New School Year, New School Stuff

Just like last year, I am now doing my grocery shopping and eyeing the kids around me, wondering if they'll be my future students. I am poring over the pages of the teacher back-to-school catalogs that are being delivered with alarming (at least to my wallet) regularity.

But I placed two orders from two different catalogs, and I am so excited! I can't wait for the stuff to be delivered.

One of my new items:

This will be used when we're working on writing, and we'll eliminate an over-used word, and give other options we could use instead. (First to go will be fun, I think. Or cool).

Another fun thing I got is:

My school has a REALLY bad problem with dirty bathrooms, and I'm just not sure why. The janitors refuse to fill the soap dispensers, because the kids sometimes hold the soap open and allow it to pour onto the floor. I don't blame them for being annoyed, but we did not have any soap, in any bathroom, after Christmas.

This is unacceptable, and parents complained, and I'm not sure why the administration allowed it to continue. They talked about changing the soap in the boy's bathroom (since it never happened in the girl's bathroom, I'm not sure why they couldn't give them soap, plus how is it fair that only the boys would get cool, new, fancy soap when they're pigs?) to foam so they couldn't do that, but nothing was done.

But anyway, these 'passes' were on sale, and the kids take it with them to the bathroom, and then they'll have soap to wash their hands. I will make sure to never touch them, because I'm sure they don't all wash correctly, but it'll be good for the kids, I think.

And they were on sale for $.99! I got one for each of my team members. Hooray for soap!

Now, you know it's time to start back to school when teachers are celebrating soap.

I am still enjoying my time away from the kids, but I am getting a little antsy to meet my new students. I keep logging on to my attendance screen to see if I have any students in my classes yet.

(None yet, but I'll keep checking. And I do have classes scheduled! They're just empty still.)

Oh, The Drama

Now, I love my students, almost all of them, and even the ones I don't love I love the idea of them, if not them as a person... Like, you cannot like everyone, but as long as you treat them fairly, it's okay.

(Wow, that was a confusing chunk of words. I guess I just mean I love the kids, but some I don't love.)

I particularly feel empathetic with the girls. If I were to chose to have one or the other as my particular student (for a group for a field trip, or something) it would likely be a girl.

Might be because I am a girl, I don't know, but I do know some of my other teachers (who are also girls) enjoy boys better, and then some male teachers who like one or the other, all for various reasons, so I guess it just depends on your personality, or your previous experiences.

But something I do not like about the girls: drama.

The boys do not go in for drama, usually. Of course you cannot just make a blanket statement, but mostly it's true. When boys fight, they hate each other, then smack each other, then they're over it, and are friends before boarding the bus in the afternoon, and hangout that night at each other's houses.

Girls do not do that. If things escalate into something so severe as a fight, it takes much, much longer, with much more drama than a mere punch or kick, to resolve.

Case in point, one of my team's best friend duos, never seen apart, always together, best buds, had a huge fight recently. Over, get this, the book one of the girls was reading.

Why did this cause a huge, painful drama? I still don't understand, but I do know they are now total enemies, who have drawn all the rest of the girls in their class onto one side or the other. They write mean notes to the other girls about each other, they call each other names, they ignore each other, etc.

They were best friends, but now they cannot even stand to look at each other, and now, instead of being far apart in the seating chart because of the possibility of them chatting, they're apart so they won't fight while I'm trying to teach.

Not all of the teachers on my team have the two together, to which I say loudly, "Not fair!"


Boys just don't do things like that.

I noticed at the theme park how calm the day was with just boys (we had five of them with us the whole day). There were no mean words (except for friendly banter), no sudden changes of allegiance, no worries about looking dumb, and most importantly, no tears.

Now, this is not to say the boys don't cry, because they do. They actually cry more than 6th grade girls, but boys don't cry over friend stuff. They just smack each other and feel better.

So while I do love talking to the girls, I am really, really tired of the drama.

In 6th grade, I guess because of puberty coming and the difference between boys and girls, the girls get down-right mean. They are mean to their parents, their best friends, their teachers, and with whomever else they have contact.

Now, because they still mostly are young and sweet, they will be mean to their friend (like, your shirt is UGLY and you're DUMB!) then cry about how they will be hated forever, and they're sad they're not friends anymore, etc.

As a teacher, I spend way too much time soothing their little conflicts. I don't mean to say they aren't worth it, and I know that it's important that I am teaching them how to interact with others.

But still, they didn't teach me this in college. They didn't mention I would be soothing tears because so-and-so called them stupid and said their shoes are too big.

No matter how many times I explain that it doesn't really matter what someone says, because it doesn't change reality (i.e., if you are dumb, then someone saying it doesn't change anything, or if you are smart, if someone says you're dumb doesn't make it so) I still have the same issues, and the same ruffled feathers to smooth.

