A 3rd grade world

I love my job...most days.

2010-10-08T15:50:00.000-07:00

It has been a crazy start this year. A few weeks ago there was a fire on the mountain behind our school. We had Monday off of school, because there was an evacuation order. We went back to school Tuesday, but the whole day we were on alert in case the winds picked up too much, because then we were going to have to evacuate. Luckily, that didn't happen. A lot of my kids couldn't get back to their houses until the end of the week. Kids came to school in their pjs even. It was a crazy week and really hard. Thank goodness none of their houses were burned even though the fire was in the backyard of some kid's houses. We also had the fireman come on that Friday to give them thank you notes, plus KSL 5 came to give our school an award for winning a reading contest. Quite the week. I have to say though, after all if it I realized what a great group of kids I have this year. Here are some of the things that they wrote to the firemen:

"You saved my school and I love you soooo much."

"Dear Firemens, you are special to me."

"We are happy you saved us."

"The fire was in my backyard and you stopped it. I was so scared. Thank you."

"You must have alot of coruge for going into fires and saving thosends of people and our school. You are a graet person and I wish I could meet you."

"Thank you for saving our school. I was really woried that the school was going to burn doun so that is a merickle that you got that hole fire out. You are really good people."

"You riskit your lives for us, thank you."

"You helped lots of frends and my family so much and now thay ar all ok. You always make shur we are all ok. I can't tell you how much I'm thankful. I amaz'd how much you can help us."

"Thank you so much for saveing us and the school!!! I wish I could be like you and help. "

"Thank you for saving Providence Hall. It about hit us. Thank you!!!!"

"Thank you so much for saving our school. I was worried that it would get burnt down. And thank you for helping the people neer the fire. You really cared about Providence Hall. Did you help any other schools?"

"I am very thankful to have such brave firemen like you. The fire would of burned our school down if it weren't for you brave fireman."

"Thank you for all you do for me and America"

"And Bles you that you will be safe putting out the rest of the fire."

"Without you the shun will no be shining."

"Firefighters are the best hero's and the best workers in our state. I won't ever forget what you did."

This type of thing reminds me there is good in the world. They have such big hearts!

ksl.com - Students rally to thank Herriman firefighters

It has calmed down since then and things have been going really well. This is a good time of the year, because I finally know all my kids pretty well and they know me. Now I can joke with them a lot more. I have been having a lot of fun with them and things have been completely under control until a few days ago. A few of my girls found out that I have a boyfriend. I didn't think it was any big deal, but they were so excited about it. Then a few days later I was on my phone and one of the girls said really loud, "Are you texting your boyfriend!?" The whole class freaked out about it and they all started asking me questions and teasing me about it. I was laughing so hard and I could not get control of the class. For like 20 minutes this went on. Finally, I decided I really needed to regain some sort of control. So, I told them I would answer questions and then be done with it. They asked about where we met and our first date and a million things. It was really funny. Then I had them write in their journals and of course they all wrote about me and the fact that I have a boyfriend. Haha! It was killing me. They still haven't dropped it, but they are fun! Here is a picture of one of the kid's journals. I was dying over it. And yes, I shared this with Bryant. :)

In other news, my little low girl, M is doing fantastic! I have no idea what her other school was doing for her, but it wasn't teaching. She is now staying in my class for math and slowly improving on her reading and social skills. She just has a lot of energy, but she is very smart. I cannot understand why they wanted to completely take her out of a normal class setting. She doesn't have great social skills and that is because she wasn't given the change to be with her peers. Just the other day she found, for the first time, on her own a partner to work with. I was so excited for her! Plus, she is very good at math. Even better than some of my other students, so I talked to the special education teacher and now she has been in my class for a week and has been so successful. She was so excited to stay for math and I could tell her confidence has gone up a lot. She is just great and she reminds me of my DC kids that I miss.

Life is just moving along! Bye!

And now begins year #3

2010-08-31T14:11:00.000-07:00

Well I made it through the first week of school alive. The first week is hard, because you are getting to know the kids and they are getting to know you. The first day is pretty painful, because you have to explain every class rule and routine. My throat always hurts by the end of the day because I have to talk so much. I think I am really going to like my class this year. They are a chatty group for sure. The first day my aid and I looked at each other with worry because of how much they talked on the first day of school. It usually gets worse. But, that also means they have a lot of personality which is fun! Here are a few things that stick out from the first week.

I got a very low student this year. She is repeating 3rd grade (she was at a public school last year) and seems to work on about a first grade level. She is just a doll though. So happy and fun. She has the need to tell me everything she is thinking. She is a little different and the kids can pick up on it, but she is trying to make friends. The other day she got to go to the Birthday table for lunch. She was allowed to bring a friend, but didn't know who to ask. She came up to me worried about it. So, I asked her who had been nice to her. She finally decided on a specific girl to ask. I had to encourage her to get the guts to go up and ask, but she finally did. I could tell how nervous she was. She asked the other little girl in my class who politely denied. My heart broke for her. She had such a disappointed look on her face as she went back to her seat. I looked around my room trying to decide who would go with her and settled on another new student to the school that I had seen get along with M before. I figured he would at least be interested in what it was. So, I asked her who else she would like to ask and she said she didn't want to ask anyone. I told her she didn't have to, but to think about other students. Then a little while later I suggested this boy, A. She thought about it and finally decided to ask him. Again, she needed some encouragment. I felt like I was trying to get this 9 year old to go on a date or something. Haha. But, she did it and he went with her. It was a sweet moment and I was proud of her.

T asked for my phone number on the second day of school. :) He came over to me at the end of the day and said, "Miss Collett can I have your phone number?" I looked at him funny and asked him why. He said he wanted to take a picture of his dog and send it to me. Haha. I gave him my school email address. :)

J is one of my favorites already. He is a funny kid with a great personality. He makes me laugh and boy is he a ladies man! I got to go to his football game on Saturday which was a lot of fun. I had no idea that they played tackle football so young and I was impressed with how well they actually did. His face when he saw me at his game made it completely worth going. I have a good job.

My kids are starting to get use to my jokes and I think they will be great. I can't believe I have already started year 3. I am getting too old.

Happenings

2010-05-02T07:36:00.000-07:00

We have been practicing for end of year testing and there was a question about building a snowman. The question had started to explain how to build a snowman. The kids in the story had already rolled two snowballs. The question asked what the kids would do next. Clearly, build a third snowball would be the correct answer, but I had one student start to argue with me about how not every snowman would have 3 snowballs. While I actually agree with him and that clearly shows why testing is ridiculous I tried to explain that when they take the test they need to keep in mind what would most likely happen. And then I asked, "How many balls does a snowman usually have?" Take a moment...yep. I think that if I could have kept my own composure nobody would have noticed, but apparently I am too immature to handle myself, because I completely started laughing. This then caused about 1/2 my class to laugh too. I am a terrible example...but it was funny!

