I Wish You More

Today  a package from Amazon was delivered.  Blame it on the Slice of Life.
Stacy wrote about books she'd read with her daughter, they sounded wonderful so I bought them for my classroom.
They are wonderful!  I Wish You More by Rosenthal and Lichtenheld is now on the way as a Easter gift to my grand kids.  As for the other three, maybe Grandma can just keep them at home to read to Lucy, Michael and Gordon

Not what I Planned...

Tomorrow I need to be out of my classroom for about 45 minutes for a meeting at our administration office.  The schedule isn’t firm, but the time will probably fall at the end of my kid’s special class.  The time could reach into the time when we have writing and then my kids go into intervention time. 

My principal is going to cover for me.  First year principal a former Middle School Math teacher principal.  One of the Instructional Aides is going to be gone, so I need to accommodate two very different levels of kids. 

The time is before lunch, does that need to rule out the jelly bean graphing lesson?  Sugar before lunch?  Probably not a great idea. 

Sometimes You Just NEED to Show off

School dismissed at noon on Thursday.  The staff had professional development, Mali had big plans!  She was excited because she was going to her cousin’s house for the afternoon.  The last time she went there she came in the next day with her hair straightened.  She didn’t know what they were going to do but she was sure it would be amazing.

Friday morning arrived and I realized later that Mali was so excited to show off she had skipped her usual stop in the cafeteria for breakfast.  “Look!” she called out.  “My toenails are all sparkly and purple!”  She’d removed her right shoe and sock to show off her pedicure.  Each time a new student came in the room Mali would run over to them, and quickly removed one shoe and sock. 

We settled into our morning routine, in the business of the morning Mali was focused on our activities.  As the children returned from lunch and recess once again Mali was proudly showing off her nails.  

 At the end of the day we share our 3:00 Thankfuls. Before we head out the door at 3:07   I call on several children to share what they are thankful for today.   I write the Thankful Statement on a post-it.  Without thinking I called on Mali.  Off came her shoe…

Too Precious to Share

I struggle with sharing.  Books. Yes, I have a book rack in my classroom.  This year it is filled mostly with board books, class books, they still love the one we made at Halloween!  And Scholastic books,   you know the ones I can buy with points or not much cash.  But the books I love most and look forward to sharing, (ok reading to them,) I don't put out.
I teach four and five year olds.  Yes I've modeled how to treat books, I've set up structure on where to sit, and how to look  at a book with a friend.  But time after time books that are now out of print get torn.  This year's group is especially hard on books.  I have several extremely impulsive students.  
I've rationalized that by keeping them away the books will survive to be shared many more times.  I still feel guilty. If a child requests a book I cheerfully  reread it. I often sit beside a child to share the pictures.  But this year, if it's a book I treasure, it's not going to be freely available.  Unless I can't handle the guilt.

Maybe

I can’t wait until the baby is born.  Maybe. 

Until January he was settled and he worked hard.

Since January he’s been a perpetual motion machine.

Distracted.

Mom’s expecting a new baby in April.  Maybe once the baby comes he will settle down again. 

Arms stop swinging.  Legs stop kicking. 

Maybe

A Reader Dilemma

Last summer I was invited to go to Europe with my husband to plan a trip for his employer.  For the past 22 years we’ve taken at least one trip a year.  I’ve learned I don’t do well on long airplane trips: the cramped space, stale air and nothing to do makes me fidget.  Flights to Europe are difficult because I can never sleep as we fly east.   I always take plenty of reading material.  This is the time I wish I weren’t such a fast reader. As we planned to fly from Detroit to Toronto, and onto Athens I was ready.  I had many new books on Kindle, and I don’t mind rereading books if I have to.  All plans changed when my Kindle would not work.  Suddenly I was facing 10 or more hours in the air, multiple 2 hour flights between destinations and several days at sea with nothing to read!  After searching the internet for suggestions and fixes I tried multiple ideas.  One even included me untwisting a paperclip, to press some unseen spot.  It didn't work. Several posters suggested pressing buttons and flipping switches.  No luck.  I accepted the inevitable, I'd have to pay airport prices for many books.

The flight to Athens was long.  I read long into the night. I kept trying to find a magic combination of Kindle reboots.  Nothing!   We finally landed and were escorted to our hotel.  Exhausted we headed to our room for a quick nap.  Ever hopeful, I used my converter to plug in my Kindle charger.  I flipped the on/off switch for the hundredth time.  It came back to life! 

For the rest of the trip I was able to use my reader, but I never really trusted that it would work.  Several times it would shut down in the middle of a book, I’d turn it back on to find I had to flip through the book to find my place.   A week or two after we returned from Europe my Kindle died for the final time.  Well timed, our kids had just bought me a new one for my birthday.

A Day Without a Schedule

My students thrive with a routine.  Our regular morning specials class was cancelled.  Lunch would not happen at school because it's a half day.  Our dismissal time is 35 minutes after our regular lunch time.  None of these were in my control.
Rather than try to structure a normal day I tossed the schedule out the window.
No need to read Morning Message, 4 students gathered around it and read it before I finished tying shoes and checking folders.  I just encouraged them to reread it while the others gathered on the rug. We did an art project.  A fun craft that needs a lot of time.  Scissors, glue, tissue paper and feathers all before 8:30! We finished it, then we started another project!  Huge Easter Eggs and water color crayons!  Between projects a guest reader read a book with movement and then provided us an unusual snack.  As the eggs pictures were placed on the rack for drying we read a story and got our backpacks.  They were all amazed we were going home.
I never skip writing, but today it was the perfect day to break that rule.  But I bet they'll have a fun day to write about tomorrow!