tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37347246038996129012024-03-05T16:04:23.046-06:00Sara at SchoolSara at schoolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03826113370064170051noreply@blogger.comBlogger317125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3734724603899612901.post-43389516655209422002019-03-04T08:48:00.000-06:002019-03-04T08:48:10.044-06:00Things aren't always what they seem<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-large;">We have a pregnant teacher at our school who got put on bedrest. So we all rallied around and contributed money for gift cards. I told the gal who organizes these things that I'd go get the gift cards. So I did. {I love that I work at a generous school!}</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-large;">And then, I texted the pregnant gal and said "I've got a surprise for you. When can I bring it?" It was like 9:30 in the morning. She said she was going to the doctor's. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-large;">I text again, probably around 11:30. "How about now?" "Running some errands," she said. Me, ever thinking (and probably a bit lazy, and it was spitting sleet/snow) "Could you run by here?" No answer. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-large;">Finally, at 3:30, thinking that the weather was going to get worse, and wanted to get this little job done with, I texted something like "Can I bring this to you? You don't have to answer the door, and I won't stay and talk." </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-large;">And so she sent me her address and I hopped in the car. And as I was on my way, she said they could stop by my house. I said no, I was almost to her place. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-large;">We met there. And she looked worn out. They had gone to get tags for their new vehicle and it had taken a lot longer than they had thought it would. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-large;">And I realized I was getting impatient with her for not letting me take care of this big, important job I had to do.... and meanwhile, she had a whole different thing going on. Things aren't always what they seem. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-large;">And I wondered how often this happens with the kids I come into contact with. That bad mood might not have anything to do with me.... but I sure can make it better, or worse. That hoodie over the head... might be a signal for something, that I can either try to figure out, or just flat out ignore. And so on. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-large;">Things aren't always what they seem.</span><br />
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<br />Sara at schoolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03826113370064170051noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3734724603899612901.post-40074000637746194132019-02-25T08:39:00.000-06:002019-02-25T08:40:53.748-06:00It’s the little things<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-large;">Sometimes it really is the little things.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-large;">I teach Science now... just science.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-large;">I teach to grades K through 4th.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-large;">My kinders we’re doing a rather dry bit on recycling.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-large;">I had a little brainstorm.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-large;">I had them pick about 4-5 small crayons from a big tub.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-large;">They peeled the paper off (next year got to figure out an easier way).</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-large;">They put the crayon bits in a cupcake liner (with their name on it, cuz I’m smart like that!).</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-large;">I took them home and melted the crayons.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-large;">(Some of them looked so pretty!)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-large;">When I took them back to school the next day....</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-large;">“Can we keep it?”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-large;">Yes! Yes, this is your creation. You get to keep it.</span><br />
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<br />Sara at schoolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03826113370064170051noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3734724603899612901.post-89384975602448841482019-01-29T19:08:00.000-06:002019-01-29T19:08:12.410-06:00What Worked 2018<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">It's been a little while, and I've realize I miss writing what's going on in my teacher life. I don't care (a lot) if nobody else reads this... I just like to write my thoughts down. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">So I've seen this title/idea a bit around the internet... so I thought I'd share mine {preferably before January is over!).</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Here's what worked for me in 2018...</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">1 - Leaving close to the end of my contract time. I'm a morning person, so by the time it gets to be 4:10 (the end of our day), I'm more than ready to head out the door. I usually try to get a quick bit of clean up from the day done, and out I go.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">2 - Tuesday nights. My hubby and a friend like to go to the local brew pub and tell tall tales. And it gives me a little time in a quiet house. So I hurry home (see #1) and get in comfy clothes and head to the computer. I get a good hour or 2 to really get some work down on lesson plans. For some reason, I just can't see to put these together at school. So if I get a good start at home, I can finish those up at school </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">3 - "We're rich!" Ok, we're not really rich. But we're comfortable. And this phrase has been quite handy when I'm trying to decide whether I should keep some silly little thing. I've started to realize I don't need to keep everything... I'm in a position to buy, if I need to. And that's been pretty freeing.</span><br />