For end of year review we have been doing Olympics. Each team got to pick a team and then I made a bulletin board with the countries flags. Then, we have Olympic events that review math and the winning teams get medals (paper ones that I tape under their flag). Well, I had been feeling kind of bad, because all of my ideas gave the boys an advantage since they were all sports. Like throwing a football through a hoop or getting a bouncy ball into a box. So, I decided to do a jump roping contest for one of the games. The kids needed to do 25 jumps in 20 seconds to earn the point. I didn't know the pure enjoyment I would get from this. Some of the boys could not handle it and it was hilarious to watch them try. I kept it to myself for the most part, but then one of my students, C, got up and was trying. He has a really high pitched voice which made this extra funny to me. He was trying so hard, but really just tripping all over the place, hitting himself in the face, and laughing. His high pitched laugh about kills me alone. With the added amusement of his attempts to jump rope I about died laughing. I had a serious laughing attack and could not stop. It was like when you are 10 and you are having a sleepover, but your parents want you to be quiet and become angry with you; which for some reason just makes you laugh harder. I knew I should stop, because I didn't want to make him feel bad and I also knew that it would get the kids all crazy, but I just couldn't stop. Afterward I pulled him over and made sure I didn't make him feel bad. I told him I just thought he was so cute. He is the type of kid who can totally handle something like that and laugh with you. I like that about him.

My kids were bad when I was out for surgery. When I got back I was not happy with them. But the funniest thing was that I got letters from them while I was still gone and one girl said that I needed to "hurry and get back, because the class was going crazy" I let them have it when I got back, but they have been pretty good after.

One of my students, R, is very sweet and caring. She would seem to be a "teacher's pet" but truly she is just so aware of other people. Anyway when I went back to school after surgery she came up to me and said, "Miss Collett I just feel so bad for you. I just can't even look at you. It makes me so sad." I just kind of laughed and told her she was sweet, but I was alright. She is always like that though. What a cutie!

For those of you who like Brian Regan this is for you. You would be amazed how many 3rd graders can quote Brian Regan. I don't know what it is, but it sure makes me laugh every time they repeat one of his jokes. The other day I said something about baseball and all of the sudden one of my students said, "whole game, half snow cone" I was dying. I kind of love it!

Lastly, one of my students from last year ice skates and I never got to watch her. She comes in my room after school or at recess to say hello and a few weeks ago she invited me to her ice skating performance. I told her I was there for sure. After that is was constantly coming in asking me if I was going to make it to her performance. So, when it came along I had to go. It was kind of hard to find a ride there, but I managed it and was able to go. I was really impressed with the program and she did a great job. It was so hard to get there that I kept wondering if it was really worth it especially since she isn't even one of my students anymore. But when she came running at me after the program was over and almost knock me over with a big hug I knew it was completely worth it. She had the biggest grin on her face and I loved it. I was so glad I went.

3 more weeks of school! I can do it, I can do it, I can do it. Can I?

Are we done yet?

2010-03-20T08:48:00.001-07:00

Oh how I hate February and March. I am not sure what it is, but the kids all go crazy. They can't keep their mouths closed or sit in their seats. Recess is like a battlefield and all the teachers are on the verge of murder. But we are nearing the end so there is hope. I can't believe the end is in sight. So, I haven't written anything for a while, but I was looking at my other posts and I didn't remember half the stuff I wrote. Good memories, so I have to keep writing. Here are some stories I can remember...

I always create a slightly hostile environment in regards to BYU vs. UTAH. This year I really didn't try to, but I have some die hard UTAH fans and couldn't let them get away with the comments they were making. So, one of my students brought in a Utah poster for some reason. Another boy told him to show it to me and so he did. I grabbed it and pretended to rip it up. He screamed and said, "I told you she would take it and rip it up!" They know me too well.

I have a student whose mom is from Australia. She has the coolest accent. He was born here, so he doesn't have an accent, but every once in a while he says a phrase that I know comes from his mother. I always know what he is saying, but he just says it in a weird way. For example, he says "meant to" a lot. He will say something like, "Are we meant to do this page for homework?" Haha, I find it super adorable!

We had a dance festival where each 3rd grade class learned a dance from a different country. Our dance was a "couples" dance. When I told them that they all fell over from embarrassment. But I had them over it real soon. Except that every time I said the word "couple" they couldn't handle it. Another thing I found very funny about this was some of the kids inability to skip. At one point they had to link arms and skip with their partner. To me this seems like a fairly easy task, but apparently to 8 and 9 year olds it is not so easy. The first few times we practice I literally had kids trip and fall flat on their faces. I had one boy who honestly did not know how to skip at all. It was the funniest thing to watch. I about died laughing at their attempts to skip in sync.

A little while I had a substitute because I was gone for some reason. I came back to school after the weekend and one of my students, R, came up to me and said, "Miss Collett I am sure glad you are back. I sure like you better than the substitute." I kind of chuckled and asked her way. She proceeded to tell me that I was more fun and had a better voice. When I asked her about the better voice she explained to me that the subs voice was very monotone and quiet and I am more perky. You would have to know this girl, but it was very sweet and hysterical all at once. She uses a lot of words to explain herself, but very sincere and sweet. I love her.

I make 6th grade boys cry. Those of you who are around 12 year old boys would understand how great an accomplishment this is. I am not sure what it is, but they are scared of me. In our school we have "think time". This is where if a student is bad they can be sent to another teacher in the school. It is kind of like a step below going to the principals and mostly for the teacher to get a break before they kill the student. I really like it for the few kids who need it. Every teacher is paired with another teacher. I am paired with a 6th grade teacher. So, when they come in my room I just tell them to sit down and fill out the paper that they are suppose to. In all honestly I don't think I am mean, but I certainly don't act happy when they come into my room. Then when I feel like they have sat there for a while I talk to them about what they did and why they shouldn't have done it. I explain that I don't want to see them back in my room and send them to class. So, truly I don't do anything to them, but I think it must be the annoyance and disappointment I portray. Whatever it is it works, because they do not want to come to my class. I now have all the 6th graders come to my room for think time. A substitute tried to send one down and he claimed he didn't know where my room was. Lie. He had already been in my room a few times. Another one I am told cries when he has to come in my room. Some of them would rather see the principal. The 6th grade teachers love me for it though. I swear I don't bet them. I am just a tiny little person. :)

If you haven't ever read "Sideways Stories from Wayside School" then I strongly suggest you do. I didn't even know what the book was about, but another teacher suggested it as a good read-a-loud book for my class, so I bought it and we started reading it. About a page in I couldn't stop laughing. Granted I think it had to do with the mood I was in that day, but seriously, as I kept reading I kept laughing harder and harder. Eventually I literally couldn't even read anymore, because I was laughing so hard. I was trying to control myself because the kids were starting to get out of hand, but I couldn't. 5 minutes later I managed to pull myself together. My students thought it was the funniest thing they had ever seen. The next day they were so excited to read, but I assured them I wouldn't have a laughing attack again. Except I did. I don't know what it is about that book, but it sure makes me laugh.

Can I tell you how proud I am of some of my students? I have a few who I think are amazing writers. Their stories really read like a good book. It amazes me how creative they can be. I love writing. It is definitely one of my favorite subjects to teach, because you really get to know the kids personalities on a different level. Here are some examples of their writing:

"A dark creature was looming over his nest. You could hear the creature’s deep breathing, smell his horrible breath, and worst of all, hear the bloodcurdling scream it emitted when it was angry. The creature was stealing Camo’s nuts and fruit."

