Where Is My Summer Going?!?

Just last week we celebrated our nation's independence with picnics and fireworks.  The stores celebrated the holiday with Fourth of July sales, only to be closely followed with Back to School sales.  Haven't checked your newspaper flyers lately?  I can assure you...it's begun.  This week's Target ad has a two-page spread with specials on lunchboxes, lunchbox containers, backpacks, notebooks, and writing utensils.  Not to be outdone, Wal-Mart also has a flyer out this week solely dedicated to all things school, whether that school is college or K-12.  As my daughter said when the flyers came, "I just want to enjoy my summer!" 

Ditto.

I feel like my summer just began.  I finished school (with students) on June 10th, was away for a conference that following week, took four days of teacher inservice courses the week after that, and served as preschool director for my church's Vacation Bible School the week after that.  And now the papers are advertising for school supplies. 

Just. So. Sad. 

I know some of you have been planning for the next school year already, but I figure I'll give myself another week or so before I really get into it.  In the meantime, I am undertaking a new adventure.  I'll be trying my hand at being a freelance education writer for Suite 101!  This is pretty exciting because I can write about what I do and I can do so whenever I choose.  If you don't remember, I worked in the writing field for a number of years before changing careers to be a teacher.

I know what you're thinking:  Aren't you busy enough?  Yes and no.  This year my husband and I will not be full-time weekend houseparents at the facility for underprivileged children.  It was too hard on my children, who missed out on a lot of their own activities (like sports) because we were on duty every other weekend.  We are still on the on-call list, but we are not obligated to go in just because there's a need.  The second reason we are not working full time on the weekend has to do with me; I have to take some courses in order to attain my next level in teacher certification for my state.  There is just not enough time in a week to get everything done.

So what am I doing in the meantime?  I'm reviewing and previewing academic skills with my children, catching up on my personal reading, running when my knee permits, and enjoying my family.  I can think about school in another week or so...as long as I don't look at any more flyers in the paper! 

(Day 181: Last Teacher Day and Scholastic Trip #2 Travel Day)

This is my room at the beginning of the school year before the children came in on the first day:

Notice how shiny everything is and how bare bones the room was?  Throughout the year I've added games and projects and papers and all the other things you accumulate over the course of the year.  (Where does it all come from anyway?)
 
This is the room on the last teacher day of the year, looking sort of the same, but not really.

All of my stuff has been cleaned, sorted, thrown out, or filed away for use next year.  Any furniture that does not belong to the school had to be moved into the coat area so the floors are clear for the cleaning crew. (The crew will move all the deks and tables.)  The counters all needed to be cleared, too, so the coat area is filled with my mailboxes, centers organizers, my desk chair, fans, file bins, book bins, etc.  My posters get to stay because they aren't doing anything with the walls this year.  The other picture I took didn't come out clearly, but there is nothing on the counters by the windows.  My desk is (gasp!) totally clear, too.

After cleaning, sorting, filing, and moving, I left about half an hour early so I could dash home and get a shower before hopping on the train to travel to New York for a special (read: not a usual occurrence) set of meetings with Scholastic.  The company asked any advisors who were able to make it to come back and see the updates and changes before the print deadlines for the fall.  (These would be the updates and changes we talked about during our February meetings.  Read Day 111, Part 1 and Part 2, and the Saturday Meetings links.) I made it to the station with about half an hour to spare before departure.

I made it to Penn Station (which is in the same building as Madison Square Garden) around 9 p.m., took a nerve-wracking taxi ride to the Tribeca Grand Hotel, checked in, took another shower (even riding in the train felt gross), and prepared for a day of meetings. FYI: I slept much better this time; no construction going on outside my window!

More to come on the meetings; you are going to be so happy this fall!

Day 180: Last Day of School

Friday, June 10 was...

The.

Last.

Day.

Of.

School.

The last day was actually a half day for the students.  The first portion of the day was a slide show presented by the PTA.  Every year the PTA gathers together pictures from the first day of school until about the last two weeks of school.  The show is set to music and covers everything from holiday celebrations, PTA assemblies, functions like Read Across American Week, the May Fair, classroom speakers, classroom projects and lessons, time on the playground, field day, lunch, time in specials, etc.  The show is about an hour long.  The children really enjoy the show because they see themselves or friends, and there's a lot of "Oh, I remember that!"  It's really pretty cool.

