It's not an issue. It's a subscription.

When the school district announced that we would be getting an additional day off for Memorial Day Weekend, of course, I was in fits of excitement. Little did I know, it would definitely be for my sanity's benefit.

This past 4-day week was the longest, most arduous week of the year. I had moments where I felt like just running around the pod, screaming just to throw the students into a shock of abnormalcy. Let me count the ways.

1. In C-1, T and J thought it'd be a good idea to keep throwing up in my classroom. Not just in a trash can, but on the carpet, on the desks, and on the bathroom floor. This has happened over 8 times in the past 2 weeks. The nurse won't let me send them down because they're "not sick." Which is true. BUT SEND THE MISFITS HOME!!! I got so frustrated because I knew J was doing it on purpose. Some fierce tone came out, and I ended up yelling at J that if he makes himself throw up again, I was going to send him home myself. His eyes bugged out and his head nodded frequently like a dashboard bobblehead. I called his parents that day, and so far, there has been no more throwing up. T, on the other hand, we think is lactose intolerant. He's not allowed to have any milk the rest of the year. So far so good in that category. T pops up later this week in another incident, don't worry.

2. After a first stern warning of appropriate language the week before, DS decided to call A the "n" word again.
I have absolutely ZERO tolerance for such a repulsive word. I called his grandmother (who is a volunteer in our class) and told her about it. She said she won't tolerate it either, but whether it helped that DS spoke to his grandma on the phone when I was there, I don't know.

3. That didn't end with DS there either. He decided to splash water in another kid's face and flick the bathroom lights on and off. Mrs. A caught him and when I told him to move his name to red, he snarled and flung folders and pencils to the ground. He calmed down for a moment, but then as we were taking our spelling pretest (remember, it is a PREtest... one that is not even graded), I find a cheating list in his desk. He cheated on a pretest. (My motto: If you're going to be stupid, be smart about it. Make it worthwhile on a REAL test, please!!) He got upset again and threw the pencil again. I called the office, and Mrs. E came to pick him up. Was he suspended? No. And that's what ticks me off... especially after a school-wide announcement was made to all students that now SOLs are over, there is zero tolerance for bad behavior. Umm, last time I checked, consistency and following through are the best disciplinary rules.

3a. So not only did DS cheat on the pretest, he did it on the REAL spelling test the day after. I'm not even going to expound upon this because I'm mentally through with the lack of integrity.

4. Also, R made the "smart" choice of hitting TJ and then calling her an "a**," after going on and on that she "doesn't understand my feelings about being separated from my parents." Yes, R is a foster child, but she has used this excuse many times over the year for things she has done wrong. I told her I was separated from my mom too, but that is NO EXCUSE for hitting people. You just do NOT do it; you will get in trouble. Maybe it's my own jaded heart, but you cannot let something like that rule your decisions. You'll be miserable for the rest of your life.
And when it physically affects another student, it is unacceptable. I also wrote her up (and of course, nothing was done about it), and I called her foster mom who was very remorseful for the other student and said she'd talk to her.

5. When we were trying to finish our Reading test, K decided to take his lovely time to clean up (after he won't let an argument go about M's chair being near his chair)... when the entire class was waiting on him. I said to pick up his test and go to Mrs. G's office to finish his test because we were not going to wait for him anymore. He went into his role of Moaning Cow and wouldn't stop for a long while.

6. And to wrap the week up since it's just been fabulous already, as we were walking INTO the building from recess, T pulled down his pants IN LINE and shows not only his rear, but also his private parts. His two bad influence friends egged him on. AND V saw all of it. WHAT THE!! IN LINE! FROM RECESS!! Mrs. G-H and I chastised him out, then I wrote him a referral just to cover my tail and to avoid any other further conflicts since this has been an issue all year (boys vs. girls, touching, hitting, playing together, etc.). I'm so tired of calling parents to let them know of their children's inappropriate behavior. And I'm so tired of having to repeat myself at least 50 times a week about not touching. THIS IS NOT NORMAL! PLEASE DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT AT HOME! Mrs. E set up an ST-5 meeting with T's mom next week which could lead into possible suspension. When I called T's mom, she was so livid. So livid she was quiet. I felt somewhat bad, but it needs to dealt with before it escalates into something wrong years down the road. (P.S. Yeah, I'm still ticked that a flashing incident could get suspension but not hitting?! WTheck?!)