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<br />Sara at schoolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03826113370064170051noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3734724603899612901.post-26725612071574700892017-09-21T05:33:00.001-05:002017-09-21T05:33:21.672-05:00Magical Fixes<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Yesterday morning, I hadn't slept very well, and when I got to school, I just knew I had to finish doing my goals. Does everyone else have to do these? We have to write a student achievement goal {that can be measured} and also a personal goal; and our principal writes a building goal for us. Well, yesterday was the deadline. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">I was emailing back and forth with my principal to finish up. I entered my student achievement goal. And then I had the momentous moment where I clicked submit. And then there's a big scary screen that says, this is forever and permanent - or you know, something like that. And I clicked it. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">And then I went to enter my personal goal --- and realized I had put my student achievement goal under my personal goal! Argh!!! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">I didn't want to, but I emailed my principal. And guess what? She didn't yell at me, or say why did I do that, or huff at me. She had the magical powers to fix it. And she just did that, and sent me an email to try again. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">So later that day, when my first grade friends were cutting, and one of them accidentally cut on the wrong line, I was able to say, "accidents happen," and put some tape on it. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">I'll admit, I'm not always so good at magically fixing what I'm able to magical fix. Sometimes, I huff. Or I say "why did you do that?" Or... well, I don't yell. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">I sure was glad to get a little grace yesterday. Now I want to try harder to pass that grace on to others. </span><br />
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<br />Sara at schoolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03826113370064170051noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3734724603899612901.post-204065917666393532017-08-24T06:53:00.001-05:002017-08-24T07:04:09.107-05:00Eclipse<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Did anyone else watch the eclipse? I really enjoyed it. We were already back in school, so spent a couple days learning about what an eclipse is AND how to safely watch one. On the big day, we had sack lunches, special glasses and a little music. It was a fun couple hours.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">I really thought it would get darker -- we were 90% of the sun blocked by the moon. We had told the kids that it would get dark, we'd be able to see stars and the street lights would come on. Well, nope. So a good chance to talk about scientists making predictions and having to revise those.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">So this was a fun way to start the 2nd week of school!</span><br />
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<br />Sara at schoolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03826113370064170051noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3734724603899612901.post-73285823112515574382017-07-17T14:08:00.001-05:002017-07-17T14:08:15.842-05:00Reflection<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">This post starts with a vent and ends with reflection. Just so you know going in!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">You might have read that this past school year, was not my favorite. {If not, and you're interested - see <a href="http://sara-at-school.blogspot.com/2016/08/i-have-little-friend.html" target="_blank">here</a> -- and I won't bore you with all the other links.} </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">I had a class that was.... interesting... challenging.... different than I'd ever had before. And this was compounded by the fact that we got a new literacy coach <u>and</u> a new math coach. The literacy coach's room was right across the hall from me. Yikes! And there were a couple times that I wanted to say to both of them -- this isn't normal for me. I'm trying to figure this out! I'm doing the best I can right now. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">And to be honest, I felt a little judged.</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;"> </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">So now, after I can look back a little better -- I wonder about a couple of my little friends in my room last year {and maybe from other years, also}. Do they feel judged? Do they feel like they just can't get it right? Do they feel like they make one misstep after another and oops, again? </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">I hope not. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">But as I go forward, I want to do a better job of being inclusive; of reminding that we all make mistakes; that it is worth it to try again; and I accept you, and you, and you. Really, truly, I do. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">{Sometimes it's scary to write things like this. I end up feeling like I'm the only one who had that kid that just rubs me the wrong way; or can get under my skin without me even realizing what's happening.} </span><br />
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<br />Sara at schoolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03826113370064170051noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3734724603899612901.post-17986194349638437422017-06-22T14:50:00.001-05:002017-06-22T14:50:29.893-05:00There goes another.....<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">I had these shoes that were very comfortable -- Ecco's -- but in my humble little teacher's opinion, they are a little expensive - over $100. But man, were they comfortable! Yes! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">But then they started not being so comfortable. And every time I'd wear them, I'd just wonder why they weren't as great as they used to be. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">And one day I came home and noticed this:</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-a3M47M5nNRyWIiDv-TkDwikRXWwhcg2qbviXTflNJSpTR_XLIuloGeHXfU_VRlKn2QdP5S4YSiZ7dCuWvpzhaEjAlX6x-oY2x3MTOPWGwDFeqT_f5EqOA3bSOQJyH4kDxMR_spiGGz5M/s1600/IMG_1076.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-a3M47M5nNRyWIiDv-TkDwikRXWwhcg2qbviXTflNJSpTR_XLIuloGeHXfU_VRlKn2QdP5S4YSiZ7dCuWvpzhaEjAlX6x-oY2x3MTOPWGwDFeqT_f5EqOA3bSOQJyH4kDxMR_spiGGz5M/s320/IMG_1076.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">If you can't tell, the whole heel has split in two - sideways. {And I have no idea what the water stain is about???}</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">{This is not the first time this has happened -- <a href="http://sara-at-school.blogspot.com/2014/10/working.html" target="_blank">other story</a>! I must be hard on shoes; or teachers do a lot of walking/standing. I'm not sure. :)}</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">I thought this would be a funny little story to tell my students, so I shared it with them. And one of them says, "I saw that your shoe was doing that." And another said, "Me, too." And I'm thinking, ummm, why didn't you tell me? </span><br />
