Ohhh Spring Break, how I miss you. It went by far too quickly, and I have learned what the worst day of the year is: the following Monday. I was pretty exhausted, which didn't help (for the curious, check my lj here.)
We had parent-teacher conferences today, and so it was certainly long. I don't get parent or student visitors, and the time is generally spent working in the classroom. It did afford me the opportunity to take down the snowflake mobiles my second graders did; I promised I would give them back after Spring Break. Tomorrow I'll take pictures of them.
Shortly after arriving at the elementary from the kindergarten, I was paged by the office to receive a phone call. Jodie, who is one of the secretaries at the kindergarten building told me that Dr. Warren, our Superintendent, wanted to see me. Do you ever get that feeling in your gut, like you expect to turn around and find it laying on the floor because it's fallen out? I sort of felt like that, only less dramatic. I also had people sing-songing in the background that I was 'in trouuuubllllle'. Those ladies crack me up.
As I have mentioned before, the "artroom" at the kindergarten is a stage. I have no access to water, and so, just before we all left for break, I submitted a grant proposal for the money to buy a portable sink and accessories. They're expensive, usually running anywhere from $700-$2000. So no way can my art budget ever cover the cost. When I arrived at the administration building, Dr. Warren had my proposal and was basically saying that it was ridiculous and unacceptable (though of course far less bluntly said), and my first thought was that I needed to rewrite it or something. But, as it turns out, I was pleasantly surprised.
Dr. Warren, who told me she didn't even realize one could get portable sinks, said that the grant was unnecessary as I should have already had a sink, and I was to fill out a requisition form to be turned in as soon as possible. They're going to buy my sink for me, no fuss, no muss. When I was told I had to see Dr. Warren, I had no idea that it was going to be something so absolutely fabulous! I was seriously squealing like a little girl on the inside. I still am! Dr. Warren is totally my new hero.
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Thursday, March 18, 2010
Attitude!
Just recently I have decided that I need only 3 rules for my classroom:
#1 - Have a good attitude.
#2 - TRY.
#3 - Have fun! (Okay so this last one is silly, but I like it and think it's still important.)
No. 2 has been an unofficial rule for most of the year, something that I have continuously pounded into my students' heads. But the first really only occurred to me after today. Attitude is important! Of course I knew this; so do most people, if only in an abstract, back of the mind sort of way. It may go by a different name or phrase -- we routinely admonish the kids to "make good choices".
This week my kids have had a free-draw day, earned each 9 weeks through good behavior. But today's 1st graders have had somewhat appalling behavior since Christmas, and as a consequence, they lost their free day. Now, as it so happens, I had nothing planned for this eventuality. So I got out a quote on attitude, one that my college mentor teacher gave to recalcitrant students to copy. I had the children sit quietly with their heads down while I explained to them exactly why they didn't get free day. Then I read the quote:
And then they spent the rest of the class copying that quote.
Now, having thought back about today and how thoroughly I lectured my students, I've thought about how this all applies to me, not just in my teaching but in my life. Attitude really is one of the most important things in life, and I think it's something that one should always try to keep in mind.
As an instructor of small children, I know that how I feel has immediate effect on my students. If I am unenthusiastic, so will they be. I've noticed that my students are always more difficult to keep on task if I'm feeling low energy or low on excitement. And it makes it hard. But I also know that if I just take a few minutes before class to breathe, and to do whatever I need to do to change my attitude, the whole day just brightens. Both my students and I will have much more fun. Sometimes, I just need to do something utterly silly like wave my hands wildly in the air and jump up and down or have a quick stretch. It wakes me up! (Sorry, theater person here; we do crazy warm ups like that.) Or maybe I'll read a bit of an interesting article or funny anecdote. Sometimes I start the class speaking with a silly accent; giggling kindergartners can really lift my mood. But if I ignore my less than wonderful attitude, I end the day feeling disillusioned, exhausted and put out.
It's something to think about. If I police my current attitude and try to keep to a positive outlook, will things go more smoothly, even when they don't? I'm not sure, but I think that it will at least make me feel better, more productive, and more fulfilled.
#1 - Have a good attitude.
