between sobs, he was able to muster, "I.....[heave]...wanna...[heave]....come...[heave]...back!" While trying not to laugh, I walked him to the office and his mother who stared at me in shock when he walked toward her, still hysterical.

"He's crying because he wants to come back," I relayed.

"Okay, okay, I'll bring you back to school," she assured him.

Well, if any kid is going to cry, that is certainly the best reason I can think of!

Rice Balls and Sushi

2010-02-21T10:36:00.000-08:00

Since we are studying community helpers right now, a grandfather came in to talk about his farm. He did a great job, and was super adorable. He started off by talking about favorite foods and where they come from, and where the grocery store gets them, etc. So he asked the kids, "What is your favorite food?" Well, most of my kids just copy each other, but you'll see where my little Asian child chimed in; the answers went something like this:
"Macaroni and cheese!"
"Pizza!"
"Macaroni and cheese!"
"Pizza!"
"Macaroni and cheese!"
"Macaroni and cheese!"
"Pizza!"
"Pizza!"
"Rice balls and sushi!"

How did my mom have me?

2010-02-08T16:01:00.000-08:00

It's an innocent question, asked by any typical 5-year-old. They want to know where babies come from, right? Well, here's how it happened in my room.

"Mrs. Flynn! That brown girl just said 'sex!'" my new student yelled at me from across the room.

"First of all, we don't call other students 'that brown girl.' Please use her name. Second of all, stop yelling that across the room, and come to me." So she did.

"She said sex," she said (talking about my very special 7-year-old - my repeater who came in terribly behaved, but has since changed so so so much, and who I have a very special relationship with). Well I looked over at her, and she just looked at me, innocently, but with concern. Knowing that she did something wrong (she desperately wants to please me), but not quite knowing what. So I told her to come over to me, and tried to find out what happened.

"She [another student] just wanted to know how did her mom have her, so I told her from sex."

So that was the point where I had to explain to her that, while I know that she understands, some other kids don't know about that yet, so from now on, if another kid asks, just say that they came form their mommy's tummy. "Okay?"

"Okay." Just another day...

New Student!

2010-01-31T14:51:00.000-08:00

I've lost two and gained one now, so I'm at 21. My new student came on Thursday. I met her mom and dad when she came in, during calendar. Cute family. And she's black, but from the neighborhood, not our project, so I'm hoping she might help with my segregation problem... :-)

She sat quietly and shyly for the first few minutes, but warmed up quickly and loudly. She is excited to be in our class. "I'm so happy you're my teacher," she said, as she hugged her arms around my neck after calendar. On our way back from lunch, she started testing boundaries, doing twirls down the hallway. "We walk in the hallway, probably just how you walked in your old school," I told her. She stood straight, hands behind her back, eyes looking forward. I thought so. Then at a later point she said again, "I'm glad you're my teacher." I said, "I'm glad you've joined our class!" Then she continued, "I'm glad you're young. My last teacher was so old and she was this big!" And she reached her arms out on either side of her as far as they could go.

From the mouths of babes.

Racist 5 year olds

2010-01-31T14:13:00.000-08:00

Back in December, I ran out of time to share this story. So I will do so now, on my snowy weekend!

My class is segregated. It's been very difficult for me for figure out how to get my girls, specifically, to interact with students of another race. My caucasian girls and Asian girls interact, as they all tend to "count" as white. I think the problem stems from two issues.

1. Many of the black girls knew each other before coming to school, as they all live in the same project. (I even have cousins in my class, but then again, I've never heard the word cousin used so loosely, as I have this year. That one pair is legitimate, though.) Since they all came knowing each other, the white girls then formed their own bond, which they then had trouble letting others into.

2. I have no middle or upperclass black kids in my class this year. I only have middle and upperclass white kids, and black kids from the project. I think having middle class black kids would have helped to bridge that gap or the difference that they feel is between them.

I've been thinking and working on the problem, without much success. It escalated at indoor recess in December. Here's what happened. I watched as my white girls formed a circle and ran around singing and laughing, and then the black girls did the same, in their own space. From across the room, I could see an Asian girl, who is typically a ring leader, being left out of the "white circle." I stood back and watched, to see how the girls would work it out. Then, they started to open the circle to let her in. As they did, a little black girl running around the room grabbed their hands to join in the fun. They froze, stared at her, and one of the little white girls yelled, "NO! You can't play with us. Only people with white skin can play, and your's is brown."

Well, I snapped. I ran over them and got down on my knees next to the girl who said it and we had a stern talk. A very stern one. "You do not EVER tell someone that they cannot play with you," (which I've said 1000 times to them already) "for any reason!"

I went and spoke with my principal about the issue after school because I'll tell you what, I've been really lost about how to proceed and teach these girls about the value of others and the equality of everyone. The realization we came to is that the clash is more about socioeconomic status than it is about race, I just happen to have the problem of having no middle class black kids in my class. We realized that what my white girls feel on the inside is that, "all of them are different. They speak different than me. They play rougher than me. They get in trouble more than me. They say words that I don't know/like/understand." The problem is, as a five-year-old, all they can really identify as the difference is, "they look different than me." Hence, "kids with brown skin can't play with us."