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<br />Sara at schoolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03826113370064170051noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3734724603899612901.post-91580095227620970422017-06-13T14:02:00.001-05:002017-06-13T14:02:01.566-05:00Summer Vacation<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Is anybody else like this? Every year, I try to have the perfect summer vacation. One year, I didn't do any school work for the whole month of June - I mean, none! Another year, I dedicated the last two weeks of June and the first two weeks of July to school stuff. I think that ended up being the whole month of July, but whatever. Last year, I did a two week professional development deal during June - that summer went by pretty quickly.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">This year, I have another new plan. My idea is to spend one afternoon - a couple hours - once a week on school stuff. My thought is to not overwhelm myself, but to also do some thinking throughout the summer. I spent yesterday afternoon - I had planned an hour, that stretched to about 3 -- on looking at my new curriculum and getting some ideas on classroom management. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">I'm not sure this is perfect -- maybe there isn't such a thing. But I'm really hoping for a relaxing summer, where I can 1) catch up on all the things I didn't get to in the last 10 months; and 2) catch up on my sleep! My body still thinks it needs to wake up about 5am. Ummm, no thanks on that!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">So, what are you doing this summer? </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggtm_7dPKlkX3ucq8yFPOTBpSKbuc3B2c6jWDd-wO5kvJbZHTljXIrrAPsSo4Yzoh0bgz-wRqzn2K0C13v-FxTTpWPmNcxXpl7jccigSvOAgVBUsZ3_reLc2_jKFpAWX0U7QVslFC0a6gK/s1600/Signature+just+sara+with+shadow.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="146" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggtm_7dPKlkX3ucq8yFPOTBpSKbuc3B2c6jWDd-wO5kvJbZHTljXIrrAPsSo4Yzoh0bgz-wRqzn2K0C13v-FxTTpWPmNcxXpl7jccigSvOAgVBUsZ3_reLc2_jKFpAWX0U7QVslFC0a6gK/s1600/Signature+just+sara+with+shadow.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<br />Sara at schoolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03826113370064170051noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3734724603899612901.post-82147549306812563522017-05-24T10:24:00.002-05:002017-05-24T10:25:14.581-05:00Graduation Weekend<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">A couple weekends ago was graduation weekend here in my town....</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">*** Let me take a little space to say -- this was also College Girl's graduation. So darn proud of her. As her dad said, she did better than both of us, She went to the University of Kansas and they have a wonderful tradition where the graduates walk "down the Hill" and the spectators line the sidewalk and cheer them on. Her dad and I were standing there, waiting, waiting, waiting... and all of the sudden he said, "There she is!" I got a couple of nice pictures and she was off. {Kind of like in real life, if you know what I mean.} Anyway, back to the regularly schedule blog post....</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">So when we got home from College Girl's graduation, we got a bundle of newspapers from when we had been gone. One night, when I couldn't get to sleep, I started looking through them. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">And inside one of them, were pictures of all the graduates from our high school. Our newspaper is nice enough to do this. So I was looking through all those faces and names -- and all of the sudden, I thought, I know this one! I know her! And I realized these students that were graduating were my very first class. I started at semester, teaching 3rd grade. And here were those little babies. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Some of them, I thought "hi you." And some, I thought "yay you!" or "good for you" and then I looked through our elementary school yearbook for that year, and realized some were missing, and wondered what happened to them.<br /><br />And of course, like any teacher looking back at their first year, I wanted to apologize to those little 3rd graders - there was so much that I didn't know what I was doing.</span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"> </span><br />
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<br />Sara at schoolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03826113370064170051noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3734724603899612901.post-21958277116559906882017-05-07T08:36:00.002-05:002017-05-07T08:36:53.457-05:00Do-Over<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">So, it's been awhile. There are cobwebs in the corners of this blog site. I've thought of different ways I wanted to start a post -- but haven't actually taken the time to type it out. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">I'm a little afraid -- afraid I'll post today, and then... not again. And if I make this start, I want to be more consistent. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">So here goes today: </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">We've got 10 days of school left, and I want a do-over. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">This has definitely been the most challenging year I've had. I've had 3 that have challenged my thoughts on behavior management, and then 3 others that ran a close second on that. One boy, in particular, really affects the mood of the classroom. That's compounded by the fact that I have the largest class I've ever had. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">I've started most every morning thinking: I want to do better. I want to meet them where they are. I want to look for the positive. I want to give the grace that I'd like. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">And I come home thinking: argh - not the way I wanted. So frustrated. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">My do-over would involve me really taking time to get to know my students. I try - but I'm not as successful as I'd like to be. My do-over would have me asking "why" more - and hopefully have students think about the reason behind the behavior that makes it hard for me to teach, and students to learn. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Well, I won't get a do-over. And I can't even say next year will be better. I'm changing positions and will only be teaching science next year -- it's a special in my district. The desire to have a do-over is fighting with my desire to try something new. I'm not sure how much I'll miss having my own little class of 23 or whatever. We shall see. </span><br />