"What could have done this? But then he remembered the screaming. The Beast. No one knows what the Beast looks like, but the ones who do never live to tell the tale. "

"One day when she was in a field she heard crying. Cyrus looked in a nearby bush and saw a darling little girl. When the little girl got sight of Cyrus she said, “Horsy I am Cindy and I am lost. My family went up the mountain. Can you help me?” Cyrus whinnied. Together they headed for the mountain."

"Hi my name is Rylee. Yesterday I figured out how to make up good and bad excuses. Yesterday I forgot my homework, so you can probably guess that I was sitting at my desk sweating to death. Mrs. Riddel was coming around to check homework, but what would I say?"

"If you want to get out of writing class you have to put a chocolate carton of milk in your desk then chew up cheerios and fruit loops and finally spit it in your carton of chocolate milk. Mix all the chocolate milk, the cheerios, and the fruit loops together and put it in your mouth. Next, go up to your teacher and spit it out onto her desk, because then you will be sent home immediately!” I have to say that I’ve learned a lot from that boy. Try some of this stuff out. I have to go now, because I need to go get a package of ketchup from the lunch room."

The one thing I strongly believe with writing is to not ever give the students a topic. They are plenty creative. Forcing them to write about a certain topic just hinders their creativity. Besides how many of us write better when it is something we want to write about?

Well, I am really enjoying my second year of teaching. My class is really good and fun at the same time. They make me laugh all the time and they love to joke around. I feel less stressed this year for sure. Everyone said the first year of teaching was the hardest, but when I was in it I didn't feel too overwhelmed. Now that I am in my second year though I have noticed a big difference. I love the people I work with, my administration is amazing, and I really like 3rd grade. I am lucky to have a stable job.

Some stories that make my job all worth it.

2009-10-24T12:15:00.000-07:00

Mr. H reminds me of Mr. T last year. He is a ball of energy and he always has a lot to say. Plus he has a mischievous look on his face and flaming red hair. So, naturally I love the kid. He is however, a toned down version and doesn't cause me near as much grief as T did last year. But, he still makes me laugh quite often. Just today he came up to me in the morning and asked, "Miss Collett do you ever have bad dreams, because I had one last night. I had a dream that I wrote my story on the wrong paper and so I had to re-write the whole thing again and my hand was hurting. It was a very bad dream." Ahh, the things 3rd graders stress over. It made me laugh a lot though. He was dead serious and he had such a funny expression on his face as he told me about his dream.

The other day I had a girl in my class ask me if I was a "tom boy or a girlie girl." I laughed and asked her what she thought. She responded with quite a surety, "a tom boy, because you like to be outdoors and you like sports." I think she knows me pretty well. :)

It made me so happy the other day when a student in my class came up to me and said, "Miss Collett, I used the word "stunned" in my story, because oh it was just the perfect word." Haha. To give you some background I put up vocabulary words on my whiteboard that come from the book I am reading to the class. I encourage them to use those words in their writing and to also look for the words when they read. He was so excited about it and I was so proud.

There is a girl in my class who struggles in math quite a bit, but sometimes it is hard for me to know, because she doesn't ask for help. Well I talked to her about it at parent/teacher conferences and she told me she would ask me more questions when she was confused. Well the other day she did asked me a question and I helped her. I didn't think anything of it, but then about 5 minutes later she came up to me and said, "You are right Miss Collett, it is really helpful to ask questions. It is so much easier." I was glad that she felt comfortable to ask me a question and I thought it was funny she wanted to tell me about it. I must be doing something right.

And finally, it is not just the kids that keep me smiling throughout the day. Now, you can't judge me for this, because it was a mixture of things. I was tired, when I am not suppose to laugh something inside of me can't stop, when others laugh I laugh, and when things are too cheesy I think they are funny. At our school we have a "anti-bully" program and my assistant principal sent us a link to a video we needed to show our students. I really had no idea what it was about. But I put it up on the projector for the students to watch. It ended up being a slide show of pictures and short video clips of people with disabilities along with a song "Don't Laugh at Me". I know it sounds awful, but about half way through the song I looked over at my amazing aid, Britteni and she had turned toward the wall because she was laughing and didn't want the kids to see. So, as soon as I saw her I couldn't stop myself from laughing either. I had been trying so hard to keep it in, but after I saw her it was over. Am I a terrible teacher or what!? But after the kids were all asking us why we were laughing and so I told them Britteni had told a funny joke. I think they bought it. I am evil.

Well life is moving right along!

Suck up?

2009-04-25T17:41:00.000-07:00

My students write in their journals everyday after lunch. Then I collect 5 a day and read them to make sure they are writing and it helps me get to know them a little bit better. Plus it is often hysterical. So the other day I was reading one of the journals and this is what it said, “Today is Miss Collett's birthday. I think she’s having the worst one yet. Today is probly (his spelling) my worst day too. Well I hope you read this on Monday but I'm sorry for what hapened today. I'm sure you had a bad day. I hope tomorrow's better. It's just I think your the best teacher I ever had.” Come on! I about died. He is one of my favorites, can you tell? The best thing is that he is totally sincere. I have a few who try and let’s say “butter me up”, but it doesn’t fly with me. M here though is just so sweet it is hard not to love him. Also, I honestly have no idea what he is referring to.

I am excited for the school year to end. The kids are getting wild, so my patience is running thin. I will miss them I am sure, but right about now I want to hurt a few.:) Testing is next week so we will find out if I taught anyone anything. I am crossing my fingers!

So Proud!

2009-03-06T16:51:00.000-08:00

The other day we put together "skimmers" which are boats made out of card stock. The idea was they had to make their own sail and then they would race them by blowing them across the gym floor. We decided to make it a contest within the entire 3rd grade. I jokingly told my kids that they had better win the race or else! However, they really did awesome. We split the grade into 5 rounds and 4 of my kids won out of the 5! Then we had a final race and the first, second, and third places went to kids in my class! Those of you who know me well enough know I can be competitive and apparently it has transferred a little bit. :) It made me love my class even more though!

I made it through parent teacher conferences! All I have to say is I am glad they are only twice a year!

Stories...

2009-01-30T16:40:00.000-08:00

At my school we have Spanish everyday for 30 minutes. I don't teach it, but I have to be in the room while the Spanish teacher is teaching to help manage the students. I often bring in a book to read for guided reading. So the other day S came up to me and asked, "Miss Collett do you always have your nose in a book?" She had a goofy smile on her face and I just smiled and said that I do love to read. It is nice to know that they notice I read, because I want to encourage that of course.

Speaking of Spanish. Every single day without fail I came down the stairs and into my dark, completely silent classroom. I have no idea when this came about, but everyday my students all rush into the room before I get there and then turn off the lights and pretend to be sleeping. I think they hope I will let them take a nap, which I have done before. :) It makes me smile everyday though, because it is just a random personality thing that my class does and I will always remember them for it.

It never falters; I always have a story about Mr. T. This week we were working on vocabulary which I just take out of the read-a-loud book I am reading at the time. I came across the word boisterous, which means lively, energetic, or active, so I made that a vocabulary word and we were talking about the definition and ways to use it. I mentioned that a person with a lot of energy could be boisterous. A girl, A, raised her hand and said, "T is boisterous!" I smiled and agreed with her. It sure made me laugh; I mean even the students know it! Haha!

