VAM Scores In Florida

I just had to share a simple request

from my Union President.

He wants to share his story about how our

VAM scoring system for Florida teachers

 doesn't make any sense.

 It's Florida's Value Added Model

that's calculated into our teacher evaluations
(a.k.a. our VAM scores).

Yes....I'm a Union Member.

Yes....I'm a Republican.

That makes me a Republican, Union Member.

I.Am.An.Oxymoron.

I never thought I'd be calling

myself a moron...

any type of a moron...

but there you have it.
For the record, you're not a moron.
Just saying...

We all realized that the VAM equation
for our evaluation system
didn't make any sense when we were shown

this gobblygook for our upcoming evaluations

several years ago:

What on Earth is this?!
This is a serious post?
Illinois has a great deal of issues...
(don't get me started)
...but we don't have the "joy" of this.
 We all looked at the formula and asked

our principal, vice principal, and reading coach

to please explain the meaning to us.

Two years ago, no one could
give us a definite answer.

There's your first sign.

Huh.

Ummmmmm.

O......K.......??????
So you just smiled and nodded?

Do you see why I'm a member of our union?

Since then, this is the best thing to an explanation

that I've been able to find.

 Uh, the word "assume" is in there 3 times.
Have they not heard about
the equation on that one?!
Here's an article about a New York

teacher facing the same problems:

 Good golly!  Are they serious?
I'm still confused.
Ditto!

And yes.  I realize that all 3 of these

equations are looking a little different.

I can't even find a single one mathematical equation

to solve my problem. That's how lost I am.

Remember....I'm the oxymoron...

so don't expect much from me.

The formula could have very well been thoroughly

explained, and maybe I wasn't there that day.....

or it went right over my head.

Very.Possible.

Here's my Union President, Luke Flynt,
sharing his story.  He's explaining
the fairness of the VAM scores

to our school board members:

 Well.

There you have it.

Finally!  This oxymoron has finally gotten it!

The VAM scores are simply meant

to keep teachers from being successful.
Absolutely ridiculous!
How on Earth can ANYBODY hear this 
and think this system is at all credible?!
I have never heard of such a thing.
The predicted score was higher
than the total possible?
Are you serious?!
Students who missed 1 or 2 are
marked against him?
WHAT?!
Look up outrage in the dictionary
and you'll see an 8x10 glossy picture
of this nonsense!
I.am.so.sorry.
I'm proud of him and happy
that you have him on your side!

Less Successful Teachers = Less Money To Be Paid

Check.

Understood.

Well then...

why didn't the State of Florida

just tell us that to begin with?

They could have held a big press conference,

and let everyone know from the beginning...

that the state is setting teachers up for failure.
Alright. Whew! Glad to get that out in the open.

That way the state can save money,

or have it to spend on something
they consider more worthwhile.
Seriously?!  At what point do
teachers catch a break?
No other profession has to deal with
such nonsense!
UGH!

----------

Side Note:

When I was texting the word "VAM"

the other day, my phone kept wanting

to send it as the word "VAMPIRE".

Is my phone trying to tell me something?

---------- 

We're teachers....we'll jump through hoops of fire to

get our kiddos to where they need to be

by the end of each school year.
Puh-reach sista!
There's no equation for that but
simple blood, sweat, and tears.
#keepingitreal

We just can't necessarily jump through a

hoop of fire that's the size of an itty-bitty finger:

-- excerpt from Madagascar III --

Now if that thing was a little wider....sure thing!

I'd even squeeze myself into a leotard for that!

It wouldn't be a pretty sight....but Queen Chaos

would be hurtling through the air! 
Oh my eyes, my eyes!
LOL!

What am I saying?

I'm already hurtling through the air.

Aiming high and
shooting for the stars....

I'm just getting 3rd degree burns

leaving irreparable scar tissue while I'm doing it.

What to do....What to do....

We can't strike in Florida. 

Hmmmmmm......

I guess it's just time

for this oxymoron to get back to work.

Little Johnny needs to learn to read.
That's called priorities.

Now where did I put my flame retardant suit?

Oh yeah....let me grab some garlic while I'm at it.
Now that's funny!

The Very Hungry Caterpillar

It is spring, and we have nine more weeks of school!
ALLELUJAH!!

We can do this....we can do this....we can do this!

We're in the home stretch!
The light at the end of the tunnel is on and facing us!
At the end of the year, I just love to read: 
The Very Hungry Stressed Out Teacher
Uuuuuuuhhhh...I mean
The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle.

I'll share a little secret...

I can't stop putting food in my mouth.

Stressed much?
Puh-reach!

Ummm..vmawfm....me????
LOL
Ok, that was funny!

Of course not!

-as I brush crumbs off my my chest- 
You mean you're NOT supposed to have crumbs on your chest?

It's all good!

Let me just take a bite of a peanut butter cup.

Soooo not good for me....

but sooooo very necessary at the same time.

Oreo?  Uh, Double Stuff?! Anyone?  No?  More for me then!

Here's a quick freebie for all of our blogging buddies out there!

Hopefully you all have much better self control than I do.

You must.

I'm feeling sick.

Where's my green leaf?