I tired of it last year, but then I discovered this:

I love that poster. I sometimes just indicate the poster when they're obviously being silly, and not truly upset.

That poster has saved me so many words this year.

I love posters!

Save Me from Theme Parks

Now, I love theme parks like most people. I love the rides, the fun, the learning experiences provided by them (some of them, at least), and the shopping!

But please, don't make me take 100 12-year-olds with me.

We recently went on a large, end-of-the-year field trip. It was lovely. But it was exhausting.

On my team, I did all the work. All of it. I made the letter to send home. I made the permission slip. I made the list of the kids going, the kids not going, the bus list, I collected the paperwork for the parents who wanted to chaperone, I made the groups, I made the free/reduced lunch list (even down to milk choices), I filled out the form, then I drove to get all of our tickets.

I seriously did almost everything.

Now that it's over, I feel a great sense of accomplishment. I managed to get 100 kids out of school, to the right place, and back to school with no losses or injuries!

I know that on my team, at least two other people would have helped me (the women, I'm sorry to say, as I have come to the conclusion that men (or at least the men on my team) stink at organizing things, and can barely do things if told exactly what to do), and one of them was very willing to help, but still, I did it all.

We did have lots of fun, I admit. We have much better behaved kids than last year, so that was a huge plus. The bus ride to and from was awesome when compared to last year. The kids just sat there, and talked quietly (or sang. Not sure what's going on, but the newest thing they like to do is sing in groups. It drives me crazy. They're supposed to be working, and they start singing.) Last year, we had yelling, kids up and walking around, eating, throwing things; just general chaos.

Riding on a bus (with air conditioning no less!) that just rode the bus was restful.

Upon arriving, the kids quickly ate their lunches, then entered the park with their chaperones and scattered. The teachers all heaved a great sigh of relief, as we managed to get there unharmed and managed to get approximately 400 6th graders away from school, off the bus, and in the park, with no damage. It amazes me how much logistical planning it takes to get the kids off of school grounds, and taking the entire 6th grade makes it even more difficult.

Then we enter the park with our group of kids, and simply enjoy the day.

I got completely soaked on the water ride.

One of the boys (we had all boys with us) dumped his lemonade all over my pants and foot.

One of the other boys showed an alarming tendency to wander off, as he didn't really want to be with us in the first place.

But otherwise it was a fun time had by all.

More About the Mouse

Well, the mouse has been with us for about three months now. The children still love her, and fight, I mean fight, to be the ones to clean her cage (ugh).

Now they are all trying to get on her "good side."

How do they do this? I am not sure, but they argue over who she likes best. This is particularly silly since I don't just let everyone hold her, as I am afraid she'll become leery of hands and bite someone. So they get to hold her if they clean her cage or bring something in for her, like bedding or food.

So I'm not sure how they judge this.

I have heard them use the way she runs in her ball on the floor as proof she likes one student over another... "See! She likes me, since she always comes this way first!" "No, no! Me, since she always goes straight to my backpack!"

I just laugh.

The science teacher on my team, where I originally got the mouse, has decided it would be fun to have more mouse babies, and since Souris is such a good little pet, he thinks we should let her have a friend.

Then we'll have lots of adorable mouse babies running everywhere (in just 28 days, I think he said.)

Now, before you freak out, Souris' babies would be only pets, not for food. He has a set of mice that he keeps for feeder mice, but mostly he buys them. He wants a class pet the kids can hold for his room, and I have several kids who want one, so I can give the rest of them away.

He thinks they'll be the best pets ever, since as soon as their eyes open, there will be tons of faces peering at them, and they'll be used to it.

I say, why not. So I'll have to keep you updated on how it goes in mouse-world. I'll get a picture posted sometime soon of Souris, and then of any babies.

I hope this is fun, and not a big, huge mess.

(Please)

Fun With Analogies

There is nothing funnier than a 6th grader trying to do analogies.

Since the things are on every standardized test out there, I figure the sooner they get them, the better. It was also a nice way to spend the time after our big test calming down, while still accomplishing real work.

I told them that it was just a new way of looking at pairs of words. I told them it was like a trivia game, where they had to figure out what the words had in common. I told them that some were really tricky, while others were simple.

Right after I got through telling them all of these things, including going over the sample one below, I told them to do the 8 ones on the board. (We had to go over some of the unfamiliar words, but then I turned them loose, to do their best.)

Sample: horse : ranch :: bird : nest

Did you know that:

The answer to clothes : closet :: includes:

• hat : floor?
• dresser : drawer? (you don't put the dresser in the drawer)
• boot : shoe?

Going over the answers with them brought to light other gems, including the fact that

lifeguard : beach :: buoy : raft (I didn't understand this one)

and

even : odd :: three : four (I didn't know that three and four were opposites, did you?)