After the slide show we had snack and finished off our last chapter book of the year.  Then we went out for recess.  Once recess was over I passed out the report cards/summer newsletter/summer practice work packet  and read a short story.  By then, the dismissals had begun.  As the children went out, they hugged me and wished me a good summer.  I told them to send me postcards from wherever they traveled or to stop by at the beginning of the school year to tell me about their summers.

Once the students have gone, the teachers had a potluck lunch. (We do this every year.)  After lunch, we worked in our rooms and/or on cumulative folders.  Whatever didn't get finished was pushed to Monday, our last teacher day in the building.  (I finished my folders, but my room still needed work!)

Day 179: End-of-the-Year Party!

Day 179 was our End-of-the-Year Party.  If your school is like mine, the "party" is somewhat of a wrap-up to everything.

The day started with my kiddos taking a survey.  Every year I give the students an evaluation to fill out.  The first past is about them: what they've accomplished/goals they've met, new friends they made, etc. The second part is about the class/classroom: what lessons they liked best, what lessons weren't their favorites, and suggestions for improvement. (I always have to clarify on this one because I can't change things like the school-wide discipline policy, recess times, etc.  There are always a few kiddos who want to adjust those!)  The final segment is about me:  Did I treat them fairly?  Did they feel safe?  What was the best/worst advice I gave them? I tell the students to be honest; they are not going to hurt my feelings by their responses.  I take the surveys and read them over so I can gauge my teaching for next year.  I have actually taken some suggestions from students in previous years and changed things from time to time.  I've been thinking of doing a smaller version of the survey at the end of each quarter or semester as well.  We'll see what happens.

After that, we cleaned out the last few items from their desks (crayons, pencils, and final "fun" sheets) and cleaned up the room a bit.  By that time, it was time for recess and independent reading time, which led us into lunch.

Lunch was held in the classroom.  We had pizza, chips, and juice.  Some of the children also brought an extra snack or two, so they also had those.  During lunch, the students watched a slide show of the year, courtesy of one of our parents who took pictures of a lot of our class activities. 

After the slide show, the class had a surprise for me so I was asked to step out of the room for a few minutes while they got ready.  When I was given the signal to come back in, I came in to see my students standing at their desks with roses in their hands.  Each student then came up to me, gave me hug, presented me with a rose, and told me thank you or some other appreciative statement.  After that, each of the parents came up and presented me with a rose and said something nice about me and/or the year.  The whole thing was very sweet and slightly overwhelming.  I was a little teary by the end.  Here is a picture of the final bouquet:

There are more than two dozen roses in here. Every time I think about it, I get a little teary eyed.  It really was a thoughtful gesture.

 
After the hugs and tears and more hugs, I took the students to special.  During that time, the room was cleaned up and the desks were wiped down.  The room parents prepared the afternoon activities to be ready to go when the students were out of special.

Once the children were picked up, we prepared to go outside for about an hour (not much longer, as there was a heat advisory that day.  Even with that, it was cooler outside because of the breeze than it was in the building.).  We went down to one of the fields and played water games: Duck, duck, goose (where you threw a water balloon at the person's back instead of tapping them on the head), balloon toss, water tag, and the student favorite, free for all.  When everyone was sufficiently drenched, they stretched out on their beach towels and had juice and Popsicles.  After that we took a group picture and prepared to go in for a craft activity.

Back inside, the students painted picture frames to be filled with a copy of a class picture (courtesy of the same parents who provided the slide show).  The students finished their  paintings and went outside as they finished.  After recess we read under the fans and waited for dismissal.

A long, hot, fun-filled day.    

Day 175: Class Lists

It's that time again.  Time to sort out the students for the class lists.  This year we had to condense six second-grade classes into five third-grade classes.  As you know, this is not always as easy as it seems, and we had our own share of problems this time.

First, one of the third-grade teachers will be out on maternity leave until December.  We were asked to pay attention to the students because there are a few in second grade this year whose teachers have been on leave in much the same fashion for their kindergarten and first-grade years.  So this year has been sort of a catch-up year for them.

