Wednesday, September 26, 2012

Woohooo 1st quarter

Ok team.  Hope all is well!  I am off school for a couple of days for some district meetings and need to vent for a moment.

1. I sent 2 of my students to other teachers instead of the sub.  1 got suspended today.  Nice.

2.  The librarian sent me an email saying how different my class was when I was there and how much they needed me.  She had them for 30 minutes today.  This was nice but also means they must have been semi-out of control.

3. A parent sent me an email with an apology and feedback after the note home about her student cursing.  Great. 

4.  Finally, my substitute (WHO I LOVE!) only came to my school last year to sub for my class.  Everyone else at my meeting today was talking about how they tried to get him, but he all ready agreed to come to my school.  Since my school is a little high needs, he knew he could trust my kids last year. I sent him an email with a heads-up about this group, but he assured me all would be well...The same sub who came all last year has not responded to any of my emails today nor has he accepted future jobs I have pending.  Did this group of kids scare him off on the first day? I mean, I agree they are a tough group.  I have had more issues in two months than I did in last year with my last class. But I thought I had trained them well enough to at least somewhat keep it together while I was gone.  WOE IS ME. 

However, I have to attend these meetings.  I have decided to let go and let God.  I cannot control what happens when I am not there, even though I am tempted to keep Skype going with my kids all day tomorrow.  Please Lord keep things together until Friday.  Please let Mr. P (the sub) show up tomorrow. Please keep my kids engaged and calm.  And please, please keep me from staying up all night worrying about how they will act tomorrow.

Thanks for listening guys.  Pray for my bees...

Much love!

--Miss P. 

Sunday, September 16, 2012

Getting excited!

I am sitting at home today working on several projects, including planning field trips and donorschoose projects and getting excited for the rest of the school year.  However, earlier this week, I was definitely NOT excited! 

As we approach mid-September, I feel like I am finally getting in a bit of a groove with my kids at school.  There are still definite ripples.  Last Tuesday, 9/11 was a super hard day for me and my kids.  Although the day has a lot of emotion involved for everyone in America, I am not sure that was the reason it was a bad day.  I did start out the day by talking to my kids about what happened. None of them were born in 2001, so it is a little hard for them to comprehend.  One of my little bees started laughing when I started talking about airplanes crashing into buildings.  This little bee has a traumatic past and lots of issues we are working through.  However, I got very frustrated when the other kids started laughing too and sent everybody to their seats.

I guess that's when the day started going downhill.  Probably the worst day so far this year (and still doesn't hold a candle to my days in middle school), by the end of the day I had three kids openly wailing.  No exaggeration.  I ended up calling 5 parents plus 2 grannies.  I had 2 parents come to the school.  I am not sure what happened.  Lots of disrespect, calling out, frustration.  I think the frustration was the cause of most of it.  I am just seeing more and more how sensitive my bees are this year.  I have so many that have such a low threshold for frustration.  Two of the outbursts started in writing, and there was one that happened (and continued) in math.  The writing issue involved spelling "around" and "sorry" (two separate kids).  They just could not sound it on and move on. They wanted me to spell it for them.  Oh my word.  Frustration, throwing pencils, sobbing, breakdown.  The math incident was subtraction greater than 10.  Guess what?  You can no longer use your fingers alone for 12-8 or 15-7.  Total collapse for one of my highest students who refused to try manipulatives or a number line.  She was so frustrated that she couldn't solve the problem.  My bees are super-volatile and fragile this year.  I have had some sad stories in past years, but I think the neediness of this group is pretty overwhelming.  It also doesn't help that they are a much bigger class than last year. 

The rest of my week was great (esp. after all those parent calls), but it takes a really rough day once in a while to make you appreciate the good ones.  This weekend, I stayed in Nashville and didn't head home to be with the family.  Although I miss them, it has been WONDERFUL!  I have applied for 2 grants and tentatively planned 4 field trips.  I have caught up on some awesome education sites/blogs with some fresh ideas for the rest of the year.  My kids may not be as well-behaved as my kids from last year, but I will do my best to make sure they learn as much or more as my bees from last year. 

Hope you had a great weekend, and yay for cooler weather! 

Much love,

Miss P