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<br />Sara at schoolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03826113370064170051noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3734724603899612901.post-54793079221355609352016-11-06T07:04:00.001-06:002016-11-06T07:19:13.056-06:003 Happy Things<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">So... I thought to myself, I want to be more consistent in blogging, because....</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">this may be the year, the year that I end up bald because I've torn out all my hair. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">This is the year that I told a teammate, "I was not sympathetic enough to you last year."</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Because this year, my blogging friends, could be my worst year yet. Ack! </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">And I definitely want to record it, so I can remind myself that if I can do this, I can do anything!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">I got this for myself -- </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">You can see, it's simply named: 3 Happy Things. I realized this morning, I need to get that out and record 3 Happy Things from school every day so I don't feel like things are a total mess. (And I hope I NEVER have to write as 1 of my happy things: 1 day closer to the end of the year LOL!)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">So how is your school year going? Are things going well, or do you need to start a "3 Happy Things" book, also? :) </span><br />
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<br />Sara at schoolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03826113370064170051noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3734724603899612901.post-48318837428955136272016-08-31T07:00:00.000-05:002016-08-31T07:00:08.444-05:00Caring<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">So the other day, I wrote about my one little friend. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Last weekend, I started thinking that maybe my most important job with my class this year is letting them know I care. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">I've got the one little friend. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">I've got a Limited English student, who didn't get picked up until after I left school at least 3 times last week. She was one who gave me a hug on the first day of school. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">I've got a student whose dad told me they thought about holding her back, but they were getting a divorce (last year) and thought she was doing better now. (Not so sure on that, dad.)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">I've got another student whose parents are separated, and she's got 7 siblings -- probably lots of half brothers and sisters.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">One little girl is so interested in her possessions -- not sure what's going on there.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">I'm concerned enough about what one friend wrote in her writing sample, that I'm going to copy it and show the counselor. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">And these are just what I can remember off the top of my head after 2 weeks of school. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Oh, Lord, I just want a big lot of Love to spread around to all these little children that you've placed in my care this year. </span><br />
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<br />Sara at schoolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03826113370064170051noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3734724603899612901.post-68253024588096469452016-08-29T07:00:00.000-05:002016-08-29T07:00:03.224-05:00I have a little friend<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">So I have a little friend....</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Wait, haven't I started another post this way? Why, yes, yes, I have! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">This little friend didn't even give me a honeymoon -- he was up and running on the first day. He talks, talks, talks. And lets me know when he doesn't like my corrections. And I'll admit, I haven't been as consistent as I should be in trying to figure out what will work with this little guy. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">But Thursday, heading out after school, I vented to the wrong teacher. And when I said something about him talk, talk, talking, she said, "I just knew there would be conflicts. I thought you wouldn't be able to handle him." I'm sure what she said was just off the cuff, and didn't really mean exactly what she said, but....</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">First it made me sorta sad, like "really??" And then a little mad. And finally, I was driving home, saying out loud to myself, "NO! That isn't true!"</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">And after Friday, I'm sorta glad she said that {well, only in the way that it spurred me on!} - because Friday, I took time to bend down and really listen to this little guy {he really is little}. And even though I didn't believe everything he told me, or at least didn't think it was the whole truth, I think it helped that he knew I was actually "hearing" him. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">It will probably be a long year with this little guy. But I want to try to keep remembering that he's an individual. Well, I don't know... that sounds pretty smalshy. But I want him to know I care about him. And that I'm going to keep on trying with him. </span><br />
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<br />Sara at schoolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03826113370064170051noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3734724603899612901.post-1705742267177766232016-08-27T11:48:00.002-05:002016-08-27T11:48:14.628-05:00Writing samples<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">So... woke up early on this beautiful, cool Saturday morning, and decided I'd get the yuck out of the way first --- grading baseline piece of writing. I got through it pretty quickly, and I'm glad I went ahead and did it because I got a few chuckles. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Right in the middle of this piece: "I did a gasp. Then I said wow!!!"</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisdfHdjqX6VN-o15Bg5xSgQzFmtp3BeY6E7b6jo375NPcRdtWiZN171QOEP5p4m5ftBVvDDkuKu4OR0641y1SF9B0LUXIpThiYo4JEUAwOc5N_5RwQZpJLcisUk3JoxiCAsBcD-nKZcnON/s1600/Photo+Aug+27%252C+11+28+33+AM.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisdfHdjqX6VN-o15Bg5xSgQzFmtp3BeY6E7b6jo375NPcRdtWiZN171QOEP5p4m5ftBVvDDkuKu4OR0641y1SF9B0LUXIpThiYo4JEUAwOc5N_5RwQZpJLcisUk3JoxiCAsBcD-nKZcnON/s320/Photo+Aug+27%252C+11+28+33+AM.jpg" width="240" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">And this one, "I pinched myself. Owch! Ouch! Nope I am not dreaming.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Another child wrote, "I am going on a hike. I forgot I was going home. I was like all men." Does this mean Amen? because he's so happy he remembered to go home?? Just using that, if that's what it's suppose to say, is certainly interesting word choice. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">One girl started hers with "There was a shooting star..." but it went downhill from there. