I am thankful for....

my students who inspire and provide me with a perspective other than mine.  They remind me of the simplier things in life while I strive for things that will encourage them to be creative and explore in the classroom.  Thank you for sharing your life with me.

*I think this is a blog I shall share with them on Monday as I reflect on my day off.  I always think of them even when I am sick and can't taste the delicious meal my hubby and I made.

Not to mention the family, friends, B, and strangers who have shared the generosity with through endless support and donorschoose.

I am blessed to have such wonderful and amazing people in my life.

Farting

This started not too long ago but my students sometimes farts in class.  There's always one child who starts the "ewwwww! that stinks!" or "nasty!"  So the other day when it happened again, I used it as a teaching moment.  Sometimes it's just better to gets it out of the way incase a principal, master educator or anybody in your classroom in observing me teach, there my classroom management would go down the drain.  So I started the conversation with how many of you go to the bathroom to pee.  Everyone raised their hand in cluding myself.  Then I asked how many of you poop.  They started with the ewww but when I raised my hand again and then the rest of the children raised their hand.  Then I said how many of your burp, and everyone raised their hand.  Then I said how many of you fart and only some of them raised their hands including myself.  I said yup, we all pee, poop, burp and fart.  Sometimes when we burp, we can't control it so we say excuse me and sometimes when we fart, again we can't control it but we still need to say excuse me.  I'm sure whoever farted in class didn't mean to because sometimes our bodies does things that we can't always control.  So I asked my class what happens when we fart, they said just say excuse me.  No later than two days, I ripped one during morning meeting and I said excuse me.  Some of my students were shocked as I was but I explained to them, sometimes we just can't control it but we have to say excuse me.  After a couple of these discussions, my students no longer say eewwwww.  I think sometimes you have to use yourself as an example before they get it but I really wanted to laugh after I farted in class. ;-)

Report Cards

Thanks to this new assessment for the early childhood classrooms, the report cards are a cinch.  I do the documentation on the students all quarter long, then input them into the teaching strategies online program, grade the students and finalize their developments and then Walla! a computer generated report card with room for teacher comments.  Thank the many deities for technology!  I don't know what I'd do without it.

Parent Involvement

So I had my first parent conferences!!  Excited that I got 14 parents to show up.  I was ecstatic because I wasn't sure how many parents would actually show up.  On top of that, I had some great conversations with my student's parents and got a better look at what he/she is like at home.  YEAY for a successful PTC!

As for other projects, I've been sending students home with practice work, things they can do at home to help their child develop some fine motor skills and problem solving skills.  The children are eager to get their work back to me and are mighty proud of the work they do at home.  I am skeptical to see what happens towards the end of the school year but they children are trying their best but they can't do it without their parents helping them.

At my school, we started family literacy circles and these are projects sent home every month.  Well for September, we sent home book templates for my students to fill in and draw with their families.  I had almost every book back and they were great.  We shared the books the following week and every single child was proud and eager to share it.  This month, we sent home materials to make a paperbag puppet and the puppets that came back were so creative.  On Friday, they all got to share their puppets with the class and a small group of families.  One of my students (who during the week squished all his puppet making materials in his backpack) brought in a cookie monster puppet that love nutter butters.  Another child brought in a puppet that is a rockstar designed after the school security guard who played instruments for the class during our community helpers themed weeks.  Another child made a princess puppet with her picture and a princess doll dress attached to it.  I thank the parents who worked so hard with their child to make their puppet happen.

I am thinking about collecting all their family literacy circle projects together and showcasing it at the end of the school year to demonstrate the child's growth with the help of their families and friends.

On another note, October is the month for most teachers to start losing their steam but I feel like I've only just begun and my next challenge is report cards.  Yup, 3-4 year olds get report cards!

donorschoose.org

I was super lucky and one of my first projects on Donors Choose got funded and shipped within weeks.  Now I am on a more ambitious project: getting some indoor gym equipment.  It's harder than I imagine and I haven't had any bids yet.  I'm tempted to bid on it myself but hey, that would seem counterproductive since I got on this website to lessen the out of pocket I am already spending.  Maybe I just need to think smaller next time.