Another story with Mr T. literally made me leave the room because I was laughing so hard. Every 6 weeks every grade has a week of extra art. Monday is the assembly day when the who 3rd grade gets together and learns about a new artist. Right now they are studying Mary Cassatt. The art teacher was pointing out how she uses lines to point to the more important parts of the painting. The art teacher asked the kids what the woman's shirt in the picture was pointing towards. The answer she was looking for was toward the little girl's face below the woman. Well T says out loud, but more to himself "It is pointing towards the wiener" I about died when I heard him. I looked at him and he immediately regretted saying it, but he was dead serious. I pulled him over and told him that was inappropriate. He said, "But Miss Collett (with a downward motion) it is pointing to the wiener. I said "you can think it, but it is inappropriate to say in school. Then I ran out of the assembly and busted out laughing. The kid never fails to put a smile on my face.

Last T story. I was talking to my principal and somehow T came up. My principal asked me if I had seen the tiger claw T had brought to school. The principal said that T was showing it to people at lunch and the principal actually thought it was really cool. I told him that T had probably not shown me, because he knew I would take it away. I am constantly taking things away from the kid, because everything distracts him. Anyway, after lunch I asked T about it. He looked at me surprised and asked how I knew he had a tiger claw. I of course told him I knew everything and asked to see it. He told me he didn't want to show me because I would take it. I laughed because I was totally spot on when I told the principal why I thought I had not seen it. I love that T knows I will take something away from him if I see him playing with it. I did not take it away from him though, because he had never become a distraction. I just told him as long as I didn't see it I wouldn't take it.

Well that is all for now!

Some fun stories

2009-01-16T16:36:00.000-08:00

So in science we are teaching about living vs. non-living, which seems like kindergarten stuff, but it has created some funny comments. One in particular has to do with the fact that for something to be living it has to reproduce. Now we thought about the best way to approach this and decided to say that the living thing needs to be able to create more of itself. This definition satisfied everyone when we were introducing the topic. However, a little later my students were sorting a list of things into "living" and "non-living" and they came across "school teacher". At first one of my students, T, was just joking around and saying "oh Miss Collett I think you are under "non-living". But then a few other kids starting thinking about it. One girl asked, "Miss Collett you can reproduce?" I said that I could have a baby and that satisfied her concern. However, this had now become a classroom discussion and one student asked, "But then how are men living?" I about died laughing. How do I respond to that? I mean they can't have babies. :) So I said, "Well they help" and then I said, "You know what... ask your mom." I got a few funny looks, but they finally let it go. It still makes me laugh out loud though.

We have art every Friday afternoon and this week we did hand prints with paint onto a big canvas. Well of course paint is messy and so I had them go to the bathroom to wash their hands. Then a little later one girl came up to me and said, "Miss Collett there is paint all over the bathroom. I did NOT know how disgusting girls could be." They way she said it killed me. I went into the bathroom and sure enough there was paint all over the walls, sink, and floor. I promptly had everyone take a few paper towels and clean up.

Finally, I thought of another story that happened a little while ago. T came walking into class one morning very quiet, which never happens. He is usually causing a commotion 5 minutes after he has walked through my door. I swear the kid is friends with everyone and anyone, which makes it hard to sit him anywhere. Anyways, after a little bit he came up to me holding his sweater zipper and asked me if he could use my tape. I could tell he was embarrassed. I asked him why he needed tape and he said that his zipper was broken and he wanted to tape his sweater. I asked him what was underneath his sweater thinking he could just take it off, but he simply replied, "skin". I laughed at his response and realizing why he was embarrassed found a safety pin to pin it closed. This kid always keeps me laughing and on my toes.

Hope you have a good week!

A teacher's life is always entertaining

2008-12-24T07:59:00.000-08:00

So I am finally updating my blog. I don't know if anyone still checks it, but oh well. I will mostly be focusing on the experiences I have as a teacher as that is much more interesting than any other part of my life. Besides I have decided I would like to remember some of the funny things that happen to me. I was reading my old blog posts and laughing at all the things I had forgotten. It is nice to have memories typed up so they are not forgotten or lost.

I have one boy in my class, let's call him T, who really likes to keep me on my toes. Actually, I am glad he is in my class, because then I am never bored and he challenges me to think outside the box. This kid is brilliant and says the funniest things on a daily basis. I am kicking myself a little bit for not writing them down earlier, because I cannot remember most of what he has said. However, one thing I do remember happened more towards the beginning of the year. You see I have a tooth brush and tooth paste at school so I can brush my teeth in the morning after I eat breakfast, because usually I eat at school. I almost always brush my teeth before my students get to the class, but one morning I forgot until they had started to line up at my classroom door. I quickly started brushing my teeth. T poked his head inside the door and saw me brushing away. He gave me a confused look, like when a dog turns his head sideways, and said completely serious, "Miss Collett do you live here?" Let me ask you this: How many of you thought your teachers lived at the school? I know I thought it. So I decided to mess with him and I said, "Yep I sure do." He replied, "But where do you sleep?" I told him I slept on top of the desks, but he didn't buy it. I just smiled at him and said nothing more, so who knows if he thinks I live at the school or not. Sometimes I feel like I do.

On September 11th I wanted to make sure that the kids knew that it was a day to remember all those who lost their lives. Most of the students had an idea of what happened, so I just kind of told them where I was and how I felt when it all happened. I explained my love for this country and people who fight for freedom. Then I played "I am proud to be an American" for them and had them just sit and think. I had 3 students in my class full on cry during the song, all girls of course. I was actually proud of them for feeling for their country. One girl wasn't ashamed at all and said loudly to the class, "Man that song made me so sad I was crying!" She is my soon to be actress and I love her for it. You should here the way she reads her stories out loud. She has so much character and expression in her voice. I think I should get an autograph before the end of the year.

We just recently had a 3rd grade dance festival, because we were studying cultures and so each class took a dance from a different country. The kids really loved it. During the second or third time we were practicing I had one boy come up to me and ask if he could switch partners. Now I was going to have none of that, but I asked him why and he said, "Well Miss Collett S (I will just name all my students with one letter so I don't get in trouble) picks her nose and I just really don't want to get boggers (how he said it) on my hand," Haha, what could I say to that? I wouldn't want boggers on my hand either.

Well for now that is all I have. I will really try to keep more up to date, but I am making no promises. Mostly I want to remember, so I am making a goal to write when I have a good story or two. Bye for now!

Birthday Weekend Fun!

2008-04-10T16:09:00.001-07:00

I had an awesome birthday! School was fun and my kids were really cute. We had a party and Jodi surprised me with balloons which of course I got very excited about. We went to Dave and Buster’s, which is like a big kid Chuckie Cheese, and played until we were all ready for bed.

Saturday morning we got up super early to catch a Chinatown bus to New York; we had so much fun! The bus ride was actually kind of fun. We slept, because it wasn’t very crowded and I enjoyed the bus stop breaks where we got supplies of treats which we shared with our bus friends. In New York we did a lot of smaller things. We had at more famous quaint restaurants and went to fun stores like FAO Schwartz. We stayed at a nice little hotel where we enjoyed some good ol’e television. It was a really fun trip…here are the funny highlights:

Chinatown bus: Okay not as bad as I thought. Let me just say the bus stop was between the Chinese restaurants Wok ‘n Roll and New Big Wong. We laugh about that randomly still.

