Since I won't be here this weekend to give a real update of the week, I thought I'd type up some little nuggets of humor (moreso for the benefit of my remembering them)...
1. I: "Miss F, you sound like the radio."
Me: "I sound like a radio??"
I: "Yeah, a radio. You should go sing the radio--I mean-- the announcements."
2. The latest thing in the classroom is saying, "Miss F, I'm sorry for [insert poor behavior choice here] and I'm showing you." I have told them over and over to show me they're sorry, not tell me. It has now turned into an elaborately executed statement.
3. I have put the fear of the Star Chart in my students. Every 2 weeks, the table with the most stars gets to go into the treasure chest. Because behavior hasn't been up-to-par recently, I've been taking AWAY stars. They freak out when this happens, and hey, I get immediate results. :P
4. Remind me again. What is 10-5? 1 ?!?!?!?!?! What the?
5. Today was "Tie Down Drugs Day." So kids wore ties to school. Cutest. Thing. Ever. A is definitely my A from MR; he's hilarious and wore a little zipper Spiderman tie. Cutest. Thing. Ever. I'll have to put pictures up later.
6. Miss EB, Miss P, and I checked out a new church this past Wednesday night... thinking that we were going to be attending a contemporary service with music/etc... it turned out to be a meeting-like circle with about 6 other people. 6 other mid-to-elderly people. WOOOOO, awkward. But what was supposed to be an even more awkward situation turned out to be a great blessing ("Now we'll sing a contemporary song... contemporary in 1836!!"). We're checking it out (its ACTUAL services) on the next Sunday we're in town. It was a good laugh, and the people were friendly.
7. This video only encourages my desire to own one of these birds.
8. Note: When riding a bicycle on a busy street (NOT on a sidewalk) in the rain as twilight begins, do not wear black. Okay? Thanks.
All right, way too late. I need sleep. It's going to be a LOOOOOOOONGGGGG day tomorrow. At least I get to see some of my best friends in the destination.
- Miss Chelsea :)
Thursday, October 25, 2007
Sunday, October 21, 2007
Disguised superhero.
Out of all the weeks, this is a week I'm really looking forward to. Not only is it a 4-day week, it's the week I get to see most of my close friends in one place. C's running the Marathon in DC, so we're all going to support her. I'll get to meet I, hang out with K and C, and maybe drive up with E. I really, really need this weekend. It's a time where I can be Chelsea 24/7 instead of Miss F.
Since Tuesday is a students-off day, there is, of course, a bunch of things to do. And since my principal is sending me to RIchmond, my things don't get done. At least I waive my attendance at the new-teacher have-to-meet-up thing. That's always a bonus.
This week was all about rounding numbers. So we learned a Rounding Chant... it was pretty cute because they really got into it.
I only had one cheater this past Friday (though it SHOULD be ZERO). J wasn't even sneaky about it; he looked around his folders and stuck his hand in R's desk. Yeah, it's ridiculous. If they learn nothing else this year, they BETTER learn that cheating is not ever tolerated. Oh, and the best thing, J forgot his cheating note to his mom AND their phone is temporarily disconnected. Fabulous, huh? I know his mom would not be happy. She'll find out tomorrow, I guess.
On Wednesday, another amusing nugget happened in the cafeteria with the cafeteria lady.
Cafeteria Lady: "I just can't stop looking at her eyes!"
Me: "Whose??"
CL: "Yours!"
Me: "Mi-mine?"
CL: "Yeah, everytime you come by I can't help but look! You know, they're like Wonder Woman's when she was regular."
Me: "Wonder Woman?? I hope that's a good thing??"
CL: "Oh yes, definitely, she was good, y'know. Not a bad person at all. You've got eyes like hers; you just know she's a nice person by her eyes. I loved that show."
I fail to see the real resemblance, but I think it just might be the whole glasses + blue eyes thing to the CL. It still made me laugh and gave me a smile since she did mean it as a compliment. This, of course, makes me question my superhero abilities. I am a regular ole teacher-civilian... so do I change into something when something lurks?? One just may never know.
