Get Out Yo Seat and Romp Around

One of the more amusing things about teaching lower elementary is the gifts you get from the kids throughout the course of the year.  Ask any K-2 teacher and they'll be able to tell you about some pretty hilarious and outrageous things that kids have brought in.  One of my student's former teachers donated a huge 3' by 1' decorative art piece that was clearly plucked off the wall of their home (or off the curb in front of a random stranger's house) in a last ditch attempt at Christmas spirit.  Some have gotten pints of obscure perfumes or toys from fast food kid's meals.  My aunt had to call home after a first-grader began stealing jewelery from his mother to give to his beloved teacher.

My mother, since her school was closing and she was retiring, brought home a massive box of gifts.  Most of them were cards and letters, ranging from "I hope you enjoy retirement" to "I'll dream about you every night."  She also got a cardboard box that was meticulously covered with colored duct tape with a large F protruding from the top of it.

I have received my fair share of thoughtful and bizarre gifts, ranging from Chick-fil-a gift cards to stuffed animals to the homemade flower pen I mentioned in a previous post.  My favorite and most random gift came on the last day of school just as one of the most well-behaved kids in my class left, handing me a cute little gift bag (I take a lot of notice of cute gift bags and cards).  I didn't get the chance to open it until the next day, when I found a pajama romper from Target inside.  Why a student and his parents would decide that a green floral onesie would be an appropriate end-of-year gift for a teacher is beyond me.  All I know is that it is the perfect summer accessory for me, letting me wear it all day when I've woken up past noon singing my "Romp Around" song (to the tune of this classic).  It really lets me capture the feeling of summer and my lack of responsibility and we all could learn a little something about the feeling you get when wearing one.  Those of you that aren't teachers, though, will have to go out and spend the money yourself.

 The romper in question from Target.com 
(no, I did not model it myself and then post it on my blog)

"Just Let the Love Love Love Begin"

A cheery little gem I found while listening to Pandora and emptying the dishwasher on this lovely little Sunday morning.  I guess I'm feeling love?  Enjoy :)

Wasted Space

Know the lyrics?  Me too.

Listening to radio stations that tout themselves as "the best of the 80's, 90's, and today" always leaves me with the same scary question in my mind- how much room in my brain is occupied by lyrics to the Backstreet Boys and Madonna?

Thinking of all the useless information I keep filed away- birthdays, phone numbers, terrible jokes- gets me wondering how much more I could learn or know if I just purged it from my mind.  Sure, I wouldn't be able to sing along with MMMBop on the rare occasions that it comes on in WalMart, but I might be able to be more knowledgeable on other, more pertinent things.  I don't quite know what that would be, but there has to be something more pertinent than boy band lyrics.  There has to be.

We all waste space somewhere in our lives.  I think of the basement in my parents' house, of my sister's closet, of the minds of college boys on Sundays (another direct jab at my boyfriend and his friends... how many different kinds of sports percentages does one person need to know?).  Perhaps it's time to get rid of those empty space-takers and start filling ourselves with more meaning.

It's funny how those cheesy pop lyrics bring up this same, rather deep thought every time I hear them.  Maybe they do serve a purpose then- to get us to appreciate the things that DO matter, the things in our brains and basements that hold meaning and importance.  Because if everything was important, maybe nothing would be (kind of stole that from The Incredibles... whoops!).

Just a thought.

Ain't Nobody Gonna Die Today

The Nappy Roots song "Good Day" was the only thing that got me through this week. In case you couldn't judge from the first day post, it was not the easiest week. Probably the hardest one of my life.

The first two days were absolutely awful. My class, by the end of the first day, was out of control. I was overwhelmed and helpless (hence the cubby panic attack afterward). I had three tantrum throwers in my class, all of who needed constant attention. Try to tell them what to do, and they threw a fit. My attention was so focused on keeping those three at least semi-calm that other things broke down a little, so that when they DID explode, it was a disaster. The second day did not get much better. I had a bunch of people coming in and out of my classroom all day- my literacy facilitator/mentor, the '08 kindergarten teacher at my school, and one of our behavior technicians. Fit-thrower #1 had a meltdown in the morning and was screaming in the hallway with a TA for most of the morning. And when I say screaming, I mean the entire K-2 hallway heard her. The end of the day looked something like this- girl screaming and kicking under the listenening table, a boy crying on the carpet, and another boy face down in the reading area sobbing. THREE of the same type of challenges in one class.

Did I mention that my random seating chart had all of them at the same table?

DISASTER. I felt like a huge failure. To make matters worse, I didn't eat or drink water at all during those first two days because I'm with my kids ALL day. I looked like I had spent a few years in a desert without food, water, or sleep.

After school Wednesday, my principal called a 1st grade meeting and told us that my classroom was not working and that two of the three had to moved. I felt worse about that, feeling like I was getting bailed out and dumping all this work on my team members although the more I talk to people about it, the less I feel that way. Everyone knew these three had some emotional issues (one of them is classified as EC, which is special ed. in North Carolina) and combining them in the same class intensified all of those problems. It's like they were competing with each other for my attention, whether it was negative or positive.

So I'm left with one of the three, who is manageable by himself. I definitely have to adjust course with him because my classroom behavior system can set him off. I've talked to his mom about it, and she warned me about his manipulation skills (as did many other teachers). Today and Thursday were much, much better. No tears after the bus lot, actual LESSONS taking place in my classroom... all signs of improvement. And I'm realizing that (although TFA wants us to think that every single student action is a result of what we do) those kids acted that way because that is how they act, not necessarily because I was doing something wrong. At least not in the first day or two. Give me a week, and then misbehaviors will be my fault.

The best part about those kids being moved is that I can finally focus on the GREAT kids in my class. There are some real sweethearts and when it comes down to it, first graders are just so damn cute. They drive me crazy sometimes but they really are cute.

I've been really happy with how my interactions with parents have been going. I've called nine of the twenty-three, and so far, all of those that I talked to (including the ones I spoke to about bad behavior) were very supportive of me and really enthusastic about getting their kid back on track. That's probably why their kids get so upset for getting their color changed- their mommas will NOT let them hear the end of it.

So in short, I survived. I'm sure I'll think of some things that slid through the cracks, but as of now, I'm done.

We're gonna have a good day,
and all my homies gonna ride today,
and all these mommies look fly today,
and all I wanna do is get by today, heyyy
We're gonna have a good day,
and ain't nobody gonna cry today
'cause ain't nobody gonna die today
you can save that drama for another day, heyyy

we're gonna have a good day