2013 Pre-Student Classroom Tour

Tuesday is tour day. Really you don't need a tour to see the classrooms in our school. They are pretty small but serve our purpose. This year is the first time I haven't had a real theme for the classroom. I was just hoping to use up a lot of things that were being stored. It has worked out pretty good.

This is the bulletin board outside my classroom. The only time it isn't student built is at the beginning of the year. The students love to find their names on the board to make sure they belong here. I am the last room in the hall and closest to the playground. I like it here - too far for people to visit often but close enough we can sneak outside for fun.

This is the view as you walk inside. I love my tables. They are great for group work and don't take up as much room as 28 desks. Plus they are green - my favorite color. Our computer center is also there. I have six computers available for student use at all times. I have my small book shelf in the corner. I wish I had room for a proper reading corner but survive with this shelf. We have a great school library and so only need a few books in the classroom. It works.

This is our cubby space. When our rooms were built, we we given space for 24 students but I have had up to 28 which required some creative "cubby-ing". The students keep all their supplies on their own shelf, boots below and coats in the middle. I like how they are hidden from the door so if it gets messy over there, no one, besides us, knows.

This year I put my Guided Reading/small group table in the cubby area. No one is at the cubbies during teaching time and so this should work out great - if I can stand the smell of gross winter boots long enough to sit there.

This is the cleaning station and the drinking fountain and the pencil area. I love having a fountain in my room but I have to have rules otherwise there are people walking there ALL THE TIME and I hate when people wander. I just wish the water was colder. Washing up for lunch is a cinch since we have a sink. While some students wash the others are working. Saves a lot of time. I sharpen a ton of pencils each day. I don't allow students to sharpen at all and no sharpening happens during class time. If their pencil is dull or breaks, they drop it in the "Dull" can and grab a new one from the "Sharp" can. It works great.

This is MY space. My desk, teaching guides and small file cabinet are right here. I love it right near the window for sunlight or fresh air but I can also keep an eye out at the door and the room. My office is heavenly. It is used for testing by our para pros but also holds A LOT of storage. I can also redo my hair in there and no one cares that I spray hairspray everywhere. There is a desk in there and a VERY comfy office chair, too. I have been known to spread a blanket out during uncheck and take a little power nap.

In our school, we are required to post objectives for Math, Reading/Language, Science, and Art each day. They must be written for students to understand and evaluate. This year I have taken more space and made an Objective Board. At the beginning of each class, I refer to the objectives and let the students know what our goals are. Then, at the end we evaluate together to see what we have accomplished and what we need to work on. I really like it but it has taken a long time to get in the habit of it.

My working board is low and easy for students to write on. I love that there is plenty of space right here for floor work. I can also post our working vocabulary and refer to it easily. 

That's the tour. It seems a lot bigger in pictures than in real life. I like this room. It is uncluttered and clean - at least until the kiddos arrive in two weeks.

10 Things About Me

I am trying to make this blog beneficial for me and for my students. I have found several other teacher blogs that I love reading and have gotten so many ideas from. Hopefully, I can be a contributor. Yesterday, I was going to write about me. Well, I didn't get it done because I was digging up thistles out of our grass. So, today I will get caught up.

   

1. I love my family. I blinked and they all got old. My son just turned 20 and is in his last year of being a missionary in Guatemala. I miss him. I have three teenage daughters, a senior, and twins who are sophomores. They are fun and hormonal. We are all blessed to have my wonderful husband, of 24 years, to keep us laughing and happy. He sacrifices so much for us. What a guy!

2. Teaching is a great love of mine. I started out on track to be an accountant. But, I took an education class and found it fit like a glove. I have loved it ever since. 

3. I am about to start my ninth year of teaching 2nd grade. After graduation from college, I started to have children and stayed at home with them until the twins were starting 2nd grade. A teaching position opened at our little school, two blocks from our house, and I have been there ever since. 

4. I started running this summer and I must admit, I quite like it. I am not fast. I am not graceful. But, I like the challenge of going farther and meeting a goal. I just wish it wasn't so painful.

