Showing posts with label Attitude. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Attitude. Show all posts

Saturday, November 16, 2013

Following Directions

It's just been one of those weeks. Between taking my hubby to physical therapy one day during my plan time and two other days right after school was out, and paying back the recess duty I owed a fellow teacher - it seems like the week went by -- whoosh! Oh and not only that, but the internet is out on our desktop - and that's really a hubby job, but it's downstairs, and he can't manage that yet. 

And it seems like once again, I need to be remind how much difference MY attitude makes in my classroom. Wait, wait - I'm trying hard to say, our classroom.  

I think it was Tuesday, ack - why aren't you children following directions?  And I went to an in-service that night. {Sometimes God is kinda funny this way!} Most of the time, the presenter said, children/students want to do what they are supposed, but for whatever reason, what you are asking is just something they can't do. 

And so I was thinking about my centers where I was frustrated with my kiddos. Each day of the week, my kids go to computers, a reading center and then a different center each day. {I can't think of a good way to explain this :)}Three of the five are the same structure every week, just the content changes. But just for a little variety in life, I change up the other two weekly. And I was wondering if that was the problem. Some of my off-task kiddos are those that aren't the best readers. Other of my off-task students were my smarty pants kids who probably think they know what to do {said with a wry grin}. 

So I'm still in the process of thinking this through. But I was really thinking, I want my kids to be successful, not frustrated. 







Saturday, March 31, 2012

Lunch Linky and Grrr Thursday

First, the fun! 4th Grade Folics is having a Lunchbox Linky. OK, my lunch is quite boring, but I love it! Almost every day I have a peanut butter sandwich and an orange. If the oranges are nice and sweet, I feel like I've had dessert. Sometimes I just go crazy and have a cup of pudding, too. I have this cute lunch bag a friend gave me - it makes me feel special :)


 I always finish up with one of these Brach's Nougats. You can tell they are a Christmas candy, so I have to stock up in December, but they have a nice minty flavor, so I have wonderful breath when the kiddos come back :)

As far as my lunch time, it's at 12:20. I always used to eat with one of my teammates, and sometimes one of the other 2 teammates would join us. Then my lunch buddy moved to a new position and I had sad times, 'cuz nobody else wanted to stop working and eat and chit-chat. But then I decided YES I want some adult conversation. So I go to the lounge and eat and there's always somebody in there and we usually talk about silly things. We get 40 minutes, but once a week I have recess duty and only get 20 minutes. Other days, I only take 20 minutes and spend the other 20 getting ready for my afternoon.


See what everyone is eating:
 Photobucket



Now, my grrr. Thursday was just a horrible day. I felt like all my kiddos were loud and off task. And especially during centers, when I'm supposed to be doing Guided Reading, I was continually saying, "What is your job?" My diabetic lied about going to the nurse, my SPED kid just whined and whined that he didn't get it, and my behavior problems (uh, challenges) were challenging! And that evening, I went home and just vented. I even sent notes home with 3 children - got two back and had better behavior on Friday.
BUT - ah, here's the deal. I think I was in a better mood of Friday. OK, let's not call it a better mood. I was determined NOT to let them get me down. I made up little songs when someone was bugging me terribly.  I used my "happy" voice, not my growly bear voice. And things were better. Why do you think that is? (ha, ha!)


I hate to think that Heather at Heather's Heart is right - ok, I don't really hate to think that, and I'm pretty sure she's right. MY attitude makes a HUGE difference in my classroom. I only wish I could remember that when things get just a teeny bit stressful.


I am having a NO WORK weekend - because I worked all last weekend, and (ha, ha) I totally forgot to bring home what I meant to work on, and I just made an Executive Decision not to go get it.


Have a great weekend! Sara