Today I worked in my Big Kids' school. I spent the morning from 8:00am - 9:00am in the Kindergarten room, familiarizing myself with the students and participating in their morning routine. Then, at 9:00am, I went over to one of the 3rd Grade rooms and helped out with independent study time. The teacher does the "Daily 4" and basically then students can choose among four activities to do independently (a couple of options allow for work with one partner) and the kids have to chart what they are doing as well. I actually worked with my own child, Boy A, while I was in there. He read to me out of a Magic Treehouse book. He loves the series and we bought them for him last year, but he doesn't read much at home. Too many other fun activities to do, I guess.
Then, at 10:00am, when I was finished in 3rd Grade, I went back to Kindergarten and did some clerical work for the teacher. Cutting pages and stapling them into little books for the kids to work on and tearing pages out of math workbooks. It was a time-consuming process, but I had it mostly finished by the time the kids went to lunch at 11:00am. I then left and went to get lunch myself. On my way out of the school, the computer teacher/3rd Grade Math teacher, stopped me and asked if I would come in that afternoon to do Wednesday folders. I let her know that I had already done the folders that morning (in addition to listening to my guy read) but offered to come in anyhow. She said that would be wonderful but she didn't want me to be in the classroom everyday, since I work odd hours and often sleep while the kids are in school. I told her that I would be there to help out however I could that afternoon and that I promised to limit myself to 2-3 days a week.
I was back in the classroom at 1:15, ready for Math class to start at 1:25. There were some new things to be stuffed into Wednesday folders so I did that while waiting for Math to start. During Math class, I graded the kids' homework assignments, let Mrs. Z know that the kids understood the information from the day before (therefore, no reteaching needed) and then walked around the room, helping the kids understand the new information being presented.
There was one little girl that was not understanding the information exactly and with a simple movement of her head, Mrs. Z asked me to help this little girl out. Three or four classroom examples later, she fully grasped the concept and was quick with the correct answer. It was such a great feeling to help out the students.
After the lesson was done and the kids were working on that day's assignments, Mrs. Z and I were standing up at the front of the class and one of the students asked her if she watched Youtube videos. She said not much, but she did watch one when she needed to learn how to do something. The kid was talking about funny Youtube videos, but Mrs. Z doesn't watch those. I told her that there was a site within Youtube called Teachertube and that there were some good things on there. I then proceeded to tell her about this Animaniacs video that is featured both places. She then announces to the class that I know so much about what is available on the computer and that I have taught her so much! Huge compliment, but oh, so embarrassing! :)
The boys went to Bible group tonight. Girlie stayed home because she was cranky and needed to go to bed early.
All in all, it really was a wonderful Wednesday!
Showing posts with label Schooling. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Schooling. Show all posts
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Friday, September 18, 2009
Murphy's Law
Well, doesn't it just figure that the day I put up a post about wanting to get more active and such, it turns out that I ended up feeling the exact opposite? I had 0 energy today. ZERO. I did go in and talk to Boy A's teacher...well, two of them actually. And I talked to Boy B's teacher briefly. I signed up for the volunteer training so that I could help out in the classroom and then I came home. I helped Hubby get the Littles ready to go and we headed out over to Mother-in-Law's (MIL) house to drop them off. Did some job searching stuff and then came home and CRASHED. I was so tired! Woke up, worked on the computer for a bit, helped Boy A get his homework started (really, just on the encouragement front) and then CRASHED. Then, I woke up at midnight. Not working so well for me. I could still sleep the rest of the night, but I won't because I have a number of projects to work on that I didn't get around to working on today while I was napping.
So, I am going to go pick up my mom and she is going to stay in the house while Hubby and I go out to the garage and do some work out there and also clean out the van. We need to have the van fully accessible for this weekend, as MIL wants to use it for the cargo space and we need to use it for the cargo space as well.
So, that is what we are doing. At 1 AM. In the morning. Yay! LOL! It's a good thing that I regularly work nights and am used to being up right now and also that I function on very minimal sleep most of the time. Today being an exception - usually I have a day like that once a month or so.
I will also see if I can borrow my mom's camera so that I can take a picture of the garage so I can show you all just how much there is to do out there. It's a completely crazy mess. Ugh!
So, I am going to go pick up my mom and she is going to stay in the house while Hubby and I go out to the garage and do some work out there and also clean out the van. We need to have the van fully accessible for this weekend, as MIL wants to use it for the cargo space and we need to use it for the cargo space as well.
So, that is what we are doing. At 1 AM. In the morning. Yay! LOL! It's a good thing that I regularly work nights and am used to being up right now and also that I function on very minimal sleep most of the time. Today being an exception - usually I have a day like that once a month or so.