It's been a struggle, but helped open my eyes to what is important to me. Even if your kids grow up, as I think they should, being exposed to differences, and poverty, and outside their comfort zone, exposing them isn't enough. It really has to be part of their lives and the lives of their parents, to accept and love differences. Just going to a school where they see kids who are "different" is a good start, but it needs to be a bigger part of their lives. Parents need to be seen loving kids who are different, serving people who are different, giving to people who are different, and interacting with friends who are different. It's a hard bridge to make, though, because society doesn't really encourage bridging of that gap. I just bought a book on Friday, The Price of Privilege, and I'm excited to get reading. I want to be sure that when I have children, my kids don't think that they are any more deserving of material things (toys, books, good education, house, etc.) or nonmaterial things (love, comfort, safety) than kids who are "different." Actually, what I really hope, is that they don't notice that certain kids are "different" at all, because they'll be so exposed to so many differences, that everyone will be different, which will therefore be the norm.

I understand that it's a hard goal, but I think it's a good one, as B and I start to talk about our family and how we want to go about making one (biological, adoption, fostering - hopefully all!). It's an important goal to me, as I work to show love to each of my All Stars, no matter of their differences. Even when one comes in dirty and reaking of urine each day. And another cannot yet be understood by adults or peers because of poor language skills. And several who have sensory needs and are learning to express feelings through means other than grabbing/ pinching/ punching those around. And another who is so gifted that his behavior and social skills suffer. And another who gets fixated on thoughts for weeks at a time, wanting to learn and know everything about it. And another who throws tantrums and whose main way of communicating is by repeating nouns I've said, but who knows that after he gets in trouble, he wants to see a "happy face" from his teacher. I will love all these kids, blind to their race or socioeconomic status or academic achievement, and hope that I teach the kids in my classroom and one day my own children, to do the same.

NIKE (Long "i" silent "e")

2010-01-31T13:56:00.000-08:00

My very bright little Asian boy came up to me on Tuesday to show me his new shoes. "Mrs. Flynn," he said, "Last night, we went to the Nike store." Now, when you read that sentence, recognize that he did not say, "Nike," pronouncing the "e" as we know we are supposed to. No, he knows his long middle vowel, silent e rule, and he followed it to a tee. "Nike?" I said, saying it correctly. "No, Nike," he said again, with a long i, silent e. He told me the entire story of going to the store, picking out the shoes, and wearing them for PE today, and each time he said, "Nike" (long i, silent e), I said it correctly, over whatever else he was saying. And he continued. Hilarious. He would not give in. He knows his rules.

Full Blown Austistic Tantrum

2010-01-25T17:46:00.000-08:00

Today, my autistic student had the biggest tantrum I've ever heard or seen. And I've seen some good ones. After being placed in time out for refusing to follow my directions and continuing to yell, he was very angry at me. When I let him up, instead of going back to him center, he fell on the floor, starting screaming at the top of his lungs, in a high pitched squeal, and kicking anything he could reach. Then, he kicked his shin right into a bench in the library area, and screamed even more. My entire class stood in shock, covering their ears, staring. "Stop watching. Cover your ears if you need to, but go back to your centers and ignore him, please." I told them. They tried very hard to follow that direction. Eventually, after having a good scream, and pointing at me and yelling in what appeared to be gibberish, he found a spot to hide for a few minutes, yelled at anyone who came near, then calmed down enough to go back and stand, arms folded across his chest and still "cry-breathing" (as I like to refer to deep, short breaths you get after a good cry) at his center, watching the other students play.

"Mad face," he said later, as he pointed at my teacher look. "Yes," I said. "No more yelling."

I love my job. :-)

Sweet CeCe's Date

2010-01-20T15:39:00.001-08:00

So yesterday, I had a date with my buddy from last year. Here's a quick blurb for those of you who don't know him. He came to me in the beginning of kindergarten not knowing a single letter of his name. His behavior can be characterized as extremely defiant. He was aggressive, hateful, and rude, had no language skills (could hardly speak; his older siblings are selective mutes), and let me tell you, I fell in love. He was my baby. He grew so much in my classroom, and I loved the challenges he presented me with, daily. And sometimes I hated him just as much, because he knew how to try my patience and get under my skin, and I learned a lot about teaching and about myself, learning how to not react. Whoo. It was hard. I considered having him in my classroom again this year, and decided I better not, because we learned so much from each other, and love each other, and I didn't want to ruin that with another year. And he is thriving this year. It's so fantastic. I am so thrilled.

So, anyway, when we see each other this year, he smiles (this smile that can melt your heart), and we talk, and he is so sweet. So I asked his mom last week if I could take him for hot chocolate or something after school one day, so that we could catch up and have some time together. She was excited, but he was PUMPED. It's all he would talk about for the last week. "Mrs. Flynn, I never had hot chocolate before. Where do we get it? Is is hot?" etc. etc. etc. Then he was sick on Friday, which was supposed to be our day. So we replanned for Tuesday.

Tuesday, at recess, he was still super excited. "Mrs. Flynn! Come here!" he said as his class lined up. "My mom said we could just go right now." he told me. I somehow convinced him that we were going to wait until after school.