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Another student, one of my sweet ESL kiddos, said "we teleported to the fishing place." Wow! Love it!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Another ESL student added dialog! Whoo hoo. {No quotation marks, but I'm so happy about the dialog!!!}</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">One little friend added "zzzzz" for snoring. Ha, made me laugh!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">I had another friend that used lots of colons. Pretty good for a 2nd grader -- except they are in the weirdest places: it jumped up and down and then: someone...</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">And I realize why some of my friends have a hard time spelling: "In din we wint..." Translation: And then we went. Probably the way he actually talks, if I listened closely.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">I'm overall happy with these -- and I was thinking -- I need to send the first grade teachers a happy note and let them know their work is appreciated!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Hope you feel appreciated today! </span></div>
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<br />Sara at schoolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03826113370064170051noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3734724603899612901.post-60926177118306307672016-08-13T10:14:00.003-05:002016-08-13T10:14:34.720-05:00First Day 2016<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Well, we are back at it. We started in-services a week ago, and I had kids for a half day on Thursday; all day on Friday. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">One little friend was gone on Thursday, but present on Friday -- what a little talker. That makes such a big difference in the classroom. {It also seemed to encourage two other little friends to be blurters.} </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">And so, I had to have a little talk -- with myself on the way home from school. I'm the one who sets the tone of our classroom, I'm the one who sets the environment. And worst of all, I'm the adult - argh! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">So, started this beautiful Saturday by sitting outside on my patio, just enjoy the birds talking, the stray cat visiting, a piece of pie for breakfast. And now I'm doing school work -- with a refreshed mind. Starting with a seating chart, then lesson plans, grouping students for centers, what did I miss in our first two days that I want to make sure I get to. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">And just a little side note -- mainly for myself. First impressions CAN often be wrong. Like the little friend who came to Open House with his dad and was being pretty squirrely -- nice boy, who does a great job following directions. The boy with long braided hair who is almost taller than me and has a stoic look on his face -- polite and respectful and helpful. The ESL student who is willing to give me a hug. So a reminder to myself to keep an open mind, and let those first impressions be counter when I really get to know my students. </span><br />
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<br />Sara at schoolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03826113370064170051noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3734724603899612901.post-41253126742680878892016-07-01T13:07:00.000-05:002016-07-01T13:07:03.409-05:00Project Achieve<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">So, first.... a little summer beauty --</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">My zinnias are blooming. They remind me of College Girl because we'll see a flower, and she'll say she likes it and then ask what it is. Almost always it's a zinnia!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">And then there's this....</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">I did this for 2 weeks this summer. K-State, for the first time, offered a two week math professional development course here in my southwest corner of Kansas. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">And.... the bad was pretty bad. It was soooo cold at our high school where we did this -- I wore a sweater every day and long pants. And when we'd get done at 2:30 or 3, I'd drive home in complete bliss because my car was like a sauna and I could finally warm up. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Also, we spent a little over an hour a day on math history. Gotta love the math geeks that were teaching us -- they loved what they were doing. However, my starting point is way down here {ok, just imagine me touch my knees} and their starting point is right here {here I'm touching my shoulders}. Do you see the problem? I never took calculus, so .... frustrating. I love when PD reminds you of what not to do in your own classroom. :) </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">But the good --- oh, the good far outweighs the bad. We had a wonderful former professor who was so excited about sharing with us -- yes, yes, give us more! I got to collaborate with teachers from K - 6th grade; and collaborate with 4 other 2nd grade teachers from our district. The 5 of us broke down our math curriculum and looked at what we need to do to help 2nd graders become fluent in math. Oh! and fluent is defined as accurate, efficient, flexibly and appropriately. Not necessarily the tradition algorithm that I learned. And the wonderful former professor -- she's going to come observe my class at least twice. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">All this makes me very excited for August. </span><br />
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<br />Sara at schoolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03826113370064170051noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3734724603899612901.post-2145962140452666802016-06-15T16:00:00.000-05:002016-06-15T16:24:36.380-05:00My next year notebook<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">So I did this ---</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Because I like fun little pretty things -- so my planning notebook is all that -- fun and little and pretty. Well, maybe not little. Anyway, I've got pages torn out of magazines, written notes, stuff I copied from the Internet, like from websites, Pinterest, and this one twitter chat I do {yikes - yes, I really do a twitter chat!!!} -- just all sorts of things. 24 pages of things. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">And then one day last week, yes, just one day, I got on my computer to sort through ideas I'd saved on there. That's good, that's good, oh that one is too. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Are you getting the picture? </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">I've got Too Many Ideas! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Anybody else? I just want to try all these things. Because they all sound -- well, terrific. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">After a couple weeks, I'm going to have to start narrowing some of these down. But for right now, I'll just enjoy my pretty little notebook! :)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: medium;">And just in case anyone is interested in my continuing saga of difficulties actually posting a post - this was hard, too! Couldn't get Dropbox to let me use my picture. </span></div>