I will also see if I can borrow my mom's camera so that I can take a picture of the garage so I can show you all just how much there is to do out there. It's a completely crazy mess. Ugh!
Thursday, September 17, 2009
Time For Me Thursday
I came across a wonderful blog the other day, Crafts by Katie. What a read! I loved it! And I liked the themes I saw there. So I did what any blogger should do. I emailed her and asked if I could use her graphics and her ideas for Thursdays and Fridays. And you know what? She agreed! YAY! Thanks Katie! So, before I go on to the part, I want you all to know that if you click on the sunflower picture, you will be redirected to Katie's blog (and really, you should go check it out. I liked it.)Okay, now to what I am doing for myself today. Well, it actually seems like something that would be for Boy A, but really it is for me too, although he will benefit as well. Today, I am meeting with one of his teachers. I want to get to the bottom of some home/school issues that have been plaguing Boy A since the start of school this year. I started this process yesterday and today, I will finish it.
Then, once I am done meeting with this teacher, I will sign up for the training class to be able to help in the classroom. I love to teach (though I have only taught brief classes at the elementary level, as I don't have a teaching certificate and I'm not a teacher) and I love kids. Oh, and the subject that I'm looking to help out in will be either 3rd Grade Math or the computer lab, as I love both subjects. I will also probably put in a few appearances in the Kindergarten room as well.
Now, why is that "for me" I bet you are wondering. Well, the meeting is for me, because every single day after school, we are faced with this emotional drudgery from Boy A from something that happened at school and this is the teacher that he gets into the most trouble with. It may also help because if Boy A needs services of some sort or an alternative plan, this is also the person I would talk to about that.
The second part of it is signing up to help in the classroom. I just love it. Especially the subjects. I'm the
I also love computers. I love learning and teaching myself new skills on computers. I love looking up information and learning it so I can apply it. It's so much fun. And yes, I am a computer
I have been contemplating a career in teaching. This may help me decide whether or not to pursue it. The only thing is, I would want to pursue elementary education. Which would require a four year college, which costs a lot of money. Money I don't have to spend on education right now. So, we shall see. If it is meant to be, a path will open up.
What are you doing for yourself today? Make sure that you make time for yourself every single day. You need to take care of you so that you can take care of others. Head on over to Katie's Blog and see what she is doing for herself too.
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
Wonderful Day!
I had the most wonderful day today! I had to go into the school today to drop off some snacks for Boy B's Kindergarten class. I had picked up some graham crackers, a couple of jugs of apple juice and some dixie cups for the kids. I wasn't sure what "bringing snack" meant, but figured too much was better than not enough - and if there is extra, they just keep it for later use.
Anyhow, that was the main purpose of my visit. I go in, check in with the monitor, get my visitor badge and head towards Boy B's classroom. Before I get too far, I decide to quickly swing by Boy B's homeroom class to talk to his teacher about our homework dilemma. We are constantly getting homework sent home, Boy A does it, then we send it to school the next day, yet it somehow keeps coming home in his backpack. So, my concern was that the homework was not getting turned in. When I would ask Boy A about it, he would either say he did turn it in or else he forgot to turn it in. Both answers are usually given moments apart, so I felt that I should talk to his teacher about this.
I go in to talk to her and while she is not the teacher that I needed to talk to about this particular situation. This problem kept cropping up involving his math homework, but his homeroom teacher teaches his language arts, not his math or unit studies teacher.
We discuss his language arts progress and overall behaviors in the classroom and she reports to me that he is doing well and is showing improvement over his behavior from the beginning of the year, and we also discussed how the spelling tests are set up. She is getting her system established and she is doing well with it. So, report from Mrs. R went well!
Then I head over to talk to Mrs. Z about Boy A's math homework. I go in and introduce myself and tell her that I would like to talk to her about Boy A's math. She gets excited and says that she is so happy that I am there and then closes the door. We sit down and she says that she is so shocked over Boy A's test score. (inward grown on my part) She goes on to say that she was sure he was going to have problems with his test, since he had been absent last week and missed a lot of the instruction time and then the review and extra practice. She pulls out his test and shows me that he only missed two problems. She said that since he had been gone, she thought she would have to reteach him the material and she didn't. He felt confident that he could do the work and so she let him take the test, against her better judgment and he did extremely well. She said that he has a math mind.
