Teacher-y Blog

So Much for Consistency

2012-02-01T21:36:00.002-10:00

I thought I'd be able to keep up with my new blog, but as always, I come back a few weeks later than expected.

I lost my voice yesterday and sounded like I was talking with a frog in my throat for most of the day. Surprisingly, the kids were very sympathetic and pretty much behaved for the entire day. Working with the microphone and using facial expressions/gestures really worked. I have to remember to give them free computer time tomorrow as a reward for good behavior.

One of the things that I want to start working on is a research paper. I know that I always think about doing some kind of project every year, but it never happens. The only reason I wanted to do that is so that the kids don't go blind into researching da Vinci for the Curriculum Fair project. That's another thing I have to worry about doing as well.

I haven't done much Science with them either. I'm also going to be sending home packets for the first time in a while on Monday next week. I have to remember to compile everything that I want to make copies of for Monday so I'm not running around like a crazy person that morning.

Camera Shy

2012-01-18T22:30:00.002-10:00

One of the things that I've been working on for the past few days is the work I'm going to be showing for the Literacy Night that's coming up next week Tuesday. I guess I've always been one of those people who work best under pressure, so I was able to come up with some decent things in the past couple of days. Having different sorts of technology at my school is really helpful since there's always so many different outlets for the students to come up with presentations. I've been taking photos and recording the students doing their work and talking about their pieces. It's funny how many of them seem to clam up once they know they're being recorded. I'm nearly done with one of the Imovies and will need to start up the second one tomorrow.

With Math, I think the kids are really beginning to see how to do conversions! I'm going to try and teach a new concept tomorrow, so we'll see how that goes and hopefully they'll able to understand it.

Today during Language, I had the students working on character charts for Mrs. Frisby for the Literacy Night project. I have the students leveled off by ability and it's amazing to hear how the different groups talk about the importance of main characters vs. secondary characters. I have to remember to type out the questions for the Response Questions out for tomorrow's work and I also have to do the Comprehension Questions. Oh and we have the Awards Assembly tomorrow. I'll probably end up pushing the Dangerous Crossing test to Monday. I don't think the kids will do too well if I rush them and give them the test on Friday. I have to remember to send an email to the parents or have the kids write the change in their planners.

Fresh Start 2012

2012-01-18T22:28:00.000-10:00

January 17, 2012
I decided to start an online log of the daily happenings in my life as an educator. I have other blogs elsewhere, but wanted to start off fresh during this first month of 2012.

In the past, my blogs were always about frivolous things...like my love life or troubles with school. Now, it seems more important to take note of what happens since time just goes by so fast. I've always felt that it's important to write down my thoughts and concerns, but haven't really made time for it since my boyfriend (now husband) got more serious. I should have realized that it was even more important to write everything down...well I guess now is a better time to start than never.

Didn't mean to get to deep there...anyway...

Since today was the first day back after a 3-day weekend, I assumed the students would be tired and focused on doing their work. Today was also the last day of our parent-teacher conferences (second round). Got through the morning okay. Everyone was able to focus and finish their journal prompts. I forgot to take note of their Kidbiz articles. I need to remember to do that tomorrow. Ended up doing a correction party for Math class today for the majority of the students who finished their work. I'm debating whether to continue tomorrow or actually move on to the next lesson. I'm probably going to do metric mass...grams, kilograms, etc. I'm wondering how they will do with that. Then I'll finish off the unit with time. I have to remember to find something to give them an assessment. Maybe doing something online. I'll have to remember to check the server out to see what kind of questions are available for them. LH never seems to have his Math books. I guess it's good he's not in my homeroom..partner needs to deal with him. You know, in the beginning of the year, I always dreaded having Math since I've taught the high group for so long, but teaching this group is not that bad. I think having to teach them has really helped me hone my skills and make me a better teacher having to come up with different strategies. I'm kind of learning along with them.

During Language, I had the students do their vocabulary for the textbook and their WW assignment. I also had the kids posing for still shots for the LN activity coming up next week. I was happy to get the display boards done today. One less thing for me to worry about. I was also able to record some of the kids for the IMovie as well. I hope that the movie is still saved on the computer. I had tried doing a history lesson on the IMovie program last week, but it seems to have disappeared. I don't know what happened. I wonder if the file was just too big...I have to figure it out or just start from scratch.

One of my students, GB, has been really out of it for the last couple weeks. I ended up having to move her next to my desk so she wouldn't get distracted and talk to her neighbors. I wonder how long I should keep her there? I also hope that helps solve my problem and that she gets her work done sitting by herself.

I also booked our grade-level field trip to the capitol this afternoon. I hope the coordinator can fit the days I want in. I need to check my email tomorrow.

Christmas Projects

2010-11-29T20:07:00.003-10:00

The first day of December is on Wednesday. I can't believe how quickly time has gone by. This is the first year where I've started my Christmas projects early. I usually rush to finish them during the last two weeks before break. I'll be at workshops for most of next week, so I decided to get as much done this week. There will probably be some that we can do when I do come back to teach, but I know there will be a lot of "academic" catching up to do as well. Speaking of which, I need to do my sub plans and start running off copies.

I ended up spending most of this afternoon shopping for supplies for the kids' projects. I still forgot some things, but I think I got most of what was needed. I realized I was missing some things as I drove away from Wal-Mart, but I didn't want to go back into that madness, so I guess I can go back tomorrow if anything. I need to start the kids on their puzzle wreaths tomorrow. That should be oodles of fun.