Then, to make life even funnier, I had them write their own. I learned many things throughout this lesson, and I just had to share with you the best things. I can't believe I never knew this stuff!

toilet : bathroom :: seed : plant (I asked him to explain, but I never did understand this one)

black : white :: red : blue (I didn't know that the opposite of blue was red. It may well be, actually, but you'd have to be almost an artist to know that, and the kid wasn't. He just thought (in his head) they were).

toe : foot :: hand : leg (your hand is secretly attached to your let, don't you know?)

dog : cat :: chip : dip (I said, WHAT?? She just giggled and ran away.)

I know there were more things I learned, but I can't remember them. It's a shame, since I told myself I had to remember these little nuggets of wisdom, since they would do me good to know. Hey, it might have helped me out while I was watching Jeopardy!

Oh, well. I guess knowledge is fleeting.

Fancy New Design!

I love my fancy new design! I never knew you could change them without having vast technical skills and knowing a bunch of HTML... but I found a lovely website that has free layouts.

What do you think?

Now that I know you can edit it, I will likely change it every so often, just to keep things interesting.

So, do you like it? Or do you miss the old one? Let me know!

(A new post coming soon... our test is coming, and I have been very busy... I'm sorry)

Oh, if you're interested in this lovely design, please scroll all the way to the bottom of this page to find a link to the site that created this design. They also have quite a few other ones, and it was really easy to install.

Worth 1,000 Words...

Some of the things I write about are activities we've done, what the children said, how they reacted, etc. Sometimes I am able to describe things pretty well with words, but sometimes it would be better to have a single picture.


I have debated about posting pictures, since I don't want to have anything that is identifiable on the Internet... but still wanted to share some of what makes my kids so awesome... I have picked some things that I feel I can share without causing problems. So...

Here's some pictures of things I have mentioned before. Hope you enjoy!

This is the tree I have told you about. Isn't it cute?

Here's a close up of the star. It stays on the tree now, but it can't be lit, since the cord is way too short. Since it was too heavy for the little tree, I had to use 4 pipe cleaners to get it to stay.

Here's a closer look at the bald patches... this is a huge stripe down the middle. Apparently, you just can't trust 12-year-olds when it comes to decorating. (the tree has a matching stripe in the back).

Remember the projects I had the kids start just before Thanksgiving? This is one from a couple of years ago.

I'm not sure if I have mentioned this, but this is a great activity that I have the kids do with new vocabulary words... it's called a mnemonic. They draw a picture that demonstrates the meaning of the word, but has to incorporate the word as the picture. (It takes them a bit of time to understand me, but then they love it). This one is the word intricate.

Here's another one... incognito.

This is a sign I have on my cabinet... I ask them to get stuff out of it for me (or if they need scissors or something) and it's called the "Listen and Silent" cabinet. I don't even want to know how many times I've said that.

I have had something called the "Wall of Shame" for the past couple of years... the kids find errors in the printed world, like grammar, spelling, and they bring it in, and we post it, with their name on it, the finding date. They then get extra credit. They find tons of stuff. Our textbooks, popular novels, the newspaper, local advertising, and even greeting cards have been put on the wall this year. (I remember a teacher when I was in school doing this same thing... it's such a good idea, as it teaches the children to be analytical readers.

This is a close up of one of the items on the wall of shame. Pretty amazing, right? I can't believe it was sold this way. (It's a teacher Valentine's card!)

Well, that concludes our little tour for today... I will perhaps be posting other pictures periodically of things the children have done, made, or maybe some of the posters in my room... exciting things like that.

The Holidays

It's been awhile since I've posted, but the holidays are always a hectic time, and it's never less true than in the classroom.

The kids get infected with a restless spirit, which causes them to go a little insane. Just a little. They forget rules. They hit other kids. They throw things. They talk back. They spit sunflower seeds on my classroom floor (one of my students cleaned my entire classroom after that one...).

I don't usually write referrals. I think I've mentioned that before. It's not that I don't believe in them, because I do, but I generally take care of the behavior before it gets that far.

But this week alone, I wrote two. And I was out one day this week! And it's only Wednesday! One was for an 8th grader who ignored me when I told him to go back out of the hallway (because it's a 6th grade only hallway, and he was cutting through.) When he didn't, I told him if he didn't, I would have to write him up... I had to follow him to the front office to get his name.

Then, one of my students had a toy taken from him earlier this 9 weeks (incidentally, it was Trouble...). I told him he couldn't have it back until he earned it. So yesterday, he went to the sub that I had and lied to her, saying I had told him to come and pick it up, and then he went through my desk until he found it. I do not like children in my desk. And the fact he deliberately lied to the sub also made me unhappy. He's done it before, so this was the last straw.

Still, I want to focus on the happier aspects of the holidays.

