Snowflakes....

Snowflakes ruled my world today. The frozen water falling from the sky variety and the hand cut paper kind. I taught my class how to cut paper snowflakes last week. What I have found is the most difficult step to teach is folding paper. Once they get the hang of that it is easy. They caught on pretty quickly though and pretty soon I had a bin full of paper snowflakes. I had been making them myself to hang in the room. I lovvvveeeee making snowflakes. So then today I went into school to meet a student to paint the backdrop. But............

I had forgotten today was some kind of Community Basketball day. I guess a couple of times a year several local informally arranged teams play teams from other towns near and far. It was quite a community event. I had been told a little bit about it but didn't realize that it wasn't just a community event it was an COMMUNITY EVENT!!! I worked on tying fishing line to paperclips so that I could hang the students snowflakes from the ceiling tiles in the foyer. I had hung some before when we made paper bats but they were too long. So I hung those up. Then decided to make some 3 dimensional snowflakes like these HERE! I had a bonding moment with a few of the older students while making them. I don't have a lot of interaction with the older students... so it was a good thing. Then the little ones came in and wanted to make some more snowflakes so we cut out some more. I didn't accomplish much other than hanging blue and white snowflakes in the foyer of the school. By the way the Foyer is also our lunch room. It is the main entrance to the school.

I had to drive up north to participate in a PLC (Professional Learning Community) this Friday. I always have mixed feelings about these events because I feel like sometimes very little learning is accomplished. It was interesting to visit one of the schools and hear about some of the issues that they are dealing with at their school. It makes me realize that even when they drive me batty my kids are VERY well behaved :)! I did get some time talking with some of the teachers at the Kindergarten and 1st grade levels. They gave me some very helpful suggestions and shared some of their resources. That was WONDERFUL. I need to be better about e-mailing them if I find a gap that the kids just aren't getting. For instance this last week it was CONTRACTIONS! WOW... that was torture. :) I told them that we were lazy English Speakers who liked to shorten words by squishing them together, then throwing out one or more letters, then putting an apostrophe in their place. Most of them were getting it after a lot of PRACTICE.... but some... some... oh boy. We'll (contraction) keeping trying. After all we're (contraction) a community of learners.

I have been frustrated by a couple of things lately. One was that there was an incident on the playground that occurred with one of my students and I was not told for 2 hours that something had happened. Not NOT NOT OKAY!! Another frustration is I have a student with a learning disability. I have done everything I can do with the resources I have. I am fighting literally fighting the powers that be to do more for this kid. I don't want more time to go by without getting he/she more help. It isn't the way it should work. I asked for advice from a couple of different sources lately. I think part of what is getting in the way is that I haven't been teaching for a long time. But I have been working with KIDS for a long time. I know the difference between a student who is learning and struggling to learn to read versus the kid who is making serious processing errors. I personally LOVE to read and it hurts me that I can't help this kid more. I am not giving up though. He/she has made progress... and if I have to fight to get him/her help. I will!! I shouldn't have to but I will.

Only 2 days of school next week. Tuesday is Pajama Day. I got some new jammies for that special event! Slippers are allowed in my room... can you imagine going to school in your Pajama's and slippers? It will be a fun day for the kids. The excitement for the holiday will make learning interesting. Luckily there is a lot of Thanksgiving related schoolwork (that has learning value) that we can do. Wish me luck...

P.S. I am soooo grateful for the books I recieve. The kids get pretty revved up for new books to. Look at the picture to the left and you will see my Christmas Present from my Friends in the Big City who love me enough to dig through the bins at Goodwill!!! YAY!!! THANK YOU.... THANK YOU... THANK YOU...

P.P.S. getting out the peanut butter, special K, chocolate chips.... etc