Desks pt. 2

2010-11-08T18:49:00.002-10:00

The kids LOVED the new arrangement today. I even got a compliment from one of my co-workers. The only downside of sitting where I was at for most of the day was that my behind hurt since I didn't have my comfy teacher chair. I'm thinking of moving it to my new area instead.

I'm hoping that we'll be able to keep this arrangement for a while...I'm just going to have to think of a way to mix it up again in a few weeks...

Desks

2010-11-05T21:31:00.002-10:00

I've been rearranging the desks in my room every two weeks, so the students are always anticipating the changes. I usually keep the layout the same and just switch them around, but today, I decided to really change things up.

My teacher desk has always been like a fort. My desk is facing the windows and is between two longer desks. I decided to take one of the long desks out and move it into a spot where the students are always complaining about the coldness of the AC. I then moved another desk that was in the back and put it with the other long desk. Now, I have a place to work with small groups that is in front of the room where I can keep my eye on everyone. I ended up making the students sit in two larger groups. I was kind of hesitant to do that, but we'll see how it goes.

Halloween 2010

2010-10-29T20:27:00.002-10:00

Looking back to the beginning of the SY, I did have a hard time adjusting to this class, but I've found that over the past few months, they've really grown on me. They were pretty good this afternoon despite there being a Halloween activity going on outside. I complimented them on their behavior. I do think that my class is pretty well-behaved compared to the others although I do have one of the more playful ones with me.

The quarter will be over before I know it...which reminds me. When I was teaching with the ELMO during Math, one of the girls asked me if I was married. I guess she finally noticed my engagement ring. Then I mentioned that I was GOING to get married. All the girls started asking questions and we got off-task for a minute or so. Fortunately, they were able to get back on-task pretty quickly. I had one of the girls teach me something today. There was a problem on the WS I had assigned to them. I knew the answer, but wasn't really certain on how to explain it or how to make a diagram for it. She was the one who was able to come up with the diagram and was able to explain it to me. I will definitely need to give her an ME for the probability strand this quarter.

HOT cards

2010-08-21T06:35:00.002-10:00

This year has already started off in an interesting way. It's only been three weeks and I've already started having problems with some of my kids and homework. I used to do sticker charts with my previous kids. I'd leave the charts up in front of everyone so the students could see each others' progress. I'd seen these things called HOT cards in the Scholastic catalogs and decided to try to use these things to see if they'd work for my kids. One of the pros of this is that it's helping me stay on top of collecting and checking the homework. I have one of the students collect the cards and I stamp the cards as I check the homework. With the sticker charts, I didn't really keep up with them and would forget to give the kids stickers to put on.

I was thinking of adding a checkbook incentive program as well. I'm going to try and read up about it online and see what I can find out.

Survival

2010-08-06T15:38:00.001-10:00

I survived the first week of school. It was hard having to go in today since most of the Fridays last year were furlough days. I think it's better with this group though since they need lots of attention and help. They are so chatty and can't seem to focus on whatever they need to do. I shouldn't say that about all of them though...there are a handful who are good and usually finish all their things on time. It'll be easier once I put them in pods since I'll be able to zigzag through them easily to see what they're doing.

New Year 2010-2011

2010-08-02T05:41:00.003-10:00

It's that time again...new school year! I can't believe that it's already the beginning of a new year. I'm not as excited this year, but that may change in a few hours. There was a mistake on my ESIS roster and I know that the office is going to be swamped. I guess all I should do is redo my list so that the other child is on there as well. Wheatie woke me up around 4 this morning, so I missed an hour of sleep. Hopefully I won't crash and burn this afternoon since I work at WK too. :(

Back to the Grind

2010-07-23T05:52:00.000-10:00

The school year is quickly looming back into my life. I can't believe how quickly the summer went by. I feel like I got nothing accomplished. I've been meaning to do some of the things I normally get done before the school year start, but I always seem to find something else to do instead.

I went into my classroom yesterday to grab some borders to help KN do his bulletin boards and found that all of my furniture was pushed to one side of the room. I was thinking, "What's the reason I had to do a classroom map if all they were going to do was push all of my stuff to one side?" I hope it'll all be moved by the time Monday comes around since I plan on spending my day in the classroom then. I'll probably go and exercise in the morning and then go straight afterward. I could even go to evening class as well since I took off work that night.

I can't even remember what my class count is either. I really should get on the ball...

Four-Day Week

2009-08-16T21:02:00.002-10:00

Fortunately, we have Friday off this week for Admissions Day. I remember this time last year, I went up to see BFC on the Big Island. I'm looking forward to a three-day weekend.

This week, we have our first grade-level artic day of the year. That should be fun and exciting. We're going to be getting our class scores from the HSA that they took last year. I'm not really looking forward to seeing how my students did, but I am curious. I'm just hoping it's not a total bomb.

We also have DIBELS testing this week, so that will be a good time-killer. I didn't do any of my correcting until today. I got a few papers done and recorded. I should plug on and finish more after I get off the computer, or I could just go to sleep. I'm probably going to pick the latter option.