[Note: I hope I NEVER have glasses that big. The shirt is kinda pretty though. hee hee] On Tuesday, Miss EB, Miss P, and I went to the Educator's Night at B&N. It was pretty hilarious and cool (yep, we're nerdy like that). We got a ton of freebies though... which to a teacher is like abandoned treasure.
T's quote of the week:
Me: "T, what do you already know about Jackie Robinson?"
T: "Well, I went to one of his games."
Off to go do some grading.
- Miss Chelsea :)
Since Tuesday is a students-off day, there is, of course, a bunch of things to do. And since my principal is sending me to RIchmond, my things don't get done. At least I waive my attendance at the new-teacher have-to-meet-up thing. That's always a bonus.
This week was all about rounding numbers. So we learned a Rounding Chant... it was pretty cute because they really got into it.
"1, 2, round down
3, 4, round down
1, 2, 3, and 4, round down
round down
5, 6, round UP!
7, 8, round up
5, 6, 7, 8, and 9
round up!"
3, 4, round down
1, 2, 3, and 4, round down
round down
5, 6, round UP!
7, 8, round up
5, 6, 7, 8, and 9
round up!"
I only had one cheater this past Friday (though it SHOULD be ZERO). J wasn't even sneaky about it; he looked around his folders and stuck his hand in R's desk. Yeah, it's ridiculous. If they learn nothing else this year, they BETTER learn that cheating is not ever tolerated. Oh, and the best thing, J forgot his cheating note to his mom AND their phone is temporarily disconnected. Fabulous, huh? I know his mom would not be happy. She'll find out tomorrow, I guess.
On Wednesday, another amusing nugget happened in the cafeteria with the cafeteria lady.
Cafeteria Lady: "I just can't stop looking at her eyes!"
Me: "Whose??"
CL: "Yours!"
Me: "Mi-mine?"
CL: "Yeah, everytime you come by I can't help but look! You know, they're like Wonder Woman's when she was regular."
Me: "Wonder Woman?? I hope that's a good thing??"
CL: "Oh yes, definitely, she was good, y'know. Not a bad person at all. You've got eyes like hers; you just know she's a nice person by her eyes. I loved that show."
I fail to see the real resemblance, but I think it just might be the whole glasses + blue eyes thing to the CL. It still made me laugh and gave me a smile since she did mean it as a compliment. This, of course, makes me question my superhero abilities. I am a regular ole teacher-civilian... so do I change into something when something lurks?? One just may never know.
[Note: I hope I NEVER have glasses that big. The shirt is kinda pretty though. hee hee] T's quote of the week:
Me: "T, what do you already know about Jackie Robinson?"
T: "Well, I went to one of his games."
Off to go do some grading.
- Miss Chelsea :)
Sunday, October 14, 2007
Heard it all.
Before I get into another week, I need to document what happened at the end of last week. It's vital.
1. DS' meds were a bit off and he decided it was okay to kick J in the stomach. DS was suspended for a day; he'll be back Monday. J went home because his mom wanted to get him checked out. DS now sits at an island table all by himself, per assistant principal's command.
2. No crayon eating incidents, but V was caught cheating during our reading test. She went into hysterics after I took her paper, told her to write a note to her parents about what she did, and finish it in Mrs. A's class.
3. RIGHT AFTER I give a big talk about cheating and that I won't tolerate it, T also decided to cheat on our spelling test. ON THE FIRST WORD. I took his paper, he went into even more dramatic hysterics because he got caught. He couldn't calm down, so I moved him and told him he also needed to write a note to his mama telling her what he did and why he wasn't able to finish his test. (The big kicker is that he does WELL on spelling so there really was NO reason to cheat.) He pretty much threw a temper tantrum the rest of the day.
