Tuesday, January 30, 2007

The Great Migration

I haven't checked recently, but I believe that I must have a revolving door on the front of my classroom. I just found out during lunch today that I am getting another new student. What is going on? Is there some sort of mass migration I am unaware of? Will we look back on this period of history and name it? What is the deal? I got a new student two days ago; it was a student I lost before Christmas. She had gone to live with her dad. Now she's back. Guess who's running the show at her house? And since we spent all last week doing Performance Series Testing, guess who's got to figure out how to fit in the testing of these two new girls? And it's just Tuesday.

At least tomorrow is payday.

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Tuesday, January 23, 2007

State of the Union

"The President shall from time to time give to Congress information of the State of the Union and recommend to their Consideration such measures as he shall judge necessary and expedient." Article II, Sec. 3, U.S. Constitution

Having grown up outside Washington, D.C., I always loved things like the State of the Union address and inaugurations and other state events. My best friend's father wrote for a major newspaper; he was actually named to Nixon's enemies list.

I love to watch the President enter the House of Representatives and see which member of the Cabinet isn't in attendance and watch the Supreme Court justices not clap during the address. I am just the biggest geek in the world.

Since it is time for the president to make the state of the union, I figure it is time for me to do the same:

My class has changed in composition about six times so far this year. I lost one male student and gained one female student today. (It's just my year in the barrel.)

We are taking Performance Series Tests this week; so far, I am not surprised by what I have seen in the Language Arts section: no one knows grammar. I am surprised, however, by what I have seen in the math test. I was surprised by many high scores by some of my students. Thrilled, to say the least.

Many of my girls ( and I hate to say it) cannot keep their mouths shut to save their lives. They would talk through the Second Coming. And to be fair, some of the boys have the same problem. They seem to view me as some kind of movie/video they can talk through. I have, on several occasions, reminded them that I am a living, breathing human being they are being rude to.

I have figured out how to include a video clip from United Streaming onto a PowerPoint presentation. (That is miraculous!!! If I can pull it off using the laptop and the LCD projector, it will be the coup of the century. ) These kids have no idea what World War I even looked like and now I can show them. I am still amazed I was able to pull it off. We'll see.

We are still trying to write; trying and trying and trying. Hope the state gives us points for trying.

BrownBear's SSAT scores came back and they were great. Now, all we have to do is finish (FINISH) that essay!!

Applause, anyone?

Thursday, January 18, 2007

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Thirteen Silly Songs on my iPod
1. What Was I Thinking? - Dierks Bentley (reminds me of PrepGirl, for some strange, unknown reason)
2. Stacy's Mom (reminds me of my 7th graders from 3 years ago)
3. September - Earth, Wind and Fire (LawyerBoy and I started dating the 21st night of September)
4. Peroxide Swing - Michael Buble (I don't care what other people say, I like him. Lots.)
5. Mr. Blue Sky - Electric Light Orchestra ( reminds me of high school; ELO was popular among us geeks)
6. Julie, Do Ya Love Me? Bobby Sherman ( We had so much fun together, I was sure that you were mine... what's not to love?)
7. He's a Man - Madonna (The whole Dick Tracy album is actually my favorite Madonna thing. You can have all the rest of her stuff. This thing rocks.)
8. Dirty Little Secret - All American Rejects ("Just to waste my time with you...")
9. Toto - Hold the Line (All freshman year of college, all the time. "It's not in the way you look or the things that you say that you'll do; hold the line. Love isn't always on time.")
10. Searching My Soul - Vonda Shepard (I have made mistakes that I just can't hide...got myself together.. now I'm ready to say..now I know I can shine the light...I've been searching my soul tonight, now I know I can find my way back home...now I believe I'm ready for what love has to give...)
11. I'm On the Road - The Partridge Family ( I played this one on the album so many times, I am still used to waiting for the skip; ipods don't slip,though... "I can hear tomorrow singing from around the bend...traveling free and easy... got to fill my life with living...
12. Jackson - Johnny Cash & June Carter Cash (I wasn't a big country music person until PrepGirl started experimenting with music. See #1. This song says it all. Listen. Then go watch Reese Witherspoon and Joaquin Phoenix sing it.)
13. Sk8rBoy - Avril Levigne
Links to other Thursday Thirteens!1. (leave your link in comments, I’ll add you here!)
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The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!