Less Than Two Weeks Left

2009-07-16T09:03:00.002-10:00

It's hard to believe that the summer is nearly over. After getting my keys last week, I had painters come in and got my locks changed on my place. I will be officially moving in next week. I'm looking forward to being on my own and being somewhat independent.

On the other hand, after the move, I need to focus on doing stuff for work. I haven't even touched my Social Studies text and I brought home the Science text in hopes of creating some type of organized curriculum for this school year. I've been so much more focused on the move more than anything else.

I've been at my PT job for a little over a week now and things have been running smoothly with that. I'm still getting used to the routines, but I know after a little more time, I'll get even better at it. I hope I can hack it during the regular school year...

Work Week Begins

2009-07-05T19:47:00.002-10:00

Today, I hung out with BFC to celebrate the "end" of my work-less summer. I start my part-time job tomorrow and I'll be subbing for summer school every day this week as well. We went to Ala Moana Beach Park to get some sun for a little while then headed to Ala Moana to look around and walk off the 4th of July food we had eaten yesterday. After spending a good hour and a half there, we went to the nearby Pets Discount to look at the puppies. They were very cute! We also looked at the bunnies, which looked like they were shedding and they weren't too cute...I wish they weren't so high maintenance. I wouldn't mind having a rabbit, but the cleanup is junk. Afterwards, we headed to Waikiki to eat at the Cheesecake Factory. I had told BFC that it was better to go for lunch because it wasn't too crowded then. We were both pretty hungry and feeling ambitious, so we ordered two appetizers and individual entrees. I warned BFC that the portions were big, but he didn't believe me until the plates were in front of us. We ordered the fried calamari and fried crab wontons. I was full by the time my entree arrived, so it was a good thing I only ordered a sandwich. By the time we were done, there was no room for cheesecake and we had to roll each other out of the restaurant. Hopefully we'll be able to have more days like today.

I've also been putting off cleaning my room and putting stuff into boxes for the last few days. I'll be getting my keys on Thursday, so I need to start moving along and getting things done before the school year starts. I haven't gotten any school stuff done yet either. I attempted to work on some reflection papers today at the beach, but didn't get anything done (which isn't a surprise). I have to kick my butt into gear and finish cleaning everything up. Boo!

One More Month

2009-06-30T09:05:00.002-10:00

We start school again in about a month! BOO!

Well, I guess I'm somewhat looking forward to going back to work to try out some new ideas with my curriculum since I am taking a few classes this summer. Good news is that I will be a Class 7 by 2010. YAY! Now I won't have to take anymore classes for credit and no more portfolios.

I will be signing my closing documents to my place this week. It should be exciting, but I don't like having to go through all of my things. I've been sitting in my room staring at the boxes my dad brought home for me to use. I've filled a few of them, but those items only came from one part of my bedroom. I'm trying to tackle my larger bookshelf now to see what goodies I find there. I'm debating whether to put up an ad on craigslist for some of the items, but I'm trying to figure out what some of the things are worth.

Moving in to the place will be another story as well. My realtor is trying to get the final walkthrough inspection for Thursday, so the journey is almost complete. I'm going to be sad taking that down payment to the bank, but hey, it has to be done.

Week 1 of Summer Down

2009-06-16T21:39:00.003-10:00

The first week of summer has slipped through my fingers. I can't even really remember what I did all of last week. Oh that's right...I got sick on Wednesday. BFF says that it's because I always stress myself out and then when vacation is in sight, my body knows, and then shuts off its immunity to colds. :p I shouldn't wait until the last minute to do everything...

Tomorrow I'll be heading to the BI for the final time this year for a friend's wedding in Kona. Soon after the wedding, BFC will be coming back to the island for good. It should be interesting to see what happens now that we'll both be on the same island.

Freedom!

2009-06-09T21:36:00.000-10:00

Today was the official last day for me of the 2009-2009 school year. Teaching fifth grade was an interesting experience and I'm looking forward to doing all over again, but better. I guess that's what teaching is about though. With each year, you grow and have a chance to reflect on what could have been done instead. This is will be the second year that I'll be staying in the same grade level, so I'm a little more prepared for what's to come instead of being a "blind bat" like this year. I'm looking forward to doing nothing but veg out for a couple of days before heading to the BI for the A/P wedding. I'm also going to see BFC for a few days before he returns for good in two weeks. It's amazing how quickly time went by...I still remember thinking like he would never be coming back. Now he'll be back before I know it.

4 1/2 More Days Left

2009-06-01T19:20:00.001-10:00

The end of the year is almost here! My first year of teaching fifth grade has been an interesting experience. I remember receiving my acceptance call from my principal before transferring and thinking, "Fifth grade, eww," but now I'm glad that I decided to try something new. I admit, it's been difficult having to get used to a different curriculum nearly every single year, but there's something about fifth grade that I really enjoy. They're very independent and are able to help me with a lot more stuff than my former students could. They get my jokes more and are able to take my sarcasm. They can read me very well. I'm looking forward to teaching fifth grade again next year so I can fine-tune my lessons.

I'm looking forward to letting my "monsters" go, but I know I'll miss the majority of them. They were extremely good this morning. We hadn't been doing our Reading textbook for the last few weeks, and when we started the lesson, they knew exactly what to do and where to go to the activities for the story. I was really pleased.

I just hope that the upcoming class will be just as memorable as this one...

11 and a Half More Days (I think)

2009-05-21T21:16:00.002-10:00

I felt an update was in order for my "gripe" site.

