You teach, you learn

As I've told you before, we have a mascot named Pete the Cat who goes home with one student each weekend. That child writes in the journal with a parent about 'adventures' that Pete has with him or her.

This week I chose one lovely little girl in my class. Later in a quiet moment, she came to my desk and told me that her mom doesn't let her bring anything from home. "Okay," I said, "don't worry."

I emailed her mom to confirm (something I always do). Her mother emailed back that they would be happy to have Pete come. I told the little girl. She didn't seem pleased.

I mean, this is weird.

The kids LOVE to have Pete go home with them. Today she came up to me and said, "Mrs. Moran....I don't really DO anything at our house. I just watch tv. I won't have anything to write about." I wanted to cry. I mean really. I stopped what I was doing and just hugged her for a bit while I got my bearings. I act kind of crazy excited when I send Pete home on a Friday, but I never acted like you had to take Pete to the Tropics or anything. I assured her that she could just write about what show she watched or what she ate for dinner or even riding on the bus. Pete loved everything. She said okay, but I know she doesn't really believe me. This is the hard part about being a teacher. You want so badly for everyone to be happy and feel safe. You just can't know how everyone will respond. Everyone does not experience life in the same way. Some kids might not GET why Pete the Cat likes everything and is fun.

After this experience, I've been looking at the subtle things my students do and how they are and noticing that there is so much more to see but you just have to look. I noticed that one of my girls who never has her homework done has a backpack that reeks of cigarette smoke and is filled with corrected homework and artwork that is over two weeks old. I also noticed that another little girl who is doing really well has a backpack filled with phonics books her parents must have bought for her. She carries them on the bus, she told me after I asked, so that she can learn all the time. It shows.

I started listening when a boy told me that he hates to ride the bus with tears in his eyes. I told him he could borrow some of my books to help pass the time more happily. He was overjoyed. He couldn't believe it. He said to the other kids, "Mrs. Moran told me I could BORROW her books. She isn't scared I'll lose them (well, I am, a bit, but it's worth it).

There is so much to see and learn if we just stop and look around, really NOTICE what our students are telling us. It's called intuition. We know so much more than we think we do and that can make all the difference.

Gingerbread Man!

Quick post as I have to grab dinner, wave to my children, and head to book club. I LOVE my book club. They are awesome and we read amazing books.

The post I have to make though, is about the unit I wanted to do on Gingerbread Man. There are so many comparisons, chants, tastings that I imagined as I thought about December and Gingerbread. So I scoped out units on my friendly neighborhood blogs and found one at Erica Bohrer's First Grade. I was psyched because I didn't have much time and I had used something from her before. She sells an awesome Pete the Cat Mascot. Check it out. I love the way she puts things together.

ANYWAY, my point is that her Gingerbread Unit is completely amazing. It's like, print and laminate and PRESTO December is done. It's aligned with the Common Core too. I mean can I say God bless her!!! Okay, fine God bless her.

Whoa...slow it down.

I have so many things to write about that I found myself not knowing what to write about. Does that happen to you? I have report cards due, conferences coming up, I have to plan and set up for December, there are a lot of things going on in the district that are freaking me out. I need a picture of someone screaming like the house is on fire. Hold on, let me go find one...

Okay, great, there. I don't know who she is, but I know how she feels.

Thanksgiving was awesome. We went to New Jersey to see my college roommate. It was great all around. Cool people, cool trip, great food and drink, kids got along and were happy. I knew I was not going to work on anything, so I brought nothing with me.

Now I am BEHIND! Plus there is a lot of negativity going on at school right now among the teachers and I am struggling to just stay out of it. I want to have an awesome holiday season.

A weird thing is that my students seemed to have grown up over this past holiday. It was totally weird. I have read that other people see this sort of thing when you've been teaching for a while, but whoa...I didn't expect it. They were begging me to do things like Read to Self and Read to Buddy. They did a cool word wall activity like it was second nature. I love it! They asked if we could sit down to talk about how to line up without getting mad at each other. Then they gave suggestions and carried the conversation without me...to. a. resolution! Which they all agreed to by consensus. Who are they?!