Wednesday, January 17, 2007

Prep School Applications

BrownBear is still asleep and the one major thing I need to do today is finish her applications for school next year. LawyerBoy and I want her to go to the same school her sister is currently enrolled in. Somehow, when PrepGirl was in 5th grade and applying out for middle school, she landed in exactly the place she should have gotten accepted into. I don't know how she (or we) did it. We aren't moneyed or privileged or any of those things that many people assume you need to be to get into private school. At the same time, my mother was diagnosed and then died from colon cancer. PrepGirl was testing, writing her applications and interviewing for private school all while her very dear grandmother was dying. The last time I heard my mother laugh was when PrepGirl told her about the essay she had to write for her application.

PrepGirl had waited and waited and waited to finish her part of the application. I wondered if we would get it in on time. She finished and got the thing to the admissions office on the very last day. When PrepGirl spoke to my mother, she told her all about it. Her essay topic? The Importance of Doing Things on Time. My mother cackled. She knew all about that girl.

This time, the school that we want BrownBear to go to has an essay for parents. Please. Please. I thought I had written my last essay to get myself into college. Not my 6th grader. So, I have to draft an essay explaining how BrownBear would fit in. I am grateful that, this time ,we have a legacy. Their applications get put on top of the pile. She is only one of two girls at our elementary school applying out to these two schools. When Prepgirl applied, there were about ten. Things change. I am hoping that they take a look at BrownBear and just can't get enough of her. I know I can't. She's just my baby. I can't believe I am talking about sending her to sixth grade.

What I can't believe is that I can't send my children to the middle school right around the corner. It is a mess. It is a disgrace. And as a 5th grade teacher, I can't tell the parents I teach not to send their children there. I guess them not making AYP for however many years in a row pretty much says it all. Oh yeah, that and the police being there all the time. And the probation officers. It is lawless. It is just like the middle school I taught at for several years. People getting to transfer all over the place. So, why don't we just let them transfer? Well, we stagger the times (apparently the bus drivers run the school system) and middle school starts at 9:15 and gets out at 4:15. I would still be teaching middle school if it weren't for the fact that I wasn't getting home until 5:00. No time to exercise, bank or run errands. Couldn't see my children hardly. They were going to bed around 7:00. It was crazy.

So, now we're hoping to get both girls back in the same school. Same time, same vacations, same curriculum. All we have to worry about is my schedule and theirs. Oh well. One thing at a time.

Tuesday, January 16, 2007

Sick Day

BrownBear's got the crud, like every other 5th grader at school. So, tomorrow is a sick day. Nothing harder to prepare for than a day out of school, especially since we had Monday off. I don't mind for so many reasons on so many levels; she is growing up so fast, I won't have her around to baby for much longer. And who doesn't want to have a Wednesday off, when it is going to be frigid and miserable?

Speaking of sick, my best friend from high school is battling all kinds of cancer. Brain tumor, lung tumor, digestive tract tumors.... and I was complaining about the heel spurs I was fighting. She was the athlete; Varsity tennis and crew. Nothing stopped her. And right now, fighting and winning the way she is, I don't think anything is going to stop her. But I just wonder how and why we get served up this life we get. So, keep her in your prayers. I know I do.

Thursday, January 11, 2007

Thirteen Favorite Movies

Thirteen Things about My Favorite Movies
1. Independence Day
2. Gone With the Wind
3. North by Northwest
4. Notting Hill
5. Father of the Bride (both versions, actually)
6. Raiders of the Lost Ark
7. Sleepless in Seattle
8. Bridget Jones' Diary
9. Nanny McPhee
10. Legally Blonde
11. Remember the Titans (I am a Titan)
12. Four Weddings and a Funeral

Looking over this completely bizarre list, I realize that it speaks volumes about me. I could have gone on much longer; Kevin Kline isn't represented and neither is Star Wars or The Hunt for Red October or Patriot Games. I am aghast. For once, thirteen isn't enough.
Links to other Thursday Thirteens!1. (leave your link in comments, I’ll add you here!)
Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!