Today in my critical thinking class, we talked about Hanukkah, and what it meant. It was really funny what the kids thought they knew about it, like the kids who celebrate Hanukkah get a full Christmas every day of Hanukkah. Like, as many presents as they get for Christmas, but every night. I was like... not really, dears. I compared it to them getting stockings... they get stocking-type presents each night, then the final night is something more substantial.

So that was fun, as the kids were getting all excited about learning about different cultures. Before I explained that they didn't get 8 Christmases, several wanted to "convert," but they called it "change over." They wanted to know who to talk to in order to change.

I have some decorations in my room... nothing that is not allowed, of course. My county has strict rules about what is okay and what's not okay, and I am careful to follow them... (I did get in trouble with the fire department last year during inspections, because I had hung Christmas lights from the ceiling and it wasn't Christmas...). I have Candy Canes cutouts all over the place, hung by magnets I cut up and taped to the back of the paper. I have a bear with a Santa hat on that says something like best teacher. I have some various other winter-y type things.

But my favorite thing? It has to be my Christmas tree.

I love the little thing. It's so cute. I have had a small tree in the past, like 1' tall, with tiny decorations.

But this year while I was at Walgreen's to get something I really needed, I spotted the trees on display. They were on sale... well, you could get a rebate, anyway.

They were pre-lit. They had many sizes, even. From about 1.5' to 6', and some had white lights, and some had multi-colored lights.

There were also those truly ghastly pink or white foil ones, but honestly, does anyone like those?

So my tree is 4.5' tall. It's covered in lights, and it is adorable. It's a little like the tree from A Charlie Brown Christmas, because it looks a little raggedy (apparently, balancing the branches on artificial trees takes skill; I've always had real trees at home). I bought some small little glass balls for it at the dollar spot at Target, and put them on with red and green pipe cleaners, so they wouldn't fall off onto the tile and shatter.

It was transformed! It looked like a REAL tree. Sort of.

I also told the kids to bring stuff in, since it still looked sad... One little girl brought me two tiny ornaments. She added those.

Another child brought a pack of drum ornaments from the dollar store, and a tree topper (which was too heavy by FAR for my little tree, causing it to bend in 1/2, making it even more like the Charlie Brown one... I fixed that by using another bunch of pipe cleaners and securing it to the top... it now is quite... sturdy...) One little disco ball was added recently.

And today, a girl brought a packet of tinsel. I told her that was a wonderful idea for the tree, and asked if she wanted to put it on (I let the kids put the ornaments they brought in on the tree themselves, which made them very happy, and me too, since I didn't have to drop everything to do it, because if I didn't drop everything to add it right then, they'd be very sad...)

She wanted to do it, so she did.

And may I say... she has an eye for... creative expression...?

She put it on like a 4-year-old does: by grabbing ball-shaped handfuls, then putting it on top of the branches. She almost used the entire package for my tiny little tree (I use only one packet at home for my 8' real tree, and it looks completely silvered.)

It was, and still is, hilarious. I sat and watched her decorate, and I laughed and laughed. Every few minutes, she would look at me suspiciously, but go back to decorating.

She finally finished, and had tinsel in her hair, hanging off her arms, her rear end, her shirt, and some in her socks. I told her, very solemnly, that she did a WONDERFUL job, and I loved it.

Honestly, I did love it, since I know she brought it just for me, since she knew I wanted more stuff for the tree, and my kids all know I love sparkly things, and color. I know she did her best, and she worked so hard to do it.

I was proud of her, but still, it was hilarious.

I nearly lost it when the next class came in, and one of my students said, "Ms. Language Arts Lady, what happened to the tree? It looks TERRIBLE! It has clumps...! And...!" She almost couldn't find the words to tell me about how it was wrong.

Then, suspiciously, she asked, "Did YOU do that?" I kept laughing, almost not able to answer. When I had assured her it wasn't me, she seemed satisfied, but begged to fix it. I said it was fine, but don't make a mess.

As I walked the kids to the bus this afternoon, I saw tinsel all the way to the bus stop. The stuff is insidious. It got everywhere.

And the entire trip to the bus, I laughed.

The kids must have thought I was nuts.

But I'm not... I'm just loving the holidays.

6th Graders are Adorable

Kids are cute. It's almost a proven fact. People make lots of money selling books that contain what they say, and they also include pictures of the cute things they do.

Sometimes, kids try to be cute, and fail miserably. Things they think are cute tend to be very not cute. It's the things they say without thinking, the things that show you that they have incomplete information but still use it to form opinions, ideas, and even facts that are the cute ones.

(Of course, some things are annoying. Like when you have just done something you wished you hadn't, and they ask you why, or what you're doing. Or when, in all innocence, they ask if you're okay, because you "have a rash on your face" when you're just having a poor skin week.)

But still... they are very, very cute.


Here are some of my favorite things I have heard recently.

