The First Test.....

As I type this I have a million and one things on my mind.  Tomorrow my kids will have their first substitute teacher.  The first real test of how far they've come in the first two weeks.  My days have become easier and I begin to feel like I'm close to being in the second grade groove.  I have such awesome kids and I know I'm going to learn so much from them-and hopefully they will learn a lot from me too!

So...are they ready for a sub? I'm not sure.  I worked laboriously over plans, making the day run as smoothly as possible for all involved.  I keep thinking over my plans and if I forgot anything and I'm sure tomorrow I'll be wondering all day how they are doing.  I gave them the pep talk to end all pep talks and I'll be hoping to see that note that every teacher wants to read...."You have such a nice class! I hope I get to sub in your class again!"  We'll see.....

We Are ROCKSTARS!

We did a lesson on wrinkled hearts and how to show kindness to others.

 

When thinking of a title for this blog post, I couldn't help but come up with We Are ROCKSTARS!  The kids have been working really hard to meet the expectations of bathroom, hallway, and lunchroom behavior.  They have been doing an amazing job and we have had a plethora of blue tickets come our way and golden tickets as well! We earned our 15th GOLDEN TICKET today!!  Brennen thinks that when we earn our 20 (yes, we strive big!) that we should get to eat lunch in the classroom. I think that sounds perfect, but we will discuss it at morning meeting tomorrow and decide as a team.  I am so impressed with how the kids are catching themselves when they forget to raise their hand or their voice gets a little too loud.  They are figuring it out!

 

And guess what? SO AM I!! The first week of second grade was really tough. I almost felt like a first year teacher, even though I'm a 17 year veteran.  It was good for me though, because it gave me a little glance as to how our first year teachers are feeling and many of my second graders as they enter a new school year.  I remind myself to be patient with myself and my students and that together we will figure it all out.  We took the STAR reading test today-the first of these computer based tests our second graders have ever taken.  What could have been a miserable experience was actually better than I thought it would be because the kids tried so hard to listen to directions and follow them. I was so proud of them.  Now we have to take that information and grow from it....TOGETHER!

 

I'm so glad I made this decision to try something new.  It's keeping me excited, it's keeping me motivated and I'm growing from the experience.  It's not easy, but nothing that is worth it is ever truly easy.

I made it a week....Almost!!

Well, I am one day away from making it through my first week of second grade.  It's funny.  People ask me, "So Missy, how's first grade?" My first response...."eye opening".  I have always admired the 4K and Kindergarten teachers of the world, because I know I could never do that job.  I love little kids! I love all kids, but I know I could never do what our Winskill 4K/K teachers do-first grade would probably be a stretch too. I can teach basketball skills to anyone...in fact, it's the littlest group of Little Arrows I enjoy the most.  But this is a different story.  I pretty much left my fourth graders last year as fifth graders and I walked into second graders who are really closer to first graders. 
What have I learned this week? What haven't I learned this week?  I have learned that we MUST leave the house before 7:30am so that I can get to school and breathe before my kids come walking through the door. I've learned that they don't get my humor....yet!!!  I have learned that there is the huge gap in abilities that are present in every learning situation.  I have learned that even though the content of second grade is easier and less detailed as fourth grade, the delivery of the content must be perfected before I teach it. I have learned that second graders (even the boys) love hugs!  I have learned that second graders are AWESOME!!  I have been trying to convince my kids that we are the best class in the school.  Little do my kids know that I tell that to every class.  But today, I think they are starting to really believe it!  They have done a tremendous job with our PBIS-today, all my boys were in the bathroom....ALL 10...and all I heard was water, paper towel rollers and the quiet sound of feet.  It was INCREDIBLE!  We made it 3 minutes and 57 seconds with our reading stamina...which for some may not seem like a great feat, but you weren't in our room the first two days---I was hoping we'd break a minute....so the moral of the story? NEVER underestimate your kids.  They will rise to the occasion as long as you expect them to and believe in them.  Once they know you believe in them, you got them!  I know tomorrow won't be flawless.  I know I will still have those frazzled moments...but I'm beginning to think I can really do this!  I got this.  And I'm jacked!

Whew! I have a lot to learn!

Well, I survived my first day of second grade!  I have decided that I have a lot to learn!  After teaching upper elementary for 16 of my 17 years, what you come accustomed to expecting on your first day becomes much different! Don't get my wrong...I had a WONDERFUL first day with these guys.  They are full of energy, enthusiasm and beautiful smiles.  They are full of questions and want answers...immediately :)
We started our PBIS training today and they did GREAT!  We earned 3 GOLDEN tickets today! That's unheard of.  They were pretty impressed and I threw another challenge at them for tomorrow.  I'm sure they will rise to the occasion. 
We had a super conversation that sparked from an activity we did together.  They squeezed a small tube of toothpaste onto a paper plate.  They were each given a toothpick with directions to get all the toothpaste back into the tube.  When asked why they thought we did it, the responses I had were this. "To show you how we work together"  "To have fun"  "To have teamwork".  They were all right to some extent, but the real reason we did it was to remind ourselves that it's easy for words to come out of our mouths, especially when we're upset or angry with someone, but it's not easy to fix-it's "messy", "sticky", "hard" to take back something negative so we always need to think about what we say before we say it. 
Today flew! And I'm guessing tomorrow will too!  But I'm excited to see them again tomorrow and will head home tonight and enjoy my boys, who had wonderful first days as well! 

The Night Before the First Day of School

It's the Night Before the First Day of School!  Much like the anticipated Night Before Christmas!  I'm pretty sure I won't sleep much, as it has been the case the last 17 years.  I wouldn't say it's from being nervous, although there is always a bit of anxiety in even the most veteran of teachers.  Will the kids like the room?  What will they be like? Will everything go as planned?  Did I plan enough? Did I plan too little?  Etc, etc, etc...but what I have always come to realize after that first day ends, is that the most important thing about the first day of school is the connection you make with your kids.  Your bulletin boards do not have to be perfect (as I had someone state to me at the gym this morning that he can't believe how much time teachers put into bulletin boards because he can't remember any of his bulletin boards his teachers put up at school), glitches are going to happen and yes, you have probably planned too much.  My excitement comes from the "newness" of a new year.  It's a clean slate, an opportunity to be better than you were last year.  An opportunity to learn from your students and from your colleagues.  An opportunity to take risks.  I cannot wait to grow with my second graders this year.  I'm not sure I have been more excited about a school as I am right at this moment.  Our school is full of enthusiasm and enthusiasm is contagious.  This will be the best year ever.