Things have been moving steadily at work. We just had DARE day on Tuesday and our DARE graduation on Wednesday morning. Going to DARE day was really interesting and I found that it was pretty exciting, but my co-workers said that I'd think differently after seeing the same things again and again as the years passed. Surprisingly, we sat down next to my former school and I felt somewhat like a celebrity with my former students saying hello to me. I even got a hug from one of them before we left. Being at the Stan Sheriff was like madness with so many schools in one place. I was dying as we stood outside waiting for our bus because it was like the lines of children would not end. I found myself giving the stink eye to some other students since they weren't acting appropriately.

There are only a few weeks left of school and I've been counting down the days since Spring Break. I'm looking forward to my summer, although I should be teaching summer school to get some extra money. I guess that's something I can look into for next summer. BFC will also be coming back for good in late June, so that is definitely something I'm looking forward to. I'll be going to see him for the long weekend on Saturday and again in June for a friend's wedding.

I also finished three of my portfolios within a few days of each being due. I have one more due next Friday, so I'm in the process of finishing up my lessons, gathering up student work, and writing my reflections.

Week 1 of SB done

2009-03-28T13:34:00.002-10:00

I can't believe one week's already passed. I got nothing accomplished and I lost the majority of my money in Vegas, but I'm able to put a little bit back into my bank account. I also bought some new things from the stores in Vegas, but the highlight of the trip was going to Trader Joe's. Oh and my mom and I tried something new and caught the city bus to the Meadow's Mall. The pass was a good deal at $4 for an all-day pass. Yay!

I spent a little time with BFC since he went back to the BI today. It was nice seeing him, but I'm not too sure when we'll see each other next though. I'm debating whether to visit him sometime next week, but his work schedule might coincide with those plans.

I need to get cracking on my portfolios. I'm nearly done with one that is due next month, but I haven't started anything for the others yet. I should jump on to my desktop to look at those things again...

SPRING BREAK!

2009-03-21T12:03:00.001-10:00

It's finally the break. This last week at work seemed to drag by really slow, but by Friday afternoon, I was all smiles since we had JRFH for most of the afternoon.

I ended up waking up early this morning and doing work (I don't know what was wrong with me) before heading to Jazzercise. My intention was to lose a few pounds before heading to Vegas, but I ended up not losing anything since I'd missed so many classes. I was sick nearly all week last week and almost lost my voice. It's slowly coming back to normal.

A few weeks ago, I had put in my application to transfer to another grade level at my school, but after much thought, I decided to talk with my principal to withdraw my application. I guess I could teach fifth grade for another year since I put my toes in the water for a little bit. I'll feel more prepared this year.

On a more depressive note, BFC will not be coming back until Tuesday and leaving on Saturday morning. I won't be here for nearly the whole week, so I'll only be able to see him on Friday and Saturday. So much for spending quality time with one another. But on a happier note, he will be here on Oahu for next school year! Yay!

Glimmer of Admiration

2009-03-02T21:45:00.002-10:00

I've always been a book person...I love doing research and writing essays. I've been trying to instill that into my students. With the History curriculum for the grade level (American history), it's important the students understand how America came to be and how people from all over the world came to settle in America. So, I've been using the textbook and having the kids take notes about important dates, people, and events. I admit I haven't been very diligent about keeping up and we're pretty behind as far as the benchmark maps go, but I know we still have to plug on and I don't want to skip around and have the kids get confused.

I've been creating outlines for the kids so that all they need to do is read the lesson and fill in the blanks. I've had complaints about it, but I told them that I could give them nothing and they'd have to take notes on their own without any hints. I overheard one of my students (JL) complaining today about how long it is, etc...this is a kid who hardly EVER turns in his work to me. I think he said something like how I just make copies of some workbook or something. Then I overheard one of his quadmates (JS) saying, "Did you know that Ms. N actually types the paper out herself? Imagine how long it takes her? She has to do one for every lesson! You shouldn't complain about it." I was surprised at JS's reaction because I didn't think he cared too much for me, but for him to defend me (somewhat) made me happy. It shows that he appreciates what I do to make things easier for them.

Viva Las Vegas Part II

2009-02-24T21:33:00.000-10:00

My mom finally booked the trip to Vegas! We'll be going during that first week during Spring Break. I really need a break and at least I have something to look forward to. I'm kind of bummed I'll be missing spending time with BFC, but who can pass up Vegas?

Eureka!

2009-02-22T22:35:00.000-10:00

I have a major problem with organization. You should see my desk at home. There are papers and textbooks scattered all over the place. I spent some time today cleaning up my desk and sorting my papers. I enjoy sorting the papers and arranging them into neat piles, but I don't enjoy sitting down and correcting them. I got through some spelling tests and math classwork today, so that was a plus. As I was grading the papers, I thought about how I need to record the scores in my gradebook and then I remembered one of my co-workers telling me about this gradebook online called engrade.com. I had told her that I would check it out since she said that it was easy to use and the kids could even access their accounts to check their progress. I finally logged on to today and let me tell you, I LOVE it! I created several different classes into the different math strands and all I need to do is input the grades and it calculates the scores for me. This will also help me keep track of who's turned in their assignments. I figure, hell, since I'm on the computer afterschool anyway, now I can just hop onto engrade and input the assignments on there instead of trying to search for my checklist (which is often buried under a crap of papers on my desk).

