Never Ending Evaluations

What has been on my mind 

for the past 7 days non-stop?
The fact that you haven't
had a nice cold Coke
for waaaay too long?
 --Ha!  
(I REALLY could have used one last week...
I had to settle with a couple of Sprites.
Not the same thing......
not the same thing at all!)

Wait for it.....
...wating.

My.....

...yes?

EVALUATION!
What?  Girrrrl, you've
been doing this for how long?
I'm sure you breezed through it!
You're right....
I just get all hyped up.....
and exhaust myself 
and everyone who lives with me while I'm at it!
I'm like an excited, little hamster running like crazy 
on my little hamster wheel!
I gotta do this.....Now I have to do that.....
Oh, I forgot about this......
Run, run, run....Go, go, go.....
Oh, wait....I'm still in my cage....
I haven't really "gone" anywhere....Rats!

 

I don't know about you,
but in my district ALL teachers 
are now required to have 
2 formal evaluations 
every year.

Do you know that both of the words 

"EVIL"  and "ELATION" 

can be found in the word 
"EVALUATION"? 

Just sayin'.


Hmmmmmmmmm....
"Evil Elation Lessons"
I think that's what
I'm going to call it
now whenever
I refer to my biannual
dreaded lessons.

Side Note:  
OK....I just googled it...
and NO ONE has coined this term.
Hah!  

It's officially MINE!
Bwa-Ha-Ha-Ha-Ha!
(I think I'm the only one quirky 
enough to even THINK about it!
I'm not saying this like it's necessarily a GOOD thing!)

Evil for all of the time

 and money I put into it...
not to mention the stress and sleepless nights 
of constant planning/thinking,
rethinking/replanning, etc.


Again, you've been doing
this long enough not to sweat it!
You could have pulled it off
with your eyes closed!
(But then, I wouldn't have been able 
to see my magic mirror....Duh!)

Elation for the total relief

once it's over,

and knowing that

I did MY best....

no matter the outcome.
Exactly!

YES!  

One more Evil Elation Lesson down! 
A gazillion more to go!
Maybe  not a gazillion....
there's a few less than that 
for me to reach 
retirement 
or 
early death.
A gazillion?
You're gonna give me 
an early death thinking about that!
I know...right?

Yup, that's me up there.
Awesome, yet dead.
Innovative, yet interred.
Creative, yet cremated.
Let's have a moment of silence.

I've informed King Common Sense that when I die 
I want to be placed on a beautifully made raft
....ooh, Angela....maybe your Bobby could help with that....
he does have some mad woodworking skills, right?
He's certainly capable....but I'm sure he'd be
freaked out to make that!
Float me out to sea, 
and light me up like a Viking Princess, 
flaming arrow and everything....
Ok, now you're just freaking me out!
(It is the week of Halloween!)

Just make sure I'm REALLY dead first.
AW SNAP!  Hate when that happens!
King Common Sense just grunts
whenever I bring it up.
I've tried discussing this with him
on SEVERAL occasions...
it just never seems to stick.
The most I get out of him is: 
"You're kidding right?"
(Uh....Nooooooooo...
and while you're at it ...
make sure that there are flowers 
all around me with my hair flowing, 
and a long, billowy dress would be nice.) 
Thanks, now I have a picture
in my head for tonight's nightmare.
(I could order up a raft for two....
after all, you DID say that just thinking about 
all of the gazillion of lesssons 
would give YOU an early death...
let me talk to my husband about that!)

 
Whenever I bring up my funeral plans,
King Common Sense 
just gives me THE LOOK 
(the look of all things rational and logical),
and then he goes back 
to whatever practical thing
he's tackling at the moment.  

Focus, Regina, Focus!
SQUIRREL!
Back to my Evil Elation Lesson...

I am very blessed to have two 

AWESOME 

ladies that run my school. 

(Seriously....I'm not just saying that 

because they might read my post!)

So my bosses are not 
what (who) makes me so tired

just thinking about it.

It's just that when I create my 

Evil Elation Lessons....

I want them to be 

PURRRRRRRRFECT.  

Right?


In my mind I'm envisioning 
a pleasantly plump Cat Woman 
rubbing her hands together making her 
PURRRRRRFECTLY
PURRRRRRRRFECT
 Plans....
 Meeeeeeeoooooow!

Oh dear friend...perfect is impossible.
We work with short people remember?
At any given moment,
a..n..y..t..h..i..n..g
could happen.
That's when you sink or swim sista!
(I'm swimming....I'm swimming....
Getting Tired.....But I'm swimming...
...Where's my lifeguard?...I'm still swimming!)