If you're interested in donating to my classroom, you can message me or look at my profile for classroom wishlist.  Thanks donors choose for making it possible!

Mommy! Mommy!

Last week I was called mommy by a student.  Yup and I looked at the child and I said to him, he's mommy was at home and I am his teacher.

Also, unsure how I feel about Rhee leaving.  I feel like I just got to know her and now she's leaving.  Maybe this is how dc feels too.  I was hoping to get to know her better.

All in a Day

So this week I stopped a fight a 3 year old started.  Luckily enough I was able to remove him physically, if it was a older child, I don't know what I could have done.  It's all sorted now but it was scary.

On a slightly better note, I have a child draw a picture of me, my first picture of the year.  I was smiling from ear to ear.

I realize that these things will happen, some great moments about being a teacher and some not so great ones.  I'm learning tons from my students and I hope that I'll have more of the later and less of the fighting. I realize that sometimes, you can do as much as you can to  give positive reinforcements and praise good behavior and give choices and be a good role model and explain but it just doesn't go your way.

Every Wednesday

I have shared duty with my paraprofessional for lunch and recess since the rest of the school is at Fillmore Art Center every Weds. I have so much fun.  One, I get to see the lunch habits of the students and two, I get to see them play amongst themselves without having the share the playground with 50 other students.

Lunch habits, my students won't try new foods/vegetables, whatever thing they can't pick up with their fingers.  I have tried on numerous occasions to get them to taste new dishes.  My para and I have even taken a small portion to demonstrate the deliciousness of school lunches.  Our school lunches are quite nutritious with plenty of veggies.  Hopefully they will come around.

Recess, my favorite time with them.  This is the time I can watch my students and actually see how they play without the restrictions of a classroom and classroom rules of a game.  They play and get rough.  I even have overlooked some rough and tumble play because sometimes they just need it.  I have watched a step show given by a four year old and played a game of  monster while scaring and chasing children around the playground.  I noticed how the children are dominate or become submissive during a game of pet store or house.  I get to see the social aspects of play without being a part of it and the pecking order is quite amazing.  How the quietest student become the loudest and most dominate in a game of house or the most vocal student "hangs out" on the sideline with the teacher.

Hoping to not get jaded by the expectations of ME (master educator) observations and feedback.

Meetings!!!!

So at my school we've been having tons of collaborative planning meetings and PDs, unfortunately the school is so small that sometimes the the collaborative meetings end up consisting of PS-G2 teachers and the PDs are about general usage of DCPS technology.

I am open to collaborating with other teachers but when their immediate or my immediate issues does not effect them, it makes our time together useless and meaningless for one or more group of individuals.  I have already brought this up and luckily, other senior teachers have expressed this concern.  Instead of meeting 3 times a week (M, W, F) we will only met for 30 minutes once a week.

As for the PDs (T,TH), I have sat through 3 half hour meetings learning about google calendar, creating an event and inviting people to the event.  I must say that these meetings were useless for me and could have used my time in a more meaningful manner.  I don't want to get upset but I have tons of documentation that can be completed during this time and time to set up my classroom before the children arrive.

This means that every morning I have a half hour meeting before the children arrive to school.  I don't like meaningless meetings because all it does is a half of complaining on one party or another.  Rather I would like productive meetings in which issues are discussed and matters are solved, that people are held accountable for the time outside of the classroom.

Freaked out

So this week at our school, we will be hosting several master educators, whom will be visiting all the classrooms.  I don't know what they are expecting and how much of their visit will affect me but this is freaking me out.  Not to mention that I got an email that there's is an early childhood rubric for my teaching assessments which I will not receive until Monday morning, as promised.

On top of that, my borrowed computer at school has a virus which means I can't check any emails and the classroom never received computers.  Yes, freaked out.