Hooray! Hopefully this will help make my life a little easier.

Hilo Getaway

2009-02-16T17:53:00.003-10:00

I just got back from my weekend trip to Hilo. It was a nice trip, but I'm super tired. BFC and I ended up getting up around 6:30 every morning since the sun came up around that time and the light shone through his screen door. It was nice spending the long weekend with him.

He had bought me roses for Valentine's Day and I was pleasantly surprised by his gesture. It meant a lot to me since it had been a long time since I got flowers. We went to this cute Japanese restaurant for Valentine's Day dinner. We just bought some sushi since we couldn't get a regular table and couldn't order from the regular menu. The sushi was good, but it didn't beat Kat's though (especially price-wise).

On a side note, everywhere we went for a sit-down meal, we had crappy service. On the first night, I wanted to go to KHOP, but there was no parking, so we went to Kuhio Grille, where the service has always been really good, but then we ended up waiting a while for someone to get our order and bring us our check. Then the following day, we had to wait forever for our water refills and checks at Encore, and at the Japanese restaurant, the cook was kind of rude to us until BFC name-dropped his uncle, who's a loyal customer. This morning, we finally got to go to KHOP for breakfast and there were no regular seats, so we had to sit on the counter, where I thought we'd have fast service, but I was wrong! We had this waitress who'd been working there for 35 years and she was talking story more than working. Since we were sitting on the counter, we could see our food sitting on the food counter for about 10 minutes (I finally ordered the coconut pancakes with coconut syrup and probably won't order it again...I should have gotten an omlette). Another waitress ended up bringing us our food. Then we had to wait another 5 minutes or so for the lady to bring a box to wrap BFC's leftovers. It's a good thing we went early, otherwise I'd been late to the airport.

Overall, aside from the sit-down restaurants, the trip was great and BFC and I both agreed that this was the best trip so far.

Viva Las Vegas

2009-02-12T22:04:00.002-10:00

My mom has been asking me on almost a weekly basis, "So when are we going to Vegas this year?" since we've gone at least once every year since I graduated college. After looking at the Vacations Hawaii site for the last couple of months, I've found that the package prices have skyrocketed, so I've been really hesitant about booking anything. Today, my mom received some type of rewards thing that gives her $200 off the package price. I teased her that it was because she spent so much at the casinos. I hadn't received anything from VH regarding a discount or anything, but then again, I don't gamble as much as she does. So, once I walked into the house after Jazzercise, she announced that we needed to go ASAP because the coupon expires in May.

We decided to book a trip during the first week in Spring Break, so I'm looking forward to going. Hopefully they'll have some good "spring" sales at Ann Taylor Loft and Bath and Body Works. I'm also hoping to squeeze in some time at JCPenny's, Trader Joe's, and Olive Garden. I'm going to bug my mom to rent a car...we'll see what happens. At least now I have something really look forward to for next month. On the downside though, I'll only be able to spend one week with BFC since he'll be back for Spring Break...oh well, I know I'll get over it. LoL

Rotations and Refractions

2009-02-10T20:58:00.003-10:00

The days seem to just be flying by. I think there is little over a month left before Spring Break. I've been looking at the different benchmarks and trying to figure out when I'm going to teach each one. In the beginning of the new year, I was trying to be good and correct my papers the night I get them, but that lasted for about a week or so. I found myself procrastinating as usual. I'm happy to say though that my piles are not as huge as they were before, so I guess that's a plus.

Today I tried doing definition maps with my students with some Science terms. They were excited to do something different. I had written various terms on scraps of paper and thrown them into a shoebox. Then I had each student pick a term and find its definition in their Science books. Then they had to write the definition in their own words and create an illustration for their definition. They were supposed to share their work as well, but they all got done at different times, so I decided to let them share later tomorrow. It's been a while since I've seen them so into their work. They were so animated about the definitions and their drawings.

On another Science note, I told them that we would be doing a research paper on something within the solar system. I'm debating how to do this. I'm thinking of having begin with doing an article review or something like that before going into a full-blown paper. I figure they could take a small step first. I need to go and reread that section in "Strategies That Work."

I cannot wait for the weekend and am counting down the days. I've been looking forward to seeing BFC for a long time and am really looking forward to spending time with him again.

Everybody's Working for the Weekend

2009-02-02T21:43:00.003-10:00

I rolled out of bed this morning not wanting to go to work, but dragged myself to do so. I can't believe it's already February! BFC called in sick today and spent the day running errands while I worked hard for my money. I called him during my lunch break to see what he was doing and he was leisurely buying his lunch. I had to rush to get off the phone with him to eat my salad in the workroom before the kids lined up.

I will be going to the Big Island in about a week and a half. I've been having major cravings for Ken's House of Pancakes. You know, the past two times I've gone up to Hilo, and the two times we've gone to Ken's, I've never eaten their pancakes. I was bored this evening and instead of doing my work, I ended up looking at the KHOP's website and tried to make a mental list of what I want to eat when we go there this time around. I definitely want to try the coconut pancakes with the coconut syrup. I'll be happy to be off my semi-diet as well and just indulge in eating crappy food. I just have to work hard for a few weeks at Jazzercise to make it up.

This weekend is Christy's wedding! I can't believe how quickly time has passed! I'm really looking forward to the whole event. Hopefully my dress still fits....