Add to that the fact that there are two classes that will have no less than six learning support students in them.  (We group them by class so the aides can be available to help instead of having them run back and forth between the rooms.  We follow a push-in model for special education, so the students are only pulled out of the regular education rooms if they are in a life skills class.  Even then, the students still visit the rooms for socialization purposes.)

Add to that the fact that there are a lot of immature students in the grade level this year.  Immaturity often leads to behavior issues.  It was an interesting process getting all of those students split up between the classes.  Even so, each room has about three students that still have some social growing to do.

Mixed in with all that, we have to make sure the students are grouped heterogenously by rank (low, low/medium, medium, medium/high, high, gifted).  Then we have to make sure the balance of girls and boys is as even as possible in each class.

Needless to say, it was an interesting meeting, but we managed to get it all sorted out.  All is well.

...As long as parents don't submit special requests to the office...

Day 173: Just Breathe...

No, I have not fallen off the face of the earth.  I have been buried (deep) in paperwork.  You know, the end-of-the-year madcap madness of cumulative folders, end-of-year assessments, preparing class lists for the next grade level, final report cards, summer newsletters, and last-week-of-school plans.  Add to that room packing, preparing for a grade-level talent show, and trying to keep the students sane and you have the last few days of my school year.  (I know some, if not all, of you are in the same boat I am.) 

Just...

Breathe.

Day 170: Thinking Ahead

It's about that time.  Time to start thinking ahead as to what is happening these last (gasp!) 9-1/2 days and beyond.

During the week before the last day of school, I like to wrap up all of my units and everything so I can get my grading done.  My district sends home report cards with the students on the last day of school.  My principal also likes to check them over a few days early, so I plan to have mine done.  I'll be giving a final unit test in reading, an end-of-the-year math test, and an AIMS Web probe (to help determine math levels for next year). 

In between, there will be an assembly about the local library's summer reading program and a "hero fair" put on by the fourth-grade classes.  (The fourth grade studies the life of someone who made an impact on America and/or the world.  My daughter studied Ruby Bridges for hers a few years ago.  They create PowerPoint presentations and presentation boards, then they dress as their person and act as a living statue to tell about their lives.  It's pretty neat to see who they study and how they bring it all together.)

In class, we will be starting the creation of an ABC book on what we've learned this year in second grade.  I like to use the story The Things I Learned in Second Grade as a starter; it gets the students thinking about what they did this year.  I break the children into groups and assign them a set of letters.  They have to talk with their group and create a list of things we covered during the course of the year.  They can use anything from stories we've read, favorite characters, authors, concepts, math skills, science experiments/vocabulary, social studies ideas, international days, and field trips.  I tried this project for the first time last year and was amazed at how much the students remembered!

After the lists are written, I go through and choose three items for each letter of the alphabet.  (X can be a little tricky, but you can make it work!)  Then I type them into the computer to create a book.  I also find pictures that correlate with one thing from the three listed and insert it with the letter.  After that, I copy them and bind them.  They are given out on the last day of school as keepsakes. 

During the last week of school, I have the students clean out desks, I hand back old projects, we clean up the room and double-check puzzles and games, and sort through the class library.  I also have the students write a letter to incoming second graders, telling them about the year they are going to have.  We do an additional letter to perspective third-grade teachers, telling a bit about themselves.  I hang on to both sets of letters and give them out at the beginning of the school year.  Between all of those things, we have a class party, a board game day, and a grade-level talent show. 

What about you all?  What kinds of things do YOU do to end the school year?  Leave them in a comment and I'll post them for sharing.  I know you have some great ideas!
 

Day 165: More Beautiful Music

Wednesday, May 18, was Day 165.  (No typo here; we had primary elections on Tuesday, so there was no school.)

On this day, the students were treated to the sounds of the fifth-grade chorus, orchestra, and band.  (My school always splits them; otherwise the assembly would be way too long for the little ones.) 

What a difference a year makes!

I think it is always interesting to hear the progress the students have made over time.  Having a child who went through the same chorus and orchestra teachers (and who is still playing and singing in middle school), I know that progress can only be made through consistent practice and application.  Anyone listening to the concert Wednesday could hear that these students "got it."

The music itself also lends to the growth of the students because of its complexity and layers.  Whereas the fourth graders are still learning the notes and finger/bow placements, the fifth graders have moved past that point and are able to get into the "meat" of the music.  They played rounds, two- and three-part harmonies, and varied their techniques. 