#2 - TRY.
#3 - Have fun! (Okay so this last one is silly, but I like it and think it's still important.)
No. 2 has been an unofficial rule for most of the year, something that I have continuously pounded into my students' heads. But the first really only occurred to me after today. Attitude is important! Of course I knew this; so do most people, if only in an abstract, back of the mind sort of way. It may go by a different name or phrase -- we routinely admonish the kids to "make good choices".
This week my kids have had a free-draw day, earned each 9 weeks through good behavior. But today's 1st graders have had somewhat appalling behavior since Christmas, and as a consequence, they lost their free day. Now, as it so happens, I had nothing planned for this eventuality. So I got out a quote on attitude, one that my college mentor teacher gave to recalcitrant students to copy. I had the children sit quietly with their heads down while I explained to them exactly why they didn't get free day. Then I read the quote:
I feel that this quote is something of a truism, and I was really getting into it. After reading it aloud, I further expounded upon how important having a good attitude was. I'll admit I was on a bit of a tear (they've been incredibly frustrating for months now--talking, sniping, arguing, tattling, the list goes on). I wasn't shouting, but I was loud and rather vehement, gesturing and pacing through the room. And I'm not sure why (or even if I wasn't imagining things), but it seemed to me that for once the kids were actually taking in what I was saying instead of letting it go in one ear and out the other. Time will tell, I guess.The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on life. Attitude, to me, is more important than facts. It is more important than the past, than education, than money, than circumstances, than failure, than successes, than what other people think or say or do. It is more important than appearance, giftedness or skill. It will make or break a company... a church... a home. The remarkable thing is we have a choice every day regarding the attitude we will embrace for that day. We cannot change our past... we cannot change the fact that people will act in a certain way. We cannot change the inevitable. The only thing we can do is play on the one string we have, and that is our attitude. I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me and 90% how I react to it. And so it is with you... we are in charge of our Attitudes. -- Charles R. Swindoll
And then they spent the rest of the class copying that quote.
Now, having thought back about today and how thoroughly I lectured my students, I've thought about how this all applies to me, not just in my teaching but in my life. Attitude really is one of the most important things in life, and I think it's something that one should always try to keep in mind.
As an instructor of small children, I know that how I feel has immediate effect on my students. If I am unenthusiastic, so will they be. I've noticed that my students are always more difficult to keep on task if I'm feeling low energy or low on excitement. And it makes it hard. But I also know that if I just take a few minutes before class to breathe, and to do whatever I need to do to change my attitude, the whole day just brightens. Both my students and I will have much more fun. Sometimes, I just need to do something utterly silly like wave my hands wildly in the air and jump up and down or have a quick stretch. It wakes me up! (Sorry, theater person here; we do crazy warm ups like that.) Or maybe I'll read a bit of an interesting article or funny anecdote. Sometimes I start the class speaking with a silly accent; giggling kindergartners can really lift my mood. But if I ignore my less than wonderful attitude, I end the day feeling disillusioned, exhausted and put out.
It's something to think about. If I police my current attitude and try to keep to a positive outlook, will things go more smoothly, even when they don't? I'm not sure, but I think that it will at least make me feel better, more productive, and more fulfilled.
Monday, March 1, 2010
March Madness
It's funny, the last week or so, I've been feeling a lot more "awake" (which is ironic, considering some of the hours I keep) than usual. I think I know the cause: I started a lesson last week with my 2nd graders that I've been looking forward to for some time.
A wonderful thing, that enthusiasm. I need to get more pumped about the other lessons I've been teaching, too, and stop feeling like an automaton.
The lesson is on Pysanky AKA Ukrainian Easter eggs.
When I was a kid, I used to watch Reading Rainbow. (Is that still around? I hope so; it was fantastic.) One of the stories on the show was "Rechenka's Eggs", a story about an old woman who rescues a goose; the goose lays beautifully painted eggs as repayment for those it broke. A very lovely story. Afterwards, the show featured a segment showing the audience how the eggs are made. I was (and still am) fascinated by how intricate and beautiful the eggs are.