So...this morning I woke up
(yes, I do sleep on occasion)

and I was thinking about my lesson (of course).

It just  occurred to me

that maybe some of you

may want me to share my 
Evil Elation Lesson with you.

Last year, I had made a double bubble

for Goldilocks And The Three Bears

vs. The Three Little Pigs.
I absolutely LOVE your double bubble maps!
Thank you!  Two of my teaching compadres 
(actually I should say "comadres" if I'm being accurate) 
suggested I start making them...Thank you ladies!

(click above for a link)
I loved using this last year,
and it worked great for 
a regular, daily lesson.

This year I have a student teacher
Lucky her!
(for about a month)
who has never taught
in front of a class before.
My poor student teacher is stuck with me--
I don't call myself 

Queen Chaos without good reason!

I knew that I had to sign
up for my own Evil Elation Lesson
within the next few months,
so I offered to do it within a week's time
so that she could see a lesson
and replicate it for her own lesson
(which is booked about 2 1/2 weeks later).
I just happened to be teaching
folk tales when I met her and offered
to do this for her.
She can only come in the afternoons, 
so she is only with my last 2 classes.
That's right.  You don't have one class.
You teach reading to 
3 CLASSES
of  Kindergarten kids at your school.
No pressure!

Because of her scheduling...
this is the first year that I have EVER
 offered to give my Evil Elation Lesson 
during the afternoon.  
For those of you who 
don't teach Kindergarten....
This is HUGE!
Any seasoned K teacher will tell you:
"Get it done in the mornings, 
or prepare yourself!
You never know what can happen 
with a tired 5 year old!"
Not to mention with the tired teacher
that's been large and in charge of all
of those short people all day!
We read, acted out, retold, 
and filled out 
character/setting/problem/solution 
story organizers BEFORE
the official
Evil Elation Lesson.

The Three Little Pigs Story Maps
Goldilocks And The Three Bears Story Maps  

I made all of the visor hats out of foam. 
About five years ago, we had a Kindergarten play 
where our students needed costumes.
I found out I had a strange talent of eyeballing 
and whipping out 
foam visor hats for 
different storybook characters.  
Odd....who knew?
Well that's just too stinkin' clever!

Writing this post, I just realized why my right arm 
may have been having twinges of tendonitis 
a few years ago....
outfitting 5 classroom characters
took a whole lot of cutting.
Now WHY couldn't I remember that 
when the orthopedic surgeon was asking me 
what I had been doing with my poor, right hand/arm?
I just looked at him, and said, 
"I teach Kindergarten." 
That just about wraps it all up in a nutshell.
Seriously!  We need to get hazard pay.
Just saying...


*AttaGirl Funnies by Angela Furgal AKA Fairy Funtastic*
If you see this pinned somewhere else...know that you saw it here first!


I guess my mind is going downhill with the rest of me!
 Thank goodness it just took some shots 
and some will power for the twinges to go away (kind of).
I have to stop talking about this, 
or my arm is going to start bothering me again.

We also made some
really simple pigs and bears
that I hung from my lights
(back to back)
so that when they "spun"
you could see
pigs and bears
everywhere.

Click Above If You Want To See This On TPT.

I made these, because I wanted my students 
to have a fun character "craftivity", 
but I didn't want it overly complicated.  
Plus, I have 54 students....
so I wanted something that 
didn't take my entire paper supply.
54 short people?!
Again, no pressure.

We labeled Goldilocks 
and The Big Bad Wolf.

 This just cracks me up....
you know that I AM the queen 
of graphic organizers...
Yes you are my friend!
I mean come on, 
I have over 700 products on TPT...
..that completely blows my mind!
crazy, but true.  How I got that many...
 I have no clue...it just kind of happened.
That doesn't just happen...you are talented and super busy!
Anyhooo......look very closely at the bottom middle organizer.
I just couldn't get everything just right
(as I had sooooooo carefully planned---imagine that!)
...there's just not enough hours in the day (or night)!
I ended up having to hand draw
Uh, I can draw a stick person.  Impressed much?
an organizer (spur of the moment) 
for an earlier lesson and there it is,
hanging with pride on my bulletin board.
I thought about redoing it (to make it look pretty), 
but then I thought:
Nope....This is Real World Teaching!
Plus, I thought it would put a smile 
on a new teacher's face 
to see that we ALL have those days 
when we just have to wing it!

You know you're a teacher, 
when you have days that you have to whip something up 
with a snap of your fingers!