• One of my students was telling me all about a book he was reading, which had an archipelago that contains dragons. He pronounced it: Arc uh pull AHHHH gooo. He said it so seriously, I almost laughed at him, but instead managed to hold myself together enough to answer him, then correct his pronunciation. (But him saying "goo" at the end almost killed me.)
• One of my students saw me in the grocery store, and she asked me, "You shop at the grocery store?" as if it was the craziest thing she'd ever heard of. I asked her how she thought I got food to eat, and she said she always thought the school fed us.
• One whole group of kids (when asking why they couldn't have their tests back) were horrified when I told them I didn't have a chance to grade them over the weekend, since I had a birthday party to go to, then I went to an amusement park. They said things like, "YOU go to PARTIES?" and " But what do you do there?" as if I am too old to enjoy an amusement park.
• One of the cutest things (and embarrassing for the kids) that they do is call me Mommy, or Mom, or their version of the word. They are so embarrassed about it, and I can't blame them. I just say, "Yes, dear?" and ignore it, or say, "I'm Ms. Language Arts Lady, remember?" to try to keep them from complete embarrassment.
• Some of my little angels are starting to become little vandals, starting the trend they continue throughout school. Writing on their desks, the bathroom stalls, etc, it drives teachers (and janitors) crazy. The best part about most 6th grade vandals is that (and this is the cute part) they are simply too foolish not to put their name on their artwork. My student, Trouble (you may remember him) drew all over one of my desks, then proudly signed his name. He then had the nerve to ask how I knew it was him. He just stood there blinking, holding the wipes he was going to use to clean my desks, and was stunned to realize I had read his work. It was hilarious.
• Kids arguing about politics. They sounded like they knew what they were talking about, but then they'd say something just slightly off... but they were quite impassioned.
• When they don't want to close their book when we're reading a story and it's at a good part when we need to stop.
• Playing the spelling game "Sparkle." It's hilarious to watch, and now that we've played it, it's hilarious to hear them beg to play it again. You essentially just all spell out a word out loud, but each kid says only one letter then the word 'sparkle.' It's so cute to hear them starting to confuse themselves with the word sparkle, and it starts to be speckle, Spackle, sprinkle, and so on. SO cute.

Anyway. Kids are really cute. I know there are some things I'm not remembering, but I'll have to write those later. I just can't think...

Hooray for the cute kids!

The Joy of Halloween

Well, I survived another Halloween, but still have yet to survive the week following Halloween, when the kids come to school sugared up beyond all sense, and fights over the candy that they brought to school (even knowing they're not supposed to bring it) abound.

Ah... the joys of Halloween!

I did have fun with them today, though. Since I knew they'd be all crazy, just because they were anticipating tonight, I decided to take a break from the normal classroom activities and share with them my favorite Edgar Allan Poe story, "The Black Cat."

This freaked them out, as I had intended.

If you've never read the story, it's about a man who loved animals and had a black cat he especially loved. He became an alcoholic, however, and he began being mean to his animals and his wife. In a drunken rage, he put the cat's eye out with a knife. He felt mildly guilty about harming the cat, but continued declining, eventually hanging the cat from a tree to kill him.

He then wanted another cat, since he missed the one he killed. He found one that looked almost exactly the same, but with a white spot on his chest.

He brought it home, and thought he'd love it, but he began to hate it, even as his now-abused-by-him wife loved it. The white spot also began to change into the shape of a gallows (I had to pause to explain many parts of the story to the kids, but they didn't know what a gallows was, until one remembered they had one in Pirates of the Caribbean 2).

So now he really hates the cat. He was going down the stairs to his cellar one day, and his wife was following, when the cat tripped him, making him furious. He seized and axe and attempted to strike the cat, but his wife stopped him. In his rage at being stopped, he turned the axe on his wife, killing her.

He then decides to dispose of the body (after several options are discarded) by bricking it up in the cellar. When the police investigate, the man is so confident, he shows them around, and when they're trying to leave, he tells them about how strong the building is, and raps on the wall in which he put his wife's body... well, he accidentally put the cat in with her, so the cat makes an eerie cry, and the man is caught.

Very Halloween-y.

I love watching their faces as they struggle to understand the almost archaic text, since they know it's creepy, and they know they should be scared, but sometimes the wording gets a little too tricky... Then when they go from not understanding to dawning comprehension, then revulsion... so priceless.

And everyone should read a classic author like Poe, right?

I worried vaguely about this being too creepy for them, but then I remember what they watch. I remember it's a classic. And I remember what they told me last year (and honestly, what I remember from my time in school) that they read Poe's "The Tell-Tale Heart" in the third grade. So I know they'll be fine. (I remember from my own 3rd grade year, and how the teacher read it, while a tape with a beating heart pounded in the background... it scared the mud out of me).

