"I Hate Goodbyes"- Lloyd Christmas

It's funny how the last day of school varies so much from year to year.  I'm always planning the same activities and dealing with the same age group, but it never ends the same.  One year they'll be jumping around and talking about how they're going to t.p. the school.  The next year, they'll be sobbing their eyes out ALL DAY LONG. This year, there was none of that.  It was just like a typical day.  They cleaned up what they were working on and got in a line just like we always do.  They were even a little confused when I tried to hug them instead of giving them our traditional end-of-the-day high five. 

So, I didn't get emotional at all...

...until I got home and read the very last card in a stack of notes the wonderful Mrs. P had the class write for me. 

Why is it that the students who "keep you on your toes" the most are the ones that it's hardest to let go? I've got to give this kid props for keeping me on top of my classroom management strategies all year long.  Also, I love that he started to write "I don't want to leave," but couldn't figure out the proper spelling for "leave", so he changed it to "go."  

Here are a few other notes that I enjoyed:

"She's kind of like Miss frizzle but awesomer than Miss frizzle."

"Miss Jones is always doing silly hands or jazz hands."

"Miss Jones is a nice teacher because she just is!"

"Make sure you go on a date with your french modle."

"You will be missed."

(sounds like I died or something)

It's been a great year.

But, boy am I enjoying every minute of summer vacation already.

I really needed a break from those jazz hands I was apparently doing all the time.

3.5 Days

That's right, folks. Only three and a half more days of school.  I'm possibly a little bit excited about this fact.

If you really want to know what teachers are thinking during the last week of school, though, you should ask their students.  That's what I did.  Check out their captions below:

My favorite: "I'm gonna go and look all teachery at the beach!!!"

I want to know why I'm the only one with freaky hands.

This kid was probably thinking, 

"I don't have time to draw actual bodies, but they'll definitely all need to be wearing boots."

Mrs. Carpenter and I are burglars in the summer?

Feeling Loved

I have a student.  I'll call her Hannah.  She loves to give me things. I think that I've gotten something from her just about every day this year.  I have a strong feeling that her language of love is "Receiving Gifts."

Today, she gave me three gifts:

Her "guitar" from our instrument project 

A dolphin clapper 

A heart bracelet

As hard as she tried, I am sorry to say that she didn't win for the best gift-giver today.

That award belongs to the student who wrapped her gift in a paper towel.

 What could be inside?

Chips!!

I bet you didn't see that coming. 

Neither did I.
I should have, though.
This is the same student who gave me a mint.
Gotta love it!

A Common Thread

Can you guess what all these things have in common with each other?

Squishy things

 Stuffed animals

 Balls

Jewelry

 Pencils and Pens

Bottled items (nasal spray, body spray, nail polish)

Misc. Items (Duct tape wallet, Tic Tacs, fuzzy hair tie)

If you guessed...

a) things I confiscated from my students this year*

b) things that should not be played with during a lesson

or

c) things that have been causing my desk drawer to overflow

...then you would be correct!!

*I've actually taken more items than those pictured (if you can believe that).

Students can have their items back if their parents send in a note.

These are just the ones that they are willing to wait for until the end of the year. 

I am...

My cute, little students amaze me every day.  Since we started our poetry unit, they've been amazing me even more than usual .  I just give them an outline and they produce something like this:

I am an author

I wonder what to write next

I hear the mouse clicking

I see my story on the screen

I want to make it better

I am an author

I feel the rectangular keyboard

I touch the keys

I worry my story won't be good enough

I cry when it dosen't sound right

I am an author

I understand that it won't be perfect

I say "I can do it!"

I dream of my books in "Barnes & Noble"

I am an author

This one almost made me cry:

I am a solder's wife

I wonder if he will come back

I hear gunshots from miles away

I see people getting shot

I want him to meet our new daughter

I am very sad

I feel like my daughter needs her daddy

I touch and pinch myself to make sure im not dreaming

I worry that he will die

I cry when I touch our wedding pictures

I am very emotional

I understand that he wants to fight for our country

I tell my daughter that daddy is on a long trip

I dream of all of us in one small family

I am a solder's wife

Amazing.

Especially when you consider these were written by nine-year-olds.

Bonjour!

A few weeks ago, the following conversation went down in my classroom during a spelling exercise:

Teacher (me): The word is eject.  My friend will eject his movie from the DVD player.
Student 1: Did you just say his movie?
Student 2: Is he your boyfriend?
Student 3: Did you find him on google?
Student 4: No, match.com
Student 3: Is he a french model? Bonjour!
Student 2: Bonjour!
All students, all day, everyday since then: Bonjour! Bonjour! Bonjour!

After sharing this story, I learned that this french model line is not so random.

This morning, my boyfriend showed up in my classroom. He greeted me by saying, "Bonjour!" He continued to speak in French and soon the kids were shouting, "It's the french model!"  It was so funny. He was so into the part. I was cracking up the whole time.  I don't think I said a single word before he left.  There was much debate among the children over whether or not he was actually a french model.  Of course, France came up randomly like 4 more times throughout the day and we all laughed some more. The laughter continued when I read the card he had left with me:

"Mademoiselle, Ma petit cherie! I shall never forget that day in Paris! Your face was even more beautiful than my own...All for you, ma crouton jolie, ma croissant avec fromage. (my pretty crouton, my croissant with cheese)
Au revoir,
Jean-Claude Valjean
Model, Actor

I seriously doubt that the actor in the State Farm commercial could pull off such poetic language.

I feel...

To protect those who have been the characters in my recent dreams, I will have to abstain from mentioning what's been going on while I've been sleeping.