I explained our issue with homework and how it comes back. She explained that her process was to have the kids lay their work out in the top corner, and she walks around the room and spot checks the homework to make sure that its complete and checks a couple of key problems. She doesn't actually sit down and grade each assignment. So, that is why Boy A often brings the homework back home. She said he has never not had his homework when he should have it.
What an encouraging visit I had with her. We talked at great length, actually taking up most of her hour-long plan period. It was wonderful! She said that I was easy to talk to (and I totally felt the same way about her) and that she really enjoyed our talk.
How wonderful to have those conversations with two of his teachers. I have to talk to a third teacher tomorrow yet and I'll let you know how that one goes.
I then went on to Boy B's classroom and dropped off the treats. The teacher, Ms. W, seemed to really appreciate the juice and cups as well. I'm going to try to remember to take treats in once a month at least.
Anyhow, that was the main purpose of my visit. I go in, check in with the monitor, get my visitor badge and head towards Boy B's classroom. Before I get too far, I decide to quickly swing by Boy B's homeroom class to talk to his teacher about our homework dilemma. We are constantly getting homework sent home, Boy A does it, then we send it to school the next day, yet it somehow keeps coming home in his backpack. So, my concern was that the homework was not getting turned in. When I would ask Boy A about it, he would either say he did turn it in or else he forgot to turn it in. Both answers are usually given moments apart, so I felt that I should talk to his teacher about this.
I go in to talk to her and while she is not the teacher that I needed to talk to about this particular situation. This problem kept cropping up involving his math homework, but his homeroom teacher teaches his language arts, not his math or unit studies teacher.
We discuss his language arts progress and overall behaviors in the classroom and she reports to me that he is doing well and is showing improvement over his behavior from the beginning of the year, and we also discussed how the spelling tests are set up. She is getting her system established and she is doing well with it. So, report from Mrs. R went well!
Then I head over to talk to Mrs. Z about Boy A's math homework. I go in and introduce myself and tell her that I would like to talk to her about Boy A's math. She gets excited and says that she is so happy that I am there and then closes the door. We sit down and she says that she is so shocked over Boy A's test score. (inward grown on my part) She goes on to say that she was sure he was going to have problems with his test, since he had been absent last week and missed a lot of the instruction time and then the review and extra practice. She pulls out his test and shows me that he only missed two problems. She said that since he had been gone, she thought she would have to reteach him the material and she didn't. He felt confident that he could do the work and so she let him take the test, against her better judgment and he did extremely well. She said that he has a math mind.
I explained our issue with homework and how it comes back. She explained that her process was to have the kids lay their work out in the top corner, and she walks around the room and spot checks the homework to make sure that its complete and checks a couple of key problems. She doesn't actually sit down and grade each assignment. So, that is why Boy A often brings the homework back home. She said he has never not had his homework when he should have it.
What an encouraging visit I had with her. We talked at great length, actually taking up most of her hour-long plan period. It was wonderful! She said that I was easy to talk to (and I totally felt the same way about her) and that she really enjoyed our talk.
How wonderful to have those conversations with two of his teachers. I have to talk to a third teacher tomorrow yet and I'll let you know how that one goes.
I then went on to Boy B's classroom and dropped off the treats. The teacher, Ms. W, seemed to really appreciate the juice and cups as well. I'm going to try to remember to take treats in once a month at least.
Works For Me Wednesday
Well, I actually had not planned on doing a WFMW post, but there was something today that just worked out so well that I had to share it. I wanted to blog but Boy A also needs someone to keep him on task to finish his homework. We normally do homework at the table, but due to time constraints this evening, I wouldn't be able to sit with him at the table and be able to blog at the same time. So instead, Boy A is sitting here next to me while I type. For the most part, he is staying focused on his homework and I'm able to get some "me" time at the same time. I love to write/type and blog and it has become really important to me that I have the time to do this every day. So, that is my WFMW tip. If you need to have some time on the computer and your kid needs you as well for some intermittent help, then set him or her up next to you. We happen to have a large enough desk that works well for both of us to sit and work comfortably. If we didn't though, I could set him up with a clipboard and a chair next to me as well. Which is something we sometimes do in the van on those evenings where we are running from one sporting activity to another.
Saturday, September 12, 2009
Sick, sick, sick
It seems like it has been so long since we have not had a sick child in the house, but really, its only been two weeks. Two weeks today, actually. Finally we are all on the mend!
Boy B (who is 5) got sick two weeks ago today with a bad cough, fever and just acted lethargic. Wouldn't eat, wouldn't drink, wouldn't move. He was miserable (adorable but miserable). His first soccer practice/game of the season was the next day and I knew he wasn't up to playing, but thought maybe he'd want to go along just to watch and at least meet the other kids on the team.
