Namaste, Ya Little Buggars.

I encountered my first class of scoundrels as a substitute teacher.  Fifth graders.  They came in the classroom and never paused their playing for a second.  They didn't even give me a chance to announce that their teacher was out and had asked me to come in and be their "guest teacher" for the day.  They never got quiet.  Never got settled down.  Never acknowledged the chime we use for such purposes in "Responsive Classroom."  Didn't put their heads down when I finally gave up and told them to take a five minute break.

I refuse to yell at kids.  It does no good anyway. So I just took a breath for a moment to figure out my next move.

This is how I fantasized the scene.  Me....breathing deeply and removing myself mentally from the bad vibes...as big claws come in and pluck the ornery little buggars away.  There's a hook that comes in a takes one of the entertainers off the stage. I found this little fantasy quite calming.

As I walked over to the telephone and drew my finger down the phone directory list, the room grew increasingly quiet.  I dialed the phone and knew that I had their attention. As I began to speak to their teacher, you could hear a pin drop.

Unfortunately, she was in a meeting and could not come to give them a pep talk, but I didn't let on.  They thought she was on her way.

They sat with their heads down in silence as I gave the evil eye to anyone who dared look up.  Finally, I pretended to call the teacher again to tell her that they had done better and I would give them a second chance.

They were quiet enough for the rest of the class.  Not as quiet as I prefer, but quiet enough.

Thank goodness that as a sub, I can choose to work with them again or not.



Scherenschnitte 5"x7"       "Fat Fairy"

Stand Up and Teach

...........sigh of relief. I am back in a real classroom this year. Hal-le-lu-jah. You have no idea how much of a relief it is to teach in a classroom instead of a teeny tiny ex-teacher's lounge. The kids all congratulate me. My colleagues congratulate me. I'm happy.

One of the things I am trying out this year is a standing desk. I had read where sitting all day is unhealthy for you in so many ways. So my "desk" is a discarded dictionary stand from our library. I originally grabbed it because it would hold oversized paper.

 Standing all last week, I could actually tell a difference in my exhaustion level. It was less! Probably the reason why was that I stood on this exercise thingy....core balance trainer...
 and it gave my feet and legs great cushioning. I'll let you know how much I like this idea after I've been using it for a while.

First Summer Projects

Because this school year was so busy, I felt too drained to do many projects on my own at home.  My first two days of summer break, I sat....bored.  That's an unusual state for me.  Normally I stay busy all the time.

When I started thinking about having a classroom again next school year, I got excited.  My brain started gearing up with thoughts of how I could set it up.  Looking at three 20" x 24" canvases that a friend gave me, I saw the three letters "a", "r" and "t."  So that's what I painted on them.

 I had so much fun painting them yesterday, I wish I had more to do today.

Projects for today:  yogurt making and crochet.

Jump Start

Summer break has finally arrived.  Thank goodness.  This has been one of the toughest teaching years I've ever had.

Our school was exceedingly overcrowded this year.  Every nook and cranny, trailer and workroom had to be utilized as teaching spaces.  This nook was my art room. 
 

 

It's been tough. 

Thankfully, the school year is over.  Our school is losing 150 students to other schools. Aside from the fact that so many of the kids leaving are ones I adore, I can only imagine that this will impact us in the most positive of ways.

One thing that has made me joyous, is that I am getting my old classroom back.  Just the mere thought of having a decent teaching space again has made me feel excited about teaching next year.