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<br />Sara at schoolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03826113370064170051noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3734724603899612901.post-74047256696445142422016-06-02T13:08:00.002-05:002016-06-02T13:08:53.272-05:00Class Story on Dojo<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">So, we went to visit College Girl for the long weekend, and I went on a walk, stepped off a curb, and crashed! I landed sorta sideways, and my ankle swelled into a huge goose egg. (I never really knew how that term came about until now.) And I realized, in a funny sort of way, God was telling me, yes, take a little break here; catch your breath; relax on the couch for a while -- and since you won't do that on your own, I'll help you. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">I'm feeling much better and able to walk without a crutch, but I'm going to take the next couple days easy. It's given me a chance to watch some videos and etc. that I wouldn't have made time for otherwise. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">And, the biggie! This year I've used Class Dojo to connect with parents. The Class Story feature has been wonderful! I've taken pictures of things we are doing, or something the kids have done and shared it with parents. I have about 2/3 of my class connected, and about 10 parents that regularly check. Anyway, the biggie, I just posted a picture of me reading the newspaper -- and within 5 minutes, I had a message back from a parent telling me what their daughter is reading! Win-win!! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">So I hope to keep this up throughout the summer. Maybe it will help a couple students do some reading! Here's hoping!!</span><br />
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<br />Sara at schoolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03826113370064170051noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3734724603899612901.post-38573167680631881762016-05-22T11:16:00.002-05:002016-05-22T11:16:52.766-05:00Being Called Mom<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">OK, first I have to say that I am not happy with Yahoo or Google or somebody who is making it very hard for me to get into my blog. That's all I'm saying about that!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Second, school's out for summer! And I'm alternating between doing a happy dance, and yelling, "No! I'm not ready yet!"</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Third, I have this little friend. Or should I say I had this little friend. He was an interesting character. Always yelling out -- and sometimes the most off-topic things. The biggest one that sticks out in my mind is when he yelled, "I pooped my pants!" Umm, thanks for sharing. {And NO, he had not pooped his pants!} </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Throughout the year, he would sometimes call me 'mom' and a couple times, he asked if I couldn't be his mom. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">The last two weeks, the behaviors were going through the roof, and though I'd made it pretty much through the year without getting too upset at him, the Friday before school was out, I had had it! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">I'm slow to catch on, b</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">ut a weekend away helped me take a minute to reflect, and I was able to go back with a good attitude on Monday. And part of that was because I realized this little friend is going home to a chaotic house, where "mom" is grandma, and mom, who is around, isn't really a mom at all. Our classroom was mostly stable and consistent. And perhaps unconsciously, he was realizing what the end of the school year meant for him. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">One winter break, I read a blog post by some lovely person {whom I can't remember now} who said something like -- enjoy your break, but remember for some of our kiddos, break is tough; it's not relaxing, it's not necessarily fun. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">This really isn't much more than a reflection piece for me, because I really want to remember my little friend. I want to remember that I was {mostly} able to find a way to work with him. And I wish I could do that with all my kids. </span><br />
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<br />Sara at schoolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03826113370064170051noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3734724603899612901.post-67329080565023028032016-04-27T13:23:00.002-05:002016-04-27T13:23:15.771-05:00Phonics Posters<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Oh my goodness! It's been so long since I've wrote a blog post, I had to move heaven and earth to get into my settings -- ok, really, I just had to try to remember my password. That's what makes getting a new hard drive so much fun!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">If you can imagine, we only have 17 days of school left. No, I can't believe it either! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">I've got all sorts of things that I want to share with you -- I always think of them when I'm driving somewhere, or trying to go to sleep, or something like that. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Anyway, we did these posters right before Parent Teacher Conferences. Always gotta have something pretty hanging in the hallway. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirbG72T99zRT3iRVehtmXHHF1lMvLX4Vyevp1tjLFAYeFCw1QRfLz2jcrVvXdfN0Gh0zZo_MslAVopYjq4YNmyFOfiMUrPtjOhkufy43olmLEH5uVTAamd5kF9NpUqhE-a-m0UirAqa7Rw/s1600/IMG_4856.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirbG72T99zRT3iRVehtmXHHF1lMvLX4Vyevp1tjLFAYeFCw1QRfLz2jcrVvXdfN0Gh0zZo_MslAVopYjq4YNmyFOfiMUrPtjOhkufy43olmLEH5uVTAamd5kF9NpUqhE-a-m0UirAqa7Rw/s320/IMG_4856.JPG" width="240" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0twPqBAKTYP3qh38Gd6aiT_BB9kLGkCM0po8LQCLBJCd5-lNBUC_VEJTW1cQzb0jA04XoApMksSoctRbduflAjSsoip2OgL403eYddAUSB4MTzqUy8O9iJNM1sXdwZ3rZUaNwOYcBEdxo/s1600/IMG_4849.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0twPqBAKTYP3qh38Gd6aiT_BB9kLGkCM0po8LQCLBJCd5-lNBUC_VEJTW1cQzb0jA04XoApMksSoctRbduflAjSsoip2OgL403eYddAUSB4MTzqUy8O9iJNM1sXdwZ3rZUaNwOYcBEdxo/s320/IMG_4849.JPG" width="240" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyBOzgJDUnPy0SspljKnMJoUWotcGl4MTYyheQhsUHHIANd-j2_x214YECH8frqLP1TMCvQ1WndnE2G_sI2gVcod9PU0ZAi-14wNE8zpyBFWFFrlr7WEC9JcaAugVhVciGsvL2JWeCuKie/s1600/IMG_4850.