Even my students were impressed!

Day 161: Beautiful Music

Day 161 saw the arrival of the Spring Concert.  If your school has any type of music program, you probably know all about the Spring Concert. 

My school offers chorus, orchestra, and band for students in grades 4 and 5.  Lessons for the instruments are given in small groups during school hours once a week; whole group weekly practices also occur.  Each spring, each grade level group performs a dress rehearsal concert for the school before they perform for their parents in an evening concert. 

Day 161 was the date of the fourth-grade spring concert.  The lower grades were treated to the sounds of the band, then the chorus, then the choir.  For many of my students, this was exciting because they have siblings or neighbors up on the stage performing.

Next week will be fifth grade's concert.  Looking forward to it.

Day 160: 20 Days Left?!?!?

It seems so unreal.  There are 20 days left in the school year, as of Tuesday, May 10.  Wow.

If you are anything like me and your year is almost over, you are probably a little into hyper-drive mode, trying to wrap up all projects and loose ends before the children decide they aren't going to work anymore.  I keep thinking of all the things that have yet to be done:  One unit test in language arts, two science quizzes, a unit test in math and an end-of-the-year test in math, field day, report cards, and a talent show. I know, it's enough, right?  Add in there the fact that the heat has returned, and it's enough to make you want to crack.

But...

I won't. 

Things will get done and I will survive.

I just keep looking on the bright side...

20 days left!

Day 156: Halfway Through

Sorry to report that there is nothing much to say about Wednesday, May 4.  The day went just as it should. Check back later! =)

Day 137: Aaaahhhh! Report Cards!

Sing with me:  Happy days are here again...

NOT!

Ugh.  Report cards.  I don't know anyone who actually enjoys doing report cards.  If there is a better way of showing student progress, I'm all for it.

I've gone crazy this week trying to get my report cards finished by Thursday so they could be reviewed by my principal before they are sent home on Friday, April 8. Thing is, I actually forgot they were due.  I know, I know.  I can hear you from here.  How could I forget about report cards?!?  I actually don't know.  I kept thinking they went home the following week--but surprise!--that was not the case.  Somewhere in between my second job, physical therapy, my regular job, and running a household, things got a little mixed up. (Or maybe I was just trying to keep the thought of them out of my mind for as long as possible.  You know, like a bad memory you just want to bury in the recesses of your mind?)

So anyway, I spent a few nights up late putting together the comment forms, newsletter, math checklists, and entering grades on the sheets themselves. It sounds like a lot (and it is), but if you remember the post from earlier in the school year, you know these are all parts of what I send home to keep parents updated on student progress.  The newsletter and comment form aren't required by the district or even my principal, but there isn't a clearer way I can think of to get it done.

The good news is, I finished on time.  And I'll be sure to keep better track for the next round!

Day 133: What Happened to Spring?

Well?  What happened to it?!?

Wednesday was cold and off-and-on rainy.  By dinnertime, it had turned into one of those drizzly, miserable days that make you want to curl up on the sofa with a cookie, a warm drink, and the TV remote or good book.  By bedtime, it was sleeting with rain mixed in and a prediction for snow in the morning.  Further predictions were made for the early part of next week for a mixture of snow and ice.

Sigh.

April begins Friday.  Can somebody please bring on the spring?

Day 127: Testing, Testing...and Writing?

Day 127 (Tuesday, March 22) saw the dawning of the final days of state standardized testing.  Our color theme days were coming to an end.  And we were still taking advantage of every free minute!

We were working away on our animal reports.  I still hope to be finished with them by April 1.  Most of the children have a lot of good information to begin with, so going from there should be smooth sailing (relatively speaking, anyway!).

A union meeting was called to discuss possible pay freezes for our district.  My state is another in an unfriendly climate for education.  More on that later.

For now, send good thoughts our way.

Don't Worry

Just a quick note to say I haven't gone anywhere...just a little busy.  Once I update, you'll understand.

Day 126: Spring Showers

So the warm weather didn't stick around long. Last night brought thunderstorms which faded down to a steady rain that held on until early this morning. Along with the rain came temps in the low 60s . I would like them to stay around, but we will be in the mid 40s by Friday. Still, better than the snow/sleet/ice we had just over a month ago!

