Visitor in the Classroom

Today my friend, Naomi, came and talked to my classes about Judaism and the questions they had about the book we are reading that I did not have the answer for. I thought it went really well, and I think the kids learned a lot from her. I learned a lot too because they asked the questions that I never really thought to ask her. They were really good too.

I always think it's fun to have a speaker come in and talk to the kids, as long as the kids are interested and actually pay attention. They can learn so much from someone who actually has more than just surface knowledge about the topic they are studying.

I got my hair cut today. It's a bit shorter than I thought it was going to be when I told her how much to take off. I'm not upset about it or anything; it will just take some getting used to. My ponytail has much less substance to it!!!

We got more snow Monday night. I couldn't get into my car Tuesday morning, so I had to have someone take me to school and bring me home. That was fun. The last conferences of the year are over! Yay!!! It's always interesting meeting the parents, but those are long days.

I'm glad tomorrow is Friday. I'm just worn out from these past two weeks with ITBS, conferences, multiple shortened schedules, and meetings galore. Two weeks till Spring Break!

I have a voice!

After a week of no voice and having to pantomime and whisper instructions to students to repeat, I finally have my voice back! It isn't quite back to normal, and I'm still coughing and dealing with that stuff, but at least I can talk and give directions. I realized how much I take talking for granted. I talk a lot throughout the day. I'm glad that my co-teacher was there all day Tuesday and Wednesday because she could teach my other two classes.

I actually ended up taking a sick day on Wednesday to try to get my voice back. It didn't work. I had conferences on Thursday. That was a lot of fun. I had to whisper because my voice kept cracking. I hope the parents got something out of it. We have conferences tomorrow and Wednesday as well. At least they end on a "short" day this time around.

It's snowing. Again. I think we're supposed to get between 2 and 4 inches. I'm ready for the snow to be done. The other day I was really excited because it was almost March, but then I realized that this is Iowa and it's probably going to be cold until April, at the earliest.

I was hoping to get to go to dance tonight. I haven't exercised in over a week and I'm really starting to feel it. But, I was sick and I really didn't have the energy to go anywhere or do anything. That's how it is I suppose.

Stay safe and warm. 3 weeks until Spring Break!

No Voice!

So, it's a little difficult to teach if you don't have a voice, as I discovered today. The only reason I went in, really, was because we had ITBS tests today, and I really felt like I needed to be there to make sure my kids were comfortable and felt at ease. I don't know if it actually did any good, but... Fortunately, my co-teacher was at school all day, so she was able to teach the rest of my classes. I would have been able to "teach,", but it's a little difficult to give directions and clarify things if you can't speak loudly. I do have a bit of a voice, but it's not a very good one. If someone tried to talk to me on the phone, it would probably be a disaster...

I'm still going to try to go to the Holocaust survivor speaker tonight. I'll just try not to sit by anybody! I kind of hope it doesn't go too long. That way I can come home and go to bed.

I hate being sick.

It Got Me!

It finally got me. I have been very fortunate and able to stay away from all of it, but the cold bug has finally gotten me. I lost my voice halfway through my 5th period today, which made life very fun for the rest of the day.

These next two weeks are the worst weeks to be sick. We have ITBS MWR, conferences on R and then next TW, and we're at the beginning of our novel that I have to explain. Being sick, unfortunately, really isn't an option. Blah. It'd be one thing if it was sneezing and sniffling and all of that, but the lost voice thing is really bad for a teacher. It's really no fun.

I was supposed to go watch the boys play basketball tonight, but that got scratched. So much for dance as well, since I barely feel well enough to move around my apartment. I must admit though, I'm not too sad about not going back out in this weather right now. It's just downright nasty with blowing snow and FREEZING temperatures. My apartment looks like a nice place to me :)

I hope I feel well enough to go to the kick-off for the Big Read tomorrow night, where we're going to have a Holocaust survivor speaking. That should be awesome!

I'm going to go find some chicken soup and a couch with a blanket.

Teenagers Amaze Me

Teenagers amaze me, they really do. The stories they come up with as excuses and how they stretch the truth so that there's really no truth left in it is really quite a sight to behold. What's even more amazing to me is that parents believe these stories! Apparently, I have been making fun of a student. I didn't know that telling students that they need to get out of bed on time and get to class was making fun of them, but apparently, in some of their eyes, that constitutes making fun of them. Amazing how that happens when they don't want to be told that what they're doing is wrong. I'm sorry, but when you are late or miss 9 out of 12 days for one class, that is a bit excessive. You can give me all the excuses in the world, but it doesn't excuse the fact that you are only missing my class, it is a chronic problem, and I am tired of having to catch you up on the stuff you missed. Teaching and learning is generally done DURING class, not after it. Sorry parents for trying to do my JOB and make sure that your students succeed, in my class and in future classes. That's why they pay me the big bucks...

