So, I'm kind of telling on myself, but I took the day off today to get some things finished up for my end of the year program on Friday, get some things started/finished for class on Saturday (in finishing up my Ed.S.) and cleaning up around the house for family coming in for the holiday weekend! AHH...I know I'm a baby for taking a day off, BUT I've accomplished a lot and managed to find some blog time along the way! YAY! GO ME!
Anyway, I was searching through The Teaching Blog Addicts page and found their amazing favorite blogs listed by.....wait for it......oh yes- GRADE LEVEL! You can find it by clicking this link.
Well, as I was looking through their blogs last night I found the most helpful blog! My worst chore of the week is doing lesson plans. I don't know why- it could be because administration is very picky about ours, but I just have a hard time doing them. Take a look at A Teacher's Plan. Mrs. M has tons of custom and pre-made lesson plan temples to choose from and they are SUPER cute! She uses just the right fonts that catch my eye! I love the idea of making a template that all I have to do is fill it in quickly over the week and wallah! I've got my eye on her template called Content Chloe- it's got just what I need for social studies, science and character counts!! PERFECT! Thank you Mrs. M!
Just a quick funny story to hopefully make you laugh today... During my first year of teaching, we were still taking naps in Kindergarten...thank goodness that policy was changed! My kids were supposed to bring beach towels to take naps on...can we say NOT COMFY? Anyway, one day, one of my girls (we'll just call her R) woke up, I heard her say in a rather loud voice, "Um, Mrs. Jackson, I'm just not, I'm NOT!!!" I began to question her as to what she was NOT going to do. R said, "I'm just NOT going to be friends with somebody like that!!!" I said, "A friend like what?" She said,"I'm not going to be friends with somebody that would POUR WATER ON ME!!!" As I investigated the situation further, I realized that she had wet her pants during her nap and she was CONVINCED that someone had poured water on her. I gently took her aside and said, "R, I think you may have pee-peed in your undies while you were sleeping, but it's OK, NO BIG DEAL!" She looked at me like I was from another planet & said, "NOOOOO, Mrs. Jackson, I didn't do that...somebody poured water on me and I'm not going to be friends with them ANYMORE!!!" I persuaded her to go to the bathroom & change her pants, but as she walked down the hallway, I could hear her saying over and over, "Why would somebody do this to me?...I just can't be friends with them, I can't!"
So, to this day (she'll be entering 8th grade in the fall...yes, I feel old), I'm sure she believes that someone (a friend, no less) poured water on her during her nap in Kindergarten!
My husband is always telling me that my "teacher voice" comes out quite often (and I'm not even teaching right now)! I guess it never really goes away. Last week, on Noah's birthday, I took him out to eat lunch where there was a play area. I usually don't let him play in them because I am a MAJOR germ-a-phobe! But, since it was his birthday, I gave in.
We went with our neighbors and two of their children, so Noah had someone to play with. My friend and I both stayed in the play area because our kids are still so little. Anyway, my neighbor's oldest (almost 6), came down the slide and said this kid was hitting Noah. I called out to Noah and asked if he was ok. He said, "No," and seconds later, this other child pushed him down the slide that he was too scared to go down. There was a look of terror on Noah's face and he said, "He hit me in the head and it HURT!" Then, he burst into tears!
This was the first time anyone was ever being mean to my child! All of a sudden, I felt my blood pressure HIT THE ROOF! We all know how it feels when a student's behavior disappoints you (or should I say, makes you VERY UPSET)! Well, take that feeling plus the feeling of a mama bear needing to protect her bear cub times 3,000 and that's how I felt.
After I consoled my child and made sure he was ok, I turned to this other kid. He was older and bigger than Noah. I said to him, "Did you hit him?" He said, "Uh, uh...I just kind of smacked him in the head." I pointed my finger in his face and said in my best Teacher Voice, "WE DON'T PLAY THAT WAY!!!!!"
He left moments after the incident, but in retrospect, I should have spoken to his mother or whoever the adult was that was with him. All day long, Noah kept saying, "I just can't believe that kid hit me!" I felt so bad for him because it was his birthday, after all!
So, is there any Mommy out there who has had a similar experience? This was my first, and I hope we don't have too many more...my heart can't take it! So, to all of you teachers out there who aren't moms yet, don't be taken off guard like I was when this happens to you. Remember...Teacher + Mom = Grizzly Bear :)
Remember, friends...only two more days to enter our Honey Bunny Studio Giveaway!
So I am not sure if I'm tattling or not, but I am writing to say that after 3 LONG years of begging for a projector I finally have one in my classroom. Thank you to the fabulous PTO, my firties will be able to experience life in the internet world. So, here is my question friends.....if you have a projector how do you use yours?? I would like to use it for everything, but obviously some things you just cannot, but what kind of activities do you enjoy that do not require a smart board? It would sure help me out!
Have a great Tuesday friends!!
Situation #1- Ok, so just to give you a little background of my "tattle" here it is- usually while my kids are working they like to listen to music so I try to upload many different things that I know they would enjoy hearing and something I don't mind either :) My go to place WAS limewire, but now I've graduated to better things. So I downloaded a song my kids had been begging me for and quickly put it on the iPod and docked it up and let it play. Little did I know- I really downloaded a recording of someone that sounded just like Bill Clinton saying "I did not have sexual relations with that woman." I was mortified and immediately prayed that would not be repeated. Thankfully, none of the children caught it therefore no reason to be called into the office. Whew.
Situation #2- this one is a little bit like the 1st, but it's still funny as I continue to think about it. I forgot my iPod one day at home and decided to use Pandora Radio to entertain my kids while they were working. WELL....I have news for you my friends, Pandora Radio (the free version) has MANY commercials that are not suitable for children (especially 1st graders). I was over at my desk helping a student and all the sudden I hear "Sex? I will not have sex with you, not today, not tomorrow, NOT EVER!" Then my students were busting up laughing and repeating the word saying "oh that's a bad word." Again, the mortification sets in and the prayers are prayed that parents would not contact me about this issue. I did not and nothing has ever come of any of the situations, except for learning. I definitely know God has my back. THANK YOU!