....and in honor of Regina's Freebie...

On Monday, the hungry teacher ate through one apple
but she was still hungry.  
Crunch, crunch, crunch!
(I mean really?  Why are apples the symbol of teachers everywhere?!)

On Tuesday, the hungry teacher ate through an entire bag
of Skinny Pop popcorn but she was still hungry.
Munch, munch, munch!
(It was Skinny Pop not movie theater butter...just saying)

On Wednesday, while she was grading papers, 
the hungry teacher ate through an entire bag of bite sized 
Reese's peanut butter cups.
Inhale!
(In her defense, they were bite size!)

On Thursday, the hungry teacher ate 
through an entire roll of Girl Scout cookies 
but she was still hungry. 
(C'mon now.  We should all support a great organization like the Girl Scouts!)
I buy the Chocolate Mint ones every year!

On Friday, the hungry teacher ate through a few 
100 calorie snack bags but she was still hungry.
(Again, 100 calories isn't too bad right?)
I think it really depends on how many
of those bags I open at one time.

100 + 100 = 200
200 + 200 = 400
400 + 400 = 800
Oh wait, you said "a few".....Bwa-ha-ha!

On Saturday, the hungry teacher was so 
exhausted from her week she took a nap.
....ZZZZZZZZZ...
Can you say sugar coma?

On Sunday, the hungry teacher decided that she needs
to chill out on the snacks because after
spring comes summer.
She'll have a lot of time on her hands 
to get into that swimsuit.
AW SNAP!
YIKES!

The Very Hungry Caterpillar 3 Different Graphic Organizers:

Happy Spring!

And close the cookie jar!

Those are mine!
Not if I get there first!

BTW: Click here to get some freebies for
The Very Lonely Firefly
and
The Very Clumsy Click Beetle.
Enjoy!

Snowman Button Races S.T.E.M.

So....I went to the dentist this past week,

and I got poked and prodded and all cleaned up...

nice and purrrrtie.

Have I mentioned...

I.Hate.Going.To.The.Dentist.???
AMEN sista!
I would rather have a mammogram
than go to the dentist.
I.am.not.even.kidding.!

I have to have certain things with me during my visit.

#1.  Socks.

I live in Florida where we all go around flipping

our flip-flops every which way....

but when it's time to go to the dentist,

I pack a pair of socks in my purse.

Once I get there, I kick my flips

to the corner of the room

and climb into my chair with....

#2.  Sunglasses.

Yes.

I have to wear my sunglasses when I'm there.

It's a must.

They are not allowed to touch my teeth,

unless these big, brown eyes are covered.
Ditto!  My eyes are closed the entire time!

This is not meant to emulate movie-star qualities,

although my alter ego may beg to differ.

No.  I just use them to hide.

Like a three year old.

If you can't see me,

I'm not really here.
LOL!

#3. Two sweaters.

Not one sweater.

Two.

Another.Must.Have.

I wear one,

and I cover myself up

with the other one.

Yes.  This big baby

needs a quasi blanket to

go to the dentist.

I have actually considered

a b.y.o.b. dental policy

(bring your own blanket),

but I haven't quite gone

that far over the deep end.

Yet.
They must laugh when they see
you coming!

Anyway,

as I was sitting there...

trying not to think about the buzzing

going on in my mouth,

I had a flashback of last night's

recorded show that was on for 

our viewing pleasure (not mine...I'm anti-this show

but I get sucked into watching it).

 Have you ever seen: The Following?

Terrible.Terrible.Terrible.

Last night it freaked me out so bad...one of the FBI

agents got boxed up alive in a

teeny-tiny, metal box

(about the size of a filing box).
Ok, I was literally starting to feel
like I was suffocating when I read that.

Talk about a STEM experiment gone wrong.  Very.Wrong.

So...I was sitting in the dentist's chair

thinking that I am grateful to be there

rather than is a small, metal box.

Thinking: Go ahead....poke and jab all you want.

I'm grateful. I'm grateful. I'm grateful.
Self-talk at it's best.
I think I can. I think I can.
This could be worse....This could be worse...

And then my brain starts thinking that the

really, bad man on that show
should have had a better STEM

outlet as a child....
and been taught to use

his powers for good rather than evil.

THEN I started thinking about Angela the Snow Person

in our last blog post (March Into March With The Cat In The Hat).

THEN I started thinking...that poor woman 

(Angela...yes, I'm talking about you),
...blush...

I can't believe that it's still cold and snowy up there.
It actually warmed up this weekend.
Although it's back to the 40's later this week.
Boo hiss!

Not to brag.  (I'm not a real sun lover.)

But....

It.Has.Been.Beautiful.In.Florida.
This is when we can no longer be friends.

So there's my bald, snowball friend

frazzled with no recess in sight.
I know right?!

THEN I started to think that maybe people would

like a preview to some simple snowman STEM activities that

I had meant to post on TPT

(back in January when my kiddos did them).

Did that happen?

Uh...no.

I never quite got to that point.
We actually did three really fun activities,
but has anyone outside of my first grade friends seen them?
Nope.
They haven't been posted.
They haven't been pinned. 

Can you say: March?