Click HERE If You Want To See Wolf Labels On TPT.
Click HERE If You Want To See Goldilocks Labels On TPT. 
I actually went to Office Depot
and spent around $100.00 (cha-ching!)
OUCH!  That's just painful to read.
on my two label posters, 
(Goldilocks Labels and The Big Bad Wolf Labels)
my Folktales poster, 

Click Above If You Want To See A Preview On TPT.
and my double bubble lesson 
(the double bubble frame + 
the answer bubbles enlarged
 to the same size).

It was a whole lot of money,
but everything turned out
BEE-YOU-TEE-FULL!

FYI....I STILL haven't gotten
the posters enlarged that I wanted
for the beginning of the year....
but at least I was able to do it for
this lesson. 
Yay!
Oh, the things we do 
(and the money we spend) 
for Evil Elation Lessons!

This is a poster I made several years ago.

I can't remember where the picture came from....

but Karate Princess helped me color it....
I long for the days when my children WILLINGLY
helped me with my Classroom To Do List.
At 8 and 11, my kids are so done
with working in my room.
I think it's fair to say they do NOT think
teaching is all that glamorous. 
If you happen to have a willing helper at home...
enjoy it while it lasts!  
At some point, 
they're going to say 
NEVER AGAIN!

 
Here's another....

this one I had gotten a long time ago on the internet.

I don't know who the original author or artist is, but it's not me!

For the actual day of the lesson,
we read through:

3 Bears & 3 Little Pigs 

Easy Reader With Moving Pictures

 

Click Above If You Want To See A Preview On TPT.

My kids like the part when 
the objects/characters "move".
It has all of the same sentences 
that are on the double bubble,
so that my students can practice 
reading through the words 
before sorting the circles.
Very cool!

I took my simple double bubble,
and I added pictures, words, and sentences 
so that I was differentiating 
for my different leveled students.

My kids loved the letter "b" bears and the letter "p" pigs 

that I made to go with my moving reader.

I had fun putting the little, animal faces on the alphabet letters.

The silly things that make me smile!

Life is in the little things. 

 I was so excited to have a lowercase "b" and  "p"

for the kids so that they could also 

practice the trickier letter recognition.

(These can be found at the end of the moving reader.)

I made enough cards so that every student 

had a "b" bear and a "p" pig card.  Every time

we read a sentence, they had to decide which folktale

 it referred to and hold up the corresponding card.  

If the sentence referred to both stories,

 they held up a card in each hand.

Assessing on the fly.

Again, you had nothing to worry about my friend.

 Click on the picture above if you're interested.

All Encompassing Differentiated Sorting Activity: 
Some students can sort by just looking at the pictures, 
some can sort by reading the single words
(with the beginning sounds underlined),
and some can sort the circles 
by reading the sentences.

I had 4 centers for my students.
My time with my classes is very tight.
(Remember, this is the first year 
that I am the Reading Teacher for 
3 Kindergarten Classes).
I only had 1 hour for this class to be in my room, 
so I decided to only do 2 centers, 
and have a follow up the next day to finish.
If I was back to having a regular Kindergarten class 
(like I've had for the past 7 years), 
I could have gotten all 4 centers completed 
during my literacy block. 

The first center was set up for my students 
to do their own double bubble activity.  
I initially was going to have my students
cut the circles out themselves 
(we can always use cutting practice). 
True that! 
When I tried it with the first group of my first class, 
I realized that it was taking my kids 
too long to cut the circles for the short amount of time 
that we had for the centers.  
So, I quickly pre-cut the circles
...because you have nothing
but time on your hands...NOT!
 and placed them in plastic bags 
(1 bag with 8 circles per student).

I put up folders so that I could  accurately tell 
who understood the concept 
of comparing/contrasting 
and using a double bubble.
We call those our "offices."
They love to be so official.
--Ooh, I LIKE that! Great idea!

For the second center, 
I used a trick that I've seen on Pinterest.
(where all good things come from)
I put 2 hula hoops together to make 
a Venn Diagram.
(I tied them with yarn 
so that they wouldn't come apart easily.)

It took me one cycle of my centers to realize 
that I needed to add tape.
DUH!
I must have missed that part on Pinterest....
or maybe they weren't dealing with 5 year olds...
I'm not sure which, 
but the hoops
were sliding all over the place 
even with being tied with yarn.
It was just a massive Venn Diagram being
pulled and stretched by my Kindergarteners.
(Instead of 2 circle hoops being moved everywhere 
which is what I envisioned and was trying to avoid.) 
Well.... 
EACH of my students
regardless of gender, race, or creed,
age, financial status
thought that it should be placed 
DIRECTLY 
in front of 
HIM or HER 
instead of in the middle 
of the entire group. 
OF COURSE!  
After all the world does
revolve around them. 
To avoid the possibility of 
Kinder Wars erupting,
within seconds... 
I had to add the tape,
(clear packing tape is a classroom staple)
Go through rolls and rolls of it.
pull all of the table chairs to 
one side of the table, 
and tell tell them to take turns pulling a 
sorting card from a basket.