4. And the best part of all Friday. According to Ta, I'm a "white ho" because I change her clothespin to yellow all the time. And Mrs. A is a "fat white ho" because she made her turn around at lunch (note: Mrs. A is black). I have heard it all now. I didn't hear it straight out of her mouth (6 students confirmed it, and my #1 trustworthy student admitted to calling Mrs. A mean and then admitted that Ta said the other stuff), but Ta showed signs of all guilt when I called her over.
"Ta, come here please."
"I DIDN'T SAY ANYTHING!!! I DIDN'T DO IT!"
"Did I say you said something?"
"But I didn't say it!!"
Mmm hmmmmmmm. It was quite hilarious because Mrs. W (the crazy guidance counselor) came in and gave a short discussion about it. She gave everyone the opportunity to privately confess on paper. We did have one little boy (the new one J) who confessed to something completely unrelated (he said, "I called him a faker"). haha So summarily, Ta also lied and said she didn't say anything. I called Ta's mom, she was shocked, Ta was in hysterics as well. Mrs. A and I had some laughs/soapboxes about society since, you know, hoes gots-ta stick together.
My sister's coming into my classroom tomorrow, so that'll be neat. Not only do I get a bit of help, I also get to show LK her big sister's classroom. :) It's a pride thing, I think.
On a less crazy note from last week, my kids really loved the tornado bottles. I remembered I LOVED them in elementary school, so I found the connector, two soda bottles, and some food coloring. It's pretty awesome. It makes tornado loopies when you spin it. Hmm, it's hard to explain.
I'm being sent to a professional development seminar up in Richmond in two weeks (October 23rd). It's about test-taking strategies, so that'll be interesting. At least they're providing food! It's an expensive seminar (thankfully my school is paying!!). The fun side note is that I'm staying with C's mom and dad, so I get to make a social visit as well. They live in this gorgeous house; almost a dream house of mine. It'll be nice.
Last weekend, I went to my other half-brother's birthday party at the bowling alley. Two things. 1) One of the moms came up to me and thought I was one of the new soccer moms. 2) S' friends thought I was S' aunt. While this makes my maternal side glee, my 23-almost-24 side goes "Great, not only do I already look like a mom, people are going to start envisioning me in a tacky light-up holiday sweater with matching vest." I really don't think that's my type of honey to catch the flies. If I ever meet anyone who ever finds that attractive and/or sexy, I will prance around in an 80's leotard with fluorescent bangles and scrunchy legwarmers to the tune of "You Can Dance" by Madonna while holding the sign "WHY?!?!?! ... and now get your head checked." in a public place.
- Miss Chelsea :)
1. DS' meds were a bit off and he decided it was okay to kick J in the stomach. DS was suspended for a day; he'll be back Monday. J went home because his mom wanted to get him checked out. DS now sits at an island table all by himself, per assistant principal's command.
2. No crayon eating incidents, but V was caught cheating during our reading test. She went into hysterics after I took her paper, told her to write a note to her parents about what she did, and finish it in Mrs. A's class.
3. RIGHT AFTER I give a big talk about cheating and that I won't tolerate it, T also decided to cheat on our spelling test. ON THE FIRST WORD. I took his paper, he went into even more dramatic hysterics because he got caught. He couldn't calm down, so I moved him and told him he also needed to write a note to his mama telling her what he did and why he wasn't able to finish his test. (The big kicker is that he does WELL on spelling so there really was NO reason to cheat.) He pretty much threw a temper tantrum the rest of the day.
4. And the best part of all Friday. According to Ta, I'm a "white ho" because I change her clothespin to yellow all the time. And Mrs. A is a "fat white ho" because she made her turn around at lunch (note: Mrs. A is black). I have heard it all now. I didn't hear it straight out of her mouth (6 students confirmed it, and my #1 trustworthy student admitted to calling Mrs. A mean and then admitted that Ta said the other stuff), but Ta showed signs of all guilt when I called her over.
"Ta, come here please."
"I DIDN'T SAY ANYTHING!!! I DIDN'T DO IT!"
"Did I say you said something?"
"But I didn't say it!!"