Subway trips: Being in DC we all felt pretty confident on the subway, because we use the metro here everyday. Of course it is different, but the same idea. Well one big difference: the doors close A LOT faster. At one stop we causally got up to get off just like we usually do in DC, well not quick enough for the subway in New York. Tracie managed to get off but no one else. The doors shut without anyone else getting the chance to leave and so we continued to the next stop without her. We were laughing hard for the next 10 minutes as we had to go 2 more stops to turn around and go back. It gets better. When we finally were getting on the subway to go back, those stinking doors started to shut on Kami. I seriously thought we were now going to have people in 3 different locations. But she fought her way through the closing doors which were trying to shut regardless of who was in the way. Oh it was a site to see! Needless to say, we were much quicker at getting on and off the subway. J

TGI Friday’s: We ate in Times Square at the TGI Friday’s and we thought since it had only been one day since my birthday we thought we would see if they would sing and maybe get a free dessert. When we asked they kind of sounded unsure, but they did sing and brought us a nice big brown sundae. We were all very pleased with ourselves until they brought us the bill and charged us 9 dollars for the dessert we did not even technically order. Who does that? At least they usually tell you it will cost and ask you what you want. Nope. So we argued and they ended up not charging us, but really?

Good times in New York City!

Well I am excited to come to Utah! I had a dose of sadness yesterday, because two of my kids were suspended which means I won’t see them again. When I found out they were going to be suspended (for showing their private parts to a girl during recess) I also realized I wasn’t going to see them again. So I found a camera and went to go grab the two boys to come in the class picture. As we were walking to the classroom I was kind of explaining that I wouldn’t get to see them again since my last day is Friday. One of them started crying sending the other one into tears also. I started getting emotional, but I calmed them down because I was thinking: we are going to take pictures we can’t be crying. We took some class pictures and then I took the two boys back downstairs to the office and they started crying again. I gave them a hug and that made me cry too. I am really going to miss them. I am not sad about not having to teach them anymore, but I am sad because I feel like I am breaking their hearts. I feel like I have been a constant adult they can rely on and many of them don’t have that. I think tomorrow is going to be tougher than I thought; those crying boys faces are forever going to be engraved in my mind.

Jodi suprised me with balloons! I love her!

Love them! I swear I am not that white, they make me look like I am dying. :)

All the other kids were standing on a
chair, but this girl isn't. She is so tall
and beautiful, but a pill.

Happy Birthday Miss Collett! Nothing better then
elementary kids to make you feel special for your
birthday!

They love me...most of the time.

On the way to New York City baby!

Serendipity. Seriously good frozen hot chocolate.

So our annoying principal has this
"think green" idea that he constantly
bugs us about on the intercom. It is
suppose to be something about if you
are in the "green zone" you are being
good, but if you are in the "red or yellow
zone" you need to be better. It is
actually a good idea, but he is so
annoying about it we all hate it...Notice
our faces. We found this in FAO
Schwartz and we almost died laughing.

Very interactive toy store. Probably
meant for kids, but hey we aren't too
old yet!

Love New York!

Spring break

2008-03-31T14:23:00.000-07:00

Spring break was amazing and desperately needed. Jodi and I got to spend tons of time with Ashlin which was a total blast. She is one smart little girl! I am grateful Chad was able to give us buddy passes to watch her. Thanks SO much!

I also got to see my family which was also needed. I miss my family out here! I ran around trying to see everyone as much as possible. There was not enough time, but the good news is I will be back in 2 weeks! We have all decided we are ready to be done. I want my own classroom where I can do things exactly how I want. I can't wait for next year! I met the principal of my school and he was very nice. I also got to see the site of my school; it is in a gorgeous area.

I am going to finish out the last 2 weeks strong. It is my last chance to make as much of an impression as I can.

Here are some pictures. We went to the cherry blossom festival Saturday.

So stinkin adorable!

The new addition to the Meyerson family. He
is hard not to love.

Eating the Jefferson Monument

Yummy

Now I am holding it. Maybe these pictures
should be in a different order. :) Although
then again 3 people couldn't eat the same
monument....well nobody could really eat a
monument. Yep I am done.

The cherry blossoms! It was a dreary day, but
it still looked really pretty.

We went to the kite extravaganza on the mall strip.
I was really surprised at how many there were.
We were constantly dogging them which made
the experience even more funny.

Let the good times role!

2008-03-14T19:13:00.000-07:00

I have had the most wonderful week! Everyday was a good day with a lot of learning. Monday and Tuesday were unbelievably excellent and probably the most productive days since I have been out here. Like I have said before a lot of days feel very worthless, but both days I got through all of my lessons and I felt like my students were actually learning. Wednesday and yesterday my teacher was home sick, so I had the class to myself. Surprisingly it wasn’t too bad. Usually the kids are a lot more difficult to manage when my mentor teacher is gone, but they really haven’t shown too much of a difference in behavior this past week. I was still able to get a lot done and I didn’t really feel too overwhelmed with any management problems. I did have a fist fight go on at the end of the day Wednesday, but I handled it and nobody got too hurt. J I will explain more…I just finally felt like a teacher. I felt like I had my class under control. I know my kids. I know how to handle each child on an individual basis which allows me to be a teacher on a deeper level.

Good Stories:

Okay, the fight. I have had 2 other major fights that involved fists, tackling, or serious aggression. This one I think has topped them all. It began with an exchange of chips between two boys in my class. To make a long story short they were fighting over who the chips belonged to. Both boys have a temper and it became violent quick. I looked up to find one of the boys throwing the other down on the floor. Then the boy on the floor got up and gave the other kid a bloody lip. At this point they were chasing each other around the room. After two desks were knocked down I was able to get in the pathway of one boy and I kind of grabbed him and swung him out the door as another teacher came over to help. So that teacher took him and I was able to deal with the other one still in my class. I calmed my class down and we continued with the day. I had a discussion with them and things were better today. They just don’t know how to handle their emotions or deal with arguments. They know how to fight. They are 7 years old and that is what kills me. It is sad that all they know how to do is fight. But I successfully handle the situation and it didn’t seem to affect the classroom environment too much.

One of my students was walking past a Jesse Jackson poster in the hall and he said:
“Miss Collett look it is Jesus. Jesus Jackson” He was reading the poster; needless to say, he needs to work on his reading. J

I was very proud of one of my students because the principal came into my class and my student actually proved that he had learned something that day. (Side Note: My principal drives me crazy. He is a lot of talk, but doesn’t really do much but bug everyone. He periodically drops in unannounced and if he feels like it gives a quick 5 or 10 minute lesson on nothing to do with what the students are learning.) So, he dropped in the other day and saw that fractions were written on the board. He asked the class what they had learned about fractions. Alonte raised his hand and explained how to show a fraction in a picture. It was so adorable and I was so proud of him for remembering what we had learned. The principal proceeded to give a dumb lesson on which fraction is bigger which no one understood. However, I taught bigger fractions today and almost the whole class got it!

My worst student has never been better! ALL day today he was unbelievably incredible. He followed directions, finished his work, and never left the class, all very big successes for him. I think he finally believes I am on his side and I really do care about him. Even today he wouldn’t take off his hat and so when I finally got a chance to talk to him about it I found out that he was embarrassed because his hair was half braided. So I made a deal with him that he could tell me anyone who made fun of him and I would keep them at recess. He immediately took his hat off and the day continued without problems. Ah I wish I could explain in words how wonderful it was to have him behave the entire day.