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyBOzgJDUnPy0SspljKnMJoUWotcGl4MTYyheQhsUHHIANd-j2_x214YECH8frqLP1TMCvQ1WndnE2G_sI2gVcod9PU0ZAi-14wNE8zpyBFWFFrlr7WEC9JcaAugVhVciGsvL2JWeCuKie/s320/IMG_4850.JPG" width="240" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8miS0thbM8L0cHlUEebVDtCxP3hgUlTh34aeKeCtgxXcnGxi0-y_xaKTvsry5bv93CpTtzlcXRhQd4H1Xni7hbG1Di1lH_tht3izmN2h5pKl9Dt6rJQp_SnCzTfO-R1Yolmxt8uXic5HS/s1600/IMG_4851.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8miS0thbM8L0cHlUEebVDtCxP3hgUlTh34aeKeCtgxXcnGxi0-y_xaKTvsry5bv93CpTtzlcXRhQd4H1Xni7hbG1Di1lH_tht3izmN2h5pKl9Dt6rJQp_SnCzTfO-R1Yolmxt8uXic5HS/s320/IMG_4851.JPG" width="240" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDvSanEnqWq9z2rR7wiT9nEzXADa2UCZwsmbjQzlw516nU0qJ6539_4YJL2DA0iTZlEqoNI-T00ZLsIrcbQivLlZJgmvZ0EpEKH4EgwEL-nvD8iio4dmdU_l23DrE699WC28GdZ07aG5T3/s1600/IMG_4852.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDvSanEnqWq9z2rR7wiT9nEzXADa2UCZwsmbjQzlw516nU0qJ6539_4YJL2DA0iTZlEqoNI-T00ZLsIrcbQivLlZJgmvZ0EpEKH4EgwEL-nvD8iio4dmdU_l23DrE699WC28GdZ07aG5T3/s320/IMG_4852.JPG" width="240" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8KAB4nf-O6hlMRIxvcVcjsmjMF6-EypOjPUxDwEQLzVvFetgqI6EldkQbbZPhEEIF7iF4rVOtx-YTWEX1xzip-GmAUOTfcIPGxgs_xPdRe9X8kehTIIax3-2JXPyx2BEkNoET_Hzk54YK/s1600/IMG_4853.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8KAB4nf-O6hlMRIxvcVcjsmjMF6-EypOjPUxDwEQLzVvFetgqI6EldkQbbZPhEEIF7iF4rVOtx-YTWEX1xzip-GmAUOTfcIPGxgs_xPdRe9X8kehTIIax3-2JXPyx2BEkNoET_Hzk54YK/s320/IMG_4853.JPG" width="240" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivKHfSSJgxK0HqZJErNnMPK41V-JOL5g58C_M8CbsfOJvg27ECS9YhdYh3jgiDPnoe3QZwQby4CypwaLN7HpXEM1APd_yd3epDhxZs6V7bcFmu4D6BqGgL9pElB73dmOKPHd9SEgTcmYt6/s1600/IMG_4854.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivKHfSSJgxK0HqZJErNnMPK41V-JOL5g58C_M8CbsfOJvg27ECS9YhdYh3jgiDPnoe3QZwQby4CypwaLN7HpXEM1APd_yd3epDhxZs6V7bcFmu4D6BqGgL9pElB73dmOKPHd9SEgTcmYt6/s320/IMG_4854.JPG" width="240" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9rAuVB6so8o5k3qEdh6_DAISixdpRpKfCHyJxePYJtvFFjYHMzdCCCDZmJquCPJsrNAgGMzKTSa2G1FqlPAewSw-jIOACGSPCzwdf5Pt-TqBsGniYoVLVOvT0VfMEYHbUtbt-tB3OTMPA/s1600/IMG_4855.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9rAuVB6so8o5k3qEdh6_DAISixdpRpKfCHyJxePYJtvFFjYHMzdCCCDZmJquCPJsrNAgGMzKTSa2G1FqlPAewSw-jIOACGSPCzwdf5Pt-TqBsGniYoVLVOvT0VfMEYHbUtbt-tB3OTMPA/s320/IMG_4855.JPG" width="240" /></a><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Umm, yeah. The mind reading was not working that day. They could not see my vision - at all! Ok, maybe a few came close. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">My idea was to have groups take one phonics pattern we had recently studied and make a poster for it. I had hoped they would put our key word -- like for "ar" it's artist, and then write some other words that followed the pattern, and draw a couple nice pictures. Well, my AR kids came pretty close. Some of the others did, too. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">This reminds me yet again why it is so important to model, model, model what I am wanting. {Will they never learn? Yes, I mean me!} </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Happy Wednesday. I'm off this afternoon to get a filling. Really, as an adult, I should not be having that sort of problem!</span><br />
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<br />Sara at schoolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03826113370064170051noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3734724603899612901.post-16298740307607597262016-02-26T17:07:00.003-06:002016-02-26T17:07:51.837-06:00Conferences <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">So my desktop computer was running soooo slow. And a coworker said her husband could look at it. And there didn't seem much he could do, so it's back home now. But running even slower. Time for a new one. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">And this week was parent teacher conferences. In our district, each school sets their own schedule, so my school only goes until 9:20 on Friday. That means I'm up in College Town, visiting College Girl. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">But as for conferences.... For several years, I've wanted them to be more of a dialogue then a talk, if you know what I mean. And at the fall ones this year -- I felt like I did ALL the talking. NOT the way I wanted them to go at all. So I started thinking, and I thought if I ask some questions of the parents, maybe we can start a conversation. I had 6 conferences after school on Tuesday. And I asked those parents, how does your child like school? And I got ... Crickets. Blank looks. Deer in the headlight eyes. And then, "oh, fine." This is something I still need to work on obviously. Any help??? </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">For the most part, I enjoy conferences, and the chance to interact with parents. I wish they'd be a little more talkative -- I want to hear from them, just as they want to hear from me. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">And also at conferences ... When I was showing parents data from our district mandated assessments, I got asked at least 4 times, "are you going to retain my child?" Ack -- no! Nobody in my class is being retained. What am I saying to make you think this?? </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Anyway, ready for the weekend and some time with my girl! </span><br />
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<br />Sara at schoolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03826113370064170051noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3734724603899612901.post-82112346841503631292016-02-14T17:47:00.001-06:002016-02-21T19:56:07.245-06:00Valentine's Day <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Did everyone survive your Valentine's Day parties? Oh, my goodness -- what a day! One of my teammates is pregnant and she started having contractions Thursday night -- too early, she just started her 3rd trimester. Thankfully, she's home and doing fine. However, no sub for her Friday -- so we had to split up her class. Yep! I had 8 extra students. Oh what fun. Thankfully, the principal arranged for them to have their own Valentine party, so I didn't have them for that half hour. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">And hasn't Valentine's Day gotten a little crazy? Like, every child but one brought cards, and candy! The little sack lunch bags we decorated for our Valentines wouldn't even hold it all. And I got 5 stuffed animals and 3 big boxes of candy. I know I'm loved -- but really, I don't need that much chocolate. I told my husband, I wish there was some gentle way I could tell families -- if you must give me something, what about a note, or buy your child a book in my name, or..... </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">{however, one little friend gave me expo markers and colored pens -- love, love.}</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">I've got a couple other things to share, but my desktop was running so slowly, a teammates husband is looking at it for me. So right now I'm just on my little iPad. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Happy Monday tomorrow. Unless you get it off -- then it's you lucky duck! </span><br />
