Week 2

Wow, what a week it was! This week was filled with a lot of up and downs.

I started my centers this week with the help of my Aunt Kris. I couldn't of done it without her. They are absolutely amazing and the kids are doing so well with them. I'm so glad I decided to put the time and effort into creating them.

We had a school-wide reading test to take this week. I was called at around 7:30 to pick up my tests from the multi-purpose room and the test needed to be given at 7:45. After I walked back to my room shocked that I received no training on how to give this test. I was pretty scared to give it to say the least. However, I came to a realization thats I may be on my own for much of this adventure and when all else fails "I'm new here" may actually come in handy for the next nine months.

I actually started laughing and having a good time with my students this week. It was such a nice feeling to be able to laugh with them. We were sitting on the floor and I was asking them questions and they were raising their hands, bouncing them around and making noises. I decided this was a perfect time to "make a funny" and lighten the mood in our classroom. I told them all to put their hands down and then I said I don't call on students while making this noise "oo ah ah" (like a monkey). They thought it was hilarious and we all enjoyed a good laugh with a lesson attached! Since then I haven't had any hand raising issues :)

Recently, my patience level for talking was at a minimum. On friday I asked my students to walk, in a single file line, hands by their sides without a peep from the bathroom to the classroom which may be a maximum of 50 yards. They started off beautifully but by the time they got half way into it the first half of the line decided to sprint to class. As I watched this, the frustration level grew and a beautiful idea came to my mind. So, I lined them up again in front of our classroom, reamed them for not following directions and made them walk all the way around the school in a "PERFECT" line. Let me tell you what, not a single child made a peep for an entire hour after that.

Well, I hope you enjoys my adventures from this week! Until next week remember... "kids will only live up to what you believe in them"- Lady Byrd Johnson