Well, after school came, and he was so freaked out that it was finally there, and we were going to hang out together outside of school, that he refused to speak to me or come near me. Hilarious. He finally warmed up to me, after about 45 minutes. By the time his mom got there, he was starting to talk to me again. (Oh, and we ended up getting Fro-Yo, since the temperature went up significantly this week.)

Today, he brought me flowers. Then, when he saw me at dismissal, he said for the first time this year, "Mrs. Flynn, I love you."

First Full Week Back

2010-01-15T15:03:00.000-08:00

Okay, this was the longest week that has ever been. Last week, we had two snow days, and it was our first week back. In December, we only had 2 full weeks, and they were full of holiday activities and special events, so they all flew by. So it really seems like I haven't had a full week of uninterrupted teaching since November. So this week was looooooong. It's felt like Thursday since Monday. And I'm not exaggerating. But thank G-dawg, we made it to Friday, and I am sitting on my couch. Whewww.

My kids were so sweet and I was so excited to be back and see them. I loved the break, but I did miss their sweet faces and their love. It's so cool to see how they've progressed over the break. So many of them came back seeming to be writing and reading even better, which is fantastic. Of course there are also the ones that came back digressed, but to keep moving forward, I have to focus on the positive.

I've started small leveled groups that I meet with daily. I have six groups of 2 to 4 kids, depending on reading level, then I have one kid reading way above everyone else, who doesn't really fit in any of the groups. So seven different lessons for leveled work each day. One of my brighter kids said to his mom, "Mrs. Flynn has grouped us according to our talents." She said, "Oh. I see. How do you know?" He wasn't able to explain how he knew that, he could just tell. "And are you in a talented group?" she asked him. "I don't know." he replied. Hilarious. Smart little cookies.

I'm also trying to start a new program in my classroom over the next couple of weeks. My lowest kids, who clearly just don't get any attention and who don't get read to, are going to be paired with "parent reading buddies" who come once a week for a 1/2 hour, and meet with the same child each time, and just read with them, to give them some positive adult attention and expose them to good English and fluent reading. I'm excited about the opportunity it will give both the parents and the kids.

Anyway, those were the highlights of week one. Should continue to be interesting and exciting, as we get into these critical kindergarten weeks. In the next couple months, several of the kids will be writing and reading pretty fluently, and hopefully some of my struggling ones will start to pick up on some crucial skills to avoid retention.....only time will tell.

Project Play Date

2009-12-02T15:19:00.000-08:00

All of my girls were discussing how they wanted to have playdates today, and how their moms were going to talk to each other so that they could have playdates. Then, one of my students walked up to me and was getting really excited about the idea of all of these playdates. She said, "I need to tell you something." Then she cupped her hands and whispered in my ear, "Mrs. Flynn, come to my house for a playdate. I will tell my mom. I live in the projects." And smiled ear-to-ear when she pulled away, thrilled at the idea of her kindergarten teacher coming to her house for a playdate, and her ability to tell me where to go to get to it.

I love kindergarten.

Home Visit

2009-11-21T09:53:00.001-08:00

I went on my first home visit this week. One of my students has always been a behavior problem. She is repeating kindergarten this year, and I am her third school so far. (Her older brother is in 3rd grade, and in his 9th school.) She came in with a lot of trust issues. Just to paint you a picture, she called someone a B**** the second day she was there. She constantly pinched, punched, and slapped students when she was upset about something. Also, she wore the same jumper (with no shirt underneath) for the first two days. I gave her 3 shirts on her 2nd day.

I gave her the tools to show emotion in an appropriate way, and gave a ton of positive reinforcement and logical consequences, and always said, "I love you," after discussing her bad behavior. Ihave had an amazing result. She is a different person. She hasn't physically hurt a child since about her 2nd week of school. She always tells me how she feels, and had become an average student, behaviorally, for me, and my favorite student, because I just have a soft spot for her. However, she is still awful for every other authority figure - bus driver, related arts class teachers, substitutes, cafeteria workers. I've had a sub twice this year; both times, they had to send her to the office because they couldn't control her. The bus driver has recently stated that if her behavior doesn't change, she is going to be suspended from the bus. She gets notes sent home at least once a week in related arts classes. It's a mess.

Then about 3 weeks ago, I caught her stealing, for the 2nd time this year (although I now know there were several other times that I just didn't catch her). It was the same day that she had gotten in trouble on the bus (for the 1000000th time this year, it seems) for hitting kids, cussing at them, and yelling "NO!" at the driver, when she would tell her to sit down. Also, her brother brought a knife on the bus that same day.

Then last week, her and her cousin (who lives with them due to parental incarceration and abuse in his own family) came all week, disgustingly dirty - worse than usual - and wreaking of urine. And she started stealing food from my classroom. It broke my heart. I threated to buy a secret house in the woods and begin stealing children, to give them a better life. Obviously not going to happen, but it just eats me up inside to send them home after school, when I don't know what they're going home to, but I know it's bad. It kills me. And poor Brenton gets the brunt of it, because I come home sobbing to him. These are my babies, and they don't deserve to be living the way they are.

So on Thursday of last week, I went to the assistant principal and I just said, "I don't know what to do. She's so dirty and smelly, and there is obviously something going on. She has now started stealing food. All of the kids at the school from this family have started acting out more than usual, and I can't just sit by and wonder if everything is okay." So, she suggested we go on a home visit to mom. I was so excited. I have never met mom before. We scheduled it, and the social worker, guidance counselor, and I went on Tuesday.