Mmm hmmmmmmm. It was quite hilarious because Mrs. W (the crazy guidance counselor) came in and gave a short discussion about it. She gave everyone the opportunity to privately confess on paper. We did have one little boy (the new one J) who confessed to something completely unrelated (he said, "I called him a faker"). haha So summarily, Ta also lied and said she didn't say anything. I called Ta's mom, she was shocked, Ta was in hysterics as well. Mrs. A and I had some laughs/soapboxes about society since, you know, hoes gots-ta stick together.
My sister's coming into my classroom tomorrow, so that'll be neat. Not only do I get a bit of help, I also get to show LK her big sister's classroom. :) It's a pride thing, I think.
On a less crazy note from last week, my kids really loved the tornado bottles. I remembered I LOVED them in elementary school, so I found the connector, two soda bottles, and some food coloring. It's pretty awesome. It makes tornado loopies when you spin it. Hmm, it's hard to explain.
I'm being sent to a professional development seminar up in Richmond in two weeks (October 23rd). It's about test-taking strategies, so that'll be interesting. At least they're providing food! It's an expensive seminar (thankfully my school is paying!!). The fun side note is that I'm staying with C's mom and dad, so I get to make a social visit as well. They live in this gorgeous house; almost a dream house of mine. It'll be nice.
Last weekend, I went to my other half-brother's birthday party at the bowling alley. Two things. 1) One of the moms came up to me and thought I was one of the new soccer moms. 2) S' friends thought I was S' aunt. While this makes my maternal side glee, my 23-almost-24 side goes "Great, not only do I already look like a mom, people are going to start envisioning me in a tacky light-up holiday sweater with matching vest." I really don't think that's my type of honey to catch the flies. If I ever meet anyone who ever finds that attractive and/or sexy, I will prance around in an 80's leotard with fluorescent bangles and scrunchy legwarmers to the tune of "You Can Dance" by Madonna while holding the sign "WHY?!?!?! ... and now get your head checked." in a public place.
- Miss Chelsea :)
Sunday, October 07, 2007
Four eyes.
I definitely jinxed myself last weekend by boasting that I haven't gotten sick yet. Well, Sunday night, it hit and had my throat out of commission this past week. I'm never stating the obvious ever again. :P
On Friday, V decided it was okay and wise to eat a black crayon. She had black flecks around her mouth and on her tongue. I literally had a smack in the forehead moment. Five minutes after, she said she felt like she was going to vomit. OH WHY COULD THAT BE?! Is it because you ate a stick of colored WAX?! So she emptied her stomach of crayon in the girls room, and I asked her what possessed her to eat that crayon. She gave me the most vacant look I've seen from her. I told her that I expected that from a kindergartener NOT a second grader. And this was the "what the heck" conversation amongst the teachers.
Another moment of the week was that I've convinced my kids that I have 4 eyes (2 on the back of my head), and that I got my second pair when I graduated to become a teacher. It's pretty awesome. I'm pretty sure I'm going to give them a complex when they're older.
Me: "You think I can't see what you're doing when I'm meeting with another teacher or writing stuff on the board. Remember boys and girls, how many eyes do I have?"
Them: "FOUR!!"
Mar: "They're just hidden in your hair!"
Tay: "You might even have more than that! [pats her cheeks] You could have some here too!"
T: "And here! [pats neck]"
Me: "That's right. You remember that."
I also have a new kid named J. Thankfully, he seems like he's either average or above average in terms of reading levels and other tasks. That will make his transitions a lot easier for him.
M sent me the most hilarious video ever called Math911. Check it out. Why can I see one of my own future kids doing this? haha
I have parent-teacher conferences on Monday. That means I don't have to go into school until 11am. Isn't life beautiful? I get sleep and no traffic? Everyday should be conference day. Hopefully the conferences will go well. Every single one of my parents are coming in. Again, I'm not a public speaker. "But you're a teacher, Miss Chelsea!" I can speak in front of kids like nobody's business... but with adults, I'm intimidated because I have to know what I'm talking about in every word I say. With kids, you can make a mistake and laugh it off, knowing that they don't really care about that. They just want to know they're protected, loved, and capable of learning. With adults, you're left wondering if they took you down in esteem or are now saying "what the heck are they doing in the classroom?!"
