Punctuation Saves Lives!!!!!

Let's eat Grandma!

OR

Let's eat, Grandma!

"As seen in a 6th Grade Classroom"

Share this with older students and challenge them to come up with another funny way that punctuation saves lives!

WOO!

Woo Jr.

Woo Jr. is a kids website that has lots of fun stuff, including coloring sheets, game and lesson ideas, craft ideas and more.

Everything on the site isn't gold, but they do have some things that can be helpful in your sub kit.

They have a newletter they send, it comes about twice a week, with updates, new activities, and ideas.

Best Quote of the Day

From a first grader, "You are the best teacher I have had in ALL my years!"

That early morning call

Early Morning Telephone Call

When you get that early morning call, you know it's going to be an interesting day!

Yesterday I got a call at 7am.  You have to be there at 7:30! 

I am notorious for taking an hour to get ready in the morning, so I knew I would be late, but I also worked at that school in a non-teacher capacity for 2 1/2 years, so I figured they would forgive me a few minutes. 

I don't know how, but I actually made it on time.

I have been getting several late calls.  I don't know if I should take the job or not.  I assume that they know I won't be there on time, if they call me 5 minutes before the shift starts, but I don't want to assume anything.  I would hate to ruin my reputation by being late.

I guess I could get up and get dressed at 6am, just in case, but I am not a morning person and it is very hard to convince myself to do that when I'm tired.

Today I got a call from a school that is about an hour from my home.  The call came at 8am, to be there at 8am.

Even though I need the work, I figure the best thing to do is to let someone take the job who is ready to go and near to the school.

What I do to get ready faster.....

•  Have a couple of outfits of appropriate clothes already put together
• Have a bag packed with supplies for the day
•  cereal bars
• an orange 
• a bottle of water
• some cash to buy lunch if needed
• Have some quick lunches in the fridge or freezer ready to grab and go.
• Keep the car gassed up.
• Get a good night's sleep!

Your Future Classroom

    If you are like me, you want to have your own classroom sometime in the near future.  So, you are probably saving up lots of ideas.  Problem is, printing all of the cool stuff you find on the internet isn't cheap, and it takes up lots of space.
   What I have started doing is keeping digital copies, instead of printing. 
    I have created a folder on my computer called, "Elementary Education".  In that folder I have LOTS of sub folders for different subjects and different sub subjects.  For instance, my Math folder has sub-folders for Mutliplication, Division, Money, Patterns, etc. 
     I keep great ideas I find for all grades, because who knows what grade I will teach. 
     I am signed up for all types of teacher newletters.  I get at least 4-5 emails a day. "Great FREE Math Sheets", "Fun FREE Printables", "FREE Lesson Plans for Earth Day!"  I go through them quickly and glean the best ideas for my digital file.  When I have my own classroom I will be more prepared!
    In some upcoming posts I will share websites that have great resources.

Go with the Flow!

     One of the first things I start my day with, after the roll, is to tell students who I am, why their teacher is gone, and the plan for the day.  I have a mantra I share, "Go With the Flow".  I have them repeat it, depending on the feel of the class, we might even sing song it. But the point is, that I am not Mrs/Mr ClassroomTeacher and things will be slightly different than usual.  I let them know that we will still follow the teacher's plan but things might seem a bit different and its OKAY!
     Some kids just get so anxious when things are different.  You start to hear, "Mrs. CT does this."  "Mr. CT does it like that."  and once that starts, it seems to come up for the rest of the day, over and over.
     We can't do things EXACTLY like their teacher, because chances are, we have never been in the room before, never seen them in action. 
     We know that the anxiety is probably cause by kids being in Piaget's Concrete Stage.  We also know that no matter what they say, subconsciously kids thrive on rules and restrictions and continuity.  Problem is, it is super hard to provide that in a totally new environment.
    If kids hear, right off the bat, that you are going to do your best, but things will be a little different, they know that an inconsistent day is coming, it strangely calms them down. 
    I will remind them a few times during the day, by saying something like, "Math might seem a little different today, but let's remember to________(Making a wave motion with my arm.)"  And usually they can repeat, "Go With The Flow."
   When I return to a classroom, they will usually remember that before they remember my name! 
     I recently returned to a Kindergarten classroom I haven't been in for months and just said,  "Hello Ladies and Jellyfish, what are we going to do today?"  They made the arm wave motion and started singing, "Go With The Flow!  Go With The Flow!  Go With The Flow!"  The new boy in class cried though because he didn't know the game.

Preventing Childhood Obesity Creates More Problems Than It Solves

     I'm fat.  I have been since I was a child.  I can tell you now that during health class, when the text book showed pictures of large people and talked about how this was a preventable, unhealthy condition, it did not make me want to lose weight or exercise more.  Instead, it allowed other kids to tease me.  It caused my teachers to not look me in the eye during those classes.  It made me feel bad about myself. It made me feel insecure, less of a member of society, and it made me sad. 

    Recently, people are all jumping on the "beat childhood obesity" bandwagon.  They are walking into classrooms and talking about childhood obesity.  But they can't look the fat kids in the eye.  They don't realize that this discussion flings the doors open wide for bullying.  It actually encourages students to treat the fat kids poorly.  And it makes those kids hurt.  

     There is all kinds of media against bullying recently.  But, in the same tone we are teaching kids that there is something fundamentally wrong with their larger classmates.  And if there is something wrong with them, what do kids do?  They treat them poorly.

     Why can't we just encourage health?  Talk about fun ways to get exercise.  Talk about a balance between eating what we like and eating junk.  Why do we have to single people out?  Why do we have to make larger kids feel bad about themselves?  Why do we have to make smaller kids so concerned about their weight that they crash diet and form eating disorders?

     This came to me today because I subbed in a Pre-School class.  Several 3 and 4 year olds told me that I was obese and I would die soon.  One girl said, "You seem nice, but teacher said only bad people have fat bellies."  I am sure that is not quite what the teacher said, but it's the message that came across at "Prevent Childhood Obesity Day".

   In the process of "preventing" childhood obesity, I wonder how many kids went home and cried themselves to sleep tonight? 

Some great info at this website, http://www.sizediversityandhealth.org/