We showed up with bags of canned food in hand, and prepared to see the worst. No one answered when we continued to knock over and over. Eventually, we saw someone walking back and forth, but still, no one answered. Someone started yelling, "come in!" Although, we weren't really comfortable with that, so kept knocking. Eventually, we gave up on being greeted, and let ourselves in. I wasn't prepared for what I saw.

The kitchen was piled 2 feet high with trash. Old food, dirty diapers, and who knows what else. Surely small to medium sized rodents. It smelled terribly. But, just like my student. We kept walking in until we reached the back of the house (about 5 steps). Mom was asleep on the couch. She sort of awknowledged us (sort of), with a grunt. We stood there for the longest minute ever, before she finally sat up and invited us to sit. If you know anything about my germaphobia, you'll understand how I felt about that. But I did it. I sat.

After talking to her about progress and problems, she began to wake up more. Eventually, she opened up. I mean, really opened up. She told us all about how she loves children and family and has never been separated from any of her kids. She told us about the specifics of the abuse that my student's cousin suffered. She told us about how hard it is to work the graveyard shift at the hospital (ironically cleaning rooms), because she doesn't get to see her children. She told us about the other child she has living with them, who is 13 years old and due in January. When the social worker asked her if they had decided what they would do with the baby, she replied, "We're keepin' it. I keep everyone. Family's the most important thing." I couldn't understand. That baby could live such a better life with an adoptive family. But that is not her mentality. Somehow, the mentality that people like that have is that if they have to give up a child, they've somehow failed, when in fact that child would have such a better life if given up. Also, if done through an agency, she could be getting prenatal care paid for and be learning how to take care of her body for this child.

Anyway, there were definitely the positives and negatives about going. I learned that she is loved. This mother works (unlike a lot of single mothers in this situation), loves each of her 9 biological children (ranging in age from 17 to 2) and all of the others she's taken in. She wants her kids to succeed, but just doesn't have the resources or knowledge to make it happen. But I left knowing that my student is loved.

On the other side, I still hate what I'm sending her home to. It's not appropriate for a child (or 11; 12 in January). And the worst part is that there is very little I can do about it. This is what she knows. She doesn't realize what an innapropriate home this is. I mean think about what you would do if your child's teacher was coming to your home. I know what I would do, "Okay, I need to vacuum and dust and make sure I have a list of questions. Maybe have some tea brewing incase she wants some." She was asleep, and her home was a disaster, with 4 children running around. She didn't know that this was bad. She wasn't aware that the fact that she had to kill a cockroach crawling up her leg, 1/2 way through our conversation, means that her home is not suitable for children.

So, I hope to do something small - help out with their Thanksgiving. And focus on the student that I can hopefully continue to give some tools to. And other than that, I have to focus on the positive. She is loved. At home, and at school, she is loved.

Best Compliment EVER.

2009-11-12T17:55:00.001-08:00

Okay, so it had nothing to do with teaching.

We had the silent auction parent night last weekend. It was fun - I enjoy interacting with the parents in a role where I am not also trying to reprimand 22 five year olds at the same time. I actually get to be a normal human. Even the parents are slightly surprised that I am a real person, too. Anywho, so I was talking to our PTO president and my room mom, and somehow we got on the topic of fashion. (Yay.) The PTO president's daughter started kindergarten this year, and she said that she was so sad that she didn't get me as her teacher. When I started to say, "Awww..." she stopped me and said, "No. Just wait. It's because 'Mrs. Flynn dresses so well, and has the best shoes,' " according to her daughter. So apparently, she still comes home and tells her mom what I wore that day (when she passes me in the hallway or sees me on the playground)! Then, my room mom said that when she first found out who her son's teacher would be, she couldn't think of which teacher I was (from kindergarten open house). So she asked the PTO prez, who she's friends with, who Mrs. Flynn is. She replied, "She's the one who always looks like she's just stepped out of a JCrew catalog." And my room mom said, "Oh, I know exactly who you're talking about!"

So, that was the best compliment EVER!!!!! :-)

2 Stories...

2009-11-02T16:48:00.000-08:00

Story #1 - The Shooting

Several weeks ago, a handful of students came in telling me about a shooting in their neighborhood. The first said, "Mrs. Flynn, somebody got shot behind my house." She was relatively nonchalant, so I tried to be, as well.

"When?" I asked.

"Yesterday."

"Did you hear it?"

"Yea. It was by my back door."

I thought for a while about how to respond. "Did you know the person?"

"Yea. It LaDasha's cousin."

"Is he okay?"

"Yea."

Then the other child chimed in. "Yea. I heard the ambulance. They went to the hospital. I heard it, too."

I brought the students over to me to talk about it more, as this first part was happening across the room. "How did it make you feel?" I asked them. They were each thoughtful about their responses.

"It made me wake up during the night and I dreamed about monsters," one told me.

"Scared. And sad," the other said.

