It all began in 3rd grade. Sweet, innocent 3rd grade! This was before I entered the realm of hormone-activating, "relationship"-developing, attitude-driven, stinky 5th graders!
My first year... Ha! What a time!
I wanted to share some of the stories I wrote down from that first year...
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Chinese Torture and Fighting Bunnies
Thursday, I had a boy exert some physical behaviors on a couple little girls. First, he put his hand around another little girl's neck because he thought it would be funny, even though (in his words) "it looks like murder." Of course no one laughed. Then, at lunch he tried to give another little girl Chinese torture because "it doesn't hurt you unless you're Chinese." Needless to say, he ended up in the principal's office that afternoon. His parents' reaction is to reward him with IHOP next weekend if he doesn't have anymore physical incidences this week. Hello? Whatever happened to punishing a child for their aggressive behaviors? You know, like no TV, no video games, basically just sit in your room and read books all weekend.
Fridays we usually do a Scholastic News type of "newspaper" on current events in the classroom. This Friday's was on the new spacecraft Orion. So, we're discussing what a constellation is and I drew an example on the front board for them to see. Out of nowhere this little girl in my room says, "One time I saw these two bunnies fighting over some pieces of meat." What?! No, I did not draw a constellation of a bunny... it was a dipper. Where on earth did that come from?
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Love Hate?
A boy and girl in my classroom always bicker, always disagree. "You said..." "No I didn't." "Yes you did." or "You always get to..." "No I don't." "Yes you do." and so on. They will argue if their desks are sitting right next to each other. They will argue if their desks are across the classroom from each other. They are usually worried about what the other one is doing, in the other person's business. Yet, when I let the kids choose their partners for activities... I often find those two working together. So very strange. Two thoughts come to mind... There's an old saying, "keep your friends close and your enemies closer." Or... our third grade aide says maybe third grade puppy love is in the air. I suppose it's possible they enjoy making the other one squirm. I don't know...
I continue to discover all the ways third graders are odd!
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Head Rest No Longer
This last week I decided to take action against a student who was always putting his head down on his desk. Before you know it he wasn't paying attention. You could ask him any question and he'd give you a blank look. Sometimes it even took him a while to figure out you had even asked him a question. This had to stop. He's a bright boy... if he applies himself. How else could I stop this craziness? I just had to do it. I took his desk away. No desk? No way he can lay his head on the desk. Now, I'm totally mean. I only moved it several feet away. He can still store books and keep it nice and messy.
The first day he didn't mind it so much. It was almost odd having him pay attention to all the instruction and discussion. Since then he has disliked it more and more. As long as it works for him (and me), that desk will not return. Maybe he should think about a set bedtime and a good night's sleep. He's only 8 years old!
Hey, in case you're thinking that's mean... there's a 4th grade teacher in the school where if you take too long finding something she's asked you to take out... she assumes your desk has become unbearably messy. Then, she pushes the desk over just enough so everything dumps out. Then, they have to sort through their mess on the floor to find whatever they had been searching for! Yikes!
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Christmas Craziness
Well, I have to say that the last week before Christmas break has got to be one of the most pointless weeks of the entire school year. Craziness. That's the only word that can describe an elementary classroom at that time of year. I felt like I was rushing around trying to get things done... "things" includes Christmas presents made by the students for their parents, grade reports for the student who decided to move over Christmas break, actual learning activities that we try to disguise as game-like holiday activities, Christmas present made by the teachers for the students, and details laid out with the parents in charge of the ever-anticipated Christmas party on the last day of the week. I am very thankful to say the 4-day week with the kids ended, the Christmas party was very successful... and I survived! Hooray!
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What Do You Do?
Lay-his-head-down-on-his-desk, be-a-monkey-in-the-bathroom boy has struck again. During the morning he does ok... that's reading/writing/spelling time. I guess during math he gets bored with the speed of the classroom. The last several days we can be halfway through the math lesson and he has a blank math journal page. What more can I take away... his chair? He already sits on the floor half the time anyway.
He's definitely an odd little man. He's almost always the last one in the classroom in the mornings. He yawns his way through the morning activities because he doesn't have a specific bedtime that's enforced. He enjoyed his ISS he received not even a month into the school year. He enjoys being sent to the office to do work that he chooses not to do with his classmates. What do you do when the kid really doesn't care because his parents haven't taught him how to? The only solution I've come up with is that for every day he acts this way during math class, he'll have to spend 30 minutes at homework assistance doing that assignment after school, a time when he should be at home playing video games or hanging off the curtains and ceiling fan.
I am thankful for the happy, chatty, somewhat immature, needy bunch that I do have this year. If all I have to worry about is act-like-a-monkey-in-the-bathroom boy and blurt-out-about-random-things-that-don't-apply-to-anything boy and "will you do this for me... I can't do this"... well, I think I'm ok. I don't mind repeating myself three, four, five times. Maybe I should get one of those court stenographers to come in to repeat things for me... or maybe a parrot would be a good class pet for them.
The other two grade-level teachers were telling stories of their first year of teaching. One of them had a child whose father ended up on America's Most Wanted. Imagine having a student come in and tell stories of parties at their house all weekend and police coming to your house almost daily... and that being a NORMAL occurrence. Yikes! I'd much rather have these 12 kiddos who are just plain doing alright.
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Saying Goodbye
Well, I'm very disappointed that I won't get to see my kiddos grow into their 4th grade year. I won't get to see my kiddos in the hallway next year and smile and wave as they say Hi, Mrs. Jones. Tears, tears, tears.
Lots of fun as a first year teacher. Lots of memories. I'll miss both the kids and the teachers/staff I've become friends with.
Now I'm having to start the dreaded interview process over again, and it stinks! Not knowing if what I'm telling the interviews is right. But... I'll be alright. I'm sure the new school will present just as many memories as this school, if not more. Maybe this will be the one I can settle into.
A friend said such encouraging words today that make me smile when I get sad... "The way I see it, it's our loss and their gain." Ahh... thanks for making me feel better!
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I enjoy teaching the fifth grade content, but I've often thought it wouldn't be so bad going back to third grade. Giving it a second go. Now that my teaching feet are more wet, I wonder how different my experience would be...