Okay, best story of the week: In the morning my students come in and write in their journals. I have a journal prompt on the board to help them get started. Well, the other day my journal prompt was “If you found a pot of gold what would you do?” I got the usual I would buy a play station, a swimming pool, food, etc… Well I had two really cute entries, strangely enough the same two boys who got into the fight. One said, I wouldn’t pick it up. I would leave it there and try to find out whose it was. The other said, I would give some to the homeless, then I would give some to my mom and dad and then I would give some …and he made a small list of people he would give the gold to. He never once mentioned what he wanted. Too cute! I was laughing about it all day. They have the biggest hearts.

Too much fighting!!!

2008-03-10T16:44:00.000-07:00

The weeks are flying by. Weekends are always something to look forward to. Last weekend Dad came to visit! We had a very good time. We enjoyed the hot tub, TV (a novelty these days since we don’t have one), Georgetown, and other DC attractions. We got to go to the spy museum which was my favorite part of the weekend. One part of the museum was interactive and we were able to find out valuable information for the government. We even got new identities. J

This past weekend was nice and relaxing. We were suppose to go to Philadelphia with our supervisor, but it was raining all day Friday and Saturday so we decided another weekend was a better idea.

School is getting better. The good days are starting to seem more frequent these days. I am not sure if my attitude has changed, if I am just use to it, or I am actually making some kind of a difference; I am hoping it is the latter. I can see my students improving a little bit so that is encouraging. There are so many things I want to do with my students, but my time is running out. I only have 4 weeks of school left! That blows my mind a little bit considering I felt like it would never end in the beginning. A lot of days feel very unproductive, but I do what I can. In fact on Friday I felt like it was a very unproductive day, full of simply managing the class. However at the end of the day I was so sick and tired of all the fights that had gone on in my class I was ready to explode. There had been the usual arguments about “busing in the line” or getting in front of someone in line, fighting over pencils, paper, markers, anything you could imagine, etc… But then on I also had the extra pleasure of dealing with one girl who had written a note to someone that said “Edugwu is ugly.” I intercepted the note and immediately dismissed the girl from my classroom in order for her to think about what she had written and to keep me from screaming. She consequently stayed with me during recess and wrote one nice thing about everyone in the class. Then after lunch I caught two girls making fun of another’s student’s ears. SECOND grade people, I mean come on! In second grade you should be sweet and innocent. So at that point I had had enough. I got everyone quiet real quick and proceeded to give a talk about how making fun of each other is rude and I would not have it in my classroom. After I finished my speech I went around the room and let everyone give one complement about each student in the class. It was actually really cute and went really well. Everyone was eager to give out compliments and some were really adorable. So that is the kind of teaching that takes place a lot around here. It was the only productive thing that went on all day Friday, but it was an accomplishment. I just wish that one time would stop the constant fighting. One step at a time.

I found out I will be going to Utah for spring break and I am really looking forward to that! I can’t wait to see everyone! Keep in touch!

Field Trip!!!

2008-02-27T16:42:00.001-08:00

We went on our first field trip yesterday. It took a lot of effort to finally get on the field trip with all of the permission slips and "ok's" from everyone, but in the end it worked out. We walked about 4 blocks to the Air and Space Museum. The kids absolutely loved it! They were just beaming the entire trip. Each class took 4 or 5 students, so we had a total of 12 kids with 4 adults. It was nice to get out of the classroom and get a chance to really get to know the students. They are so much fun! I can't wait for the other field trips we have planned.

Walking to the museum. Single file line...not
easily kept. :)

The whole crew.

The students loved "flying" the airplane.

The kids got to participate in a paper airplane
contest. They learned about balance and stability
in the process. The kids really had fun with it.

My 4 that came from my class. They were a fun
group.

We had to eat at McDonalds. They are in love
with it out here.

Well today was an awesome day! My supervisors from BYU came for a visit and watched one of my lessons today. The lesson went unbelievable well, so they thought I was pretty amazing...or something like that. hehe. I am lovin' it!

Also, Dad is coming out so I am excited for that!

Moments to laugh

2008-02-25T14:22:00.000-08:00

Okay we always have funny stories to tell, so I thought I would share some of the hilarious things that naturally arise when working with kids on a daily basis.

On Friday I was playing connect 4 with one of my students during recess. He made me laugh so hard when he was getting all into the game and said to me, "Girl, I know where your going. I got you, you can't get me. I see your plan." Oh man I wish you could here it the way he said it. First of all, he called me "girl" and second of all I beat him every time when I was trying to lose. It was so funny to me I seriously was almost on the floor laughing, which of course encouraged him to continue. :) He is so stinking cute!

The other day another elementary teacher here told one of her students, Aliya, she needed to be good for the last 20 minutes of school in order to recieve her treat. Aliya calmly replied, "Miss Mecham you know I can't be good for 20 whole minutes, I get fussy." She is in 4th grade. Fussy? 2 year olds get fussy. :)

Another teacher was talking to one of her 4^th graders and they got on the subject of getting married. Their conversation went something like this:

“Miss Buttars are you married?”

“No”

“I know how it’s gonna happen. You are going to be workin on some papers and

You will ax him for help. Then he will ax you on a date. After the date he will kiss you on the cheek, or maybe on the lips. Then by the second date he will say Miss Buttars marry me.”

“He will say Miss Buttars?”

“Well no, he will say Traci and then you will get married. But Miss Buttars when you get married you have to, you know…use protection.”

“What?!”

“You know protection…do you need me to say the word?”

“No. I know what you are talking about.”

“ My Aunt is always telling me you must use protection or you WILL have a baby.”

I am sure I didn’t know what “protection” was in 4^th grade! The funny things they know here are always a surprise to me. They try to act like they are much older than they are, but actually act immature for their age. But it makes for funny experiences like this.

Focusing on the small victories!

2008-02-16T07:14:00.000-08:00

This week was pretty good. A mix of good and bad days, but more good. I finally have the hang of things and I know my kids pretty well. They all respond differently to management, so I have learned what works and doesn't work for each student.

My toughest student has been responding really well to me lately and he has even participated in a lot of my lessons! The other day he finished 2 whole assignments and took a test; I couldn't believe it!

Subtraction with regrouping (when you have to borrow) is really tough for the students. So last week and this week I really worked on it with them. They still need to work on it, but they are getting better. A few of the higher students who can subtract have been working on multiplication too. For some reason they all really love multiplication, so they have been excited about that.

Friday the students took a spelling test and everyone but 3 students got 100%! When I came only one student got every word correct! Nice! Their spelling is atrocious, so they really need to work on it. I was happy to see so many succeed and I could see that they were proud of themselves as well.

The weather is pretty nice here most of the time. It never snows, but rains occasionally. The wind chill is what really gets to you. It is piercing. However, most days it is in the 40's making it feel like a spring day when the sun is shinning and the wind isn't blowing. We have been lucky with good weather on the weekends which makes it possible to explore a little more. Last weekend we went to the Air and Space museum and this weekend we are planning to go to the Museum of Natural History; after watching Night at the Museum of course. :) I am really excited, because we are planning to take a few students on field trips and one will be at the Air and Space museum and another at the Museum of Natural History. My students rarely leave their neighborhood, so I think it will be very beneficial to them. It is so sad that they live 4 blocks away from all of the museums and yet very few have gone to a single one. I can't wait to take them!