5. I am addicted to Pinterest. I use it daily. Sometimes I think about the old days when I had to use my own creativity. Boy that must have been hard!

6. I love where I live, a small town in Eastern Idaho. We are surrounded my mountains and rivers. Within a few minutes we are able to have an adventure in the wilds. My family doesn't enjoy this love with me, however, they are fairly willing to join me if it involves the kayaks or float tubes.

7. I am a bit of a "Pollyanna" and see almost everything through rose-colored glasses. This makes some people, including my poor husband, a bit crazy at times. I am grateful for this little blessing in my life.

8. I love music. I don't have a favorite genre. I enjoy it all - except rap. I play the piano and I can sit for hours just playing away. It is a great way to relax and release emotions. I have always wanted to be a singer but never did anything to pursue that goal. So, I listen to others sing.

9. I hate tomatoes! In the forms of ketchup and salsa, they are okay. I don't eat them on anything and order all my food without them. It is a pain but I just can't stand them. I thought as I got older then I would grow into them. I haven't. My dislike has just grown up with me.

10. I am TERRIFIED on snakes. Alive or dead. 2D or 3D. It doesn't matter what form they come in, the fear is incredible. My fear of snakes dictate where I run, walk, kayak, swim and what I watch, read, and listen to. It is a huge problem that I should probably deal with.

My Top Wants

I just read the blog of another teacher that listed her top ten wants in her classroom. I spent the morning in my classroom thinking of what I would like. Her list included many things that I have been blessed to have - big magnet whiteboards, tables -not desks, storage - I have ample cupboards and an office full of cupboards, cubbies for coats and backpacks in the room, and the ability to control the thermostat from my room. I did compile a list. But, really, I am very lucky to have what I do have. We have a beautiful "newish" school and it has been wonderful. I couldn't come up with 10 - only 8.

#1 Parent Volunteers! I need help in that room and parents are so effective. They show their students how important education is. I haven't had a parent come in (besides during parties) for several years. I miss it and would love to have several each week.

#2 Ipad Mini for each student. And if not for each student, how about six of them so they can do small group work together. There are so many apps that could be used in the classroom. I see them and just covet. That would be so cool.

#3 WiFi. If I have iPads I want WiFi too. We do have televisions in our rooms that I can use as a computer screen so that the whole class can see and they are great. But, WiFi would be great for many things.

#4 A projector attached to the ceiling. Our TVs are nice but they aren't all that big. The projector would make EVERYTHING easier and I could get rid of the rolling projector cart that never seems to have a permanent home.

#5 A document camera. I have seen these used in so many aspects, from folding paper to group participation of a workbook page. I would use it all the time. ALL the TIME I tell ya.

#6 Smart Board. While we are on the subject of technology, I bring up smart boards. Seriously, they are like magic at your fingertips. One touch and *poof* something magical can happen. We, students and teacher, could have a hay day with one of those.

#7 Reading Corner. Our classooms are pretty small (thank heavens for tables) and so there isn't room for a reading corner. My 5th Grade teacher had one. It was like a library in there. There were books everywhere and pillows and a couch and a table with four little chairs around it. Her classroom must have been huge. But, I sat in that reading corner during many cold recesses just reading my heart out. I don't think I would do the pillows - I HATE the thought of lice. 

#8 Colorful rug to sit on. Those things are expensive and more than my classroom budget for the year. But, It would brighten up the room and it would give the students some boundaries when we did floor work. I love this one and could come up with a lot of games to play on it too.

That's it. I don't ask for a lot. But, as my mom says, "If wishes were fishes..."

 

Excuses, Excuses, Excuses

I've never heard so many excuses for homework not being done. Every day a plethora of children rattled off their reasons for not completing two minutes of math and fifteen minutes of reading. I listen, pull a very sorry face, say, "That's a bummer!", and then tell each child, one by one, to put their name on the board to stay in recess to complete that homework. (My fellow teacher talked to a parent at the end of school today who is going to file a complaint with the school district against her. Why? Because she made the student stay in to complete homework. Heaven forbid that someone should teach children about responsibility!) I've decided to write a few of the more memorable excuses.