Snowmen are completely off of any Florida teacher's radar.
Thankfully, they're headed off of our radar too.
Spring officially starts on Saturday.
BRRRRRRiiiiing it on!

Just speaking the truth. 

I do STEM activities every Friday,

but to get them prepped and ready to post for sale

is a completely different hairy mess all together.

Honestly I'm just getting by

with doing them with my own class,

teaching the wack-a-doodle-noodle standards

that we are responsible for, and just having my kids

where they need to be at the moment.
I went through the pics on my camera,
and I've made 10 different STEM activities
that haven't been posted.
I honestly don't know how you do it!!
Not only do you do a STEM every Friday,
but you create them in between Fridays.
Wow...
I just can't quite get them out there.
I finally finished one.
Minus the black and white prints.
Still haven't gotten that far,
but if you're willing to see past the
lack of the b&w prints, I'm more
than willing to share this STEM activity
with you that your kids are going to LOVE.
Seriously.  My kids had so much fun with this!
I called it
Snowman Button Races:

 If you missed this freebie...become a TPT and blog 
follower to  catch future freebies!

Now remember....no complaining
about the prints all being in color,
they'll print just fine on school black and white copiers....
believe me I've used mine that way and it works.
I will take any help with typos, though,

because let's face it: after teaching all day,

being a mom of four, making things for sale on TPT,

and freebies for our blog, dropping off and picking up
my own kids from their activities...I don't always see quite straight

by the end of the day. Truth. My eyes just give out.
Again, over-achiever!

 So...Angela and anyone else who's still out in the cold....
when the wind blows, and the snow falls, and
you're STILL stuck inside for recess....
try this STEM related poem to get your kids
excited about the Snowman Button Races!

Yes the voice is actually mine.
Rock on with your bad self!
I started with a normal voice,
and then after sitting in the car for over
an hour waiting for one of my sons to finish
up his after school activity....I think I lost my mind
a little and came up with this really goofy, snowman voice.
If you want the pdf file so that you can read it yourself....
I'll share that with you as well.
I think it's super cute!  It's also a great way 
to introduce the STEM activity to the class.
All good sista!


Snowball Button Races Poem

If you missed this freebie...become a TPT and blog 
follower to  catch future freebies!

Be SURE to download the STEM activity
and the pdf with the poem now....
because I'm only leaving them here for free for 48 hours.
This is meant as a "THANK YOU" to all of our blog followers.
If you're coming to this blog after the free posting
has been taken off...I'm so sorry you missed this freebie!
If you would like future freebies,
be sure to follow both of my stores:
Regina Davis
Fairy Tales And Fiction By 2
as well as this blog.

Now I just have to come up with a
S.T.E.M. activity for myself and figure out
how to create a dental chair that will take care of 
all of my dental phobias.
Good luck with that!

Hmmmmmmm.......

March Into March With More Cat In The Hat!

It's March and if you're anything like me,

you're in a teaching frenzy!

Stop right there my Florida friend!
My, "I see the sunshine every time
I open my eyes" friend.
My, "Our students go outside
for recess every day" friend.

For the rest of us unfortunate peeps,
this is what we've been
dealing with...

These are my kids during one
of our "joyous" winter days.
Notice the sky?  Do you see the sun?
Negative!
They're not standing next to a snowman.
That's actually me.
Pale as can be with the lack of sun.
Bald because I've pulled my hair out
over the excessive number of indoor recesses!
"Plump" around the middle because what
else is there to do when you're trapped inside but eat?!
Can.I.get.an.amen?
If you live in the Midwest or out East,
I know you feel my pain.

So what was that again Regina?
Feeling frazzled? Uh, I think we can relate!

So....to calm the frazzled nerves,

I thought I'd share some more

Cat In The Hat freebies

with all of you!
You're cool like that.
Just saying...

I made and used these with my first grade class,

but I decided to include lower level materials for

any Kindergarten teachers out there.

I taught Kindergarten for the past 8 years,

so I know all about March Madness!

Cat In The Hat
Differentiated Instruction:
Addition and Subtraction

My kids really enjoyed
practicing their measurement
skills with this next activity.
I actually used our rulers and
my class measured and 
estimated to the nearest inch.
I added measurement
with paper clips and
unifix cubes as well
so that others of you
who are not using rulers, can use
paper clips or unifix cubes.
Thanks for that!   

Cat In The Hat
Differentiated Instruction: Measurement

 Just have your students estimate
the measurement by rounding up or down.
I hope your kids enjoy as
much as mine did!

My kids have gotten pretty
good at counting their coins
while using this:

Cat In The Hat
Differentiated Instruction: Money

Last, but not least
is some useful clock work practice.
Have your students practice
writing the numbers for digital clocks,
and the clock hands for analog clocks.
Sheesh!  You're a busy girl.
Thanks for sharing!

Cat In The Hat
Differentiated Instruction: Clock Work

May you find time to do all that you need to do.
May calmness overtake your classrooms,

and may all of your Little Cats A-Z

help with all of the cleaning up 

of little and big messes!
...and may you find yourself
OUTSIDE at recess someday soon!
...because rocking in a corner
is no way to spend your planning period!