It's so sad to me. That was the last I heard of it. I had the guidance counselor talk to them the next day, but they never seemed interested in talking about it again. I mean, these kids are barely five years old. They shouldn't have to experience this. And if they do experience it, it shouldn't be so normal. They're already beginnging to be desensitised, which is the worst part, in my opinion. I just want to wrap them up in my arms and bring them home. I just love my babies.

Story #2 - Flickin' People Off

My new friend (student) started throwing up her middle finger at people this afternoon. For no apparent reason, not that it would make it better if there was a reason, I suppose. I think that besides the fact that she was doing it at all, the next worst part is that my other student came over to me and said, "Mrs. Flynn, she flickin' people off."

"What?" I said.

"She puttin' up her middle finger at people." I mean seriously, at 6 years old, they not only know the sign and what it means, but know the slang for it! I mean, come on!

Just another day with my new buddy...

Two pukers today.

2009-10-29T14:10:00.000-07:00

At 7:45, one of my students came walking down the hallway to begin the day, hands cupped around her mouth, mid-barf. So, that was a nice beginning to the day. "Stop! Stop! Stop! Stop!" I yelled at the door. I grabbed the trash can and put it in front of her and said, "Okay, let go." And she did. All sorts of regurgitated breakfast all over my trashcan, her jacket, her shirt, her face, her hands, the floor. It was fun. Am I painting a picture for ya? Anyway, that was a good start to the day. Then we went on our field trip (after I sent her home, of course) and when we walked down the stairs in the theatre, another child was cupping her hands with vomit. We went to clean up (and I thus had no seat when I got back), and her mom came to get her when we got back. She informed me that she gets carsick. Would have been a nice thing to know before our week of two field trips on the bus, so that I could have put her in the front row of the bus. Anyway, it was loads of fun. Goood thing I'm not one of those people who gets sick seeing other people get sick (e.g. The Office 3 weeks ago). What can I do; I love my job. :-)

New Student...sorry for the delay!

2009-10-28T18:56:00.000-07:00

Sorry it's been a while, if anyone is keeping up... :-) It's been pretty crazy. I got a new student, which brings me to 22, and she's crazy. She acts like she's never been given a direction before. I sound like a broken record, trying to tell her what to do each day. On day 3 of her, I decided to teach her what it means to follow directions. I started with, "So, when I say, sit criss cross on the carpet, what should you do?" She actually said, "Go sit in my chair?" So I told her again, and finally she figured it out. Then, we practiced. Many times. And I made a huge deal out of it when she did it correctly. It's helped, but we still have a long way to go. Oh, did I mention she calls me "Ms Lynn?"

One of my other students has started coming only about once a week. So that's nice. She's been enrolled in my school for 40 days, and has been there for 21 of them. Pretty crazy. Also, she's really low, so when she randomly shows up, what I really want to say is, "How can I teach you?" Instead, I smile and give her a big hug and tell her how happy I am to see her. The social worker has tried to call several times, got hung up on once and never got through again, until recently, when she finally did, and the school system is finally bringing them to court, I believe. So we shall see how that all goes...

One of my students decided yesterday to change the spelling of her name. I do feel slightly bad about it, as I have pointed out several times that her name is the same as my dog's, only spelled differently. So yesterday, she said, "This is how I'm spelling my name now," spelled like my dog. Oops. Well, I showed her parents, who were not too happy, and convinced them that it is a phase and she will be over it in a few days (hopefully). So, we're just ignoring it for now... haha

We've had a fun couple of weeks, recently. We had apple week two weeks ago. Centers were so fun, and we ate lots of apples and apple baked goods! Then we made homemade applesauce on the final day of it. So yummy and fun! Then last week was fall break. When explaining that to the students, I got asked (as I did last year), who would be their substitute since I was going away. I had to explain again that they would, too, be gone. Oh I love five-year-olds. This week has been fun too. A field trip to the Farmers' Market to use our five senses and shop for pumpkins, then pumpkin day today, at which several parents volunteered, and we weighed and measured our pumpkins and had taste tests. Then, we played with the guts of the pumpkin and voted to make a scary face on the jack-o-lantern. So fun! Tomorrow we go to see The Very Hungry Caterpillar at TPAC (Tennessee Performing Arts Center). They're excited. Then Friday is a 1/2 day where they'll get to decorate their pumpkins with their book buddies and then I have parent-teacher conferences in the afternoon.

I'm a little nervous about those... talking to parents turns my face red. Maybe I should go tanning and get burned the day before so that my face is already red and doesn't turn red throughout each conference. Also, I know I am going to have to let some parents know that their kids are not doing so hot... Ahh.

So, that's a brief synopsis of my last few weeks! :-) More to come sooner next time!

Picture Day Stripes and Polka Dots

2009-09-23T15:54:00.001-07:00

This morning, I had a phonecall in my classroom at about 7:10. I picked up and found myself talking to the father of my ELL (English Language Learner) student. He has been doing really well, and has had almost no language barriers. He is so so sweet and adorable and so kind and works so hard. This is the first time I have seen a language misunderstanding. Anyway, here's the story. His father called and said, "The reason I am calling is because my son insists that he has to wear either stripes or polka dots today. Is this true?"