So we had fun. Plus, one of my kids was super-sweet, though, and brought me a caramel apple he'd made just for me. I was like... oohhhhhh! So sweet! I haven't eaten it yet, because I keep forgetting it's there, but I'm sure it's tasty.

Oh, and by the way... why do the students complain about having to come to school on Halloween? They actually ask me why they have to be at school... when I'm confused, they explain, "Well, it's a holiday, right?"

Heaven help us.

Music Soothes the Beasts? Not Today... (Plus Trouble's Introduction)

Well, after the wonderful, joyful, perfect lesson using music, I was thrilled to go into work today, ready to introduce my kind of music to my students, and see if they enjoyed Josh Groban as much as I do.

But then, as it always does, reality crashed in.

After the perfection of the previous day, I should have known that it wouldn't work. My first class of the day, which is an advanced class, were wound up as they came in, and they didn't ever really settle. They listened to the music, made their comments, and gave the song a title, but they mostly were silly. (When asked to describe the pictures that formed in their minds, they mostly said things like, "A man eating a taco," "a woman walking down the road in Mexico, with tacos," and "a man dumping his girlfriend after she shot him." They all did enjoy the music, though, so that was a good thing. The only one who had anything negative to say was one boy who told me he didn't like it because it sounded so sad it made him feel depressed.

Then, during the next block, to add insult to injury since I was already feeling a little down about how I didn't really get the responses I wanted, the Internet, computer network, and phone system went down. No Internet (which is how I was playing "The Nutcracker" for my example), no projector to show them the journal prompt, nothing. So I couldn't even do it with them, so my remaining lesson was short, which is always frustrating.

Then the air conditioner broke, which just had the effect of making me really grouchy, since it was hot, I wasn't able to do what I wanted, and the kids were still wound up for whatever reason.

Suffice to say, it wasn't the joy-filled day I had anticipated.

I will try again Monday, though.

In response to the person who commented and wanted to know what the kids had thought and said about the song:

-A girl said: I really like this song because it's so peaceful and calm, and it sounds like the man singing is really passionate about something or someone (this is exactly what she said, because when she said passionate, it made me want to laugh at her. I didn't, though, I was good).

-One of my boys created this whole story to go along with the song. It was hilarious! The other kids wanted to hear the song again while they thought of his story, to see if it fit. His story was about a man strumming a guitar while singing in a boat going down a river, then the same man is singing to a woman in a house with a candlelight dinner nearby, while the woman looks on "lovingly" and smiles, because she has forgiven him for "forgetting her birthday."

-I don't like this song, because I think the man has just lost his girlfriend, who he loved very much, and he's so sad and lonely sounded, it makes me sad.

-I love this song! Who is the singer?

-I know who sings this! It's that guy... you know, the one named Santana. (Nope, I said, sadly. Not quite.)

-One of my students (one of my favorites, just because she's such a sweetheart) and I had a little giggle-fest about him, because she did know who he was, and she wanted to know if I thought Josh was cute. I said, oh, yes, I do. And he's the perfect age for me (because for some reason, my kids really want me to marry one of the twins from the Harry Potter movies. More than a few students have told me that. I keep telling them I'll get arrested because they're so young...) My co-teacher (a male) told both of us that if he didn't have such a gorgeous voice, neither one of us would give him the time of day. We both looked at each other and shook our heads sadly at his ignorance. I said, "Um, he's hot, regardless of that voice. Add in his voice, and Josh Groban is perfection." He just shook his head sadly in return.

-It's a song full of hope, and this one man is hopeful his girl will come back to him.

The titles they gave the song were almost all silly, stuff like:

• Mi Amor (is this spelled correctly??)
• The River (the boy who had the man boating)
• Hopeful Days
• Love Stinks
• Please Forgive Me
• The Taco Man

And many more.

As I mentioned yesterday, I have a student that is just pure trouble. He actually might be almost redeemable, because he still can get excited and participate in the classroom assignments. For example, we were illustrating our portfolio covers, and he drew a car, and had to show me all the details as he added them, telling me how much each one would cost. I would say things like "Wow! People are crazy to pay that!" and "Looking good, Trouble!" But this is involvement on his part is rather rare, and mostly he's just a pain in the rear.

The first day of school, I had to get on him for tripping another student, a teeny-tiny one. He likes to make sound effects constantly. I don't think I have made it through one lesson without calling his name. Not a single one.

Plus, he's Mr. Sound Effects. He must constantly whistle, sing, make cat noises, and bird noises. He's enough to drive anyone insane.

If you ask him a question, he will just sit there and stare at you defiantly, and refuse to answer.

Trouble has already had to meet with my entire team of teachers to discuss how he needs to change, but it hasn't really made a difference. Next step will be a parent conference, then I know there'll be trouble for Trouble. When mom's are called to the school, it rarely goes well for anyone.