This is fantastic, but I'm having trouble enjoying it because, well, I'm still busy. I have eight more conferences and report cards to prep for. So, I must go, but thanks for being here and listening. It means a lot.

xoxo

Spreading the Sunshine.

Are you kidding me? Not one, but two really cool teachers gave me the Sunshine Award! I feel totally honored and more than secretly thrilled. It’s like I’m in the popular group now! Say what you want, I like the popular girls. Thank you so much to Liz at Stickers, Scissors, and Smiles and First Grade Delight for the awards! I only started blogging back in August and have been very slowly figuring everything out, so it gives me great motivation!

The "rules" for the Sunshine Award are:

1. Thank the person who gave you this award and write a post about it.

2. Answer the following questions below.

3. Pass the award to 10-12 fabulous bloggers, link their blogs, and let them know you awarded them.

Favorite color? Red, sometimes orange (it’s the new red).

Favorite animal? Dogs. I raised Guiding Eyes Dogs for a while and fell in love with Labs.

Favorite number?  13, my twin brother and I are 13 minutes apart.

Favorite drink? I only drink three things, coffee, water, and wine. I love them all.

Facebook or Twitter? Facebook.  I think Twitter is a new language still.

Your passion? Reading and knitting. I love them both so much. I feel weird if I don’t do a little of each every single day.

Giving or getting presents? I absolutely love giving presents. I love finding something someone will go nuts over. I listen throughout the year to see if I can find the thing they wanted but didn’t ask for. I’m not so good at giving my husband presents, though. I must think about why.

Favorite day? Christmas.

Favorite flowers? Daisies. My whole wedding was covered in them

Here are the bloggers I gave the Sunshine Award to...

First Impressions

Grade Onederful

Mrs. Bainbridge's Class

Camping out in first Grade

The First Grade Parade

The Inspired Apple

Ms Preppy

Fabulous in First

Finally in First

First Grader At Last

You all inspire me and save my job every single week. Thank you all.

thankful

I don't reserve being grateful for Thanksgiving for the same reason I don't donate food just at Christmas. People are hungry all the time. I have blessings every single day.   But, I love the idea of the Thankful Linky Party at What a Teacher Wants.

1.  What are you thankful for in your classroom?

I am thankful that I have a classroom, period. I have wanted to teach First Grade since I was 20 years old. It took me 23 years to make that dream come true. I love my First Graders so much. I get butterflies when they come in the room and smile at me each morning.

2.  What person are you most thankful for?

I am most thankful for my daughter Annie. She makes me want to be the me that is strong, kind, smart, and happy every moment of the day. I want her to see what that looks like and work just as hard to make that happen.

3.  What 3 blogs are you most thankful for?

I'm really thankful for the blogs that help me see where I can be a better teacher.  I learn something new with each post I read.  I'm thankful for Grade ONEderful, A Teeny Tiny Teacher, and the Delightful Daily 5.

4.  What guilty pleasure are you most thankful for?

Steak. Oh do I love Steak. I could eat it at every single meal. Really. If cold steak is in the fridge, I lie in bed and think about it. I've even woken my husband up to ask if it's okay if I go get it.

5.  What am I most thankful for?

How totally loved I feel by my friends, family, and colleagues. I really never walk alone.

What goes on in the bathroom, should stay...

Warning, this is way more than most people might want to know about me. However, I feel compelled to tell you the story. The back story, if you will, about what some teachers have to do in order to stay connected to the outside world.

We are NOT ALLOWED to have our cell phones anywhere visible in our room. I am totally fine with this. I think the computer is a huge distraction for teachers too. So I stay away from those distractions and focus on my students. That said, I put my cell on vibrate and keep it in my pocket because I have a 4 year old and a 6 year old and I must know if they need me.