The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!


Sunday, January 07, 2007

Independence Day

No, not the holiday, the movie. My lesson plans are literally written on a post it note and I have found that the Family Channel is showing Independence Day. Great golly molly - I have found a reason to sit back and watch me some TV. Not that I haven't already seen half of Twelve Angry Men and all of Akeelah and the Bee; I know most of this movie by heart: "If you want to impress me, get a job and stop slobbering on my shoe."

Go ahead and make fun of teachergirl, but I love this movie.

Maybe tomorrow we can talk about great cinema.

Saturday, January 06, 2007

SSAT Day

Today is the long awaited SSAT day for BrownBear. For those of you who don't know, the SSAT is the test for kids trying to get into the private school of their choice. It is the SAT for 10 year olds. BrownBear has only one choice: she wants to be PrepGirl2. She has lamented over this thing forever. And truly, she is the better test taker of the two of them. However, she hates the unknown, and this thing has truly flipped her out. So, internet, good vibes for her today. She has placed a lot of pressure on herself and she doesn't need to go in there and flip out. (I didn't let her go to a football game last night and drink beer, similar to what I did the first time I took the SAT. What was I thinking?)

Thursday, January 04, 2007

What I Should Have Done Today

Thirteen Things about I Should Have Done Today
1. Completely emptied the laundry room.
2. Put away all the wrapping paper.
3. Thrown away the flat, leftover Coke on the counter.
4. Graded the math pre-tests that I know someone will ask about tomorrow. (When I have to go back to school.)
5. Made some chocolate chip cookies.
6. Drink more water.
7. Eaten breakfast.
8. Written out some report cards. (Does anyone know when we send these home?)
9. Vacuumed the upstairs.
10. Washed some sheets. (Leftover from visitors from Christmas)
11. Written out some lesson plans. (Apparently just having them in mind doesn't count.)
12. Figured out something more interesting for Thursday Thirteen.
13. Taken a nap.

Instead, I spent a total of three hours at the orthodontist with PrepGirl and BrownBear; PrepGirl got her braces off today!!!!! BrownBear had her initial consult. It just never ends. Had to get a new tire because the brand new one was no good. Had to drive carpool this afternoon because Thursdays are my day. Had to send the Wise Men closer to Bethlehem (it's not over until they see the baby Jesus!). Had to assure PrepGirl that her teeth are gorgeous. Had to take her to her grandparents to show them her teeth.

Need rest. Need dinner. Need dessert. Need a bath. Need more rest. Don't need a meaningless work day tomorrow.

Links to other Thursday Thirteens!1. (leave your link in comments, I’ll add you here!)
Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!

The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!


Tuesday, January 02, 2007

Do-Over

Today seems more like the first day of the new year. Some things are starting to get back to normal; LawyerBoy has to go to work (working at the dining room table doesn't count) and I woke up in the middle of the night thinking about school again. There are so many things I need to re-think and re-do and these next few days are my do-over. While I hate the traditional New Year, I am grateful that I get a chance to change a few of my classroom policies and procedures to get this band of pirates back on track.

The first change has already happened; two of my children have been removed from my room and now reside with other members of my team. I can't tell you how much I appreciate this because I feel like a new woman. It is going to give them a new opportunity and it is going to give me a new opportunity, too.

The first major change I am going to institute has to do with writing. I am going to require a writing notebook similar to the one that Aimee Buckner talks about in her book, Notebook Know-How. We haven't written enough, they hate it when they have to write and now I am going to make it happen everyday. They are supposed to bring composition books with them on Monday; I am going to the Dollar Store or wherever to grab a handful to make sure everyone has one when we start. They need a voice and a way to express it. But they have to do it by learning and following the rules of grammar and expression. This is so hard for most of them and it frustrates me to no end. But this leads me to number two:

Reading. These kids hate to read. But you can't write well if you don't read. So, I am instituting daily silent reading, daily oral reading and reader's workshop. I don't know how I am going to fit it all in, especially with Science, Social Studies, Spelling, Math, Health and standardized testing breathing down our necks, but I really believe the two most important things these kids need to be able to do is read and write.

So, fellow educators, any ideas? Any comments? Or am I the only one in this leaky boat?

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