Oh, joy.

Music Unites Us All

Today I did a mini-lesson with 2 of my classes (I have 3 left to do it with tomorrow) that just went so well, I felt pure joy.

It was a simple idea that I had, and it came to me while I was listening to strange, old songs on my computer that I had downloaded way back when, before Napster was illegal. (Yes, I know it was technically illegal then, too, but it was before they had to worry about music piracy, so it wasn't a big deal). I wanted to expose the children to songs they wouldn't normally hear, with the junk they listen to these days.

Yes, I know that does make me sound ancient.

Knowing 12-year-olds, I just knew that if I wasn't careful in how I presented it, it would just be a teacher-sanctioned time for kids to go crazy, and put down music styles, and insult others who might enjoy that music. Plus, it had to be an actual learning experience, or why bother? It's not like I could just say, "Okay, listen to this, and be quiet."

They might frown on that in adminstration, and I can't say as I'd blame them.

So I decided to do a musical journal, where the kids have to listen to the song, and while it's playing, they have to write the story of the song. If it has words (not all do), they can use those to help them figure out what is happening. If not, they have to think about what their mind is picturing.

We practiced first, and I played parts of "The Nutcracker Suite," since many of the movements are very distinctive and have an easily recognized mood, and easily inspire pictures to form as you listen.

Then, I played the first song. It was "Alla Luce del Sole" sung by Josh Groban. Now, if you know what type of songs Josh Groban is known for, you can probably imagine what my students were thinking as it started playing.

They are hyper-critical at this age... everything is "stupid," "retarded," "ugly," and so on. But I had prepared them, warning them about what would happen if I heard a single negative thing without it being backed up, and not even my toughest kid (not Stubborn, either, but one who is even more trouble; I'll have to tell you about him soon) had anything negative to say.

It was great! They listened carefully. They wrote earnestly. Then they all vied for the chance to share their title and what their story was. The only ones who didn't like it said they didn't like that it wasn't in English (it was in Spanish, so some of my kids knew what he was saying.) Some admitted they liked the song, but it was "Not at all to my taste."

They got so excited about it, they wanted to do the next song immediately. I told them we'd do one every couple of days, and they groaned. They actually wanted more work!

I absolutely love my job when everything goes perfectly. It's such a gift to be able to share something like a Josh Groban song with my students, and talk about it honestly and fairly.

I am very happy... and I get to do it with three more classes tomorrow... and two of them are my advanced classes, who tend to get more involved and excited about stuff like this.

I can't wait to see what they have to say about the song tomorrow. Plus, I can't wait to get to some of the songs. I have the strangest collection of songs planned. Oh, well. It should be interesting, if nothing else!

TGIF!

*Update 9/21/07* Apparently, the song I used yesterday (and will use today) is not in Spanish, but in Italian, as per a comment I received. Thanks for helping me clear it up! I did tell the kids I knew he sings in Italian and Spanish, so I don't know which this one was... but it's nice to know the truth!

6th Graders

Well, week 2 of school is over, and we only have... how many weeks?

Maybe I don't want to think about that.

Now that the kids are feeling more comfortable, I'm starting to get to know them, and the routine is becoming more like my established one, I am thrilled to be back in school, aside from the obvious reasons (like I can't sleep in).

I forget just how much fun 6th graders are, especially when they're new 6th graders. Most of them have not turned 12 yet, but are coming up on their birthdays. They still have that underlying sweetness that I love so much about them.

At the end of last year, my wonderfully sweet 6th graders start turning into 7th graders, which are not nearly as much fun, nor nearly as sweet. They start developing attitude, the emotional drama goes through the roof (Oh, my gosh! Did you hear that Josh just broke up with Sarah! Oh, I know! I thought they would be together forever!!), and they begin to stop doing their homework, because it's just not cool to do homework every night.

So I was looking forward to getting back to school, but every year you forget about how wonderful the kids are and how much fun I find them and how much I love them.

It does work out, though, because by the time they start changing in attitude to be more like 7th graders, I have forgotten how they behave. Oh, well.

Anyway, back to what I originally started out to say.

The kids are so much fun! They are all working hard at whatever task I've assigned them (except for one of my advanced classes, who seem to have a chronic talking issue that we'll have to work on), and the only complaints I've heard was just from yesterday's class, because it was the first time we've taken notes.

One of the things people tend not to like about 6th graders is how whiny they are. And I won't deny it... they are still very young, and consequently pretty whiny.

So not hearing:

-WHY do we have to do this AGAIN today? We did this same thing yesterday! (about our daily grammar practice)

-Why do we HAVE to do homework every night??

-Do I have to do all the questions on this paper? But there is 12 questions! Well, do I have to answer in complete sentences??