Well I have heard it has been like Alaska there in Utah, so sorry about that. I strangely miss the snow, but I am sure being there for a week would cure that. Well I miss you guys and I hope all is well! Hugs and Kisses!

And a special kiss to the little man who warmed so many hearts: Jacob Travis Meyerson. You are loved and missed by many.

"Oh my gosh" (say it with attitude)

2008-02-07T14:55:00.000-08:00

Today marks one month teaching here in DC! I really can't believe it has been a whole month. It went by so slow at first and sometimes it still does, but when I think it has been a month already it seems faster. I am definitely getting attached to my students out here. They can all be very sweet at times and they just love attention. They all hug me like 5 times a day.

Well today was not so great. My teacher didn't show up to school and so I was alone all day. The kids are a lot harder to manage when she is gone. They really try to test me. I actually felt more in control then I have before, but it was still really tough. For 45 minutes after lunch I was trying to get the kids to sit in their seats quietly for a few minutes to calm down. 45 minutes! Plus, my supervisor came to observe and so that made me feel more stressed. The worst part of the day was when my hardest student tried to tackle me and finally hit me in order to get into the classroom. When he came back from recess I could tell he was too hyper and needed to go somewhere else. Plus I was told he wouldn't even be in class, but he ended up in class about 1/2 of the day. Anyways, when he came back from lunch I asked him to go talk to the councilor. However, he didn't want to go. I told him he could not come into the classroom until he went to see the councilor and this is when the shoving and hitting started. It wasn't hard or anything, but I had to call security to come get him. Good times. The worst thing about that is that it gets all the other kids more hyper. So, it was a tough day, but the good news is I made it through! I am learning...

I hope everyone has a good weekend! Oh... in reference to my title...my kids say that like 3 times a day each when they don't want to do something. Arg!!! The attitude kills me! Gotta love them though. :)

Pictures!!!

2008-02-03T07:31:00.001-08:00

I finally took some pictures of my kids so here you go!
In case you didn't know...you can click
on the picture to make it bigger.

Ah they seem like such angels...

Doesn't that girls smile just make you want to
hug her? She is so cute, but she is very chatty
and can have some serious attitude. :)

Can have the most attitude of anyone I have
ever met. She tests me, but I love her!

They were showing me their pictures they drew.

The boy it the back sits by himself right next
to my mentor teacher. He is a tough one.

The week finished off with a bang! My supervisor came on Thursday to do her first formal observation and it went really well. The kids did a really good job and the lesson ran smoothly.

I started to feel sick Thursday afternoon and it got worse by Friday. I have been relaxing for the most part this weekend, but I still don't feel great. Teaching is much more difficult when you don't feel very good. Hopefully I will get better quick!

Here is a video. We were having a
party, because they had behaved so well. They
were showing me their dance they learned in music.

Make photo slide shows at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Bad News: Lost my wallet on the metro. Good news: There are good people in the world. Better news: I can totally teach these kids!!!

2008-01-28T19:27:00.000-08:00

Yes somehow I managed to lose my wallet on the metro Friday night. I was coming home from the temple and when I went to exit the metro I couldn’t find my wallet. However, a woman found it and returned it, untouched, to the metro lost and found. I feel so lucky! The DC temple is gorgeous. I wish I would have taken a picture, but it was a really neat experience. I realized that the only other time I have been to a temple outside of Utah was when I was like 12. So, it was a different experience out here in DC. We had to get a time slot and then we were treated like princesses, because we were the only ones there.

So, today was amazing!!! It was my first day teaching the entire day by myself. I planned every second of the whole day. I was very nervous and I was sure that I had forgotten something important. But from the moment the students walked into the classroom I was determined to make it a good day. I decided I was going to really try and not yell at them and I was going to keep them engaged and learning. I wanted to be sure to give out a lot of compliments and positive reinforcement and it worked like at charm! The kids were the best they have ever been; even my teacher couldn’t believe it. They followed instructions, sat quietly on the carpet (mostly…kids will be kids), participated, and were genuinely trying their best. The entire atmosphere of the classroom changed; it was an unbelievable feeling. It really just solidified my belief that keeping students engaged, showing them you care, and giving them positive reinforcement really works. I can’t even describe to you how good it felt to see my students working hard and trying their best. There are just no words… I am exhausted and most of the time I am sure I won’t have enough time for everything I need to do, yet at the end of the day I feel like I a million bucks. Because I know that at least I helped one student become a little better or learn a little bit more, even if it was that they just realized that someone cared about them. Whoa there is no better profession for me!!! And don’t worry…I am not getting my hopes up too much. I don’t expect everyday to be so wonderful, but you must savor these days as a teacher.

I have a few funny stories:

1. The other day we were waiting for the metro later at night. On the other platform a train came to a stop, but it was not for passengers and the lights were completely turned off. Then on the last car of the train the doors opened and a metro officer came out with a SHOTGUN, or at least that is what it looked like. She just stood there until the train left. We all were sure she was just going to open fire on us. It was quite hysterical.

2.This is one of the stories to show how annoying it can be not to have a car…So, one of my roommates organized a ride to church with some guys in our apartment complex. Jodi and I were running a few minutes behind, as usual, so we told the rest of the apartment to go and we would catch up. They told us to go to the boys apartment. When we got there no one answered the door, so we went to the lobby hoping they would be there. We waited at the lobby trying to get a hold of people, but we couldn’t get a hold of anyone. Finally at 12:50 we gave up and went back to our apartment. Turns out we just didn’t knock hard enough, because the boys were just waiting for us at their apartment. Missing church, because we didn’t have a way to get there was a new experience. J

In other news:

This weekend we went to the Holocaust museum. It was very moving. It was emotionally draining and I don’t plan on going again anytime soon, but it is a very neat experience.

Love you all!

My crazy life

2008-01-22T18:18:00.000-08:00

Another week has come and gone. I seriously feel like I have been here for a whole lot longer than 2 ½ weeks. This past week went pretty well. I had a few bad days in the beginning of the week. My teacher had to go to a workshop Tuesday morning, so I was all by myself. That isn’t supposed to happen, but it has happened to half of us already. It seems subs are hard to get around here, or the school just doesn’t want to get one. J Anyways, the kids are 10 times more out of control when the teacher is gone, so that wasn’t the easiest day. But I did make it through!

The end of the week went a lot better. I implemented a rewards system in which the students get a sticker at the end of the day if they receive enough “smile faces”. It has worked for a lot of the kids, so that is great! I also really started teaching a lot on Thursday and Friday. I planned math and some writing stuff. If the kids are engaged they really respond better, so that was good to see. I even had them in groups and they weren’t killing each other! I am excited to continue with math and writing while taking on more subjects throughout the day. I will probably be teaching all day next week.

This weekend was a 3-day weekend, so that was really nice. Mostly we just worked on planning and stuff. We have what is called a teacher work sample (TWS) that decides if we pass/fail student teaching. You must plan a unit, teach it, have an assessment, and then reflect. It is pretty intense and we all just want to get it done, so then we can relax a little more. We did get a chance to go up the Washington Monument. The views are awesome! You will probably need to check out Jodi’s blog for pictures of the view.