3 Bears & 3 Little Pigs: Picture Sorting Cards

Luckily, I was able to tweak
the venn diagram center
 in my morning session 
(Guinea pigs!)
so that during my actual Evil Elation Lesson 
(later that day),
this center ran much smoother.
Thank goodness I had the chance 
to reevaluate my procedures during my morning class 
and fix it for my afternoon lesson.
(I think that was good Karma for 
being willing to do it in the
afternoon to begin with...Woot-Woot!)

By the way, I AM sharing my trade secrets with you!
I've always thought that the best teachers 
are the ones who share!
Absolutely!  Teaching is often
beg, steal, or borrow to get what you need.
Hopefully, you'll find something useful in this post!
Uh, ya think?!

Here is the rubric I used.....
OMG!  Again, I love how you take
those higher level tools 
and apply them to Kindergarten.
You are all that and a bag of chips!
which actually includes the double bubble center 
as well as the venn diagram/hula hoop center.
(They have to show that they can help a friend to get a "4"
which they have a chance to do at the hula hoop center).

I decided that since I have such a short time 
with my 3 separate classes....
my vice principal would see center work 
during my evaluation that covered alphabet letters
and sight words as well as the two centers focusing 
on comparing and contrasting. 
I have limited time, and every minute counts!
Sad but true...
We have to know our letters and sight words
or guess what....we won't be reading! YIKES!
That's just not an option on my watch!
Again, no pressure!
Sooooooo.......for the third center,
I had both alphabet letter mats 

Click Above To See on TPT.
and sight word mats (with a wolf theme)
Thank you makinglearningfun.com!  
I had wanted to make my own NEW sightword mats, 
but I ran out of time.  
I was able to use old mats that I had made 
several years ago.  I found this blank, 
dotted picture that I had handwritten 
sight words in around 8 years ago.
I believe it was made for paint stampers 
(the bingo type markers), 
but I just added sight words to it.

Students were able to choose cards,
and cover the alphabet letter (or sight word) 
with a counter.  This was my Student Teacher's center,
and she used either the alphabet mat or the sight word mat 
depending on the students' reading abilities in each group 
(differentiation is key).
For sure! 
  I LOVE the counters.  
They are see through so that you can still read the 
words or letters even after they are covered.  
I'm pretty sure that I ordered them from 
lakeshorelearning.com.....of course!
I have flashbacks to my
"tiddly wink" days.
My last center was loosely
based from a S.T.E.M. activity I made last year called
The Three Little Pigs Stem Activity: 

Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math
Again, you have a gift for simplifying
higher level skills into Kindergarten friendly activities.
That's a gift my friend!
I had to rework it
to better fit my new role
of focusing on being the 
reading teacher for 3 classes.

I made a paper for my students 
to draw and design a house 
made out of either alphabet letters 
and sight word paper cards 
or alphabet letters and sight word blocks 
that I have in my classroom.

Building Letter & Sight Word Houses 
For The Three Bears and The Three Little Pigs
  In my pre-observation meeting 
with my vice principal, 
I asked her to play 
the part of The Big, Bad Wolf
and use a blow dryer 
to blow the houses down.
Now that's pretty cool that
she rolled with that!  
I asked her permission to post her picture 
on our blog, and she said, "Absolutely!" 
Where's the line for autographs?
(See why I love my bosses?)

The kids had so much fun 
making their alphabet/sight word houses, 
and most of them really put thought into how to protect 
their paper characters that they were 
required to have in their structures.
One of my favorite parts 
of this lesson was when 
one of my little girls 
(with big, huge eyes) said, 
"Mrs. 'Chaos', is there any way 
that I can change my 
building materials to blocks?  
I had NO IDEA that a blow dryer 
would do that to paper!" 
(This was after she saw a friend's paper house 
get blown straight across the classroom.) 

I also noticed that the houses started getting tighter looking 
with rooftops becoming essentials 
as the children observed storybook characters 
getting blown away by the wind.

My kids LOVED having their vice principal 
try to take down their houses!
She's such a good sport...
I had told her about the blow dryer 
in our pre-observation meeting, 
but I completely left out the part 
about wearing the wolf hat.  
I just left it by the blow dryer as a prop.
She put the wolf hat right on, 
and started blowing down houses left and right....
She's a definite keeper! 