Luckily, my students and my para-professional makes everything all better when I see them, it doesn't solve the problem but at least it subsides the pressure momentarily.

Stevie Wonder

There's a child who absolutely loves to sing and do dance motions with his eyes closed, shaking his head while singing.  It's the most hilarious thing.  I called out his name while he was doing this, wanted to make sure he was just really getting into the music and he looked up at me like I just stopped him from having fun.  I will not stop my children when they really get into the songs we sing and the motions we do.   I can't wait for traveling yoga adventures!!  I wonder what he'll do?

First Week

I had very low expectations for the first week because I tend to over-do it sometimes and this is the first time I took it really slowly.  I wanted the children to get to know me, the para (my assistant in the classroom) and the classroom so we worked on routines and guidelines for the classroom.  We’ve been going through them all week so I am looking forward to lesson planning with Alycia for some thematic content for next week.  I learned some things about my kids this week: 1) just because they say they don’t want it, doesn’t mean they don’t want it (before going to lunch, I had a student tell me he didn’t want lunch until he saw that baked chicken and changed his mind) 2) just because they don’t cry in the morning doesn’t mean they won’t cry during naptime 3) I can read 3 stories back to back and they won’t walk away (not on the first day anyway).  I can feel a good year coming.

Preparing for the Classroom

I called the school two weeks before I started professional week to see how the classroom was coming along.  I was told that it wasn’t ready and to not come early.  I was also assured that my classroom would be ready by the 16^th.  I was freaking out because my sister was coming to town to help me prep my classroom.  I left her at home on the first day of professional week.  When I came to school the first day, I was anxious to get into my classroom until someone said the keys to my classroom were in my mailbox.  As I eagerly turned the key, I felt my heart racing.  I went in and saw brand new materials, bright lights and new furniture.  I was overjoyed!  I called my sister right away and started unpacking boxes and looking at the cool new materials.  It was as if the Lakeshore company had thrown up in my classroom. Everything was from Lakeshore. (Lakeshore is a rather high-end educational materials company for those of you wondering).

First DCPS Thoughts

As most of you know, I was quoted recently during the new teacher orientation as being “overwhelmed.”  The quote was only part of a long interview and it was far from the best part of my discussion, but that’s journalism for you.  I was overwhelmed during the training because they didn’t differentiate for early childhood teachers and we all know thatyou don’t teach the same content or use the same methods for a preschool class as for a 7^th grade English class.  Yes, being stressed and overwhelmed seemed like the appropriate feelings for being an early childhood teacher being trained for middle school practices.  However, I was also excited, elated and generally ecstatic to be teaching but that didn’t make it in. 

This time was also used to recruit new union members.  The union encouraged new teachers to sign up by enticing them with dental, vision and sick bank benefits.  I was sold even before I was hired.  I have been following the politics between the teacher’s union and the school district, through teacher firings and hirings, contract negotiations and the new rubric in which to evaluate teachers.  I must honestly admit Chancellor Rhee has some gall to attempt to change an entire district of mostly failing schools into an effective and efficient school district.  I don’t want her job but I hope she can keep most of her promises to the students, families, teachers, staff and administrators.

J-O-B

In late January, I applied to three school districts, MoCo, PG and DC hoping that since I lived within feet of these places that I would consider teaching at the school districts.  In April, I was invited to a DC recruiting event that exceeded my expectations from school districts, even before I completed the first few stages of interviews, I was meeting with principals and visiting potential schools.  I was impressed by one principal and when I was called in for the interview, I went.    

At the end of May, I got a phone call.  “You are hired Ms. Lo” from the same principal I met with in April.  I got a job teaching a mixed aged preschool classroom in DC.  This is exactly what I wanted in terms of my first public school job and it was exciting to know all summer that I had a job lined up. 

So I started to go shopping for books; thrift stores, Scholastic warehouse sales, Target, Borders, B&N, freecycle (local yahoo group that sends emails for stuff people don’t want and it’s free) and where ever else I can convince my husband to go.  Yeah for books!!