When's the next break?

2009-01-26T20:39:00.003-10:00

The days really seem to be dragging, but my saving grace (I guess you could call it that) are my parent-teacher conferences. Out of my original 31 students, only 18 of the parents wanted another conference. The only good thing about this is the 1:00 dismissal. Tomorrow I only have 1 conference, so I can scurry home early, head out to my online class orientation, then off to Jazzercise.

I found out that extrinsic rewards work really well with this group of kids. I've never had to offer a movie lunch thing with any of my other students in order for them to turn in their homework. I'm glad I thought of it though since homework is no longer a real problem. Some are getting more eager by completing the following night's assignments beforehand. I gave them a lecture about how when they get older, they wouldn't be able to tell their boss, "Oh I had to go to a party last night so I couldn't finish the project." They would get their butt fired from their job. I know it's hard for them to really comprehend that actually happening, but hopefully my sticker incentive charts continue to push them to complete their assignments.

I'll be going up to see BFC in a few weeks. I guess that's partly why the days are just dragging by...

Freedom!

2009-01-16T08:02:00.002-10:00

All the Oahu public schools and the majority of private schools are closed today due to a storm that is possibly heading our way, which meant I have a 4-day weekend! I was so elated yesterday when I heard the news from my mother, the television, and my GLC. This meant one extra day to catch up on my work, plan for next week, and simply veg out. The weather doesn't look too bad right now, but I noticed the clouds were moving quickly across the sky.

I called BFC once I heard the news yesterday and he seemed surprised. All schools on the other islands are closed as well except for those on the Big Island. He said it wouldn't be too bad though since they had an assembly today and he wouldn't really have to teach one of his PE periods.

I was actually surprised about the schools closing because I had joked with others about how there could be bombs exploding in the sky and we'd still have school. This thought goes back to several occasions where there was a blackout or huge storm while I was teaching and school was never cancelled. This is a pretty big thing for all schools to close. Maybe all businesses will be closed early or something due to the weather as well. My brother and I are planning on having a holo holo day (weather permitting). I wonder where we should go...

I'm off to the morning Jazzercise class to exercise since tonight's class got cancelled. I also have to run to the bank...

Honeymoon Stage

2009-01-13T21:25:00.003-10:00

Today was the first day back from Winter break. Having those 8 students out of the room made a HUGE difference. The majority of the class was able to finish the morning business and we even got through everything I had planned for the Reading block before first recess. To make things better, we had an artic day today, so the kids were off at resource classes until lunch.

Got our quarterly assessment results from last quarter and it really opened my eyes to a bigger picture. I need to get off my butt and plan better lessons. I should be doing that right now, but where am I? I'm staring at the test prep books next to my computer and deciding what to do with them. I brought them home for a reason....

Work Day

2009-01-12T21:28:00.002-10:00

Today was the first day officially back to work. I had to take my car in this morning to get serviced and to get my air conditioning fixed. Not having a car was not too good since I couldn't leave early like some of the other teachers did and was stuck at school. Fortunately I had tons of stuff to do and I left my room messy (but what's new?).

I'm hoping to do more hands-on activities with the students this quarter since I have a smaller class size now. I've never had this small of an amount of kids to work with, so I'm going to make the most of it. I also realize I need to take more time to plan out my lessons rather than just winging it like I've been the past semester. I'm going to try my best...hopefully I won't get too burnt out...

Queen of Procrastination

2009-01-10T18:04:00.002-10:00

I have always been known as a procrastinator, but I know I can get things done, even though I may have to pull an all-nighter or two to do so. Now, I've come across something that I won't be able to "fix."

I've been debating on whether or not to visit BFC next month and finally went to book my tickets this afternoon. I had been checking the Hawaiian Air website frequently for the past month and a round trip would have cost me roughly $135. Now, the ticket prices have gone up by more than $10 per way and I'm going to be stuck paying nearly $160 for my trip. :( It's my own fault for not booking it sooner and I'm afraid if I wait a little while more, there may not be any more room or the tickets will be more expensive. I then went to Go! to check their rates. Their rates are much cheaper, but I haven't heard many good things about them. I'm debating on what to do...I may just book my tickets on Hawaiian next weekend since I know they're reliable despite the price.

Can't put a price on spending time with someone you care about right...although I can give him major sh*t about it. LoL

One More Week

2009-01-03T22:11:00.001-10:00

I cannot believe how quickly the vacation has flown by! It's amazing to think that two weeks have already past and I still haven't gotten much done. I should get cracking on my students' math grades. Why am I such a procrastinator?

VACATION

2008-12-25T21:55:00.002-10:00

I'm happy to be on vacation, but the piles of work next to my computer continue to glare at me every day. I got done with one huge pile today and have it ready to return to my classroom. I went yesterday to drop off my Fisher supplies and I realized that I left the room a mess on Friday afternoon. I ended up cleaning one corner of the room, but still have to tackle my desk.

One positive thing is that I was able to rearrange the desks so that I have 6 little groups now instead of 5 huge ones. Losing those 8 students made a huge difference to the setup of my classroom. I'm hoping they'll be ok, but kids are resilient and I'm sure they'll be fine. Now I feel like I'll be able to do a lot more with less students and I'll be able to stay more on top of things.