I immediately knew where this came from. Yesterday, during dismissal, I was explaining to the kids that tomorrow is picture day, and they do not have to wear their standard school attire, or uniform. A student said, "What's our uniform?" So I was explaining that their solid, collared shirts and khaki (etc.) bottoms are their uniforms. I said, "Tomorrow, you can wear strips, or polka dots, or anything you want!" He understood about picture day, and even told me that he was getting his hair cut for picture day. Well, he went home and told his parents that he could only wear stripes or polka dots for picture day. His dad said, "So, he doesn't have to wear stripes or polka dots?" I said, "No!"

He came in stripes. :-) Love that kid.

Oh LeChris...

2009-09-15T04:27:00.000-07:00

So I have a little boy, who I so lovingly refer to as "Pipsqueek" - not to his face, of course. He is tiny. Recently, he has been sagging his pants with his little spiderman underpants hanging out. So yesterday, I said, "You have got to pull up your pants." And I checked to see if his belt could go tighter, but it couldn't. He said, "This is how LeChris wear his pants!" I said, "Who is LeChris?" He said, "LeChris?! He live with him mama." I said, "In your neighboorhood?" He said, "Yea!" Then his cousin (who is also in my class) came out of the bathroom. Pipsqueek said, "Tell her 'bout LeChris!" And she said, "LeChris! He live at our nanny house!" I said, "Is he your uncle?" She said, "No, he our cousin." And then I said, "How does LeChris wear his pants?" And she said, "He sag them LOWWW." So, that's that. LeChris does it. Must be cool, then. Anyway, I explained that even if LeChris does, he has to pull up his pants at school...

Then I worked with another student from that neighboorhood on changing her "I'm is," to "I am." She did not get it. "I'm is?" She asked. "No. I am," I corrected. "I'm am?" She changed. "No. I..." Then she repeated, "I" Then me - "am" her - "am." We practiced over and over. Don't think I'm going to break that all at once, but I've got to start. Especially since I know how my little sister (Shatorria, not Whitney or Gillian...) writes like she talks, and oh man, it's special. Justin will surely get enjoyment out of the card she wrote him for his soon to arrive care package... :-)

They're learning!!!

2009-09-11T15:40:00.000-07:00

Here's the really cool thing about kindergarten. When you stop "teaching," they keep learning. Let me give you some "for instances." All week this week, we've been in literacy centers. When they finish the "must-do task" in the literacy center, they have a variety of games within their center to play with. For example, in the word study center, there are all sorts of letter games right now, since that is our focus. In the small muscle center, there are legos, some lacing tools, and some building toys. You get the idea. So, like I was saying, after they finish their must-do, they can choose one of these activities, as long as it's one from their center shelf. So here's the cool part. Today, kids in the writing center were practicing their letter sounds with a small set of letter/sound cards. Two days ago, in the word study center, the kids each had their own set of letters (one had lowercase sandpaper letters, one had uppercase sandpaper letters, one had big rubber mat letters, and one had foam shapes that create letters). Then, one at a time, one of them would hold up a letter and name it, and all the others would find the same letter from their set, and hold it up. I mean, they think of this stuff all by themselves!!! It was so cool to see. At this age, they just need the tools, and they create their own learning. I mean, it's so so cool. Talk about inquiry-based teaching. They just want to learn. So fun to see.

I came to the realization today that my class last year was really, really close to one another. I almost hope I didn't do them a disservice by our closeness. The reason I realized it today was because I passed one of my babies from last year, and he gave me a hug, then said sadly that the other student that is in his class this year from my class is absent today. There are only two of them in that class. He was so heartbroken. I said, "So you're the only All Star in your class today?" And he said with his saddest face, "Yes." Then I walked into the cafeteria, and there were 3 parents from my class last year, all spread out around the 1st grade tables, with their child. I was like, "Oh man! It's an All Star Parent Reunion!" They were all in agreement. Earlier in the week, I got an email from a student in first grade, about her birthday party. The email was to all of my kids from last year. She had asked for her party to be with her All Star friends, rather than her new friends from class. What can I say, we were a tight group.

I think we're going to be similar this year. I think I really just work hard to bring a sense of belonging and ownership to the classroom, through caring for the "things" in the room, as well as the people. Whenever someone gets their feelings hurt, I always ask the other person, "Did you make her feel happy?" And when they answer, "no," I always remind them that our goal is only to make people feel good, and that is it. So if what you did didn't do that, then you need to apologize to that person, and make sure you are only making people feel good, and filling everyone's bucket each day. One parent from last year told me at the start of this year, that she had a friend whose child is at another school, and they had some bullying problems, and was so surprised that we don't have any of that in my class. She said, "I just want to tell you how impressed I have been with the way you have enstilled such a sense of love in these kids, for one another." What a kind thing to say, and what a cool thing to teach 5-year-olds. If they can go through life with just that remembrance, that we should love each other, no matter what, I guess that might even be worth as much as reading levels. :-)

Diagnosis: SwineFlu-Cold-Strep-Pregnant

2009-09-04T11:32:00.000-07:00

When I felt like I was going to throw up during centers yesterday, my assistant principal came down to watch my kids. When I came back, she asked if I might be pregnant. Thanks for that suggestion... Then, I talked to my neighbor, who suggested I have the cold she had last week. Then I spoke with my mom, who immediately jumped on the swine flu bandwagon, suggesting I immediately go get a mask so as to not infect Brenton. Then last night, I got an email from a coworker who suggested I might have strep, as that was going around.