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<br />Sara at schoolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03826113370064170051noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3734724603899612901.post-75843497203160732512016-02-02T11:47:00.002-06:002016-02-02T11:48:38.106-06:00Snow Day<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Dear Bloggy Friends and Readers - if there are any of you left! I looked at my blog this morning, and it still had my Christmas header on it. {Don't look now! I fixed it, you silly head!} </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">My December and January frankly just stunk. With four days left until winter break, my dad got very sick and I went to be with him, missing the last three days of school. My dad sadly passed away. Then when school started back up, I caught one of the worst colds I've ever had {maybe the two are related??} and ended up missing three more days, spread out over two weeks. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">However, today God must have known I needed just a "catch your breath day" and we got a snow day. I have been doing some "have to" stuff on a very uncooperative computer -- everything is taking at least twice as long as it needs to. And if anyone knows how to <b><i>easily</i></b> move iPhone pictures to my desktop -- please help. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">So I have worked like crazy all morning, and now I'm going to relax! So thankful for snow days! </span><br />
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Sara at schoolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03826113370064170051noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3734724603899612901.post-63594268971517306662015-12-13T14:28:00.001-06:002015-12-13T14:28:36.937-06:00Kindness Snowman<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Some of you may be doing Elf on the Shelf -- And more power to you on that! A teammate did it last year, and her class really enjoyed it. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">I personally wasn't that excited about all that went with Elf on the Shelf -- so after happening upon a couple blogs, I decided to do a Kindness Snowman. Well, I started with the Kindness Elf, but College Girl said she thought Kindness Snowman would be better. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_ToHBy6tUPzg1mx2VVt1Pac1qM6v2jNfySe0mUOpX4cuqkdoifPTV-cr2DU7hxzRmmgqzFtAaxM2pLbUnAwT7FhctGd-0HUlNg5P7V0wrUSe8rbLFpD1lhY2hK2j6hrWS0AGQ5ZvnyunP/s1600/Photo+Dec+11%252C+3+44+46+PM.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_ToHBy6tUPzg1mx2VVt1Pac1qM6v2jNfySe0mUOpX4cuqkdoifPTV-cr2DU7hxzRmmgqzFtAaxM2pLbUnAwT7FhctGd-0HUlNg5P7V0wrUSe8rbLFpD1lhY2hK2j6hrWS0AGQ5ZvnyunP/s320/Photo+Dec+11%252C+3+44+46+PM.jpg" width="240" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">He's the cute little guy. So every day last week, I wrote a little note and taped it under his arm. Then they all tried to find him as soon as they came into the room. And somebody read the note -- and we tried to do what it said. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">We've done things like say Hi to someone; write a nice note to a teacher, compliment someone; pick up trash, etc. So Thursday, they wrote me a note telling 3 reasons each one was proud of themselves. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">And Friday, this was the note from the Kindness Snowman:</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRlfRtdWR0gGQWUx77brqxZr5PVE45zusANcs4M4jVQdee-7xlrxa-tFTgUixjTz5zkHVGCkajzSmChmm5jADyOYMf_vKdjLD_-67XECAywv7PdlNQgXwxhcMVHCBbdvdZ3duGTzqpGQq2/s1600/Photo+Dec+11%252C+3+44+28+PM.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRlfRtdWR0gGQWUx77brqxZr5PVE45zusANcs4M4jVQdee-7xlrxa-tFTgUixjTz5zkHVGCkajzSmChmm5jADyOYMf_vKdjLD_-67XECAywv7PdlNQgXwxhcMVHCBbdvdZ3duGTzqpGQq2/s320/Photo+Dec+11%252C+3+44+28+PM.jpg" width="240" /></span></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">"Shhh...It's a secret. Don't say a anything til the end of the day. Kindness Snowman"</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">My class got really quiet after my person read the note. Finally, one of my quiet little sweeties asked, "Does this mean we can't say anything until the end of the day?" I was almost busting out laughing, because, yes, that is what it says. But of course, the Kindness Snowman just meant please don't keep asking about the secret surprise. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">And at the end of the day, the Kindness Snowman sent home a packet of hot chocolate, after asking Mrs. Sanders to write a quick note back to each student about what they were proud of. </span><br />
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<br />Sara at schoolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03826113370064170051noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3734724603899612901.post-29312314080115530882015-12-08T20:32:00.000-06:002015-12-08T20:32:21.771-06:00Music<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Our series has this wonderful story:</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGW-MjUeqHUWXNEfcq-S8N9WYcnhjOUQIK5fuoR4c5HrQm88BvxNcRbqvimjCWePl_wMMy2HDG-HO_NZCF0Djts2Ix5TjhiiGhSNA82fsUxHOItz0rLWcjSdwNwMzz_Y117SZRz6xekq-7/s1600/Photo+Dec+01%252C+8+33+31+PM.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGW-MjUeqHUWXNEfcq-S8N9WYcnhjOUQIK5fuoR4c5HrQm88BvxNcRbqvimjCWePl_wMMy2HDG-HO_NZCF0Djts2Ix5TjhiiGhSNA82fsUxHOItz0rLWcjSdwNwMzz_Y117SZRz6xekq-7/s320/Photo+Dec+01%252C+8+33+31+PM.jpg" width="240" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">It is a story about a girl who can't find anyone who likes music as much as she does, but she keeps looking and looking. Of course, it has a happy ending! I think it's a good story for reminding kids to be their own selves, to persevere in finding people who like the things they like, and it's ok to be different. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">At the last minute on Thursday, I decided yes, we'd do it. So I told the kids we'd make instruments on Friday. I let them bring things, and a few did, but it was mostly me. I had a ton of toilet paper rolls from some other craft I hadn't actually done and I had a couple big peanut butter jars {empty, of course!}. When I got to school, I realized I didn't have anything to do the shaking - like dried beans or rice. So I found some old water bottle caps that I didn't use for whatever project I had been saving them for, and some buttons for - yes, another project I didn't do. Found some rubber bands, too. Got out my box of scrap pieces. And here's some of what we did:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">And then they all played their instruments - it was definitely a beautiful noise! </span></div>
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<br />Sara at schoolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03826113370064170051noreply@blogger.com1