Sigh. The true highlight of the week was my conversation with S at recess. She is just so adorable. She reminds me of Winnie the Pooh because she has a round tummy that sticks out. So anyway, here is the gist of our convo:

S: Miss F, do you wonder what it would be like if you and me-- we met the Egypts?
Me: Like going back to Ancient Egypt and seeing the Egyptians?
S: Yeah!
Me: That would be pretty cool, wouldn't it?
S: The Egypts invented the clock.
Me: You mean Egyptians? That is true. We could write to them since we know some hieroglyphics, huh?
S: Yeah, I want to write them a letter!
Me: When you do, I'd love to read it.
S: Okay! [beams] And then they get put into boxes and fold their arms like this. [folds her arms across her chest like a mummy] The booby traps are everywhere. So they don't steal the gold.
Me: They have to protect their treasure!
S: Yeah, or the mommies will eat you.
Me: [thinking about lethal mothers going after someone] [tries to repress a laugh]
S: [acts like a mummy walking]
S: I had a dream last night and it was at a place where old Egypts stayed [[museum]]. And the mommy was there.
Me: Wow, you have some vivid dreams there, girlie.
S: Mm hmm. [bobblehead nod, though has no idea what 'vivid' means]

Best conversation ever. She's just full of randomness. I'll miss her. :)

And now, I will thoroughly enjoy my 4-day weekend. WOO HOO! No school today or MONDAY! I bought a new hybrid bike the other day and have been riding about 4 miles each day (only 30 minutes) around the neighborhood... I feel really good, and this is a healthy commitment I can make since the gym really was a nail puller for me... :) I hate exercising, but I LOVE biking. Mr. R and I are going over to NN Park tomorrow on the trails... super fun!

Miss F has taken a break and now she can be Chelsea again for awhile.

- Miss Chelsea :)

Attack of the 18-Germ-Factories Bug.

I've been slightly out of commission the past week due to a nasty cold, sinus infection, and pseudo-bronchitis. It knocked me out completely last weekend, and I was miserable. Thankfully, I'm almost all better now. Still remnants of my cough lingers, but I am heartily up in energy.

This past week was Teacher Appreciation Week. Each day had a theme. Monday was Flower Day. Tuesday was Sweet Day. Wednesday was Card Day. Thursday was Letter Day. And last but not least, Friday was Surprise Day.

I was so bombarded with gifts and thank yous that my little teacher heart surely must have swelled into an apple shape. The kids were so thoughtful and caring. The best part was that they really know my general interests. Children are quite the observant ones. I received teacher paraphernalia, pandas, bears, dark chocolate, cookies, letters, balloons, gift card to Subway, etc... overwhelming response. :)

Other than that, it's been an okay time. Kids are wired and crazy (due to only having 28 days left in the school year), so I'm having to be creative in my classroom management. You'd be surprised to what a gobstopper can do to an 8-year old.

At recess, the latest thing is finding ladybugs. S came up to me and told me the names of her ladybugs. One is Christine and the other was Chelsea. That girl is hilarious; I love hearing her just ramble on.

A (You-Know-What Boy... who went ALL out for Teacher Week) also came up to me during recess one day and said a quite profound statement.

A: Hey. Miss F.
Me: Yes, A?
A: You know what the best present for someone's birthday is?
Me: What is that?
A: [matter of fact expression with one eyebrow raised] Just being their friend.

I had to prevent some laughter there... because it seriously came out of nowhere. Oh, second grade.

It's SOL (no no, it's not a dirty acronym. It stands for Standards of Learning) testing this week, and I am NOT looking forward to it. Somehow I have to keep my kids absolutely silent during testing time. I'll have some of Ms. T's kids in my room, too... but the school is dead serious about not hearing a peep out of the younger grades who don't test. We won't be allowed to go outside either... absolute torture. You might as well strap me to a wall with duct tape. And don't forget to bind my frazzled hands into place. They have a mind of their own when chaos strikes.

- Miss Chelsea :)