On a parental note, I am really fortunate to have the parents of the lower-performing kids really care about their kids' education/homework (I know other teachers aren't so fortunate). Every single one of my lower kids gets all their homework completed every week. That REALLY helps and will hopefully make a difference in their kids' learning this year.
I went to the Virginia Aquarium on Friday, too, for a Teacher Appreciation Night. I got to see the new IMAX "Sea Monsters" for free (pretty cool)! :D I love having educator perks. The aquarium isn't like Boston's... but they're apparently going through a lot of renovations which is good. Hopefully it'll be a lot better in the next few years. I did enjoy the harp seals when you walk into the place though... sooo cute.
I have free passes to the Virginia Air and Space Museum, too, so I'm hoping to check that out in the weeks to come. I'm part of their "Educator's Connection!" Yeah!
- Miss Chelsea :)
On Friday, V decided it was okay and wise to eat a black crayon. She had black flecks around her mouth and on her tongue. I literally had a smack in the forehead moment. Five minutes after, she said she felt like she was going to vomit. OH WHY COULD THAT BE?! Is it because you ate a stick of colored WAX?! So she emptied her stomach of crayon in the girls room, and I asked her what possessed her to eat that crayon. She gave me the most vacant look I've seen from her. I told her that I expected that from a kindergartener NOT a second grader. And this was the "what the heck" conversation amongst the teachers.
Another moment of the week was that I've convinced my kids that I have 4 eyes (2 on the back of my head), and that I got my second pair when I graduated to become a teacher. It's pretty awesome. I'm pretty sure I'm going to give them a complex when they're older.
Me: "You think I can't see what you're doing when I'm meeting with another teacher or writing stuff on the board. Remember boys and girls, how many eyes do I have?"
Them: "FOUR!!"
Mar: "They're just hidden in your hair!"
Tay: "You might even have more than that! [pats her cheeks] You could have some here too!"
T: "And here! [pats neck]"
Me: "That's right. You remember that."
I also have a new kid named J. Thankfully, he seems like he's either average or above average in terms of reading levels and other tasks. That will make his transitions a lot easier for him.
M sent me the most hilarious video ever called Math911. Check it out. Why can I see one of my own future kids doing this? haha
I have parent-teacher conferences on Monday. That means I don't have to go into school until 11am. Isn't life beautiful? I get sleep and no traffic? Everyday should be conference day. Hopefully the conferences will go well. Every single one of my parents are coming in. Again, I'm not a public speaker. "But you're a teacher, Miss Chelsea!" I can speak in front of kids like nobody's business... but with adults, I'm intimidated because I have to know what I'm talking about in every word I say. With kids, you can make a mistake and laugh it off, knowing that they don't really care about that. They just want to know they're protected, loved, and capable of learning. With adults, you're left wondering if they took you down in esteem or are now saying "what the heck are they doing in the classroom?!"
On a parental note, I am really fortunate to have the parents of the lower-performing kids really care about their kids' education/homework (I know other teachers aren't so fortunate). Every single one of my lower kids gets all their homework completed every week. That REALLY helps and will hopefully make a difference in their kids' learning this year.
I went to the Virginia Aquarium on Friday, too, for a Teacher Appreciation Night. I got to see the new IMAX "Sea Monsters" for free (pretty cool)! :D I love having educator perks. The aquarium isn't like Boston's... but they're apparently going through a lot of renovations which is good. Hopefully it'll be a lot better in the next few years. I did enjoy the harp seals when you walk into the place though... sooo cute.
I have free passes to the Virginia Air and Space Museum, too, so I'm hoping to check that out in the weeks to come. I'm part of their "Educator's Connection!" Yeah!
- Miss Chelsea :)
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