Spring Fever

It's truly time for Spring Break.  

We've got awhile yet before we actually get to take a week off, but the children are finished.  They aren't doing their homework, they are texting in class (three more cell phones taken away just today), they are running in the courtyard, they are hiding in the bathroom to skip class, and one very persistent (and apparently tall) girl keeps writing in permanent marker on the ceiling of the girl's room.

In short, we need a break.

And let's not even start to talk about our standardized test, which is coming so fast I can't believe it. 

I will be a much calmer, saner teacher when we come back from our break.  We'll have finished our standardized test, so I will have time to do all the "fun" stuff I love doing but don't get to spend as much time with.

So, let's not go to school this week

Please?

Who Ordered Raisins?

Never give 6th graders raisins. It's a waste of money buying them, as the kids seriously would rather starve than eat them. (At least they would rather starve according to them. I figure they'd eventually get hungry enough to eat them, but it wasn't before the test.)


We had our official state testing this week and last week. It's over. Hooray!

Of course, the kids think that means they don't have to work anymore. This is not good, as our administration keeps reminding us teachers that school is not over, so we have to likewise remind the kids.

This is made harder by us feeling that school is over, and it's time for a holiday.

The test went well. The kids seemed to focus, and try their hardest. They enjoyed the snacks each day before the test, and loved seeing what they would get each day.

We got fake goldfish, Graham crackers, and the ill-liked raisins, plus orange juice, water, and more orange juice.

But I still have a mountain of raisins on my desk.

Oh, well. At least the test is over!

It's COMING!

Our state standardized test really is very close. I am a little slow getting stuff posted, as I am desperately trying to convince the children they do know how to identify cause and effect, and they really do remember what the main idea is, and how to come up with the supporting details for that main idea. And they do remember how to check their answers, and that they just have to eat before the test, regardless of the fact they don't eat breakfast normally.

So, I am still here, I am still gathering up little story gems to share... I just don't have time to get them down.

It's hard to think about writing about the kids seconds after they told you they didn't realize the test was next week.

Oh, help.

I Really Hope They Eat...

With our standardized tests coming up (so quickly it is scary), I can't help but think of the studies that show that kids who eat before tests (breakfast, I mean) do much better.

So I all I can think, in my most stressful moments, as they have answered the question incorrectly 3 times in a row (which leaves only the correct answer!), is, "Please parents, feed your child before the test! Get up early, make them eggs, bacon, toast, cereal, whatever they want and has some nutrition in it!"

Of course, my school, like many other schools, feed the kids before the test begins... they have been doing that for quite awhile (I remember the best part of the tests when I was in school myself was the food they gave us beforehand. Of course, they gave us donuts and an apple... not very healthy. My students now get cheese, cereal bars, milk, juice, etc.) But it's still no real substitute for a good, hearty breakfast.

Please, please! Feed your child!