To wrap it all up, my students were given 
a reward of 2 hand stamps 
when we finished--a bear and a pig (of course)....
one for each hand. 
I went to Michael's and I bought
a bunch of stamps for the year
since having a reward 
is part of our evaluation protocol. 
(That was another $100.00...CRAZY!!!)

Can I just tell you....if you have EVER 
bought ANYTHING from my store on TPT.......
THANK YOU!
Good point!  Most folks may think
that TPT income goes to hoity toity vacations.
Nope, so much of it goes
right back into the classroom.
Dare I say our students are spoiled?

YOU
are the reason
that I'm able to pay for 
stamps at Michael's 
and enlarging posters at 
Office Depot for this lesson.
ALL of my 
Purrrrrrrrrrfectly 
Purrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrfect Plans 
would have gone awry without you!
My inner Cat Woman says that:
"You're The Cat's MEOW!"

Right now, 
one of the buzz words 
in education is 
for teachers to be
"Innovative".
Being an 
Innovative Teacher 
is the highest ranking
a teacher can receive 
in my area.
We all try our best, 
but it's not always easy or 
even seemingly possible to achieve.
Being innovative to me is the ability 
of making something out of nothing.
Maybe I'm right, 
or maybe I'm wrong....
that's just my take on it.
I think that's a fair definition.

Why is being 
innovative so important?
Watch the following video....

 I wonder what these kids would say, 
if THEY were asked:
"Does having an innovative teacher 
make a difference?"  

Hmmmmmmmm......

I have actually been to places in 
Mexico and El Salvador 
that remind me of this area.

I remember looking out at the tarmac 
after flying back to the U.S. from El Salvador once,
and thinking that if the plane had the stairs 
leading directly to the ground, 
I would have gladly bent down 
and kiss the ground before heading 
to go inside the airport.  

The word "humbling" 
doesn't even begin to cover it.
I have to remind myself 
of all of the blessings I do have
when I just can't afford 
what I would like to be able to afford.
I am not kidding or exaggerating 
when I say that my 
bilingual education students
 in Texas only had rocks and sticks 
to play with at home...
SERIOUSLY. 

I always SENT home 
school supplies 
with my students 
at the beginning of the school year 
so that they could do homework at home 
(pencils, paper, scissors, glue, etc.).  
I had to send home 2 pairs of scissors 
for my students, because I found out 
that their moms were using the scissors 
to cut meat for their dinners.  
I didn't want my kids to use the 
"meat" cutting scissors for their projects.
We're talking drastic poverty.
The funny thing is....
they considered themselves lucky.

They were in America.
Wow.....humbling is right.
Dare I say, WE are spoiled!

God Bless The USA.

...and...

God bless ALL the teachers 
of the WORLD 
who work tirelessly for their kiddos!

No matter what country you claim, 
or what language you speak....
I know that teachers are out there 
doing their best for their students!

  OUR STUDENTS are the future....
and hopefully all of 
OUR 
sleepless nights
of endless planning
will  help to make 
that future bright!

Yo.....It's Abiyoyo!

Ma Chérie has shared 

many a fabulous book

with me over the years, 

and now I am sharing 

one of her favorites with you!

What goes around, comes around!
You reap what you sow sista!

I just LOVE reading

Abiyoyo by Pete Seeger.
I've never read that book.
Tell me more.
When I first heard the title,
I thought:
"A bit of yo-yo? What???"

 

Don't let the title throw you
....seriously...
it's FABULOUS!

youtube.com Abiyoyo Book Trailer uploaded by ram97msu

It's based on a South African Lullaby.

youtube.com storybook video uploaded by Samuel Williams

(The BEST reading of this story 
is by James Earl Jones....
if you can find the recording, 
you are lucky indeed!)

This story goes great 

with a Fairytale Unit

or it works well in October

around Halloween...

I especially like that

it's setting is in Africa.
It has great illustrations,
and I like that the characters 
are all African....
great for my kiddos to see!

Here is Ma Chérie's teaching tip

that I have used for years....

and my students LOVE!

Begin reading the story, Abiyoyo.

Stop right after the section that

describes him:

He had long fingernails 

'cause he never cut 'em.  

He had slobbery teeth 

'cause he didn't brush 'em, 

stinking feet 'cause he didn't wash 'em, 

matted hair 'cause he didn't comb it.
GROSS!
I'm sure the kids LOVE this!

Is this about a teenage boy?
Eww....that's what I have to
look forward to?
Good times...

Nope....just a giant in Africa. 

Don't let your students see ANY

pictures of him up to that point.