Breaking News to Kids

2008-12-16T15:40:00.002-10:00

Tomorrow will be the day my grade level tells the students about the new class. I'm wondering how the kids will take it. Several of them had to deal with a transition last year as well. I know I'm looking forward to having a smaller class (especially around the weeks before breaks), but I'm not looking forward to some of the kids' faces. It'll be the talk of recess, I'm sure!

I should have finished my Christmas gifts earlier...now we're scrambling to finish everything!

I'm just counting down the days until vacation is official....2 and 1/2 more days.

Rainy Day

2008-12-11T19:54:00.000-10:00

Today's rain was the worst I've seen in a while. The sidewalk by my room was pretty much flooded by the time I arrived at school this morning. I was not a happy camper sloshing around in my slippers in the rain. Thank goodness I was wearing jeans.

I figured that not many students would come in today due to terrible traffic and weather. By the time I had to turn in my attendance, I had 17 present. My GLC calls me sounding extremely happy asking me how many students I had. I told her and she exclaimed, "I win! I only have 9." I couldn't believe it! I figured the majority of my kids would be there...after a while, I had 20 kids, so 11 were absent. I don't think I've ever had 11 kids absent since I've started teaching.

Having those 11 gone really made a difference, so I'm really looking forward to having 8 of my students removed to the new class. The classroom was just really different, even with my naughty ones present. I think it's just the amount of bodies in the room at one time. There was some noise today, but at least it was working noise.

I'm really looking forward to vacation. Hopefully tomorrow will go by quickly. Maybe it'll rain again....

ALL DONE!

2008-12-03T21:53:00.002-10:00

I am finally finished with my three portfolios. It's such a relief since I have another course online that started this week and I want to focus all my energy on to that one.

I keep telling myself I won't be a procrastinator, but I never seem to follow through. My hand felt like it was going to fall off this afternoon since I needed to hand-write my final portfolio. The instructor hadn't provided a computer template. :( But, I guess it's better that way since I could just write big and fill in as much space as possible.

One More to Go

2008-12-03T00:11:00.001-10:00

I finished my second portfolio this afternoon and I am debating whether or not to make the trek to drop it off tomorrow. I probably won't go since I didn't get as much of my final one done as I wanted to tonight. I do have PE during the last block, so maybe I can do more then...oh and I have my quarterly assessment tomorrow, so I'll be able to do my portfolio during that time. I have to remember to have my kids move their desks into columns tomorrow. Time to hit the sack!

One DOWN!

2008-11-30T22:40:00.003-10:00

I finally finished one of my portfolios. I couldn't believe I typed so much crap in one day. I'm not as fast as BSing as I was before though.

I'm going to print it out tomorrow at work and attempt to finish my other portfolio tomorrow evening. I'm just glad there's no observations required.

Procrastination

2008-11-30T13:06:00.001-10:00

I have no one to blame but myself for not working on my portfolios earlier. I have 3 to finish...1 by Thursday and 2 by Friday. I have about 7 more pages to do for one due on Friday. I think I'm about a third done with the one due on Thursday. I'm not sure how far along I am with the other due on Friday though...I better check it later. I just want to take a nap.

Black Friday Madness

2008-11-28T19:06:00.002-10:00

I wasn't sure if I wanted to go to any Black Friday sales this year until I looked at the actual ads in the paper yesterday. BFC is back from Hilo for Thanksgiving weekend and I figured it'd be something for us to do together since he hadn't really experienced Black Friday shopping before. I went over to his place around 12:30 this morning and we went down to Waikele. As we were passing the area where Steve and Barry's is, I noticed a sign that said "Valet $5." BFC said, "There's no way they would make people pay money to park in a public lot." I thought the same thing, but we were both wrong. People were lined up just to park in the lots with money in hand! We ended up parking above the outlets and walking down. Some of the stores didn't open until 5 and there were already lines forming outside of them. BFC bought some shoes from Skechers, where they were having a good deal: Buy one pair and get the second one for 1 cent. The LeSportSac and Coach lines were too long and I didn't want to wait. Also went to some other clothing stores where I found nothing.

Off to Wal-Mart next. We got into the parking lot at 3:15 and the store didn't open until 5. The line was down the sidewalk. We ended up falling asleep for about an hour in the car and got up, but didn't get in line until 5 on the dot. That was a mistake since we should have gotten in to the line when we got there. The line was now snaking around the parking lot and we ended up getting to the store (finally) at 7. The sun was already coming out by the time we walked in and everything was already sold out. Very disappointing. BFC ended up buying an MP3 player for himself, which was steal (8GB for $40).

Next, we went to Pearlridge. Circuit City was comfortably crowded and there was still tons of merchandise to purchase. I was finally able to get some more DVDs I wanted. BFC bought a camera and another MP3 player for his brother. We walked around the mall afterwards, but didn't have enough energy to look around anywhere in particular.

Ended up taking him home and I went out with friends for lunch. Came home and crashed for two hours. I think I'll be ok now, but I have to do work. Back to reality...

Jerky Turkey

2008-11-25T14:13:00.002-10:00

Tomorrow we have our school's Turkey Trot. It's basically a way to promote physical fitness among the students and promote collaboration and teamwork. Students have to pair up and come up with first and last name for their turkey (a turkey worksheet) and run around the campus to various stations. The previous school I'd been at hadn't done this, so I'm interested in seeing how they do.