While I appreciate all of those wonderful suggestions, I was not surprised when the Minute Clinic diagnosed that 5-year-olds' germs have gotten the best of me, and it is viral. I had to leave school early yesterday, much to my dismay, because I felt really sick. I burst into tears when I got into Brenton's car when he picked me up, because I was so upset to be leaving like that. I absolutely hate missing school, but here I am today, home again. I cannot stand it. However, I'll admit that it's good that I did, because I do have a fever today, so I'm glad I'm not at school, spreading it to my little babies.

I am so sad to not see them for 4 1/2 days. This weekend was a really fun experience last year, because when I explained to the kids that we had a 3 day weekend, they were really worried, "But who will be our teacher?" they asked. When I explained that it would still be me, just one extra day of weekend, "I'll miss you!" they all told me. And this year, I will miss that love before the long weekend.

Well, at least I won't be spreading H1N1 around town. I'll leave that to Whit's friend, Kelly.

Gang signs and stuff...

2009-09-02T17:29:00.000-07:00

With our change in population this year, we have some other changes that apparently come along. For instance, for the second time yesterday, I had a gang sign thrown up at me from a five-year-old... So that's nice. When I spoke to the child about it, it was clear that he had no idea what it meant. He said he learned it from his little sister, and it means "hi." So he's seeing it done, but with no knowledge of what it actually is. Still a little much.

My crier has been crying slightly less, but still likes to inform me, "I'm done." or "No I don't want to do that." But I just ignore him and forge ahead. And when he tried to start the tears today, I just reminded him, "Oh no, remember, in kindergarten crying doesn't mean you don't have to do it. You'll have to anyway." Then I just ignored the fake tears and asked him what he wanted to write about today. Worked well.

So I was really impressed with one child who started last week, knowing all of her letters and almost all sounds. She was one that I thought would know nothing. Came to find out that she is on year two of kindergarten right now, and will be 7 years old in November. So that explains her knowledge. She has lots of paperwork in her cumulative review, and I'm really worried about a potentially bad home life, already from my experience, and justified with the paperwork from her two previous schools from last year. I've already given her 4 shirts, because she comes in the same jumper almost every day, with no shirt under it. We shall see. Tionna take two, anyone?

I started literacy centers yesterday, and they're going so well! The kids are loving them, not to mention doing really well with the independence of them, and I am so pleased! The centers are making the first letter of your name with clay (which they will paint in their next round of centers), writing your name in shaving cream on the table (practicing upper and lowercase letters), listening to Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What do you see? on tape and making/ coloring your own, illustrating our poem we've been working on, creating the cover to the book they've been making, and making your name out of beans. So we're obviously working a lot on names right now. It's so fun to see how successful the centers are and how successful the kids feel!

Have I mentioned yet that I love my kids? Gosh I love my kids.

I have a crier...

2009-08-27T18:50:00.001-07:00

So, after bragging for the first week that I have no criers, I have one that has cried every day since Tuesday. On Tuesday, he cried almost the entire day, and for over two hours straight. So, that was fun. Oh, did I mention it was about nothing? Yea. That was fun. Ever since Tuesday, he's cried at least every day. Usually because he doesn't want to do something that we, as a class, are doing. Sometimes when he doesn't want to do something, he just sits and does nothing. So that's fun too.

But on a happy note, I have an awesome student with some sensory issues, who is doing so well, and I am loving it. He is able to function so well, with the help of some simple tools, like a wiggle seat and some sensory balls to hold. He's even able to self-regulate, and tell me "Mrs. Flynn, I need my wiggle seat." or "I need something to hold." When another child was very anxious and upset about something, he said, "Mrs. Flynn, I think he needs something to hold." And, it worked! So adorable. I love my kiddies. :-) So much love to go around.

We made it through week one!

2009-08-21T14:23:00.000-07:00

Week one has ended. And it was great. I love my 20 little babies to pieces. They are so adorable and want to learn and are really catching on to everything in the classroom. I feel so much better today than I did a year ago after week one. I just knew what to expect and I think I took it a little bit slower and really emphasized all of the procedures so much. Next week will be exhausting, I think. We are really starting to get into the content more, beginning Monday. This week was mostly procedural.

We had no bathroom accidents, only one student throwing up, and only one student got lost. Five-year-olds have so much love and are so adorable. Can't wait to dive in more! Yay!!!!

Day Two and Parent Orientation

2009-08-17T18:44:00.000-07:00

Okay, well today was the second day of school - still a 1/2 day, followed by parent orientation at night. I didn't get a great turn out from the parents - only about 1/2 showed. Last year, all but 2 showed, so that was a little disappointing. I hope it isn't a reflection on their future involvement! We shall see... But I felt like I was able to answer questions a lot more clearly this year, so that was exciting. But I still got total dry mouth and red faced throughout the orientation. I was just not created to talk to adults. I deal very well with 4-6 year olds, thank you very much.