(Use a paper to cover up the pictures

of him while you are reading.)

Click on the picture above to download.

Pass out the drawing paper,

(I made this with Ma Chérie's idea in mind)

and have your students draw

 Abiyoyo.  They love sharing

their drawings, and they can't wait

to see how the illustrator drew him

once you read the story in it's entirety. 
What a fun idea!

I made a double bubble
(of course you did) 

comparing and contrasting sheet

with Abiyoyo vs. The Giant in 

Jack And The Beanstalk

that I would also like to share with

you....just click on my

Abiyoyo pic.

I thought these characters 

would make

a fun pair! 

Click on the picture above to download double bubble.

There's nothing like working 

with a teacher who is willing 

to share her great ideas!  

I hope that everyone has a

Ma Chérie!
She sounds awesome!

We all need a little bit

of magic! 
That we do my friend.

Happy Reading!
Can't wait to do this
next week.  
Thanks for sharing!

Attitude of Gratitude

Do you have a pet peeve?

(WHOA!  Don't all come at me at once!)

Oh, wait.
You said: "peeve"
not "pea"....
my bad!
Regina!  You're a dork!
Seriously?  
I spend my time making clip art 
for your posts, and that's what I get?
No, really....I AM a dork.  
Watch out if you ever meet me....
I am (dare I say) brilliant, yet clueless.
Living in Regina World 
is one of King Common Sense's
joking (or is he?) phrases for me.

 
--Back To Your Post.....Please continue about Pet PEEVES.
I do have a pet peeve.

It may be ridiculously simple to most folks,

but it's a big fat hairy deal to me.

I really, really, really, 

REALLY, 

don't like it when kids forget to say

"Thank you." 

2 words.

2 syllables.

8 letters.

Quick.

Easy.

Not a big deal.

Not too much to ask right?

OK....I think I'm back on track with your theme, sista friend!

But NOT saying them

often is a big deal...

....at least to me.

It bothers me when kids (mine or others)

just expect anything and everything

handed to them...because they want it.

I'm not talking big fancy smanshy toys.

Even the little things in life.

(After all, life is in the little things.)

Kids who go around 'expecting' stuff scare me.

If you think the world 

is here to cater

to your every need,

I really don't want to be around when that

fantasy flies right into the face of reality.

...like seriously.

That'll be one big temper tantrum!

Whatever happened to asking nicely for it?

Then responding with a simple "Thank you."

Just because you want or need it,

doesn't mean that I am obligated to give it to you.

Don't get me wrong,

yes it is my job to clothe and feed my short people.

But if I get up from the kitchen table

to pour Ben and Abby some more milk,

I would appreciate a simple "Thank you."

Why?  Because to say so means

that they appreciate this small act.

To not say so means

they expect me to give them 

whatever they want,

whenever they want it.

If I buy either of them something from

the store, I would appreciate a

"Thanks Mom." as we're leaving the check out.

Why?  Because to say so means

they appreciate the fact that I took

the time to shop for them and spend money on them.

To not say so means

they expect it without any regard for being thankful for it.

If you're not thankful for it,

how can you ever appreciate anything you have?

One day, many years ago, my kiddos 
(Karate Ballerina, Hollywood, and Golden Boy) 
were being very demanding 
and not very nice about it.  
I remember I was driving over a railroad track 
when this just slipped out of my mouth :

"Hey, I'm your mother, 
and it's my job to make sure 
that you have love, shelter and food....
even if it's just a cardboard box 
that you get to crawl into every night
and food that I've had to scrounge 
and pull out of a dumpster."  

The car became deathly silent.

Where these words came from, I have no idea.
I think I had been watching too many movies
about dire straits...
but there is some truth to it.
My suburban children 
who have ALWAYS
 lived in a nice house with nice cars, 
being loved and well cared for 
since the day they were born,
having all of their needs 
and many of their wants met....
were in complete shock
riding along in our SUV that day.
Their mother had gone over the edge....
and they didn't really know
 if she was serious or not.

I think they're still trying to 
figure that one out 
10 years later,
...that's OK, keep them guessing
and thankful for all they have!...
because let me tell you....
my kids KNOW how to say 
"Thanks, Mom."
....and I don't think 
they have ever quite looked 
at another cardboard box 
quite the same way.

James Dobson once said that

"Values are often caught, not taught."

I couldn't agree more.

We can't just talk the talk with our kids.

We have to walk the walk.

(BTW-Kids see right through that 

blah, blah, blah.

However, they look directly at your actions

which speak volumes about what you really believe in.

Just saying...)

What does this look like at school? 

Well...