And a new week already begins…ah the adventures that lie ahead. Love you all!

Part of the group that went up the monument.

One week down!

2008-01-13T14:34:00.000-08:00

I made it through the week! It has been a week full of all kinds of adventures and new experiences. I think everyone in our apartment has had their eyes opened to a whole new way of thinking. It has been a lot of fun to share our experiences with each other, along with our concerns and fears. Everyday we come home from school with funny stories to tell…and if they aren’t so funny we laugh nervously anyway and remind each other what an unbelievably hilarious situation we have found ourselves in. I love having roommates that are teachers!

Despite all of the crazy things that happen that are hard to handle like the constant yelling, the lectures to 8 year olds on how they aren’t trying hard enough and they are lazy, the parents who come in and spank their kids during school because they didn’t finish their homework, or the endless worksheets that seem pointless, there are still some really awesome moments throughout the day. I pulled each student out of class Thursday to have them read for me. I had a pile of books with different levels and many of the students were hoping they were going to get to read the whole stack of books to me. They love to read. A lot of them are reading on a very low level, but it is great to see their enthusiasm and desire to read. The other day I also had a few students beg me to eat lunch with them. Oh the joys of being a teacher. I can tell these kids really do want to behave and they want to learn, but they just aren’t quite sure how. I am excited to get to know them more, especially the most difficult ones, and watch how they progress.

This weekend we explored DC a little bit more. We went around to some of the monuments which were really neat for me because I had never been to any of them. I am so excited that I will have many more opportunities to go visit the different monuments and sites that are around this area. It is nice to not be visiting, but living here, because then I can take my time and I don’t have to feel too overwhelmed with too many in one day. Here are some pictures!

We were walking on the path toward heaven...
and i am pretty sure people were staring. :) It
is a seriously tall monument.

The Lincoln memorial!

The Washington Monument is in
the background.

What are the chances? Anyone know if I am
related to him? This was my favorite. What
an awesome way to remember those that
fought and died in the Vietnam War. It gave
me the chills.

Ah...the White House. It turns out this was the
back, but we didn't figure that out until we got
home and looked at the pictures. Jodi realized
it didn't look quite right and sure enough the
front is cooler. Another time.

We were also contemplating the idea of jumping
the fence. How cool would that be! It was voted
that I would be the one to get flung over the fence,
however on the off chance that I might be shot at
we decided to reconsider.

This was at a museum we happened across.
As teachers we tend to enjoy the hands-on
activities available.

You will be happy to know that I have cooked
more here than I have my whole life. We take
turns cooking once a week. Good times. This is
what happens when eating out becomes more
difficult than cooking. I guess I will have to
learn to cook.

Okay seriously, this is one of my roommates,
Stefani. She can fall asleep anywhere at anytime
if she wants to. The first time we found her
asleep in her closet! This second time she fell
asleep on the coach during a nice roommate chat
one night. She was gone all night. We did lay
her down and take her glasses off. I wish I
could sleep so easily.

My 2nd grade class!

2008-01-09T17:28:00.000-08:00

Well I am half way through my first week of school! Monday I just met my teacher and class for a second. I also had a chance to meet my principal who seemed very nice and I really liked that his teaching philosophies matched mine. Tuesday was my first real day to observe. I was very surprised to say the least. It sure is different out here. The whole time my teacher was literally screaming at the kids all day. I mean it made me nervous. However, today I felt a little better as I started coming to the realization that it is part of their culture and they sometimes need it. These kids don't usually get a lot of help at home and there isn't many social skills taught in the home either. Therefore there is a lot more emphasis on social skills in school than in Utah. It is a pretty tough situation. I feel like my class of 14 is at least 30.

In my experience in Utah schools there have always been the 1 or 2 really hard kids that require a lot of attention and test your patience, but here it is like 12 kids are like that and 2 can sit sill for more than 30 seconds. It makes it difficult to manage, thus difficult to teach. In Utah you can get the rest of the class on task and then focus on those who need extra guidance and further direction. But when all of your kids are that way it is impossible to give them that extra help. However, I am hopeful that I can make things a little better and I will try my best! My views on management are already beginning to change. Tough situations like this help you understand why teaching can be so difficult and why the teachers here resort to so much yelling, but I hope to implement some preventative strategies with a lot of positive reinforcement, because they are all craving attention.

I taught a small group today and it felt very out of control, but my mentor teacher said she was impressed and reassured me that I seemed to have better management then her last student teacher. Baby steps! Despite the hardships I already foresee ahead I am very excited and ready to make a difference where I can. Also, these kids are absolutely adorable!

I love you all! Thanks for your comments and phone calls! Mail to fun too! :)

Getting use to a new home!

2008-01-06T15:31:00.001-08:00

These are my roommates, besides the blond
girl in the front left who is married, but in our
program. They are a lot of fun!

My apartment! I will never live better again.

We have been SUPER busy! Our supervisor took us to the Library of Congress on Friday and Mt. Vernon yesterday. It was a lot of fun and a little taste of all the stuff I have to see out here. It is amazing all the history here and all the sites to see. My roommates and I made a list of all the places we want to visit so we have a lot to do!

The thing I miss most out here, besides the mountains because I have no sense of direction without them, is my car. I feel so dependent on the other people to get places. Public transportation is a little tricky to get use to. I think in DC it is better, but in Arlington the metro doesn't have a ton of stops and the buses don't come very often. The other day we went to Walmart and it took us 4 hours to get there, shop, and get home when the Walmart was only like 15 minutes away... that was quite the interesting experience. I think it will be easier once I get more use to how it all works, but I sure miss just being able to jump in my car when I need to go somewhere.

Well I get to meet my mentor teacher and my class tomorrow! I found out I am teaching 2nd grade so I am really excited about that! It sounds like I will like my teacher, because she is retiring next year and is pretty much willing to just let me do whatever I want with the class. I can't wait! I have moments when my stomach gets tight and I start wondering what the heck I am getting myself into, but mostly I am excited and ready to go for it!

Here are some pictures from our adventures this past weekend:

In front of Mt. Vernon. Gorgeous!

Back of George Washington's house!

We made it!!!

2008-01-03T16:05:00.000-08:00

We are finally in DC, well technically Virgina. The plane ride was good. Dad you were right...we had a stop in Denver, but we just stayed on the plane so it didn't take long. We had to wait for a little while to get a shuttle, but it wasn't too bad. We actually got to our apartment in like an hour and 15 mintues and we had to drop someone else off before us.

Our apartment is amazing!!! It is huge and it makes me feel like some snotty rich girl. :) I will try to take pictures and post them soon, because you have to see it to believe it.

It is a really nice neighborhood and I feel safe. We went to Costco tonight to get some essentials and that was quite the adventure. We took a suitcase to bring all the stuff back with us it was hilarious. I am so excited for all the adventures to come. I love you all!

2007-12-27T17:15:00.000-08:00

Alright! This is my blogspot so everyone can feel a little better that I am leaving. Just keep in mind I will only be gone for 3 months and then I will be back! But you can check up on me here as often as you'd like! Whoa! Here I go...

2007-12-27T16:21:00.001-08:00

This is where I will be living!
One week baby!