I am so looking forward to our first full day tomorrow. It will be a whirlwind, I know, but I am looking forward to it, none-the-less. I am anxious to get into the real routines. Today, I am up to 21 students. I got one at about 10am. I didn't know how to spell her name, what her last name was, or how to send her home. My suspicion was that she would ride the bus, but another girl in my class said -"I live in the project. She don't live in our neighborhood. She don't ride the bus." But she told me the neighborhood she lives in, which is the same after all. Low and behold, she did. Hopefully she got home okay. I found out her full name (and spelling) after the day was over.

I hope I don't get up to 22. I lose one one Thursday, who only started because they're moving to Florida and she misses the cut off due to a late birthday, but can start there if she's transferring from somewhere else. So then I'll be back to 2o. Hopefully I will stay there, but I won't hold my breath. Obviously I will love every little baby I get. :-)

Day One

2009-08-14T17:26:00.000-07:00

Oh my goodness. I cannot express the feelings of today. Amazing-ness, perhaps. First of all, watching my babies from last year make their way down to first grade made me want to cry, and actually tear up. They are my first loves, and I will always remember each of those kids. I just love them! They all looked so proud and happy and excited, and one even told me when he saw me in the hallway, "I'm in first grade, Mrs. Flynn!" Oh my loves.

And then there are my new babies. Oh I am just so excited for all that this year will have in store. One child asked for a band aid, and another pulled one off her bloody knee and offered it to him. So much kindness and pure, good kids. Can't wait to teach them how to walk in a line, raise their hands, get someone's attention, respect our classroom, love each other, and learn to read and write. I started with 19, and ended the day with 20, and from what we've heard, we can expect to get more. So, I'm going to keep nametags on hand and pray. I think 20 just happens to be the perfect number...... I won't hold my breath though. They are so cute, and I cannot wait to see how far they will go this year. Just cannot wait. I am so excited for next week. And the one after that. And the one after that. And the one after that. And......

I met my kiddies!!!!!!!

2009-08-12T17:38:00.000-07:00

Today, at the Kindergarten popsicle party, I met my kiddies!!!!!!! I am so so so excited I cannot even stand it. Last night, while Brenton and I were going to sleep, I was able to recall every one of my kids names, and I hadn't even seen their faces yet. Now, I got to see their faces! So much excitement. I cannot sleep or think about anything else except school on Friday.

I had a slightly hard time watching kids out on the playground, ignoring parents and rules, but am excited to get my chance to teach following directions. So interesting how parents don't seem to teach that anymore......

I got to bring a couple of kids (who struggle with transitions) into my classroom before and after the popsicle party to see it before school starts on Friday. It was fun for them to look around and to show them all of the cool things going on. We have pretty much all day tomorrow to work in our rooms, only problem is, mine is ready. So, I will probably bring my home computer to work on my newsletter for next week and some other things. I'll make sure that I'm all ready for next week as well, since Friday is all ready to go! I know I will not be able to sleep Thursday night. I just cannot stand the excitement. My kindergarten team thinks it's hilarious (and probably slightly annoying) how excited I am, but I think it's contagious, and others are starting to get the bug... :-)

All the changes

2009-07-28T19:17:00.000-07:00

So I've spent many hours in my classroom this week, and I am loving every second. Also, I met my new principal and assistant principal this week. I am so excited about the new administration; I think they'll be awesome and really great for Eakin. I've heard such good things about them.

Last night, I was on the phone with my mom, telling her all of the things that we are going to do in my classroom once she gets here on Monday. All of a sudden I realized that I had not unplugged my hot glue gun. So, at 8:00 at night, I drove back to school, de-armed the alarm, went down to my classroom (eerie at night, all alone!) and it was unplugged. I have no recollection of unplugging it. Oh well. So, I armed the alarm back up, left the school, and drove back home. As Dad said, "Better safe than sorry." I certainly don't want to be the one to burn down the school. Eek.

I have two more days of summer nannying, then I'll be full time in my classroom. Oh how I love it. Can't wait for it to be filled with little kiddos! :-)

I've joined the blogging world...

2009-07-16T19:34:00.000-07:00

So, I decided to start blogging because I know that I have some of the funniest (and unfortunately, saddest) stories from my class, and I wanted to write them down, so I’d remember them, in year two. Also, there are several blogs that I enjoy reading, and with my family so spread out, I think this will be fun for some of you to read to keep up with my class.

I am finally back in my classroom after my first summer break. Although, it’s still July. But I've missed it like crazy, and love being back. I’ve started dreaming about my new class a few nights a week. (I know, I'm crazy. Trust me, it's not bad yet - at least I'm not sitting straight up in the middle of the night and talking out loud to my kids in my sleep yet...) Also, I was majorly getting baby fever, and couldn’t figure out why, since B and I are so totally not ready for that yet. I mean it was crazy. Every time I saw a baby, I went nuts. Like I basically wanted to steal it. But I finally realized why, when I got back in my classroom. I miss my babies (aka students). Now that I’ve started to get back in my room and set up and plan for year two, my fever has totally gone down. I now have an appropriate temperature. Thank God.

For those of you who have been in my classroom, it has a different layout this year. Centers will be different, my daily schedule will be different - lots of changes - exciting ones if you're a nerd like me. I think each year I'll find things to do better for the next one.

Can't wait to meet my new babies, and learn all about them. It's gonna be a great year. And my new kiddies come 4 weeks from tomorrow. :-) Did I mention I cannot wait?