To make up for it, I'll share a third grade story.

Every morning, our class sits in a circle to talk about things and get to know each other better.  The other day, the topic was "How are you feeling?"  Here are a few responses:

-I feel tired.

-I feel happy.

-I feel cold. 

-I feel bored.

-I feel excited.

And now for my favorite response...

-I feel like a diva.

Can't Think of a Title

This year's class definitely is going to take the prize for giving me the best gifts.  Remember this one? 

Today (in the middle of a lesson), a boy pulled something green out of his backpack and started bringing it up to me.  I tried to get him to sit down, but he was determined to deliver my "gift" right then.

And here it is:

A bunch of loose, plastic leaves and something that I'm assuming

used to look like holly berries.  

If only I could have seen inside his thoughts when he decided that he wanted to present me with such a gift. 

Missing Eyes

After receiving his graded test today, one of my students came up to me with a big grin on his face.

Student: Miss J, this is so funny.  You forgot to put eyes on this smiley face.
Me: That's not a smiley face.  It's a "C." That's your grade.

The Joys of Grading

Of all the assignments I get to grade, essays are the ones I put off for as long as possible.  When I actually get around to grading them, I find it to be quite enjoyable (just like practicing the piano). Here are just a few gems from the essays I graded this evening (the night before progress reports are to be sent home):

"I went over to my friend's house and we jumped on his trampaling." 

"I ate a handburger. It was delicious."

"We went to ride the rollercoaster but I wasn't tall in of."

"I woch Sbooby Doo with dad."

Letters of Recommendation

Here are a few reasons why my students would recommend me as a teacher:

1. She is a nice teacher and she teaches me stuff very good.
2. She'll never leave you behind!
3. She loves teaching! (and owls.)
4. She never raises her voice.
5. When I rais my hand she coms to me right away.
6. She rocks!

and my favorite response is...

6. She rights fast.

Practical

I am a pretty practical person.  So, I was pleased to see the practicality of one of my students today.

My class was solving a math problem that went something like this:

Jane bought 9 pieces of candy.  Each piece of candy costs 10 cents.  How much did Jane spend?

This student wrote 90 cents at first, but then changed it to one dollar.  

Why?

Sales tax.

Talk about students who are prepared for the real world. 

Take that Common Core Standards!

And now for some intriguing inventions I came across while searching for impractical things:

via

via

via

My Special Present

As I went outside to greet my amazing, little students the other morning, one girl told me that she had a special present for me. 

Once we were inside, she opened her hand to reveal...

a breath saver!

How did she know that I was really hoping for an unwrapped mint that

had been held by 8-year-old hands?

Owl of the Week

To introduce how we do student of the week in my classroom, I was the first "Owl of the Week."  On Friday, we always write letters to that person.  Here are a few highlights from the letters I received:

"I hope you are haveing a grate time whith Hedwig...So how whod you feel if I got you a real live owl.  It would be cool.  No-Yes

"I like how some times you get out of your mind!"

"You are so nice to us in class. I hope you stay alive for ever."

"owls are nauternal (nocturnal) that means they hunt at night. I like nauternal animals they can catch pray wile they are sleeping they don't even know."

So there you have it.  They don't want me to die and nocturnal animals can catch prey while they are sleeping.  Who knew?

One Thing

via

I had no idea as I was reading The Book of Mormon this week, just how much it was preparing me for what was to come.  So many things went wrong at work today, but I was still able to find great joy in one thing. I would like to share that one thing with you:

After talking about how unwise it is to hide papers from your parents, one girl went on and on about how you should never feed your homework to your babysister.  

When she finished explaining this important concept, she ended with,

 "And by the way, that was a story about me.  I fed my homework to my sister once."

Another girl chimed in, "Well, her sister definitely has lots of learning in her head."

I was cracking up. 

And here is the line from Alma 56:9 that gave me the strength I needed today:

 "But behold, here is one thing in which we may have great joy."  

Back to School...

I love my new class.  

It's only been three days, but they are hard workers and have A LOT of character. 

One boy in my class is already having a hard time with the people at his table.  I was impressed that he took matters into his own hands on the second day of school.  He propped this paper up on his desk to let his peers know how serious he is about getting his work done.  

*name has been changed

Back to School

I had my first back to school dream this week. Only this time, it wasn't the students that made it frightening.  An old friend of mine showed up right before the first day was to begin and explained the sticky situation she had gotten herself in with one several past relationships.  She asked me to watch her daughter while she took care of some things and for some reason, I agreed to do so.  Watching the little girl proved to be trickier than anticipated.  By the end of the day, I didn't even know what I had taught students.   They probably all went home to complain about what a lame teacher they had.  

Chips

Favorite end of school gift:

"Your all that in a bag of chips."

Goals

At the end of each day in my classroom, we get together in a circle and share about different topics.  The topic on Thursday was goals.  They could either share a long or short-term goal. We had everything from making their reading goal to being in the Olympics.  My favorite was when one little girl stated, " I want to get married in the temple, have six kids, and when they start to cry, I will play Johnny Cash because that makes babies stop crying."

Now That's an Improvement

Yesterday my day consisted of:

-a broken garage door, preventing me from being able to get my car out of the garage
-being late to work with no time to prepare for the day
-no special/prep time
-my fly being open
-losing an earring
-staying at school until 8pm to get 3 days worth of sub plans ready

Today my day consisted of:

-attending a conference with 6 other teachers from my school in Phoenix
-my first ride on the light rail
-having Dan Majerle join our lunch

I look so short in this picture! Weird!

I guess you could say that things are looking up. :)