When the office calls down with

a message about how a student

 is to go home that day,

I say "thank you."
-Gracias-

If a colleague pops in my room

to give me something,

I say "thank you."
-Merci-

When a student hands me a drawing

they made for me last night,

I say "thank you."
-Grazie-

If a parent takes time out of 

their schedule to volunteer in our classroom,

we tell them "thank you."
-Dank U-

When a student brings cupcakes

in for their birthday, 
right before we dive into the frosting,

we say "thank you."

спасибо

-Spasibo-

When we're in line for lunch,

I remind the kids that the 

cafeteria ladies have been here

all morning preparing lunch for them.

So we say "thank you."

-Ta-

About 100 years ago when 

I first started teaching.

(OK, so it wasn't 100 years ago

but it often feels like it.)

I was in another district with

some very aggressive behaviors.

One of my favorite memories

from that time had nothing

to do with how well they wrote or 

what reading level they rose to.

That memory was the day

the lunch lady came down to my room

after lunch was served.

She told me that every single child

in my class said "thank you" 

as they were handed their tray of food.

I'm not gonna lie.  I was choked up.

(Yes, I'm a sap!)

No they weren't an easy bunch to reach.

Yes I often dreaded going to work.

No they didn't always rise to my expectations

both socially and academically.

Yes I questionned my effectiveness as

their teacher and my decision

to even become a teacher.

(not lying)

But on this day,

they ALL used their manners

and the lunch lady had appreciated it.

Maybe they had been paying attention 
and learning something.

I realize that we have bigger fish to fry

than worrying about simple manners.

Some will say, 

"That's not our job, it's the parents'."

Well I see your point....BUT....you're often

spending more waking moments with them

than their parents.  

(Yes, that's a scary thought both

from the perspective of Mom and of teacher.)

With that in mind, 

wouldn't you prefer

that they rise to your expectations

in regards to thoughtful behavior?
Absolutely!

Personally, I would prefer to hang out

with kids that are appreciative for what 

you've planned and prepared

for them each day.

If I've modeled that attitude of gratitude day in and day out,

they're much more likely to behave the same way.

Soooo.....

with that in mind, I have a classroom tip

to share with you.

At the beginning of the year, I take a class

pic of my students holding letters that spell out

"Thank you."

I make around 20 copies of this one picture.

Whenever we go on a field trip,

have a visitor to our classroom,

enjoy a fun assembly,

receive a special gift,

need to thank room parents for a fun party,

or for any other reason, 

I have a personalized card for the occasion.
You are just all that, and a bag of chips!
He he, I giggle when you talk like me! 

Here's this year's pic:

(Again, I don't have a bunch of Wal-Mart employees

as students.  Out of respect for my students, 

and for keeping my job, 

I've covered their faces with smiles.)

Hope you find this to be a practical

way to show your students' gratitude

throughout the year.
Very clever!
I've done this before at the END of the year, 
but I never thought of doing it at the 
beginning of the year to have on hand!  
THAT'S 20 years of experience talking!
Woot-Woot!
Have I ever told you:
"Thank you for being my blogging buddy?"
Back at ya my sista from the South!

...oh, and by the way,

thank you for reading to the end of this post.
Hah! 

Oops...sorry...that just slipped.
You are very welcome,
and thank you for writing! 

Because of you...

"Because of you"

are three little words

that can carry a lot of weight.

"Because of you,

I know what love is."

"Because of you, 

my dreams have come true."

"Because of you, 
I smile a lot."

"Because of you,

I am who I am."
Ooh....
I think I'm going to like this post!

Sometimes those
three little words
are followed by harsh truths.

"Because of you
and your drunk driving,
he's gone."

"Because of you,
I no longer trust people."

"Because of you,
I feel alone."

"Because of you,
I no longer want to live here."
YIKES!
I know right?!

In the world of education,

those three little words are

HUGE.

"Because of you, 

I know how to read."

"Because of you,

I can write a story."

"Because of you,

I know my math facts."

"Because of you,
I love school."

You're going to make me cry...
my eyes are starting to sting.
Maybe I'm overly tired from staying 
in my classroom until 10pm tonight.....
Nope, it's your post. 

I got a letter in my

mailbox a couple

weeks ago with those

three little words.

It was from a former student

who is now in her senior year of high school.

Her letter was full of

"remember this"

and
"remember that"

from when she was in my room.

Then right at the bottom

of the letter...

...there it was...

"Because of you, 

I want to be a teacher."

(insert lump in throat)

The serious side of me was

beyond humbled.

To be a good memory for 

a student is one thing.