-What do you mean I have to take notes? What are notes? Well, if I try really hard and remember everything you say, can I skip writing them down?

And more of the same is a novel concept. But I began to hear little whispers of this sort of thing on Friday. Ahhh... the "honeymoon period" is over. They are starting to be comfortable, and therefore comfortable expressing their opinions.

Cute/Funny/Sweet Things I've Seen Since School Started:

• One little boy has yet (and this is 2 weeks in!) to attend the right class on his first try. We call around to all of our team teachers when he's supposed to be with us, so we can get him sent to us. So sweet! He's just so confused...
• The new fashions this year seem heavy on bright colors, and as many of them as possible, and polka dots. One of my girls was wearing everything polka-dotted, all of them black and white... I mean, her headband, earrings, necklace, shirt, undershirt, skirt, leggings, and her shoes. Oh! And her SOCKS. I was amazed.
• One of my classes has separated themselves completely into boys and girls, with no mixing. It's so cute! They're still at the stage where the opposite sex has cooties.
• The kids are really worried about lunch, because they're afraid they won't find it, won't know which line to be in, won't have enough money... it's very sweet.
• One of our kids has 11 classes. Now, there is only supposed to be 6 classes per child, but he has 11. I told him to choose where he wanted to go... then sent him to guidance so they'd fix his schedule.
• Another one of our kids is on three teams. It is very rare for a child to have more that one team, and only then for extreme circumstances... but she has 3. They said they'd change it this week coming up, so we'll see.

I know there is more crazy things that happened, but I have forgotten them... Oh, well. I'm sure I think of them later.

In the meantime, remember this: 6th graders are so much fun!

Teacher Stores, or Teacher's Heaven

One of the most exciting parts of getting ready for the new school year is getting new school supplies. These can be as simple as a new pack of pens (I have scary numbers of pens, but I love getting new ones) or as wonderful as a new teacher resource book.

Something that does make shopping for school difficult is the fact there wasn't a school store anywhere close to me. The closest one was about 45 minutes away.

Until recently, that is.

They opened up a brand new (albeit small) teacher store within 10 minutes of my house. There is almost no way to describe how excited I was when I saw the sign and figured out what it said for the first time.

I had to wait for them to open, then I had to wait for me to be able to get myself over there.

Today, I finally made it!

I walked in and was immediately met with bright colors and cheerful items designed to get children to read. Then I saw math manipulatives (the one reason I am sad I don't teach math... I love to play with the math stuff), and posters, and teacher stamps, and books, and borders, and and and!

I love pretty new things. It makes me eager to get into my classroom, set up the stuff, and meet the new children. A good thing, I think.

So, I bought 2 posters, a new lesson plan book, a pack of pre-cut letters (in a delightful stained glass pattern), and a handwriting book.

One of the posters that I bought was a very cute one I have been looking for, which says, "Save the drama for your llama" and the llama is saying "I don't want to hear it either" with a grouchy look. It's perfect for 6th grade drama.

Now I just have to get my classroom keys, haul all the stuff I brought home back to school (along with all the new stuff I bought), and wait for the kids.

I can't wait.

It's Okay, Mom!

One of the things I love most about being a teacher is running into my students out in public. This is especially true of a middle school teacher, because I have between 120-150 students at any given time, so it really does up the odds I will spot one in my local Target or Publix run.

The student's reaction is what's so much fun, because they sometimes are just so happy to see me (and I think, why aren't you this happy in school to see me?) and sometimes they look freaked out, like they can't believe I was allowed out of school. Even though by 6th grade they know I don't really live at school, it's still in lodged firmly in their minds as a possibility.

But the absolute best part is their parents, and even more specifically, their mom. Parents wear varying looks of suspicion as their child talks with me. They don't want their kids to know someone as well as I obviously know them without them being aware of who I am as well. They always get this happy expression on their faces, and continually glance back and forth from me and their child, afraid to miss one word. It might make this whole thing easier on mom if the child would tell them who I am, but they never do.

I know it also might have something to do with the fact that I look pretty young. I'm not old, but I'm also not so young any more (I just had my birthday earlier this week, so I'm really feeling the not-so-young vibe) but I still look as if I might be in college, or even high school, depending on what I'm wearing. Moms just don't want their 6th grade babies to know anyone that age.

As I say goodbye, and I'll see you later, the mom gets a look a look in her eye that says as clearly as words, "You will not see my child later, or ever again, you crazy person!" I always walk away slowly and listen carefully. Invariably, I hear mom hiss, "Who was that?!" And my darling students always have this casual, I'm-so-cool-because-I-know-something-you-don't tone as they reply, "That's just my teacher, Mom."

It's okay, Mom! I'm not a sociopath after your child! I'm the one who makes you sign that infernal reading log every single week of your child's school year. And I'm the one who gave your child that F! Don't you wish you knew that while I was standing there?