To Know You Are Loved

I have to say that i love this time of year. I know that it gets crazy in the schools with all of the students on sugar and all excited for Christmas to come, but i love it anyway.

This last week at my school my fifth graders have been off the wall. Everyday it was a battle to try and get them to quiet down and do their work. They did pretty well on Monday and Tuesday, but by Wednesday i was just ready to let them play. So, i did. On Wednesday night we had Deck the Halls. My school puts it on every year. What happens is every grade makes some sort of art project and decorated the hallways with it. Then each grade also learns two Christmas songs. At Deck the halls all of the parents come to the school to watch their kids preform their songs and to walk the halls of art. My students were so excited to sing to there parents and to make their art work. So all we did on Wednesday was practice the songs and paint nutcrackers. It was a great day.

On Thursday we had a lesson on caring, Dance with our second grade buddies, sign language, and our class party of Holiday's around the world. I have to say that the dance part of the day was my favorite. I was the one who got to teach the lesson and was very excited to do so. And let me tell you, it is highly entertaining to teach 60 kids dance and movement at one time. In the end it was worth it thought.

First I had them warm up and get comfortable with moving around. The second graders weren't scared at all and just joined in. It took the fifth graders a little bit of time, but they eventually got into it. After the warm up we talked about using words to make movements. I had them show me movements for words such as sway and twist. Then I moved to night, Christmas, creature, and Santa. From there I had them gather on the floor and read them Twas The Night Before Christmas. From there we made up a dance to the first page of the book. then i split them up into six different groups. Each group received a part of the story and it was their job to come up with a dance to go with it. After they had all come up with their own part we ran through the story in order with each group dancing their part. Then we added the beginning that we had made all together and also created and ending. All of this was a little bit crazy and chaotic. But then we did the whole dance to music and it was amazing. When the music started the students all got in their beginning poses and where ready to start. Then they each did their part. The cool thing was that you could tell what the story was about. It was really neat to watch the story come to life and to see the students engaged in it. Even if you as the teacher are afraid of dance, i would try this with your students. They could amaze you with they can do.

Then on Friday we did absolutely nothing school oriented at all. In the morning we had an earthquake drill, then we finished reading The Best Christmas Pageant Ever, next we had the school sing along. After that we made and decorated 3D Christmas trees until lunch. After lunch we learned the hula and danced around the room.

The greatest part of the week though was finding out how loved i was by the students. Even though they were off the wall and annoying this week, it was also the week that made me love them the most. It amazed how much they cared about me and others in the school. I had some students decided on their own that they wanted to help some others out with Christmas. They choose to do the twelve days of Christmas for a student who needed it. They each collected the money on their own, bought the gifts and delivered them to the student at school each day. I had other students who brought gifts for everyone else in the class because they didn't want one person to be left out.

And then those cute little kids even brought me gifts. And even though i loved receiving the gifts, i have to say that i Loved the letters they wrote to me even more. Even though they were smudged with chocolate, wrinkled and filled with sloppy writing and misspelled words, it was their little "thank you", "your are the best", and "i love you" comments that made my day. Those notes and the students are what teaching is all about. And even though you spend hours more then you are paid for, and run around all the time thinking about your students and wondering if they are going to pass the tests that they need to, or if they are going to ever learn what you are trying to teach them, and no matter how many recesses you spend working out behavior problems with them, in the end it is all worth it because you know that you make a difference. And more then that you know that you are loved and that you can help them succeed. That is what makes teaching worth it.

Once Upon a Time...

Once upon a time, a young college graduate and first year teacher thought it would be a great idea to start a blog.

This blog would be a place for her and her fellow first year teachers to share ideas, funny stories, and frustrations that come with teaching.

As the year continued, she realized just how busy teachers are, and wondered if it was worth the trouble to keep the blog up to date. Did anyone read it anyway? She considered letting the blog fade away, unless there were people who really enjoyed reading it or wanted to contribute.

If you are someone who reads this blog or who would be interested in writing on this blog, please let me know.

Have a great December!

UGH.

I think we have all heard of the Phases of First Year Teaching. I feel the need to confess that I am following this silly little curve to a tee. I'm smack dab in the middle of the disillusionment phase - questioning my effectiveness and capability as a teacher and wondering if I'll ever make it through. Will I honestly be playing catch up for the entire year?