We went to the computer lab this afternoon since the kids needed to finish their simple PowerPoint presentations about Thanksgiving. Some of their presentations came out really cute and I'm happy with how they turned out. What amazed me though was the number of students who didn't know how to close the program. I cannot understand how they wouldn't be able to do so without reminders...I'll have to get it into their heads eventually.

During artic today, my HTT mentioned that he may be moving to another grade level because we'll be getting a new teacher. Now, my boss has been saying she'd been trying to get someone new because our numbers are so heavy (all three of us on the grade level are at 31). We'll be able to give 8 of our students to the new teacher. I'm not sure if this is the truth or if things won't change. I admit I'm not happy with the amount of students I have or the amount of chatter that goes on, but overall, I like my students and I know that they've adjusted to the schedule and how I run things. However, change would be good...we'll see what happens.

Field Trip #2

2008-11-24T21:01:00.003-10:00

Today, we had a field trip to the Arizona Memorial and Battleship Missouri museum. I wasn't looking forward to this field trip (honestly I don't look forward to any field trip), but I rolled out of bed this morning at 5:15 to buy my lunch from Kabuki. I was happy there was no line there.

When I got to school, I was concerned that the kids would have to put their lunches in boxes since we were probably going to eat lunch there. I had to dig around my classroom to find suitable boxes. I was fortunate to find a few that weren't too dusty. The kids were excited to see me since I had been out on Friday and I found a note from some of my girls stating that some of the boys were out of line and misbehaving.

The bus left at 8, but our tour didn't start until 9. It doesn't take an hour to drive from my school to Pearl Harbor, but I'm sure traffic was taken into consideration. The movie before the boat ride was interesting, but when we got on to the memorial, there were some kiddies who felt the need to run around, even after the people at the memorial said NOT to run. Anyway, then we went off to the Missouri museum...but we couldn't get on to Ford Island because we didn't have a pass. Imagine sitting with 41 10-year-olds on a bus for 20 minutes! They were all complaining about how they had to go to the bathroom, drink water, or dying of starvation.

So we finally get on to the boat (LATE and by then I'm starting to feel hunger pangs as well) and we have this older guy as our tour guide. When we get into the boat itself, he got frustrated with my students b/c they weren't listening to his spiel...but he had just told me that it was ok if the kids went around and touched things around the museum. So I had to talk with my students about being respectful, etc. in the middle of the museum...I was not a happy camper. The tour went well after "the talk" though.

After the tour and lunch, we got back to school and I realized we had Hawaiian Studies, so I flagged down our Kumu and got to relax for 15 minutes. My back and feet were killing me...I need a massage. I'm so not looking forward to Wednesday (Field Trip #3).

Thanksgiving Week

2008-11-23T20:12:00.000-10:00

I'm so glad there are only 3 days this week. Out of the 3 days, we'll be going on 2 field trips, so I'll hardly be teaching. After this week, there are only 3 weeks left until Christmas break. As I was thinking about it today, I realized that I needed to get cracking on the Christmas gifts.

For the past 3 years, I've had my students do 3 different projects for their parents' Christmas gifts: string art of a snowman, a puzzle wreath ornament, and a poinsettia plant for their gift envelope. I think I usually started it after Thanksgiving. I really should write these things down.

Along with the "fun" things, I wanted to have my students start on a PowerPoint presentation for Social Studies, which means I'll need to go into the lab quite often in the next 3 weeks. I wish I could have the kids work on the laptops, but like I mentioned before, I only have 10. Fortunately, they all have access to the wireless now b/c the tech guy came in a fixed the settings.

Hopefully I won't lose my head before the 19th.

Sub Days

2008-11-22T10:25:00.000-10:00

I used to worry a lot about leaving my students with substitutes. Then I got a little better as time went on because I would usually call the same people to sub for me, so they knew my routines and what was expected. Now that I'm no longer in the same district as my subs, I've had to just put my job on to TSEAS and let whoever take it.

I usually receive all the gritty details from students about which subs they liked and which ones they didn't. I tell them that I don't choose who I want to come in to sub for me, so they would just have to behave no matter who comes in. The only real downside of having a sub is making sub plans. I've found it easier just to make a generic sub plan and write in the details.

Even with taking the day off yesterday, I got nothing accomplished. My math papers have seem to pile up close the ceiling...well I haven't tried piling it ALL up yet, but I'm sure if I did, it'd be pretty close to the ceiling. I'm so looking forward to vacation...it's too bad my portfolios (3 of them) are all due on the same day...before vacation. :(

Tech Life

2008-11-20T16:32:00.001-10:00

Today was the first time I've ever used laptops with my students. I thought I was being pretty smart going through all the LTs ahead of time to put the link of the Math website (Johnnie's Math Page) on to the Favorites. I even went through the website on each of the LTs to make sure it ran smoothly. Once we were able to get the LTs set up, 2 of the 9 LTs my students were using decided not to connect to the wireless. This caused a mini-commotion, but we were able to get everyone into pairs to work on the website. I thought the website was pretty useful because it helped my students see how to use a protractor (which is one of the benchmarks for my grade level). I let the students play the different angle games for 45 minutes or so and had them work on book work. The majority of them were able to apply what they had learned from the computer to the actual thing, which was good, but some had trouble drawing angles. We need to practice that more...I need to find more worksheets that require them to draw angles and measure them.