Blue Ribbon Ceremony

As most of you know, I am currently in D.C. representing our school at the National Blue Ribbon Schools Ceremony. It has been an extraorinary experience. Today we met in a private meeting with Congress Woman Giffords. It was surreal to sit in her office and discuss politics and education. Yesterday we took a tour of the monuments and spent time at the Smithsonian. I love American history, being a first time visitor of D.C., I am in awe at the historic significance of this area. There is so much to offer here and it would be so fascinating to teach in an area where I could show my students first hand the actual location of the events and American symbols that I am teaching them about in the classroom. We leave tomorrow so I'll be back in the classroom on Thursday. See ya back in AZ!

Sad Day for Education in Sierra Vista

I am sure that many of you know by now that the override failed miserably....*sigh*. It's very easy to slip into a dark funk at a time like this. I think for many of us teachers it feels like the community just backhanded us in the face. I know that we are not the only district going through record breaking budget cuts and pay freezes, but after teaching in Sierra Vista for nine years it is quite apparent that the majority of the community does not support public education. I read the comments in the online version of the Herald and it is amazing to me how uneducated the people making them are. I just wish that people would do some research and get their facts straight before commenting publicly. I mean how much more can we reasonably take? We have more kids in our rooms (which will increase again next year with the closing of Village Meadows), less pay (and a possible 5-10% pay cut next year), more expensive benefits, less time to teach with higher demands, no planning time but yet more district meetings that takes our after school "planning" time away, and kids that have an abundance of educational, home life, and behavioral issues. I spoke with at least 7 teachers at PDS (mind you, it's the best school in the district; these are great people) who are now planning on pursuing other career options for next year. *sigh*

I walked into my classroom feeling defeated. But then, I saw this face.....

And this one.....

And these.....

and I realized that these faces are the reason that I can endure all of the rest. These kids need good teachers. If we all leave the profession what's left for them?

I don't have the answers to the many questions that loom over public education. I know that at times, my job sucks. But it's not the kids who make it that way. It's time to shut the door on negativity and remember why I got into the profession in the first place. To make a difference in the lives of children by instilling in them an intrinsic motivation to learn and be moral human beings. To guide them in discovering their gifts and teach them how to be life long learners. To enjoy them, be silly with them, and love them.

"A hundred years from now, it will not matter what kind of car I drove, what kind of house I lived in, how much money I had in the bank...but the world may be a better place because I made a difference in the life of a child." -- Forest Witchcraft

Field Trip Fun!

Today we went on our field trip to Apple Annie's. It was fast and furious but it seemed like everyone had a great time! The kids learned about plants, went through the corn maze, and took a hay ride to pick their own pumpkins. I tried to get at least one picture of each kid, but it can be hard to take photos in the midst of dealing with purchase orders, lunches, missing jackets, and making sure all 23 kids have eaten and used the restroom before boarding the bus. All in all, everything went smoothly and we didn't lose any kiddos! :)

"Picnik Show"

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Just in Time for Halloween!

Monsters are beginning to pop up in room 2. We are happy to have partnered up with a wonderful second grade class in Olympia Washington to complete a fun and educational writing project. Here is a description of this project from the Monster Exchange website.

Monster Exchange is designed to encourage the development of reading and writing skills while integrating Internet technology into the classroom curriculum. Classrooms from a variety of schools worldwide are paired together; the students in each classroom are split into groups, each of which designs an original picture of a monster. The students must then write a description of the monster. The partnered classes then exchange their descriptions via e-mail and the Internet. These students are then challenged to use reading comprehension skills to read the descriptions and translate them into a monster picture. The true challenge involves creating a redrawn picture as close to the original picture as possible without looking at the original and using only the written description of the monster.


The written descriptions, original monster pictures, and redrawn monster pictures are scanned and uploaded to the Internet using the browser-based Monster Gallery Builder.

The kids are really looking forward to exchanging descriptions to see how accurately our friends can draw our monsters. It should be a great learning experience!

Hello Blog World!

Okay so it's time for me to stop procrastinating and start blogging again. I have a bad habit of starting great projects and never finishing them...THIS will not be one of them!

I have decided that I need to get over my perfectionism. I never thought that I was a perfectionist, but as I reflect back on the projects I've let go it makes perfect sense. Basically, I end up quiting when my creativity begin to dwindle. If I can't think of the perfect story, topic, or next step, I end up putting the project on the back burner while I "wait" for the creative juices to flow again. Well sometimes they flow in a whole different direction and I never get back to many great projects that just need to be completed.

So, I have decided that I need to stop over thinking this blog. Things that seem everyday and mundane in the classroom to me could possibly be things that you want to hear about. It's time for me to get back to why I originally started this blog....to give you a glimpse into the world of second graders. Some days it may be exciting and creative and other days it may be simple and routine. Either way, I am back to blogging and excited to share with you what's happening in our little world!

Secretary Needed!!

Have you ever had one of those weeks where you wished you had a secretary?

My life at home has been on the hectic side lately. First we passed around a nasty little bug which put each one of us out of commission for a day or two. Then we found out our AC was leaking into both of the kid's bedrooms. Between getting everyone healthy and dealing with the clean up and AC people, I feel like I'm being buried under a mound of paperwork and to do lists that I have put off at school. Luckily I have an understanding husband who let me stay at school until 6 tonight so that I could try and catch up. But really, I think teachers should have secretaries. Any takers? :)

Snack Time!!

I used to loath snack time. I tried it one year. What I saw was scary.

My idea was to have kids bring a quick, healthy snack to eat while they are working independently on writing or some other activity. What I got instead were 24 kids unwrapping Ding Dongs and Twinkies, smearing their cheesy little Doritos hands all over their papers, and a line a mile long of kiddos needing me to open something. Plus, little crumbs of chocolate cupcakes and the remains of Goldfish crackers were repeatedly ground into my carpet. Not pretty. Definitely not how I envisioned it in my head.

That was when I banned snacks in my room. It was a blessing that lasted many years. But then, I was handed a new schedule that put lunchtime at 11:45.

If you know kids at all you will understand that going from 8-11:45 without a break is almost impossible. Their little minds begin to fade away and their bodies get a case of the wiggles. So, I decided to put snack back into the day along with a 15 minute recess.

But, I've learned. Now I have a class snack. My parents donate boxes of cereal, bags of pretzels, goldfish crackers, animal cookies and any other bulk snack items that they can think of. On the way out the door I give each kid a handful. If they don't like that particular snack then they simply say no thank you. This is not a buffet; you get what you get and you don't throw a fit.

The best part is that it literally takes 2 minutes to pass out and if they drop any it falls onto the sidewalk; no more little fishy parts being ground into the carpet....yay!!!