His response? "No, I don't want to. What if I cough on them and I get them sick?" This was said in a raspy, froggy-sounding voice. My heart just melted.
So, the kiddos stayed home with Grandma while Hubby and I went off to the game. Hubby is the head coach and Hubby's friend, C, is the assistant coach. It's kind of backwards, considering the fact that C is a huge soccer fan and LOVES to play and watch, and as it turns out, coach.
Then, that Monday, Boy B missed school, went to the doctor's office and we were told that he has para influenza. They did a quick strep test and a cultured test. Hubby and I thought it sounded like he had strep, but the quick strep came back negative.
We got a call the next day. The cultured strep test was positive, and where would we like the prescription called in to? So, we start antibiotics.
Wednesday, he still has a fever, Thursday morning it FINALLY breaks. Looking good to be back at school on Friday. I call his school and request his homework. Boy A brings it home with him after school.
Thursday night. Kitchen table. Two boys sitting down to do homework. Boy A, who is 8 and in 3rd grade with 2 pages of homework. Boy B, who is 5 and in kindergarten with 8 pages of homework (front AND back). Math problem: which child finishes first?
Answer: They finish at the same time.
It takes Boy A FOREVER to do his homework. He's a smart kid, he just does not like to sit down and focus on one subject long enough to finish a page of homework. Meanwhile, Boy B sits there, diligently and methodically, going through his homework one page at a time, stopping only to ask me to read him the directions. I don't understand this.
Actually, I think I do. We had discussed quite a while ago about homeschooling the kids. At the last minute, we enrolled Boy A in Kindergarten and he's been in public school since. His best year was first grade. His teacher was fabulous, she kept on him, it was wonderful! Kindergarten was good, but he slid back a lot in what he could do, second grade was horrible. Absolutely horrible. For him and for our family. It came out everywhere. Then we moved. That helped matters quite a bit, because we were in a different school.
This year, I don't know. I'm not even sure what to think just yet. Boy B does FABULOUS in school. I told Hubby years ago, when Boy A was about 5 and Boy B was almost 3, that I was pretty sure, based on their personalities at that time, that Boy A should definitely be homeschooled and that Boy B would probably do well in a regular classroom. Why do I not listen to myself? Honestly. I listen to others, doubt my own gut instinct and then my poor kiddo pays for it. And I pay for it, by having to sit next to him for an hour to make sure he gets his two pages done.
Hubby and I went shopping recently and we picked up a globe, which is not a huge deal for most people. But I have been wanting to have a globe in the house for, probably, four or five years now. I am so excited! I told Hubby that buying this globe only makes me want to homeschool Boy A even more. He said that he knew that. Maybe we can still do it.
Okay, so I started off with sickness...let's go back to that. So, last week, Boy B missed Monday through Thursday. He went back Friday. All was good. No school on Monday because of Labor Day (no sports that weekend either). Monday night, Boy B and now Boy A are BOTH running fevers. No school for either one of them the next day. And no school for Boy C because his teacher comes here to the house and we can't risk exposing her to the other boys because she visits a lot of families and some of the kids in those families have kids who are susceptible to sickness.
It's been crazy. This house of sickness. I'm so tired and exhausted. I got sick and ended up having to take a week off of work myself, this week. Thursday night, Boy B wakes up scream-crying. Take him in to get checked out because I know what it is. The doctor's diagnosis: "a rip-roaring ear infection" Hmmmmph. Can we not get ahead of this?
Okay, so here's my take on this. He had strep throat (caused by group A strep), used antibiotics which treats that (and also kills off good fighting cells too), thus making him more prone to the ear infection (caused by strep pneumo) for which we needed a different course of antibiotics. The question is...do I give him those and leave him vulnerable to yet another infection or do I forego them and just wait to see? We have done the wait and see approach with our kids before (oddly enough, it was after Boy A kept getting recurrent ear infections when he was younger that we kept treating him for) and our doctor is supportive of it. Most cases of ear infection clear up on their own in about the same amount of time it takes an antibiotic to work, but without the side effects of the antibiotic. At this point, I am taking the wait and see approach. I have the script ready to go if needed, but I'm hoping we won't need it. He's already missed almost half of his classes already this year. Poor kid may have to be homeschooled, just based on the fact that he's been too sick to be allowed in regular school. :) (Okay, so I'm not totally feeling that bad about it. I would love to homeschool him. But that's just between us.) :)
Boy B (who is 5) got sick two weeks ago today with a bad cough, fever and just acted lethargic. Wouldn't eat, wouldn't drink, wouldn't move. He was miserable (adorable but miserable). His first soccer practice/game of the season was the next day and I knew he wasn't up to playing, but thought maybe he'd want to go along just to watch and at least meet the other kids on the team.