We're starting our novel tomorrow! The kids have actually been very engaged and very interested in this unit. They have a lot of questions and are starting to make some connections. It's very exciting! I'm just glad that I know quite a bit about the Holocaust and WWII, otherwise I wouldn't be able to answer all of their questions.

Happy Valentine's Day! (Or, as one of my teachers put it, Happy Singles Awareness Day!) :)

Tired of Winter!

Winter can be over now. I don't need to see any more snow, and I'd really like the weather to warm up so that it's not below freezing and I can actually stand to be outside for more than 10 seconds. This is definitely one of the coldest and snowiest winters I've ever experienced. It's a good thing that I pretty much got to stay inside the whole weekend.

On a more positive note, we officially started our Holocaust unit today. I'm very interested to see how the students react to the things we're learning and the book we're reading. Again, I hope it impacts them as much as I feel like it's impacted me. I spent some time to get some more background knowledge on Passover and how to pronounce the Yiddish words with one of my friends who is Jewish. It's always interesting to get another perspective on a historical event.

I did two pirouettes that stopped on balance tonight at dance. The teacher didn't see me because he was explaining something. That's generally how it works - I can't ever seem to do anything when he's watching, but the moment he's not paying attention, I can do something amazing... Oh well. At least I know I was able to do it, and that's what really counts.

I guess the Drake Dance team may be dancing at one of the basketball games next Tuesday. I'd really like to go watch them, but we have the kick off for the Big Read here in Waukee, and they're having an actual Holocaust survivor speak. I think that may be more important to be at. It's a decision that I'll have to make, but I don't actually think it's going to be that hard.

The days after a sub...

So, I had to have a talk with my 4/5 class today due to their behavior with the substitute on Tuesday. Apparently, they refused to answer her questions when she was trying to teach them a strategy, and then when the early out announcement came over the intercom they went out of control. I didn't expect them to necessarily be perfect, but I didn't expect them to be horrible either. They got a lecture, and not one student said a word about how it was unfair or anything like that. I will say, they were glad to have me back.

Tuesday was cold and rainy. We didn't even go out to the gravesite because of the weather. It snowed like 4 inches in Wichita and all the way up to Des Moines. I wasn't sure if I was going to be able to get back to Des Moines by today, but eventually the roads cleared up enough that I was able to get out and get back. The roads weren't even really that bad last night; they were all cleared off by the time I got to them, which was really nice.

Tomorrow's a work day, so I had to teach one day this week! Next week will probably feel like an eternity, but I suppose I'll live. I'm glad I have time to work tomorrow and plan for next week, because I really don't know what I'm doing quite yet... I know it's more Holocaust stuff, but it's really the book, The Devil's Arithmetic, that I'm not so sure about. It will all be great, I'm sure!

It's so much easier to just be there...

It's so much easier to just be at school and be able to "wing" things and get papers cut and things taken care of. My great-grandmother died on Friday, so I had to come back to Kansas for the funeral, which is tomorrow. In order to make sure I didn't completely stress myself out, I took today through Wednesday off, so that I had plenty of time to get here and back since the weather is a bit unpredictable. However, since I did decide to do that, I had to go in yesterday to make sure that I had all of my plans, handouts, projects, etc. ready to go for the next three days. I spent 2 1/2 hours writing lesson plans. I could have been there a lot longer making sure that everything was perfect, but I was burnt out. I was tired of staring at the computer screen, and it was snowing. I guess I also didn't really expect my students to be able to get through everything, so I left the paper cutting up to my co-lab teacher and the sub. If the students really need the paper, they know where to find it.

We are right at the beginning of our poety/Holocaust unit. I think I kind of had them end on a "down" note on Friday because I modeled what they are supposed to do with their butterfly poems. They are going to read and analyze a poem written by a Jewish child during the Holocaust. We are then going to put the poems on butterflies, and hang them around the room. They will then share their poem - if their writer lives, we'll keep the butterfly on the ceiling. If their writer dies, the butterfly will come down and we'll put it on the bulletin board. I think that this will be a powerful visual to help them really "see" what happened during the Holocaust. I hope this unit is as powerful for them as it is for me. I guess we'll see.

Today was gorgeous, once I got into Kansas City. I think it was like 60 degrees, and it was sunny without a cloud in the sky! It was a nice way to end the drive home; esp. since I'd left Des Moines with ice pellets and lots of fog. I just hope I have fairly nice weather on my way back on Wednesday.

Tomorrow's going to be a solemn day. I know my great-grandma is in a better place, and that she was ready to go at 100 years old, but it's still hard to say good-bye.