When I was ordering supplies at the beginning of the year, I found the book in a supply catalog and got it. As the 2nd graders are going through a pattern unit, I felt this would be an exciting project with lots of depth--culture, design, fun--and it's 3-dimensional, which the kids haven't really gotten to do yet, unless one counts the snowflake mobiles we created recently.
I can't, of course, provide 40 some-odd 2nd graders with real eggs, for various reasons, so I've decided to get plastic Easter eggs instead. The eggs will be hot glued together, so as to survive the project as a whole egg, and then they will be gessoed white (gesso is canvas primer for any non-artists reading this--it's usually white and is thicker than normal paint, so it should provide a good working surface). In lieu of dye, the kids will use tempera, and I'll apply a coat of spray varnish to give the eggs a glossy, finished look, which is also the final step for real Pysanky.
I haven't written out the entirety of the project's lesson plan, just what I need for this week and last, but I'll be hashing it out as I glue egg halves together this weekend.
When I'm not occupied by lesson planning, I've been playing catch-up with Art Sonia. I signed up for it near the beginning of the year, but just never found the time to get any pictures taken. I have a LOT of artwork to photograph, but I'm about half-way done. I've got two more 1st grade classes to do and eight kindergarten classes. Sadly, 1st and kindergarten each had about 3 times the finished work than 2nd or 3rd grade, as their projects have tended to be shorter in duration. But I'll get it done eventually.
In other news, I'm still waiting to hear back from a Praxis III examiner. I signed up at the beginning of last month to take the exam during March. I won't be terribly put out if it gets pushed into April, as I know how swamped they are, but that's not going to stop me from checking up on them periodically. I'd really like to get it over with, and I really kind of wanted to show off the Pysanky lesson. Ah well. Six to one, half a dozen to the other, as my father would say.
A wonderful thing, that enthusiasm. I need to get more pumped about the other lessons I've been teaching, too, and stop feeling like an automaton.
The lesson is on Pysanky AKA Ukrainian Easter eggs.
When I was a kid, I used to watch Reading Rainbow. (Is that still around? I hope so; it was fantastic.) One of the stories on the show was "Rechenka's Eggs", a story about an old woman who rescues a goose; the goose lays beautifully painted eggs as repayment for those it broke. A very lovely story. Afterwards, the show featured a segment showing the audience how the eggs are made. I was (and still am) fascinated by how intricate and beautiful the eggs are.
When I was ordering supplies at the beginning of the year, I found the book in a supply catalog and got it. As the 2nd graders are going through a pattern unit, I felt this would be an exciting project with lots of depth--culture, design, fun--and it's 3-dimensional, which the kids haven't really gotten to do yet, unless one counts the snowflake mobiles we created recently.
I can't, of course, provide 40 some-odd 2nd graders with real eggs, for various reasons, so I've decided to get plastic Easter eggs instead. The eggs will be hot glued together, so as to survive the project as a whole egg, and then they will be gessoed white (gesso is canvas primer for any non-artists reading this--it's usually white and is thicker than normal paint, so it should provide a good working surface). In lieu of dye, the kids will use tempera, and I'll apply a coat of spray varnish to give the eggs a glossy, finished look, which is also the final step for real Pysanky.
I haven't written out the entirety of the project's lesson plan, just what I need for this week and last, but I'll be hashing it out as I glue egg halves together this weekend.
When I'm not occupied by lesson planning, I've been playing catch-up with Art Sonia. I signed up for it near the beginning of the year, but just never found the time to get any pictures taken. I have a LOT of artwork to photograph, but I'm about half-way done. I've got two more 1st grade classes to do and eight kindergarten classes. Sadly, 1st and kindergarten each had about 3 times the finished work than 2nd or 3rd grade, as their projects have tended to be shorter in duration. But I'll get it done eventually.
In other news, I'm still waiting to hear back from a Praxis III examiner. I signed up at the beginning of last month to take the exam during March. I won't be terribly put out if it gets pushed into April, as I know how swamped they are, but that's not going to stop me from checking up on them periodically. I'd really like to get it over with, and I really kind of wanted to show off the Pysanky lesson. Ah well. Six to one, half a dozen to the other, as my father would say.
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