Mommy's Block Party: Fill Up Your Thermos Bottle Day: Review

Mommy's Block Party: Fill Up Your Thermos Bottle Day: Review:  Happy Fill Your Thermos Bottle Day!!!!   This national celebration and blog review is dedicated to the ultra famous Thermos ...

Tattle Tales

Tattling

Well Spring Break has come and gone. It was super relaxing to spend the week with my hubby doing a bunch of nothing. I worked at tutoring still but that was only 2 hrs a day 3 days a week. We did get the rest of our new house unpacked. Now all we have to do is buy a filing cabinet and file 2 years worth of papers that we had stored in shoeboxes in our closet. I honestly missed my students but it was so nice to just spend time with Josh. We hardly ever get to see each other.

Teachers need breaks just as much as students do but the kids have some serious issues around break times.  Since I only have 8 students they get sick and tired of each other really quickly. The tattling gets old even quicker. 

That brings me to my point, how do you stop the tattling that isn't important? Its easy for me to know the difference between silly tattling and the serious stuff, but to a 6yr old its all the same. Little Johnny scribbling is the same to them as Little Johnny sucker punching his friend. A 6yr old knows scribbling on their papers is wrong, and they know that hitting is wrong, so they must tell the teacher no matter what. I talk to them about serious vs. silly till I'm blue in the face but they just don't see the difference. Wrong is wrong in the eyes of a 6yr old. 

When I know they are coming to tattle, they just have this way about them, I always cut them off and say "Before you tattle did someone hit you? Did someone take your stuff? Then go talk it out with them." That usually works but I have two students that tattle a ridiculous amount. I can't seem to go 5 minutes without one of these student using their whiniest voice and tattling on the most ridiculous stuff. Im talking "Mrs. Haaaaaaarris, Little Johnny took his stickers off." or "Mrs. Haaaaaaaarri, Little Johnny looked out the window." I mean honestly... this is the stuff they tattle on seriously 30-40 times a day.  

What do I do??? 

Lima Beans

Lima Beans

Yesterday we planted bean seeds. The kids are so excited and they can't wait for their plants to grow. 

We also read the fantastic book "A Bad Case Of The Stripes" by David Shannon to go with our activity. 

This book is wonderful to teach kids about being themselves. Its about a little girl named Camilla who loves lima beans but is afraid to eat them because she wants to fit in. Some strange things start happening to Camilla after she gets really stressed out about fitting in. At the end of the book Camilla learns a valuable lesson about self esteem. Check it out!

Open House Night

Open House

So its open house night... again. It snowed the last time we had it scheduled so we canceled to keep people safe. But hey... guess what... its snowing again! Im gonna bet that I get 1 family. I've never had more than 3 come, I hope Im wrong this time.

DIBELS

DIBELS and IREAD K

We had the option to start doing DIBELS testing this year and I am really impressed with how well some of my kids are doing. It makes me think that the IREAD K might be something for me to look into. Any thoughts on IREAD K?

Vv Week

Venus Flytrap Day

Its Vv week here in the jungle and today we celebrated by having Venus Flytrap Day.

We colored Venus Flytraps

We made Venus Flytraps

Student work

And we watched Venus Flytraps: Jaws of Death. The boys LOVED this!!!

Hump Day Blues

Hump Day Blues

Well, it's Wednesday again. Did you know that they say that women look their worst around 3pm on Wednesdays? And did you know that they say women look their worst in February? So basically we are just done for. 

I think its true though cause this is what I look like today. 

Well I at least feel like I look like this today. It's probably worse. 

Not only do I have the mid week blues but the winter blues are REALLY hitting me hard. They always get me about this time of year but this year is pretty bad.

 I've noticed that they are hitting my students and coworkers pretty hard this year too. I've got kids melting down, fighting with each other and their parents nonstop, and the rule breaking is just out of hand. The teachers are worn out too, you can just see it in everyones eyes. We are really in need of some sunshine!! 

Someone needs to sponsor an all school field trip to Hawaii, and stat!!! 

Fantastic Field Trips!

Field Trippin!

Now that the weather is nice again, its field trip time! I don’t like to do field trips in the winter months because our school is so tiny we can't afford to use the bus systems. That being said when we go on field trips parents have to drive. Driving conditions in North West Indiana can be hazardous usually 4 months of the year and I don’t want to put any of my students in harms way if I can help it so I wait till the Spring to the majority of our trips. Here is what we have planned this year!

March – South Shore Arts presents Jim West Puppeteer in The Goose That Laid The Golden Egg.

April – Bellaboo’s Ecology, The study of conservation (reduce, reuse, recycle)

May – Fair Oaks Farm

June – All school trip St. Joe Curious Kids Museum and Sarett Nature Center.

Weekends

Weekends... They are never long enough.

Tales of the Terrible Tantrums

Tantrums 

What is a teacher to do when she has a student who throws tantrums? Im talking throwing yourself on the floor, scream, crying, and refusing to do anything tantrums. I have tried talking to the student, I've givin choices, I've tried to give consequences, I've talked to mom and dad, I've called in the principal, I've even called in someone to have her tested (they won't because there is "nothing the state can do". Im at my wits end here and its a serious disruption to my classroom. It's to the point where this student is throwing 3-4 tantrums a day about anything and everything. I, along with my entire class, feel like we're walking on egg shells. Help.

Happy Wednesday!

The week is half over! Hang in there!