His response? "No, I don't want to. What if I cough on them and I get them sick?" This was said in a raspy, froggy-sounding voice. My heart just melted.
So, the kiddos stayed home with Grandma while Hubby and I went off to the game. Hubby is the head coach and Hubby's friend, C, is the assistant coach. It's kind of backwards, considering the fact that C is a huge soccer fan and LOVES to play and watch, and as it turns out, coach.
Then, that Monday, Boy B missed school, went to the doctor's office and we were told that he has para influenza. They did a quick strep test and a cultured test. Hubby and I thought it sounded like he had strep, but the quick strep came back negative.
We got a call the next day. The cultured strep test was positive, and where would we like the prescription called in to? So, we start antibiotics.
Wednesday, he still has a fever, Thursday morning it FINALLY breaks. Looking good to be back at school on Friday. I call his school and request his homework. Boy A brings it home with him after school.
Thursday night. Kitchen table. Two boys sitting down to do homework. Boy A, who is 8 and in 3rd grade with 2 pages of homework. Boy B, who is 5 and in kindergarten with 8 pages of homework (front AND back). Math problem: which child finishes first?
Answer: They finish at the same time.
It takes Boy A FOREVER to do his homework. He's a smart kid, he just does not like to sit down and focus on one subject long enough to finish a page of homework. Meanwhile, Boy B sits there, diligently and methodically, going through his homework one page at a time, stopping only to ask me to read him the directions. I don't understand this.
Actually, I think I do. We had discussed quite a while ago about homeschooling the kids. At the last minute, we enrolled Boy A in Kindergarten and he's been in public school since. His best year was first grade. His teacher was fabulous, she kept on him, it was wonderful! Kindergarten was good, but he slid back a lot in what he could do, second grade was horrible. Absolutely horrible. For him and for our family. It came out everywhere. Then we moved. That helped matters quite a bit, because we were in a different school.
This year, I don't know. I'm not even sure what to think just yet. Boy B does FABULOUS in school. I told Hubby years ago, when Boy A was about 5 and Boy B was almost 3, that I was pretty sure, based on their personalities at that time, that Boy A should definitely be homeschooled and that Boy B would probably do well in a regular classroom. Why do I not listen to myself? Honestly. I listen to others, doubt my own gut instinct and then my poor kiddo pays for it. And I pay for it, by having to sit next to him for an hour to make sure he gets his two pages done.
Hubby and I went shopping recently and we picked up a globe, which is not a huge deal for most people. But I have been wanting to have a globe in the house for, probably, four or five years now. I am so excited! I told Hubby that buying this globe only makes me want to homeschool Boy A even more. He said that he knew that. Maybe we can still do it.
Okay, so I started off with sickness...let's go back to that. So, last week, Boy B missed Monday through Thursday. He went back Friday. All was good. No school on Monday because of Labor Day (no sports that weekend either). Monday night, Boy B and now Boy A are BOTH running fevers. No school for either one of them the next day. And no school for Boy C because his teacher comes here to the house and we can't risk exposing her to the other boys because she visits a lot of families and some of the kids in those families have kids who are susceptible to sickness.
It's been crazy. This house of sickness. I'm so tired and exhausted. I got sick and ended up having to take a week off of work myself, this week. Thursday night, Boy B wakes up scream-crying. Take him in to get checked out because I know what it is. The doctor's diagnosis: "a rip-roaring ear infection" Hmmmmph. Can we not get ahead of this?
Okay, so here's my take on this. He had strep throat (caused by group A strep), used antibiotics which treats that (and also kills off good fighting cells too), thus making him more prone to the ear infection (caused by strep pneumo) for which we needed a different course of antibiotics. The question is...do I give him those and leave him vulnerable to yet another infection or do I forego them and just wait to see? We have done the wait and see approach with our kids before (oddly enough, it was after Boy A kept getting recurrent ear infections when he was younger that we kept treating him for) and our doctor is supportive of it. Most cases of ear infection clear up on their own in about the same amount of time it takes an antibiotic to work, but without the side effects of the antibiotic. At this point, I am taking the wait and see approach. I have the script ready to go if needed, but I'm hoping we won't need it. He's already missed almost half of his classes already this year. Poor kid may have to be homeschooled, just based on the fact that he's been too sick to be allowed in regular school. :) (Okay, so I'm not totally feeling that bad about it. I would love to homeschool him. But that's just between us.) :)
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