1.  "I couldn't write. I hurt my left thumb." "But you write with your right hand." "Oh!"
2.  "I couldn't do my homework because my cat hid my homework folder." "Cat's don't hide folders." "Yah, but they hide things."
3.  "My mom hid the folder with my math in it." "Why?" "Because she was punishing me for not doing the homework when she told me to." "When do you get your folder back?" "When my homework is finished. But, my homework is in the folder." (Later found out that was true.)
4.  "I was at my grandma's house all night." "Why didn't you do your homework there?" "She doesn't have anything to write with." "Surely she has a pencil or pen." "Nope. When the police came with the search warrant they took EVERYTHING." "They wouldn't take a pencil." "Yes they do if they are looking for fingerprints."
5.  "I couldn't read. It was too dark." "Why didn't you turn on a light?" "I couldn't." "Why?" "I was hiding because I was in trouble."

Oh I am so looking forward to tomorrow and more delightful excuses. This may be a VERY long year!

Welcome Class of 2011-2012

A new year has begun - two weeks later than I ever remember. I was ready for those 27 (that's a lot) little kiddos. They will be interesting . That's all I've got to say about that today. I'm sure that I'll have more later.

One thing I do each year is let the students help develop the rules for the class. Wasn't prepared for their suggestions, all based upon past experiences. Rule #1: Don't bring lighters or matches to school. Rule #2: Don't spit loogies in people's faces. Rule #3: Don't put poop in your hand and throw it at the ceiling. Etc., etc., etc.

Yip. It's going to be a great year!

Unrealistic Views

I think it is so funny how students view their teachers. I remember when I was a youngster and I thought my teachers were so old. Now I realize that those teachers who I thought were nearly dead back in the day are now only in their 80s. That means they were around my current age. That is weird. No wonder my students occasionally call me "Grandma".

The other thing I find funny is that students think teachers live, drink, and sleep teaching. I can't count how many times students have asked me if I have a whiteboard at home. Or, they nearly faint when they see me at the grocery store because I have left the school. One time a student asked me where I slept in the school, like I'm a firefighter at a firehouse.

Yesterday was the best example of the odd views that students have. We were talking about "Finding the Area of a Shape" in math. Second grade uses a very basic approach to this concept, mainly just introducing the vocabulary. But, as we were discussing, I mentioned that mathematicians have developed formulas and algorithms to make finding area easier. One person in the class asked, "What are mathematicians?" I answer, "Mathematicians are people, MUCH smarter than me, who make math easier for people." Oscar raised his hand and said, "Mrs. Grant. There are people smarter than you?" Oh, that is the sweetest thing. My heart swelled with pride and I was thinking what a good teacher I must be.  Until Treyson shouted out, "Oh, yeah. There are LOTS of people smarter than her." Instant humbling.

Love those kids!!!

What are the Chances?

For the last 25 minutes of every day I, along with two other people, teach a small reading intervention group - 6 special education children. (This has been an amazing eye-opening experience. I never realized the incredible struggles that these little kiddos have to deal with.) Anyways, Mr. Laha (short for a name that no one can pronounce) has been playing a word game to help build decoding skills. There are 300+ tiles, in two colors, that are turned over and then drawn at random. First you draw a yellow tile (the onset or beginning of a word) then you draw a green tile (the rime or ending of a word). If the two parts make a match then you get to keep it. The winner has the most tiles at the end.

Well, Mr. Laha had two children working with him. The first child drew two tiles - onset "wh" and rime "ore." Whore. Student: "Mr. Laha is this a word?" Mr. Laha: "Nope." (That's what you have to say. How can you explain the definition to a 2nd grader?) The second child drew two tiles - onset "sl" and rime "ut." Slut. Student: "Sss-lll-uuu-ttt. Slut. Is that a word?" Mr. Laha: "Nope." (Again one of those words that can't be defined to a 2nd grader with comfort.) The first child goes again - onset "f" and rime "art." Fart. Student:  "Mr. Laha that is a word!" True. That's a word and a keeper.

Of the 300 tiles in the pile, what are the chances that those 6 would be drawn. Love these days!!