Have any of you felt this way? What did you do to cope?

I've found that doing things I love helps me stay a little more focused on things that really count.

Keeping a Celebration Journal daily also helps. I write down something during the school day - no matter how small - that made me smile or that went really well. I do this every single day, even if I feel like the whole day was a struggle.

For me, nothing clears my head more than a good workout. I've joined a great group of ladies for aerobics class every Wednesday night, and I joined a gym where I run on a treadmill or elliptical after work every day. (I would run outside, but it's too darn cold!) Two nights ago I went to the gym and watched the Colbert Report for the first time. I was laughing like crazy while breaking a sweat. What could be better than that?

I'm waiting on pins and needles for the Rejuventaion period to begin.

It made me smile when...

I found a note on my desk from a dashing young man in my class that said:

"Dear Miss Hortin,
You have nice hair."

What a darling admirer.

Entertaing Students

I am sure that everyone of us has entertaining students in our classrooms. We all have the ones that make us smile, the ones that make us frustrated, and the ones that just make us laugh. I am student teaching in a fifth grade classroom and i have this one student who makes me laugh every single day. So I thought I would share the joy and the funny moments.

Upon first meeting this student he seems like a quite shy little guy. But once you start to get to know him you realize that this first impression is not true at all. He is one of the funnest kids i have ever met. First of all he is just the cutest little guy with his messed up hair and big round glasses. Second of all he us very outgoing and loves to make people laugh. Third he is a huge fan of Brian Regan.

With all of these things you can image how he is in the classroom. He plays peak-a-boo with the students at his table and with me as the teacher. He makes jokes about everything and always has a comment for the lesson. Most of the time they are connected to what i am teaching so it just makes it fun. And last, which is my most favorite thing, he quotes Brian Reagan all the time.

I happen to love Brian Reagan as well and watching this student deliver the lines is hilarious and cute all at the same time. He has most of the lines memorized and does a really good job with facial expressions as well as the sound of his voice. He has such a fun time telling the jokes that you can't help but let him. And the best part is that the other students love it as well. It is their favorite thing to have him get up at the end of the day and tell jokes. And IT makes me smile every time.

Exciting Science and Dancing Raisins

This science experiment was a hit in my class!

I brought a can of Mountain Dew and some raisins to class. I poured the Mountain Dew into a clear glass and then, as a class, we made observations about the ingredients of the science experiment. Then, I told the class I was going to drop the raisins into the Mountain Dew, and I asked them what they thought would happen. We listed their predictions on the board, including that "the liquid would change colors," and the raisins would disintegrate. Their predictions were pretty creative.

All of my students were on pins and needles as I dropped the raisins into the glass. I thought what happened was pretty cool, myself. The raisins sank to the bottom of the glass, stayed there for a few seconds, and then floated back to the top!

Here's what happens. The gas bubbles in the soda attach to the raisins and cause them to float to the top. When the raisins reach the top of the soda, the bubbles pop, and the raisins sink to the bottom again, until more bubbles attach. The raisins start dancing!

Try it! Your kids will love it!

Does anyone know the answer?

Dear University of Utah alumni,
Do you know if it's possible for us to use the wonderful curriculum library even though we are no longer students? It seems that it would be smart for them to continue to allow first year teachers to use the materials there, but I know my UCard doesn't work anymore... Does that mean I'm shucks out of luck when it comes to the Curriculum Library?

The First Day!

Now traditional schools are in session and we've all started to teach. Isn't it exciting? What were the most memorable moments of your first day? What did you do that went wonderfully well? Would you change anything? Please share!

The Magic of a Hotel Bell

I completely swear by a hotel bell on the teacher's desk. Every time I ring it, my class snaps to attention and shuts their mouths, ready to hear what I have to say. I love it!

Welcome!

Welcome to the blog! I'm so glad you're here. I thought it would be great for us to have a place where we can share the joys, frustrations, and humorous moments of being a first year teacher. If you've been invited to contribute to the blog, feel free to vent about rough days, share great lesson ideas, tell funny stories about your kids, and ask for help. Just remember to change all the names of any kids involved in your stories.

Here's to a great first year!