To be one of the reasons they

want to be a teacher is

on a whole other level.

'Course the not-so-serious side of me,

wants to introduce her to Sallie Mae

and macaroni and cheese

since she'll be sending a lot of
money in both directions.
Teaching is so
financially lucrative.
NOT!

But seriously folks.

Have any of you seen the movie,

Mr. Holland's Opus?

If you haven't,

rent it!
(and don't read the following)

If you have, 

think of that last scene.

Mr. Holland walks through the 

auditorium up to the stage.

As he does so, he's greeted by 

former students throughout his

long career of teaching.

Some he has now,

others he's had 'ages' ago.

With just a look, each person

conveys just how much Mr. Holland's life

impacted their own.

He doesn't view himself 

or his career in that light.

To say he was humbled,

is an understatement.

That's a GREAT scene!

Personally....

...and I know this is a stretch...

I hope for every teacher out there

heaven is that way for just a little while.

I mean c'mon, we have eternity right?!

To see who we have positively

impacted would be a priceless gift.
Are you listening to that God?
Just a thought...
AMEN!

I'll be honest with you.

There are times when

I get caught up in the demands of the job.

There are curriculum maps to follow,
Common Core goals to meet,
lesson plans to write,
classrooms to arrange,

papers to copy,

assessments to grade,

grades to record,

report cards to complete,

parent calls to make,
school board meetings to attend,

websites to update,

conferences to schedule,

meetings to attend,
art projects to prep,
lunch money to count,
bulletin boards to hang,
recess duties to manage,
workshops to attend,
teachers to mentor,
trainings to follow...
...oh yah, 
and students to teach.
I think you just about covered it!
  All of this squeezed into
Monday through Friday, 
8-3:30.
YAH RIGHT?!
If you can do all of that
without working evenings and weekends,
email me your secret.
I will pay you for it! 
Sign me up!  
Do you take payment plans?

My point is that I am

admitting that when I feel

like I am drowning with 

this to-do list, 

I often forget that these

short people are making memories with me...

...good and bad.
Day in, day out.

Some people tease me because I 

call Ben and Abby, my short people.
(At 11, Ben is now 5'8 and eye level with me.
Abby's 8 but I'm sure it's just a matter of time
before I'm the shortest person in my house.)
(I'm 5' 1 1/2  inches...but I claim 5'2.  
One morning after being married for 5 YEARS, 
my husband gave me a hug, and with
a great look of surprise on his face...announced, 
"You are short!  I never realized how short you are!"
Love can hide all sorts of shortcomings!

I also refer to my job as working

with short people.

BTW-Before anybody wants to get a petition

started on behalf of 
"vertically challenged" people everywhere.  
CHILL OUT!
I'm not discriminating.  Read on...
Karate Ballerina (my 18 year old) 
jokingly says that the only way people can tell 
she's Hispanic is by looking at her height. 
True....she's my blond haired/blue eyed baby.
When she went to New York this past 
summer for dance, she came home 
and said how she couldn't believe 
how big everything was, 
and that she felt so dinky everywhere she went.
(She's around 5'3 and weighs around 100 lbs. 
while easily eating more than both of her brothers).
 I thought she was talking about the buildings 
(I used to fly out of that area), but no....
even though the buildings were big, 
they weren't the only thing that made her feel dinky.
It was the people.  My daughter couldn't believe
the height of the people in New York.
With me as her mother, 
she never had a chance at 
super model genes, poor thing!
(She has the looks, but not the height!)
Of course, some men do like shorter ladies, 
so all is not lost....as her 6'2 boyfriend can attest to!
Not that she NEEDS a boyfriend or a man.
Don't worry, I raised my child reading The Paper Bag Princess. 

The reason that I refer to my children

and my students as short people is simple.

They are people.  

Just not yet tall enough 

to be eye to eye with us.

But they are heart to heart with us.

Their feelings get hurt when treated poorly.

They puff out with pride at a job well done.

They understand those good feelings

when the 'light comes on'.

They also feel insignificant when

they don't get it.
They know and appreciate
when you're in a good mood.
They know and cringe 
when you're in a bad mood.

They appreciate your time.

They get hurt when you seem not to notice them.
They can tell if you care.

They laugh.

They cry.

Ma Chérie always reminds me...
"They may not always remember 
what you teach them,
But they will always remember 
the way you made them feel."

Love that quote!

So when you get back
to your crew of short people,
remember this.

Because of you,
your class will have a ________ year.
  It's up to you what word you want
to insert here.

You are a good soul, Angela.
Keep us focused on what's most important!

Don't sweat the small stuff!
Thank you...
My heart needed that!