Day 125: Beautiful Weather Has Arrived!

Friday (March 18) was a dream of a day.  I woke up to temperatures in the 50s(!) and ended the day in the very high 70s.  The day had a gentle breeze, daffodils were pushing through the soil, crocuses were in bloom, and the sun was shining brightly. 

The warm weather was a harbinger of spring...and the annual opening of some local frozen treat places, including Rita's Italian Ice.  (Love the mango and black cherry gelatis. Yum!)

Bring on spring!

Day 120: Two-Thirds Gone

What?  Where did the year go?  It's hard to believe that in 60 days' time, I will be releasing yet another class to move on to third grade. Where has time gone?  It seems like the first week of school was just last week.

But then I look back at all of the things we have learned and done together.  Of how much my students have grown physically, socially, and academically.  Of the new skills my students have learned and the old skills they have perfected.  Of the skills they have yet to learn and master before the year is through. (No pressure, right?)

Two-thirds gone.

One-third to go.

Wow.

Day 89: Another Delay

Today was yet another snow delay.  In the past three weeks, we have had three 2-hour delays and one snow day.  This week alone was a snow day and a delay.  It's very hard to catch up on things with all of these interruptions. 

Case in point: Second quarter ends Monday.  But we still haven't gotten in our unit 6 test for math, which is supposed to be included on this marking period's grades.  So my kiddos had to take home the unit review for homework this weekend so we can take the test next week.  I usually do not give weekend homework aside from the required reading.  But seeing as we only had 2.5 days of school this week, I don't feel too bad about it, especially since we have been reviewing this unit since last week.

Our writing projects are finally finished.  (Yes!)  We are extending our end of the unit review in language arts through next week.  These 2.5 days was just not enough to read and compare two stories, do some test prep questions, review phonics from the unit, review vocabulary, and do spelling.  Some of that just had to be pushed to next week.  So we will be closer to our goal of being caught up there.  The nice thing is that our theme tests for language arts do not follow a quarterly guideline due to the way the units are set up.  Which is nice, because then I would REALLY be freaking out.

No more snow is forecasted until the end of next week, and I'm okay with that.  I feel like I can finally breathe and get some things done.  I'm sure the children appreciate it, too, because they will have a sense of normalcy/routine again.

On to the weekend!

Day 77: It's Over. {Sigh}

Happy New Year!

My holiday break has already come.  And gone.  {sigh.}

Not that I didn't enjoy my break.  I spent some much-deserved time with my family, both in town and out of town.  Several hundred miles out of town, to be exact.  All with bitterly cold weather (but NO SNOW!  YES!).  My children enjoyed their holiday, and I had a chance to catch up on my leisure reading (Amazing how much of that doesn't get done during the school year...)

Then...

The clock read 6:30 yesterday evening.  Being the slightly anal-retentive person that I am, I began to immediately count down the last few moments of freedom I had until I needed to return to school this morning.  I desperately wanted at least one more day.  But alas, that was not to be.  (Slight confession/question:  Does anyone else out there secretly set their alarm a bit later in the hope to squeeze out just a few more minutes of vacation?  Or am I the only one?  It's okay.  You can admit it.  We'll join a support group together.)

Apparently, I was not the only one feeling this way this morning.  My own two children were dragging.  My students were dragging (when they first got into the classroom, anyway. Then they perked up and revved along like they had caffeinated coffee with their breakfasts.).  We did get a lot accomplished, but they were SO CHATTY today!  Of course they wanted to tell all about their break, presents, who they saw, what they ate, etc.  I gave them a period of the day to talk about those things (outside of recess and lunch) thinking it would help squelch some of that.  Nope.  Not at all. 

Hopefully tomorrow they will be a bit better, but I don't know.  (I have a sub for the morning.  I'm going to have my knee checked out again.  My doctor only had a 9 a.m. appointment available for the next two weeks after being closed during the holiday, so I took it.  This is not something I would normally do to a sub, but I need to be sure I'll be able to get around.)  I hope they will be decaffeinated by then!

For those of you still on your break, enjoy the time!  For those of you who have started back with me, repeat as often as needed: four more days, four more days.  (Or if you are a foodie like me: chocolate, chocolate...)