However...

I sometimes like to text my husband that I love him. In. The. Middle. Of. The. Day. because, well, I do. So I use my only private moments at school to do just that. This means that I must do it in a bathroom stall.

The story begins now...

I am in the bathroom stall going to the bathroom. I'd like to say I was just peeing, but well, I wasn't. So I had time. Sorry, I warned you it was TMI. I pulled out my cell to send a text and it

SLIPPED.

And fell and landed, in. the. toilet. It was VILE. I reached in and took it out. Ran to the sink and scrubbed everything I could see with soap and water. Then, I dried it carefully and turned it on. Dead.

I got a new one. It wasn't the end of the world. I just, for some reason, couldn't stop sharing the story. I didn't share it with my students, but I did share it with my own children.

I decided to tell it today here because this morning I was headed to the bathroom when my son asked me to look at his word search for a word he couldn't find. I asked if I could bring it in the bathroom and he said, "sure, but don't drop it in the toilet like your phone." Thanks, I like to be remembered as the mom who does things like that. I have only one thing to blame, my big mouth.

conferences

I am getting ready for conferences. I have a folder for each child. I have a big spreadsheet designed to show me data trends and comparisons. But, I can't help thinking of these children (my babies in many ways) for who they are and not for the data they've provided. I want to write long paragraphs about who they really are and what I get to see each day. But, alas, we are not a Waldorf School and parents want facts and figures about their child. I will be sure to fit in some lovely things about each of them. I am quite the talker, so I'll have to do my best to be brief and to the point.

I am on the look out for conference "scripts", if you will, so that I can stick to the matter at hand and not meander off topic.

The truth is that somehow looking at these facts and figures is helping me see how much we've all grown already this year. My friends have gone from not having any idea how to count by 2s to rattling off 2, 4, 6, 8 at a moment's notice.

Have I said this before? I love teaching so very much. This is clearly my calling. I must block out any other thoughts I have in my never ending quest for change. I like change. Oh, do I like change. But, teaching allows me the ability to stay in a job and change every day. This is good.

Only..................


maybe I could teach in Alaska...or Vancouver Island? :)

Parents in the Classroom

I don't know about you, but I LOVE to have parent volunteers. I can delegate anything! I feel so good about the fact that I have parents that call me to ask if they can "hang out"in my room for the morning. This makes me feel like a) they like me...and I like to be liked. and b) they know there are no secrets in my room. I act the same no matter who is there. The only thing I don't like is parents who disrupt kids, so I put them to work. I always have something a parent can do. We use Sitton Spelling in our district. This means that we have list of common core words they need to know each year. I made laminated flash cards of these words and have parents (and students) test the kids regularly. Then when they seem ready, I have parents run through the words on a list and tell me which kids got them all. I also have number word cards and color word cards. There is no shortage of work to be done.

How do you use your parents and other volunteers?

Winter weather already?!

Well, as most of you know, it snowed in our parts right before Halloween. Though I live in Maine, this is indeed an oddity. I thought it was still Fall. Sadly, the rule at our school is that if you don't bring snow pants and snow boots, you don't go in the snow. You still play on the playground, just not on the field. Since no one was ready for a white October, no one sent in the proper attire. But we HAVE to make sure they all understand the deal. Otherwise kids freeze and beg us to go to the Nurse for back up gear and there is never enough. Can't have that! So there were lots of tears yesterday and today.

I can handle that!

However, I do have a question for YOU. How do you organize your winter gear in your classroom? I'll be darned if I'm going to get crazy all year about how to keep things neat, but I just don't have the room. We only have hooks for coats and cubbies above for lunch boxes. I am thinking about boxes (maybe big Rubbermaid ones?) for backpacks and maybe totes for hats etc. But this seems unwieldy. No one I work with seems to have found a good solution. This problem ain't goin' away. Ideas would be most welcome!