Community Building

Community building is an important part of any classroom. When students feel united as a class, they are less likely to be unkind to each other and much more likey to encourage each other to succeed.

With the pressures of teaching the core before CRTs roll around, sometimes it's easy to let community building lessons slide. This year, I've done something simple every week that I think has brought my class together and has helped them learn how to compliment each other.

Each week, we have a spotlight kid. At the beginning of the year, I bought a package of pre-printed posters from Oriental Trading that the students colored and completed. The poster highlights the student's age, family, and interests.

On Tuesday, one student shares their poster. Then they can call on three students to ask them questions about their poster. Finally, I lead the class in singing a song. The words are set to the tune of "Are You Sleeping." It goes like this:

Who knows something

Who knows something

Nice about _________

Nice about _________

Then the spotlight kids calls on the other students in the class who share nice things about the spotlight kid. It's so fun to hear the nice things my students have to say about each other. The spotlight kid always ends up beaming and the rest of the class is smiling, too.

(A special thanks goes out to Mrs. Schlappi, the wonderful teacher who first taught me the song.)

Another day, another chuckle

One of my students asked me the other day, "Miss Hortin, how do you get your cast off at night so you can go to bed?"

Spelling Homework

The assignment? Write five sentences using one spelling word in each sentence.

The word? Stair

The sentence? "My teacher hurt her leg when she fell down the stairs."

Tell me about it.

I love it when I make it into my students' homework.

Awww... my kids love me

I broke my ankle. Ick. Thank heavens my kids love me. There's no way I would make it through the day with the immobility and pain without them.

My favorite comments:

"Can I push you Miss Hortin?" This came after watching me scoot myself around on my wheelie chair.

"How do you get to school?"

"How are you going to get home?"

"Did you cry when you fell down?"

"Are you okay, Miss Hortin?" This concerned question has come from students in all grades, some of whom I don't even know. :)

"Don't stand up, Miss Hortin!"

"Can I help you? Can I help you? Can I help you? Can I help you?"

Warms my heart.

Husbands for Sale

Your story reminds me of one of my own. At the school I am student teaching at there are three fifth grade teachers and myself. One of the teachers has been married awhile. One of the others just got married in November. And then the last teacher and myself are single.

Since the beginning of the year my students have loved to ask me about boyfriends and if I had one. They would also ask when I would get one because they wanted me to bring him into the classroom like another student teacher did (her boyfriend came and proposed to her in her classroom with the students, needless to say, now my students want someone to come to their classroom). But, it has gotten even funnier and worse since the other teacher got married.

Now my class as well as the other single teachers class are trying to find us husbands. At first they started with the usual questions of if we had boyfriends. Then it went on to things such as this:

Student: "Well, I am sure you can buy a boyfriend. Or even better, you should just buy a husband."

Next student: "You can't buy a husband. Duh. You have to go catch one."

First student: "ok. Then you need to go fishing Miss Walker."

Another student: "She doesn't need to go fishing. She just needs to marry my cousin."

Next student: "I have uncle you could marry. He is a construction worker."

New student: "Yeah. Marry the construction worker, but he has to propose to you here in the classroom."

These comments are not only going on in my room, but in the other teachers classroom as well. It makes me laugh every time that I hear them. I even heard on student in the hall ask another where they could find husbands for sale. I told them to let me know where as soon as they found out. We will see if they come up with an answer. And as funny as it is, you have to love them for trying right?

My third grade guys

A few days ago, I was called over to the desk of one of the boys in my class.

Student: "Miss Hortin, do you have a boyfriend?"

Me: "Not right now."

Student: "You should get one."

Me: "Oh? Where should I go to get one?"

Student: "The mall."

Of course! I've been looking in all the wrong places! I should have been at the 'Boyfriend Store' the whole time!

It's nice to have my third grade guys looking out for me.

Writing Sub Plans

I injured myself. Badly.

I sprained my ankle and I can't put even the tiniest bit of weight on it. Which means it's time for...

SUB PLANS!

Hopefully I'll be able to get by with just one day away from my little darlings, but I still have to write up plans for a whole day - Everything I would say or do for someone else to follow.

So... here's how I do it.

I've created an outline for each day of the week with computer times, library schedule, recesses, etc. When an unexpected absence comes along, I just pull up the outline on my computer and fill in the blanks. Then I can email the file to a grade level team member or have an angel who lives with me (Thanks, J!) bring it to my school before the day starts.

Recently, I also created a week's worth of emergency sub plans. These plans follow the outline rule, and they have activities in them that could be used at any point in the year. I plan to use these plans if I get sick suddenly (like in the middle of the night), and I don't have time to create more detailed plans. I keep them in a red folder in my desk drawer with all the necessary copies to accompany the plans.

The only problem I have is - what if I was going to go to the library to choose a new book for my guided reading groups? Do I explain to the sub how to do that? What if I plan to teach an entirely new subject to my students that day? Do I put that in the hands of the substitute (aka 'guest teacher') and hope for the best?

I'm still trying to figure out these hiccups. Please share any suggestions you've discovered.